BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Significance Of The Cybertruck Key Takeaway: Tesla, a high-volume, premium-priced leader in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, experienced a 50% growth in deliveries in 2019. The company announced the Cybertruck in 2019, marking its first move into light/pickup trucks. However, delays in deliveries and the cost of bulletproof glass have hindered its development. Tesla now faces challenges in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Story Of Birkenstock: Unlikely Rise Of A Billion Dollar Brand Key Takeaway: Birkenstock, a German shoe brand, has been able to attract fashionistas and hippies to its flexible arch supports, despite its negative image. The brand, founded in 1774, has evolved from orthopaedic footwear to fashion, with its initial public offering predicted to be the third-largest US listing so far in 2023. Birkenstock’s “bubble up” […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY PSYCHOLOGY SCIENCE What Is Intelligence? Key Takeaway: The Anthropocene era highlights the dangers of humanity’s extinction, with migration, war, climate change, hacking, and nuclear annihilation being the main threats. Human intelligence is unique in reproduction and survival, as it also poses an ethical risk. Western mythology and literature provide insights into the moral dilemmas at the heart of human intelligence, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY How Nanoparticles Will Change The World Key Takeaway: Nanotechnology, which includes particles smaller than 10,000 times the diameter of a human hair, is playing a growing role in various industries, including medicine, cosmetics, and medicine. Nanoparticles can pass easily through the blood-brain barrier, potentially enabling better treatment of brain diseases and disorders like cancer and dementia. They can also be used […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK What’s The Point Of Art? Key Takeaway: Art, or art, has a significant role in human endeavour, as it was used by early humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, 40,000 to 12,000 years ago, to articulate social norms among small hunter-gatherer groups. Art objects have special resonance because they come into being through human agency, involving considerable emotional investment. Art […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY TECHNOLOGY Is A.I. Now More Creative Than Humans? Key Takeaway: Creativity is a crucial human intelligence that AI should emulate, as it defies the cold logic of machines. AI tools like DALL-E and Midjourney are increasingly used in creative projects, with some receiving recognition for their inventiveness. A recent study found that AI-based creativity is just getting started, with examples of both its […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK The Economics Of Art Museums Key Takeaway: Art museums, such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, have a large number of visitors but struggle to generate revenue. The Met, the world’s third most popular museum, has a budget deficit of $10 million and is laying off over 100 employees. Meanwhile, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is expanding and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK How China Makes Economic Plans Key Takeaway China’s decision-making calendar is structured with key moments when it makes plans for its economic and political future. These include two sessions, study sessions of the politburo, and the declaration of President Xi Jinping’s third term as general secretary. The Chinese political calendar features seven plenary sessions to establish a unified vision for […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY The Marketing Secrets Of Barbie’s Success Key Takeaway: Barbie is one of America’s most trusted brands, with worldwide sales of US$1.5 billion in 2022 and a brand value of US$590 million. Mattel has used a “multiply” strategy to increase brand visibility and storytelling tactics to sustain interest in the brand. Mattel’s strategy of targeting older consumers through nostalgia and designer and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY The Future Of Taste Key Takeaway: In the past decade dining out has become a cultural touchstone and an essential form of entertainment. Gastronomy tourism continues to rise each year as people travel the world to seek out new dining experiences. After World War II, big shifts in transportation led to the emergence of new types of restaurants. TV, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Most Expensive Material Used In Science Key Takeaway: NASA is set to return samples from the asteroid Bennu in the early 2030s to determine if any contain traces of ancient life. The cost of sample return is $132 million per ounce, or $4.7 million per gram, which is about 70,000 times the price of gold. The first extraterrestrial material returned to […] Written by Chris Impey November 24, 2023November 24, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A Guide To The Ideas Of Modern Philosopher Slavoj Žižek Key Takeaway: Slavoj Žižek, a philosopher and cultural theorist, has written numerous books on various topics, including philosophy, psychoanalysis, pop culture, and commentary on recent events. He is known for his controversial debate with Jordan Peterson in 2019 about the connection between Marxism, capitalism, and happiness. Žižek’s work often critiques political ideologies, which can explain […] Written by Empirics Asia November 23, 2023November 23, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Inside The Minds Of Magicians Key Takeaway: A study examining the mental health of magicians found that they exhibited similar traits to people with mental illnesses like schizophrenia and autism. Magicians, who both create and perform their own shows, require precision and technical skills to entertain the audience. They scored lower on nearly every psychotic symptom compared to the general […] Written by Gils Greengross November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Netflix Has Been Growing Itself Key Takeaway: Netflix, a streaming giant, experienced a decline in subscribers in 2022 due to competition from Disney and Amazon Prime. However, it has since rebounded, adding 8.8 million subscribers in Q3 2023. The company’s success can be attributed to its international approach, with over 70% of its subscribers coming from outside the US. It […] Written by Jean Chalaby November 15, 2023November 15, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Time Travel Possible? Key Takeaway: Time travel, the idea of moving between different points in time, has been a popular fantasy for centuries. However, the question of whether time is reversible remains unresolved in science. The second law of thermodynamics suggests that the universe can either remain the same or become more disordered over time. Albert Einstein’s theory […] Written by Adi Foord November 14, 2023November 14, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Paradoxical Life Of Elon Musk Key Takeaway: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has a diverse career in space exploration, electric cars, AI, and social media. His biography, written by Walter Isaacson, covers events up to Space X’s unsuccessful Starship rocket launch in April 2023. Isaacson interviews Musk and uncovered newsworthy information, such as his Starlink satellite network’s crucial role […] Written by Matthew Ricketson November 7, 2023November 7, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Do Racehorses Even Know They’re Racing? Key Takeaway: Horse racing is a spectacle where horses race to win a race. From a horse’s perspective, winning a race has few intrinsic rewards. While being first to reach the finishing post is important for the horse’s human connections, there is little direct benefit to motivate it to voluntarily gallop faster. Horses are social […] Written by Cathrynne Henshall November 6, 2023November 6, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
