In a recent New York Times article, tech writer Kevin Roose reported a bizarre encounter he’d had with a Bing chatbot in which it had told him, among other things, that it dreamt of being human, that Roose ought to divorce his wife, and that it wanted to steal atomic bomb codes. Don’t let it…
Queen Elizabeth II died and, despite not being British, it felt like a significant moment. Evidently, it has moved a great many people around the world. Conversely, many feel that this is no significant event at all. So what does all this tell us? Strongly symbolicMonarchies symbolise tradition, establishment, the familiar and a not-to-be-underestimated sense…
In the wake of Covid becoming a firmly integrated and dreary part of life around the world, and work life turning bland and monotonous due to the restrictions, an opportunity to sail an 82-foot schooner across the Atlantic Ocean presented itself like a ray of light through dark clouds. As my fiancé is a professional…
Here we go again! Christmas time – with its markets, presents, ‘julekalender’, lights, cold hands and sniffly noses, decorated streets and shops, dreams of snow but realities of sleet, alcoholic tendencies, and drama about where to spend the big evening on December 24 – is upon us again. As well as some increasingly absurd spending.…
In the August 21 issue of Politiken, Jonas Pröschold discussed the findings of a 2018 international report that stated that microplastics were found in the digestive systems of 100 percent of participants (humans) from eight different countries. Pröschold further cited a 2020 research project from SDU that concludes there is no way to avoid eating…
Some 40 percent of Danish men have significantly reduced sperm quality. Their collective count has sagged by more than half in the last 40 years. On a world scale, Danish men now sit at the very bottom of the ratings when it comes to reproductive health. Limp numbers What on earth is going on here?…
According to a recent article in the Economist, COVID-19 is here to stay. The WHO bleakly announced last month that for at least a decade the world will continue to be greatly affected by this crisis, and disruptions to our work life will play a significant role long-term as we continue to adjust our lives…
Albert Einstein once remarked: “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” Hourly hardships Last week yet another interview with a person lamenting the negative effects of lockdown during the coronavirus outbreak aired on Danish media. The fear of loneliness, feeling the restriction of personal freedoms, the fear of unemployment, depression, disappointments at cancelled holidays, and cancelled…
In Denmark, the concept of ‘krænkelses kultur’, or ‘snowflake-culture’, has gone from not really existing at all to becoming a household term in a very short amount of time. Much is debated about when something can be deemed offensive or not. Humans differ notoriously in their personal preferences. What one person finds funny, another finds…
Two years and three months into calling Europe my home base again after a 15-year stint abroad, I find myself reminiscing about the geographical context I have arrived back in. At the time of writing, my partner and I are weaving our way back through Germany, after visiting a friend in Belgium. My first instinct…
Every culture has got peculiar sayings and ‘insider terms’, but often we are completely blind to their incoherence, until someone makes an attempt to translate them. I have gathered here a few idiomatic gems from both Danish and English culture, and most of them are unintentionally dirty! But let’s face the truth: it has always…
As cultures blend across borders and people becoming increasingly mobile, cultural norms are shifting. Our interaction with foreigners has quickly evolved from the odd mingle on our holidays. Many of us regularly travel for business, and who doesn’t have at least one relation who has a foreign partner? Living as an expat for at least…
