So, on unprecedented fan demand(a little exaggeration is expected), Ruminated is back!
I took a break from writing Ruminated more than a year back (work, music , exploring other interests & life made me take a break). When I wrote the previous edition, the world was struggling with COVID wave 2. We did not know about Omicron yet, companies were still insisting that WFH was here to stay and hotel and travel stocks across the world were at their lowest. When I took this break, I predicted that Ruminated would certainly come back to happier times (or better ones at least) for the world. Vaccines were being distributed across the world, the tech industry seemed to be on the move with record hiring levels and the stock market was scaling new heights everyday.
I was wrong.
Somehow in these few months, the world went into a war, the story on tech changed from one of positivity to the absolute horrors of impersonal layoffs and Elon Musk went from tweeting late at night to making decisions at Twitter late at night. Infact we live in a world where most economists around the world are trying to fight inflation but are extremely concerned about the recession around the corner.
Well in summary, the world is not in a really good place, so I thought today we should look to the future. Like all of us, our planet should make resolutions as it starts it’s next workout across the sun. So here are the resolutions of the planet, the one’s it probably will try to achieve, the one’s it will give up on (like my workout goal), and the one’s it will try to push to next year (hopefully not sustainability). Are not our collective wishes, the resolutions of the world?
So this week, we take a walk across earthly science, space science, women in Japan, and the new global energy ecosystem to understand where the world is going? Will we be able to build manufacturing units in space? Will electric vehicles become the norm in the next 12 months? How is Japan dealing with gender equality, Spoiler Alert: Not well. And we talk about the new energy paradigm. What this world will become in 2024 is a sum total of the questions we ask in 2023.
- ChatGPT is not the biggest invention of 2022. It is the invention we have the easiest access to. The world around us is changed by major inventions that we can’t “login to” and at least for me they are way more fascinating. Can we imagine a world, where no one dies, because they can’t find an organ? Can we imagine a world where chips become open source, and computing enters another age? Gene editing CRISPR has now reached clinical trials in solving for cholesterol. Are we closer to a new revolution in health tech ? We need to talk more about innovative technologies in transportation, urban management, health as opposed to just social media and computing. As Peter Thiel once said “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” This year should be about chasing the flying cars and not just the tik tok rip offs. MITs Round up of the Top Technologies of 2023
- Remember the last time you read “Sci-Fi”. I can bet it was written pretty long back. The HG Wells, Jules Verne and Isaac Asimovs of the world defined a world for the future. I think it’s time we look at what is the science fiction of today. What would the world look at 50 years from now? Would we have manufacturing in space? Would we have the first successful habitat of fungi and bacteria on Mars in 10 years? I’m glad that NASA agrees, and is now funding these projects. Of Course most of them will fail, but the journey from science fiction to science is a tough one. Reaching for the Moon, Mars and beyond
- Japan surprisingly reached the conclusion that to solve the gender equality issues it faces, it needs a male gender equality minister! Providing an equal platform to women, on pay, on rights and on opportunities is somehow not making its way into Japan’s Ikigai chart. There are articles where you understand what to do and places where you understand what not to do. This article is the second type. For a culture so old, it is surprising how far they are on this axis and the snail’s pace of development they are seeing? Also the two questions I am asking myself today: Does a quota system work, should Japan start one? You might say that quota is never the answer, but structural solutions would take decades. Second we need better models for gender empowerment, that encompasses salary, higher education share, startup funding, board positions into one model. What we can’t measure, we can’t improve Solving for Gender Equality in Japan
- The global energy system is disrupted. China’s growth has slowed, Russian energy relations with Europe are competing with the diametrically opposite views on war and value of human life. When you alienate Russia for its war on Ukraine, you stop taking natural gas from Russia. That means in the winter as the need for energy increases, gas has to be bought from other sources at a higher cost. At this cost, there is a massive burst of inflation and competitiveness of markets suffer. And in this cycle you suddenly remember that we also have to think of sustainable sources of energy. There is a four way seesaw of current energy needs, human rights, greener sources of energy and energy prices. To balance them is never going to be easy. But it isn’t about easy, it’s whether we are doing the right thing for the planet. What would you choose? Would you be ok, if someone told you they are saving the planet but inflation will be 20%? Would you prefer human rights in another part of the world or just your daily essentials cheaper for yourself. These questions are complicated. The Choices we need to make about Energy
Thank you for the love I have received and I am glad to be back. Have fun reading. If you want me to cover a specific topic drop it in the comments, or reach out to me at d.panda.me@gmail.com
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