Filosofía, inteligencia y más: lo mejor de José Antonio Marina

Muy interesante episodio de Aprendemos Juntos con José Antonio Marina sobre filosofía, inteligencia ¡y mucho más! Espero que lo disfruten tanto como yo. José Antonio Marina reflexiona sobre la capacidad humana de orientarse en un mundo complejo, cambiante y lleno de incertidumbre. Para él, pensar con claridad, elegir con sentido y actuar con responsabilidad es la base de una vida más consciente y justa. Reivindica la filosofía como un servicio público imprescindible. Una disciplina que nos ayuda a distinguir la verdad de la mentira, a evaluar nuestras creencias y a desarrollar pensamiento crítico frente a la manipulación, la desinformación y los discursos simplificadores que nos rodean. José Antonio Marina es filósofo, ensayista y pedagogo, referente internacional en el estudio del pensamiento y la educación. Ha dedicado su trayectoria a comprender cómo aprendemos, decidimos y actuamos. Su obra conecta filosofía, ética y pedagogía con los retos del mundo contemporáneo. https://youtu.be/tRPCqO5UT7U?si=utQN6XPC_h9lyZmH

- Pedro

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Autonomy vs. Power: A Trade-Off Worth Rethinking

Highly recommend this podcast with Jeffrey Pfeffer for its many sharp insights into organizational behavior. In particular, the trade-off between autonomy and power stood out and gave me a lot to think about. https://youtu.be/5YAvw0VzB_E?si=19ouqiK02AXPENHa

- Pedro

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The Case for Structured Job Interviews (and Their Limits)

How to conduct a job interview https://www.economist.com/business/2025/12/18/how-to-conduct-a-job-interview From The Economist “…If you had to construct a really bad way to make an important decision, you might come up with something like the stereotypical job interview….” An interesting article by The Economist on job interviews, which reinforces—once again—that the most effective approach is the structured job interview, with two important caveats: 1-Structured interviews mean using a standardized set of job-related questions asked of every candidate, with responses evaluated against an agreed scoring system. 2-Even when well designed, job interviews—even if structured—are far from perfect predictors of on-the-job performance. They should therefore be complemented with other tools such as personality assessments, work samples, and thorough reference checks (the latter, from my own experience, being particularly valuable). “…if you are interviewing a stranger for a job, it is best done with a script, a scoring system and a hefty dose of realism….” (text revised by a llm)

- Pedro

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Are Western Fertility Rates Really Collapsing—or Are We Measuring Them Wrong?

Very interesting article by The Economist on fertility rates across the West over the past few decades. The commonly accepted view is that fertility has fallen significantly below the replacement rate (2.1 children per woman), implying that population decline in these regions is inevitable in the not-so-distant future. This article argues that the gap may not be as large as it appears, and that part of the issue lies in how the phenomenon is measured. In a nutshell, it comes down to the difference between Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Completed Fertility Rate (CFR)—and how each is calculated. Put simply, the first indicator (TFR), which is the most widely cited, does not account for the fact that women are having children significantly later than in the past. This “tempo effect” skews results toward more dramatic declines. The second indicator (CFR) corrects for this timing issue. While it still shows a decline compared to the past, it is far less severe than what TFR suggests. From a data science perspective, this is a useful reminder: you always need to understand how your KPIs are constructed before interpreting trends. Otherwise, you risk mistaking timing effects for genuine macro-level shifts. The “sentient lizards” parable used to introduce and explain these concepts is a small masterpiece. Highly recommended reading. (text revised by a LLM) Watch who you’re calling childless https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/12/18/watch-who-youre-calling-childless From The Economist

- Pedro

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The best podcasts of 2025 by the Economist

The best podcasts of 2025 https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/18/the-best-podcasts-of-2025 From The Economist Do you listen to podcasts? If yes, here’s a list of the ones the Economist considers the best for 2025. Needless to say, they all went straight into my “potential” playlist. I’ll give each one a try, and I’m almost certain that—like in previous years—some will earn a spot on my official rotation. 1- Articles of Interest 2- Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer 3- Fela Kuti: Fear No Man 4-Flesh and Code 5-Heavyweight 6-Missing in the Amazon 7-Past Present Future: Politics on Trial 8-The Protocol 9-Shell Game 10-The Wargame Hope it is helpful. (text revised by a llm)

- Pedro

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The Innovations That Could Change Lives—If We Notice Them

Sometimes you stumble upon articles that almost go unnoticed—even by you—and then, somehow, they resurface in your mind weeks or months later. This is one of them. A group of MIT engineers developed a new water-desalination system designed specifically for groundwater, powered almost entirely by solar energy and, crucially, without relying on batteries or the electric grid. The real breakthrough lies in how the system manages energy. Traditional desalination requires a steady, constant power supply. This new approach allows the process to automatically adapt its energy consumption to the amount of solar power available at any given moment during the day. At the time of publication, the system was able to adjust its operation within a three-minute window, dynamically matching energy use to sunlight. As of December 2024, the system was already sourcing about 77% of its required energy directly from solar panels—an improvement of roughly 91% compared to previous designs. The researchers believe they could reach close to 100% solar operation by reducing the adjustment window from minutes to second-by-second control. The potential impact of this technology is enormous. Imagine being able to provide affordable, desalinated drinking water to thousands of communities around the world that currently face severe water scarcity or lack reliable access to clean water altogether. Hopefully, this kind of innovation will move from prototype to widespread deployment in the near future—and, in doing so, meaningfully improve the lives of millions of people. It also makes you reflect on how many people are quietly working on deeply impactful R&D efforts—projects that, if successful, could transform living conditions for so many—yet remain largely unnoticed by the rest of the world. (text revised by a llm) https://news.mit.edu/2024/solar-powered-desalination-system-requires-no-extra-batteries-1008

- Pedro

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