Amazon’s detrimental working conditions are an open secret. But the controversial company has taken its infamous quest for productivity to new levels by implementing a series of “video games” to boost said productivity. In these games, employees race each other to earn the highest score — just like in arcade classics. If they win, they get tokens — called swag bucks — that can be traded for company merchandise.

Doesn’t this remind you of the Black Mirror episode in which characters ride stationary bikes to earn “merits” that pay for their daily needs? …

Your title is everything.

It’s your whole article in 20 words or so (if you add the subtitle).

That’s how much people see while deciding to keep reading or move on.

Their whole world shrinks into those 2–3 lines for a couple of seconds. You’re in the center of that screen as long as your words live in the mind of the reader.

Once they fade, there’s no coming back — no chance of having a first impression for a second time around.

So how do we make those precious moments count and make your title as vivid as possible…

More money will buy you more happiness.

This is not to say that money = happiness.

It simply means that the more financial resources you have, the more joyful and satisfied you’ll feel with your life.

But there’s a fine print to it (there’s always an annoying catch, isn’t there?).

Money improves your happiness level until it reaches a certain amount. After that, no matter how much you earn, it won’t make any difference whatsoever.

I was always baffled by the fact that while studying psychology, there wasn’t a single teacher who told us anything about happiness. …

The title is your elevator pitch in 12 (or so) words.

You should treat every word like gold — too many and it will depreciate.

Without a good first impression, few people will give you a second chance and read through your article. So much work on it just to be easily dismissed because of a weak headline. I know that frustration.

Your article’s fate hangs on a thin thread, but let’s make it as firm as possible. Just like a spider’s web: all threads aligned to hold up that life form, your content.

Thanks to the different people on…

Who hasn’t felt a bit of nostalgia when listening to a song from their youth?

I know I was obsessed with artists like Limp Bizkit, Backstreet Boys, and my guilty pleasure, Britney Spears.

Now, whenever I hear a song from any of them, I’m immediately transported to a time of childish adventures: arriving home after hours, chasing (or sometimes fleeing) from girls, and well… basically getting in trouble.

All those exciting memories come rushing to my mind just by listening to a few bars from these artists.

Music can trigger specific memories. Memories tightly woven to the heart. …

Future of Agriculture

Think of the fruit you’re about to eat.

How do you know it’s ready and not green?

You might judge it by the color of the surface, but that doesn’t work with fruits like watermelon or avocado.

Okay, now you have to touch it, tap it, but you’re still not 100% certain that you’ll get it right.

Now think of increasing the scale of your decision.

Imagine trying to decide when to cut thousands of fruits at the right time so that you don’t end up with a bunch of useless products. …

At my tender thirteen years of age, I was told by my piano teacher that I wasn’t ready to play a difficult piece at the time, Chopin’s Ocean Etude.

I blindly believed it for longer than I’d like to admit.

And that kept me from trying.

I was thinking in binary terms:

1. I’m not good enough
2. This piece is for skilled players

So why even bother trying?

What I failed to realize is that my level at the time didn’t matter, because it was just a temporal stage in my overall development.

Instead, I had to focus on where I…

I know I’m not the only one that has a hard time finding music to listen to.

It has to be the right one for the mood I’m in, otherwise it won’t feel right.

And that mood of ours is influenced by many things, one of which is the weather. You know how there’s a saying for it, “being under the weather”, but we don’t usually think about how much it can affect us.

Mood states do change with weather, so why not use this variable to find the right music for us?

How are we classifying music today?

We have multiple libraries of music on…