Short read: For semiconductors and GPS, thank C V Raman, Satyendra Nath Bose, Einstein — and hay fever in 1925
Scientific discoveries and developments can have far reaching consequences towards human progress and hence it is important to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate them. It is the 100th anniversary of the biggest breakthrough in quantum physics, a field that continues to contribute to our progress through developments in semiconductors and GPS. This piece in the Indian […]
Short read: ‘Digital detox’ is now a booming business but it won’t do much to reduce your screen time
We have all read long articles and books on how we can kick our addiction to all things digital. We learn from Quynh Hoang that this is now a booming industry: “People are increasingly willing to pay to escape the technology they feel trapped by. The global digital detox market is currently valued at around […]
Short read: Leaf to life
Rudra Chatterjee is Chairman of Obeetee and Managing Director of Luxmi Tea (which owns the famous Makaibari tea brand). He begins by informing us of the origins of tea’s popularity around 1000 years ago: “Tea’s popularity was not inevitable. It gained scale around 1000 CE during the Song dynasty when productivity improvements in rice cultivation […]
Long read: China is building the world’s most powerful hydropower system deep in the Himalayas. It remains shrouded in secrecy
Jensen Huang famously proclaimed that China is going to win the AI race and his basis was simple – if electricity is the physical upper bound for AI’s progress, China seems to have highest upper bound by a country mile. And it continues to up the ante with a $168bn hydropower system, the world’s largest […]
Long read: One of America’s Most Successful Experiments Is Coming to a Shuddering Halt
It’s that time of the year when friends and family descend from their adopted western countries back to their roots. Inevitably with those from the US, conversations involve life under Trump 2.0 and it is clear that this time it is not just the fringe spewing vitriol on social media, but almost everyone seems to […]
Long read: Everything Santa Claus Has Come to Mean for Indians
Dr Kalpita Bhar Paul is an Assistant Professor at the BML Munjal University in Gurugram. Aveek Mondal is a freelance researcher and a writer. Together they have written an insightful essay explaining why in a deeply conservative society like ours, Christmas is celebrated by nearly 50 million Indian families (many of who aren’t Christian) with […]
Short read: The Rise of Slow Computing
Whilst technology was always meant to help us become more productive, it has penetrated our lives in a way that it is causing equal harm if not more. Smartphones and social media in particular have made us slaves to technology than tools that we can use for a better life. We have often featured articles […]
Short read: Kebabs, biryani and much more: Indian city on UNESCO culinary list
One city in India which has very few listed companies but which Marcellus’ analysts visit with metronomic regularity in order to conduct field research is Lucknow. The food in the Avadhi capital city is mind-blowing. Not just the starters (galouti), not just the main course (biryani) but also the desserts are out of the world. […]
Short read: The Entry-Level Hiring Process Is Breaking Down
Across the world, including in India, graduates – even from the most elite universities – are finding it difficult to get jobs. This is partly because there are fewer graduate-level jobs. Whilst there is no definitive answer on why this is happening in economies as disparate as America and India, it is widely speculated that […]
Long read: How China Built an Arms Industry to Rival the West
The emerging multi-polar global order requires countries to alter their geopolitical strategies, in particular, become more self-sufficient on defence needs. India being the world’s largest importer of defence equipment (outside of war-torn Ukraine) has rightfully embarked on an indigenisation path. The challenge is that much more accentuated given modern warfare requires cutting edge capabilities in […]
Long read: How Warren Buffett Did It
Plenty has been written and said about Warren Buffett. Yet, as he retires from day-to-day responsibilities at Berkshire Hathaway this week, an ode to an illustrious career is justified. A career that spanned 84years if you count that he bought his first stock when he was 11 and he is hanging up his boots at […]
Long read: The Kremlin’s brazen tactics: Russia’s shadow fleet is doubling as a spy asset, intelligence sources say
This is a remarkable long read pulled together by a team of CNN journalists spread across the world. Effectively, they are saying that James Bond style Russian agents now travel in oil tankers around the world and conduct in-depth surveillance and espionage: “Russian personnel with links to the country’s military and security services have engaged […]
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