EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY How Materialism Shapes Modern Relationships Key Takeaway: Materialism, the belief that wealth and possessions define happiness and self-worth, is causing a decline in relationships, particularly among younger generations. This shift is fueled by media portrayals of unrealistic standards and financial strain. To counteract this, producers and marketers should focus on qualities like trustworthiness, honesty, and affection, rather than material achievements. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY Why We Crave Fear? The Science Of The Scare Key Takeaway: The fascination with fear is deeply rooted in human evolution, with emotions playing a critical role in survival. Controlled fear experiences, such as watching horror movies or navigating a haunted house, offer a safe way to engage with this powerful emotion. Exposure to intense fear reduces anxiety levels afterward, leaving people feeling more […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Path To Human Invisibility Key Takeaway: Researchers from Stanford University have successfully made the skin of live mice appear transparent under specific lighting conditions, paving the way for medical imaging and biological research. The researchers used a food dye called tartrazine, which alters how light interacts with biological matter. By adjusting the refractive index, they allowed light to pass […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE 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. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK Why Are Most Robots White In Colour? Key Takeaway: Racial and gender bias in artificial intelligence algorithms and language models has been a concern in social robots, which are designed to interact with diverse groups of people. Socially assistive robotics aims to create machines that will help people help themselves, but these robots often do not reflect basic aspects of society’s diversity. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY SCIENCE SOCIOLOGY The Theory Of The Collective Mind Key Takeaway: Shared attention amplifies experiences and builds relationships, according to studies in various countries. Research shows that synchronous attention with others yields stronger memories, deeper emotions, and firmer motivations. This can be observed in labs across the US, Australia, Hungary, Germany, and Denmark. Shared attention can also build relationships across the political divide and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK The Secret Recipe Of Studio Ghibli Movies Key Takeaway: Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio, has been a global phenomenon since 1985, with its debut feature Laputa: Castle in the Sky. The studio gained international recognition with the releases of Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001), which won the Academy Award for best animated feature. The founders, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY 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 […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Immortality Dilemma Key Takeaway: The quest for eternal life has been a booming industry, attracting billionaires, scientists, and wellness gurus who believe it could cheat death. However, the pursuit of life extension raises ethical and philosophical questions. The idea that aging can be slowed or reversed has been marketed to the masses, but neither Pearson nor Shaw […] Written by Empirics Asia March 4, 2025March 4, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Hidden Dimensions Of Reality Key Takeaway: The universe may be far more complex than we initially think, with the possibility of a higher-dimensional structure that twists and folds in ways unseen. Mathematicians study all possible shapes and dimensions in geometric topology, revealing a universe that may be far from the simple, empty expanse we assume. Modern physics, particularly string […] Written by Empirics Asia March 3, 2025March 3, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Democracy Really The Best System? Key Takeaway: Plato’s critique of democracy, particularly in his work “The Republic,” suggests that it is fundamentally flawed. Socrates, Plato’s mentor and teacher, argues that ruling a state is a skill, similar to piloting a ship or performing surgery. However, critics argue that this is not the case. Politics involves moral judgments, compromises, and social […] Written by Empirics Asia February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Secret Memory Of Plants Key Takeaway: Plants have a unique memory that helps them survive in a constantly changing world. They have evolved defense mechanisms, such as immune priming, which allows them to remember past infections. However, plants lack this adaptive immune memory, relying on epigenetic changes to maintain a heightened state of defense. This memory can last generations, […] Written by Empirics Asia February 20, 2025February 20, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Are We Alone In The Universe? Key Takeaway: New research challenges the hard-steps model of evolution, which suggests that human intelligence is an extremely rare event. The model suggests that intelligence takes billions of years to emerge on Earth, and that it is a result of rare and improbable evolutionary breakthroughs. Some scientists argue that the emergence of eukaryotic cells, oxygen-producing […] Written by Empirics Asia February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking “True Love” Key Takeaway: Plato’s concept of love is more profound than the idea of finding a missing half. The origins of this idea can be traced back to Plato’s philosophical text, Symposium, which argues that love should be more than just physical attraction or emotional closeness. It should lead to the pursuit of wisdom, truth, and […] Written by Empirics Asia February 18, 2025February 18, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Psychology Of Pain Key Takeaway: Pain is an evolutionary mechanism designed to protect the human body from harm. However, recent discoveries reveal that pain can be controlled by harnessing the brain’s natural painkillers. Pain is not a physical sensation but is actively created by the nervous system, which sends distress signals to the brain when tissue damage is […] Written by Empirics Asia February 17, 2025February 17, 2025 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