EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Science Of Beauty Key Takeaway: Beauty is more important to us than we often realize, as it can have a compelling effect on our experience and behavior. Beauty emerges from properties of the object itself, such as proportion, symmetry, and curvature, as well as the relationship between the object and the viewer, including the degree of familiarity. Aesthetics […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Medical Care In Space Key Takeaway: Space exploration is becoming more accessible due to advancements in technologies and partnerships, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Sierra Space. However, new challenges arise, such as maintaining astronaut health and performance. As spaceflight becomes more accessible, astronaut crews will need access to medical care over longer voyages and on commercial flights. Private […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE How To Tell If Conspiracy Theory Is False Key Takeaway: Conspiracy theories are prevalent and can involve various factors. People believe false conspiracy theories for various reasons, such as the existence of real conspiracies. However, unfounded conspiracy theories often lack evidence and substitute elements that should be red flags for skeptics. To vet a claim, one should seek out evidence, test the allegation, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK What Vietnam Can Teach Us About The Vulnerabilities Of Banks Key Takeaway: Vietnam’s businesswoman Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for taking out $44 billion in fraudulent loans from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by bypassing a law that prevents anyone from owning more than 5% of a bank’s shares. The loans made up 93% of the bank’s entire lending portfolio. The case highlights the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY Humility Is The Secret To Leadership? Key Takeaway: A study has found that humble leaders can become more promotable by growing others through a “humility route”. Human capital theory suggests that employees’ value can be enhanced by investing in their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Humble leaders focus on the learning and growth of their followers, creating human capital value for themselves. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY The Inherent Risks Of A.I. Key Takeaway: Leading scientists and technologists often make terrible predictions about the direction of innovation, leading to misalignments between a company’s economic incentives to profit from its proprietary AI model and society’s interests in how the AI model should be monetised and deployed. Focusing on the economic risks from AI is not just about preventing […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Predicting China’s Economy In 2024 Key Takeaway: China’s leaders have declared a GDP growth target of 5% in 2024, despite facing economic problems and a property crisis. The country’s rapid economic growth has been attributed to market incentives, cheap labor, infrastructure investment, exports, and foreign direct investment. However, none of these drivers are working effectively. The government’s determination to deflate […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK 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. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY SOCIOLOGY How A.I. Might Shape Religion Key Takeaway: AI is transforming our engagement with faith and spirituality by making access to ancient texts easier and enabling AI-tutors to guide people through them. However, AI also poses challenges, such as misinformation and misrepresentation, which could lead to hate crimes and community tensions. In the future, AI will become a co-pilot for all […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY Why Is Free Time Still So Rare In Our Modern Productive Society? Key Takeaway: In the past, many economists assumed that people’s need for more stuff would eventually be met, leading to more free time. The 40-hour week is not the result of a personal calculation of costs and benefits but rather a result of a hard-fought political battle that culminated in the Fair Labor Standards Act […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Real Art Of War Key Takeaway: The Art of War, an ancient Chinese war manual from the 5th century BCE, is often cited as a cliché by teen edgelords and management gurus. However, the book is actually a work of clear-sighted and sometimes ruthless realism, influenced by philosophy and strategy. The book, which is attributed to Chinese general and […] Written by Jamie Roberts July 18, 2024July 18, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Democracy Of Bees Key Takeaway: Honey bees, originally tropical insects, evolved complex nest-choosing patterns 600,000 years ago to survive cold climates. However, research into honey bee pressures and behavior rarely takes into account these nest preferences. Researchers have found that tree nests lose less heat than conventional hives and that features of man-made hives inserted for convenience increase […] Written by Derek Mitchell July 17, 2024July 17, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Fusion Power Our Future? Key Takeaway: Nuclear fusion could be a promising solution to climate change and energy security issues, as it offers a clean, abundant, and safe energy source. However, the technology’s realisation may come into tension with the issues it aims to solve. The technology’s appeal may mask deeper ethical questions, such as environmental sustainability and the […] Written by Sophie Cogan July 11, 2024July 11, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How People Can Influence Our Memories Key Takeaway: A study has found that our memory helps us learn from experiences and develop new knowledge by integrating and updating information. Memory can forge inferred connections beyond direct experiences, which can sometimes lead to false inferences. The study found that people may prioritize information from liked sources more than those from disliked ones, […] Written by Ines Bramao July 10, 2024July 10, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Does Space Change Astronaut Biology? Key Takeaway: Astronauts are experiencing a new era of human spaceflight, with longer missions ranging from minutes to months. As humanity looks to return to the Moon over the coming decade, space exploration missions will be longer, with more space travelers and tourists. Researchers in space health are seeking to better understand the human health […] Written by Susan Bailey July 9, 2024July 12, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Who Really Was Mona Lisa? Key Takeaway: The Mona Lisa, a Renaissance icon, has been a subject of debate for over half a millennium. The painting has been traditionally associated with Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. However, another theory suggests Isabella of Aragon, a princess deeply entwined in the political and cultural fabric of […] Written by Darius von Guttner Sporzynski July 5, 2024July 5, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Science Fiction Feedback Loop Key Takeaway: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sparked controversy by referencing the 2013 movie “Her” to highlight the novelty of ChatGPT’s latest iteration. Actor Scarlett Johansson accused the company of improperly using her voice after she spurned their offer to make her the voice of ChatGPT’s new virtual assistant. This highlights the “sci-fi feedback loop,” which […] Written by Rizwan Virk July 4, 2024July 4, 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 — 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