Lounge Loves: ‘Expecting Better’, cold coffee at Veronica’s
Also featured, a parody of large language models and an 18th century jester
Look At The Evidence
Any mother will tell you the amount of “advice” they’ve received about pregnancy or child-rearing is mind-boggling. And extremely confusing, especially for new mothers. Expecting Better, economist Emily Oster’s first book, was like a breath of fresh air for me. A mother herself, she wrote the book in simple terms, breaking down every pregnancy topic from nausea to epidurals into pure data and simply presenting it for moms to make an informed choice. She cites her research clearly, weighs the pros and cons of various options and puts it out there with no judgement. Some of her chapters even helped me stop second guessing choices I had made, things constantly dissected by aunties and nannies. The book is part of a series and next up for me is her third book, which is about the pre-school years. —Dakshayani Kumaramangalam
Summer Drink
In the sweltering heat, a glass of good cold coffee has the same effect as a chilled mug of beer. I have been off alcohol for some time, and coffee has filled the void, especially on a hectic day when one needs an instant pick-me-up. One day, I was searching for cold coffee on Zomato in Mumbai, and zeroed in on Veronica’s Cold Coffee with double espresso, oat milk and date syrup. I didn’t do the calorie math, but it seemed healthy-ish. When it arrived, it was exactly what I needed—the fetching kick of strong caffeine finished off with creamy lactose-free milk, like ice cream for adults. Proud of my discovery, I have ordered it for close friends who have loved it equally. —Jahnabee Borah
He’s A Jolly Good Fellow
Who is that jolly-looking fellow on the pavement outside a Narayana temple built in 1929? Oh, there are a few more, and he’s squashing some of them. Were these characters part of a play and are now waiting to be banished to some storeroom till the next show? As a passer-by on this north Kolkata road, I was intrigued. Then I showed a photo to a young Bengali acquaintance; she broke into a smile and said, “That’s Gopal Bhar.” A jester in Raja Krishanchandra’s court in the 18th century, he was famous for his stories that combined wisdom and wit. Was he real or fictional? Opinion is divided. But his stories continue to regale Bengalis and people in Bangladesh—it’s past continuous. We learn a little everyday. —Nipa Charagi
Artificial Humans
Somewhere between a game, a chatroom and an AI parody sits youraislopbores.me, a website created by Mihir Maroju. At first glance it looks like a chatbot, except every response actually comes from another person pretending to be the AI. You start the game with two credits to ask questions and earn more credits by becoming the “AI” yourself, replying to strangers’ prompts in 60 seconds. Some people draw, others write absurd poems or oddly thoughtful answers. I liked how unpolished it felt, like an old internet chatroom with room to be unserious. There’s also a faint Super Mario-like soundtrack looping in the background the whole time. For someone whose attention span has been wrecked by modern websites, it was a silly, refreshing break from both AI and the way I use the internet now. —Ghazal Chengappa
Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.