Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
China’s central bank thinks digital currency can do one thing cash can’t
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has been working to develop its own digital currency. Having recently completed a trial run of its cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology, the PBoC is moving closer to becoming one of the first central banks to issue Read More...
Why I used crowdfunding to bring a truckload of plastic trash to Stockholm
A container of plastic garbage pulled into Stockholm a couple of weeks ago. Then the garbage was dumped onto the floor of the National Museum of Science and Technology, in a big dusty pile. On purpose. And a global crowdfunding campaign helped pay for it. Before I tell you how we accomplished that, Read More...
Forget bitcoin. The blockchain could reveal what’s true today and tomorrow
As far back as the 1880s, people stood on the curb outside the New York Stock Exchange taking bets on political elections, and newspapers would report the odds as a way of predicting the results at the polls. In the years since, economists refined the concept, and more recently, prediction markets Read More...
Global ranking of happiness has happy news for Norway and Nicaragua
Norway can be frigid. And the winters bring lots of darkness. But it's the happiest nation in the world, according to the 2017 World Happiness Report. Denmark comes in at #2, followed by Iceland and Switzerland. Finland takes 5th place. And, it turns out, these countries have more in common than a Read More...
Happiness: Redefining the formula for genuine prosperity
The success of a government must be defined by ‘its ability to facilitate the happiness and wellbeing of its citizens, and this should replace old paradigms that focus overwhelmingly on economic performance.’ This was the consensus that emerged amongst leaders, from both the public and Read More...
‘Your child is safe’: Schools address deportation fears among immigrant families
The schools superintendent in Harrisonburg, Va., was meeting parents this month when a mother broke down in tears, explaining that she was undocumented. What would the school do, she asked, if she became separated from her children? “I remember walking up to her and putting my arm on her Read More...
‘Crazy dream’: the former Delhi IT worker in the race to land on the moon
To this day, Rahul Narayan doesn’t know why he said yes, except that it was the very last day to sign up, and if he didn’t agree to it, then there would be no Indian teams in the running. He threw together a proposal and clicked submit. Perhaps it was the dullness of his day job in IT Read More...
Bitcoin is changing the way companies go public
Electronic cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, will disrupt money finance as we know it. These currencies have the potential to create peer-to-peer money without the need for government regulation. Cryptocurrencies can also be used for companies going public without going to the stock exchange. That Read More...
Blockchain could redistribute value to make the sharing economy more fair
The traditional economic model was dominated by large companies that have top-down hierarchical organizations providing services to passive consumers. Now, companies like Google, Uber and AirBnB represent a shift operating online platforms where most value is generated by the users. The problem Read More...
The 14 countries that are the most optimistic about the future
Parents want their children to live in a better world than the one they grew up in. But today's slow-growing global economy has people across the world less certain that tomorrow's economy will provide a solid foundation for the next generation. Brunswick, the international advisory firm, has just Read More...