PREVIOUS AND LIVE

  GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Gion Matsuri is one of the most prestigious annual festivals in Japan Believed to have started in 869AD, the Gion Matsuri is one of the most famous annual festivals in Japan. This year it embraced the digital world. For the 2022 event back in July, an interactive, online map was made available to show where and when to see the 34 huge, ornate floats that paraded across the city of Kyoto over two separate days. Using GPS, it showed the location of each float. And you could also use the map to find your friends and chat with them. In addition, if you clicked on a building or street, you could read about its history in Japanese or English. The person behind the technology is Machi Takahashi, the president and co-chief executive of Kyoto-based, digital map firm Stroly. A mother of two, she is a rare female entrepreneur in a country where the start-up scene is still very much dominated by men. IMAGE SOURCE, STROLY Image caption, Stroly's map for the Gio...

  T Terri Apter, a psychologist, still remembers the time she explained to an 18-year-old how the teenage brain works: "So that's why I feel like my head's exploding!" the teen replied, with pleasure. Parents and teachers of teens may recognise that sensation of dealing with a highly combustible mind. The teenage years can feel like a shocking transformation – a turning inside out of the mind and soul that renders the person unrecognisable from the child they once were. There's the hard-to-control mood swings, identity crises and the hunger for social approval, a newfound taste for risk and adventure, and a seemingly complete inability to think about the future repercussions of their actions. In the midst of this confusion, adolescents are consistently assessed for their academic potential – with ramifications that can last a lifetime. No one's fate is sealed at 18 – but an impeccable school record will certainly make it far easier to find a place at a prestig...