Hello friends,

As you may have noticed, powernotes did not land in your inbox yesterday.

That is because we worked on some changes, so there was a little delay.

Starting next week, it will arrive in your inbox on mondays, as usual.

We have a surprise this week.

This week’s powernotes edition is a free edition for everyone (paid and free subscribers). Starting now, occasionally (once every two months), everyone will get a full edition.

Today’s edition and the changes made are meant to strengthen the identity of powernotes. We are delivering a curated newsletter that focuses on bite-sized content, on short and interesting content. It is not a long newsletter, nor a detailed one, you will not find any long reads, or topics that go into details with thousands of words. Powernotes is nothing like that, and the changes you will notice in today’s issue try to express the identity of the newsletter : a format that is short, interesting, thought-provoking and enjoyable. One that you can read in a short time every week. And one that you enjoy reading.

That’s our game.

With the hope you will all like the new format, let’s grab a hot coffee and let’s start.

Sci-tech : Tech and Science 👨‍💻👩‍🔬

1. A visual representation of The 20 Giants that Rule the Web.

2. They could make your phone's battery last four days instead of one. IBM's faster, more powerful microchips.

3. Robots make pizzas from start to finish in a fully automated pizzeria in Paris. Watch the robot pizza chefs.

4. The world of NFTs is expanding to virtual sneakers. But do people really want them? Read the article.

5. We already know that vodka does not freeze. But have you ever asked yourself why? The Scientific Reason Vodka Doesn’t Freeze.

Culture 🧬

1. A very good article about The “Social Distance” between Africa and African-Americans.

2. A beautiful game. Drive powerful vehicles and overcome extreme open environments with Snowrunner.

3. Email Meter analyzes your inbox and tells you how many emails a day you send and receive.

4. Learn about Underwater Farms.

5. Everything Coming to Netflix, Disney +, HBO Max and other major streaming services in February 2022.

Philosophy 📜

1. A fun philosophical read - The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant.

2. Nine Principles You Can Use From J.K. Rowling’s Philosophy of Writing.

3. A great philosophical podcast - The Partially Examined Life.

4. A powerful short story of hope - The Four Candles.

5. A short animated movie about existentialism, called 3:45 PM that reminds us to enjoy the moment.

Wisdom from Books 📚

This week’s book :

📗 When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron - A guide to thriving in the face of a fundamentally groundless and painful world.

Here are five notes from the book:

1. Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

2. Being preoccupied with our self-image is like being deaf and blind. It’s like standing in the middle of a vast field of wildflowers with a black hood over our heads. It’s like coming upon a tree of singing birds while wearing earplugs.

3. Warrior asked Fear, “How can I defeat you?” Fear replied, “If you don’t do what I say, I have no power.”

4. Without giving up hope that there’s somewhere better to be, or someone better to be, we will never relax with where we are or who we are.

5. We don’t like the way reality is now and therefore wish it would go away fast. But nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

📙 Some things I learned from this book:

• I learned that fear is a powerful enemy, and that it is present in everyone’s life and that if you run from it, and if you will not face it, it will rob you from truth and from living in the present moment.

• We need to cultivate kindness toward ourselves if we want to be kind to others.

• The fear of death is the root of our misery and we need to accept our mortality, because death and hopelessness cannot be avoided.We need to stop worrying about the future, and start living in the present. We need to be kinder, stronger, wiser, using this very moment.

Smart Voices 📢

This week’s wise words from great minds:

Essayist, author and risk analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb on fragility:

What matters isn’t what a person has or doesn’t have; it is what he or she is afraid of losing. The more you have to lose, the more fragile you are.

Writer and lecturer on psychology Andrew Solomon on depression:

Depression is the flaw in love. To be creatures who love, we must be creatures who can despair at what we lose, and depression is the mechanism of that despair.

Actor and painter Sylvester Stallone about painting:

Painting is the fastest and purest translator of the subconscious. When something is going on inside you and you hit the canvas, it's hard to fake it. The artist on the canvas is number one for me when it comes to conveying his feelings. That's what I love about painting, it's the only true communication you can have.

Interesting Reads 📰

1. Dinner is served: How your food will transform in the next 20 years

2. Confessions of an Overnight Millionaire

3. In Brain Waves, Scientists See Neurons Juggle Possible Futures

Wisdom Nuggets 🦉

This week, discover a paradox that was brought to light by Carl G. Hempel, in his 1965 essay “Studies in the Logic of Confirmation.”

Discover The Raven Paradox.

Nature Shot of the Week 🍃

One beautiful nature and wildlife image every week.

Siberian jays use old trees as larders. Their sticky saliva helps them glue food such as seeds, berries, small rodents and insects high up in the holes and crevices of the bark and among hanging lichens

Pocket Thought of the Week 💭

Successful careers are not planned. They are the careers of people who are prepared for the opportunity because they know their strengths, the way they work and their values.

Quote of the Week 💬

The only people who should be allowed to govern countries with nuclear weapons are mothers, those who are still breastfeeding their babies.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Thank you everyone for reading. I hope you like the new format. Once every two months, everyone will get the full edition in this new format. However, if you want the full edition every week, consider becoming a subscriber.

Please feel free to comment and express your thoughts. I would love to chat.

Also, please share powernotes if you want to help 🙏

Have a good week !

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