In this interview, physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski demonstrates that physical patterns are all around us and explains how they shape our daily lives, connecting human life with the planet’s life.

For the researcher at University College London, understanding the world means investigating these invisible patterns, especially those affecting the ocean: how the wind transfers energy to the waves, how sound travels through water to reveal hidden objects and how gases circulate between the ocean and the atmosphere via gas bubbles at the surface of the ocean.

In the North Atlantic, for example, the ocean is inhaling carbon dioxide, taking it out of the atmosphere, while in the tropics, it is exhaling it, releasing it back into the atmosphere. «There is a natural balance between the two», insists Helen. «And what is really useful about this is that we remove that gas from the atmosphere, where otherwise it would have contributed to global warming», she explains.

«These tiny processes, breaking waves and bubbles at the surface of the ocean, may not seem particularly significant», she adds, «but if we measure all the respiration constantly taking place across the planet, we see that the ocean is actually doing us a huge favour».

Those very same gas bubbles revolutionised fishing. Sonar systems, which send sound into the ocean, use them to locate fish. If a fish has a gas bubble in its swim bladder – as most fish do –the sound travels differently through the animal. However, the specialist warns, «this has contributed to overfishing and impacted biodiversity in the oceans».

«The key takeaway from all my work is how incredibly interconnected systems are. In the natural world, what happens in one place has impacts in other places», affirms Helen Czerski, citing how even a whale’s urine influences the balance of ecosystems.

«Whales feed in the Arctic and migrate to the tropics to mate. While mating, they don’t eat, but still produce urine, which deposits nitrogen on tropical islands», explains the BBC presenter. In places like Hawaii, meanwhile, they take shelter on reefs to rear their calves and end up fertilising these environments, which are not naturally nutrient-rich.

But this movement of nutrients has been under threat since industrial whaling began. «We removed one of the mechanisms that made the rest of the system work», and if humanity continues to remove other parts, through overfishing and introducing pollutants to the ocean, «it’s not just a chain that we’ll be breaking, but a whole web of interactions», she maintains.

For the time being, Helen Czerski assures that the planet still has the capacity to resist, but recognises that the balance between human life and that of the planet is changing. «I think we have an enormous problem, but also that we have the means to solve it». What we cannot do, however, is carry on dragging our feet –we must act.

More on the topic:

Helen Czerski's website

Helen Czerski's publications (University College of London)

«The fascinating physics of everyday life», (TED Talk)

«Climate change: A possible future» (Documentary, FFMS)

«On the trail of whales, orcas and dolphins in Portuguese waters» (Latest, FFMS)

«If you look at the amount of spending that's going on right now, on self-optimisation, on self-help and self-improvement, we're at record levels. There’s never been more spending on these books, on these courses, on these coaching sessions… and at the same time, people have never been more miserable, more depressed and anxious».

The warning is given by Thomas Curran, a British psychologist and expert in perfectionism, who is concerned about the rapid growth of this phenomenon and the health problems it triggers.

In this episode of «It's not that simple», the professor from the London School of Economics explains that perfectionism is not defined by «extremely high» personal standards or by «high levels of striving to achieve them», but also by the insecurity that is the fire that goes underneath those high standards.

Behind the extreme demands, there are always doubts as to whether we are sufficient, if we are capable of being up to it, he underlines. «This is huge and a cause for concern because perfectionist insecurities and concerns are very tightly correlated with mental health difficulties».

An award-winning researcher, Curran shares details that show how perfectionist trends have been increasing since the end of the last century. «High levels of striving, something called ‘self-oriented perfectionism’ – perfectionism that comes from within, high self-set goals and standards – are increasing relatively modestly but, nevertheless, from a very high baseline», he reveals.

At the same time, socially prescribed perfectionism – which has to do with the way other people expect me to be perfect - «is on an exponential trend upwards» mainly among the younger generations.

This trend has shot up around 60% since the late 1980s. Nowadays, there is a lot of need for approval and validation from the «other», «now we rely on other people's engagement, likes and mentions for our own self-esteem», he adds.

Nowadays, it’s not a question of just showing off material goods, but also one of showing off all your hard work and professional success. «How hard we can work, how much we can hustle or what we can build – all of this fuels the economy», but, on the other hand, it leads to burnout. «This is a very different type of showing off, but it is no less difficult psychologically, because you’re never going to be the perfect hustler, the perfect grinder».

Maybe it's time to counteract this pressure. «Great thinkers taught us something very important: contemplation. Sitting down and reading, thinking, that is exceptionally non-productive behaviour in the short term, but could be incredibly productive in the long term», he concludes.

How do we measure and assess productivity? What impact does remote working have on productivity? And what about artificial intelligence? In this episode of It’s Not That Simple, UK economist and remote work specialist Nicholas Bloom explores the dilemmas of modern management.

At the start of the 20th century, in coal mining yards, «it was enough to count how many shovelfuls a worker dug per hour». Today, aside from a few exceptions (such as call centres), these kinds of metrics are no longer suitable for measuring productivity in an increasingly tech-driven world.

Using Google as an example, the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University explains how measurement formulas have become far more diffuse and complex. Companies like Google measure productivity by analysing «the number of new apps or products delivered, the teams involved in development, the hours spent to complete production... and even then, it’s far from ideal», he says. «Measuring productivity is extremely difficult in the digital era».

Bloom contends that explaining why some countries remain less productive is far more straightforward: working hours or remote work are not the issue – rather, the issue is management.

«Working from home two days a week doesn’t reduce productivity. Plus, it affords companies a significant advantage: employees are less likely to quit, and high employee turnover is a big expense», he explains.

Having conducted comparative studies of management practices across different sectors and countries, Bloom highlights the effectiveness of North American companies’ strategic aggressiveness: «They measure everything, set ambitious targets», and reward results quickly. In Portugal, he notes, this is not the case.

But solutions do exist, and the economist offers several for Portuguese business leaders to consider. However, one vital solution lies outside companies’ control: reducing market regulation. Bloom believes that «the government should be like a football referee», establishing the rules of the game but refraining from excessive intervention.

According to the winner of the Econometric Society’s Frisch Medal, competition is the driving force behind productivity within this open-market model: «The US remains the most productive country in the world because it has highly competitive markets».

And what about the future? While the outlook may not look promising for the younger generation and their career prospects, Bloom believes AI could hold the key to a new leap in productivity. «Productivity has slowed over the last 50 years. It’s like an apple tree from which we have already picked all the low-hanging fruit, and only the harder-to-reach ones at the top are left». Could AI be the new orchard?

More on the topic:

Nicholas Bloom's work
Nicholas Bloom's X account

«Go ahead, tell your boss you're working from home», TedXStanford by Nicholas Bloom

Only in portuguese:

«Como será o futuro do teletrabalho?», Da Capa à Contracapa (FFMS)

«O que é a produtividade?», [IN]Pertinente podcast (FFMS)

«Os mitos da produtividade», [IN]Pertinente podcast (FFMS)

Infografia: «Onde pára a produtividade?» (FFMS)

«Sobre o Futuro do Trabalho», de Pedro Portugal (FFMS)