Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 22

The Problem with Leather

Have you ever seen a product promoted as being made with “vegan leather?” Assuming you have, do you actually know what that means? It turns out this is just one example of the growing problem faced by fashion brands using any form of leather in their products. There are new leathers made from plant materials like bamboo or cactus and fruit peels such as pineapple or apple. These options seem to be very eco-friendly, until you consider how much energy (and sometimes plastics) are still required t...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Stuff – Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee

How much stuff is enough? Most of us would agree that compulsive hoarding crosses a line, but how common is it exactly and what can the behavior of “those people” living amongst thousands of stacked up magazines incapable of getting rid of any teach us about our own humanity? You’ll find the answers in this classic work of investigative journalism from Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee that is approaching its 15th anniversary of original publication.

The work has a renewed relevance for today ...

Hiding Our Secrets or Personal Struggles Is Going to Get Harder in the Age of AI

The way we search on Google is with keywords and phrases. Most of us probably would not want to think about how our search engine behavior might be tracked and what platforms like Google know about us as a result. Yet even though some searches may reveal embarrassing or intimate details, they are still generally presented in a keyword format. This isn’t the case for chatbots and conversational tools built with AI. They allow you to have an interaction that feels like a human conversation, but th...

Remaking Classic Cars into the EVs of the Future

When I was a kid and we would travel to India, all the taxis looked the same. The model that dominated back then, and for decades before and after was the Ambassador—alternately described as “virtually indestructible” and voted “the world’s best taxi.” Despite the fact that the factory making them operated from the 50s until closing in 2014, many of the cars on the road had, in fact, been built decades earlier.

Their longevity on the road was a curiosity that I only later discovered could be ...

The Surprising Appeal of the Lovable Loser

The Chicago White Sox are having a historically bad season. Like, a season that could be the worst in the history of baseball. It’s so bad even their own social media team is forced to find a way to make the situation slightly better for fans by tweeting entertaining game summaries after losses, like “FINAL: the other team scored more runs than us.” The team, too, is coping with humor because what else can they do? It’s a season they will want to quickly forget.

With their tragic year, th...

Can Tech in Cars Make Us More Considerate or Better Drivers?

As part of our Olympics trip this summer, we made a side visit to Lyon and drove across the border to Switzerland. Driving in Europe, one thing that became immediately clear is that drivers there understand the concept of a passing lane. In most places across the US, this seems to be a concept that most American drivers struggle with. Especially in Florida. So I was immediately on board when I read this week about Nissan’s new advanced driver system that includes a feature called “Passing Assist...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: “Dead Wrong” by Dr. Geeta Nayyar

For every new video we see on social media about a miracle remedy, there’s a medical professional who is generally suffering in silence watching the misinformation baked into many of these supposed “cures.” The effects of some can be relatively innocent, like suffering through drinking more glasses of celery juice than necessary. Other online health information can literally have life or death consequences. In Dead Wrong, “Dr. G” (as Dr. Geeta Nayyar is widely known online) lays out the reasons ...

Human Eyeballs, Fake Tongues and Freeze-Dried Butterflies: Inside the World’s Most Discomforting Restaurant

Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen is the creation of famous Danish chef Rasmus Munk. Like many similarly exclusive Michelin-star worthy dining experiences, there’s a 10,000-person waiting list for a spot at Alchemist and the meal itself will run you $800 per person for 40+ inventive courses. What’s different about this experience is just how committed he is to making food into art … on every level. When asked about his inspiration for a long profile piece written by Rebecca Mead and featured in...

This Chatbot Could Actually Change Minds … Using Facts?!

The prevailing wisdom about human behaviors and beliefs today is that facts are not persuasive in changing minds or shifting beliefs. Usually, it’s true. That’s one reason why there is so much focus on becoming a better storyteller and why every category from politicians to breakfast cereal marketers primarily relies on stories to connect with people. Stories do work, but a recent study featuring a chatbot called the DebunkBot is challenging this long-held idea as profiled in a recent NY Times a...

What “Jobs You’ve Never Heard Of” Can Teach You About a Better Way to Work

Sometimes a good roundup post is exactly what you need to give you a new perspective on work. That’s what this compilation from the team at Pocket did for me as I read this fun list of “jobs you didn’t know existed.” Professional mermaids, mountain bike trailer builders and falconers all made the list – and there are plenty of others who could have been included too, like the professional pacer who sets the pace during marathons.

The interesting thing, aside from reading about unusual jobs, i...