“The False Sense That Our Opinion Matters…”
Maestro Nayden Todorov is a world-class musician, but also an erudite man with a broad outlook and a distinctive view of technology and the way it changes us. Why does he believe our constant rush is a disease we must fight? How is the digital world pulling us away from our humanity, and why is art the only salvation? How did the maestro go 12 years without setting foot in an opera house, horrified by his first encounter with one? And why does he often run an experiment, going to an online forum to defend two opposite points of view in an attempt to escape the filter bubble?
162“AI Is Bringing a Revolution to Photography”
“Photography works with a high level of abstraction and metaphor. I didn’t expect software like this to exist any time soon, but it turns out I was very wrong,” says Ivaylo Petrov. The experienced photographer is among the first enthusiasts to get access to a new artificial intelligence which, he believes, has the power to revolutionize photography and the way we perceive the world. See the wonders the AI painted from the prompts Ivaylo gave it, and read why the photographer is so impressed by what it can do.
163From the Microphone at Bulgarian National Radio to the Blackboard in Fakulteta
One day you are an established host on national radio, interviewing politicians, the powerful of the day and any guest you like, and the next… you choose a new path and become a first-grade teacher in Fakulteta, a Roma neighborhood in Sofia. For years Tanya Velichkova's voice was familiar to every listener of Bulgarian National Radio, where she hosted shows like Predi vsichki (Before Everyone) and Nedelya 150 (Sunday 150), until she decided it was time for something different and went back to learning so she could teach children. What is it like to find yourself in that role in such an unusual setting, and what does a seasoned journalist turned teacher dream about?
164The World's Most Intelligent Woman and the Miracles in Her Life
The most intelligent woman in the world is Bulgarian. Daniela Simidchieva achieved her record IQ score of 192 while she was unemployed and raising her three daughters alone in a 12-square-meter apartment. What remarkable twists (and miracles!) has her path taken? Is there room for intelligent people at the head of the state? How heavy is the title “the smartest woman”? Does it open more doors than it closes?
165“Today, Heroism Means Keeping Our Humanity Online”
We are supposedly celebrating heroism today, but what does it mean here and now, is there courage on social media, and is it worth honoring people who lived centuries ago? Mihail Kunchev founded Adopt a Hero to care for the graves of great Bulgarians of the past, and as he searches for their final resting places, he gathers their stories. We talk about heroism, why it matters to preserve the memory of the past, and how our future depends on it.
166Atanas from Viber: The Bulgarian Connection
How does a communication system work when it is determined to grow without exploiting people's data? Atanas Raykov is a senior manager at Viber, and he is also the reason one of the platform's key offices in the region is located in Bulgaria. What does responsibility look like when you have more than a billion users, for some of whom the next conversation may be a matter of life and death? How can the business model of a modern communications giant leave users' personal data untouched? And what should we expect from online communication in the years ahead?
167“There Are Saints on Facebook, Too”
Where do the paths of religion and artificial intelligence cross? And those of God and social media? Father Nikolay Georgiev is just the right person, with a worldview broad enough to offer a meaningful perspective on the subject. Will robots have a soul? Where do faith and technology meet? What moral categories should we build into artificial intelligence?
168“No Two Photographs Can Ever Be the Same”
Ot upor (Point Blank) is the title of Garo Keshishian's book. We meet the great master of photography to talk about life in pictures. “Pressing the shutter really is death. One man kills a rabbit, another kills a lion.” “Now everyone lifts a phone and snaps away. And once they've shot their kebapcheta, they think they've taken a photograph, because it's in focus.”
169“Laugh, ’Cause the Universe Is Endless, but Life Ain’t”
This piece was the April Fools’ greeting from Digital Stories, an unconventional interview with a beloved, out-of-the-box writer, and today it reads very differently and is even more worth reading: Stoyan Nikolov (Torlaka) passed away just days ago, at only 42, leaving behind distinctive, meaningful books that will be read for a long time, and three boys who will grow up as brave and defiant as he was, and as his Northwest is. “Laugh, ’cause the universe is endless, but life ain’t. It’s just energy, changin’ from one form to another in this endless universe; long as you’re in this here shell of yours, enjoy it. After that, who knows.”
170The Superhuman: “The Little Seed of Positive Doubt”
“The Superhuman” is a podcast that got ahead of the trend, offering deep, enriching conversations united by the search for inner fulfillment: long, meaningful audio and video interviews from which every guest stands to gain. Georgi Nenov’s project is an oasis free of politics, propaganda, hate and division. But how did Georgi’s seemingly accidental path to “The Superhuman” begin, what gives him the strength to keep finding new superhumans who will inspire still more people to take a different path, and what is the power of a good example and of “the little seed of positive doubt”?
171“Let’s Be Human. Let’s See Each Other, Talk, Dream…”
We all know Orlin Goranov as a singer, but lately he has proved himself, impressively, in a new role. At the height of the first COVID gloom he was asked to take on the hard job of hosting a TV show that would make people smile: The Last One Wins, an original quiz show that somehow provoked me into trying my luck too, with the result airing on Monday evening. On the show the host gave me a hard time with his questions; in return, I will try to provoke him with mine. How does he manage to stay away from social media? How do you keep a positive outlook in hard times? And when will technology become perfect at art?
172“Let’s Stop Whining Already!”
Petar Neftelimov is 26, and strength, zest for life and fighting spirit pour out of him. He recently published his first book, Uspehat v balgarskia gen (Success in the Bulgarian Gene), with the stories and words of 49 successful Bulgarians. He keeps piling up degrees and fights for his ventures as an entrepreneur. He has traveled the length of the Danube on a tricycle and run several marathons. For eight years he has been writing a blog on entrepreneurship, marketing and personal growth. We sat down to talk about success in the Bulgarian gene. About the strength to keep running life’s marathon, which is hard for everyone. And about the flowers of the new age, flowers in a test tube, delicate and meaningful.
173“As Long as There Are People, Books Will Be With Us”
With Books Under the Covers is a digital venture about love. Love of books, and love in general. Temz Arabadzhieva is the PR at the publishing house Ciela, and Anton Birov is editor-in-chief of Webcafé. Together they make a vlog about good old books in the digital world.
174People of Sofia Against the Grayness and the Limbo
“Sofia today is a boring city to photograph,” says… Vihren Georgiev, the creator of the People of Sofia project. You may never have heard his name, but it would be strange if his remarkable photographs had never moved you. He is a wonderful photographer of the new, digital age, and his shots are at once art and a chronicle of the day. They win attention without running from the laws of art or chasing easy beauty. They simply show the people of Sofia as they are. Let me, in turn, try to present to you, as he is, the man who for almost a decade has been catching them in their true light.
175“The Hunger for IT Specialists Will Keep Growing for a Long Time”
Ivaylo Hristov is the creator of dev.bg, the venture that lets software specialists keep their watches in sync and easily find work where they feel at home. He knows very well how much that matters: he walked away from a dream job at Microsoft to start his own venture, which became a serious success. Which Bulgarian software companies are poised for a breakthrough, where are we strong and where do we lag behind, and how did programming go from an exotic pastime to the most sought-after career in just 20 years?
176“Stories of Value Will Find Their Way”
Can journalism still change lives today? Where does the beauty of slow journalism lie? How can meaningful projects be built in our unappealing media landscape? We meet Alexander Nikolov and Dimitar Panayotov, the authors of The Last Gift of Man, to talk about the present and future of journalism.
177“I Have the Feeling the Internet Is Erasing Our Memories”
Theater lovers know her from “Nice to Meet You, Iva!”. Iva Todorova’s singular debut one-woman show became an undisputed hit, and now “Iva Is Online” at Theatre 199, a story that is, of course, digital. Is there freedom online, are our Facebook friends really friends, and what jokes will AI tell us? Iva answers in her trademark dizzying style.
178“People Don’t Trust Politicians. And Nothing Good Comes of That…”
What place do social networks have in today’s politics? When do they help the process, and when do they turn toxic? Does artificial intelligence help or harm politics? What kind of people should take up this calling? And why… do you need to start renovating your home so you don’t lose all hope in politics? Ivo Bozhkov is the man who brought social networks into Bulgarian politics. Here is what he has to tell us after several years in a field that matters enormously to all our lives.
179“Today, Everyone Online Lies However They Please”
We meet Vu Nguyen—Vunyo, to his friends—again to chat about the present and future of journalism, about technology, and about the challenges and the bright sides of life in Bulgaria. A former journalist at The New York Times and a top-level IT specialist in the US, he and his wife decided to move back to Bulgaria after their son started calling the laptop “grandma”; he then won hearts on the Bulgarian edition of MasterChef and ran his own restaurant for a while. Today he is back in the world of information technology, but now here at home.
180“Without Science, We Are Lost!”
Will science soon let us live much longer? Is immortality possible? Could computers be the next step in evolution? And how do we win back trust in science? Assoc. Prof. Milena Georgieva is a molecular biologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She is not only a proven expert in her field but also something far rarer and more precious: a scientist who can present scientific subjects vividly, engagingly, accessibly and, at the same time, competently.
