Happy Valentines Day! If you haven’t already, let this be your sign to write a sweet love letter to yourself today.

Celebrate all of your many lovable qualities, and make sure to acknowledge the fact that you’ve made it to this magical time and place we call here and now.

You certainly deserve some serious flowers for making it this far, no matter what your relationship status is. 💐 

AI Brings a Sci-Fi Revolution to India

Indian screenwriter, Prateek Arora, is imagining new sci-fi stories through the power of AI. Arora’s bold visuals created with the AI art platform Midjourney are developing a cult following on Instagram. His mission is to inspire more investment in South Asian sci-fi projects, and, hopefully, show young Indians a wider variety of heroes who look like them.

Arora’s Instagram account is dedicated to AI creations that merge South Asian culture with the aesthetics of horror and science fiction, with fantastical characters in futuristic outfits, and alien creatures wandering through bustling streets.

“It’s not that Indian film has never ventured into these genres,” he says, “but despite some occasional large projects, the genre never really became a mainstay in Indian entertainment, and still isn't. Most major studios today don't necessarily consider science fiction as an essential part of their slates. In my conversations with people in the industry, I still sense hesitation,” Arora says.

Arora further shares “In the process of this experimentation, all of us have started to collectively create, potentially, a bank of stories, characters, worlds, that could become the engine for much larger projects.” Read the full story.

- Alex Kahl

Why Inspiration Matters

Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities.

The quality may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation. But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.

Inspiration is the springboard for creativity. Inspired writers are more efficient and productive, and spend less time pausing and more time writing. The link between inspiration and creativity is consistent with the transcendent aspect of inspiration since creativity involves seeing possibility beyond existing constraints.

These key scientific findings suggest that inspiration is not willed–it happens. Knowing this should free you from the pressure to make inspiration happen. According to psychologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot, inspiration involves both being inspired by something and acting on that inspiration. Read the full story.

- Scott Barry Kaufman

Where Do you Fall on the Inspiration Scale?

Psychologists Thrash and Elliot developed the “Inspiration Scale,” which measures the frequency that a person experiences inspiration in their daily lives. It turns out that people who experience inspiration more frequently and deeply are more likely to have received honors and awards for their work.

How deeply do you experience inspiration? Take the quiz below to find out.

The Climate Solution Right Under Your Feet

I’ve come across some pretty wild technologies aimed at fighting climate change. Hydrogen-powered planes, underwater mining robots, and nuclear fusion reactors—each could play a role in cutting down on greenhouse-gas emissions.

But there are also less glamorous pieces of solving climate change. Take building materials, for example. The world’s most used material, by mass, is cement. And it’s sort of a climate nightmare, responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

The good news is a handful of companies are working to turn around cement’s climate impact. They might not have the pizzazz of a robot, but I’ve been noticing some really fascinating innovations in this field, including some big announcements over the last few weeks. Read the full story.

- Casey Crownhart

Dive Deeper

1) Robotaxis start rolling out on California Public Roads

More than two years ago, Amazon subsidiary Zoox unveiled an electric, autonomous robotaxi it built from the ground up. Now, the cube-like vehicle that is loaded with sensors — and not a steering wheel — is starting to roll out on a few public roads in northern California. (TechCrunch)

2) The Future of Cryptocurrency

For those who see open blockchains as crucial to the future of finance, the stakes have never been higher. Can they hold their ground and keep decentralized financial systems free from traditional regulatory frameworks? Or will policymakers manage to tame these platforms by imposing some degree of centralization? (MIT Technology Review)

3) How War is Helping the Green Transition 

As green power is turbocharged and fossil-fuel use sags, carbon-dioxide emissions look set to fall considerably faster than expected just 12 months ago. s&p Global, a data firm, thinks emissions from energy combustion will peak in 2027, at a level the world would still be producing in 2028 had the war not happened. (The Economist)

4) Apparently, the color Magenta doesn’t really exist

When we look at a rainbow, we see a full spectrum of light. Every colour we could imagine. Except one – magenta. Where is it? Well, officially magenta doesn't exist. There is no wavelength of light for magenta, meaning the human brain literally makes it up, but how? (BBC)

5) Yes, we have enough materials to power the world with renewable energy

While we technically have enough of the materials we need to build renewable energy infrastructure, actually mining and processing them can be a challenge. If we don’t do it responsibly, getting those materials into usable form could lead to environmental harm or even human rights violations. (MIT Technology Review)