👨‍🚀 Astronauts' secret weapon for peak performance 🦾 AI of the week 🎯 Commitment and focus

I've been using Thing 1 for years, but had no idea of the origin until this week. It does work tho 😜

Thing 2 covers AI of the week per usual and Thing 3 something I've been reflecting on this week.

Let's get into it 😃

Thing 1 - "NASA nap" - Astronauts' secret weapon for peak performance

Back in 1995, NASA started digging into the art of napping to help astronauts and pilots stay sharp.

Turns out, a quick 40-minute power nap (while other pilots took the wheel) did wonders for alertness! But it gets better...

26 minutes

NASA research found this to be the magic number to maximize benefits and avoid feeling groggy when you wake up. But it might be a bit different for you.

Experiment a bit by setting an alarm around that. You'll find a sweet spot pretty soon.

Major Benefits

Pilots who napped saw a whopping 54% jump in alertness and 34% improvement in performance compared to their sleep-deprived buddies.

You can also sip some caffeine before you lie down for extra kick when you wake up. 🍵

Thing 2 - AI of the week

New humanoid robots and robot makers are popping left and right. I expect this to be a trend at least for next few years.

We'll keep seeing an increasing variety as companies search for product-market fit. This is good for users 🙂

• Boston Dynamic Atlas retired, long live Atlas!
  The old Atlas is hydraulic, the new one is electric. It makes sense considering the cost involved and the competition.

• Meta launched Llama 3 - their best LLM yet, now available through Meta AI - which they also made available to new countries
  Llama 3 is a lot better than Llama 2 and the model weights are available for download.
• Microsoft introduced VASA-1 model - a framework for generating lifelike talking faces of virtual characters from a single static image and a speech audio clip

A nice-looking example here.

• Adobe announced generative AI video tools coming to Premiere Pro
• Mentee Robotics demoed Manteebot performing a complex end-to-end task

Thing 3 - Focus and commitment

I've been reading How to live by Derek Sivers. It goes extreme in all directions and makes me think.

Here are 2 quotes I've been reflecting on:

The English word "decide" comes from Latin "to cut off".
Choose one and cut off other options.
To go one direction means you’re not going other directions.
When you commit to one outcome, you’re united and sharply focused.

- Derek Sivers

Let go of every unnecessary obligation.
Each one seems small, but together, they’ll drain your soul.
Focus your attention on the few things you’re committed to, and nothing else.

- Derek Sivers

Cheers, Zvonimir