Read Time: 1 min Do you want to be a millionaire? You need to wake up at 5am. Otherwise, you’re doomed to destitution. Countless posts on Tiktok will advise that the only way to be successful is to wake up before the sun rises. But rewinding several millennia, our ancestors had different ideas. The ancientContinue reading “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Tips to help you sleep”
Author Archives: Alex Martin
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Tips to help you sleep
Read Time: 1 min Do you want to be a millionaire? You need to wake up at 5am. Otherwise, you’re doomed to destitution. Countless posts on Tiktok will advise that the only way to be successful is to wake up before the sun rises. But rewinding several millennia, our ancestors had different ideas. The ancientContinue reading “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: Tips to help you sleep”
Of mice and men – can mice predict the end of the world?
Read time: 2 mins In 1968, only 3 months after Martin Luther King was assassinated for his services to human progress, 8 mice predicted how humanity would end. They lived in a rodential paradise. Food was available whenever they required it. The temperature was balmy. There were no predators and plenty of materials to makeContinue reading “Of mice and men – can mice predict the end of the world?”
Part 3: Give me all your money – Crypto versus the State
It was snowing in Ottawa in February. A thin layer of white powder veiled the pavements and gentle flurries drifted down from the grey sheets of cloud covering the sky. People’s breath misted as they spoke, noses reddened by the cold. In Parliament square, hundreds of truck drivers and pedestrians blockaded the streets. The airContinue reading “Part 3: Give me all your money – Crypto versus the State”
On Tolerance
Read time: 3 mins Don’t look down. Classic advice when someone is crossing a threadbare rope bridge strung up over an abyssal crevasse. Looking down immediately inspires a stress response. Clammy hands mean you’re less likely to grip if you fall. Adrenaline fuels your panic, making a misplaced step ever more likely. In 1974, aContinue reading “On Tolerance”
Beyond Food
Read time: 3 mins In October 2021, McDonald’s announced it was testing its new McPlant burger, a vegan product that was created in collaboration with Beyond Meat, a company that specialises in meat alternatives. The McPlant is an ultra-processed patty inspired by Beyond Meat’s own recipe which uses ingredients such as pea protein, oil, extracts,Continue reading “Beyond Food”
Ancient Happiness
Happiness has become the focus for huge swathes of the population, and the quest to find it fuels an industry of gurus and self-help entrepreneurs which has grown by 20% since 2020. Despite its most recent surge in popularity, seeking happiness is not a new endeavour. In fact, some of the most famous thinkers inContinue reading “Ancient Happiness”
Part 2: Crypto Tricks
Read time: 3 mins Squid Game on Netflix became a cult classic overnight. It was a bloody, violent and cynical commentary on the household debt crisis that is still gripping South Korea, a phenomenon where the total amount of debt owed by individual citizens through loans, mortgages and finance is more than 100% of theContinue reading “Part 2: Crypto Tricks”
Madrid
Read time: 1 min Madrid is different from other cities. In the grey drizzle of London, the sounds are often rushed and raucous. Car horns bark at wayward pedestrians. Deafening sirens blaze through the streets, as police cars and ambulances tear by, casting the brutalist concrete in brief and cold blue light. The irritation ofContinue reading “Madrid”
Trust Shifts
Read time: 3 mins Trust is a confident relationship with the unknown. From the moment we became conscious, humans have navigated the world through an ever more complex series of risk assessments. Should I try this new thing or go this new way? Should I hire this person or buy this product. Which loan shouldContinue reading “Trust Shifts”
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