Strangeness
Russia’s War Economy: Resilient on the Surface, Strained at the Core
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been subjected to more sanctions than a teenager grounded by four different parents. Financial systems, energy exports, tech transfers, you name it, the West tried to pull the plug. And yet, the Russian economy is still humming along. Or so it appears. What we’re seeing is not so much a healthy, thriving economy as a war-time illusion, puffed up by military spending, shored up by evasive tactics, and increasingly dependent on countries who aren’t particularly known for giving out favours for free. Growth… But at What Cost? Despite apocalyptic
Read moreApple’s Strategic Crossroads: From Walled Gardens to Fragile Bridges
Apple, long admired as the gold standard of sleek innovation and operational excellence, is undergoing a profound transformation, not by choice, but by necessity. Two forces are shaping this new chapter: a geopolitical world fracturing under trade tensions and a strategic pivot away from bold, disruptive innovation toward something more pragmatic, almost pedestrian. As Apple shifts from a China-centric manufacturing base to a fragile new footprint in India and beyond, and as its product evolution leans more toward incremental upgrades than grand reinventions, the company now finds itself walking a tightrope between past dominance and future uncertainty. Manufacturing: From Fortress
Read moreNo Longer the Sky: The Wild Race to Redefine Propulsion
The jet engine has had a good run, decades of refinement, power, and noise. It got us from A to B fast, high, and loud. But its time at the top is running out. In a world where sustainability isn’t just a buzzword but a mounting pressure point, aviation needs new blood. Or in this case, new fire. What’s coming next isn’t a single magic bullet. It’s a fleet of competing technologies, each dragging its own ambitions and engineering headaches behind it. From electric flights and hydrogen cells to open rotors, adaptive engines, and detonation-powered madness, the propulsion space is
Read moreMeet Your New Colleague: The Tesla Bot
If cheap labour is available anywhere, what advantages are left for countries that once sold it as their main export? That’s the uneasy question now floating in the minds of leaders across labour-rich economies, as bipedal robots prepare to clock in. Not just in factory shifts, but potentially your kitchen too.Enter the Tesla Bot.Announced in 2021 with typical Elon Musk flair, the Tesla Bot or “TB” if we’re on nickname terms is a 5’8″, 125-pound humanoid robot with fine-motor hands and a top speed that won’t outrun your nan (5mph, for the record). Musk, of course, pitched it with his
Read moreEurope Rearms: Old Muscles, New Wounds
For decades, Europe treated defence spending like that dusty treadmill in the garage, something you vaguely acknowledge might be useful but hope you’ll never have to rely on. That complacency ended with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The continent woke up, looked around, and realised it had been leaning on the United States for protection like a lazy teenager expecting a ride to school. Now, Europe is scrambling to rebuild its military muscles. Budgets are swelling, procurement pipelines are clogged with orders, and politicians are lining up to promise strength and self-reliance. But this isn’t the smooth, confident rise
Read moreBlind to the Echoes: Why We Keep Walking Into the Same Fire
You’ve heard it before, history repeats itself. It’s quoted so often it’s practically wallpaper. But the better question is: do we actually notice it when it happens? Judging by the state of the world, not really. We love to recycle. In fashion, in politics, in ideas. Aesthetics from past decades resurface, get hailed as edgy or new, and reappear on catwalks and Instagram as if we’ve just invented shoulder pads or flared jeans. The same happens with ideologies, just dressed up for a modern audience, minus the warnings printed on the label. We’re a species that loves playing with the
Read moreAI Fighter Pilots and Quantum Navigation: Aviation Just Got Weirder (and Smarter)
So the United States Air Force has done it, they’ve stuck an AI into an F-16 and let it fly solo over California. No training wheels. No human override. Just a machine pulling Gs and making decisions at Mach speeds. It’s a huge milestone. But it’s not happening in isolation. Alongside it, the UK is pushing forward with Quantum Navigation, another quietly radical leap that, when combined with AI pilots, might just rewrite how military aviation works. Let’s unpack it, because this isn’t just another fighter jet story. This is about humans becoming the backup system. The Jet Is Just
Read more3D Printing: The Trade Disruptor No One Saw Coming
3D printing used to be the domain of tech nerds, start-up evangelists, and anyone hoping to bypass Amazon by printing their own toothbrush holder. Now it’s threatening to do to global manufacturing what Spotify did to CD sales. Quietly, but thoroughly. At first, it looked like a novelty, cheap plastic trinkets, wonky action figures, and half-melted chess pieces that no one asked for. It was harmless, vaguely impressive, and mostly ignored. But behind the noise of warped Pikachu heads, something quietly shifted: the tech matured, and the implications got serious. The Not-So-Humble Origins The earliest 3D printers seemed more like
Read moreOn the Eve of Quantum Computing
Humanity’s been waiting for the next bus of progress to show up ever since the Wright brothers took us into the skies. Once we left the ground, the world shrank; distance stopped being a barrier. And just like any long-awaited bus, it turns out we weren’t waiting for one—we’re about to be hit by two, and they might just fuse into some monstrous, roaring super-bus that speeds us into a future most of us aren’t entirely ready for. The first bus? Artificial Intelligence. You’ve heard of it. It’s already gently tapping us on the shoulder at work, occasionally shoving us
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