Today’s Big Story

Does Success Follow Failure?

Failure may not be such a great teacher after all, new research suggests

If, at first, you don’t succeed … try, try again. That’s what we’re told. But the idea that failure is always a good teacher may need a slight update. Because that platitude could be both inaccurate and damaging to society, according to a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, titled “The Exaggerated Benefits of Failure”.

A team of researchers from the business schools of Northwestern, Cornell, Yale and Columbia universities analyzed data from different online surveys including nearly 2,000 adults in the United States between the ages of 29 to 49. The researchers looked at how people predicted the resilience of professionals such as lawyers, teachers and nurses, as well as people with substance use disorders and heart problems.

They found that most of us tend to overestimate the likelihood of success following failure, which may make us less willing to help others who are struggling. “People thought that tens of thousands of professionals who failed standardized tests would go on to pass (who don’t), that tens of thousands of people with drug addiction would get sober (who don’t), and that tens of thousands of individuals with heart failure would make major lifestyle changes to improve their health,” the study’s lead author wrote.

In reality, it’s difficult to learn from a bad experience because failure is “demotivating and ego-threatening,” the report found. According to NBC News, the findings highlight how our outside perspective tends to focus on what can be learned from a failure, overlooking that people living through a setback may not perceive it as a learning opportunity.

It’s a painful ego lesson, says Dr. Ryan Sultan, director of the Mental Health Informatics Lab at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “If you have failed at something, just retrying is likely not sufficient to change your outcome.” He suggests re-evaluating the situation by asking: “What new strategies could be adopted?” and “What resources or support systems could we engage with that would improve our chances of success in the future?”

U.N. Passes Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

The Security Council endorsed the U.S.-backed plan

The United Nations Security Council voted to support a U.S.-backed resolution endorsing a ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza (with only Russia abstaining). The proposal sets out conditions for a “full and complete ceasefire”, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of dead hostages’ remains and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

Of course, whether Israel and Hamas agree to go forward with the plan remains in question, but the resolution’s strong support in the U.N.’s most powerful body puts added pressure on both parties to approve the proposal. Israel on Monday vowed to persist with its military operation in Gaza, saying it won’t engage in “meaningless” negotiations and that the war would not end until all hostages were returned and Hamas’ capabilities were “dismantled.”

According to the BBC, the resolution was approved shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with foreign leaders, including Mr. Netanyahu, in an attempt to build support for the ceasefire deal. The proposal would end with a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, which has been largely destroyed in the conflict. But before that, there would be a hostage-prisoner swap as well as a short-term ceasefire, followed by a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, according to a text of the U.S. draft resolution.

An Alzheimer’s Advance

An experimental drug was shown in a clinical trial to slow cognitive decline by 35% in early stages

This seems promising: A closely watched Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly won the backing of federal health advisers on Monday, setting the stage for the treatment’s expected approval for people with mild dementia caused by the disease. Food and Drug Administration advisers voted unanimously that the drug’s ability to modestly slow the disease outweighs its risks of side effects.

According to the New York Times, Alzheimer’s afflicts more than six million Americans. It has no cure, and there is no treatment or lifestyle modification that can restore memory loss or reverse cognitive decline. The committee concluded, though, that the consequences of the brain-robbing disease are so dire that even a modest benefit can be worthwhile.

One well-respected practicing geriatrician wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he was optimistic about the future. “Anti-amyloids are fairly safe, modestly effective, and the only disease-modifying drugs currently available,” he said. “I remain hopeful that this first class of therapeutics is merely a starting point as scientists build out an arsenal of drugs necessary to stop Alzheimer’s.”

Apple Jumps Into the AI Arms Race

They’ve stayed on the sidelines as the tech industry goes wild for AI. Not anymore.

Apple officially launched itself into the artificial intelligence arms race, announcing a deal with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to use the company’s technology in its products and showing off a slew of its own new AI features. The announcements were made at the tech giant’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

According to The Verge, the company that once refused to use the term “artificial intelligence” when talking about its machine learning features is now, as best as we can tell, catching up with just about all of the table-stakes features that Google, Microsoft, and others have rolled out in the last year. They unveiled sweeping plans to put AI in nearly every corner of the iPhone. The company said it’ll be adding AI functions to the native apps for email, messages and photos, as well as to app notifications and the abilities of Siri. And, as rumored, it’ll even use AI to allow people to generate custom emojis. The features will be included as part of the launch of iOS 18, as well as updates coming to operating systems for the Mac and iPad, which will be released in the fall.

The big takeaway, it seems, is the personalization. Think of everything on your phone … as powerful as chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT can seem, they know little to nothing about you. One example Apple gave: asking the iPhone’s voice-based assistant, Siri, “When is my mom’s flight landing?” and then getting back an answer in which 1) Siri understood who you meant by “mom” and 2) pulled a flight number from a previous text conversation.

News. Without Motives. That’s 1440.

Crave genuine, unbiased news? 1440 is your go-to. Sign up today.

Sick of biased political news? Us too. As we enter an election year, it’s more important than ever to get your news from an unbiased source. Unfortunately, getting the facts (and nothing but the facts) is harder than it seems… Unless, of course, you’re one of the 3.5 million Americans who subscribes to 1440. 1440’s daily newsletter contains no biased opinions, no wild speculation, and no-nonsense—just pure, unadulterated info to help keep you up to date with everything happening in the world, from politics to business, sports, culture, and beyond. Each email is edited to be as unbiased as humanly possible and is triple-checked (by hand!) to ensure that you’re getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. For those keeping score at home, that’s one big win for knowledge. If you’re looking for a better, smarter way to start your day, sign up for 1440’s daily newsletter and start getting unbiased news on politics, business, sports, science, and beyond.

You’re alive and on your path.