fact or fiction
Is it a fact or is it merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores relationship myths and truths to get your head out of the clouds and back into romantic reality.
AI & Layoff
Layoffs are hardly a new phenomenon. Every year, we hear news of large corporations "optimizing organizational structures" and cutting labor costs—it feels like an annual, fixed program. The standard reasons are always the same: economic downturns, industry transformation, shrinking markets, corporate restructuring, or the classic move to please investors and boost shareholder returns.
By Water&Well&Page3 months ago in Humans
The Question He Never Asked
Once upon a time, in a small village, lived a poor man. He was tired of his poverty and always wondered, "When will my life change? When will I escape this misery?" One day, he heard that a wise monk had arrived in a nearby village. It was said that the monk had answers to any question one might ask. The man wanted to find a solution to his problems, so he decided to go and meet the monk. To reach the other village, he had to cross a dense forest. As he walked through the forest, night began to fall, and darkness descended. Then he saw a large and beautiful house in the middle of the forest. He approached it and politely asked the owner if he could stay the night. The owner agreed and welcomed him. Curious, the owner asked, "Where are you going so late at night?" The poor man replied, "I am going to meet the monk in the neighboring village. I want to ask him a question about my life." The owner nodded and said, "Please, ask me a question too. My daughter is twenty years old and has never spoken a word in her life. She is mute." The monk asked, "When will she begin to speak?" The poor man agreed and left early the next morning. As he continued on his way, he came across an old magician with a magic wand. The magician looked at him and asked, "Where are you going, young man?" The man replied, "To meet a monk. I want to ask him a question." The magician said, "Then ask him a question for me too. I have lived a long time and I long to enter Heaven. Ask him when I will be able to enter it." The man agreed and continued on his journey. After a while, he saw a giant tortoise resting under a tree. The tortoise looked at him and asked, "Where are you going?" The man replied, "To see the monk." The tortoise said, "Please, ask the monk another question. I have always dreamed of becoming a dragon. Ask him when I will finally become a dragon." The man nodded again and finally reached the monk. The monk was sitting under a tree, deep in thought. The man greeted him respectfully and asked, "May I ask you a few questions?" The monk opened his eyes gently and said, "Yes, but you may only ask three." The man was taken aback. Only three, but I have four questions—one from me and three from the others. He stood there thinking that my question was about poverty, but it seemed trivial compared to what these people were going through. I would ask their questions first. He took a deep breath and asked his first question: "When will the tortoise become a dragon?" The monk answered, "When it takes off its shell and abandons its protection, it will become a dragon." Then he asked his second question: "When will the sorcerer ascend to heaven?" The monk replied, "When he walks on his staff for someone else, his time will come, and he will... ascend to heaven." Finally, he asked the last question: "When will the girl find her voice?" The monk said, "When she meets someone who truly understands her heart, her voice will awaken." The poor man bowed in gratitude. Although his question remained unanswered, he began his journey back, walking the same path. On his way, he first met the tortoise. The man told him what the monk had said: "You will become a dragon when you take off your shell." The tortoise hesitated but trusted the monk's wisdom. She began to slide slowly from her shell, and right before the man's eyes, she transformed into a great dragon. When the ancient shell opened, dozens of glittering pearls rolled to the ground. The dragon smiled and gave all the pearls to the man in gratitude, then flew away into the sky. The man was amazed. He picked up the pearls and went on. Then he met the old magician and told him. The monk said, "You will go to heaven when you give your staff to someone else." The magician thought for a moment, then He handed the staff to the poor man. At that moment, his body was filled with light, and his soul ascended peacefully to heaven, free, happy, and at peace. The poor man now carried a magic staff and a bag full of pearls. Finally, he returned to the great house in the forest and met the kind man who had allowed him to stay. The man asked eagerly, "Did you ask the monk my question?" The traveler smiled and replied, "Yes." He said, "Your daughter will speak when she finds someone who truly understands her." The man paused in surprise, then slowly turned to his daughter. She looked at the traveler, and their eyes met. For the first time, she opened her mouth and said softly, "Thank you." Her father was astonished. Overjoyed, he embraced her and said, "It is you I mean." "You truly understand her heart." "Will my daughter marry?" The poor man nodded humbly. The two were married in front of the villagers. The man who had nothing—no money, no voice, no answers—now had a loving wife, a bag of pearls, a magic wand, and a wise heart. The moral of the story: Sometimes we gain more in life when we put others first.
By Abdur Rahman3 months ago in Humans
Biohacking Humanity: The Promise and Ethics of DIY Biology
In the dark basement, shelves of glass beakers, pipettes, and agar plates cover the walls. A humming centrifuge occupies a corner, and fluorescent lights cast a soft glow over the cluttered workstation. On the center bench, a cluster of hobbyists carefully manipulates bacterial cultures, sometimes looking up at a laptop screen where sequences of DNA roll by. They are not in a university or corporate biotech lab. This is a home lab, a living room turned experiment microcosm. This is the world of biohacking—the new phenomenon of individuals immersing themselves in biology, genetics, and biotechnology outside of traditional institutions.
By The Chaos Cabinet3 months ago in Humans
The Silent Forces Of Leadership. AI-Generated.
The Human Element in Organizational Success If you look at almost any organization from the outside, the picture seems straightforward. There is a strategy, an organogram, a set of processes, some KPIs, and a collection of digital tools meant to keep everything under control. We talk about “systems” and “structures” as if they are the real heart of the institution. Yet anyone who has spent time inside a company, a government department, or a non-profit knows that the real story is much messier and much more human. The same structure can produce very different results depending on who is in the room, how they relate to each other, and what is happening inside their minds. The same policy can feel inspiring in one team and oppressive in another. The same technology can either empower people or quietly exhaust them. Underneath every chart and system, human psychology is quietly writing the script.
By Sayed Zewayed3 months ago in Humans
The Weight of Reality: The Trade-Off Illusion
1. Every Solution Costs Something There is no such thing as a perfect solution. Every answer creates a new question, and every gain requires a loss. The idea that we can have everything without giving something up is one of the greatest lies of modern culture. Real progress demands trade-offs. Something must be sacrificed for something else to exist.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast3 months ago in Humans
Sweeping Poem
I used to think my job was simple: sweep the street, empty the bins, keep the sidewalk clean enough for people to forget someone like me had been there at all. Most mornings, I moved like a shadow—quiet, invisible, just a man with a broom and a shift that started before the sun respected the sky.
By LUNA EDITH3 months ago in Humans
The Racism You’re Not Supposed to Talk About:
For a community that prides itself on rainbows, love, and “chosen family,” the gay world has a very real, very ugly secret: racism is baked into its culture more deeply than most are willing to admit. People love to chant “love is love” at Pride, but scroll through Grindr for five minutes, walk into a club in a major gay city, or look at who gets put on magazine covers, and you’ll see how conditional that love actually is.
By Edwin Betancourt Jr.3 months ago in Humans
The Last Promise
A World War Story of Two Friends The winter of 1944 was colder than any soldier had ever known. Snow mixed with ashes, and every breath carried the taste of fear. Deep in the muddy trenches of France sat two young soldiers — Arvin Hale, just 19, and Jonas Reed, 20. They had left their homes with dreams, pride, and the belief that the war would end quickly. But the battlefield taught them otherwise.
By Wings of Time 3 months ago in Humans
