Why are the data centres that run the internet often sited close to cheap sources of power such as hydroelectric power stations? Because their energy consumption is so enormous.

Why are they increasingly located inside the arctic circle or even under the sea? Because much of the energy cost is due to the need to cool the thousands of hot web servers.

A common side effect of lockdowns and worry over COVID-19 is difficulty in getting the right quantity and quality of sleep. Increased home working has led to people losing touch with normal routines – not only work routines but bodily ones like eating and sleeping. Understandably, our bodies can become confused in the absence of the usual stimuli that tell us what time it is, how long it is till lunch, and when to switch off and hit the sack for a restful night’s sleep.

The BBC has used research data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies to publish an interactive salary checker based on degree subject and university in the UK. It shows how graduate earnings vary five years after leaving each institution and subject, relative to the average degree, whatever that is. And it shows data for men and women, thus highlighting the gender pay gap.

Much of business forecasting involves analysts crunching numbers and extrapolating scenarios from current reality, relying on their market knowledge and a number of reasonable assumptions. But what about when things get unreasonable? Companies have been wiped out by things coming at them from left field that their bean counters failed to predict.

In the UK, demand is soaring for specific IT skills including AI, robotics, cybersecurity and cloud computing. But according to research by the Learning & Work Institute, there has been a 40% drop in the number of young people taking IT subjects at GCSE since 2015.