Psychology & Behavior — Posts

83 posts on "Psychology & Behavior" by Shlomo Strauss — bilingual writing on technology, science, and business.

• How AI threatens reading yet enables custom printed books — As visual media and AI reduce our reliance on text, generative tools offer a paradoxical solution by creating highly personalized physical books.
• The dopamine trap of building useless AI projects — The ease of generating code with AI creates a dopamine loop of unused projects, highlighting the need to focus on fundamentals and real value.
• The Price of Security: Redefining Professional Independence — A personal journey of leaving a grueling job highlights why true independence is about self-determination and embracing the unknown.
• The Science Behind Why a $4,000 Audio Cable Sounds Like a $7 One — Tests reveal that expensive RCA cables offer no audio improvement over cheap ones, a phenomenon explained by simple physics and confirmation bias.
• Agentic browsers and open-source platforms make a surprisingly — Pairing mature open-source platforms with an agentic AI browser bridges the gap between an empty self-hosted stack and a fully configured, working system…
• What freedom really means, and where we actually find it — A Passover reflection on the deeper meaning of freedom, beyond economic independence and control over one's fate.
• China approved a commercial brain implant for paralysis — the West is — While technologies like Neuralink await lengthy FDA approval, China has commercially cleared an invasive brain implant that restores movement to paralyzed
• A train to Jerusalem and what divides us less than we think — A personal essay on a train ride to Jerusalem that weaves together strangers, scorched landscapes, and a question about what holds Israeli society…
• When crypto thieves knock on the door: the rise of physical robbery — As cold wallets and stronger cybersecurity close digital attack routes, criminals are turning to physical home invasions to steal crypto — with over 200…
• Fear of firing, hunger for pay — and how to strip employers of their — Building a year-long cash cushion and embracing frugality can quietly shift the power balance in any career negotiation.
• Biological mini-brains as computers: inside FinalSpark's experiment — Swiss startup FinalSpark grows human brain cells on electrodes and trains them with dopamine to perform computing tasks at roughly one-millionth the…
• How to collect a stubborn debt without threats or pleading — Five practical rules for freelancers dealing with non-paying clients, drawn from a firsthand account of calm, persistent debt collection that worked.
• GTA 6's staggering budget and what it reveals about the games — With an estimated $2 billion development budget and forecasts of $7 billion in profit within two months of launch, GTA 6 is a case study in betting…
• Jevons Paradox and Baumol's Effect: what AI will do to the economy — As AI cuts the cost per token, Jevons Paradox predicts demand will surge far beyond current levels, while Baumol's Effect explains why your plumber's…
• How a $10,000 card-shuffling machine became the tool of a global — Federal charges against 31 suspects across 11 countries detail how the DeckMate 2 shuffler was compromised via its USB and network ports to signal winning
• What I chose to ignore this year, and why it mattered — A Yom Kippur reflection on tuning out divisive noise and carrying a more intentional mindset into the new year.
• A comfortable job can quietly cost you your ambitions — A well-paying, comfortable workplace can lull personal ambitions to sleep just as surely as a toxic one — and is harder to recognize as a threat.
• 10 principles behind a consistent LinkedIn content presence — A technology consultant ranked among LinkedIn's top content creators shares the ten practical principles — consistency, no AI, no selling — that shaped…
• Smarter but weaker: the evolutionary trade-off driving human decline — As cognitive gains push physical capabilities into decline, the piece argues we are heading toward a future where survival depends on machines fused with…
• How Android phones became a global earthquake detection network — Google's Android earthquake system used phone accelerometers to detect over 11,000 quakes between 2021 and 2024, sending warnings up to 60 seconds before…
• Why moderate gaming is not a waste of time — A busy tech consultant makes the case that gaming's demand for total focus delivers cognitive benefits and mental detachment that few other activities can
• Fake plant seeds generated by AI are selling online for real money — Scammers are using AI-generated plant images to sell seeds for species that never existed, earning thousands of dollars and eroding trust in real…
• A gold Lego brick worth $15,000 and the decline of workplace loyalty — A rare 14-karat gold Lego brick once given to 25-year employees serves as a lens for examining how job tenure shrank and workplace loyalty transformed.
• The children's uranium kit from the 1950s that became one of — The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab sold radioactive ore samples and a Geiger counter to children in the early 1950s, with fewer than 5,000 units made…
• Friends on Telegram: an Israeli and Iranians raised to be enemies — A personal account of genuine friendship formed online between an Israeli and young Iranians, and the hope of one day hosting them in a freer Middle East.
• Behind the on-air smile: what TV anchors carry that viewers never see — A tribute to the Channel 10 economy team who keep broadcasting hope and normalcy while privately facing the same fear and uncertainty as their viewers.
• Your employer owes you nothing emotionally — your colleagues are a — A clear-eyed argument for separating the cold logic of employment contracts from the genuine human relationships that make work worth showing up for.
• The case for building business relationships across borders — Working with international teams and clients offers cost advantages, larger markets, and a firsthand cultural perspective that local business alone cannot
• The four types of marketing media every business owner should know — A concise breakdown of Paid, Owned, Shared, and Earned Media, illustrated with real-world examples from Apple, Spotify, and Oreo.
• Robotic sculpture and the question of what human artistry still means — As Monumental Labs deploys autonomous robotic arms to carve stone, the post asks whether machine-made sculpture can ever carry the same weight as a…
• Apple's rounded corners are a precise design system, not an aesthetic — From the neuroscience of sharp angles to a design rule linking curvature to physical proximity, Apple's corner geometry turns out to be a coherent and…
• Leading lines in photography and architecture: how geometry guides — From the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ceiling to the Chords Bridge, leading lines are a visual tool that draws viewers through a space and focuses attention on
• What it means to be Israeli: grief and joy, division and belonging — A reflection on the Israeli paradox of mourning and celebration, arguing that living between extremes is itself a source of national resilience.
• The skydiver who seeded 100 million trees over the Amazon — Brazilian skydiving record-holder Luigi Cani spent five years planning a single jump that scattered 100 million tree seeds over the Amazon, with satellite
• The Jiangsu shipyard and the cost of erasing the individual — A viral clip of thousands of workers flooding out of a Chinese shipyard becomes a meditation on what dictatorships erase — and what democracies must…
• What overusing the word "I" reveals about a person's mindset — The frequency of first-person pronouns in speech and writing can signal egocentric thinking — and learning to spot it sharpens both your writing and your…
• Sound weapons in Serbia: the wave physics behind a crowd's sudden — An explanation of how phased speaker arrays use constructive interference to produce dangerously intense sound, illustrated by reported use against…
• A year on LinkedIn: what the numbers actually mean — A personal reflection on over a year of writing on LinkedIn, exploring the motivations behind posting and the real value of online professional…
• Daylight pipes: bringing natural sunlight deep inside buildings — Light-pipe systems channel natural sunlight into a building's interior zones, combining energy savings, improved wellbeing, and the ability to grow plants
• What Japanese schoolgirls learn on Toyota's factory floor — A school visit to Toyota's assembly line shows why hands-on, real-world learning leaves a deeper impression than any classroom lesson.
• Why a tech consultant still manages tasks with pen and paper — Despite working with complex digital systems daily, the author argues that a paper notebook offers convenience and flexibility no app has matched.
• Parenting and career ambition are not just a mother's challenge — A personal reflection on balancing professional ambition with equal, active fatherhood — and why the trade-off is worth it.
• Yousuf Karsh and the art of black-and-white portraiture — An exploration of Yousuf Karsh's portrait philosophy — using deliberate lighting and a fleeting unguarded moment to reveal each subject's inner secret.
• A 276 kg bluefin tuna just sold for $1.3 million at Tokyo's Toyosu — Sushi Onodera, a Michelin-starred chain, won the first bluefin tuna auction of the year at Toyosu for the fifth consecutive time, paying $1.3 million for…
• Greenland, Trump, and the Danish lawyer who won the world's largest — Behind Trump's bid to buy Greenland lies a fascinating legal history, including a personal family connection to the 1933 Hague ruling that secured Danish…
• How Gen Z is quietly reshaping the alcohol industry — Declining alcohol consumption among young adults since the early 2000s is set to pressure traditional beverage companies while opening the market to…
• Working code is not the same as well-written code — An 1890 pencil sharpener illustrates why finishing a task is not enough — how you do it matters just as much as whether you do it.
• The logic behind naming a tech company White Tiger — A founder explains the branding, SEO, and memorability logic behind choosing an unconventional name for his tech company — and admits a genuine love for…
• Six countries that will pay you to move in — From Switzerland to Japan, several governments are offering substantial cash incentives to attract new residents to depopulating rural areas.
• Academic bars in China blend beer with university lectures — A growing trend in China brings real academics into bars to lecture curious drinkers — a concept Israel's Weizmann Institute pioneered locally back in…
• A brain implant built from the patient's own neurons aims to outdo — Science, founded by Neuralink's former president, is developing brain implants grown from a patient's own stem cells, potentially reducing rejection risk…
• Elon Musk claims a Diablo 4 world record — and the gaming world is — Musk posted a run that would place him first globally in Diablo 4's level 150, but the gaming community is debating whether the achievement is legitimate.
• A 4-year cruise for Americans who cannot stomach another Trump term — A cruise line is selling a 4-year, 140-country round-the-world voyage timed to end when Trump's term does, starting at $256,000 per person.
• The everyday ghosting most people never think twice about — A short reflection on why closing the loop with salespeople and service providers, even with a simple no, is a matter of basic respect.
• Washington Post lost 200,000 subscribers by refusing to take a stand — When the Washington Post declined to endorse a presidential candidate, it lost 200,000 subscribers — a case study in why professional fence-sitting…
• Iceland adopts the four-day work week — what the trial actually — After a national trial showed gains in productivity and lower unemployment, Iceland is rolling out the four-day model economy-wide — with caveats worth…
• A hyperrealist sculpture of a homeless man in a Zurich luxury hotel — A Zurich luxury hotel placed a hyperrealist homeless figure by artist Duane Hanson near its reception to provoke reflection on social inequality.
• After restoring power post-typhoon, electrical engineers got a hero's — Residents of Hunan lined the streets to cheer the electrical crews who restored power after a typhoon — a small reminder of what gratitude looks like in…
• Apple patents AirPods that can read electrical signals from the brain — Apple's new patent describes using AirPods to detect a user's mood and adapt music playback or the tone of Siri's responses accordingly.
• Why humanoid robots are shaped like us — the software reason matters — Beyond market expectations and mobility advantages, the deepest reason for humanoid robot design lies in how their software is trained on human movement…
• A year of LinkedIn content creation: lessons from the analytics — Thirteen practical lessons drawn from a full year of LinkedIn publishing, covering consistency, content quality, AI pitfalls, and audience respect.
• Why modern recording studios use glass walls instead of foam panels — Double-pane vacuum glass and angled inner panels deliver effective acoustic isolation in small studios while preventing claustrophobia and preserving…
• The heroes among us: what wartime courage teaches about everyday — Reflecting on recent acts of selfless heroism, the piece calls on us to appreciate the quiet, giving people in our lives while we still can.
• Modern slavery: how Asian crime cartels recruit workers for online — A Wall Street Journal investigation into the story of Billy from Ethiopia exposes a vast forced-labor industry running online scams across lawless corners
• Video games are heading to the Olympics — and the stigma deserves a — Beyond the familiar criticisms, video games offer real cognitive and social benefits — provided consumption stays balanced rather than compulsive.
• A question about your epitaph that reorders your priorities — Drawing on Israeli dark humor and a lifelong question about legacy, a personal essay arguing there is no reason to choose between passion, income, and…
• That $12 10TB drive from AliExpress is a scam — here is what is — A Reddit user who bought a supposed 10TB external drive for $12 found a cheap, no-name microSD card inside running firmware that fakes the reported…
• The bookmarks bar is old and unglamorous — and it's your best — Organizing your bookmarks bar into folders and subfolders eliminates the daily time lost to repeatedly searching for the same sites and files.
• Call or text first? The generational divide over phone etiquette — A Wall Street Journal study highlights a generational gap on whether to ask permission before calling, and when a phone call beats an endless text thread.
• Cathie Wood and the limits of hype-driven investing — A critical look at Cathie Wood's ARK fund after $2.2 billion in withdrawals, arguing that logic and patience consistently outperform market hype.
• Iranian friends, Python, and what really drives online hatred of — A personal account of friendship with young Iranians argues that online hostility toward Israel often stems from ignorance rather than malice, and that…
• A digital iron curtain: the internet is splitting into rival blocs — The TikTok ban and China's removal of WhatsApp are symptoms of a broader fragmentation of the global internet into isolated blocs, with dangerous…
• Roblox is bringing ads to its virtual world, with an age restriction — Roblox plans to place in-world billboard ads restricted to users 13 and older, opening a new revenue stream for brands targeting the next generation of…
• Why shouting at a client never works — and what does — From difficult clients to public protests, the author argues that shouting entrenches positions rather than changing them, and that calm reasoning…
• Fear and dreams: the two tools used to control people — A sharp look at how fear and desire are weaponized to manipulate people, and why healthy skepticism is the most effective defense.
• Melted keys and good intentions: a cautionary tale about DIY computer — A short cautionary story about water damage, a hair dryer, and why knowing your limits matters more than saving money on repairs.
• The 1970s alliance behind South Africa's ICJ case against Israel — South Africa's lawsuit against Israel at the Hague stems from lingering resentment over Israel's military cooperation with the former Apartheid regime.
• Why Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI may have real strategic logic — Beyond the public spectacle, Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI may be aimed at securing historical credit, source code access, or compensation for his…
• Ramadan through the eyes of an Israeli father — An Israeli manager reflects on the painful contradiction between his respect for a Muslim colleague and the fear Ramadan stirs in him as a parent living…
• When good design masks a broken product — A costly lesson from a polished but dysfunctional omni-channel platform makes the case for putting product functionality firmly ahead of visual design.
• Why employees who demand higher salaries are often less efficient — Workers motivated purely by a paycheck often experience lower efficiency and higher dissatisfaction compared to those driven by personal fulfillment.
• Apple's canceled car and the human cost of a decade-long project — Apple shut down its autonomous car project after a decade and $10 billion, prompting a reflection on what it means for 2,000 engineers who watched years…
• What Sam Altman was really after with his $7 trillion ask — Altman's outlandish $7 trillion fundraising figure may be a calculated negotiation tactic that makes $100 billion seem reasonable while keeping his name…