ART & DESIGN EDITOR'S PICK The Source Of Surrealism Key Takeaway: Surrealist artists, such as Man Ray and Salvador Dalí, used randomness in their artistic practice to create unique and captivating images. Techniques like decalcomania, where paint is applied to a surface, and the “exquisite corpse” where sentences are divided into different parts of speech, have been applied to various creative ventures. The Blackwing […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK TECHNOLOGY Understanding Quantum Computing Key Takeaway: Quantum computing is a mysterious and often counterintuitive technology that uses changes in the quantum states of atoms, ions, electrons, or photons to link multiple quantum particles and introduce interference patterns. This uniqueness calls for an unusual metaphor, like kaleidoscopes, to explain quantum processes. Classical computers store and process information via transistors, which […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Science Of Dragons Key Takeaway: In the fantasy world of Westeros, dragons are depicted in the popular series of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. The images of dragons igniting fire evoke scientific curiosity about real-world biological mechanisms and chemical reactions. To ignite and sustain a flame, three components are needed: a fuel, an oxidising agent […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Global Orange Juice Crisis Key Takeaway: Orange juice shortages are causing prices to increase by over 20% annually, primarily due to the impact of citrus greening disease on Brazil’s orange harvest. Short-term solutions include mixing new crops with frozen juice and lobbying for relaxed UN food regulations to allow the addition of other citrus fruits. However, these solutions would […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE Elephants Actually Name One Another Key Takeaway: A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution found evidence that elephants have their own names to address each other. The research, which placed elephants among the very few species known to address one another in this way, has implications for scientists’ understanding of animal intelligence and the evolutionary origins of language. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Threat Of Solar Storms Key Takeaway: The recent geomagnetic storm in May 2024 caused the aurora borealis and aurora australis, which are the northern and southern lights. These storms, caused by high energy particles from the Sun hitting the Earth’s atmosphere, can cause havoc with human-made infrastructure, such as electrical grids and satellites. The storm caused auroral activity in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PSYCHOLOGY Our Fear Of Saying “No” Key Takeaway: A recent study found that people tend to underestimate the negative implications of declining an invitation, even when it’s not accepted. People tend to assume others will react poorly when an invitation isn’t accepted, but they’re relatively unaffected when someone turns down an invite they’ve extended. People extending invites are more understanding and […] 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
CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Science Of Ancient Egyptian Mythology Key Takeaway: A recent study has found an intriguing link between an Egyptian goddess, Nut, and the Milky Way. The Milky Way, a celestial body, is believed to be linked to Nut, the Egyptian goddess of the sky who swallowed the Sun and gave birth to it. However, attempts to map Nut’s body onto the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE The Greater Secrets Of Stonehenge Key Takeaway: A project involving archaeologists, astronomers, and photographers from English Heritage, Oxford, Leicester, and Bournemouth universities, as well as the Royal Astronomical Society, aims to study the lunar alignment at Stonehenge. The project aims to identify the layout of certain stones and the major lunar standstill, which occurs when the northernmost and southernmost moonrises […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why Vertical Farms Are Struggling Key Takeaway: Vertical farming, a revolutionary technology that promises fresh, locally grown food in stacked indoor environments, has faced setbacks in recent years. Despite these challenges, the fundamental principles of controlled-environment agriculture remain strong. The industry is still in its infancy, but its potential is greater in regions with less favorable growing conditions. Advances in […] Written by Empirics Asia March 11, 2025March 11, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Paradox Of Narcissism Key Takeaway: Narcissistic individuals often project self-assurance but have a deep need for external validation, revealing a fundamental insecurity. This gap between self-perception and reality affects relationships, emotional stability, and perception of reality. Narcissistic personality disorder, affecting a small percentage of the population, has far-reaching social consequences. Highly narcissistic individuals often display a pattern of […] Written by Empirics Asia March 10, 2025March 10, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Collision Course: The Doomsday Asteroid Flying Towards Earth Key Takeaway: A new asteroid, 2024 YR4, was detected in Chile at the end of 2024, with a small yet notable chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. Initially, estimates suggested a 3.1% probability of impact, but as of February 2024, calculations by the European Space Agency’s Near Earth Object Centre have revised this down […] Written by Empirics Asia February 25, 2025February 25, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Hidden Cost Of Cheap Furniture Key Takeaway: Fast furniture, which is mass-produced items designed for short-term use, is a growing environmental crisis. Millions of discarded pieces end up in landfills each year, contributing to a waste problem mirroring the fast fashion industry. To avoid fast furniture, consumers should identify it by noticing its price, materials, assembly methods, limited or unclear […] Written by Empirics Asia February 24, 2025February 24, 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 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