Hello & welcome to another edition of Ideas on my Substack newsletter. This week’s Ideas of the Week comes packed with several intriguing posts ranging from tech to existential dilemmas, to science & space & some interesting art and music.
As always, I try to provide the most intriguing ideas that I come across online in this short post; I hope you find them interesting.
Let’s get to it!
The way we browse the internet is going to change for the foreseeable future with the advent of AI. With the rise of AI LLMs, people are turning to these AI chats to browse the internet instead of entering search terms on Google. In 2025, your default response to any question is no longer to “Google it.” Increasingly, it’s “Ask ChatGPT.” In this post on my Linkedin newsletter, titled “Google Search Is Dying: Analysing How We Will Browse The Internet & Consume Content With The Advent of AI”, I cover how AI is changing the way we browse the internet, backed by data & trends that suggest so. It seems as though Google will be (in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson when discussing Liverpool) “knocked off their perch”. You can read the article here.
From classical physics to quantum mechanics, the phenomenon of the “singularity” has puzzled physicists since the dawn of Einstein’s theories of relativity. In this post on Quanta Magazine, they explore just why “singularities” are so baffling & how far along we are in understanding them. It’s a bit heavy but should give you a clearer idea about “singularities”. I might just write an article summarising this post but you can read the article on the Quanta Magazine website here.
The actual origins & evolution of life, from microbes to eventually us, is rather baffling. But if you’re interested in understanding more about evolution, from Darwin to modern-day theories, an interesting post on Nautilus magazine, written with the help of an evolutionary biologist, explores the 10 most common misconceptions of evolution, while explaining how it works. It’s an informative piece & an interesting read to understand a bit more about how we’ve evolved over time, and continue to do so, slowly. You can read the article on Nautilus Magazine here.
This video interview of physicist Brian Cox explores how we’re on the verge of becoming a space-wayfaring or space-colonizing pieces. It’s an eye-opening and futuristic take on how we’re standing on the shores of an exciting time as a civilization. As the YouTube description reads, quoting Carl Sagan: “We are beginning to take our first steps out into the cosmic ocean… and the water seems inviting.” — What if humanity isn’t just a flicker in the universe—but a force that could one day shape the cosmos itself? Physicist Brian Cox explores the possibility that we are standing at the edge of a new era: The dawn of a spacefaring civilization. From reusable rockets and asteroid mining to the philosophy of our cosmic significance, Cox imagines how we might continue to explore the frontier of space. As we industrialize low Earth orbit and contemplate colonizing the Moon and Mars, who decides how space is governed?
In my last post here on Light Years, I explored how the job landscape driven by AI automation is leading to job cuts & how people need to adapt. This could be via freelancing or starting a business or a startup. People are being driven to pivot given the large-scale job cuts, that’s only going to increase. The post didn’t get too many reads, which is why I’m reposting it here, in case you missed it.
This short video about the story of a tired & weary techie visiting a monastery, because he was burnt out, and what he learnt from a monk after burning his toast, is a little reminder and anecdote that life can lead to burnout & distasteful moments but life isn’t meant to be perfect, it’s just a process of living from morning to morning, where sometimes you make burnt toast for breakfast & it tastes awful but on other days it’s well made & tastes great. It’s a reminder that "Perfection isn't the point. Presence is. Stop scraping your past. Taste what's here."
Further reflecting on perfection & the flaws of “perfectionism”. I wrote a couple of posts on the subject, both underpinning different ideas that “perfectionism” in terms of life goals & progress and in art, is often the scourge of progress & the creation of great & meaningful art, respectively. You can read both posts titled The Flaws Of Perfectionism which explores how perfectionism prevents people from reaching their life goals & affects progress & The Hidden Beauty of Imperfection in Art which provides a case for how imperfection can make some compelling, meaningful and authentic art.
Radiohead are my favourite band of all time & their frontman Thom Yorke is an artist who has deeply influenced me. He has created a few side-projects of mini-bands away from his work with Radiohead & his solo work. His projects are with Atoms For Peace and The Smile. This video of his side band The Smile performing at NPR’s Tiny Desk, is an essential listen.
Coming to more personal music, in what was a recent release. I put out an album of B-sides that I made over the course of the last few months while experimenting with my Roland SP4040 MKII sampler instrument. It’s a neat little LP of B-sides that is a temporary release before my more longer-planned releases. You can stream it below.
 | Boom Bap Chronicles Part II (B-Sides) Ghost Intent Album |
Here it is on YouTube music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k3bHhOVJRMEgnekNBlu64CqE8Uz3lGZAg&si=N_Trkp8DVDIco7QA
Meanwhile, the playlists on my playlist channel #1PlaylistAWeek have continued. Here’s my latest #playlist titled “Mumbai Mixed (Part I)”:
Link: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwiEpN-FJ79fZjggqTNna03d2q2gvOtyt&si=xohaPqwHW8Ts3enx
Finally, my first full-length book “Make Your Own Waves” will be going live on Amazon soon in the next couple of weeks. I’ll be writing a separate post on it here on Light Years, so stay tuned for that. And I hope you end up ordering a copy.
Thanks for reading & checking out the links! As always, stay tuned for this series called ‘Ideas Of The Week’ on my publication Light Years!
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