[Off Topic] Hsieh Forbes Column: Could #MeToo Hurt Women's Health Care?

[Off Topic] Even good movements can create bad unintended consequences. My latest column in Forbes asks: "Could #MeToo Hurt Women's Health Care?"

I discuss recent research that fears of false accusations of sexual assault could prevent men from giving life-saving CPR to women in cardiac arrest. 

Drug-Resistant Bacteria In Space

"Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found on International Space Station Toilet"

Collector of Math and Physics Surprises

"A Collector of Math and Physics Surprises"

Payless Experiment

"Payless Opened a Fake Luxury Store, 'Palessi,' to See How Much People Would Pay for $20 Shoes The answer? A hell of a lot"

Competence Downshifting By White Liberals

Interesting psychology research from Yale: "White Liberals Present Themselves as Less Competent in Interactions with African-Americans"

I was particular struck by the work done on "normal" people (as opposed to political candidates):

The researchers found that liberal individuals were less likely to use words that would make them appear highly competent when the person they were addressing was presumed to be black rather than white. No significant differences were seen in the word selection of conservatives based on the presumed race of their partner. 'It was kind of an unpleasant surprise to see this subtle but persistent effect,' [Yale professor Cyndee] Dupree says. 'Even if it’s ultimately well-intentioned, it could be seen as patronizing.'

Plural Forms Of Last Names

"How to make your last name plural on holiday cards and avoid apostrophe catastrophe"

100 Websites

"100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It"

Bionic Eye Update

"Four Blind People Go Home With New Bionic Eyes"

Orc Prejudice

Tyler Cowen notes: "The new 'woke': 'Is Lord of the Rings prejudiced against Orcs?'

Tetris Skills

"Why Are Humans Suddenly Getting Better at Tetris?"

Fax Machines

"The Fax Is Not Yet Obsolete". Although I really wish it were.

CRISPR Babies

"Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies".

Related commentary: "What we know — and what we don’t — about the claim of world’s first gene-edited babies"

AI Boo Boo

"Chinese AI traffic cam mistook a bus ad for a human and publicly shamed the CEO it depicted for jaywalking"

Plane With No Moving Parts

"First ever plane with no moving parts takes flight":

The first ever “solid state” plane, with no moving parts in its propulsion system, has successfully flown for a distance of 60 metres, proving that heavier-than-air flight is possible without jets or propellers.

The flight represents a breakthrough in “ionic wind” technology, which uses a powerful electric field to generate charged nitrogen ions, which are then expelled from the back of the aircraft, generating thrust.

Steven Barrett, an aeronautics professor at MIT and the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature, said the inspiration for the project came straight from the science fiction of his childhood. “I was a big fan of Star Trek”...

Background Music

"Inside the booming business of background music"

Holding Cigarettes

The psychology of holding cigarettes? (Via Tyler Cowen.)

Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!

GeekPress will be on break the rest of this week. Regular posting will resume on Monday.

Lego Pain

"Why Walking on Legos Hurts More Than Walking on Fire or Ice"

Relativity And Supernovas

"Physicists Used Einstein's Relativity To Successfully Predict A Supernova Explosion"

Wombat Poop

"Scientists explain how wombats drop cubed poop".

Original academic presentation.

How AI Agents Cheat

"How AI Agents Cheat"

Underwater Hotel

"Hotel's underwater villa costs $50,000 per night":

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island said the underwater villa, dubbed Muraka, includes a private gym, a stocked bar, an infinity pool, butler's quarters, an ocean-facing bathtub and an underwater bedroom with a panoramic view of the world 16feet under the surface of the Indian Ocean.

Cowen On Journal Of Controversial Ideas

Tyler Cowen: "A new scholarly journal of provocative arguments is interesting but probably redundant"

Prediction Markets And Crypto

Prediction markets and crypto.

Smallest Universal Cover

"Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover". (Via H.R.)

Brain Implant Update

"With brain implants, scientists hope to translate paralyzed patients' thoughts into speech"

Literal Diamond Ring

"Jony Ive's latest design is the ultimate diamond ring – made only of diamond":

Creating a ring-shaped diamond is no small feat; the diamond block will be faceted with several thousand facets, some of which are as small as several hundred micrometers. The interior ring will be cylindrically cut out for the desired smoothness using a micrometer thick water jet inside which a laser beam is cast. The finished ring will have between 2000-3000 facets which has never been seen before on a single piece.

3 Rubiks At Once

"Teen solves three Rubik's cubes at once for Guinness record".

Direct link to video:

Airplane Boarding Algorithms

"All the Ways You Can Board a Plane, Ranked by Stupidity"

Stan Lee Cameos

A nice tribute: "Every Stan Lee Cameo Ever (1989-2018)"

Saving Selfie

"How a selfie saved a Texas man from 99 years in prison"

AI Toilets

"AI toilets will scan your poop to diagnose your ailments"

Young People And Sex

"Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex?"

Art From Chicago

"The Art Institute of Chicago Has Put 50,000 High-Res Images from Their Collection Online"

Laser Wound Treatment

"Star Trek-like Tech Seals Wounds with a Laser". (Via H.R.)

Smart Dust

"Here Comes 'Smart Dust,' the Tiny Computers That Pull Power from the Air"

NFL Rules

"How Mike Pereira Changed the Way We Watch Football Forever"

Orbiting A Black Hole

"Astronomers see material orbiting a black hole *right* at the edge of forever"

Amazing Magic

"The Winning Trick at the World Championships of Magic Might Fry Your Brain Like an Egg"

Eric Chien:

Wi-Fi Spying

"Using Wi-Fi to 'see' behind closed doors is easier than anyone thought"

The All-Seeing Eye

"The DEA and ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights"

Bad Neighbors

Video: "They say that only the Humans are bad neighbors".

Bio-Inspired Steganography

"Hiding secret messages in whale song"

InvaderZ

InvaderZ: "A game kinda like space invaders, but the invaders evolve with genetic algorithm"

Round Electrons

"Physicists report electron is round -- what does that mean?" (Via H.R.)

Facebook Unsend

"Facebook Messenger will soon roll out an unsend feature, which will give users a grand total of ten minutes to unsend a message, wiping it from your chat history. This will remove the message from the recipient's inbox as well."

Laser "Porchlight" For Earth

"ET, we're home: Existing laser technology could be fashioned into Earth's 'porch light' to attract alien astronomers.

Um, are we sure we really want to attract the attention of aliens? #WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong

Galactic Collision

"Galactic collision ripples across eons to shape our view of the cosmos"

Why Pencils Are Yellow

"The Little-Known Reason Pencils Are Yellow"

Antimatter And Gravity

"Does antimatter fall upwards? New CERN gravity experiments aim to get to the bottom of the matter"

Wound Patch

"Wound Patch Offers Promise". (Via H.R.)

Academia As Cult

Andrew Marzoni: "Academia is a cult"

Brady Kids Reunion

"All six Brady kids reunite at their TV home"

NASA Logos Everywhere

"Everyone's making money using NASA logos except NASA"

Expensive Art

"Why is art so expensive?"

Lab-Made Whiskey, Lab-Made Wine

"Lab-Made Whiskey, Lab-Made Wine". (Via H.R.)

Texting 911

"Why is it so hard to text 911?"

Two Women Can Carry Same Baby

"New fertility procedure allows 2 women to carry same baby, presents new choices for same-sex couples"

Harvard Pigment Collection

"Harvard's Pigment Collection"