New Phaistos

How the tools we use shape our thoughts And just like that, we’re saying goodbye to 2024—a year of change, pivotal elections, unforgettable sports moments, and personal growth. As we look back on the year that was and ahead to 2025, I want to share a simple yet profound piece of wisdom a dear friend and mentor once shared with me: The tools we use, influence the outcomes we achieve. A powerful example can be found in writing. One can choose between, the pencil, the pen, the marker, the laptop, the phone and many others. These tools can be loosely grouped into 2 distinct camps: the tools that offer easy editing (like the pencil with an eraser) and those that do not (like a permanent pen). You would be tempted to think that no matter the choice of tool, a good writer would have a good result anyhow, and you would be (half) right. The point is the result will be *different*. Writing with a pencil will enable your creativity, as you will be less self-inhibited and will be able to test orig...

Gender balance in technology companies In any team activity, the diversity of the team is vital for success. The power of diversity is even more evident in technology, where different multi-disciplinary thinking is the norm and where the quality of a brainstorming session depends to how many points of views are heard. Given the importance of having a balanced team and that technology (especially among certain sectors) is a male-dominated field, it is important for technology companies to attract more female professionals. Oddly enough, the disparity of the gender ratio is wider in liberal cultures and significantly more balanced in conservative ones. Recent studies have found a counter-intuitive trend; the more a country scores high in the global gender gap index (measuring gender equality), the smaller the percentage of women workers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is. This is a worrying trend and indicates that gender disparity in STEM is not self ...

Quantum computing is the next revolution (?) Quantum computing is one of the few buzzwords that generate excitement that can rival Artificial Intelligence. The press regularly reports on the latest development and its implications and investors seem eager to invest in quantum startups so that they will not miss out on the next big thing. Recently, Google even released a new quantum chip called Willow driving up even more hype. But what makes multi-billion dollar companies, wall street and the media pay attention to quantum computing? To understand that, let's dive in to what makes quantum computing different than regular computing. "Normal" computers do their calculations based on 0s and 1s, so called bits. All numbers and text is stored in this form and the machine calculates the outcomes on a similar fashion as we do - albeit a bit faster. Quantum computer instead rely on "qubits" which are still 0s and 1s like regular bits but with a catch or two: 1) A qubit ...

Are we stuck on fossils for travel? Last week , we explored the energy transition from a power grid perspective. This time, let’s look at how the shift away from fossil fuels is playing out in transportation. Let’s start with personal vehicles. Electric Vehicles (EVs) have burst into the mainstream, sparking debate everywhere. Instead of burning fossil fuels, EVs need periodic charging—whether at home or special stations. Conversations often center on their features (range, battery life) and environmental impact (cleaner city air, less noise pollution). The overall feeling is that EVs seem to the obvious choice and any adoption fears will soon be smoothed out by ever improving technology and a solid track record. But there’s a less glamorous side to EVs: their sustainability. While EVs improve urban air quality, their batteries come at an environmental cost. Mining for rare earth minerals can devastate underprivileged areas, and handling battery recycling and disposal is a challenge. T...

Energy transition fundamentals Energy is arguably the most important commodity and the main force behind humanity's achievements in the latest centuries. Thanks to instantaneous energy generation and distribution, we keep ourselves in a comfortable temperature, operate factories to manufacture goods en masse and can travel in a fast and safe manner to work or to explore the world However, this power doesn't come free. The cost, aside from massive infrastructure investments, has been deadly pollution: from particles that cause respiratory and other issues to greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, the price to pay has been major. We constantly risk damaging our health and completely changing the balance of our Eco-system. It is fairly established that the use of fossil fuels is the major contributor to such issues. Coal, "natural" gas and oil are all fossil fuels and have almost equally bad effects to our health and climate. We have actively spent m...