Kickoff For April 28, 2025
Welcome to the last Monday Kickoff for this month. And, don't worry, there will be another one coming to your inbox next week (and the weeks following that).
With that out of the way, let's get Monday started with these links:
Aha = wow — Wherein scientists discuss the aesthetics of their discoveries and how the beauty they encounter in their research inspires them to continue with their scientific endeavours.
From the article:
Appreciating the aesthetic nature of the scientific quest is crucial for understanding science and why people devote their lives to it. Two-thirds of the scientists we studied insist it is important for scientists to encounter beauty, awe and wonder in their work. But, for too long, popular culture has been saturated with false myths about science and beauty, misguiding young people about what it means to be a scientist and what doing science is actually like.
Logging off life but living on: How AI is redefining death, memory and immortality — Wherein Patrick van Esch and Yuanyuan Cui ponder the ways in which technology can keep people (and not just their memories) alive after shuffling off this mortal coil, and look at some of the legal, personal, and moral aspects to this.
From the article:
But this new way of grieving comes with challenges. Unlike physical memories such as photos or keepsakes that fade over time, digital memories remain fresh and easily accessible. They can even appear unexpectedly in your social media feeds, bringing back emotions when you least expect them.
How Multitasking Drains Your Brain — Wherein we dip into the where have I heard this before? files with neurologist Richard E. Cytowic, who examines the idea of multitasking, the myths around it, why we can't do it, and the problems trying to multitask can cause.
From the article:
Keeping ourselves alert and conscious, along with shifting, focusing, and sustaining attention, are the most energy-intensive things our brain can do. The high energy cost of cortical activity is why selective attention — focusing on one thing at a time — exists in the first place and why multitasking is an unaffordable fool’s errand.
Gregor Mendel's Vanishing Act — Wherein Nico McCarty looks at the life and work of the pioneering geneticist, the fate of his notes and other research after his death, and ponders what knowledge might have been lost due to the willful destruction of Mendel's manuscripts.
From the article:
Nobody knows for sure why Mendel didn’t publish more. Perhaps he had clerical enemies, as Schindler suggested. Perhaps Mendel feared retribution from the Catholic Church for publishing “heretical” ideas on evolution. Though Mendel mentions Charles Darwin in many personal letters — and, indeed, was not opposed to the British naturalist’s ideas on evolution — he never once wrote Darwin’s name in a published manuscript.
The art of outlasting: What we can learn from timeproof Japanese businesses — Wherein we learn why Japan has so many centuries-old firms and what companies elsewhere can glean about focusing less on the shorter term and instead concentrating on lasting sustainability and viability.
From the article:
What ties these stories together is an approach to business that’s almost rebellious in its patience. While the modern world glorifies disruption and speed, Japan’s ancient companies remind us that longevity is often about playing the long game. It’s about building something so solid, so aligned with its environment, that it can weather any storm. But let’s not romanticize this too much. Strip away the poetry of water metaphors and ancient traditions, and you’ll find ruthless pragmatism at the core of these businesses’ survival.
Michel de Montaigne and the Art of the Personal Essay — Wherein we learn a bit about the French nobleman, his motivations for creating that style of writing, and how the essay changed writing.
From the article:
In this context of grief and bloody violence, Montaigne began to look inwardly to himself. After all, his external reality, which was filled with family tragedy and religious massacres, didn’t seem to be making much sense. It’s hardly surprising that in his famous preface to the Essays, the author expresses a belief that his own death will occur fairly soon. Therefore his writing will serve as a legacy, a reminder of his character and personality once he is dead.