Month: June 2023

Curiositys, Media&Culture, Philosophy, ScienceLeave a comment

Is math real? The answer has major practical and philosophical implications

Fernando Kaskais

Is mathematics woven into the very fabric of reality? Or is it merely a product of the human mind? KEY TAKEAWAYS By Adam Frank You are surrounded by abstract mathematics even if you do not know it. In fact, math may be the main reason why you, me, and a lot of other folks in the modern world are alive and functioning. The device you are reading these words on could only be fabricated because of sophisticated equations associated with quantum mechanics. Most of the food and the other products you buy made it to your store thanks to the … Continue reading Is math real? The answer has major practical and philosophical implications

Big Pharma, Health, Living, ScienceLeave a comment

Why Cancer Treatments Might Not Work Very Well for Older Adults

Fernando Kaskais

Top: A senior cancer patient receives chemotherapy. Many forms of chemotherapy have proven to be more toxic in older adults, a discovery that came only after the drugs were approved for use in this population. Visual: E+ via Getty Images People over 70 have a heightened risk of cancer, yet they are under-represented in clinical trials of new drugs. BY JYOTI MADHUSOODANAN IN OCTOBER 2021, 84-year-old Jim Yeldell was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. The first drug he tried disrupted his balance and coordination, so his doctor halved the dose to minimize these side effects, Yeldell recalled. In addition, his physician … Continue reading Why Cancer Treatments Might Not Work Very Well for Older Adults

AI, Future, Media&Culture, TechnologyLeave a comment

Approaching The Infopocalypse

Fernando Kaskais

Jonathan Zawada for Noema Magazine The digital media ecosystem disempowers the public sphere. BY NATHAN GARDELS, is the editor-in-chief of Noema Magazine. Without institutions and practices that can establish and preserve the credibility of information, there is no solid ground for democratic discourse. What we will see instead is an “arms race of ploy and counterploy” in which the whole notion of objectivity is a casualty of the battle of truths, as Daniel Dennett, the philosopher of consciousness, has put it. Indeed, we are already seeing all that is solid melting into information we no longer know if we can trust. As another … Continue reading Approaching The Infopocalypse

Art, Literature, Media&Culture, PhilosophyLeave a comment

The diaries of Kafka

Fernando Kaskais

Art by Franz Kafka found in the ‘Black Notebook’ (c1923) and now in the National Library of Israel. Photo by Getty Images By day an insurance official, by night he was an incessant, insomniacal scribe of the space between waking and dreaming By Ross Benjamin is an award-winning translator of German-language literature. His translations include Franz Kafka’s Diaries (2023), and Daniel Kehlmann’s Tyll (2020) and You Should Have Left (2017). His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement and The Nation, among others. He lives in Nyack, New York. On 9 October 1911, Franz Kafka, then 28 years old, wrote in his diary that he didn’t … Continue reading The diaries of Kafka

Esoteric, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

“Meraki”: How to cultivate passion in your work

Fernando Kaskais

When you do something with all your heart and mind, you do it with “meraki.” When we lack this feeling, it can lead to burnout. KEY TAKEAWAYS By Jonny Thomson There is a particular type of person on social media who is, at first glance, insane. They’re the ones who post things like, “I can’t wait to get back to work,” when they’re on holiday, or, “I don’t work for the money — I work because I’m driven to succeed!” (You can find more of these people on the subreddit r/LinkedInLunatics.) This attitude might seem strange. After all, work is … Continue reading “Meraki”: How to cultivate passion in your work

PhotographyLeave a comment

Beco

Fernando Kaskais

© FERNANDO KASKAIS Ao caminhar pelas ruas principais, quando descubro um beco, sou imediatamente tentado a percorre-lo, não só por causa do jogo de luz e sombra, mas, para fazer uma pausa das zonas residenciais e turísticas, que se tornam exaustivas. Os becos também são, de alguma forma, impeditivos. Por mais públicos que sejam, fazem-nos sentir uma sensação imediata de opressão. A mensagem que nos transmitem é clara: não pertencemos aquele lugar. Há um certo desconforto criado pelas trevas que brincam com o subconsciente humano. Continue reading Beco

AI, Future, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

AI Creators Want Us to Believe AI Is an Existential Threat. Why?

Fernando Kaskais

Visual: Moment via Getty Images A public fixation on extinction from AI could empower industry insiders and distract from AI’s more immediate harms. BY RYAN CALO THE WARNING consisted of a single sentence: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” The pithy statement, published in May by the nonprofit Center for AI Safety, was signed by a number of influential people, including a sitting member of Congress, a former state supreme court justice, and an array of technology industry executives. Among the signatories were many of the very … Continue reading AI Creators Want Us to Believe AI Is an Existential Threat. Why?

Matrix, Philosophy, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

All possible worlds

Fernando Kaskais

Through the looking glass. Illustration by Paul Blow at Handsome Frank Long a matter of philosophical speculation, the idea of multiple realities has been given new artistic licence by physics By Timothy Andersen, is principal research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute. He is the author of The Infinite Universe (2020). When I was in my mid-30s, I was faced with a difficult decision. It had repercussions for years, and at times the choice I made filled me with regret. I had two job offers. One was to work at a very large physics experiment on the West Coast of the United States called … Continue reading All possible worlds

Health, Living, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

Go Ahead and Indulge: Science Says More Pleasure Will Help You Be More Successful

Fernando Kaskais

The latest science doesn’t give you permission to scarf the whole box of donuts. But one or two just might be beneficial. BY JESSICA STILLMAN Most of what you read about how to be more productive and successful focuses on how to get yourself to do difficult, unpleasant things. There’s a boatload of articles for entrepreneurs out there on establishing healthy habits, advice from experts on improving your self-control and boosting your willpower, and plans and systems for squeezing more work into every hour.  But what if achieving more wasn’t always about doing hard things, but actually also about indulging in more of life’s little pleasures?  Can you indulge your way to … Continue reading Go Ahead and Indulge: Science Says More Pleasure Will Help You Be More Successful

Curiositys, Health, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

The Cost of Traditional Masculinity

Fernando Kaskais

A man can be alone and unhappy and still labeled “successful.” KEY POINTS By Kate Mangino Ph.D. When are you going to become a real man? My friend Jim recently shared a story with me. When he was fresh out of college, Jim wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for work. He didn’t have any specific professional ambition, but of course, he had to take care of himself. So, he took the first job offer he had—selling cable TV door-to-door. And he liked this job. He liked being outside, away from an office. He liked talking to people. He … Continue reading The Cost of Traditional Masculinity