Lessons in wealth creation and destruction — You are either a passive champion focusing on simplicity, and diversification, with low-index funds, or an active one chasing those high returns and thinking you can beat the market. Slow and steady wins are attractive, but there’s a special appeal in stock picking. It’s the road less traveled but it…

Mental battles from Mozart to Gaga — There’s a symphony of emotions behind every musician. They possess intricate inner worlds, and music seems to be the best way for them to share it with others. But sometimes they’re seen as eccentric and somewhat unconventional to the average person. They might perceive it as a deliberate aspect of…

What if music could serve as a natural analgesic? — One day, Jo found herself at the doctor’s office, discussing a bothersome issue with her hip. As the anesthetist prepared for the surgery, Jo casually mentioned that she wouldn’t be needing anesthesia. The doctors had never heard this before. Her peculiar secret set her apart from everyone else — she…

The latest sonic puzzle “solved” — With its algorithmic power, an AI pieced together what Beethoven couldn’t finish. To be fair, Beethoven was in very poor condition to complete what would be his 10th Symphony. So after 1827 when he passed away, we were sadly left with just musical fragments like a jigsaw puzzle with most…

Do you have this mental blindspot? — One chilly winter morning in 1995, two unlikely criminals were about to embark on a daring adventure. It was on January 6 in the streets of Pittsburgh when McArthur Wheeler and Clifton Earl Johnson decided to make their mark in the world but in the most peculiar way. They planned…

We can now decode the Earth’s subtle language if we care to listen — By listening to the ground, we can uncover the profound story of our planet’s health. Soil is the home to a whole range of creatures, from worms to moles to bacteria and a lot of their action happens out of sight, underground. And where there’s movement, there’s sound. So researchers…

Tunes can change us but not always in the way we anticipated — Beneath the catchy melodies and beautiful harmonies lies a darker side to music that often goes unnoticed. The risks of music often come when we overdo it. We put on too much loud music or too many sad songs, but sometimes we don’t have to turn it a notch to…

The music just fades away — A lady from New York had no idea what people meant by the term music. As a child, she was often asked to sing melodies at school but she was always off-key and off-beat. She couldn’t distinguish between a higher and lower note or even identify different musical instruments. As…

The danger of relying on the wrong crowd — The rock musician Kenna could’ve been a great artist if producers hadn’t relied too much on the listener’s opinions. “But aren’t fans the backbone of every musician’s career?”, you’d ask. Not if you pick the wrong one as your reference point. Here’s a story about how decision-makers failed to recognize…