IDEAS

American Retirees Aren’t Spending Down Their Savings. This Is A Problem

A survey of older adults with at least $100,000 showed that only 28 percent were comfortable watching their savings taper off to cover living expenses, ostensibly exactly what the money was saved for in the first place. This is a problem—not just for retirees but for the country.  - The Atlantic

A Three-Year Arts Launchpad In Boston Provides A Path For Smaller Arts Groups

The Boston Center for the Arts Launchpad "is meant to provide both an anchor and a resource without restricting what each company might create." - Boston Globe

Why We Need A Four (Or More) Hour Documentary About Elon Musk

"This small group of people has tried to basically run a con on all of us. 'We’re doing this out of the goodness of our own hearts. We’re making the world better.' No, you’re padding your bottom lines and all you care about is you." - The New York Times

The Helpful Science Behind Spooky Season

"Seeking out fear is our way of preparing our bodies for the sometimes scary real world. And this vaccine is actually fun for most people." - NPR

Is AI A Brain Or A Database?

Human intuitions and mental models about how technology works govern how people use it. The idea of AI as software – deterministic, fact-retrieving – causes people to misinterpret the outputs they provide. - The Conversation

For Lifelong Learning, It’s Better With Partners

The internet is full of resources for self-directed learning: for any subject, you can easily find blog posts about essential texts, links to university syllabi, and hours of YouTube lectures. When I attempted to make use of these guides, however, I often found myself disengaged and unfocused. - Psyche

How Data Visualization Tells Stories

Because data, and how we present it, tells a story, it’s important to transform results responsibly into visuals. A good visualization can show you really interesting patterns in your data; however, a bad visualization, like truncating the Y-axis or choosing the wrong type of plot, can lead you or your audience to the wrong conclusions. - The Scientist

Our Billionaire Problem

Where billionaires in the past operated in the physical world, ushered in societal change as a byproduct of their innovation, and used their sizable largesses to try uplifting lives, today’s billionaires stretch the limits of technological reality (and law) with sheer glee, with a meagre spirit of altruism. - The Walrus

The World Of Science Is Being Overwhelmed By New Studies

In 2025, academics worldwide published about 7 million scholarly articles ­– that’s more than 19,000 each day. On the surface, that might seem like a number to celebrate, but it also poses a problem. As the volume of research balloons, it can be hard to discern what these millions of papers actually tell us.  - Aeon

The Dazzling Physical Afterlife Of The Ancient Pharaohs

Of all the priorities that governed ancient-Egyptian life, perhaps the hardest for us to fathom is the expenditure on the afterlife, not merely as a place of immaterial spiritual reward, but as a world of material goods.  - The Atlantic

The People Who Resist New Technology

Call them legacy users, or upgrade holdouts. They’ve clung to iPhones with home buttons, Bush-era computers, and headphones older than some tech CEOs, even when doing so impedes their ability to complete everyday tasks like emailing or navigation. - The Atlantic

Why More Adults Are Playing With Kids Toys

“People just stay very playful for a longer period of time. And it’s cross-brand. You know, it might be Teddy bears. It might be Lego bricks. It might be Transformers. It might be Barbie dolls.”  - The New Yorker

Freaked Out About Artificial Intelligence?

Look to Kant. - Aeon

Digital Lists Are Destroying The Fabric Of Society

"The issue goes deeper than presents. I have four kids from elementary to high-school age, and as hard as I try to expose them to life’s realities, they remain sheltered from disappointment and dissatisfaction at every turn." - Slate

When Will We Know The Answers To AI’s Most Important Questions?

"Several of the most fundamental debates about the future and safety of AI remain unresolved. I believe we can’t expect these disagreements to be resolved until it’s too late to change course." - Time

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