CULTURE EDITOR'S PICK The Origin Of Christmas Trees Key Takeaways: The humble Christmas tree is emblematic of the growth of market economics and world trade. Who would have imagined that fir trees would be grown in Denmark especially for the export market, or that factories in China would produce plastic replicas? So, let’s climb on the sleigh and take a ride around this […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY Can Science Solve Poverty? Key Takeaways: The fight against poverty and inequality is resuming with tools and programs that are more effective than ever before, thanks to a quiet revolt against business as usual. The evidence-based policy movement is increasingly being embraced by researchers, activists and government officials. The use of randomized controlled trials to assess social programs is […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE TECHNOLOGY The Pros & Cons Of Cryptocurrencies For Developing Countries Isabella Roiz of The Washington Post contacted me by email to discuss the consequences of El Salvador’s decision to adoption bitcoin as its official currency, despite its volatility. Here’s her article, “Central America hoped bitcoin would attract tourists. It hasn’t worked.” (pdf). The problem with a country adopting a cryptocurrency as its official currency is is […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK SOCIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY Can Twitter Really Bring Absolute Free Speech? Key Takeaways: Elon Musk is the planet’s number one billionaire. When free-market elephants like Musk or Jeff Bezos (who bought the Washington Post in 2013) take charge of major mass-media outlets, concerns are raised about the direction of free speech, which remains the essential ingredient of democratic participation. There can be no question that protest […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK PHILOSOPHY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY The Algorithm That Recently Changed The World Earlier this year, an algorithm was released online — full and completely free — for academics to use. This algorithm represents one of the most important scientific discoveries of our lifetimes, showcasing the growing potential for AI to alter the course of our civilization. Using deep learning and neural networks the algorithm known as Alpha […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS Is Patriotism Actually Good? The root of patriotism is the belief that one is part of something better than the alternative; and that this confers not only prestige but a sort of pre-determined ascendency among a chosen few. This kind of sanctimonious thinking is the kind of toxic narrative that leads to the justification of wars between patriots of […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK POLITICS TECHNOLOGY Are Tech Giants Above The Law? A US federal court has ruled that the antitrust lawsuits that the Federal Trade Commission and 40 states had filed against Facebook failed to prove conclusively that the company is a de facto monopoly, rejecting the state lawsuits and giving the FTC 30 days to substantiate its arguments. As a result, Facebook shares are up 4%, pushing the company’s share price […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE TECHNOLOGY The 2 Things Needed For Crypto To Truly Change The World What do we need for crypto to really hit the big time? What does it take for crypto to turn into something nobody can live without, something invisible and universal that everyone just uses and nobody even thinks about anymore? All technological revolutions follow the same patterns. Over time, we go from a few smart […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK JOURNAL & RESEARCH Lessons From The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis In the mid-summer of 1997, much of East Asia was gripped by the Asian financial crisis. The crisis began in Thailand due to the mounting pressures of its exchange rate in the last quarter of 1996. The These mounting pressures arose from the increase of the already high current account deficits that engulfed the country at the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE TECHNOLOGY China’s Digital Currency Is About To Disrupt Money A lengthy article in The Wall Street Journal, China creates its own digital currency, a first for major economy, outlines the likely impact of Beijing’s initiative and the strategic possibilities it offers in terms of avoiding US blockades of its companies, how this will boost its role in international transactions, while allowing it to monitor its […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why Amazon Became So Successful Key Takeaway: Amazon with a market capitalization of over $1.5 trillion and net revenue of $386 billion in 2020. Customer Service and Convenience is one of the key factors that has contributed to its success. Amazon’s focus on customer service and convenience has played a major role in its success. Innovative Business Model is another […] Written by Andreas Lehmann January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Terence Clarke – Founder of CastleCourt, DailyCoach and GrowthHub This article was originally published here: Terence Clarke – Founder of CastleCourt, DailyCoach and GrowthHub Terence Clarke believes that everyone has the answers to life’s questions and, as a coach, it is for him to help them find them. What’s your story? Born in Ireland, I grew up in England and I’ve lived and studied […] Written by Callum Laing January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Importance Of Ritual Key Takeaway: A “ritual” is a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. They are often embedded in a larger symbolic system, such as religion or philosophy. The oldest evidence for ancient rituals is found at Mt Carmel in Israel, where a woman was buried 130,000 years ago. Rituals play an important role […] Written by Michelle Langley December 27, 2022December 27, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Origin Of Christmas Trees Key Takeaways: The humble Christmas tree is emblematic of the growth of market economics and world trade. Who would have imagined that fir trees would be grown in Denmark especially for the export market, or that factories in China would produce plastic replicas? So, let’s climb on the sleigh and take a ride around this […] Written by François Lévêque December 24, 2022December 24, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The “Sunk Benefit” Fallacy Key Takeaways: When you work on a project with people and successfully solve a problem, you (rightly) feel proud and accomplished. If the project helped create some “thing” that will require further maintenance and attention, you’ll probably come to love (and hate) that system. Don’t be afraid to move on to the next task, always […] Written by Yonatan Zunger December 23, 2022December 23, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why TikTok Might Be A Threat To Music Key Takeaways: Viral TikTok videos have meant success for new and established artists alike. The short-form video service has earned US$12 billion (£10.5 billion) in advertising revenue in 2022. Many of its most popular videos feature music – available to use for free – through its audio library. TikTok pays the “Big Three” record labels […] Written by Beth Klein December 22, 2022December 22, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Important Lessons From FTX’s Collapse Key Takeaways: Cryptocurrency exchanges are sometimes described as being like stock exchanges. But they are very different to the likes of the London or New York stock exchanges, which are highly regulated and serve a regulatory function. Cryptocurrency exchanges make money by helping “mum and dad” investors into the market. Seven of the world’s ten biggest crypto […] Written by Paul Mazzola December 19, 2022December 19, 2022 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