General

How the pandemic taught economists a lesson about inflation, growth and economic recovery

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Economists' assumptions during the pandemic

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, many economists were surprisingly unanimous: the great danger was a phase of low inflation, perhaps even deflation. A few years later, the picture is different. Inflation reached historic highs in many countries, supply chains collapsed and economic developments turned out differently than expected.

The pandemic was not just a health crisis - it was also a stress test for economic forecasts. This article shows where experts were wrong, why this was the case and what lessons can be learned for future assessments.

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From content to substance: how digital systems are created that cannot be copied

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System instead of individual content

When you move around in the digital space today, you very quickly get a certain impression: if you are visible, you are successful. If you have reach, you have influence. And if you produce a lot of content, you automatically build up something. This equation seems plausible at first glance - but it is deceptive. Because visibility is not ownership. Reach is not ownership. And content is by no means a foundation.

A post can be read thousands of times and yet practically disappear after a few days. A social media post can go viral - and at the same time have no lasting effect. Even well-placed content in search engines is not automatically stable. They depend on algorithms, platform rules and developments that you have no control over.

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Guided in everyday life - How modern sales tricks control our behavior

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Sales tricks in the supermarket and online

It's often the little things that make you wonder. No big events, no loud break - rather a quiet moment when you stop and ask yourself: wasn't it different before? I recently had such a moment in the supermarket. A store I've known for many years. One of those places where you don't have to think. You know where things are. Milk at the back on the right, bread at the front on the left, the usual routes in between. It's a quiet form of reliability that you hardly notice in everyday life - as long as it's there.

But this time something was different. I was searching. Not for long, but longer than usual. The milk was no longer where it always was. A few steps further, then back again. Finally I found it - but the thought remained. Why? At first it seems banal. A shelf is rearranged, a product is moved. That happens. But when such moments accumulate, the whole thing loses its random character. It creates an impression that is difficult to grasp, but is nevertheless tangible: something is being changed here - not for me, but with me.

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Recognize TMD early and self-test: Why the jaw, neck, head and ears are often connected

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TMD self-test

There are complaints that cannot be classified for a long time. A pulling sensation in the jaw that you initially ignore. A headache that you blame on stress. A slight cracking sound when you open your mouth that eventually becomes a habit. And then suddenly there is neck pain, perhaps a slight feeling of pressure in the ear - all explainable in themselves, but strangely unclear in the overall picture. This is exactly how it starts for many people. You go to the dentist, perhaps later to the orthopaedist or ENT specialist. Everyone looks at their own area, and often nothing clear is found. The complaints remain - sometimes for years.

I have experienced this path myself. And it was only when I was intensively involved with the topic of TMD, particularly when I was setting up a structured self-test, that I realized how many of the typical symptoms I had actually experienced over time. Individual points that seem harmless on their own suddenly form an overall picture. This article is intended to help with exactly that: to make the connections visible. Because the decisive step is often not in the treatment, but in recognizing the pattern.

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Fracking, LNG and energy policy: a sober analysis of risks, opportunities and reality

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Natural gas fracking and energy policy

There are political and social discussions that are not linear. They come in waves. Fracking is one such issue. For years, the matter in Germany seemed settled. With the legislative package of 2016 and the resulting regulation from 2017, the framework was clear: commercial fracking in unconventional reservoirs will not take place. The debate calmed down and the issue largely disappeared from the public eye. It was as if a lid had been put on it.

But this impression was deceptive. Because while the debate in Germany was dying down, the world was changing in the background. The energy supply, which had long been considered relatively stable, came under increasing pressure. Prices began to fluctuate, supply chains became more fragile and geopolitical tensions increased. The events from 2022 at the latest made it clear that energy is not a matter of course, but a strategic commodity.

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Apple in transition: Early devices, personal experiences and an exhibition at the OCM

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Apple Macintosh Classic and Color Classic

If you are interested in computer history, a visit to the Oldenburg Computer Museum is particularly worthwhile. The museum is one of those places that doesn't have to be loud to make an impression and will be hosting a special exhibition from April under the motto „50 years of the Apple computer“. For many years, technology has not only been exhibited there, but kept alive. Devices are not behind glass, but often ready for use on tables - just as they were actually used in the past.

That's what makes the difference. You don't just see old computers, you get a feeling for what it was like to work, play and think with these machines. From early home computers to classic office computers and special one-offs, everything is represented - carefully collected, maintained and, above all, clearly arranged.

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Who actually is J. D. Vance? A portrait of his origins, career, contradictions and future

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Who is J. D. Vance?

International reporting on the United States is usually dominated by the big, loud figures. Names that polarize, that provoke, that generate headlines. For many European observers, politics in the USA is therefore often an interplay of escalation, conflict and clearly recognizable opposites. And then suddenly a name appears that doesn't fit into this picture at all: J. D. Vance.

Not a classic loudspeaker. Not a man of grand gestures. Not a politician who immediately attracts attention with pithy words. And yet he is suddenly there - in interviews, in analyses, in political debates. Not as a marginal figure, but as someone who obviously plays a role that is bigger than it appears at first glance. For many readers in Germany or Europe, this is precisely where the real question begins: who is this man anyway - and why has he suddenly become so important?

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Sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system and cortisol - how stress controls our body

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Cortisol, sympathetic nervous system and stress

Stress is part of life. Without stress, we would probably hardly get out of bed in the morning, avoid challenges and simply not get many things done. For thousands of years, the human body has been designed to be able to react quickly in certain situations: Recognize danger, mobilize energy, act. In such moments, the organism runs at full speed - heart rate, breathing, alertness and muscle tension increase. This state can even be life-saving.

However, stress becomes problematic when it no longer ends. Many people today live in a state that no longer feels like acute stress, but rather like a permanently elevated baseline level. Deadlines, conflicts, a flood of information, constant availability - the body often reacts as if it is constantly in a potentially dangerous situation. However, while our ancestors were able to calm down again after a short period of tension, this phase of real relaxation is often missing today.

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