Globalization is not a recent phenomenon; it began in the 1870s when international trade and investment expanded to sell mass-produced products worldwide, driven by technologies such as steam engines and electricity. The peak of globalization occurred in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The economy advances primarily through improvements in productivity. The technological advancements mentioned have significantly influenced this productivity growth. For example, a smartphone, which combines the functionality of a computer with that of a mobile device, exemplifies technological progress that has brought convenience to mankind. However, smartphone technology and network effects haven’t contributed to the expected boost in human productivity. Technology can be categorized into those that enhance productivity and those that do not. Although today’s technology development exceeds that of the past, it doesn’t automatically lead to greater productivity. To build wealth, incre...
The "normal human body temperature = 37°C" standard was established in 1851 by the German medical doctor "Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich", who took millions of temperature readings from about 25,000 people and reported "36.2°C to 37.5°C". However, surveys in the United States in 1992 and the United Kingdom in 2017 found 36.8°C and 36.6°C, respectively. So in the past people deemed that the discrepancy was due to errors in old measuring equipment or methods. But Julie Parsonnet and her colleagues at Stanford University's School of Infectious Disease Epidemiology found a common thread in the temperature databases: People are cooler now than they were then. It wasn't just a measurement error. They speculated that medical advances had reduced inflammation and lowered the average temperature. We don't question the obvious. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”