#061: Multiverse Theory Confirmed?, iPod Classic Emulator, Science of Short-Form Attention

Hi All!

We are pleased to welcome you to this week's edition of Undiscovered, a newsletter with exclusive resources and insights expanding from the material found on our main site - becketu.com.

This week, we will take a look at a breakthrough quantum computing chip, an iPod Classic emulator for iPhone, the science of why short-form video is so engaging, and more.

Let's dive in:

Google's Breakthrough and Multiverse Theory

Google recently announced one of the potentially most historic achievements in human history. Their new 105-quibit quantum computing chip, Willow, can solve a complex computational task in under five minutes - for context, this feat would take the world's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years.

The chip achieves "below threshold" error correction, meaning it can exponentially reduce errors as more qubits are added. This has been a challenge in the field for nearly three decades.

The chip's speed has led to speculation about how it's connected to multiverse theory, with some researches suggesting it could be tapping into parallel universes for computational power. This idea aligns with physicist David Deutsch's theory that quantum computations occur across multiple parallel universes simultaneously. To learn more about David Deutsch's theories, we suggest reading his book's The Beginning of Infinity and The Fabric of Reality.

The internet exploded with excited commentary, but one of the most interesting conversations was an exchange between Elon Musk and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

If all of this is overwhelming, there's even a thread that asks to explain the discovery "like (you are) 38 years old and born in the late 1900's".

iPod Classic Emulator for iPhone

I have a 3rd generation iPod that sits in my bedroom, broken. It has a 15 GB capacity, and was a valiant companion on many early 2000's internet voyages to Club Penguin and Toon Town. I've tried to bring it back to life with recovered charging cables, to no avail.

I accepted its fate as a paperweight, an antique that promised "1000 songs in your pocket", and memory from a decade that promised technological hope and harmony.

I was floored, as you can imagine, when I saw that there is an iPod Classic emulatoryou can download as an app for your iPhone. It's $2.99 on the App Store and you can find it under "My Classic - Retro Console".

Apparently, these apps pop up frequently and Apple constantly pulls them from the App Store. But what is it that draws us back to the memories attached with this layout and design? Is it nostalgia? Is it simply 'better'?

Maybe this goes deeper into why people today feel differently towards technology. It doesn't have the same 'feeling' as it did back then. For better or for worse, things evolve - and we can only remember and try to build upon the feelings of a magical scroll wheel, accordion album covers, and sharing your headphones with a friend while listening to the latest Top 10 Single you just downloaded.

The Science of Short-Form Attention

One of the hottest new Chinese consumer apps this year specializes in producing "short video dramas". It's called Hongguo, and the premise is that it shows serialized stories of 1-2 minute episodes, typically totaling 60-120 minutes. Each episode is designed vertically for viewing on phones.

Not only does this present a huge shift in consumer preferences (and potentially prove that Quibi was directionally correct but just too early), but it indicates there is a formulaic way these episodes are being made. One theory is using something called the "3-7-21 Rule".

3 seconds: to grab someone's attention.

7 seconds: to provide an overview or reason for someone to stay engaged.

21 seconds: within 21 seconds, you should establish a clear idea of your message or provide enough intrigue to keep someone interested in exploring further.

Project-Based YouTube Channel

Stuck in a YouTube rut? Need something to spark inspiration for your next project? Two incredible engineering channels we recently came across are Stuff Made Here and Peng Zhihui.

Originally found these channels because someone mentioned having a 'project based YouTube channel is the best resume format...for hardware'. There's no doubt either of these creators could parlay their video and engineering skills into a job, but showcasing your work in public like this also offers more opportunities than just the traditional workforce.

In the spirit of the holiday season, here's a video from Stuff Made Here that shows an Explosive Powered Nut Cracker vs Metal Nuts along with a Mini Desktop Robot by Peng Zhihui.

There are incredible engineering channels and projects on YouTube. We highly recommend getting lost in the algorithm and checking out as many as you can, and let us know if you find any more good ones!

PSA for Those Pesky Spam Text Messages

Maybe this is just me, but whenever I receive one of those random texts that say something like "Hey, can you meet me for coffee this evening?" - I simply delete it and report is as spam. I never knew what these messages were beyond simple phishing attempts, or why someone would even send them out.

Growth engineer Nikita Bier explains it simply: Someone is trying to 'warm' that number. He elaborates on how you should respond to these scammers, and cause them maximum anguish, here:

P.S Can you please respond to this email and bring it into your 'primary' inbox? You can say 'Hi!', tell us the last book you read recently, or what your favorite resource was from above.
​
It would also help if you add us as a contact on your mailing list, with a visual tutorial below:

We appreciate any feedback you are able to provide here. What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram and give us a follow there, tag your friends on our posts, and please forward this newsletter along to anyone else who would enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Becket U is an Amazon Associate and purchases through Amazon links may earn a small affiliate commission, but the price is the same for you. We only recommend books we love and think you would love, too.

Always wishing you the best,

J.B.