BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Inside Elon Musk’s Social Media Empire Key Takeaway: Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has become a dominant force in U.S. presidential politics, capturing unprecedented engagement and becoming a megaphone for President Trump’s campaign. Musk’s vision for transforming X into an “everything app” akin to China’s WeChat has been unveiled, with his net worth reaching $300 billion. However, challenges such as […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY The Power Of Small Changes: How Marginal Gains Lead To Extraordinary Success Key Takeaway: The British cycling team’s 2008 Beijing Olympics victory was a result of a simple strategy: the pursuit of marginal gains. The team’s coach, Sir Dave Brailsford, believed that success could be achieved by making a series of 1% improvements across every aspect of the cyclists’ gear, stamina, and physical conditioning. This principle, known […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY Are Today’s Youth Really More Narcissistic? Key Takeaway: A recent study examining narcissism in youth found that all three dimensions of the trait declined across the lifespan. The decline was attributed to changing social roles throughout life, such as assuming significant responsibilities and taking on significant responsibilities. However, some individuals may still be more narcissistic than others, and age alone doesn’t […] 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
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
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY The Maths Of Societal Collapse Key Takeaway: The author, a historian and complexity scientist, has been studying history for over a decade, noticing patterns in the past. They have been working on cliodynamics, a new field that uses statistical methods and computational simulations to understand how complex systems change over time. The Seshat: Global History Databank, a collection of over […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY The Hidden Costs Of Lay-Offs Key Takeaway: Businesses are facing rising borrowing costs and wage growth, affecting industries like advertising and retail. Redundancies can impact all employees, including those at risk, survivors, and management and HR teams. Decreased trust can lead to a toxic work environment, causing employees to question loyalty and commitment. Psychological stress can lead to increased absenteeism, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY Online Games Might Actually Be Good For Us Key Takeaways: Online gaming communities could be a vital lifeline for young men struggling with mental health issues, according to new research. Members with more depressive symptoms and less real-life support were 40% more likely to form and maintain social ties with fellow gamers compared to those with more real-life support. This suggests the chat […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK STRATEGY Was Musk’s Twitter Rebrand To X The Right Move? Key Takeaway: Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk, has rebranded the platform X, abandoning the globally recognized Twitter brand and renaming it X.com. The rebrand aligns with Musk’s intention to make the platform more than a communication app, like Tencent’s popular WeChat app in China. The new X symbol is distinctive and expresses a sense of mystery. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Wise Politic Lessons From The Ancient Greeks Key Takeaway Ancient Greeks developed a more sophisticated political system than modern European societies, known as direct democracy. They practiced “people power” and took measures to prevent ruthless, narcissistic individuals from dominating politics. Modern democracy is merely representative, with representatives elected by the public. However, recent political events show that modern societies are not stringent […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
What Lies Inside Quantum Black Holes? Key Takeaway: The concept of the “cosmic censorship conjecture” suggests that singularities within the universe are hidden within black holes, providing a protective barrier. However, the integration of quantum mechanics challenges this idea, creating “quantum black holes” that obey the subatomic world’s rules. These quantum entities must account for effects like negative energy, which does […] Written by Empirics Asia December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The New Frontier Of Time Key Takeaway: The second, the fundamental unit of time, is being refined through advancements in timekeeping technology. Throughout history, humans have sought to track time with greater precision, starting with the Neolithic site of Newgrange in Ireland. In 1967, the International System of Units established that a second corresponds to 9,192,631,770 oscillations of radiation emitted […] Written by Empirics Asia November 29, 2024November 29, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Birth Of Fractals Key Takeaway: A visiting professor from Canada delivered lectures on complex dynamics, revealing breathtaking visuals of fractals, a realm pioneered by Benoit Mandelbrot. Mandelbrot’s groundbreaking work transformed how mathematicians approached their work, legitimizing the use of pictures in mathematics and challenging the field’s traditional reliance on purely analytical methods. His groundbreaking work, “The Fractal Geometry […] Written by Empirics Asia November 25, 2024November 25, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Universe’s Biggest Mystery: Why Are We Here? Key Takeaway: Recent research by physicists has revealed that our universe may not be optimal for intelligent life. The mysterious force known as dark energy accelerates the universe’s expansion, but its value is far smaller than theoretical expectations. Researchers used anthropic reasoning to explain this, arguing that the properties of the universe must align with […] Written by Empirics Asia November 22, 2024November 22, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Test Of Human Intelligence Key Takeaway: Scale AI has launched the initiative “Humanity’s Last Exam” to determine the capabilities of cutting-edge large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini and OpenAI’s o1. The initiative aims to determine how close we are to achieving AI systems that rival human expertise. The challenge lies in evaluating intelligence in machines that can already […] Written by Empirics Asia November 21, 2024November 21, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
When Reality Fractures Key Takeaway: Researchers have discovered that delusions, which are convictions that cling to a distorted view of reality, are a result of the same cognitive pathways that produce everyday beliefs. Delusions often defy common sense but emerge when the system of meaning-making veers off course. A case of postpartum psychosis revealed that a woman experienced […] Written by Empirics Asia November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Rise And Fall Of Volkswagen Key Takeaway: Volkswagen, once a symbol of German industry and co-management between shareholders and unions, is facing a crisis due to strategic missteps, a convoluted governance structure, and a culture that often prioritizes control over innovation. The company’s journey began in 1937 with the Beetle, which became the world’s largest carmaker in the 1980s and […] Written by Empirics Asia November 19, 2024November 19, 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