Notebook
What a difference (and not) a hundred-or-so years make…
What a difference (and not) a hundred-or-so years make…
The first issue of Reader’s Digest from 1922 is both shocking and relevant. (LIt Hub)
This week marks the anniversary of the first issue of Reader’s Digest—for the unacquainted, there’s a great overview of the history of the magazine in this week’s Literary History newsletter. I got…
The Reader’s Digest 1922-02: Vol 1 Iss 1 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The Reader’s Digest 1922-02: Volume 1, Issue 1.Digitized from IA1628803-02.Next issue: sim_readers-digest_1922-03_1_2.
’I encountered the terror of never finding anything’: The hollowness of AI art proves machines can never emulate genuine human intelligence (Live Science)
‘I encountered the terror of never finding anything’: The hollowness of AI art proves machines can never emulate genuine human intelligence (Live Science)
Looking at AI-generated art shows that machines may never truly understand the human mind, because there are states of mind that can never be automated.
AI Designed Computer Chips That the Human Mind Can’t Understand. (Popular Mechanics)
AI can design microchips that human engineers cannot understand. Imagine then AI being to create their own components to improve themselves, then implement into the hardware.
AI Designed Computer Chips That The Human Mind Can’t Understand. (Popular Mechanics)
That might be a problem.
Image by u_8t3emw1yia from Pixabay
Stem cells ‘instructed’ to form specific tissues and organs [New Atlas]
Stem cells ‘instructed’ to form specific tissues and organs [New Atlas]
Researchers have created a way to guide and control the development of stem cells into specific tissues and organs, opening the door to developing a means of one day tackling complex diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
How Sleep Shapes Our Brain’s Mental Navigational Maps [Neuroscience News]
How Sleep Shapes Our Brain’s Mental Navigational Maps [Neuroscience News]
A new study reveals how the brain forms cohesive mental maps of spaces and highlights the critical role of sleep in this process.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Noted: Early American Roads and Turnpikes
[USDOT] Early American Roads and Turnpikes
The latest additions are in bold Baker, Norman L., Braddock’s Road: Mapping the British Expedition from Alexandria to the Monongahela, History Press, 2013. (Baker tells the story of the road that Major General Edward Braddock carved out of the wilderness in 1755 between Alexandria and the future site of Pittsburgh during the French and Indian War.) Boyd, Mark F. “The First American Road in Florida: Pensacola-St. Augustine Highway, 1824, The Quarterly Periodical of the Florida Historical Society, October 1935, p/ 72-192.
Noted: Comparison of Colonial Life to Today’s Life
[Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute] American Life: A Comparison of Colonial Life to Today’s Life
The homes at Plymouth were built close together for safety and had broad streets between. These homes were small and sided with wide boards or narrow clapboards. The floors were made of wood or were just bare earth soaked with water and flattened smooth. The rooms were of wood and tended to be dark except for the light to the fire. The roof of the homes were shingled or thatched with sun-dried reeds. Windows in these homes were small, allowing in some light. In winter, they covered the windows with cloth soaked in linseed oil; in summer, the windows were left open. Just imagine the bugs and rain this allowed in!
Quoted: Eric Maisel
“How do you make meaning? By letting go of wondering what the universe wants of you, by letting go of the fear that nothing matters, and by announcing that you will make life mean exactly what you intend it to mean.”
Noted: Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers [404 Media via Kottke.org]
[404 Media] Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers
The technology, which marries Meta’s smart Ray Ban glasses with the facial recognition service Pimeyes and some other tools, lets someone automatically go from face, to name, to phone number, and home address.
Noted: Long, lanky humanoid robots get to work at Amazon facility [New Atlas]
[New Atlas] Video: Long, lanky humanoid robots get to work at Amazon facility
Tall, capable, and vaguely insectoid looking, a series of Digit robots are now moving around empty bins at an Amazon research and development facility. The trial run is the first step towards using the bots to automate repetitive warehouse processes.
Noted: One person can supervise ‘swarm’ of 100 unmanned autonomous vehicles, research shows [TechXplore]
[TechXplore] One person can supervise ‘swarm’ of 100 unmanned autonomous vehicles, research shows
Research involving Oregon State University has shown that a “swarm” of more than 100 autonomous ground and aerial robots can be supervised by one person without subjecting the individual to an undue workload.
[New Atlas] Figure’s humanoid robots are about to enter the workforce at BMW
[New Atlas] Figure’s humanoid robots are about to enter the workforce at BMW
Figure has signed its first commercial deal, and is sending its general-purpose humanoid robots off to start real-world work at BMW’s manufacturing plant in South Carolina. Founder and CEO Brett Adcock talks us through this rubber-meets-road moment.
Quoted: Carl Jung
Every attentive person knows their Hell, but not all know their devil.
Carl Jung