The Doomsday Clock just moved — and we're closer than ever

The Doomsday Clock just moved — and we're closer than ever At the end of January 2026, the Doomsday Clock was set to 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been since its creation. The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic timepiece maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. It represents how close humanity is to self-annihilation, with midnight symbolizing global catastrophe. The key risks driving us to 1 minute and 25 seconds from the end of the world, according to the Bulletin, are: 1-Nuclear weapons threats 2-Disruptive technologies, including AI 3-Biological security concerns 4-Climate change On a lighter note — and this is genuinely worth a smile — for something published by a board of scientists and Nobel laureates, the methodology behind the clock is remarkably loose. There is no defined formula, no scoring rubric, no aggregation model. It is, at its core, a group of very smart people agreeing on a number that feels right. The scientific method apparently took the day off when this one was designed. Jokes aside, you can think of it as a sentiment index on existential risk — a rough but informed read on how the world's brightest minds perceive the state of things. And right now, they are not feeling optimistic. Worth noting: all of this was set before the war that just started. So here's a question worth sitting with for a moment: how much time would you give us as a species before Doomsday? https://thebulletin.org/2026/01/press-release-it-is-85-seconds-to-midnight/

- Pedro

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Strategy vs Tactics a couple of key concepts often misunderstood

Strategy vs Tactics a couple of key concepts often misunderstood based on → On War: With Illustrations and Commentary by Andrew Kelly by Carl Von Clausewitz 1- “The conduct of War is, therefore, the formation and conduct of the fighting. If this fighting was a single act, there would be no necessity for any further subdivision, but the fight is composed of a greater or less number of single acts, complete in themselves, which we call combats, as we have shown in the first chapter of the first book, and which form new units. From this arises the totally different activities, that of the FORMATION and CONDUCT of these single combats in themselves, and the COMBINATION of them with one another, with a view to the ultimate object of the War. The first is called TACTICS, the other STRATEGY.” (“On War: With Illustrations and Commentary by Andrew Kelly (English Edition)” de “Carl Von Clausewitz, Andrew Kelly”). 2- “According to our classification, therefore, tactics IS THE THEORY OF THE USE OF MILITARY FORCES IN COMBAT. Strategy IS THE THEORY OF THE USE OF COMBATS FOR THE OBJECT OF THE WAR.” (“On War: With Illustrations and Commentary by Andrew Kelly (English Edition)” de “Carl Von Clausewitz, Andrew Kelly”). 3- “By the strategic plan is settled WHEN, WHERE, and WITH WHAT FORCES a battle is to be delivered—and to carry that into execution the march is the only means.” (“On War: With Illustrations and Commentary by Andrew Kelly (English Edition)” de “Carl Von Clausewitz, Andrew Kelly”).

- Pedro

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Five KPIs to Understand the World

Five KPIs to Understand the World A great, simple article included in The World Ahead 2026 by The Economist, where for each country in the world it provides a snapshot with the following information: 1-GDP growth 2-GDP per person (also with PPP, US=100) 3-Inflation 4-Budget balance (as a % of GDP) 5-Population 6-For some countries, additional context is provided It is amazing how such simple KPIs can help you make an initial assessment of the world today. Although it was something I was already aware of, it was startling to see the population numbers and the relative levels of wealth in Asia-Pacific and MEA. With Europe, it was also a good reminder that GDP per person can be significantly diluted when taking into consideration the Purchasing Power Parity normalisation factors. An article and tool I will keep handy, as it provides significant value and allows us to put so much into perspective. A article/tool i will keep handy as it provides significant value and allow us to put so much into perspective. The world in numbers: Countries https://www.economist.com/interactive/twa-country-reports From The Economist

- Pedro

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Books to Understand the Men and Context That Created America's Institutions and Its Checks and Balances

Books to Understand the Men and Context That Created America's Institutions and Its Checks and Balances Recommended by The Economist, plus one of my own additions: 1-Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation — Joseph J. Ellis (Knopf) 2-The Radicalism of the American Revolution — Gordon S. Wood 3-The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams — Stacy Schiff (Little, Brown) 4-John Adams — David McCullough (Simon & Schuster) 5-A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign — Edward J. Larson 6-The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family — Annette Gordon-Reed (W. W. Norton) All six are on my wish list. And I would add one classic of my own: 7-Democracy in America — Alexis de Tocqueville Seven books to understand the Founding Fathers. https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/01/06/six-books-to-understand-the-founding-fathers From The Economist

- Pedro

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The Cost of Short-Term Thinking

The Cost of Short-Term Thinking Just read this quote on a Russ Roberts Substack article citing Bastiat (french economist from the XIX),that, as most of his work, I really liked — it made me think, and I could not agree more. "...In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them. There is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: the bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good economist takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen.Yet this difference is tremendous; for it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the later consequences are disastrous, and vice versa. Whence it follows that the bad economist pursues a small present good that will be followed by a great evil to come, while the good economist pursues a great good to come, at the risk of a small present evil. …" Frederic Bastiat — French economist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bastiat

- Pedro

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A Stark Wake-Up Call for Europe’s Defense

A Stark Wake-Up Call for Europe’s Defense This podcast series (7 episodes), included in the list recommended by The Economist for 2025, is one you simply cannot miss, given its importance and relevance in the current geopolitical environment we are living through. It exposes the cruel and devastating reality of the UK’s armed forces — and you don’t need to be Einstein to extrapolate this to the rest of Europe. All of this is revealed through a well-crafted war game, played by former UK politicians who held high office in the British government — individuals experienced in handling similar situations and fully aware of the resources available. The exercise shows just how thin and perilous the situation is, and how significant underinvestment in this area has made it dangerously fragile. We cannot forget that this kind of scenario was all too real for the Ukrainian government back in 2022. It is a frightening wake-up call for Europe’s current position. As critical as one may be of the current US administration, after going through this series it becomes difficult to disagree with the argument that Europe cannot maintain the current defence status quo in terms of investment and armed forces readiness. Going back to Maslow’s pyramid, we can only build a European society with all its values if we are able to secure its sovereignty and territorial integrity — and, as we have seen, that can only be achieved through robust and capable armed forces. I could not recommend this podcast series more highly. (text revised by a llm) https://open.spotify.com/show/4lHtW6x1D6R0E1QmGLkBK1?si=Zv2w4jAaQKS3ce0KI07m1g

- Pedro

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In Pursuit of Decisive (or Was It Incapable?)

In Pursuit of Decisive (or Was It Incapable?) It has been a while since I read an article that made me laugh several times… people nearby thought I was crazy. Another great one by Andrew Palmer, this time about the relentless journey one has to undertake to identify, lock in on the target, and win the contest for the right to use a meeting room in this “wonder world” called “the office”. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Below you can find a teaser: “…When rooms are in demand, the top of every hour ushers in the same scene. First, lots of people rise from their desks and start to walk around with water bottles. The risk of dehydration is not high if you are sitting in a conference room for an hour. But you never know. Someone asks a colleague which meeting room has been booked, a reminder that rooms should not be given names. “Are we in Decisive?” “What?” “Are we in Decisive?” “Oh. No. We’re in Incapable.” “What?” And so on, until someone reverts to normal speech: “It’s the big one by the lift.” …” (text revised by a llm) The excruciating quest for a meeting room https://www.economist.com/business/2026/02/12/the-excruciating-quest-for-a-meeting-room From The Economist

- Pedro

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