Personal Growth — February 2, 2009

Welcome to the New World Reality

In case you were scrambling to find a store that still had chicken wings in stock and missed the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, a ‘new reality’ has set in among the slightly less masterful Masters of the Universe.

The Journal reports that since President Obama chided Wall Street bankers over their “shameful” redistribution of federal aid money to pay nearly $20 billion in bonuses, bank executives are now warning that further cuts could be made. Sen. Claire McCaskill introduced legislation that would limit the pay packages of financial executives to no more than what the U.S. president makes, namely $400,000. The writers of the piece, Aaron Lucchetti and Matthew Karnitschnig note that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein earned that much in about two days in 2007. Here’s an excellent clip from Michael Lewis explaining that greed on Wall Street is a prerequisite.

Starts With A Bang

Hawking radiation isn’t just for black holes, study shows

In 1974, Hawking showed that black holes aren’t stable, but emit radiation and decay. Nearly 50 years later, it isn’t just for black holes.

a person standing in a room with a white wall.

The Future

Longtermism: The future is vast – what does this mean for our own life?

If we manage to avoid a large catastrophe, we are living at the early beginnings of human history.

13.8

Fear of AI is misplaced. Instead, fear the people who crave power

Fear of technology is not new. But we misunderstand its origin. In reality, we don’t fear technology but each other.

Trends & insights

3 key takeaways from ATD 2023

ATD 2023 encouraged L&D professionals to create a world that works better – whether by rethinking old assumptions, optimizing how we gather, or creating new measures for success.

Strange Maps

Can you guess who it is?

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Culture & Religion

Hot Global Investments for 2009

Though the U.S. stock market may still be the best insulated from worldwide shocks like the financial crisis, foreign markets are looking hot in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reminds […]