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Factfulness: Ten Reasons why we are horribly wrong about the world we live in

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What if I tell you that there out of every 1000 children born in Somalia, 66 children die due to lower respiratory infect and other neonatal disorders? How about the fact that the climate is changing and the threat of destruction is looming large on humankind? I am sure you would agree with me when I say that the world was a much better place before we were born. But what if we both are wrong? What if the lens through which we view the world is actually turned inward and whatever we see is a function of our conditioning and cognitive biases and not based on facts at all. My own personal biases were broken when I read the bestselling book “Factfulness” by Hans Rosling. Advocated by the software baron Bill Gates himself, Factfulness provides a robust framework to base your decisions on facts and steer away from the illusions that distort our worldview and debunks the beliefs that have plagued the human minds for decades now. He has arrived at 10 thumb rules to develop a statistically b...
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Can Tokyo Unshackle Olympics from the Scourge of Being Termed as Polluting?

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Olympics- The glorious quadrennial sporting event that transcends political, cultural, economic and religious barriers and witnesses participation of more than 25,000 athletes from more than 200 different countries. There are more than a million visitors who witness the  sporting  carnival and more than 3.5 million viewers glued to their screens to watch their favourite athletes strive for gold. Source- Reuters Staging the 16-days sporting extravaganza not only just brings about pride and massive amounts of revenues to the hosting nation, but also has long-term  environmental  and ecological consequences long after the crowds are gone. In 2012 London Olympic games, more than  3.45 million metric tons of carbon dioxide was released in the atmosphere, whereas in 2016 Rio Olympics 3.56 million metric tons of CO2 was generated. It is estimated that if green measures are not taken by Japan, then a total of 3.01 million metric tons of CO2 would be release...
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Why Amazon failed miserably in China?

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According to the digital research firm emarketer.com,  China  is the world’s biggest e-commerce market with net sales of $426.26 billion with a growth rate of a whopping 35% since 2013 which is slightly lower than the next three biggest e-commerce markets combined. As of 2017, the number of internet users in China was more than one billion, which is three times as high as the second biggest market,  India . The proportion of consumers who have made a cross-border transaction in China has risen to 67% in 2017 from 34% in 2015 as per  Nielsen’s online shopper trend report. Source It is a no-brainer to conclude that China provides a tremendous growth opportunity for anyone looking to make money. Despite that,  Amazon , the biggest e-commerce company in the world in terms of revenue, has failed to live up to the expectations in the world’s second-largest economy. Amazon has become synonymous with online shopping in countries like the United States and  ...
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Bitcoin is here to stay

Bitcoin, the first decentralized digital currency in the world has created huge ripples in the field of financial transactions. Since its inception in year 2009, it has garnered attention from the highest and the lowest minds of the earth. It can be used not only as virtual currency but also as an attractive investment vehicle. The ease of transaction, no extra transaction fee by merchants and enhanced security due to encryption stake its claim as an alternate form of currency stronger. Further, it cannot be manipulated or stolen by any person, entity or organization, which makes it extremely safe and reliable form of transaction. Serial Entrepreneurs like Mark Cuban have changed their stance and have backed cryptocurrencies. Even philanthropists like Bill Gates have backed the rise of bitcoins as the alternate form of currency. Countries like United States have installed more than a 1000 bitcoin dispensing ATMs followed by Canada and United Kingdom. So, is the bitcoin just like th...
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Can B-Schools breed creativity?

“But out of limitations, comes creativity-Debbie Allen” Creativity, a word that can lead you to a mystical world of possibilities wherein the thoughts transcends the artificial barriers created by mankind to scale down the universe to a level that is comprehensive to them. Though I strongly believe that creativity is not something that can be taught. It is rather an assimilation of individual experiences over a period of time, and in some cases a lifetime.  Most Indian B-schools are known to be rigorous and filled with academic and non-academic curricula. The breeding grounds of potential managers test critical thinking, time management skills, ability to work in teams and so on. This poses a big roadblock to creativity as creativity by itself breeds from non-conformism, and divergence from the status quo. An increasing number of the students that join a B-school come with an aim of starting their own venture. Engulfed in the plethora of assignments and examinations, ...
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The Prowess of Artificial Intelligence “The key to artificial intelligence has always been the representation.” —Jeff Hawkins We live in a world that is full of chaos. There are ripples all around. Be it sports, politics, science or even the flutter of the wings of a butterfly. According to chaos theory, even the smallest of causes can lead to large changes in the environment. It is the non-linearity of the mother-nature that has driven many a million scientists, researchers, doctors and even the simplest minds of the earth. One such storm that has been brewing for many decades but has now starting to show its real impact is the phenomenon of “Artificial Intelligence.” Alan Turing, the father of theoretical computer science once said, “ A computer would deserves to be called as human if it causes human beings to think it is human ”. Before understanding artificial intelligence let us analyze what the actual meaning of intelligence is. Is it just about the problem solving...
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The blog called IMPACT IMPACT. Sounds, heavy right? Believe me, you are in for a ride. We live in a world that is full of chaos. There are ripples all around. Be it sports, politics, science or even the flutter of the wings of a butterfly. According to chaos theory, that states that even the smallest of causes can lead to large changes in the environment. It is the non-linearity of the mother-nature that has driven many a million scientists, researchers, doctors and even the simplest minds of the earth. What my aim through this blog is to analyze the impact created by various people, theories, events around the world, understand their “ IMPACT ” on the world however small it may be and to give a deep thought about how we as individuals can flutter our wings to create a chaos. I personally hated the chaos theory as I believed that everything around us should be systematic, ordered and things should work like the gears in the grandfather ’ s clock. But since I started embrac...
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