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Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 277th chapter of Weekly Olio—a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“Everything feels unprecedented when you haven’t engaged with history.”
The Tweet 🐦
This week’s tweet is a video of a basic physics lectures lecture by a professor from IIT Madras. It covers classical mechanics - its claims and limits.
The Infographic 💹
Prediction markets were all over the place in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup. As of April 2026, the trading volume on Kalshi and Polymarket - the two largest prediction exchanges - topped $24B. The above image is an analysis of the kind of users and the scale of bets that is placed on Polymarket. Most users placed tiny bets and lost small sums of money. Only about 7% of users surveyed, made more than $1K.
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The Short Read 📝
ISRO is losing scientists to private space sector. How NASA solved this problem 40 years ago - by The Print
ISRO stands for Indian Space Research Organisation. It is a government body and is responsible for managing India’s space programme. ISRO is facing a significant brain drain, with around 120 scientists resigning in the past 12 months, many moving to India's growing private space sector. In response, the Department of Space issued a directive requiring ISRO centres to scrutinise resignation requests from senior scientists rather than processing them routinely. Union Minister Jitendra Singh downplayed the concern, saying staff movement is normal.
Former ISRO scientists, however, argue the departures reflect a deeper structural problem: the government agency now competes with private firms for top talent rather than collaborating with them. The article draws a sharp contrast with the United States, which passed its Commercial Space Launch Act as far back as 1984. NASA and private companies like SpaceX have since developed clearly defined, complementary roles — NASA focuses on big-picture science missions while private players handle launches. Around 85% of NASA's budget flows to private contracts, creating a productive public-private ecosystem that keeps the US averaging roughly 190 space launches per year. India, the article implies, urgently needs a similar model. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
‘See the whole world in lichens,’ the marvels that grow anywhere - by Lynda Mapes
Lichens are among Earth's most extraordinary and overlooked life forms. Found on every continent — from basalt rocks and tree bark to tombstones and blue tarps — more than 1,000 species grow in Washington State alone. Remarkably self-sufficient, they need no roots, no pollinators, and no soil, yet they build soil, fix nitrogen, serve as bioindicators of air quality and climate change, and sustain wildlife such as caribou and elk through winter.
What makes lichens scientifically radical is their very nature: they are not individuals but symbiotic partnerships. Long understood as an alliance between a fungus and an alga, a landmark 2016 study by biologist Toby Spribille revealed a hidden third partner — a yeast — overturning 140 years of accepted science. Lichens, it turns out, inspired the coining of the word symbiosis itself in 1877. Philosopher - lichenologist Trevor Goward argues they are a portal between organism and ecosystem — a reminder that cooperation, not just competition, drives life on Earth. In that sense, as the article concludes, so are we. Read more…
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We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.