How the Rubik’s Cube has lived to 50 years—and continues to find fans among Gen Z

#FabCurator

https://fortune.com/europe/article/rubiks-cube-selling-millions-50-years-gen-z-digital-shift/?

This Was the Year of the Influencer Political Takeover

#FabCurator

https://www.wired.com/story/this-was-the-year-of-the-influencer-political-takeover/

Satire | How to overcome brain rot - The Hindu

Anyway, if we can make a brain-shaped thingie that combines the latest ChatGPT engine with Elon Musk’s Neuralink and a miniature CCTV camera, we should be able to do away with the brain while retaining its core functionalities — interfacing with screens and generating an endless stream of data. With the latest advances in AI-enabled neurosurgery, the procedure should be a cakewalk. Either way, with a brain or without one, I wish you a brain-rot-free New Year.

#FabCurator

https://www.thehindu.com/society/satire-column-allegedly-brain-rot-oxford-university-press-word-of-the-year-2024/article68995255.ece

Hunters, Dancers, and Busybodies: New Study Examines the Three Main Internet Research Styles

#FabCurator

https://www.mentalfloss.com/internet-research-styles-study

Bill Gates: How Paul Allen and I landed on the idea for Microsoft

#FabCurator

https://fortune.com/2025/02/04/bill-gates-source-code-software-microsoft-origins/

Walt Whitman’s Advice on Living a Vibrant and Rewarding Life – The Marginalian
https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/05/31/walt-whitman-leaves-of-grass-preface/

How words are disappearing from our digital lives
https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/words-being-replaced-by-emojis-stickers-ai-suggestions-in-digital-communication-11764306781625.html

To become wiser, society must relearn how to fail - Big Think
https://bigthink.com/mini-philosophy/to-become-wiser-society-must-relearn-how-to-fail/

Death to one-time text codes: Passkeys are the new hotness • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/06/multifactor_authentication_passkeys/

Why India Fell Off the Global Middle-Class Map - Bloomberg

The top 1% Indians own 40% of overall personal wealth, but Gen-Z billionaires are bored with business. They would rather park their fortunes in family offices than start new enterprises. In the Soviet-styled planned economy that extended up to the 1980s, their grandparents scrambled for licenses. Nowadays, their parents just fight each other for a favorable government policy and haggle with private-credit firms for refinancing.
An unambitious elite spoiled by finance — plus a working class held back by inadequate education and inequities of caste and gender — are stymying the emergence of a global middle class in India. The social change that can fill the gap is nowhere on the horizon.

https://archive.ph/P7hRr

The top 1% Indians own 40% of overall personal wealth, but Gen-Z billionaires are bored with business. They would rather park their fortunes in family offices than start new enterprises. In the Soviet-styled planned economy that extended up to the 1980s, their grandparents scrambled for licenses. Nowadays, their parents just fight each other for a favorable government policy and haggle with private-credit firms for refinancing.
An unambitious elite spoiled by finance — plus a working class held back by inadequate education and inequities of caste and gender — are stymying the emergence of a global middle class in India. The social change that can fill the gap is nowhere on the horizon.

Scarpetta to Rooster: 12 of the best TV shows to watch this March
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260223-12-of-the-best-tv-shows-to-watch-this-march?_medium=email

What Is MSG—and Is It Actually Bad for You? | SELF
https://www.self.com/story/what-is-msg-and-is-it-bad-for-you?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ten_tabs&utm_campaign=&position=4&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=83c54ff7-b9d9-4391-8219-616d1cc54360&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.self.com%2Fstory%2Fwhat-is-msg-and-is-it-bad-for-you

The Country That’s Madly in Love With AI - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/21/south-korea-ai-popular-why-00789618

The Country That’s Madly in Love With AI


https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/21/south-korea-ai-popular-why-00789618

These Extraordinary Photographs of Golden Age Hollywood Stars, From Greta Garbo to Clark Gable, Are Worth a Second Look
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-extraordinary-photographs-of-golden-age-hollywood-from-greta-garbo-to-clark-gable-are-worth-a-second-look-180988244/

Mispronouncing mischievous is now acceptable, says Susie Dent
Lexicographer says purists’ pet peeve is just a ‘fascinating snapshot’ of how language evolves — but don’t expect Richard Dawkins to agree

https://archive.ph/08qCe

People say the US has multiple 1/2/3/4+ Trillion Dollar companies. And China does not have even one.

And I see that as China winning big time. Like seriously!

Consider this.

..

The Smartphone Arena: 1 vs 5

In the US, you have just Apple (which also gets ~45% of all sales from US alone).

That’s the market. Thus, Apple is so so huge - Apple can be "brave" and remove the headphone jack or keep charging speeds stuck in 2015 because... where are you gonna go? The Pixel?

In China? It is options and competition all the way.

- Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor are fighting for every inch

- You get foldables that are THINNER than an iPhone

- You get 120W "flash charging" (0 to 100% in ~20 mins)

- You get pro-grade Leica or Zeiss optics

And you pay ~$400 less than a base iPhone. That is what actual competition looks like. So, Apple gets a multi trillion dollar valuation/mcap. But, China and its people win.

..

Take EVs.

Tesla is the only US carmaker that matters to the stock market.

But let’s be real - the Model 3 looks largely the same as it did 5 yrs ago. Why innovate when you are the only cool game in town?

In China, BYD has already overtaken Tesla in volume. But even THEY aren't safe.

- Nio is swapping batteries in 3 mins

- XPeng is pushing autonomous tech that beats all

- Li Auto is capturing the luxury family market

And there are so many more players, out-innovating each other and winning global markets except the closed US market which gets Tesla that mega valuation.

The result? A brutal price war. You can buy a high-quality EV for under ~$15,000. Western CEOs claim this is "impossible." It’s not. It’s just what happens when you can't rest on your laurels.

..

There is a Chinese term for this: neijuan. It means "intense competition that leads to everyone working harder for diminishing returns."

For a shareholder? This is a nightmare. It is why Alibaba stock is a fraction of Amazon’s, despite moving massive volume. The profit margins are competed away.

But for YOU (the consumer)? It is paradise.

- Companies cut margins to the bone to survive

- If you don't release a better model every 6 months, you die

- Service has to be flawless or you lose the customer forever

In the US, the surplus value goes to the investor (stock price). In China, it goes to the user (better product), and that is making those companies global beasts.

..

The truth is - in my eyes - The US market reflects concentrated wealth. The Chinese sector reflects distributed utility.

They don't allow one giant to suck all the oxygen out of the room. The company might be worth less on paper. But the product in your pocket? It’s worth a HECK of a lot more.