When you talk about sports in India, the first sport that comes to mind is cricket. Cricket is beyond popular in India. It’s more of a fanaticism. More the reason why it’s not surprising that cricket draws in

Many Indians even go so far as to plan their weekend activities, travel plans and even jobs according to the Indian cricket team’s schedule.

But why is cricket such a popular sport in India, and why does it enjoy a much larger fanbase than the internationally popular football, or national sports like kabaddi or field hockey?

Here are some of the main reasons that explain the popularity of cricket in India –

1. Cricket is easy to play

Granted, cricket is not as easy to get started playing as, say, football, which only requires a ball and can be played alone. Cricket does have a few other equipment requirements and is best played with at least 1 friend.

However, despite these challenges, cricket is still a relatively easy game to get started playing, and the creativity of young people in India means that they always find a way to play.

This is why you often see kids playing street cricket using anything from rusty metal pipes to ragged old tennis balls. The simplicity of the sport makes it a visible sight even in the smallest roads and streets of India.

In fact, most of the popular cricket stars of today got into cricket by playing on the streets.

2. India has great cricket infrastructure

India boasts of several cricket training and coaching centres, where both kids and adults can practice and learn cricket.

You will find at least one cricket stadium in every town of India. Most stadiums provide good facilities and international standard coaching.

The high availability of cricket training and coaching centres is a huge reason behind the popularity of cricket in India.

3. Cricket is an incredibly lucrative business

Cricket enjoys massive media coverage in India. All cricket tournaments are extensively covered in both digital, televised, and print media.

Whenever there is a cricket match cricket becomes the central theme of most commercial advertisements.

As a result of this enormous coverage, cricketers and cricket clubs have attracted a wide range of sponsors and advertisements. Many cricket players have made huge fortunes for themselves by endorsing several products and by appearing in numerous commercials.

For this reason, and pro cricket players are able to enjoy a more luxurious lifestyle than other sportsmen in India, which is also a benefitting factor as to why cricket has become so popular in India.

Many young Indian boys experience the wealth and the luxurious lifestyle of cricket players on TV, and this motivates them to become cricket players themselves.

4. Online cricket betting

Online cricket betting has provided a massive boost to the popularity of cricket in India, but why?

Cricket betting is a way for the common man to engage with the sport and, in his hopes, make some money and benefit from the sport.

As such, cricket betting creates a way for people to be even more engaged in the game, and this has boosted the popularity of cricket in a great way.

It’s widely regarded that cryptocurrency is a growing ecosystem that has slowly been making headways into the world’s traditional financial systems. According to statistics, the number of users of various cryptocurrencies has grown by 66 million between 2018 and the last quarter of 2020. Furthermore, both private and public sectors are warming up to the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies in their financial dealings such as making payments, value storage, and as an investment.

The history of cryptocurrency goes back decades ago when cryptography started making digital advances. This is the technology that has helped develop and evolve the variety of encryption techniques that make cryptocurrency networks secure and reliable to take on different transactions. Now with over 5,000 cryptocurrencies and growing, look at these four reasons as to why cryptocurrency is the future of finance.

The Dawning Of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

The need for transparent, secure, and accessible financial systems is said to be mounting and becoming more obvious. This is believed to be caused by the current centralized financial system’s continued failure to provide financial freedom and credibility to users. Many see decentralized finance or DeFi as a system that can offer more transparency and better transactional security and replace some conventional financial processes soon.   

DeFi is said to be quickly gaining traction in investing, trading, borrowing, and lending that catalyze a revolution in today’s financial services. The increase in demand and accessibility of cryptocurrency exchanges are increasingly raising the popularity of different DeFi systems worldwide. Along with it, cryptocurrency exchanges have become well-known with investors too. These top crypto exchanges in Australia are some of the platforms Australian investors are progressively trading cryptocurrency with. 

Therefore, cryptocurrency is believed to continue to push changes to financial systems as they’re known today. As a result, the DeFi created on a public blockchain is becoming a more viable alternative financial system that offers more access to financial services. Anyone anywhere can connect to it while it also offers transparency.

Varied Values Of Cryptocurrency

While cryptocurrency doesn’t have an intrinsic value, it holds value in the following ways:

• Payments: It can be used to make transactions such as buy goods or services without requiring a trusted third party to complete possible.
• Value Storage: Since the total supply of most cryptocurrencies is limited, the shortage influences their value.
• Stable coins: Cryptocurrency can be attached to commodities such as gold or oil or currencies, such as the USD.
• Privacy:  The technology that cryptocurrency is built on security that can allow users and owners to remain anonymous during transactions.
• Digital Access and Ownership: Even people who have no access to traditional banks can enter the financial system with the help of cryptocurrency. 
• Digital Gold: Cryptocurrencies and gold share attributes comparable to money. Both can be used as a medium of exchange, has a store of value, and possesses a unit of account.

More And More Actors Are Becoming Receptive

Cryptocurrency is believed to be increasingly becoming a more acceptable financial system. Both private and public sectors have shown great interest in it, and it’s now openly recognized across many sectors. So far, there are public and private actors that have openly recognized cryptocurrency as part of their financial systems. Institutional investors, technology-focused corporations, and even national central banks all over the world have started to incorporate cryptocurrency in their operations. 

Also, with its acceptability, new policies and regulations are being put in place to create regularized practices for the future. The policies are also being used to put all players in check as more players continue to break into space.

Transactional And Banking Benefits

As cryptocurrency use grows day by day, acceptability and accessibility continue to be put in the spotlight. The cryptographic technique and technology also keep evolving and advancing which leads to the creation of a better and stronger cryptocurrency financial system. Presently, these are the apparent benefits the system offers as a financial system.

• Privacy

It allows for anonymity while transacting as the system is powered by the use of different cryptographic techniques. These methods ensure data protection to avoid information falling into the wrong hands. All data transmitted is literally hidden from unauthorized persons.

• Security

Transactions carried out using cryptocurrency can’t be changed or forged, and it’s transmitted in extremely high-security networks. However, financial records can still be traced for proof.

• Access and efficiency

In a world where there’s still a large population without access to formal financial services, cryptocurrency offers a viable and concrete solution. 

Conventional banking is restrictive due to a lack of personal identification documents, account opening and operating funds, or proximity to an institution. People with no bank accounts worldwide can now tap into this financial model that offers instant access from anywhere, lower transaction costs, and fast processing of transactions.

Conclusion

The history of cryptocurrency is very telling on what stake it holds in the future of finance. Blockchain technology can potentially disrupt the conventional financial systems that currently require a trusted third party to check, verify and authorize transactions. As the technology develops, more sectors acknowledge and accept cryptocurrency as a viable financial system. Cryptocurrency could become the new conventional financial system in the future.

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu – you could be forgiven if you got these dog-themed cryptocurrencies confused. They both cost just a fraction of a dollar and heck, they even sport the same dog mascot, the Japanese breed Shiba Inu. But besides the price and the pooch, what else do two of the top digital currencies have in common?

Here are some of the biggest similarities and differences between Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

What cryptocurrencies have in common

Cryptocurrencies are built using a digital database called blockchain. Blockchain technology is like a chronological database of every transfer of currency from one person to another. Typically, a huge network of computers produces, tracks and manages the digital currency. So, think of a blockchain like a running receipt that allows the computers to verify every transaction ever made on it.

This receipt is being constantly verified by the network of computers, helping to prevent fraud and ensure that the currency is properly moved and accounted for. More than 10,000 cryptocurrencies exist, and they typically use some form of this basic blockchain technology.

Two other popular cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are the two largest. The cryptocurrency Solana has also surged from the back of the pack to become a top dog, too.

Key differences among Dogecoin and Shiba Inu

Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were created for different purposes, and each comes with its own price and maximum number of coins. Here are some of those key differences.

* Estimated value as of early May 2022

Source for market cap and coins: CoinMarketCap.com

Purpose of the cryptocurrency

Incredibly, Dogecoin was created to spoof the silliness of Bitcoin in 2013, mocking the fact that people were paying real money to own digital money of little utility. Ironically, the joke currency came back to bite the founders, rising in price to become one of the largest cryptocurrencies.

Now, the founder of Shiba Inu has said that it sees the currency as a “Dogecoin killer.” Shiba Inu operates on the Ethereum blockchain, and this cryptocurrency has three variants that perform various functions:

• SHIB – This variant is the basic one, acting as a medium of exchange.
• LEASH – This token is more limited with just 107,647 available. It’s used to provide staking rewards for those validating the currency.
• BONE – This variant has 250 million coins. It allows those using Shiba Inu to vote on various proposals regarding how the currency is managed, among other things.

Shiba Inu also runs other features of a community, including Shiba Swap, a decentralized platform for trading coins.

Market capitalization

The market capitalization of a coin is the total value of all the coins in existence today. As the number of coins grows, the market cap will grow, too, all else equal. To figure out the market cap of each crypto, multiply the number of coins by their trading price.

Dogecoin has about 132.7 billion coins outstanding, and it’s traded hands recently for a bit more than $0.13 per coin. That gives Dogecoin a market cap of around $17 billion.

Shiba Inu’s market cap is a bit smaller than Dogecoin, but has many more coins in existence. Approximately 549 trillion Shiba Inu coins exist, and they recently priced around $0.00002067 or so. That gives the coin a total value of about $11 billion.

While these are among the most popular cryptocurrencies, they’re still pipsqueaks compared to Bitcoin, whose market cap is over $700 billion.

Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu trade on major crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken and Bitfinex.

Coin issuance

While Dogecoin has about 133 billion coins in existence now, it continues to issue more each day. Each year it will issue 5 billion more new dogecoins, with no cap on the total number. The unlimited production of the all-digital Dogecoin is part of the spoof, but that hasn’t seemed to keep the market from clamoring for more of them.

The founder of Shiba Inu authorized 1 quadrillion coins but gave about half of them to the founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin. Buterin “burned” – destroyed irrevocably – about 40 percent of the total in existence, while about half of the total are locked into the Uniswap exchange, to guarantee liquidity.

1. Porn encourages self-gratification.

Delayed gratification is an essential skill to learn if one is to maintain control and direction in their life. Repeatedly giving in to the urge to watch pornography leads to a lack of ability to delay gratification. Your brain becomes more and more focused on the things you find pleasurable and the discipline of delayed gratification falls to the wayside.

It is no coincidence that men who are hooked on porn are usually underachieving in other areas of their lives.

Solution: Developing delayed gratification is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. There is a certain sense of superiority and confidence that comes with the realization that you have more control over your primal desires than the average man. Mastery of any worthwhile skill or habit leads to increased confidence. The ability to delay gratification is no different.

2.  Porn destroys your values.

Video is powerful. We live in a world where we need to see something to believe it, and in our fast-paced, information-driven world, video is the preferred means of communication and information dissemination.

The thing is, video has the power to influence and even replace behaviors in your mind without you being consciously aware of what you are seeing.
As you watch video, your subconscious mind is rapidly dissecting, translating and making sense of what it is being fed. I have found that the subconscious mind translates and subsequently changes your behavior in one disturbing way:

Pornography programs you to lower your standards sexually. It encourages your to seek sex and in some cases, build intimate and unhealthy relationships with women who are willing to have sex without ANY boundaries. As exciting as that sounds, having sex with any woman who is available is a sign of man without without much discipline.

A man at some point in his life, must have control over his sexuality. You should not be a slave to your sexual desire—instead you should master and control it. In addition to that, hundreds of hours of porn creates certain expectations of what sex looks like.

I’ll keep it simple: putting your penis in a woman’s mouth right after it has exited her anus is not healthy in the real world. The average 16-year-old watching pornography is literally getting his sex education from the videos he watches.

3. Porn can cause a rise in erectile dysfunction.

Virility is important for almost every man I know. The rise in porn-induced erectile dysfunction is something to be alarmed about. Frequent porn use leads to frequent masturbation and erections, which can increasingly only be induced by hardcore pornography. Porn-viewing then becomes a sort of psychological conditioning which creates performance anxiety.

Solution: Need I say more? No man wants to kill their boner. If you love your penis and your erections, avoid frequent masturbation and watching porn. One of the simplest and most effective exercises for your penile strength and health are Kegels.

4. Pornography and masturbation demand isolation.

Anything which you do in secrecy usually leads to shame. One of the first effects of frequent porn use on men, especially young men, is social awkwardness in public, which ironically leads to more shame. Isolation and shame make it very difficult for you as a man to share true intimacy with others, whether it’s with other men as your brothers and friends, or women as partners.

Solution: Many men are already afflicted by shame, which is induced mainly by our society and religion. If you find that your pornography use has dulled your desire to be social, I know how difficult it can be to jump start your social life.

5. Porn destroys your ability to set, achieve, and enjoy your goals.

In my practice, I have never met a man who was hooked on porn that was good at goal-setting. As I stated earlier, most men who abuse pornography usually struggle in their finances, relationships and careers. It’s no coincidence.

The aforementioned “self gratification” is a habit which cannot coexist with achieving worthy goals. Men don’t “schedule” pornography viewing the way they schedule time to work on their business or complete projects. It usually “I’m going to watch porn from now until my body shuts down sexually.” Part of this is biological.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (a chemical released by nerve cells to transmit signals to other nerve cells). It’s a key player in the part of our brain responsible for reward motivated behavior. Sex, eating tasty food, getting approval all trigger the release of dopamine.

The more often you watch porn and masturbate, the more often your brain is flooded with dopamine. You slowly become desensitized to its effects and need more stimulation to “feel the rush” or “get a fix.”

This means that your reward circuitry is broken. This reward circuitry is crucial in achievements that are truly worthy in a mans life such as contributing in a meaningful way to society, developing a highly sought after or marketable skill, building a family, building a business, competing in sports or in your career.

LGBTQ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity

LESBIAN

A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay or as gay women.

GAY

The adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex. Sometimes lesbian is the preferred term for women.

BISEXUAL

A person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual; in fact, they need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual.

TRANSGENDER

An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms— including transgender. Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. Some undergo surgery as well. But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures.

QUEER

An adjective used by some people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don’t apply to them. Some people may use queer, or genderqueer, to describe their gender identity and/or gender expression. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBTQ people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBTQ community.

QUESTIONING

Sometimes, when the Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it can also mean questioning. This term describes someone who is questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Did you know that on average 12 men each day take their own lives, and 31% of men said they would be too embarrassed to seek help for a mental health problem? We know that being male is complex, and on International Men’s Day, it’s important to highlight the different issues and challenges which so many young men face.

From toxic masculinity, body image and the pressure to sleep around, to facing criminalisation, homelessness and more, men need our support. If you identify as male, remember that no problem or issue is insurmountable. You are valued and important. If you’re struggling and need to talk, here’s how The Mix can help.

We asked some of the brilliant young men in our community what being a man in 2018 means to them:

Men and emotional health

“Men are opening up about their emotions and mental health. It’s important that we continue to see men being more honest about their wellbeing.” Scott, 23

“Being a man is difficult. Being ‘male’ can be a matter of fact, but being a man feels more like a matter of opinion. A lot of what relates to being a man can be both suffocating and unattainable.” Anick, 23

“Being a man in 2018 means being comfortable with a much broader idea of masculinity. The ideas about what makes a man feel a lot less restrictive than they were in the past. It‘s much more acceptable for men to openly express their emotions, talk about how we’re feeling, be caring and not fit into traditional ideas of what makes a man. There’s still a long way to go, but this is a really positive development in the right direction.” Will, 24 

Men and societal expectations

“Is there a norm for men or women? Men’s role in the domestic sphere has changed most noticeably in the past year. As the terminology about ‘being a man’ changes, we’ll have to absorb the new reality.”Adam, 22

“As a gender we’re facing accountability we’ve never had to face before in the era of #MeToo, but we’re also being given the opportunity to redefine ourselves and reap the benefits of being more in-tune with the emotions of us and others.” Mike, 22

Being a man, and being yourself

“For me, being a man is about self-discovery, building self-awareness, emotional intelligence and most importantly, my legacy.” 

“Being a man to me means being unapologetically you. It means not being afraid to show the world who you are, exactly as you are. Being a man is never Being afraid to show your emotions, to be the little spoon and to ask for help when you need it. Being a man in 2018 means rejecting toxic masculinity, embracing the differences of others and uplifting those around you.”

1. May help reduce stress and anxiety

Ashwagandha is perhaps best known for its ability to reduce stress. It’s classified as an adaptogen, a substance that helps the body cope with stress.

Ashwagandha appears to help control mediators of stress, including heat shock proteins

2. May benefit athletic performance 

Research has shown that ashwagandha may have beneficial effects on athletic performance and may be a worthwhile supplement for athletes.

One analysis of research included 12 studies in men and women who took ashwagandha doses between 120 mg and 1,250 mg per day. The results suggest the herb may enhance physical performance, including strength and oxygen use during exercise

3. May reduce symptoms of some mental health conditions

Some evidence suggests that ashwagandha may help reduce symptoms of other mental health conditions, including depression, in certain populations.

4. May help boost testosterone and increase fertility in men

Ashwagandha supplements have been shown in some studies to benefit male fertility and increase testosterone levels.

In one study, 43 overweight men ages 40–70 who had mild fatigue took tablets containing ashwagandha extract or a placebo daily for 8 weeks.

The ashwagandha treatment was associated with an 18% greater increase in DHEA-S, a sex hormone involved in testosterone production. Participants who took the herb also had a 14.7% greater increase in testosterone than those who took the placebo.

Additionally, a review of four studies found that ashwagandha treatment significantly increased sperm concentration, semen volume, and sperm motility in men with low sperm count.

It also increased sperm concentration and motility in men with normal sperm count

5. May reduce blood sugar levels

Limited evidence suggests that ashwagandha may have some benefits for people with diabetes or high blood sugar levels.

A review of 24 studies, including 5 clinical studies in people with diabetes, found that treatment with ashwagandha significantly reduced blood sugar, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin, blood lipids, and oxidative stress markers.

It’s believed that certain compounds within ashwagandha, including one called withaferin A (WA), have powerful antidiabetic activity and may help stimulate your cells to take in glucose from your bloodstream

6. May reduce inflammation

Ashwagandha contains compounds, including WA, that may help reduce inflammation in the body.

Researchers have found that WA targets inflammatory pathways in the body, including signal molecules called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2).

Animal studies have shown that WA may also help reduce levels of inflammatory proteins such as interleukin-10.

7. May improve brain function, including memory

Taking ashwagandha may benefit cognitive function.

One review that included five clinical studies noted there was early evidence that ashwagandha could improve cognitive functioning in certain populations, including older adults with mild cognitive impairment and people with schizophrenia.

Cognitive functions it may benefit included

• executive functioning
• attention
• reaction time
• performance on cognitive tasks

A study in 50 adults showed that taking 600 mg of ashwagandha extract per day for 8 weeks led to significant improvements in the following measures compared with taking a placebo

• immediate and general memory
• attention
• information-processing speed

8. May help improve sleep 

Many people take ashwagandha to promote restful sleep, and some evidence suggests it may help with sleep issues.

A diet that contains all the vital nutrients required by the human body is called a balanced diet.

Balanced diet

A balanced diet comprises vital nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fibre. Sufficient and nutritious food that ensures good health is included in a balanced diet. A healthy and balanced diet helps to reduce the risk of diseases and improves overall health.

• Aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
• Drink plenty of water (six to eight glasses is recommended, though this will vary).
• Try to include at least two portions of fish every week.
• Get into the habit of eating breakfast daily; it can help reduce snacking later on.
• Adults are advised to conduct 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week

Benefits of a balanced diet

• Vitamins and minerals in the diet are vital to boost immunity and healthy development,
• A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases,
• Healthy diets can also contribute to adequate body weight.
• Better mood and energy levels.
• Improved memory and brain health.

As we compare other sports, golfing can seem pretty expensive. This might be one of the reasons why we don’t choose golf over other sports.

Courses and Maintenance

Golf is usually played in high-end golf courses that are diligently spread in luscious green grass. These courses need massive amounts of maintenance and this is usually paid for from the players’ pockets. Also, one requires a huge area of land to play proper golf. These golf courses are usually only located on the outskirts of the city and most certainly come with hefty membership plans.

Since golf is played with other people, it is recommended to take a group membership with your friends that might not after-all end up denting your wallet.

Equipment

Another reason why we may think that golf is expensive is due to the equipment involved. You need to purchase clubs, drivers, balls, clothing, bags, and other equipment. If you have ever been to a golf shop, you must have been surprised to see how much golf club costs. It might also seem like the prices for golf equipment are rising every day.

Golf clubs are expensive because there is a lot of R&D (Research and Development) that takes place before manufacturing. It is done to ensure that you can play consistent golf shots and also to not cause harm to your shoulders during swinging. Durable, high-quality materials are also used in the making of these clubs and drivers that they are made to last for a very long time. If we were to compare price to age ratio, golf clubs might not seem that expensive, since you would most certainly need to replace your cricket bats and other equipment every year. On the other hand, golf equipment can easily last you for five years.

Perception

Perhaps the main reason why golf is expensive is due to the perception of golf that we keep. This might be due to the fact that many business people or high-level politicians are into the sport. It is important to keep in mind that although business people and politicians play golf to enhance their contacts, or meet potential clients, the game of golf is not only meant for these people. They prefer golf due to its leisurely method of playing and lush green gardens that can be a relaxing treat to your body.

Since golf is not popular in the country, we also think that this is a game of the foreigners and by default perceive it to be expensive. The rising popularity of the game in the country can help beat this perception.

Conclusion

We think that golf can not be necessarily expensive unless it needs to be. We think that it is only expensive to start playing golf. Once you start, the equipment can last you a very long time. You can also save up a lot of money on yearly memberships. The average cost of golfing, when done right, could be as much as your gym membership for a year.

Some people argue that gold has no intrinsic value, that it is a barbaric relic which no longer holds the monetary qualities of the past. They contend that in a modern economic environment, paper currency is the money of choice; that gold’s only worth is as a material to make jewelry.

At the other end of the spectrum are those that assert that gold is an asset with various intrinsic qualities that make it unique and necessary for investors to hold in their portfolios. They believe that investors have as many reasons for investing in gold as they do vehicles to make those investments.

Gold’s Essential Dichotomy

Most would agree that gold has always had value for all of these reasons—a component of decorative jewelry, a sometime currency, and as an investment. But in addition to these concrete values, we would add another characteristic of gold, which, though harder to pinpoint, is as just as real: its mystery. Part of the very appeal of gold is the mystery of its appeal.

In the world of finance and investing, we often like to tiptoe around the word “mystery.” Yet, as is true with most disciplines, there is always a place for both science and art, and even mystery.

Gold can stimulate a subjective personal experience, but gold can also be objectified if it’s adopted as a system of exchange.

This duplicity is a conundrum that is unique to gold as a commodity. Gold can be something quantitative and tangible, like money, and at the same time, it can embody something ephemeral, like a feeling, even a host of feelings. So, part of the reason that gold has always had value lies in the psychology and nature of the human experience.

Gold can exist as something that is quantitative and tangible while embodying the qualitative and ephemeral.

Gold, The Feel-Good Metal

It’s a cold day in mid-December. You’re strolling along Fifth Avenue in New York—either alone, or with a familiar—to look at the holiday shop windows. It’s late afternoon and the thin winter light has begun to fade; even darker earlier because of the threat of snow or rain today. The bells of Salvation Army red-kettle ringers grow muffled and distant; the sky lowers, closing in around you, as the first flakes of winter fall.

You stop, drawn by a Tiffany window featuring a discrete few gold pieces. Exquisitely designed yellow, pink, and white gold shapes peek from an exotic display of corals and underwater fauna. Lights beat down like the sun, coaxing the metal’s incandescence. Suddenly, a brisk wind rises, making flakes to swirl faster around you. “Hmmm,” you think, “Hot chocolate? A Cognac?” You duck into a nearby hotel bar—the St. Regis, perhaps, snug with its familiar fireplace.

Well, maybe you haven’t had this exact experience. But you get the idea.

Something about the warmth of gold speaks to our human need for comfort and nurture.

In Search of a Metal to Worship

Our ancestors were faced with coming up with a method of exchange that was easier to implement than a barter system. A coin is one such medium of exchange. Of all the metals in the periodic table of elements, gold is the logical choice. We can rule out elements other than metals because a gaseous or liquid currency is not very practical from the standpoint of personal portability. This leaves metals like iron, copper, lead, silver, gold, palladium, platinum, and aluminum.

Iron, Lead, Copper, and Aluminum. These metals are prone to corrode over time so they would not be a good value in terms of storage, which is required of coins; and keeping the metals from corroding is labor-intensive. Aluminum feels very light and unsubstantial—not ideal for a coin-metal that could invoke feelings of security and value.

The “Noble Metals.” Platinum or palladium are reasonable choices because they are mostly non-reactive to other elements—that is, produce little corrosion—but they are too rare to generate enough coins to circulate. To assign value to a metal, it must be somewhat rare—so that not everyone is producing coins—but available enough so that a reasonable number of coins can be created for commerce.

Gold and Silver. Gold doesn’t corrode and can be melted over a flame, making it easy to work with and stamp as a coin. Silver and gold are beautiful metals that are easy to form into jewelry, and both of these precious metals have their own devotees in fine-jewelry circles.

Gold, The Mysterious Metal

Although silver can be polished and textured in multiple ways so as to catch the light and the eye, there remains no metal quite like gold. Unlike other elements, gold naturally possesses a subtle array of unique and beautiful colors. The atoms in gold are actually heavier than in silver and other metals. This attribute makes the electrons move faster, which in turn allows for some of the light to be absorbed into the gold—a process that Einstein’s theory of relativity helped to discern. 

Perhaps gold’s physical quality of absorbing light makes its special shine come literally from within itself.

Gold, Psychology, and Society

If the modern paper-money economy were to collapse, gold may not have immediate use—as panic sets in and people fight for their basic needs—but it will eventually.

Humans are Pack Animals. We prefer the company of other humans (to varying degrees) over complete independence. It is easier to work in groups than to attempt to live off the land on our own. This human trait forces us to find ways of working together, which in turn leads us to find ways of exchanging goods and services easily and efficiently.

Gold Provides the Comfort of Sustainability. Gold is the logical choice for this exchange. If disaster strikes, such that paper money and the system that supports it no longer exists, we will revert to gold. Arguably, gold is one of the only substances on earth with all of the qualities for the job, including sustainability. 

What are Mutual Funds?

Mutual fund is a financial instrument which pools the money of different people and invests them in different financial securities like stocks, bonds etc. Each investor in a mutual fund scheme owns units of the fund, which represents a portion of the holdings of the scheme. The securities are selected keeping in mind the investment objective of the scheme. Mutual funds are managed by asset management companies (AMCs). AMCs appoint fund managers to manage different mutual fund schemes and ensure that the scheme investment objectives are met. For fund management and other services provided by AMCs, a fee is charged to the investors. Let us now discuss the advantages of mutual funds.

Let us now discuss mutual fund tax benefits

Benefits of mutual funds in India

• Risk Diversification: One of the biggest benefits of mutual funds is risk diversification. Every stock is subject to three types of risk – company risk, sector risk and market risk. Company risk and sector risk are unsystematic risk, while market risk is known as systematic risk. Mutual funds help investors diversify unsystematic risks by investing in a diversified portfolio of stocks across different sectors. While individual stocks have both unsystematic and systematic risks, mutual funds are only subject to systematic risk or market risk.
• Smaller capital outlay: Another advantage of mutual funds is that you can start investing in mutual funds with relatively small amounts. Investors will require a large capital outlay to build a diversified portfolio of stocks. On the other hand, since mutual funds work on the basis of pooling of money, mutual fund investors can have the beneficial ownership of a diversified portfolio of stocks with a much smaller capital outlay. Investors can buy units of a diversified equity mutual fund with an investment as low as Rs 5,000/- only or even lower at Rs 500 for ELSS schemes.
• Investment expertise: Investing in stocks and bonds requires considerable expertise and experience. You need to have knowledge of financial markets, industry sectors, individual companies and research expertise. A major advantage of mutual funds is that they are managed by professional fund managers who have the desired qualification, expertise and experience in picking the right stocks or other instruments to get the best risk adjusted returns. The fund managers are supported by the research team of the AMCs.
• Economies of scale in transaction costs: : Lower transaction cost due to economies of scale is another advantage of mutual funds. Since mutual funds buy and sell securities in large volumes transaction costs on a per unit basis is much lower than what retail investors may incur if they buy or sell shares through stock brokers.
• Variety of products: Mutual funds offer investors a variety of products to suit their risk profiles and investment objectives. Apart from equity funds, there are hybrid funds, debt funds, liquid funds and tax savings schemes etc. to suit different investment requirements. The benefits of investing in mutual funds is that you can invest in the appropriate product suitable for your specific needs and risk appetite.
• Variety of modes of investments: Flexibility in terms of modes of investment and withdrawal is one of the advantages of mutual funds compared to other investment options. Investors can opt for investment modes like lump sum (or one time), systematic investment plans (SIP), systematic transfer plans (STP) and systematic withdrawal plans (SWP).
• Disciplined investing: Mutual funds encourage investors to invest over a long period of time, which is essential to wealth creation. Furthermore, the advantages of mutual fund systematic investment plans or SIPs is that they encourage investors remain disciplined to meet their various financial goals. Many investors fail to build a substantial investment corpus because they are not able to invest in a disciplined way. Mutual fund SIPs help investors to maintain a disciplined approach to investment. SIPs also helps investor take emotions out of the investment process as very often investors get very enthusiastic in bull market conditions, but get nervous in bear markets. It is an established fact that investments made in bear markets help investors get high returns in the long term. By investing through SIPs in a mechanical way, investors can stay disciplined, which is one of the biggest benefits of investing in mutual funds.
• Variety of investment objectives: One of the advantages of mutual fund investing is that you can meet various types of investment objectives like capital appreciation and income. Equity mutual funds can help you create wealth through capital appreciation, while debt mutual funds can generate income for you. Hybrid mutual funds can help you in both capital appreciation and wealth creation.
• Liquidity: Open ended mutual funds are one of the most liquid investments after bank deposits and far more liquid than investments like, life insurance plans, infrastructure bonds, post office schemes etc. Investors can redeem their units in open ended funds usually on a T+3 (transaction + 3 days) basis. Liquid, overnight, low duration and ultra-short funds can usually be redeemed on T+1 day. Superior liquidity is one of the major advantages of mutual funds compared to some investment options like life insurance plans (which have policy surrender charges) and Government small savings schemes (which have fixed maturity periods).
• Transparency: Transparency is another advantage of mutual funds for retail and HNI investors. Mutual fund schemes disclose their Net Asset Values (NAVs) at the end of each business day; so investors are aware of the market value of their mutual fund units on a daily basis. On a monthly basis, mutual funds publish Monthly Fund Factsheets where the portfolio holdings (securities in a scheme’s portfolio along with weights) are disclosed for each and every mutual fund scheme. Investors have the information where the fund managers have invested on a monthly basis. In addition to portfolio holdings, monthly fund factsheets have useful information like returns compared to the scheme benchmark, risk ratios etc.
• Tax advantage: Tax advantages of mutual funds is one of biggest benefits of investing in mutual funds compared to many traditional fixed income investments. In equity funds, short term capital gains (held for less than 12 months) are taxed at 15% and long term capital gains (held for more than 12 months) are tax exempt up to Rs 1 lakh in a FY and taxed at 10% thereafter (excess of Rs 1 lakh of capital gains). In non-equity funds, short term capital gains (held for less than 36 months) are taxed at as per your income tax rate and long term capital gains (held for more than 36 months) are taxed at 20% after allowing indexation benefits. Interest income from most traditional fixed income investment is taxed as per the income tax rate of the investors. For investors in the higher tax brackets, tax advantages of mutual funds is significant compared to traditional fixed income investments.

Although man’s obsession with gold goes back hundreds or even thousands of years, diamonds are a relatively new one.  Like any other gem stone, diamonds are valuable because they are rare and in high demand.  Without the demand though, they would be worthless.  So why is it that most American males must enter the prime of their lives spending thousands of dollars on a tiny piece of carbon?

At a time in most men’s lives when they should be maxing out their retirement contributions or saving for a house, many feel forced to trade all that money for a diamond ring.  And it’s hard to go against societal pressures on this one since nearly every woman on the planet has come to expect a ring as part of the engagement process.  So what’s a man to do?

Don’t Call It an Investment

There’s a common myth floating around out there that a diamond ring is some type of investment.  In the late 1800’s diamonds used to be pretty rare but with the discovery of substantial diamond sources in the second half of the 20th century, diamonds became more and more abundant.  The only reason the price has remained so high is that DeBeers has steadily purchased all diamond mines across the globe in order to control prices.  That monopoly ended in 2001 but we’re still left with the aftermath.

Depreciating Asset

Like a car, a diamond is a depreciating asset since it loses a large portion of its value the second you buy it.  Think about gold and silver.  The market for them is very liquid and fungible since you can store coins, sell them at any time or even trade them later on.  During that time frame they might even appreciate and provide a hedge against inflation.  That’s not the case with diamonds though since the resale market is nearly illiquid.

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

Since there’s generally a 100% – 200% markup on the retail price of a diamond, most stores won’t even buy back diamonds from consumers for two reasons.  The first is that since most retailers receive their diamonds from wholesalers they don’t need to pay for them until they’re sold.  So there’s no point in risking capital on customer’s diamonds that may never be re-sold.

The second reason is that retailers don’t want to have to make an insulting offer to diamond consumers since that would undermine the notion that a diamond is a good investment.  One industry expert estimates that that a half-carat diamond ring, which might cost $2,000 at a retail jewelry store, could be sold back to a wholesaler for only $600.

What’s the Solution?

If you’re a young couple in love, the one thing you need to know about diamonds is that the price is so high because companies like De Beers set those high prices.  There’s no point in telling yourself that diamonds are an investment, but if you can find a wife that shares your disdain for diamonds, you’re in luck.  Sometimes, though, you just have to put aside the logical reasons why you shouldn’t buy a diamond ring and do it just to make your wife happy.

Ethereum and Solana are providing smart contracts but with different transaction speeds

It is hard for us to help you pick only one of these two. Ethereum and Solana are among the top Cryptocurrencies in the market. However, they both have their differences. This content will give you a detailed comparison between them based on the points that should be kept in mind when deciding which one to invest in.

Cryptocurrencies have gained a lot of exposure in the past few years through Affiliate programs and their rising prices. Ethereum and Solana are considered each other’s biggest competitors as Altcoins and Solana face a high threat of new entrants in the market. They are also exposed to different volatility levels. Let’s help you decide which is better for you:

1. Mechanism 

Ethereum uses the same technology as Bitcoin. It is dependent on Proof of Work (POW), which is secured by hundreds of miners. Solana relies on Proof of History (POH), which involves a certain number of sequential computational steps that decide the time gap between two events and give the transactions a time stamp.

2. Transaction Speed

All Crypto investors are well aware of Solana’s speed to offer to its investors. While Ethereum can only process 30 transactions per second, Solana can process 65,000 transactions per second. The block time of Ethereum is 15 seconds, whereas that of Solana is just one second.

3. Transaction Costs

As many of us hate paying transaction costs, this is important. Solana is also known for the low transaction costs that it charges. Ethereum charges a lot more transaction costs as compared to Solana.

4. Transparency 

As Ethereum has a large community of developers, Solana fails to maintain proper transparency about its developers. Ethereum wins the game because they have been in the market since 2014, when Solana just entered the market in 2020, and they also prefer maintaining more transparency than Solana.

5. Market Capitalization 

Ethereum is known to have the second-largest market cap among all the Cryptocurrencies. Solana is far behind Ethereum in this case. This is fair because they are new to the market and could take some time to reach Ethereum’s level of market cap.

6. Network Size

Ethereum has the largest network consisting of smart contracts. Solana is unable to compete at this point as they have a small network. Ethereum has a first-mover advantage in this case, whereas Solana lacks support from Crypto experts and institutions.

The Bottom Line

We have helped you with a close comparison between the two. Now, it is your call as to which one would be the best buy for you. Since these two have their own advantages and disadvantages, you can closely think if you want to overlook the disadvantages. However, it is obvious that Ethereum wins the race for all the right reasons. But if you are looking to explore Solana, it is not bad for starters either.

Both, Ethereum and Solana are two of the best recommendations that you will get from everyone. If you are planning to include Cryptocurrencies in your portfolio, evaluate the above-mentioned points, choose one of the two and make one of them win the battle.

The information posted in the article is for educational purposes only. By using this, you agree that the information does not constitute any investment or financial advice. Do conduct your own research and reach out to financial advisors before making any investment decisions.

Testosterone is the main male sex hormone, but females also have small amounts of it.

It is a steroid hormone, produced in men’s testicles and women’s ovaries.

The adrenal glands also produce small amounts.

During puberty in boys, testosterone is one of the main drivers of physical changes like increased muscle, deeper voice and hair growth.

However, having optimal levels is also important throughout adulthood and even during old age.

In adults, healthy levels are important for general health, disease risk, body composition, sexual function and just about everything else

Additionally, increasing your testosterone levels can cause rapid gains in muscle mass and vitality in only a matter.

The research is pretty conclusive: both genders should ensure they have healthy levels of testosterone, especially as they age.

Here are 8 evidence-based ways to increase testosterone levels naturally.

1. Exercise and Lift Weights

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to prevent many lifestyle-related diseases. Interestingly, it can also boost your testosterone.

A large review study found that people who exercised regularly had higher testosterone levels. In the elderly, exercise increases testosterone levels, fitness and reaction time.

2. Eat Protein, Fat and Carbs

What you eat has a major impact on testosterone as well as other hormone levels.

Therefore, you must pay attention to your long-term calorie intake and diet strategy.

Constant dieting or overeating may disrupt your testosterone levels.

3. Minimize Stress and Cortisol Levels

Research is always highlighting the dangers of long-term stress, which can elevate levels of the hormone cortisol.

Stress and high cortisol can also increase food intake, weight gain and the storage of harmful body fat around your organs. In turn, these changes may negatively impact your testosterone
levels

4. Get Some Sun or Take a Vitamin D Supplement

Vitamin D is quickly becoming one of the world’s most popular vitamins.

Research has shown that it has various health benefits, and may also work as a natural testosterone booster.

Despite its importance, nearly half of the US population is deficient in vitamin D, and an even higher percentage has sub-optimal levels.

A 12-month study found that supplementing with around 3,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day increased testosterone levels by around 25%

5. Take Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Although the benefits of multivitamins are hotly debated, specific vitamins and minerals may be beneficial.

In one study, zinc and vitamin B supplements increased sperm quality by 74%. Zinc also boosts testosterone in athletes and those who are deficient in zinc.

6. Get Plenty of Restful, High-Quality Sleep

Getting good sleep is just as important for your health as diet and exercise.

It may also have major effects on your testosterone levels.

The ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person, but one study found that sleeping only 5 hours per night was linked to a 15% reduction in testosterone levels

7. Take Some of These Natural Testosterone Boosters

Only a few natural testosterone boosters are supported by scientific studies.

The herb with the most research behind it is called ashwagandha.

One study tested the effects of this herb on infertile men and found a 17% increase in testosterone levels and a 167% increase in sperm count.

In healthy men, ashwagandha increased levels by 15%. Another study found it lowered cortisol by around 25%, which may also aid testosterone .

Ginger extract may also boost your levels. It is a delicious herb that also provides various other health benefits 

It’s not until you no longer have something, that you start to miss it, but that’s a luxury many of us in developed countries can say about unimportant things.

What about if you never had it in the first place such as food or water – the basic needs we all have, yet many of us seldom give a second thought to? What if you no longer had the convenience of going to the local supermarket or ordering online? Not everyone in a developed country has this sort of opportunity.

Here, we share 5 third-world struggles that people from developed countries take for granted:

• Water– it may come as a surprise that women of all ages still carry most of the world’s water which, over time, can lead to chronic neck and back pain as well as musculoskeletal disorders. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see women and children walking some 2 miles a day to collect water, carrying as much as 10kg buckets on their head. We’re tackling this problem head-on, offering a unique invention called The Water Wheel which carries 5x more water per trip without the need for heavy lifting.
• Hunger – studies estimate that 1 in 9 people are affected by hunger worldwide. Factors that affect this are poverty, war, economy and even climate change. In developed countries, we are spoiled with nutritional facts on the labels, but in third-world countries, there are missing out on nutrition full stop.
• Healthcare – from simple GP visits to hospital stays, developed nations have the best medical facilities available. Compare that to others less fortunate that don’t have the medical supplies, let alone not having the required medical staff to administer them.
• War – war-torn areas aren’t safe for anybody to inhabit. Imagine fearing for your life each and every day in places with social unrest and lack of protection. For those who suffer these hostile environments daily will be affected not only with their physical well-being but also their mental health.
• Education – without the right education, the path to progression is difficult. Adequate educators are needed in order for communities to reach their full potential. There are countless stats out there that show the incredible powers of education, but one of the most staggering is that each additional year of education can increase a person’s future income by an average of 10%. More income means more access to water, food, healthcare, and so on – so path toward socio-economic development starts here.

More on our mission

Although wells in rural India are now more accessible than they were 20 years ago, it’s still common to see women of all ages carrying water in a metal pail balanced on their heads for several miles.

Aiming to prevent the health burdens and cycle of poverty that water collection can create, we’re on a mission to supply The Water Wheel to families in need across India – a large drum fitted with handles which can be rolled along the ground with ease.

These round containers enable users to roll water from the wells rather than carry it on their heads and can transport up to 5x more water per trip compared to a standard bucket. This life-changing innovation is also allowing young girls to stay in school and receive education as they no longer need to be involved in water collection.

The first U.S. dollar (USD) is one of the world’s strongest currencies. It is the official currency of the United States as well as several other countries. Although it has a deep-rooted history in the United States, the dollar as we know it today was first printed in 1914.

Printing began a year after the establishment of the Federal Reserve as the nation’s central bank with the passing of the Federal Reserve Act. That’s when the Fed started issuing Federal Reserve notes in $10 denominations featuring Andrew Jackson’s portrait. Three decades later, the dollar officially became the world’s reserve currency. However, its ascendancy to the throne actually began not long after the ink was dry on that first printing in 1914.Keep reading to learn about how the dollar became the world’s reserve currency.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The first U.S. dollar was printed in 1914 after the Federal Reserve Bank was created.
• The Allies paid the U.S. for supplies in gold during World War I, propelling the U.S. to become the largest holder of gold.
• Countries pegged their currencies to the dollar after the war, ending the gold standard.
• The International Monetary Fund reported that 59% of all foreign bank reserves are denominated in U.S. dollars.
• Despite its position in the global markets, the U.S. isn’t the strongest world currency, ranking 10th on the list.

The U.S. Dollar Becomes the World’s Reserve Currency

The U.S dollar was officially crowned the world’s reserve currency and was backed by the world’s largest gold reserves thanks to the Bretton Woods Agreement. Instead of gold reserves, other countries accumulated reserves of U.S. dollars Needing a place to store their dollars, countries began buying U.S. Treasury securities, which they considered to be a safe store of money.

The demand for Treasury securities, coupled with the deficit spending needed to finance the Vietnam War and the Great Society domestic programs, caused the United States to flood the market with paper money. With growing concerns over the stability of the dollar, the countries began to convert dollar reserves into gold.

The demand for gold was such that President Richard Nixon was forced to intervene and de-link the dollar from gold, which led to the floating exchange rates that exist today. Although there have been periods of stagflation, which is defined as high inflation and high unemployment, the U.S. dollar has remained the world’s reserve currency.

If you were to ask someone why they exercise, you may hear a series of reasons ranging from “I want to be healthier” to “I want to take up a new hobby.” No matter what your fitness goal actually is, most can agree exercise gives us all one thing we couldn’t do without: me-time.

Having time to yourself, even if it’s just an hour, can make the world of difference. So if you love to work out but don’t always want to spend it in a group class with someone instructing each move, we totally hear you. It’s that me-time and total control of your workout that makes the gym such a great option.

Gym newbie? No problem—while we get it can be intimidating to take your workout into your own hands (literally) for the first time, there’s a way to make a gym sesh work for everyone. Read up on the amazing benefits a little time at the gym can do for your fitness routine, and we promise you’ll be a regular soon enough.

Why go to the gym?

The best part about going to a gym is that you can do nearly every type of exercise. From getting in your cardio on the elliptical to building muscle with weightlifting, a gym offers the tools you need to create a workout that’s customized perfectly for your needs. Most gyms offer a range of machines for you to pick and choose from such as treadmills, ellipticals, bicycles, weights and mats for floor work, so you’ll never feel limited.

Is working out a hobby?

For many, working out is a hobby. For some, it is a professional venture, but the majority of us are working out because it’s fun and because of the health benefits.

Who does the gym work for?

Even the busiest person with the most packed, inflexible schedule can fit the gym into their fitness routine. But with a range of machines and equipment to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming. When you arrive for your first session, ask one of the staff to give you a tour. They’ll often go through where the machines are, what they are best used for and how to do them correctly. You won’t always get that one-on-one guidance that you would in a class, so utilize the staff and make sure you know how to use each machine correctly before trying it.

The benefits of working out

If you love to work out, you know variety is key. Without changing up your exercises, your body can become acclimated to the movements, slowly halting progress over time. One of the benefits of the gym is that, with so many types of exercises to choose from, your body will never get bored. Instead of taking an hour-long class focused solely on cardio, the gym lets you add flexibility to your workout. Maybe do some cardio on the treadmill, and then move on to strength building with weights. This variety keeps your body from becoming too used to a single workout, speeding up your metabolism and burning more fat. Whether you want to get stronger, increase your cardio or even spend time on the mat gaining flexibility, you can achieve your goals at the gym.

It’s easy to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of our own lives, and we know it isn’t always easy to make time for yourself. Giving yourself the opportunity to hit the gym, plug in your headphones and escape in the improvement on your own body can do wonders for your mental health. The simple act of slowing down for just an hour of your day can help de-stress, decrease anxiety and reduce irritability. The gym allows you to listen to your body and cater to its needs, whether that’s taking a walk and working with light weights or running and going hard.

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The book stack represents the amount of work that a student put in to graduation

Education is the very key to success. While less developed countries are struggling to deliver education to all of their people, developed countries still have a problem – a flaw in the system itself.

What’s this flaw, you may ask?  Have you ever asked yourself “Why am I learning Hamlet when I want to become a scientist?” or “Why am I taking algebra and do all of these complicated math problems when I want to become an artist?”

Well, most would answer that it is to meet the requirement for graduation. This is the reason why the education system is flawed: students are forced to learn things that are not in any way helpful in their future career. The current education system is unable to bring out the fullest potential in the student. School is basically wasting student time and efforts with all these unnecessary classes, when that time could go to strengthening their strongest points. Schools aren’t made to waste people’s time, they were created to teach students what is essential to their lives and how to be successful.

So, my suggestion would be to rework the education system. To allow you to choose whatever classes you want and still pass for graduation; to customize your class selection. I know that there are students who have a hard time deciding what their future career is going to be. We can make a recommendation based on these students’ interests, their likes and dislikes. Each individual is different, so there must be something that they like. It will take some time for these students to find out what their future career is, but that’s ok. Finding your own purpose in life is no easy task, it can make a sudden turn or there’s a big obstacle that suddenly pop up. What matters is for them to keep on moving forward, so it’s also a good idea to help and encourage these students to do so.

As for the students who have already found their future careers, make it so that they can have access to more advanced education of the particular career early. Some may find that their supposed future career is not what they really want, maybe because they just want to try it or it’s because of the pressure of everyone expecting them to be in that career. For whatever reason, the education system should also make a smooth and easy transition for students who want to switch careers.

It will surely take time to makes these changes, but taking steps one by one will help our future generation to realize the potential that they have at an early age. It’s also very costly to implement these changes, but the benefit will surely outweigh the cost. Education will lead you to success and humanity to its best, but it has to be done right in order to do so, and we can’t stop improving it.

Within 10 seconds of your first puff, the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your brain, heart and other organs. Smoking harms almost every part of your body and increases your risk of many diseases. Smoking also affects how you look and feel, your finances and the people close to you.

What happens in your body

When you smoke, harmful chemicals enter your lungs and spread through your body. They can:

• reach your brain, heart and other organs within 10 seconds of your first puff
• go everywhere your blood flows, harming every part of your body.

Even if you don’t inhale tobacco smoke, you still absorb harmful chemicals through the lining of your mouth.

How you become addicted

The nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive. It makes your brain release a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a ‘feel good’ chemical that:

• makes you feel happy
• helps you to concentrate
• gives you more energy.

But this effect doesn’t last long.

As the nicotine levels in your body fade, your brain craves more dopamine. The longer you have been smoking, the more dopamine you need to feel good. You become dependent on nicotine.

Once you are dependent on nicotine, without it you will have withdrawal symptoms. You may find it difficult to concentrate or feel nervous, restless, irritable or anxious.

These two things — nicotine dependence and nicotine withdrawal — make you want to smoke more. You become addicted to tobacco.

How tobacco damages your body

The chemicals in tobacco smoke can damage your body in many ways. For example:

• Nicotine narrows your veins and arteries. This can
  • damage your heart by forcing it to work faster and harder
  • slow your blood and reduce oxygen to your feet and hands.
• Carbon monoxide deprives your heart of the oxygen it needs to pump blood around your body. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
• Tar is a sticky substance that coats your lungs like soot in a chimney.
• Phenols paralyse and kill the hair-like cells in your airways. These cells sweep clean the lining of your airways and protect them against infections.
• Tiny particles in tobacco smoke irritate your throat and lungs and cause ‘smoker’s cough’. This makes you produce more mucus and damages lung tissue.
• Ammonia and formaldehyde irritate your eyes, nose and throat.
• Cancer-causing chemicals make your cells grow too fast or abnormally. This can result in cancer cells.

How tobacco affects the way you look

Smoking tobacco can:

• cause yellow-brown stains on your fingers, tongue and teeth
• increase your risk of tooth loss and bad breath
• make your skin saggy and give you early wrinkles
• make your hair lose its natural shine.

Health effects

If you smoke, you:

• reduce your life expectancy and your quality of life
• increase your risk of many conditions and diseases as well as of dying prematurely.

It can be a long time before smokers get a smoking-related condition or disease. Because of this, some people believe it won’t happen to them.

In fact, up to ⅔ of long term smokers will:

• die of a smoking-related disease
• have their life cut short by about 10 years on average, compared to non-smokers.

There is also growing evidence to suggest that smoking has a negative impact on mental health. For example, some studies show that smoking is associated with increased rates of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, suicide attempts and schizophrenia.

Some of the conditions and diseases that can be caused by smoking

Did you know?

Tobacco use is the one risk factor shared by 4 of the main categories of non-communicable disease. These include cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and diabetes.

• Cancer
• Breathing problems and chronic respiratory conditions
• Heart disease, stroke and blood circulation problems
• Diabetes
• Infections
• Dental problems
• Hearing loss
• Vision loss
• Fertility problems
• Osteoporosis and menopause
  

There are basically four reasons why we get addicted to Instagram — and unsurprisingly, all of them are related to vanity.

1. We enjoy taking pictures.

The Instagram platform is designed specifically to appeal to our need to capture the beauty of life in photographs.

This is believed to be driven by the fact that, in a way, photographs allow us to preserve things and memories forever, exactly the way we saw or fell in love with them.

And with the rise of numerous devices with high-quality photography capabilities, taking pictures and sharing them with our friends has become easier than ever. 

2. We get a special kind of high from taking good photos.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that your output is excellent. The great thing about Instagram is that it doesn’t just serve as a platform to show off your photography skills. It also has built-in tools that can significantly improve the quality of your photographs with just a few clicks.

From frivolous filters to fantastic fixes, you can make sure that every picture you post is Instagram-worthy.

And the idea of an Instagram-worthy post leads us to the third reason for Instagram addiction which is…

3. Shareability (a.k.a. “Will my followers like my new post?”) feeds our Instagram addiction.

Like other social media platforms, Instagram comes with the built-in functionality to leave comments or drop likes on any post you can access.

There’s a certain level of gratification we achieve from seeing people like or leave comments on our posts. It’s kind of like the digital image equivalent of telling a joke in a full room and eagerly anticipating laughter from your audience. If you can get the room roaring, your ego will be soaring. 

4. Instagram addiction is a way to escape the dreariness of everyday life 

The average Instagram feed is usually full of posts from people who aim to project that they’re living the good life.

It’s this fantasy that not only prompts us to monitor the posts of our friends, but also encourages us to edit and post similar content on a regular basis.

We humans often crave escape from our day-to-day existence. Truth is, there’s nothing quite like visual stimulation to help us get distracted.

Bodybuilding was close to being recognised as a medal sport in the Olympics in the 1970s, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ben Weider, but the idea never materialised due to various reasons.

Why is Bodybuilding not an Olympic sport? Bodybuilding has been in existence for a long, long time. It is nothing but the usage of weight training to develop one’s body muscles the way one wants them to be. Over the years, there has been a lot of debates surrounding the inclusion of Bodybuilding, but none has been successful in pushing for the inclusion of Bodybuilding in the prestigious event. Bodybuilding was close to being recognised as a medal sport in the Olympics in the 1970s, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ben Weider, but the idea never materialised due to various reasons. So, what are the reasons behind Bodybuilding not being an Olympic sport? Well, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Planning Committee (OPC) give the following three different reasons why they do not recognise Bodybuilding as an Olympic sport. Bodybuilders take in a lot of steroids The very first reason why the IOC does not recognise Bodybuilding is the use of steroids by bodybuilders. The core essence of the Olympics is drug-free and fair competition between athletes from all across the globe. Besides, the IOC has strict rules regarding doping wherein athletes who are found to have been in the use of any banned drug are banned or stripped of their medals. It is impossible to conduct a fair bodybuilding competition where the bodybuilders have not used steroids and hence cannot be included in the Olympics according to the IOC. Bodybuilding is not a sport The second argument which the IOC maintains is that they do not consider Bodybuilding to be a sport. They maintain that there is no athleticism maintained in Bodybuilding – the exact same reason why even Chess has not been able to make it to the Olympics. The bodybuilders certainly undergo immense physical training, but in the end, on the day of the competition, there is no athleticism involved, and it’s rather just based on how your body looks, and thus the IOC refrains from recognising it as an Olympic sport. Bodybuilding is subjective to judge Another argument put forward by the IOC is that Bodybuilding is subjective to judge. For example, the winner of a sport like 100m sprint or long jump can be easily decided objectively based on who completed the sprint fastest or who jumped the longest distance. The IOC considers this objectivity missing in Bodybuilding, as the final decision has to be taken just by judging the physique of the bodybuilders, and the decision here can be a lot subjective, i.e. every single person might have a different opinion regarding whose physique is better.

Studying in India or abroad? This predicament quite often puts Indian students in a quandary. Going abroad for an overseas degree has become quite common nowadays. Indian students who have embraced foreign degrees with open arms have been obsessed with overseas colleges and universities from the early 70s.

Studying in India has gone out of fashion for most of them since we do not have the required infrastructure and Ivy League colleges to compete with our western counterparts. Despite this, some students prefer Indian degrees due to a variety of reasons The foremost reason is the unaffordability of an overseas degree. Due to the higher cost of living and exorbitant fee structure in foreign universities, students from middle-class backgrounds prefer to study in India, whereas the rich and the affluent students choose to fly abroad instead due to their financial So why there is a craze among Indian students to study abroad? The reason is obvious. A foreign degree from a reputed university or college is revered highly in India and abroad. A student graduating from an Ivy League institution gets a placement offer from a reputed company in the country of study and India as well. Due to high teaching standards, immaculate infrastructure facilities, and qualified teaching faculty, the Ivy League institutes in western countries enjoy a cult following and mad rush from Indian students. There are lakhs of Indian students in foreign countries studying a variety of courses. They have been inspired by their seniors who have had a stint abroad earlier. Looking at the success stories of Indian graduates who have made it big in foreign shores, more and more students from India prefer to go abroad and achieve their goal of becoming successful Going abroad has become a status symbol for families across India. Since a foreign degree is held in high esteem, there has been no letup in Indian students opting to study abroad. Most of the Indian students who travel abroad for higher studies do not return and those who return get absorbed in reputed companies in our country due to the degrees they hold which have a higher value compared to Indian ones. So studying abroad has become a norm for Indian students. Every household has a person or two in foreign shores. Rich and affluent families often prefer their children to get an overseas degree which adds to their status and credibility in the society. The craze which started in the 80s will never fade away. This craze is already at its peak and is going to intensify manifold as years pass by. With the introduction of a new visa system for overseas students, the outbound traffic from India has resulted in the proliferation of Indian students in foreign Lastly, I would say that Indian students are a talented lot and they deserve to study abroad. Getting a foreign degree is one of the prerequisites for an Indian student. The trend of going abroad and settling in foreign shores is not going to subside in the foreseeable future.

What is Bitcoin?

What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was created in 2009 on the heels of the economic recession. Bitcoin was created to be an electronic peer-to-peer cash system, but has also attracted crypto-curious investors as a store-of-value currency, comparable to gold. 

History of Bitcoin

The concept of Bitcoin was published in a white paper written by an anonymous figure under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. No one knows the author’s true identity — or if it’s even a single person, rather than a group of people. The paper outlined how Bitcoin would work, and the currency officially launched on Jan. 3, 2009, according to Ollie Leech, learn editor at CoinDesk, a leading cryptocurrency news outlet.

How Bitcoin Works

Bitcoin’s maximum supply is 21 million — and that’s all there ever will be.  

When a cryptocurrency is released, the creator(s) can set its parameters (how much there is, rules for buying and selling, how new Bitcoins are added to the marketplace, etc.), which cannot be changed after the fact. Locked in from the start, these rules effectively make Bitcoin a truly scarce resource, with a ceiling on the total amount that will ever be available. 

“No one, not a government, not Satoshi themselves, can change that now that it’s been released,” says Leech. “You cannot duplicate Bitcoins, you cannot recreate them.”

That’s where the comparison to gold falls a little flat, because gold is constantly entering the market as new ores and pockets are discovered, making it only a relatively scarce resource. 

Bitcoin is also much more transferable and more easily stored compared to a resource like gold. If you want to move gold, it’ll cost a lot of money (armored transport, security, cost of storage in a secure facility, etc.). Bitcoin can essentially be stored on a USB stick — in something known as a cold or hard wallet.

Investment vs. Cash

Bitcoin was designed to be an electronic cash, as its white paper explains. But the currency’s volatility pretty much immediately scrapped this original intent, according to Leech. 

For example, no person “in their right mind” would want to buy coffee with Bitcoin, says Leech. That’s because you could buy a coffee worth $3 today with Bitcoin, and tomorrow that same Bitcoin is worth $30, and you’ve effectively spent $30 on a cup of coffee. 

Or take it from the merchant’s point of view — you use Bitcoin for your $3 coffee, and tomorrow that Bitcoin is worth 60 cents. Then the merchant lost out. “The price volatility kind of makes it completely useless as an electronic cash system,” says Leech. 

Similar to gold, people buy Bitcoin “not because they expect to be able to go to the store and spend it, but because they expect it to hold its value,” says Galen Moore, director of data and indexes at CoinDesk. “For the same reason people would have diamonds, or some $100 bills, or some gold coins in a safe,” they would keep a digital wallet with their Bitcoin on it. 

Why Is Bitcoin So Volatile?

Cryptocurrency volatility is mostly due to the “immature market,” says Leech. “Traders are very susceptible to emotion and fear and greed, and so you get these really extreme market reactions.”

There are also new regulations and policies that are constantly reshaping the market and causing drastic swings. And then there’s social media. 

“It’s this weird new thing where viral social trends, like Wall Street Bets or Elon Musk for example, have a huge influence over crypto,” says Leech. “If Elon Musk puts hashtag Bitcoin in his Twitter bio, it sends Bitcoin up 10%.” 

With so little historical context compared to more conventional investments, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should still be considered riskier assets, Danial says. The potential reward comes with higher risk, so make sure any investment in Bitcoin is included in your broader portfolio’s riskier, more aggressive allocation.

Bitcoin Mining

With Bitcoin, there is a finite supply of 21 million coins — though not all them were released when Bitcoin launched in 2009. About 18 million of 21 million Bitcoin have been added to circulation since the “genesis block,” the first block of Bitcoin, was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, says Leech. 

New gold enters the market from mining as well — though with gold it is impossible to know exactly how much there remains to be discovered and mined.

New Bitcoin is discovered and made available to buy and sell via a digital mining process, which involves discovering new blocks’ unique hash (a very long string of numbers and letters) using an algorithm. Blocks are just groupings of transactions occurring within a given time frame, and new blocks are constantly made available. 

Each block discovered via the mining process unlocks a set amount of Bitcoin. This reaps rewards for those who discover new blocks, and makes new Bitcoin available to buyers. There’s no rhyme or reason to each block’s hash, so miners set their computers to create many guesses per second to try and guess these random codes. 

Miners use powerful computers referred to as “nodes” to search for and discover new blocks. Anyone can be a Bitcoin miner using free software available on Bitcoin.org, but running a computer like this consumes lots of storage space and energy.

Whoever guesses the code first gets the right to create the next block — and pick up the transaction fees from it when its Bitcoin gets bought and sold. “Each new block has a treasure chest. And inside is a block reward which is free Bitcoin that enters the market,” says Leech. 

This mining process is another factor contributing to Bitcoin’s wild day-to-day swings. 

Today, about 900 Bitcoin enter circulation every day through mining, according to Leech. But there’s a cyclical trend called “halving” written into Bitcoin’s original code. Every four years, the amount of new Bitcoin entering circulation every day gets halved. 

The last halving was in 2020, so in April or May of 2024 the amount of Bitcoin entering circulation each day will be reduced again. The reduction will keep happening until the last Bitcoin is mined, which is predicted to happen in the year 2140, says Leech. 

This halving has happened three times since Bitcoin was introduced, with its adoption rising all the while. So the effects of halving on the price of Bitcoin are difficult to pinpoint. The first halving, in 2012, led to a rise in the value of Bitcoin, while the second halving in 2016 led to an initial drop before rising again. The third halving in May 2020 saw no drastic impacts to the price of Bitcoin, which has maintained record high prices since late 2020.

With each halving comes more market fluctuation to the price of Bitcoin. “It’s deflationary by design,” says Leech.