This Week I Learned - Week #3 2025

This Week I Learned - 

* AI coding assistants Cursor, Windsurf, Github Copilot offer features like code generation, context awareness, tab completion, multi-file support, Chat, code review, customization and choice of models. Cursor & Windsurf are AI-powered IDEs built on top of Visual Studio while Github Copilot integrates with various IDEs — VS Code, IntelliJ, Neovim. Code. 

* The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book by Andriy Burkov is provided on a read first, buy later basis

* "I clearly see scope for Indian services to grow as India’s tech sector is thriving, shifting from traditional labour arbitrage to value-added services...Services trade will increase as US companies set up captive global capability centers (GCCs) here. GCCs will actually be a boon because if you get more jobs in India, less people will go there." - Syed Akbaruddin, former diplomat

* Certain pathogens, like viruses and bacteria, can cause long-term inflammation or directly damage DNA in ways that eventually lead to cancer. For example, hepatitis B and C viruses are key drivers of liver cancer. Some types of the human papillomavirus are responsible for cervical cancer. The bacterium H. pylori can cause stomach ulcers and cancers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that around 13% of cancers overall are directly caused by infections.

* "An oligarchy refers to a small, wealthy elite (or oligarchs) controlling govt actions. Oligarchy is actually an umbrella term that encompasses at least 13 specific variations of ‘rule of the few’. For example, an aristocracy is an oligarchy in which the ruling class is made up of aristocrats or nobles. A plutocracy is an oligarchy in which the ruling class is made up of extremely wealthy individuals who use their money to influence policy. Oligarchs typically gain control through financial means, such as donating heavily to politicians who, in turn, rule in ways dictated by them. However, oligarchs may also gain influence through their social status or fame or military connections. Oligarchies in which a family rules often result in power being passed down from generation to generation. Several modern countries could be described as oligarchies, including Russia, China, and, arguably, even the US. The dissolution of the Soviet Union during 1988-1991 was a particular flashpoint for oligarchy because it enabled a small group of wealthy individuals (mostly bankers) to gain controlling interest in many of the country’s most valuable resources and utilities (such as oil fields). This resulted in a situation in which politicians ruled the country, but the oligarchs ruled the politicians. For example, a small group of wealthy oligarchs financed Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s reelection in 1996 and were then able to wield tremendous influence over Yeltsin, as well as benefiting financially from insider knowledge about the govt’s economic policies and actions...many economists and researchers maintain that while the US is a democracy in theory, it is an oligarchy in actual practice — or is at least heading in the direction of one." -  ToI Explains

* Leading Chinese phone brands - like Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus and Realme - are set to maintain their commanding 75 percent share of smartphone shipments in India in 2025. 

* India is now Apple's fifth largest market for iPhones. Apple has broken into the category of top five domestic smartphones by sales for the first time. 

* In Season 2 of the National Geographic India photography reality show, No Filter By IndiGo, judges Padmasri Raghu Rai & Imtiaz Ali pick the best of the photo essays of the places the participants and also their share tips on photography.

* The Kumbh Mela’s popularity has been doubling every six years.

* "The law is reason, free from passion" - Aristotle

* "My strategy is to reveal how mathematics is connected to the things that people love. For example, illustrating how it underpins the music we enjoy, or is hidden inside the buildings we love to visit, or the blueprint for some of the great works of art. We make the mistake in our education system of putting subjects in silos, but I believe revealing how mathematics connects across the curriculum can help people see the beauty in mathematics." - Marcus du Sautoy