◨ Paul Wolf ◧

German discount chain Aldi opened a store in New York, and the line is crazy. People must be craving for that cheap and healthy European food!

Scientists have identified a reversal of the long-standing Flynn effect—the roughly 200-year trend of rising average intelligence (measured via IQ and cognitive tests) across generations. For the first time in modern recorded history, Generation Z (born roughly 1997–2012) shows lower performance than previous generations in key cognitive domains, including attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function, problem-solving, and general IQ—despite spending more years in formal education than ever before. Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 15, 2026, highlighting this shift. In his written testimony, he stated that cognitive development in children across much of the developed world has stalled or reversed over the past two decades, with declines evident in international assessments (e.g., PISA, TIMSS) and other large-scale data starting around the mid-2000s and accelerating post-2010. Horvath attributes the primary driver not to reduced schooling, but to the widespread integration of digital screens and educational technology (EdTech) in classrooms. He argues that human brains evolved for deep, focused learning through face-to-face interaction and sustained attention, not fragmented skimming or constant task-switching encouraged by devices. Key points from his testimony include: - Teens now spend over half their waking hours on screens, with significant portions in school involving computers or tablets—often leading to off-task behavior and shallower processing. - Evidence from meta-analyses and national/international studies shows a consistent pattern: higher classroom screen exposure correlates with weaker outcomes in reading, math, science, and higher-order reasoning. - Digital tools may aid narrow, repetitive skill practice in controlled settings, but in core academic contexts, they tend to reduce depth of understanding, retention, and critical thinking. Horvath describes this as a "structural mismatch" between human cognition and how digital platforms are designed (to capture and fragment attention), warning that unchecked EdTech adoption risks long-term harm to workforce skills, innovation, and societal reasoning. [Horvath, J. C. (2026). Written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. U.S. Senate]

Das ist Russlands wahres Gesicht. Ein gezielter Angriff auf das Kyjiwer Höhlenkloster – 1.000 Jahre alt, für Millionen heilig. Die Goldene Horde hat es geplündert. Die Bolschewiki haben es gesprengt. Russlands Horde zerstört es mit Drohnen. Barbaren hinterlassen ihre Spuren.

BREAKING: Bank of America has said that 70% of its bear-market indicators have been triggered.

BREAKING: Iran launches new wave of ballistic missiles at Israel

Here’s your monthly reminder that you shouldn’t be prompting coding agents anymore. You should be designing loops that prompt your agents.

Ich sehe das erst jetzt. Hier war wohl wieder die Top-Germanistin im Einsatz. Abgesehen vom völligen Schwachsinn der Story (ernstlich, wer glaubt so etwas noch?): Wie kann ein "Leak" "enthüllt" werden? Das wäre doch die Enthüllung der Veröffentlichung, das geht nicht.

This new research on US unicorn startups is really interesting. Some key facts from the report: 1. Immigrants founded or cofounded 455 of America’s 775 privately held billion-dollar startups, equal to 59% of all US unicorns. 2. 66% of all US unicorns were founded or cofounded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. 3. 79% of US unicorns have either an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role. 4. The 455 immigrant-founded US unicorns have a combined valuation of $5 trillion. 5. That $5 trillion valuation is larger than the total stock-market value of companies listed in all but 7 countries. 6. Including immigrant-founded unicorns that went public since 2016 pushes the total value above $5.8 trillion. 7. The number of immigrant-founded US unicorns rose from 50 in 2018 to 455 in 2026. 8. 24% of US unicorns have a founder who first came to America as an international student.

It's time to fly.