Edition #10 Plain Sight How smuggling seven beans broke an empire. And what it teaches us about modern talent wars. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. From Coffee to Code: The Art of Breaking Monopolies In 1670, a Sufi mystic named Baba Budan completed what might be history’s most consequential act of industrial espionage. Returning from his pilgrimage to...
14 days ago • 3 min read
Edition #9 Plain Sight Intelligence can be both a boon and a curse. It depends on how we use it, and more importantly, what governs it. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. When Intelligence Is Dangerous Credit: Madelgarius, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia This weekend, I was watching Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, a Netflix documentary that examines the rise and fall...
21 days ago • 5 min read
Edition #8 Plain Sight The rate of suicides might decrease if the media stopped reporting them. It sounds absurd, but there’s proven psychology at play. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. The Dark Psychology Behind Kota’s Crisis Over the decades, tens of thousands of teenagers from all over the country have flocked to the city of Kota every year, carrying...
28 days ago • 5 min read
Edition #7 Plain Sight The Manhattan Project didn’t just change warfare - it rewrote the relationship between science and power. Today, AI is doing the same. The question is: have we learned anything? Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. When Science Split the Atom (and the World) Los Alamos, July 16th, 1945. 5:29 AM, Mountain War Time. In the middle of a...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Edition #6 Plain Sight Before it became the planet’s number 1 enemy, coal was once mined to solve an environmental problem. When it became mainstream, it triggered an unprecedented flurry of innovations that continues to this day. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. Beautiful, Clean Coal “I call it beautiful, clean coal. I tell my people, never use the word...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Edition #5 Plain Sight Trotsky played chess, Hitler sketched, and Lenin wrote revolutionary theories - all under one roof. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. When Lenin Met Trotsky: The OG Café That Changed the World Vienna, circa 1913. The air inside Café Central hangs thick with tobacco smoke and revolutionary ideas. At one marble-topped table, a bearded...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Edition #4 Plain Sight How do you know if you can trust a country or its leader? There’s an interesting story from the beginnings of World War 2 from which we can draw parallels to the India-Pak dynamic. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. What’s common between Hitler and Pakistan? In the year leading up to World War II, Adolf Hitler was aggressively...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Edition #3 Plain Sight Trust is a crucial economic force, from medieval Mediterranean traders to contemporary business networks, we explore how trust shapes transaction costs and organizational success. Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. Trust: The True Currency of Human Exchange Picture this: It’s the 11th century. The Mediterranean Sea pulses with...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Edition #2 Plain Sight Smart people are leaving high paying jobs, without a backup, and often without a concrete plan. What does this tell about our work culture? Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are. Why are smart people leaving jobs? In the last couple of years, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of people in my extended circle who have quit their...
2 months ago • 11 min read