EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Real Emotions Of Spiders Key Takeaway: Spiders have evolved creative strategies to thrive in habitats worldwide, but their ability to charm humans is elusive. Research has uncovered surprising insights about spider behavior around humans, such as the Jorล spider, which has a tendency to play dead. This is known as thanatosis and is a response to threats used by […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY New Year Lessons From Taoism Key Takeaway: Taoism, an indigenous Chinese tradition, views humans as integral to the larger cosmos. It uses rituals and bodily techniques to align one’s body with their environment, guiding individuals on their relationship with the environment and health. Taoist texts, beginning in the fourth century B.C.E., describe Lao Tzu’s body as a map for the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE 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 […] 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
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Lego’s Sustainability Dilemma Key Takeaway: Lego, the world’s largest toy manufacturer, has pulled out of its “Bottles to Bricks” initiative, which aimed to replace traditional Lego plastic with recycled plastic bottles. The company found that producing bricks with recycled plastic would require extra materials and energy, leading to higher carbon emissions. This decision is part of a larger […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY The Price Of Love: Hidden Costs Of Modern Dating Key Takeaway: The average American spends $120,000 on romantic activities, leading to a significant amount of “dating debt” among millennials and Gen Z. This debt accumulation is attributed to the desire to signal status and the persuasive retail marketing of luxury as synonymous with love. Luxury brands like Gucci and Tiffany use strategic marketing tactics […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY The Rise Of Deinfluencers Key Takeaways: Deinfluencing is a social media trend that discourages influencers from promoting overpriced or ineffective products. With nearly 730 million views on TikTok, it aims to address the desire for authenticity, social media burnout, and a shift in values. Deinfluencers prioritize genuine content and engagement over curated content and commercial partnerships, addressing the emotional […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE A Visual Journey Through Multi-Dimensions Key Takeaway The author imagines a world where humans lived in vast landscapes, but they only knew a small portion of reality. They believe that we are part of an expansive cosmos, possibly containing alien life. String theory suggests that the true building blocks of our universe are vibrating strings, which unify quantum mechanics and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY SCIENCE The Science Of Cringe Key Takeaway Cringe is a physical and emotional emotion that can help people better understand themselves and one another. A recent study showed that cringe-filled entertainment can actually help people better understand themselves and one another. The study found that binge-watching a show with cringeworthy moments can be therapeutic, as it reminds us of the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Future Of Spacesuits Key Takeaway: The Polaris Dawn mission, which includes the first spacewalk organized by a private company, has been delayed due to complications with the design and development of a suitable spacesuit. Moon suits are a key element of Nasa’s Artemis lunar programme that have yet to be delivered. Spacesuits are no longer expected to be […] Written by Yang Gao March 11, 2024March 11, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why We Will Never Master The Financial Markets Key Takeaways: Stock market enthusiasts often claim to predict financial market trends with great accuracy, but this is not possible due to the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the environments in which we make daily decisions. Human cognition tends to favor a reductionist approach to information processing, sometimes called “tunneling,” which can lead to biased […] Written by Benoรฎt Bรฉchard March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Panda Diplomacy: What We Can Learn About Chinese Economics Key Takeaway: San Diego Zoo and China’s Wildlife Conservation Association signed a deal in February 2024 to return Chinese giant pandas to the US by the end of the summer. This move signifies a warming of relations between the US and China, as well as a bid by China to help repair its struggling economy. […] Written by Chee Meng Tan March 4, 2024March 4, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Insomnia Actually Bad? Key Takeaway: Insomnia, a major health issue, affects around a third of people, with women and older individuals more affected. Sleep deprivation can lead to increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and mental illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of insomnia, which has led to a rise in mental health […] Written by Scott Cairney March 1, 2024March 1, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Art Of Getting Lost Key Takeaway: In 1967, French philosopher Guy Debord argued that we should not be passively consumed by images, but rather engage with them. The Situationist International movement, formed in 1957, aimed to create new ways to reflect on and experience cities as acts of resistance against profit-motivated capitalist structures. The group’s philosophy suggests that we […] Written by Stephen Dobson February 29, 2024February 29, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Rise Of Robo-Retail Key Takeaway: Canada’s first robotic cafe, RC Coffee, opened in Toronto in October 2020, reviving the concept of a restaurant where food and drinks are served by technology. The trend of digitally enabled retail automation has grown in popularity in Canada over the past decade, driven by safety concerns and labor shortages. As of the […] Written by Mathew Iantorno February 28, 2024February 28, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Science Behind The Loch Ness Monster Key Takeaway: The Loch Ness legend, a mysterious freshwater lake in Scotland, has been passed down through generations as mythological creatures. The lake, which is 23 miles long, wide, and deep, has been a subject of fascination for millions of people. However, no physical evidence of an unusual or prehistoric creature has ever been found. […] Written by Michael A. Little February 27, 2024February 27, 2024 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 โ a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Ravenโs Matrices โ 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 Instituteโs new report, โReskilling China: Transforming The Worldโs Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learnersโ, which focuses on the countryโs 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 Youโre 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 Iโm about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and Iโll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what โcommunityโ means for business. โWhere should community fit in my organization?โ and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked