SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " creativity " 227 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Sony drops “PC”, adds “AI” to official PlayStation business strategy summary
Sony had made some conspicuous edits and updates to its description of PlayStation’s “business environment and strategy,” in a new annual report filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today. These changes are part of a 379-word overview of Sony’s strategy for its Game & Network Services (G&NS) division, which is another name for PlayStation. The chunk about PlayStation strategy is part of a voluminous financial report filed by Sony each June. This year’s is 229 pages long. Differences to any part of the filing—word changes made from year to year, as Sony provides a breakdown of its business for investors—can be illuminating. For example: A line from 2025 about how the PlayStation team “aims to achieve sustainable and profitable business growth” has been changed in the 2026 version to “aims to achieve sustainable business growth.” Notice which word they cut? That’s a pretty clear tell about how Sony expects its profit margins to be squeezed this year, due to rising chip costs for its hardware, among other things. A line from 2025 that stated “Sony plans to continue its efforts to deploy its first-party titles to multiple platforms such as PC” had been cut from the 2026 version. That appears to be Sony’s admission by omission that it has backed off releasing its biggest games on PC. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported in March and again in May that Sony’s big single-player marquee games are no longer planned for time-delayed release on PC.1 A whole new chunk has also been added about how “Sony is utilizing AI to unleash the creativity of studios and further enhance the PlayStation experience.” A full breakdown of the changes made from the 2025 version to the 2026 version is below. I’ve redlined them for you…
Health kicks off Aspen Ideas June 22-25
Since 2014, Aspen Ideas: Health has preceded the Aspen Ideas festivals. This year, from June 22-25, it offers more than 60 sessions with seven program tracks revolving around patient care, new treatments and technology, longevity and vitality, creativity, medical enterprise, leadership and how health-related questions often lack black or white answers.
Variety Announces Brand Entertainment for Fans Event Spotlighting Leaders at Cannes Lions
Variety will host Brand Entertainment for Fans, presented by Walmart Connect, on Monday, June 22, during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, bringing together executives from Walmar...
USA Lacrosse Docuseries Wins Cynopsis Sports Award
Behind the Shield, a seven-part docuseries following the 2025 U.S. Men’s Lacrosse U20 team, won the 2026 Cynopsis Sports Award in the Best Sports Team/Event/Competition Documentary or Docuseries category.Watch Behind the ShieldThere were more than 30 categories in this year’s Cynopsis Sports Awards, recognizing an exceptional group of organizations, teams and individuals driving innovation, creativity and impact across the sports industry.
Science informs creativity at Camp Invention
LEAVITTSBURG — Children learning to use science and other skills to solve mysteries had the assistance of movable capybaras that they ...
Ohio State students showcase creativity, business sense at fashion show
The Ohio State University students who participated in the Fashion Production Association’s (FPA) recent runway show at the Ohio Union not only put their creativity into practice – they gained professional experience that can benefit them in the workplace, organizers say. The runway show gives students in the fashion and retail studies progr...
Things to do in Lancaster: explore and experiment at the Lancaster Science Factory
The Lancaster Science Factory, a nonprofit science center, continues to spark curiosity and creativity among children and families with its dynamic, hands-on approach to learning. Featuring more than 80 interactive
5 Small Business Ideas Perfect for Gen Z Entrepreneurs
These small business ideas let aspiring Gen Z entrepreneurs monetize their creativity and technical skills.
Ask an Expert: How Can the Science Community Protect Science and Democracy?
Join Science Rising: a movement of truth-tellers, guided by integrity, creativity, and justice, to serve the public.
New Business Spotlight: Riverside Coffee
New small businesses are emerging with innovative ideas and a passion for excellence. This column highlights their unique offerings and inspiring stories, showcasing the creativity and resilience of entrepreneurs shaping our communities. Jonathan Palk, managing associate for Peachtree Planning, is highlighting local businesses through in-person podcasts. “The purpose of the podcast is to share stories […]
Beyond Instagram: Introducing the next generation of social apps
These newer social apps offer alternatives to Big Tech’s feeds, focusing on interests, creativity, and community.
Davenport helps student launch her education and a business
“What I like most about Davenport’s program is how involved and supportive the professors are, and that they challenge us to think in different ways rather than just memorizing information,” she said. “Many of the assignments encourage creativity, critical thinking and applying concepts to real-world situations, which I think has helped me grow
The cult of objectivity has broken consciousness science
With 22 competing theories and no consensus in sight, the science of consciousness is lost. In this exclusive IAI interview, Berkeley psychedelics researcher and bestselling author of a new book on consciousness Michael Pollan insists that even though consciousness lies beyond traditional forms of scientific investigation, we should resist becoming dualists who see it as something radically different from ordinary stuff in the world. Instead, he makes the case for reimagining science itself: it must stop reaching for objective descriptions of physical reality, and instead embrace subjectivity as the indispensable core of all inquiry. Alasdair Craig: How did your experiences with psychedelics get you interested in consciousness?Michael Pollan: One of the things that happens on psychedelics is that they foreground consciousness. What formerly seemed perfectly transparent and ever present—and yet, non-existent, as water is to fish—suddenly you see it. The metaphor I use in the book is that psychedelics sponge the windscreen. Suddenly you realize: wow, there’s a windscreen, there is this phenomenon that’s mediating my relationship to reality. This is not an unusual realization on psychedelics. I think a lot of people are called to think about consciousness after psychedelic experiences. So that was the proximate inspiration for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (2026).And then there was a more specific way in which psychedelics influence the book. That was a particular experience I had on psilocybin. I had the sensation that the plants in my garden were conscious and returning my gaze, with their own point of view and agency, and I got curious as to how to evaluate an insight like that. I mean, what’s the truth quotient of insights you have on psychedelics? And I was reading William James—who, of course, wrote beautifully about mystical experience—and he said, we can’t judge the metaphysics here, but we should pay attention to two criteria: (1) How useful is it to think this is true? He was a pragmatist, of course. And (2) can we subject it to other ways of knowing to validate it? Because maybe we should treat these insights as hypotheses. And that’s kind of how I approach psychedelics, as a great generator of hypotheses, but they need to be tested against other ways of knowing. And so that led me down this long path exploring the science of plant intelligence and plant sentience.AC: I love your phrase, “smudging the windowpane of conscious experience.” So do you now start to think, actually, even when I’m not on psychedelics, I’m just seeing a screen all the time, which is not reality, but rather is my conscious experience, behind which reality is hidden?MP: Well, you know, not when I’m brushing my teeth and making breakfast! But yes, in meditation, certainly. I mean, one of the things you realize is that my experience happens to be this way now, but it could be another way. And many things can affect it. My morning coffee changes the screen in various ways, sharpens certain things.___The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness.___There’s this wonderful metaphor in Aldous Huxley’s book, The Doors of Perception, where he thinks we channel consciousness, and that what the brain does is edit it, and there’s a reducing valve. And psychedelics open the reducing valve wider. I don’t know that I’m ready to buy into the idea that consciousness exists outside brains, but I do love that metaphor because there are times when you are more conscious than others. I know I’ve switched from window pane to valve, but you know, a camera aperture can open wider or narrower. And I do have a sense of that. I have a sense of when I’m being less conscious, and when I’m being more conscious, by which I mean, you know, more present, taking in more sensory information. So when you start thinking about consciousness as a matter of degree, that changes things also.I think when we scroll on social media, obviously, we’re conscious. But minimally so, because we don’t have to generate our own thoughts. We’re basically taking these little hits from other people and thinking their thoughts.The process of writing this book made me kind of relativize everyday consciousness as just one type, which is exactly what William James said. Normal consciousness is one type, separated by the flimsiest of screens from the other types.AC: If we stick with the metaphor of the smudge on the window that you get when you take psychedelics, it seems like we’re saying that consciousness has become like an object that you’re looking at, right? You’re looking at the smudge and that just is consciousness. But sometimes we’ll talk about consciousness as a state that you’re in, rather than an object you can perceive. You’re either conscious or you’re not conscious. So it’s difficult to really know what sort of thing we’re talking about when we talk about consciousness, right?MP: Yeah. When you say that consciousness is an object, what’s the subject? Consciousness also? The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness. So we’re in a closed loop and when we get a perspective on consciousness, we’re not achieving any distance from it. That’s one of the problems with studying consciousness. Science is predicated on an objective, God’s eye view of things, and you never get that. There’s no such thing. SUGGESTED VIEWING The brain filters consciousness With Àlex Gómez-Marín But, yeah, there is this sense, I think, that consciousness is something you can approach. Certainly, when you’re writing and trying to recreate a conscious experience, it’s a fiction, but you’re standing back from it, and looking at it. But there’s no real subject-object distinction.AC: That’s so interesting, because when philosophers start talking about consciousness, they often talk about what they call “qualia”, which is their word for the felt experience of, say, the color red. And I think that way of speaking often makes us think of the qualia as an object, which you can see out there: the redness of red. But, as you say, we also want to collapse the subject-object distinction when we talk about consciousness. So there’s something strange going on here…MP: Oh, yeah, there are many strange things going on! *AC: Let’s talk about the varieties of consciousness. Apart from perceptions, there are, pains, emotions, thoughts, and so on. What is it that holds all this diversity together so that they all count as instances of consciousness? What is it that they all have in common?MP: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, there is sensory information, right? Which we perceive coming from the world outside ourselves. And then there’s internal information, which is what’s called interoception. And this is very important too. This is where feelings come from—what are sometimes called homeostatic feelings—that are intended to get the brain to keep us in these narrow ranges of temperature and glucose and so on. That’s a very important part of consciousness. And according to some researchers, who I think are probably right, this is where consciousness begins, with these very primal feelings, like hunger and thirst and warmth and itch, and things like that. And then there’s this third thing, which is our thinking about thinking.And what holds all this together is, I think, the sense of self. Consciousness generates a self: it is probably an organizing principle. All this stuff is happening to the self. It’s a construct, I think, but it is very useful. It can connect all these different streams of consciousness to a single being or a place, metaphorically speaking.* AC: The first half of your book is about the science of consciousness. Is consciousness just another thing, like black holes or the origin of life, which we don’t yet understand, but which we should have every hope that science will one day get to the bottom of, or is there something special about consciousness that makes this unlikely?MP: It depends how you define science. As we define science now, it’s going be very difficult. Science since Galileo has had a set of rules or assumptions, which is that the proper remit of science is to deal with the objective, quantifiable, third-person world. And the physical sciences have done amazing work under that set of limitations. Galileo—for tactical reasons, not for philosophical reasons—said science should not deal with the soul, which at the time was what consciousness was considered to be. So what is subjective, what is qualitative, what is first person, we’re going to leave to the church, he said. And this was a good agreement, and it probably kept many scientists from getting burned at the stake. But it leaves science in an awkward spot, now that it wants to venture into that territory of qualities, of first-person experience. And I don’t think it has the proper tools. I think it will have to add to its toolkit in some way, and find a way to bring in phenomenology, or lived experience and introspection, which science is usually dismissive of.The challenge—we alluded to it earlier—is that the only tool you have to study consciousness with is consciousness. And what I mean by that is, the whole scientific enterprise is a manifestation of consciousness. As much as scientists like to flatter themselves with this idea that they attain a godlike perspective on what they study, when it comes to consciousness, there’s no such thing. And it’s fine for all the things you can step outside of and study from that perspective. But two areas it won’t work are consciousness and cosmology.___It could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.___With cosmology, too, you have to study the universe from inside the universe. It’s not that cosmologists haven’t made progress. We know a lot about the age of the universe and expansion and things like that. But we can’t penetrate what happened before the Big Bang. We just don’t have the tools because we can’t stand outside.The fact that there are 22 full-scale theories of consciousness tells you all you need to know: we’re kind of lost. And I was surprised to find that we are more lost than I thought we were when I started this. I thought that there’d be leading theories, or that we had experiments that we could conduct that would nail some of this down. And the fact is, we don’t.So, I don’t know if science can solve it. But, of course, we can change the rules of science. A really influential book for me was a book called The Blind Spot, by two physicists, Marcello Gleiser and Adam Frank, and a philosopher, Evan Thompson. It’s a reminder that science is a social practice. It’s organized in a certain way and it can be organized in a different way. But it has this huge blind spot at the center of it, which is its failure to recognize that it is a form of consciousness itself, and it doesn’t have a good way of taking account of lived experience.AC: On the one hand, I think you want to resist traditional dualism, which would say that consciousness is something magical, something supernatural, right? But on the other hand, you’re accepting that there is this division in reality between the stuff that you can investigate objectively and measure, and so on—the stuff that science has been good at finding out about—and consciousness, which, for some reason, you can’t objectively measure. Some would take this to suggest that the dualism is actually right. Is there a way of reconciling these two strands of your thinking?MP: To call it magical is full of value judgement. I mean, you could just say immaterial. The interesting thing is, I think, that intuitively we’re all dualists. And I don’t know whether that’s because we’re children of Descartes and other cultures are less dualist than we are. Or it may be because that’s how consciousness feels. It feels different than the body. It feels separate from the body. But I don’t think we should trust that intuition.AC: So let’s think about ways that science might be changed to get at consciousness. I suppose the starting point would be the way that you begin the second half of your book. You have this nice line from William James, where he says, “We now begin our study of the mind from within.” Could you give us some sense of the ways of studying the mind from within? What does this involve?MP: I don’t know what that science looks like. But one of the points I’m making is that it depends on the humanities. I found that I learned as much, if not more, about consciousness, from reading novels and poetry. There is a sense of the fullness and complexity of consciousness that you don’t get in any scientific account. I interviewed this stream-of-consciousness writer and I approached her as an expert on consciousness, and she is. So I think that dialogue is really important.I’m reading Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Just read the first page of this novel: it’s a man falling asleep on a train, going to conduct an interview, and there is the experience of being in the train, facing backwards, there’s the view outside, but there’s a reflection of himself through which he’s seeing outside. There’s the memory of dropping his kids off at school. All this is going on in one moment of consciousness. Scientists aren’t going anywhere near that. But I think it’s useful for them to think about. That’s where we’re trying to go: like, how does such a layered experience happen? You know, it also makes you wonder, could a computer ever do this? And it gives you some doubt.*AC: Before we get to computers, perhaps we could talk briefly about plants. How did you come to feel that they are sentient?MP: Well, it was a psychedelic experience, and it’s not unusual on psychedelics. In fact, there’ve been studies about how people become animists during psychedelic experience. Their belief in animism arises after a single psychedelic experience.You know, most scientists would say this is all a myth. But we have only 400 years of the age of enlightenment and science. Before that, we were animists, and if you go around the world, most indigenous cultures are still animists, and children are animists, by and large, until they go to school. So it could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.As I said, I wanted to test this idea, and see whether there was conventional scientific evidence for it. And there’s fascinating work going on in a field that calls itself—in a rather cheeky way—plant neurobiology. These are people who fully realize there are no neurons in plants, but they’re trolling conventional botanists! And they’re doing experiments that are demonstrating that plants can learn and remember, which is kind of amazing: how do you store a memory without neurons? They’re finding plants that can solve problems, that can hear and see. In fact, they have 20 senses to our five or six. For example, a bean plant looking for something to twine, and given a pole within eight inches or so of it, knows where that pole is and will aim its spiraling reach at that pole. What is that about? Is it bouncing signals off of it?One of the spookiest things is the fact that the same anesthetics that put us out put plants out. You might think that plants are already out, but they’re not. They’re just slow. If you take a plant with a fast behavior, like a Venus flytrap, and give it an anesthetic, it will stop reacting. So you have to ask yourself, what is lost when the plant is anaesthetized? Some state of alertness, of awareness, of its environment, of reactivity. I’m not prepared to call that consciousness, but maybe it’s sentience—which is a simpler form of consciousness, and involves the ability to sense what’s going on in your environment and assess what’s good and bad for you and act appropriately. That may be a universal quality of life.AC: Let’s turn from plants to AI. You point out that LLMs are trained on the internet rather than direct interactions with reality. You put this really nicely when you say the internet is not the world so much as a shadow cast by the world. So LLMs are living in this kind of shadow world, or in Plato’s cave, as you put it. What’s the significance of this for AI consciousness and moral consideration? And, to recall the beginning of our conversation, if we’re stuck behind a veil or screen of consciousness, are we also stuck in a kind of shadow world?MP: I don’t think they’re the same shadow worlds because our world includes nature and other people. And even if it’s mediated in some ways... There is a reality out there, and we are in relation to it, through consciousness. There’s friction with it. What’s missing from the LLMs is that friction with the real world. There’s more to the world than human representation, which is what they’re dealing with. And that means that so far, AI is a cultural technology for combining thoughts we’ve already had. SUGGESTED VIEWING Cracking the code for thought With Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Max Tegmark, Güneş Taylor Genuine creativity is more than collage. A lot of what AI does now is tantamount to collage, putting this with that and you know, that’s part of art, certainly. But there are also genuinely new ideas that come into the world that don’t come in through manipulating the representations we already have. So it remains to be seen whether AIs can be truly creative in that more radical sense.But my arguments against AI becoming conscious have to do with the fact that the idea of AI consciousness is based on this faulty metaphor that the brain is a computer. There are dimensions in which the brain is like a computer—it certainly does its share of computation. But computers have this sharp distinction between hardware and software, and brains don’t. In a brain, hardware and software are identical. Every memory is a physical change to the brain. Brains are not interchangeable in the way computers are. So this idea that you could take the consciousness out and somehow run it on another substrate, a silicon substrate, seems foolhardy.Anyway, it’s a more extended argument, and I may be wrong. And when we move to computers that aren’t based on silicon—neuromorphic computers and things like that—all bets may be off.AC: Regarding your point about LLMs being stuck in the world of our representations—the internet or whatever—and not being able to interact with reality, are these representations, the world of the internet, themselves part of reality? We’ve created the internet, but it’s still a real thing that exists. And so while the LLMs may be trapped within that part of reality, they’re nevertheless within reality and interacting with it and so on. So it’s not obvious that there’s a barrier there to them becoming conscious and being creative.MP: Yeah, I mean, if our consciousness is built out of human culture, which is what we’re talking about with all those representations. But I tend to think consciousness comes a bit more out of nature and friction with the natural world, but...AC: So there’s a fundamental divide between the natural world and human artefacts?MP: And we lose track of that, and especially people in this computer world. You know, the people who are creating these AI systems, my guess is they’ve been into video games since the age of three, and they didn’t go outside a lot. And their own contact with nature is somewhat limited. I could be wrong, it’d be a very interesting thing to ask, all the wizards of AI, whether they like to go fishing and hiking and do things like that. Or were they on computers from a very early age? I interviewed Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who came to believe that LaMDA, the Google LLM out at the time, was conscious and deserved personhood. It was very clear that he didn’t see a distinction between this bubble in which he lived and the real world. And I think we’ve all been distanced from the natural world, and this is taking us even further away. But it’s still there, you know, and we still have bodies, and we’re still mortal, and we don’t live in a simulation.AC: I think that’s a great place to finish. Michael Pollan, thank you very much!
Martin Scorsese is betting on AI to transform storyboarding process
Martin Scorsese is joining AI firm Black Forest Labs as an advisor to 'push the bounds of creativity.'
Cannes Lions to Honor Apple’s Eddy Cue as Entertainment Person of the Year 2026
Cannes Lions announced that Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services and Health, will receive the 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year award, a distinction that celebrates leaders capable of redefining entertainment, storytelling, and cultural connection through creativity and innovation.
Over 100 students showcase coding projects at Springfield Science Showcase
Springfield Public Schools recently hosted its annual Computer Science Showcase, celebrating student creativity, innovation and their work in the field.
Chef J. Kenji López-Alt Talks Curiosity, Cuisine, and Science
IFT FIRST keynoter shares the importance of connecting culinary creativity with scientific inquiry, curiosity, and regional flavors to inform the future of food.
Wethersfield fourth graders make discoveries at science fair
***This article was written by Aundrea Serna, a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Fund. Curiosity, creativity and perseverance were on full display during the fourth-grade science fair at Wethersfield Elementary School last Tuesday. Students presented projects across multiple branches of science, including physical science, life science,… Continue reading Wethersfield fourth graders make discoveries at science fair
Central European Media Enterprises Joins ACE Anti-Piracy Coalition
Central European Media Enterprises has joined the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, the coalition tasked with fighting piracy worldwide. CME is a media and entertainment company operating in ...
Duolingo CEO says AI can't match his top designers' creativity
Duolingo's CEO said AI can't achieve the "level of creativity or the polish" that his top designers can.
The Guardian view on public health and the arts: the all-singing, all-dancing science of ageing
Editorial: New research showing that a rich cultural life brings brings similar benefits to exercise shows human creativity in a new light
Samsung Launches One UI 9 Beta for Galaxy S26 Series Users
One UI 9 beta offers a more intuitive and personalized mobile experience with enhancements across creativity, accessibility and security
Samsung Launches One UI 9 Beta for Galaxy S26 Series Users
One UI 9 beta offers a more intuitive and personalized mobile experience with enhancements across creativity, accessibility and security
Tool sparking creativity or hindrance for artists?
To create a beautiful sculpture, one needs wood extracted from a strong, solid trunk. To forge a fine blade, one needs high-quality steel. The Latin adage “Ex nihilo nihil fit,”
Open Mind Film Festival showcases high schooler-made films on mental health
Under the bright stage lights, high school filmmakers used creativity and advocacy to highlight topics often left in the dark. Taking place at the UCLA James Bridges Theater on April 26, the sixth annual Open Mind Film Festival brought together high school filmmakers from across the United States to show films focused on themes of mental health and wellness.
Geek Out Napa Valley returns to celebrate ‘creativity and fandom’
Whether it be Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, music, crafts, “Dungeons & Dragons” or something else entirely, the Napa County Library can help people celebrate. Geek Out Napa Valley is simply an extension of what the library has to offer.
Class of 2026: Aspiring medical illustrator Zora Weir-Gertzog is drawn
At VCU, her two degrees, independent project and broad collaborations reflect longtime creativity and motivation.
Ice age humans in China crafted surprisingly advanced stone tools 146,000 years ago
Scientists in China discovered that ancient humans were making surprisingly advanced stone tools during a harsh ice age 146,000 years ago. The tools, created by Homo juluensis, show careful planning and complex thinking rather than simple stone-chipping. Researchers dated the site using tiny calcite crystals inside animal bones, revealing the tools are much older than expected. The discovery challenges the idea that human creativity only thrives in easy, prosperous times.
PlayStation Boss Embraces AI To 'Unleash Creativity" In Gaming
CEO Hideaki Nishino outlined the company's ambitious vision for AI in gaming
Nevada City Chamber of Commerce 2026 Business & Community Awards, “Long Table” dinner celebration on May 16
Nevada City, CA — The Nevada City Chamber of Commerce proudly announces the recipients of its 2026 Business & Community Awards, honoring exceptional contributions to the local economy, culture, and civic life. This awards ceremony has been held for 124 years and celebrates the individuals, organizations, and businesses whose creativity, dedication, and leadership strengthen Nevada […]
EA SPORTS FC™ and LALIGA Launch New York Community Pitch as Part of FC FUTURES Program, Designed by Local Artist BG183
EA SPORTS FC™ and LALIGA have unveiled a newly refurbished community football pitch in the South Bronx, New York, as part of FC FUTURES – EA SPORTS’ grassroots initiative to expand access to the game and connect football communities around the world. EA SPORTS FC™ and LALIGA launch New York community pitch as part of FC FUTURES program Marking the 10th pitch delivered through the program with LALIGA globally, the project brings together soccer, creativity and community to create a safe, inclusive space for young people and local families to learn through play. Developed in collaboration with local partners and featuring a custom design by Bronx artist BG183, the pitch is connected to P.S./M.S. 31 The William Lloyd Garrison School and has been delivered alongside love.fútbol and South Bronx United to support long-term impact in the community. Located in the South Bronx, the pitch has been designed as a multi-use space that goes beyond the game, supporting school physical education and
Axios Live: Creativity is Hollywood's next kingmaker, entertainment executive says
Media companies should focus on creativity instead of growth
Fortune's 'most innovative' list includes Sanford Health
The 2026 list recognizes 300 U.S.-based companies for leadership in fostering creativity, advancing technology and driving transformation.
Why letting kids get dirty this spring might be one of the best things for their health
Experts say playing in dirt, mud, and the outdoors isn’t just fun for kids. It helps build creativity, reduce stress, and even strengthen their immune systems. Hear what a Boston Children’s Hospital psychologist says about why “getting dirty” matters, and how to make it part of your routine.
Inspire Vancouver grant program debuts with $6M for local arts, culture, heritage, and science -
The City of Vancouver is launching Inspire Vancouver, a new grant program designed to spark creativity and create more arts, culture, heritage, and
Opinion: Young people make nonprofit boards better. Here’s how.
Research suggests that young people have greater optimism, creativity, and motivation to drive social change than other age groups.
BUSINESS MONDAY: Spotlight on Art in the Berkshires—now open on Castle Street
What began in 2024 as an online resource now operates a physical gallery and studio space to help further its mission—“amplifying the transformative power of art in our community by making it easier to discover, experience, and support Berkshire creativity in one welcoming place.”
Gaslamp Quarter shops use creativity to attract customers as National Small Business Week kicks off
Inside Empire Entertainment Japan: 30 years of turning ‘Wow’ moments into global hits
As the entertainment industry increasingly blurs the lines between digital narratives and physical reality, Empire Entertainment Japan and SOHO Live are market leaders in redefining how Japanese creativity is exported to the global stage. At the spearhead of this evolution are Ted Miller, president and CEO of Tokyo-based Empire Japan,…
PHOTOS: Scenes from Lawrenceville's DTL CON-Quest
This weekend downtown Lawrenceville hosted the newly rebranded DTL CON-Quest — a free two-day celebration of comics, cosplay and creativity.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: Cassidy Highlights Local Business Owner’s Journey from Uncertainty to Entrepreneurship | U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), for his monthly Local Spotlight, recognized Amanda Ratcliff for her resilience and entrepreneurial spirit in turning life’s challenges into opportunity. Her business, Buttery Spell, features uniquely crafted products that reflect her creativity and the unmistakable flavors and culture of New Orleans. Each month, Cassidy highlights a local story that truly […]
Unlocking human ambition to drive business growth with AI - The Official Microsoft Blog
As our customers progress toward becoming Frontier Firms, they are using AI not only to optimize how work gets done, but to reinvent their business on the promise of growth. Organizations can now unlock creativity, accelerate innovation and democratize intelligence by bringing Copilots and agents directly into the tools people love and use every day....
Play Thrilling New GTA Online Experiences Built by the Community with the Rockstar Mission Creator
The Rockstar Mission Creator is the latest expansion to our suite of innovative, in-depth tools empowering the community to unleash their creativity and bring their own GTA Online adventures to life. Play a wide range of exciting missions across Los...
Mark Your Calendar: 46th Annual Remsen Barn Festival Announced
The Remsen Barn Festival of the Arts is set to return with its 46th annual celebration, bringing a weekend of creativity and community to the Mohawk Valley.
Commentary: Chicago’s arts and culture is essential infrastructure. Here’s why.
They are not optional amenities. They are vital to GDP, workforce competitiveness and the city’s standing as a global capital of creativity.
WNY Invention Convention at Buffalo Science Museum
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Students had the chance to showcase their creativity at the Buffalo Museum of Science on Sunday at the Western New York Invention Convention. Around 350 students showed…
Extending the Link documentary looks at health care issues in Lesotho
“I’m Here, Where Are You,” ETL’s 18th short-form documentary, will premiere as part of Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day on April 30.
Behind the Shield Named a Finalist for Cynopsis Sports Awards
Behind the Shield, a seven-part docuseries following the 2025 U.S. Men’s U20 team, has been named a finalist for the 2026 Cynopsis Sports Awards.There are more than 30 categories in this year’s Cynopsis Sports Awards, recognizing an exceptional group of organizations, teams and individuals driving innovation, creativity and impact across the sports industry.
Four receive 2026 University Staff Excellence Awards
The University Staff Excellence Awards honor staff members for their excellence in effectiveness, innovation, creativity, originality, leadership,…
Shaky political science: using "simulated" elections over real-world elections
[Dear DSOS readers – this article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in early December, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting. We found that many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data, and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first three articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report, the second one analyzing a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report, and a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research]. In this fourth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we shine a spotlight on seven studies that were web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group (the ERRG is an ad hoc committee headed by New America’s Political Reform Program and joined by the American Enterprise Institute, the Unite America Institute and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law). This research consortium has been led by Lee Drutman, senior fellow with New America’s Political Reform Program. These seven studies are simply not credible from any objective standard about how political “science” is supposed to illuminate our understanding of either ranked choice voting or politics in general. The feature that six of these seven studies have in common is that they all used surveys – artificial, simulated elections -- to attempt to say something cogent or interesting about ranked choice voting (RCV) elections. None of them used real world data from actual RCV elections – either the 1000+ elections in the US or the many thousands of elections from places like Australia, Ireland and elsewhere where RCV has been used for 100 years. While a few of these studies conclude with some mixed positives about RCV, our analysis here is content neutral. The idea that, with a political reform like RCV, you can ask respondents in a mock, artificial election to vote with that method, with only the barest of explanation about how RCV works or its likely impacts (i.e. no spoiler candidates, majority winners, voters liberated to pick their favorite candidates, coalition-building), and then ask them their thoughts/reactions about voting in that system, with fake candidates and no real campaigning, no real exposure to an actual election or actual candidates, rests on some very puzzling assumptions. The findings of these seven studies actually are contradicted by the findings from many other studies based on real-world RCV elections. These New America studies also failed to list the real-world RCV studies in their own citations, instead including those studies that reinforced their conclusions. The seven studies featured in this article were chosen because they form a cohesive cohort which precisely illustrates one of the main points of our research paper, namely that using surveys, i.e. artificial elections, or mathematical/theoretical models, instead of real-world data, is in fact “shaky political science.” Below are summaries of our analysis of five of the seven New America studies. You can read our complete analysis of all seven studies at our paper, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting.” Choosing to “Vote As Usual” by Andre Blais, Carolina Plescia, and Semra Sevi. New America. (Blais et al., 2021). This study, web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group, used two surveys in which respondents completed ballots for simulated elections using plurality, approval, RCV and point (Score) voting. In both cases the authors provided the respondents with only minimal explanation of each method. For example, the entire explanation for RCV was “For this vote, rank the candidates from your first to your last choice (you do not need to rank them all). This is called the ranked vote.” That’s it. The study did not provide any context or explanation to survey respondents about why she/he might want to rank multiple candidates. Participants were not even told that ballots would be tabulated using an “instant” runoff, not to mention any description of RCVs ability to eliminate the spoiler effect or liberate voters to rank their favorite candidates without fear of helping the “greater evil” candidate to win. That’s like taking an iPhone back in time to 1970 and asking someone if they like it better than their rotary phone without explaining how it works. Their first survey targeted states that held 2020 Super Tuesday Democratic primaries and used the real candidates’ names in the survey; the second survey used fictitious candidates. In other words, they surveyed respondents who had only ever participated in plurality elections, had no history or background with using RCV or any of the other methods, had no clue about its likely impacts, and did not communicate how the alternative methods would be counted, and then asked them: “How satisfied are you with using each system?” Predictably, the winner was plurality elections, the system used for president, Congress, gubernatorial and state legislative elections – in other words, the method they have been using, year after year, all their voting lives. With so little explanation of RCV and its impacts, this study is simply not credible in discovering anything useful about real-world RCV elections. It merely shows that a basic voter education campaign is needed when adopting a new election system. Additionally, the result contradicts many other post-election surveys following real RCV elections, asking opinions from voters who had just participated in a RCV election, that showed a great deal of satisfaction with RCV (see details on that in Studies 22-25 in our paper, as well as the four studies cited in the review for Study 28). Share Other studies on “satisfaction” and “understanding” make similar mistakes, in terms of basing their surveys on inadequate explanation to respondents and lack of education about context. How could any survey ever hope to measure accurately, in essence simulate a real-world election, without actual campaigning candidates, the media writing about those candidates, organizations endorsing candidates and voters being inundated with crucial information? More than anything, what these “studies” based on surveys show is that if you ask voters about something they don’t know very much about, and fail to adequately educate them, their responses will unsurprisingly reflect their confusion. Equally puzzling is that New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group, headed by political scientist Lee Drutman, found this to be a credible enough study that they not only published it but highlighted it in Drutman’s own discussion of research related to ranked choice voting. This pattern was repeated in study after study featured by New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group. For example in Ranked-Choice Voting and Political Expression: Voter Guides Narrow the Gap between Informed and Uninformed Citizens by Cheryl Boudreau, Jonathan Colner, and Scott MacKenzie, the researchers based their analysis on a survey which found that respondents who were asked to vote in a simulated RCV election, with minimal explanation of RCV or how it works, displayed less evidence of being informed about how to use RCV effectively, with the least informed voters ranking fewer candidates. As pointed out under the study above, in a real election voters are informed by a wide variety of methods, including public education by the election administration, by interested political groups, the media, and the candidates themselves who benefit from voters being aware of how to vote in the new system. In Support for Ranked-Choice Voting across Race and Partisanship by Joseph Anthony, David C. Kimball, Jack Santucci and Jamil Scott, the researchers used respondents from different parties and races voting in simulated plurality and RCV elections, who indicated their satisfaction with each voting method. Instead of using real world election results, the authors fell back on the easy, armchair and less reliable academic research methodology of making up mock elections. As with the other studies, little explanation was given of how RCV works or what its implications might be (electing majority winners or eliminating spoilers, for example). Unsurprisingly, this study found that respondents were not very satisfied with RCV. However, when the authors added an explanation that RCV has a tendency to elect more women and people of color, they found that this greater explanation increased the preference for RCV. The more voters were familiar with it, and the more they understood potential positive impacts – surprise! -- the more they were open to switching away from the status quo. Of note, the results from this study are thoroughly contradicted by a number of other studies whose data was obtained from real RCV elections with real voters. Those studies show a great deal of satisfaction with RCV. More “fake election” research An interesting wrinkle on this “research by fake elections” approach, which only served to illustrate how unreliable such “research” can become, was taken in Ranked-Choice Voting, Runoff, and Democracy: Insights from Maine and Other U.S. States by Joseph Cerrone and Cynthia McClintock_,_ also web-hosted and funded by New America’s ERRG. It gets high marks for creativity, but an eye-roll for thinking this could possibly add anything meaningful to our understanding of real world RCV elections. This study tried to determine whether RCV, plurality or two-round runoff elections provided greater voter satisfaction and acceptance of election results. To determine that, the authors conducted a survey asking if voters were satisfied with a fictional newspaper report of an election, with three different versions given to respondents – plurality, runoff and RCV, with variations of Republican/Democrat winners and variations of “come-from-behind” winners,” i.e. candidates not initially in first place but who win the “runoff.” Again, a minimal explanation of RCV or how it works was given, and the survey showed that respondents had the greatest unfamiliarity with RCV than the other methods. The unsurprising result? Respondents were much more satisfied with “come-from-behind” victories in a traditional two-round runoff election than in RCV, even though RCV is also a runoff system but with a single round of counting. Interestingly, the dissatisfaction with RCV disappeared for those who were more familiar with RCV. In fact, among those respondents who were “very familiar” with RCV, they were equally satisfied with RCV, runoff and plurality. Surprise, surprise. Again, what this study revealed, more than anything, is not only the inadequacy of the explanation for RCV given by the authors of this study, but the failure of the research format itself, thinking that such an artificial mock election could somehow simulate what actually happens in the real world in a real RCV election. Those four studies reviewed above are fitting examples of inadequate and shaky political “science.” Other studies reviewed in our paper from the New America/Electoral Reform Research Group cohort which also used mock elections included: Ranked-Choice Voting is an Acquired Taste by Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball. New America. (Anthony et al., 2021). Ranked-Choice Voting is No Refuge for Extreme Candidates by Melissa Baker. New America. (Baker, 2021). Also included in this New America cohort is Does Ranked-Choice Voting Reduce Racial Polarization? by Yuki Atsusaka and Theodore Landsman, which actually did use real-world election results data but applied an odd and unconventional methodology to the data which relied on shaky assumptions and non-real-world scenarios that were too divorced from reality. To determine levels of “racially polarized voting,” the researchers imagined “ethnic parties,” by which they mean political parties for each ethnic group, which was especially odd since the election data they were using came from nonpartisan RCV races. But then they made an even odder assumption, namely that since race and ethnic characteristics of studied voters were not available, the authors tried to infer that information based on who voters selected and the racial make-up of voters in each district. This amounted to little more than vague and ambiguous guesswork dressed up with a bunch of mathematical equations used to give it a veneer of scientific appearance. Indeed, it seemed to assume racial polarization in order to prove racial polarization. Based on this questionable methodology, the authors concluded that RCV doesn’t reduce racial polarization. But the premise of this study missed an obvious reality: since RCV incentivizes more candidates to run and can result in more diverse fields of candidates, one would expect more racially-polarized voting in voters’ top rankings, not less, because more voters would have someone on that ballot who represents their racial or ethnic identity and more freedom to vote for their real first choice. By encouraging more diverse candidates and eliminating the spoiler effect, RCV facilitates voting for a favorite candidate of your own race and then selecting a second choice with the best likelihood of winning. The real measure is what voters do with their additional rankings – do they consider other candidates and vote “for the best of the rest”? This study didn’t tell us anything useful about that. But readily available data shows this is common in real RCV elections, and candidates act on this knowledge by engaging with voters outside their racial group. So the authors of this study failed to consider or account for what actually happens in real-world elections, and their conclusions are tainted by this failure. New America has contributed a great deal over the past 2.5 decades to our understanding of many policy areas, including politics and political reform (full disclosure: Steven Hill, one of the authors of this article and of the “Shaky Political Science” research paper and series, is a former senior fellow and former director of New America’s political reform program, 2005-2010). So it was especially disappointing that New America funded and published such a large batch of dubious studies about ranked choice voting. The stated praiseworthy goal of its Electoral Reform Research Group was to inspire new academic research about ranked choice voting that would shed light and help the public better understand the impacts of RCV. Instead, the ERRG research did just the opposite. It produced dubious research that created more confusion and misinformation. In so doing, New America’s political reform program contributed to “shaky political science.” Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS, a reader-supported digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
L’Oréal film reclaims ‘Because I’m Worth It’ for Ilon Specht and raises bar for branded content
“The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” for L'Oréal Paris wins Branded Entertainment/Content Campaign of the Year at the 2026 Creativity Awards.
Science Central hosts World Art Day celebration
World Art Day is April 15. The global observation celebrates culture, creativity, and artistic expression worldwide.
How Audrey Hepburn impacted fashion, entertainment and even World War II
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life. To be happy. It’s all that matters,” Hepburn once said. If one is to follow her example, then a life of fashion, elegance, creativity, advocacy and kindness is a life to be enjoyed.
UNCG Celebrates Undergraduate Researchers and Their Mentors
UNCG announces the winners of the 2026 Thomas Undergraduate Research and Creativity Expo and the recipients of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards.
'Experience something different': New crafting business opens in downtown Lynchburg
A new local crafting business is bringing a fresh focus on creativity and community connection.
Young entrepreneurs shine at Memphis Children’s Business Fair
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dozens of Mid-South kids put their creativity and business skills to the test Saturday during the Annual Memphis Children’s Business Fair. The event, held April 11 at Wolfcha…
Local brothers use T-shirt business to give back to charity
Two local brothers are turning creativity into something much bigger than a business—they’re using it to give back to their community and bring people together.
How Shadow AI Culture Is Destroying Your Business
Shadow AI isn't a compliance problem. It's a cultural exodus. How institutional control over AI, work, and creativity is driving your best people underground.
MOONBUG ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS EMMIE'S WONDER WARDROBE, A SPARKLING NEW SPIN-OFF OF LITTLE ANGEL, TODAY ON YOUTUBE
Moonbug Entertainment, a global leader in children's entertainment like CoComelon and Blippi, today debuted Emmie's Wonder Wardrobe on YouTube. The animated preschool series is a spin-off of Little Angel, one of the most-watched preschool brands in the world, with over 150 million YouTube subscribers and 1.4 billion monthly views across 25 languages on YouTube. The new series is packed with original music and playful stories that celebrate the creativity and self-expression of kids today.
Museum of Science Nominated for Two Webby Awards
BOSTON, April 07, 2026--The Museum of Science, Boston has been nominated for two honors in the 30th Annual Webby Awards, recognizing the institution’s leadership in bringing science, technology, and creativity to digital platforms. Hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor," the Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), celebrate excellence on the Internet.
Motorola News | Introducing moto g stylus - 2026 and moto pad - 2026: Where ideas take shape across screens
From capturing ideas with an active stylus to expanding them on a larger canvas, both devices support creativity, productivity, and play across screens.
Jalen Hurts Has Reportedly Gotten The 'Message' In Philly
There was reportedly a lot of "friction" between Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles toward the end of the 2025 season. ESPN reported on the development. "Close observers point to a lack of creativity and synergy in the Eagles' attack. The pass game wasn't always properly tied to the run, and ...
William Staggers on music, creativity, and Staggers Music Entertainment
William Staggers joins us to share his story of writing and arranging his own songs, building a creative space for other artists, and the work he is doing through Staggers Music Entertainment to in…
Combining creativity and science
Science and creativity often seem like completely separate worlds, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Beirman named inaugural Degner Teaching Professor in Culinary Food Science
Known for her creativity, energy and commitment to students, Erica Beirman has been named the inaugural Nancy and Rich Degner Teaching Professor in Culinary Food Science.
Google's 'Performance Advisor' Steph Curry teases probable new wearable
The video promises "A new relationship with your health" is "coming soon."
“Science Pirates” Take First at Hawaii Elementary Science Olympiad
Punahou students showcased their curiosity, creativity and teamwork at the Hawaii Elementary Science
'Pieced Together': Art show features traditional, unique quilt designs
A new exhibit called “Pieced Together” at Skull City Studio showcases 28 quilts by 14 artists, blending traditional American quilting with diverse and lesser-known styles to highlight the craft’s creativity
Dessa on philosophy, creativity and science
University of Minnesota philosophy alumna Dessa blends musical styles and a full arsenal of singing, writing and speaking talents to frame her view of the world.
These iPad apps will make you wish you had more free time
If you have an iPad and want to start using it to unleash and express your creativity, there are a number of apps that can help you do so.
/C O R R E C T I O N -- Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)/
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world's leading anti‑piracy coalition, has successfully shut down AnimePlay, one of the largest illicit anime streaming applications operating in the Asia-Pacific region. The application was run out of Riau, Indonesia.
Turning science into art: Undergraduate course encourages creativity, risk-taking
From anatomical portraits to water lilies, science has been brought to life through paintings, sketches and sculptures for centuries. Leonardo Da Vinci wasn’t only an artist, he was also a botanist and an engineer. And before cameras, scientists relied on their own sketches to communicate their observations. University of Maine…
Top law schools for entertainment law
Entertainment law sits at the crossroads of creativity, commerce and intellectual property. Lawyers in this field navigate fast-moving industries shaped by technology, global markets and evolving business models, often working closely with artists, studios, leagues and media companies.
Crystal Festival brings sparkle, science, and family fun to Mt. Pleasant
MT. PLEASANT — A weekend filled with discovery, creativity, and hands-on fun is coming to Sanpete County as the Crystal Festival returns this spring with an exciting lineup of activities for all ages. The Crystal Festival — A Rocks, Minerals, Gems, & Crystal Show — will take place April 4–5, 2026, at the Mt Pleasant […]
Aramark Sports + Entertainment’s Culinary Creativity Takes the Field at Eight MLB Stadiums as Umpires Shout “Play Ball!”
As Major League Baseball prepares to welcome fans back for another season of unforgettable moments, Aramark Sports + Entertainment (Aramark; NYSE: ARMK) is stepping up to the plate with a new lineup of culinary innovations, collectible souvenirs, and fan‑driven experiences debuting across eight MLB stadiums nationwide.
Beyond The Hype: How AI Is Rewiring Fashion’s Art And Science
AI is recalibrating fashion from design to supply chain. Explore how leaders at Levi’s, ALO Yoga, and REVOLVE bridge data-driven precision with human-inspired creativity.
Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission hosts training session on film production
The Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission brought together film enthusiasts for a film crew training event at Marietta College on Sunday. The event sought to promote creativity and inspire filmmakers in the region. The event was originally scheduled for the entirety of the weekend but due to weather, the session was condensed to Sunday only. MOV […]
Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission hosts training session on film production
MARIETTA – The Mid-Ohio Valley Entertainment Commission brought together film enthusiasts for a film crew training event at Marietta College on Sunday. The event sought to promote creativity and inspire filmmakers in the region. The event was originally scheduled for the entirety of the weekend but due to weather, the session was condensed to Sunday […]
Washington Spirit Named Finalist for Sports Business Journal’s 2026 Sports Team of the Year
Washington, D.C. (03/17/2025) – The Washington Spirit has been named one of seven finalists for Sports Business Journal’s 2026 Sports Team of the Year Award, marking the first time the organization has been a nominee for the illustrious annual award. Sports Team of the Year honors a best-in-class organization that demonstrates excellence, influence, innovation and creativity in the business practices of operating a sports franchise across all […]
Washington Spirit Named Finalist for Sports Business Journal’s 2026 Sports Team of the Year
Washington, D.C. (03/17/2025) – The Washington Spirit has been named one of seven finalists for Sports Business Journal’s 2026 Sports Team of the Year Award, marking the first time the organization has been a nominee for the illustrious annual award. Sports Team of the Year honors a best-in-class organization that demonstrates excellence, influence, innovation and creativity in the business practices of operating a sports franchise across all […]
OPPO Find N6 - Ultra Flat, Flexible & Powerful
Discover the OPPO Find N6: foldable flagship featuring Zero-Feel Crease and 200MP Hasselblad Camera. Paired with OPPO AI Pen, unleash your creativity.
Scientists discover AI can make humans more creative
Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a tool that replaces human work, but new research from Swansea University suggests a far more exciting role: creative collaborator. In a large study with more than 800 participants designing virtual cars, researchers found that AI-generated design galleries sparked deeper engagement, longer exploration, and better results.
Apple to Host 50th Anniversary Celebrations Around the World
Apple today announced that it will be celebrating its upcoming 50th anniversary by hosting gatherings "around the world" throughout the month of March. "Each gathering highlights human creativity and ingenuity in action, and showcases the remarkable things people can do when they have the right Apple products in their hands," said Apple.
Apple Says 'Hello' With New Instagram Account
Apple is already on Instagram, where it primarily shares photos and videos for its Shot on iPhone campaign, but the company is expanding its horizons. Apple today launched another Instagram account called Hello Apple (@helloapple), where it will share company news, stories, product marketing, and more. The account will showcase how Apple products inspire creativity and help to make a difference in everyday lives, and it will highlight work from Apple's creator community.
SciVenture science fair highlights local students’ creativity and scientific thinking
It takes place Saturday, March 14 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at The Discovery.
Mental health solutions for the digital age
Ask the digital natives of Gen Z about the source of their biggest mental health challenges, and most will say social media and AI.Several of the nearly 400 guests at the third annual Gen Z Wellness Summit, presented by the Friends of Semel Teen Advisory Council at UCLA on March 8, explicitly named the endless stream of content on their phones as serious stressors. “Everybody is addicted to (Tik Tok) as if they were addicted to substances,” said Jantin Asmar, 17, a senior at Virtual Academy in Antelope Valley. “We’re always chasing that dopamine. We’re expecting that dopamine rush and it’s really decaying our interactions with others.” High school student Jantin Asmar was among nearly 400 people who attended the third annual Gen Z Wellness Summit. (Photo by Sandy Cohen) Even young teens feel pressure to be on social media constantly, both to consume content and collect “likes,” said 13-year-olds Chloe and Sophia, both students at Brentwood School. “Everyone’s always on, and you miss stuff if you’re not on it,” Chloe said, adding that social media’s emphasis on appearances is leading to eating disorders: “That’s a big thing for our generation.”The incessant influx of images and updates creates expectations that “weigh teenagers down,” said Linda Kou, 16, a junior at San Gabriel High School.Even though digital spaces allow people to connect with others beyond their immediate surroundings, it doesn’t always translate to real-life community, said Kelah Morgan, 17, a senior at Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School. High school students Kelah Morgan, left, and Linda Kou, shared about the challenges presented by social media. (Photo by Sandy Cohen) “Even if you see people saying that they relate to you online, it might be hard to find people in your personal life who you see every day who you feel comfortable enough to say, ‘You see me online, but this is me in real life and what I’m actually going through,’” she said.Solutions for our digital timesThe Gen Z Wellness Summit was intentionally designed as a free, in-person gathering where young people interested in mental health from across the southland could meet in person. “Peer support is the most important element of maintaining our mental health in community,” said Helena Hansen, MD, PhD, director of UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.Keynote speakers at the summit addressed AI, social connection and self-empowerment, while breakout sessions included discussions about eating disorders, dating, substance use, phone detox and breathwork. Here are some of the day’s top takeaways:Beware of FOPO: Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, a psychology professor at Columbia University, said that rather than FOMO, or fear of missing out, we ought to be more aware of FOPO: fear of people’s opinions. “Just think about how much your FOPO might be holding you back in your life,” Dr. Kaufman said. “And just that inner contemplation should be enough for you to change your life, because there’s so many things we don’t go after because we have debilitating FOPO.”We don’t need to feel like we’re the best – or what he called “narcissistic self-esteem” – but it’s helpful to acknowledge our own worth, recognize our good qualities and develop self-belief in the skills and talents we’ve cultivated. When we have that – dignity and self-respect, without needing everyone to like us – FOPO is less of a concern.Self-reflection is most effective in community: “When we try to self-reflect alone, we sometimes ruminate,” said Ira Bedzow, PhD, executive director of the Emory University Purpose Project. “But when we self-reflect with people that we trust … (it) allows us to hold ourselves accountable to different ways of seeing and different ways of hearing and different ways of being.”Opening up about our experiences and listening to others are skills we can develop, Dr. Bedzow said.He invited students to participate in what he called a “fishbowl exercise,” where four students sat in a small circle, surrounded by a dozen or so students forming a larger circle. Those in the inner circle answered such questions as: “What stops you from being you today?” and “What helps you feel most like you?”Within minutes, the group in the small circle (the fishbowl), were sharing intimately about their life challenges as those in the outer circle nodded in understanding.After the exercise, one participant said, “I felt like I wasn’t alone, that it wasn’t just me who feels that way.”Another remarked on how “personal” it felt to share face-to-face with others, even strangers.Don’t let AI crush your creativity: Theoretical neuroscientist Vivienne Ming, PhD, has been studying artificial intelligence for more than 20 years. And while she said “it’s reasonable to be concerned” about the fast-growing technology, it can also help humans become better problem-solvers when used strategically.“The smartest thing on the planet today are humans and machines working together creatively,” Dr. Ming said. “What gets more valuable in humans as machines get smarter? Our ability to explore the unknown.“Your unique voice is literally your value to the world … but most of us for most of our lives have been taught to not be unique,” she continued. “Be your own person. Celebrate being different. It is genuinely, measurably, truly valuable.”In a breakout session called “Phone Detox? IYKYK: Living Your Story IRL” led by Don Grant, PhD, students shared their frustrations with AI compromising academic work, art and creativity.“Art is a translation of human experience,” one participant said. “When people use AI, they diminish their own human experience.”Dr. Grant urged them, as “the last generation to remember a world before AI,” to remember the power of imagination and creativity – and to act on it.Remember that social media distorts perceptions: Stuart B. Murray, PhD, PsyD, who directs the Eating Disorders Program and Translational Research in Eating Disorders Program at UCLA, asked the students in his breakout session to take a spontaneous selfie and edit it to conform with society’s beauty standards. All 20 girls in the room immediately got to work, thickening their hair, slimming their faces, plumping their lips.“The pressure to look like what we present on social media can be crippling,” Dr. Murray said. “We now know that social media use is part of a causal pathway into an eating disorder.”Adolescents and young adults are most at risk of developing an eating disorder, he said, with one in three students on college campuses exhibiting clinically meaningful eating-disorder symptoms. More than 4 million people in California will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.Even for those who don’t develop anorexia or bulimia, the ubiquity of modified images online distorts what we consider normal, making us feel worse about ourselves. Remembering that, he and other speakers said, might inspire us to log off occasionally and spend time in the real world with people who love us as we are.
Bett STEAM Expo brings hands-on science, creativity to families Saturday
The Bett STEAM Expo returns March 7 with free hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math activities for families, plus special guest Alex Turner and planetarium shows at Bettendorf High School.
From Lab Notes to Storybooks: Hofstra Alumna Blends Science and Creativity
Carissa Kissoon, BA, ’23; MS, ’24, has shown that science and storytelling can naturally complement each other. A Hofstra University alumna who earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Biology, Kissoon has built a career that bridges environmental science, education, and creativi
First Diocesan Science Fair Celebrates Creativity, Experimentation
The Catholic Schools Office hosted its first-ever diocesan-wide science fair on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
"I'm still angry at the game industry" CyberConnect2 CEO's efforts to shake up Japanese entertainment's stick-in-the-mud approach are driven by his love for Shonen Jump manga
In a recent interview, CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama talks about the "driving force" behind his creativity.
Meet 5 UC San Diego Artists Bridging Creativity, Science and Technology
Once a year, campus and community are invited to explore the research and artistic practice of 25+ MFA and Ph.D. students. The 2026 Graduate Open Studios runs 2–6 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Visual Arts Facility and SME Gallery. Meet five students students shaping this year's work.
2026 Business Leaders of the Year
Central Massachusetts is full of amazing professionals, each with their own unique skills, talents, and dedication to their companies, industries, and communities. You could make a strong case for hundreds of them to be considered as WBJ’s Business Leader of the Year. Yet, to actually win the award, you need to have that little something extra: a magic spark, an insight no one else sees, years of knowledge that pay off with the right decision at the right time, a leadership style inspiring people to follow, a push for a paradigm shift at a stagnant organization. Business Leader of the Year is WBJ’s oldest award, launched in 1982 when Herb Dunnington of First Safety Fund Bank won the sole award. In the decades since, BLOY has expanded to honor winners from different corners of the economy: small businesses, large businesses, nonprofits, innovation, families. Each of the six winners this year has that something special setting them apart as true leaders in our Central Massachusetts business community: Neelu Mohaghegh’s creativity, Nick Haritos’ compassion, Nicolette Sacco’s adaptability, Julie Bowditch’s energy, Sean Rose’s steadiness, the Vaccaro family’s culture. You can read more about each of them through the links below.
Moth art exhibit brings science and creativity together at UAB
The collaboration with the Birmingham Zoo highlights how nature can inspire learning in new ways.
Benjamin Logan Elementary celebrates 2026 Science Fair
Benjamin Logan Elementary recently hosted its Annual Science Fair, and the results were impressive. Students in grades 1–4 brought their curiosity and creativity to life […]
An Unwavering Belief in Science, Creativity, and Equity: The Legacy of Dr. William H. Foege
In our bitterly partisan age, where science and public health are distrusted, even denigrated, there is a better part of America.
Susan Blanco new Colorado Supreme Court justice
Chief Judge Susan Blanco of Larimer and Jackson counties is the newest member of the Colorado Supreme Court, Gov. Jared Polis announced on Tuesday. “A few words come to mind: Innovation. Excellence. Creativity. Hard work. These are values we need across society,” said Polis during a news conference announcing Blanco’s appointment. Blanco, 48, became a […]
OC students test knowledge, creativity at 2026 regional Science Olympiad
Some 1,200 middle school and high school students competed in the 2026 Orange County Regional Science Olympiad this weekend, hosted at UC Irvine.
AT THE MOVIES: Goat scores a slam dunk in entertainment
'Roarball' may not be real, but the heart behind Sony's latest family film Goat certainly is, our reviewer says about this charming sports comedy that blends humour, creativity and life lessons for all ages
Scientists found a way to plant ideas in dreams to boost creativity
Sleeping on a problem might be more powerful than we ever imagined. Neuroscientists at Northwestern University have shown that dreams can actually be nudged in specific directions — and those dream tweaks may boost creativity. By playing subtle sound cues during REM sleep, researchers prompted people to dream about unsolved brain teasers they had struggled with earlier. An astonishing 75% of participants dreamed about the cued puzzles, and those puzzles were solved far more often the next day.
Powering progress: Women driving science at CWRU | CWRU Newsroom | Case Western Reserve University
Across Case Western Reserve University, women in science are shaping the future through curiosity, creativity and impact. From classrooms and labs to ...