Sneaky Vulnerability

"How cut-and-pasted programming is putting the internet and society at risk"

Alexa Advice

"Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to touch live plug with penny"

New #1 Website

"Google is dethroned as world's most popular website"

The new top 5 list for 2021 (#GetOffMyLawn):

1. TikTok
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Microsoft
5. Apple

 

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Again, posting will be light the rest of the week due to external obligations.

Disruption History

"A History of Disruption, From Fringe Ideas to Social Change"

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

Video: "I Asked 64,182 People About 'Jingle Bells, Batman Smells'. Here's What I Found Out." #HoHoHo #MerryChristmas 

Dinosaur Embryo

"Perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo found in China"

 

Moore's Law Marches On

"2D Semiconductors Stalk Silicon at the Edge of Moore's Law". (Via H.R.)

Crypto Benefits

"We All Need to Stop Only Seeing the Dark Side of Crypto"

Michael Dorn

"Michael Dorn is the most prolific Star Trek actor of all time"

Snowball Fights In Art

"Snowball Fights in Art". 

I especially liked some of the Asian artwork. And the photograph, "Photograph of Princeton students after a snowball fight between freshman and sophomores, 1893"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory Storage In Brains

"Where is Memory Information Stored in the Brain?"

Within the scientific research community, memory information in the brain is commonly believed to be stored in the synapse - a hypothesis famously attributed to psychologist Donald Hebb. 

However, there is a growing minority who postulate that memory is stored inside the neuron at the molecular (RNA or DNA) level -- an alternative postulation known as the cell-intrinsic hypothesis, coined by psychologist Randy Gallistel. In this paper, we review a selection of key experimental evidence from both sides of the argument...

Joining The Jets

"We're Sorry, You Can't Join Our Street Gang Because You Don't Know Ballet".

Obligatory link to classic SNL skit, "Cobras And Panthers":

Real Markets For Virtual Goods

"Nike just bought a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers 'for the metaverse'"

Musk And Time

"Elon Musk Is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year"

I'm not an uncritical Elon Musk fanboy. 

 

But I am glad to see Time Magazine giving this year's recognition to someone whose primary claim to fame is what they've achieved in the private sphere, as opposed to how good or bad they've been as a political ruler over others.

 

From the article: 

He’s a player in robots and solar, cryptocurrency and climate, brain-computer implants to stave off the menace of artificial intelligence and underground tunnels to move people and freight at super speeds.

Continued Light Posting

Admin note: Again, posting may be light through the month of December due to a variety of external obligations.

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual this week due to external obligations.

Business Phrasebook

"The business phrasebook: A short guide to what your colleagues really mean".

Here's an excerpt:

 

More Metaverse

"Why the metaverse is more than Mark Zuckerberg's dream"

Tiny Camera

"Researchers shrink camera to the size of a salt grain". (Via G.F.)

While a traditional camera uses a series of curved glass or plastic lenses to bend light rays into focus, the new optical system relies on a technology called a metasurface, which can be produced much like a computer chip. Just half a millimeter wide, the metasurface is studded with 1.6 million cylindrical posts, each roughly the size of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Each post has a unique geometry, and functions like an optical antenna. Varying the design of each post is necessary to correctly shape the entire optical wavefront. With the help of machine learning-based algorithms, the posts’ interactions with light combine to produce the highest-quality images and widest field of view for a full-color metasurface camera developed to date.

 

Reproducing Robots Update

CNN: "World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say"

Hsieh Forbes Column: Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions

My latest Forbes column is out: "Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions"

Superbug Killers

Wired: "An AI Finds Superbug-Killing Potential in Human Proteins"

Real Floating City

"South Korea hopes to build sustainable floating city by 2025"

Faking Old City Streets

Video: "How City Streets Are Transformed To Look Old In Movies"