Imagine rolling a snowball down a ski ramp: the snowball would grow larger and larger in size as it gains momentum and picks up speed. Now, what if the ski ramp was infinitely long? There would be no end in sight to both the ridiculous size and lethal speed of the enormous snowball. This is why the snowball effect can be very dangerous at times – although not necessarily always leading to disasters – as the course of action is generally unpredictable.

The April issue of The Granite Tower (GT) focuses on events that illustrate either virtuous circles or vicious circles as results of the snowball effect. The Cover Story analyzes how the world’s most unexpected and nerve-racking political action came to be: the Russia-Ukraine war. Examining topics ranging from the history between the two countries to global economic impact, we aim to prepare our readers for potential outbreaks of more conflict in the near future. As for our Feature articles, we delve into recent trends found in Millennials and Generation Z – the expanding luxury market and the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – and discussed how the rapid changes in our generation’s relationship with the economy and the digital world may affect future generations.

We have also challenged ourselves in the Opinion section by stepping out of our comfort zone and tackling questions that are not only unfamiliar to us but, possibly, to our readers as well. We hope our leap in faith is followed by a beneficial snowball effect that generates more diverse articles. All in all, we invite you to join us on this journey of setting up positive snowball effects for ourselves and hope you stay safe during these difficult times.