Hsieh Forbes Column: Perks And Incentives For Covid-19 Vaccination May Backfire

My latest Forbes column is now out: "Perks And Incentives For Covid-19 Vaccination May Backfire".

I discuss the proliferation of prizes and incentives being offered to get people vaccinated, and how this can sometimes create the opposite effect of making people more suspicious of the vaccine.

Radio Stations Around The World

"The green dots on this Google Earth map represent radio stations all over the world. 

"Turn up the volume and click on any one of the dots and you will immediately hear that station with very good reception. For example, halfway up Ireland's east coast, there is a station playing Irish pub music." (Via H.R.)

Shoddy Research

"Questionable Research Practices I’ve Taken Part In"

Human Vs. AI Chess Understanding

"10 Positions Chess Engines Just Don't Understand"

Raindrop Fate

"When a Raindrop Falls in the US, Where Does It End Up?"

Deepfake Tom Cruise

"This deepfake of Tom Cruise discussing industrial cleaning is too good to be called uncanny"

More Vaccine Targets

"COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Are Looking Beyond the Spike Protein"

Mac OS Update

Forbes: "Update Your Mac Now: Nasty Hack Breaks Apple Security To Take Sneaky Photos"

How Advertisers Track You

Fascinating (and eye-opening) Twitter thread on how advertisers track you.

I highly recommend reading the full thread.  There's also an unrolled version if that's easier.

I'm back from a week at my mom's house and now I'm getting ads for her toothpaste brand, the brand I've been putting in my mouth for a week. We never talked about this brand or googled it or anything like that.

As a privacy tech worker, let me explain why this is happening. 🧵

— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021

Become The Typo

"Why Am I Sp Bad At Typign?"

Mean Board Games

Video: "10 Meanest Board Games Ever Made"

"We accept no responsibility for any friendships ruined after watching this video. "

0:00 #Intro

0:54 #10. Munchkin

2:00 #9. The Estates

3:12 #8. City of Horror

4:16 #7. Survive - Escape From Atlantis

5:12 #6. Citadels

6:22 #5. Spartacus - A Game of Blood & Treachery

7:31 #4. Nemesis

8:48 #3. Lifeboats

10:02 #2. Intrigue

11:29 #1. Diplomacy

Perfect Nap

"How to Take the Perfect Nap"

RSA Hack

"The Full Story of the Stunning RSA Hack Can Finally Be Told"

Fake Meat Taste Test

"Fake Meat Taste Test: Can Trader Joe's Beat Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger?"

Trick Photography

"Snap Judgment: A brief history of trick photography"

Prescription Only Apps?

Alex Tabarrok: "Prescription Only Apps????"

Remote Hacking Of Tesla

"Tesla Car Hacked Remotely From Drone via Zero-Click Exploit"

A hacker who exploits the vulnerabilities can perform any task that a regular user could from the infotainment system. That includes opening doors, changing seat positions, playing music, controlling the air conditioning, and modifying steering and acceleration modes. However, the researchers explained, “This attack does not yield drive control of the car though.”

Beekeeper Challenge

"Watch a beekeeper remove a beehive from a toilet"

Good Reporter, Good Doggie

Sharp-eyed TV reporter spots missing dog while shooting segment about missing dog. 

Update: Person spotted walking the dog charged with theft, he claims it was misunderstanding:

Disguised Cell Phone Towers

"Fauxliage -- Disguised Cell Phone Towers"

Quantum Drums

"Vibrating aluminium membranes provide the first direct evidence of quantum entanglement in macroscopic objects"

Skyborg Flies

"The Air Force's AI Brain Just Flew for the First Time".

The name -- Skyborg -- is perfect. (Via A.B.)

Mind-To-Text

"Using Just His Thoughts, Paralyzed Man Texts at a Record-Breaking 16 Words a Minute". (Via H.R.)

New Propulsion Tech

"A new era of spaceflight? Promising advances in rocket propulsion". (Via D.M.)

Monster Chip

"Cerebras' New Monster AI Chip Adds 1.4 Trillion Transistors"

Anesthesia And Brains

"This Is Your Brain Under Anesthesia"

Alarming Sirens

"Which country's Emergency Alert System siren is the most alarming?"

Morphing Pasta

"Scientists Create 'Flat-Pack' Pasta That Morphs Into Shape Like Moving Organisms". (Via H.R.)

Cats And Boxes

"What cats' love of boxes and squares can tell us about their visual perception"

Powerful Laser

"Scientists Create Record-Breaking Laser With Mind Blowing Power". (Via H.R.)

Advice From Technium

"99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice"

Zcash Bull

"My bull case for ZEC: Follow the brains. Follow the institutions. Follow the economics. If you're reading this, congratulations. You are lucky to have a chance to buy ZEC, because mainstream investors have not caught on yet."

(Disclaimer: I'm sharing this out of general interest. This is not financial advice on my part.)

Old Guardian

"How the Guardian website might have looked 200 years ago"

Zooming While Driving

Ohio politician attends government Zoom meeting while driving, using fake background of his home office to attempt to disguise the fact he's in a moving car.

Free Will Revisited

"The clockwork universe: Is free will an illusion?"

I never knew that philosophers who take that position have received death threats. I might not agree with that view, but death threats seem a bit extreme.

Tetris Innovation

"A Revolutionary NES Tetris Technique Gaining Steam":

The NES version of Tetris has been out in the world for more than 30 years now. Somehow, using the same controllers and human hands that have been in use all this time, a new technique has been invented that’s resulting in scores and maneuvers that no one using The Old Ways could have dreamed of.

 

Amazing Optical Illusion

"Nothing is moving in this illusion by @jagarikin".  

(Except the grey arrow in the center, of course.)  Via Rand Simberg.

Nothing is moving in this illusion by @jagarikin
pic.twitter.com/oN049SpE8S

— World of Engineering (@engineers_feed) May 1, 2021

Best Pizza

"The Best Pizza in Every State"

Jet Pack Update

"Jet packin' Royal Marines board a ship like Iron Man"

Fastest Probe

"NASA solar probe becomes fastest object ever built as it 'touches the sun'".

 Speed is reportedly 330,000 mph (532,000 km/h)! (Via D.M.)

Granny Knots

"Granny Knot Info"

Big Bridge

"Stomach-churning pedestrian bridge opens in Portugal". (Via H.R.)