Just in Case it Matters to You
Weekly Report 16-09
- MILLENNIALS WHO EXHIBIT “RELATIONAL AGGRESSION – involving a relationship with a loved one in which actions harm feelings or damage social status (often spreading rumors, backstabbing or publicly embarrassing friends) – apparently demonstrate the toxic effects of domineering helicopter parenting… withdrawing affection or money as a means of getting desired results when college-aged students are in the process of leaving the nest but still reliant on financial and emotional support.” A Univ. of Vermouth study focused on predominantly aggressive undergrads (mostly females) and found that those who “responded to stress influence by unleashing hostility on their peers (some impulsively, others in calculating and manipulative manners)… had been raised by controlling manipulative moms & dads.” [MEDICAL DAILY – Jan 22, 16]
- IS ANOTHER ECONOMIC CRISIS IMMINENT? The pessimist/realist concerns are based on a continuing policy of the Administration/Federal Reserve to “fake a semblance of prosperity by spending trillions of dollars out of an empty pocket and conjure trillions more out of thin air… While we have been settling in to enjoy quantitative easing, to infinity if need be, the unwelcome consequences have been piling up… What we see is perfection of financial engineering, not economic strength, as S&P 500 Companies have lavished over $2.4 trillion on stock buybacks since 2009 and remorselessly indulged in accounting gimmicks that serve to blur the actual profitability of businesses… We’ve had recurring ‘bubbles’ popping in 8-year cycles at the end of the last three presidential terms: The S&L bubble collapsed after H.W. Bush; the dot-com bubble after Clinton; and the sub-prime bubble after George Bush… If the pattern repeats, the current ‘asset’ bubble – based on artificial support for stock, real estate and bond prices – will burst this year. [FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT – Feb 16]
- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – a computer’s ability “to understand what you’re asking and then infer the best possible answer from all available evidence – is the most important human collaboration tool ever created.” From today’s speech recognition applications (most recognizably ‘Siri’ or Google Now), A.I. is fast evolving to “natural language interaction, generation, and eventually an ability to write as well as receive info to provide unaided/unassisted learning… Already, image recognition and interpretation rivals what humans can do with anomaly detection, since algorithms are better at recognizing images… matching clinical trials with patients, driving robotic surgeons, reading radiological findings, analyzing genomic sequences…and soon able to examine an X-ray, CAT scan or MRI to report what looks ” Likely within three years, A.I. should have capacity to process touch, smell & hearing senses to “engage in a much more intuitive and natural ecosystem providing seamless interaction with devices and info, making everything personalized, easy to use, and in actionable form at the moment when we need to make a decision.” [PETER DIAMANDIS – Feb 14, 16]
- NEARLY HALF OF AMERICAN JOBS ARE NOW AT RISK OF COMPUTER REPLACEMENT, according to Oxford University studies. While the U.S. workforce has only shifted one-half-percent to new digital technology jobs since 2000, the impact of automation now affects virtually every industry, and particularly low-end service jobs – with Las Vegas and Fresno CA are considered most at risk. “The impact will be even more disruptive for developing countries (around 70% for India, Thailand & South Africa, 77% for China), due to lower levels of consumer demand, limited social safety nets, and developments in 3D printing likely to drive companies to move manufacturing closer to home and generating risk of premature de-industrialization.” The Health Sector is projected as greatest for U.S. job creation in the next decades (some four million new positions), with Mental Health Counselors, Clinical, Counseling and School Psychologists at top of the list. [KURZWEIL ACCELERATING INTELLIGENCE NEWS – Feb 8, 16]
- STRESS IS THE REACTION TO OUR PERCEPTION about personal connection to the world around us, and a “huge influencer in our lives.” Since one of the critical contributors to daily stress is poor sleep, applying a few simple techniques can help: (1) a dark bedroom with cool temperature; (2) a two-hour break from eating, drinking or exercise at bedtime; (3) avoiding digital devices or office work in the bedroom; (4) bedtime reading rather than TV which stimulates brainwaves; (5) a prioritized ‘tomorrow to – do’ list (so your mind doesn’t worry about forgetting stuff); and (6) a reasonably consistent bedtime. “Collectively, these techniques allow your brain to anticipate creating and duplicating a good sleep cycle.” [DEVELOPMENTAL EXCELERATIONS – Feb 16, 16]
- THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: An impossible David Blaine card trick played against Harrison Ford:
http://www.sunnyskyz.com/happy-videos/2286/Magician-David-Blaine-Asks-Harrison-Ford-To-Hand-Him-An-Orange-And-Then-Harrison-Freaks-Out
DCG: UTILIZING GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE FOR OPTIMAL STRATEGIC & FINANCIAL DIRECTION, MANAGEMENT, NEGOTIATION & MEDIATION