Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 4

Digg, the Internet’s Favorite Defunct Brand Is Coming Back

If you were around for the early days of the Internet, you might remember Digg. It was a collection of interesting stories that was so popular that at one stage it was popularly referred to as the “​homepage of the Internet.​” Then in 2018 after an ownership shuffle, the site was permanently shut down … until now. The big news in tech circles this week was the reboot of Digg. Though still just in private alpha mode for early reviewers the site has a ​relatable vision and mission​ behind it:

“...

How Technology Is Changing the Way Perfume Gets Made

As AI enters perfumery, are we expanding access to beauty — or automating the soul out of it?” This is the provocative question asked in an article I came across this week outlining the ​growing role of AI and technology​ in helping to develop new scents.

“From concept to shelf, a single perfume can take six to 18 months — even longer in luxury. And like fine wines, fragrance materials vary with climate concerns. One year’s yield will not smell like the next one, or the one before. Perhaps th...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Problems in the Art World by Brainard Carey

Being an artist is hard. When you choose to do it professionally, you’ll likely face many problems. According to Brainard Carey, the renowned director of the Praxis Center for Aesthetics, you may encounter exactly 26 problems to overcome–and so he published a book about how to do it. While his book is clearly written for artists, many of the problems explored in the book from the problem of attracting mentors and patrons to the problem of scams designed to extract money from artists, Carey’s boo...

How One Museum Is Reinventing the Way Collections Are Shown

Imagine spending a day at a museum without seeing the actual exhibits but instead visiting the warehouse where they keep everything that isn’t on display. That’s the non-obvious ​concept behind the V&A East Storehouse​ that just opened on the east side of London. Affiliated with the Victoria and Albert family of museums, this venue built on the site of the former London 2012 Olympics Media Centre houses over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives.

“Storehouse is a new kind ...

Inside the Relentlessly Cheerful Campaign of Zohran Mamdani

Amidst all the coverage of what some news outlets described as a  “political earthquake​” with relative newcomer Zohran Mamdani defeating longtime NY politician Andrew Cuomo in the primary for the Mayor’s race, there was this ​fascinating summation​ of the campaign run by the 33 year old Indian-American candidate:

“Mr. Mamdani ran a relentless and cheerful campaign focused on affordability in a city that has grown too expensive for an expanding circle of residents, with zippy videos and catch...

The Perfect Astronaut of the Future Is Changing—Here’s Why It Matters

In the late 1950s, NASA recruited 11 men aged 25-48 for a unique experiment that has today been mostly forgotten. The participants, ​known to history mainly as the “Gallaudet Eleven”​ had one important factor in common: they were all deaf. For most of the next decade, scientists “measured the volunteers’ non-reaction to motion sickness on both a physiological and psychological level,” aiming to improve their understanding of how the body’s senses work when the inner ear doesn’t receive gravitati...

New Event Planner Survey Suggests Celebrity Keynote Speakers May Be a Waste of Money

I have “shared the stage” with Jay Leno. That’s industry lingo for saying that I was the second (much less expensive) keynote speaker at an event that Jay Leno was headlining. Yes, it was a thrill to meet him. But his set mostly consisted of jokes about his current pharmaceutical needs as an older gentleman along with some stories sprinkled in from his time hosting The Tonight Show.

Anytime I’m at an event alongside celebrities, I have to admit I do wonder if the ROI on their big fees was wor...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant

Starting with her own powerful story of standing up for herself, this book from author and thinker Nilofer Merchant is a play-by-play guide on how to craft your own unique identity in the world and use it to stand apart from everyone else. Nilofer calls this your “onlyness” and the book features the stories and profiles of many people who have done this in big and small ways throughout their own lives. Each chapter breaks down their stories, what you can learn from them and some actionable highl...

Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge

It is a beach cliché to see random idiots with metal detectors and sifters trying to find everything from loose change to diamond earrings. Using the idea of digging for treasure is reserved for the slightly desperate, mostly unhinged or overly optimistic. In Denmark, the ​government is encouraging these treasure hunters​ … and it may be working. Last year the government “deputized private detectorists to unearth artifacts buried in farm fields,” and the artifacts they are finding are unearthing...

The Dangerous Fiction of the AI Reality Filter

It seems like the perfect hack. A series of prompts that anyone can input into a generative AI tool like ChatGPT in order to ensure that it doesn’t “hallucinate” but instead gives you responses based on reality. And it works … sometimes. Unfortunately, sometimes isn’t really good enough and there are many real-world repercussions that are starting to emerge. A piece in the NY Times this weekend was titled “They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.” It explores the gr...