M&M and M. These 3 Ms will Make You Happy. Big Science Lessons from ‘Oppenheimer.’ And the US Personality Test Storming China – Plus More! #173
Grüezi! I’m Adrian Monck – welcome!
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1️⃣ Marriage. Money. And a Masters.
These three things will make you happier.
A big new paper dropped reviewing happiness research. I read it so you don’t have to.
To be happier?
Stay in school. Get a good job. Get married.
Marriage. Married people are over 30 points happier than the unmarried. This difference remains stable over time, and most of the recent decline in overall happiness is down to a decline in the proportion of married adults.
Money. The middle of the richest half of the population is 20+ points happier than the middle of the bottom half. But the very richest 20% are no happier today than in the 1970s (despite being wealthier).
Masters. Actually, you can just do undergrad. University graduates are almost 10 points happier than high school leavers and almost 20 points happier than those with less than 12 years of education.
Is this a good review? Well, this study looks at survey data. Psychology studies that try and look at strategies to make you happier – like meditation – are probably flawed.
⏭ There’s no evidence that mindfulness makes you happier.
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2️⃣ Dwindling – A Planet With Fewer People
Get ready for a world with elderly gangsters.
In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the Elves – magical, immortal and good-looking – decide to quit Middle Earth. Like mournful hippies leaving an unsuccessful mushroom picking party, they just give up.
Could we be following them down the dwindling highway? Japan says yes.
Japan’s population just registered its biggest fall across the country. Down by nearly a million people.
In a world where we’ve become used to exponential population growth is hard to imagine that most of human history was spent at or around replacement level.
We’ve primed ourselves for growth. The future will be better and BIGGER!
But, now it seems we’re hitting our limits on people, and – as Japan demonstrates – the future starts to look a little strange.
The Guardian illustrates one way in which that’s felt. Geriatric gangsters are now in the ascendancy:
A majority of yakuza are over 50 and there are now more gangsters in their 70s than in their 20s.
What’s driving down the number of births? Poor child-care for families with kids, poor prospects for mothers who want to go back to work.
But also, as The Atlantic explained, there’s a problem with young men:
“In a country where men are still widely expected to be breadwinners and support families, a lack of good jobs may be creating a class of men who don’t marry and have children because they—and their potential partners—know they can’t afford to.”
These are all things that politics can change. And in one town in Japan – Akashi – they’ve made a bit of progress. But the future is looking greyer...
⏭ Why Japan will lose 20 million people by 2050.
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3️⃣ Big Science Lessons from ‘Oppenheimer’
What scientists make of the movie.
I talked to top #AI scientist Eric Xing this week about Oppenheimer.
Eric came away from the movie asking himself why German scientists – who had a head start before the war – failed where Oppenheimer’s American team had succeeded.
Here are some of his lessons:
Culture. German science culture was top down and subject to political whims. Oppenheimer’s team had an open culture and political ‘cover’ from military colleagues.
Focus. The Germans wanted to build a nuclear reactor and a bomb. While they’re related, the challenges and requirements differ. Oppenheimer’s team had a clear mandate – build a bomb!
Keep Talent. Nazi Germany haemorrhaged top physicists in the 1930s. The Nazi regime’s anti-semitism and political toxicity deprived it of significant intellectual capital. Scientists like Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and Niels Bohr, who could have been pivotal in an Axis nuclear programme, ended up contributing to the Allied cause or refraining from helping the Nazi effort.
Unsurprisingly, there are pointers here for big science when it comes to AI development.
⏭ Also Oppenheimer – trying to poison your PhD supervisor.
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4️⃣ The Myers-Briggs Test is Storming China
They need to watch this British quiz show...
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality test that divides people up into sixteen categories.
Young Chinese and their employers are currently obsessing unhealthily over it.
⏭ Personality testing at work is currently a $2 billion business.
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5️⃣ The Cost of Living Crisis is Hitting Gen Z
Paycheck living, anxiety and burnout are all on the rise.
⏭ Search for “Payday Routines” on Tiktok for more.
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6️⃣ Machine Learning For Manufactured Music
AI is helping K-Pop go global. You’d think it would know better.
⏭ If you really want to know K-Pop, check out my former colleague Regina Kim.
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7️⃣ Roasting LinkedIn
We love it here, but not everyone’s convinced...
Australian writer Lucinda Holdforth, who owns nominative determinism, has an excoriating takedown of LinkedIn which is worth your time.
Here’s a sample:
“In this Panglossian world, small Chekhovian tragedies unfold. Amanda posts one evening that she is so grateful for the wonderful journey she has had with company X.
“She doesn’t say she has been made redundant, but she doesn’t need to...
“‘Excited about the journey,’ she says, which really means, ‘Rather nervous about what may happen next.’ Amanda gets 15 likes, plus three comments wishing her ‘Good Luck’ and ‘All the Best’ and ‘Exciting Times!’
“Not long after this, Amanda’s tone changes: ‘I don’t normally like to post anything personal on this site, but I’m not going to lie, it’s been a tough time.’ Amanda gets 10 likes and another trio of comments: ‘Stay Strong’ and ‘Love your honesty’ and ‘You got this!’
“Soon after, Amanda is both proud and humbled to announce she has found her dream job with a mid-tier financial services firm as a transformation and change specialist... She already knows it’s a place where she can bring her whole authentic self to work.”
“Looking forward to the next stage on my journey…”
⏭ More reading on Bea’s book club podcast.
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If you enjoy this newsletter – please recommend it!
Best,
Adrian
