Japan

  1. ART & DESIGN
  2. CULTURE
  3. EDITOR'S PICK

How Video Games Are Reviving Classical Music

Key Takeaways: Starfield, a highly anticipated video game, allows players to build their own character and spacecraft, travel to multiple planets, and follow multiple story arcs. The game’s interactive music uses a palette of musical language that cultivates a contemplative soundscape, launching the listener into the vastness of space while remaining curious, innocent, and restrained. […]
  1. BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
  2. EDITOR'S PICK
  3. POLITICS

The Age Of Resource Nationalism

Key Takeaway: China’s new export regime is reportedly in response to western restrictions on equipment essential for semiconductor devices, such as the US CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. This could affect Beijing’s capacity for high-performance computing in areas like defense. Both germanium and gallium are crucial to technological advancement, with germanium being particularly useful […]
  1. BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
  2. EDITOR'S PICK
  3. FINANCE

New Studies Show Bitcoin Has No Mainstream Use And Is More Like Gambling

Key Takeaway Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are becoming mainstream, but the true success of these cryptocurrencies depends on the average punter selling them for more than they bought them. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s data shows that cryptocurrency is rarely used for buying things, with only 2% of adults using it as a payments instrument. […]
  1. CULTURE
  2. EDITOR'S PICK
  3. PHILOSOPHY
  4. TECHNOLOGY

What It Means To Be Authentic In The Age Of A.I.

Key Takeaway: Authenticity is important for both individuals and society, as it is a social glue that reinforces trust. People need to reexamine and recalibrate how authenticity is judged. Social science offers guidance on what makes something feel authentic. George Newman found three dimensions of authenticity: historical authenticity, categorical authenticity, and values and beliefs. Generative […]
  1. ART & DESIGN
  2. CULTURE
  3. EDITOR'S PICK

The Life Story Of Nobel Prize Winner Kenzaburo Oe

Key Takeaways: Kenzaburō Ōe was a literary giant who criticised factors damaging democracy and human rights in Japan, including nationalistic governmental policies, atomic power plants, and the imperial system. His early work explored the relationship between disenfranchised individuals and authoritarian power. Ōe’s “ambiguity” in Japan was a response to Kawabata’s “beautiful” representation, highlighting the multiplicity […]

Recently Published

What Modern People Get Wrong About Stoicism

Key Takeaway: Stoicism, a philosophical school popular in ancient Rome, is often associated with happiness and productivity. However, Stoic TikTok, a popular social media platform, often misinterprets its ideas. Stoicism was traditionally divided into three branches: ethics, physics, and logic. Stoic TikTok focuses on knowledge through reading quotations or practicing mental exercises, but it doesn’t […]
Written by

Top Picks

Does Music Manipulate Our Memories?

Key Takeaway: Studies in psychology are beginning to understand how music helps people remember films, scenes, and characters. Music can help us understand characters, create deeper emotional links, and create mood-congruency effects when the music and movie both make us feel the same way. Irony and mood-incongruity effects occur when music and movies make us […]
Written by

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

Trending

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

Join our Newsletter

Get our monthly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.

Login

Welcome to Empirics
We are glad you have decided to join our mission of gathering the collective knowledge of Asia!
Join Empirics