BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK The Flawed Theory Behind Why Nations Prosper Key Takeaway: Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson were awarded the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for their book Why Nations Fail, which argued that countries succeed when they adopt inclusive institutions like democracy, while extractive institutions stifle growth by concentrating power and wealth in elites. However, their theory has faced criticism for […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK Reviving State Power: The New Era of Industrial Policy Key Takeaway: State intervention in global economics is gaining momentum, particularly since the 2010s, due to financial crises, geopolitical tensions, and the fragility of global supply chains. The relationship between exports and protectionism is complex, as successful industrial and trade policies often blend export promotion with elements of protectionism. South Korea and Taiwan have used […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE How Modern Culture Is Surpassing Human Evolution Key Takeaway: Research indicates that modernization and rapid technological advancements are contributing to contemporary problems such as mental health issues. An evolutionary mismatch theory suggests that our physical and psychological adaptations become misaligned with the environment, leading to issues like tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes. The modern world also presents challenges such as crowded cities, […] 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 POLITICS The Future Of China’s Semiconductor Industry Key Takeaway: China’s national champions for semiconductor design and manufacturing, HiSilicon and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), are making waves in Washington. Huawei’s launch of the Huawei Mate 60 smartphone in August 2023 showed that Chinese self-sufficiency in HiSilicon’s semiconductor design and SMIC’s manufacturing capabilities were catching up at an alarming pace. The US has […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK How Netflix Has Been Growing Itself Key Takeaway: Netflix, a streaming giant, experienced a decline in subscribers in 2022 due to competition from Disney and Amazon Prime. However, it has since rebounded, adding 8.8 million subscribers in Q3 2023. The company’s success can be attributed to its international approach, with over 70% of its subscribers coming from outside the US. It […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS The Geopolitical Future Of Microchips A conflict between the US and China over computer chips – or semiconductors – has been escalating in recent months. In particular, the US has taken steps to limit China’s access to advanced chip technology amid heightened international competition in the area. The US recently tightened export controls to undercut China’s access to high-end chip manufacturing equipment and […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS The Secret Geopolitics Of FIFA World Cup 2022 Key Takeaways: The Fifa men’s World Cup 2022 in Qatar is arguably the most political in history. Qatar Airways is an effective instrument of soft power, transmitting signals to global audiences about what Qatar is and what it aspires to be. The Fifa men’s World Cup 2022 in Qatar is arguably the most political in history. […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK China: The Future Of The Car Industry? Europeans and other western nations have dominated automotive excellence for over a century. Whether it is the satisfying thud of the door closing on a Volkswagen from Wolfsburg, or the beauty of a Ferrari from Modena, these brands are iconic – and very lucrative for their manufacturers. When we think of reliability, the Germans, and latterly the Japanese, have […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY What Is The Metaverse? Facebook’s Plan To Change The World Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the tech giant will shift from being a social media company to becoming “a metaverse company”, functioning in an “embodied internet” that blends real and virtual worlds more than ever before. So what is “the metaverse”? It sounds like the kind of thing billionaires talk about to earn headlines, […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Are Animals Making Art? Key Takeaway: Animals, including birds and whales, have been questioned about their artistic abilities. Some argue that art is about emotion, representation, or intention, while others believe it comes from reinforcement. However, not all animal creations are considered art. Some, like Humpback whales and Pigcasso, are trained to express their creativity, while others, like puffer […] Written by Empirics Asia May 7, 2025May 7, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is A Space Tourist An Astronaut? Key Takeaway: The debate over who truly deserves to be called an astronaut has resurfaced with the recent all-women spaceflight aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin spacecraft. The term “astronaut” has been used to describe individuals who have travelled into space, but the definition varies widely. Some dictionaries define an astronaut as anyone who has travelled […] Written by Empirics Asia May 6, 2025May 6, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Human Networks Planted The Seeds Of Civilisation Key Takeaway: Researchers have used mathematical models to simulate the spread of farming, focusing on human contact as the driving force. They adapted predator-prey models to simulate the overlap of farming and foraging communities. The study found that direct human contact, whether friendly or hostile, played a central role in the expansion of farming. Small-scale […] Written by Empirics Asia April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Great Cosmic Riddle Key Takeaways: Dark matter, an invisible substance thought to outweigh all visible matter in the universe, remains a mystery in astrophysics. The idea of dark matter began in the 1970s when astronomers Vera Rubin and Kent Ford studied the rotation of the Andromeda galaxy. However, alternative explanations exist, such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and […] Written by Empirics Asia April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Is Big Tech Killing Free Speech or Saving It? Key Takeaway: President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” accused the previous administration of stifling free expression by working with social media companies to curb misinformation and label misleading content. However, recent research suggests that less regulation can actually make the internet a less free place for speech, […] Written by Empirics Asia April 23, 2025April 23, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How The Brain Learns Key Takeaway: Recent research published in Science has revealed that the brain uses multiple learning mechanisms simultaneously, revealing the complexity behind brain wiring. Neurons communicate through electric signals called synapses, which form complex networks of connections that transmit information. The traditional theory of synaptic plasticity assumes uniformity between neurons, but the new study found that […] Written by Empirics Asia April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Did We Just Discover Life On A Distant Planet? Key Takeaway: A new study published in Nature Astronomy claims that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected atmospheric signals on K2-18b, a distant world 124 light-years from Earth. The researchers found traces of molecules often associated with biological activity on Earth, including dimethyl sulphide (DMS). The scientists are 99.7% confident in the presence […] Written by Empirics Asia April 21, 2025April 21, 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