How sweet it is

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. AI is frying workers’ brains, what cannabis does to your memory, and how to be creative at any age 🎨 

Let’s get into it!

The 2026 State of the Workforce report was published by ActivTrak the other day, revealing AI adoption has sped up considerably over the last two years. That momentum has given rise to a phenomenon known as “brain fry”, and an increase in chronically under-challenged employees.

The study was based on data from over 1,100 companies, 163,638 employees, and 411 million man hours of work.

Brain fry was described in the report as “mental fatigue from excessive use or oversight of AI tools beyond one’s cognitive capacity.”

The Harvard Business Review goes further, describing it as “intensive back-and-forth with the tools, followed by an inability to think clearly, like a mental hangover, comprised of difficulty focusing, slower decision-making, and headaches, requiring several to physically step away from their computer to ‘reset.'”

Employees are now using an average of seven AI tools regularly, up from just two in 2023. They’re are also becoming more productive as a result, with productive time rising 5% to six hours and 36 minutes, even though the average workday shrunk by 2%.

However, average focus time fell to 60% with the total average time spent focused per day down by 23 minutes, suggesting employees aren’t being challenged enough to require their undivided attention for as long as previously needed.

A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests cannabis use interferes with the way the brain takes in new information, resulting in the distortion of multiple types of memory.

Participants were recruited at Washington State University to either inhale controlled amounts of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) or a placebo, and then complete several memory-testing exercises.

The group that had inhaled THC was found to forget source information, forget to carry out tasks they’d planned, or report memories of words they didn’t actually see or hear.

“I found it was really common for people to come up with words that were never on the list,” said Carrie Cuttler, the study’s lead author and an associate professor in WSU’s Department of Psychology.

She said more research is needed to identify the degree to which various forms of memory are impacted by ingesting cannabis, but noted the study painted a clear picture of failing memory function as a consequence of doing so.

While it’s not intended to sound an alarm, she said the study does identify how cannabis use can disrupt everyday routines that rely on memory, including taking medication, attending meetings, or picking something or someone up at a regular location.

Many people who study creativity believe it peaks at a young age, particularly for writers or artists whose brains haven’t fully developed yet, and compartmentalization is yet to take hold.

Others think it’s more likely that veterans of a particular discipline are the most creative because they have the most experience.

According to psychologist Keith Sawyer (co-author of Explaining Creativity), the actual peak of creativity tends to be in the middle of a person’s career. This isn’t particularly surprising, given the middle is where one’s “prime” is typically located, and Sawyer’s research on the topic suggests creative peaking is no different.

The key to peak creativity, he says, is a combination of experience and quantity. Most professions see their creative quality peak at the same time their creative output is at its maximum.

The highest-earning patent an inventor files will be in the year he files the most patents; the best song a musician writes will be in the year he writes the most songs; the best published scientific research will be from the year the author published the most research.

While it’s true these realities typically mean musicians will peak in their late 20s or 30s and scientists in their 30s or 40s, the truth is creativity can be sustained so long as quantity of output is sustained.

Looking to peak during retirement? Get to work!
 

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) took new pictures of a previously discovered exoplanet called L 98-59 d, which astronomers initially identified as falling somewhere under the category of “super-Earth” or “sub-Neptune.”

JWST suggests it actually belongs in its own category.

When it comes to exoplanets, they almost all fall into one of four categories: large and hot gas giants, super-Earths that are like our home but bigger, Neptunian planets that have gaseous exteriors but rocky cores, or small terrestrial orbs made of silicate or water—also similar to Earth, but smaller and less elementally diverse.

With L 98-59 d, however, the planet actually appears to be one giant volcano. It’s made of molten rock and covered in magma lakes that are thousands of miles deep.

Its atmosphere is influenced both by gasses emanating from the surface, and the cool star the planet orbits. A great deal of gas has been captured, stored, and released in the global lake of magma for billions of years, similar to the carbon cycle on Earth. However, in this case, the gas being released is sulfur dioxide, which famously stinks. 😤

UV rays from its star would normally eradicate the atmosphere of a planet like this, but a molten lake that size has allowed the nauseating environment to persist, revealing a new class of planet for astronomers to study.

In the 1960s, Japan’s Yakult prebiotic yogurt company was battling the notion that all bacteria was bad for a person’s health.

Understanding that women typically did the grocery shopping, the company concluded the most convincing sales approach should likely be pitched by a woman.

With that in mind, in 1963 the Yakult Ladies officially began the company’s residential delivery service, sporting an iconic navy plaid skirt, and a matching jacket and sun hat.

Over time, the ladies have become so much more than a delivery service, largely due to Japan’s rapidly aging population and epidemic of loneliness. There are tens of thousands of Yakult Ladies, many often visiting 30 to 50 houses per week and acting as “watchers” of those they visit. Some refer to them as social guardians.

“Yakult Ladies are not just people who sell products,” 47-year-old Yakult Lady Asuka Mochida, told the BBC. “We are watchers in a sense, people who look out for others. We notice small changes in health or lifestyle.”

In some parts of the country, a Yakult Lady may be the only smiling face someone sees during the week—the only one who knows of a person’s plans for the day, or what they did yesterday, or how their health is progressing or failing.

“Knowing that someone will definitely come to see my face each week is a tremendous comfort,” one anonymous customer told the BBC. “Even on days when I feel unwell, hearing her say, ‘How are you today?’ at my doorstep gives me strength.”

Go ahead, make my game

Oh you’re gonna love this one today, Staker. We’re testing you on famous quotes from the greatest flicks of the ’80s, with today’s trivia.

Give today’s game a try and you might just win a $25 e-gift card.

Winner will be notified on Thursday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder! *