Whale Language

"Whales communicate with a 'language-like' structure similar to humans"

US Gold

"What to know about Fort Knox's gold depository that Musk wants audited"

Young People Taking Classes To Learn How To Make Phone Calls

"Gen Z battling with phone anxiety are taking telephobia courses to learn the lost art of a call"

"They’ve [Gen Z] just simply not had the opportunity for making and receiving telephone calls. It is not the main function of their phones these days, they can do anything on the phone, but we automatically default to texting, voice notes, and anything except actually using a telephone for its original intended purpose, and so people have lost that skill," she explained...

The session involves practicing a series of scenarios where you have to make a phone call, for example, calling the doctors to make an appointment, calling in sick to work, and other everyday scenarios. The pupils are expected to sit back to back to mimic a regular phone call where they can’t see the person on the other end and practice by using scripts. 

Baxter said attending just one session boosts pupils’ confidence because it demystifies how phone calls really work.

Burning In Legs

Ars Technica: "Burning in woman's legs turned out to be slug parasites migrating to her brain". (Via Gus Van Horn.)

Asteroid Danger Lessened

"Additional Observations Continue to Reduce Chance of Asteroid Impact in 2032"

Observations made overnight on Feb. 19 - 20 of asteroid 2024 YR4 have further decreased its chance of Earth impact on Dec. 22, 2032, to 0.28%. NASA’s planetary defense teams will continue to monitor the asteroid to improve our predictions of the asteroid’s trajectory. With this new data, the chance of an impact with the Moon increased slightly to 1%.

Intergalatic X-Ray Flash

"Strange X-ray flash from beyond the Milky Way perplexes scientists"

Math Prodigy

"India's 'Human Calculator Kid' Shatters 6 World Records in a Single Day". (Via H.R.)

Apple Vs. UK Update

"Apple pulls encryption feature from UK over government spying demands"

Dune Chronological Reading Order

"How to Read All 23 'Dune' Books in Chronological Order"

Developing The Calculator App

"What I'm about to tell you is the greatest calculator app development story ever told."

AI Vs. Human Mistakes

"AI Mistakes Are Very Different From Human Mistakes"

Meta Cable

"Meta plans globe-spanning sub-sea internet cable". 

According to the company's press release: 

Once complete, the project will reach five major continents and span over 50,000 km (longer than the Earth’s circumference), making it the world’s longest subsea cable project using the highest-capacity technology available.

 

Unappreciated Progress

"We Live Like Royalty and Don't Know It". (Via J.C.)

Self-Driving Tesla Coast-To-Coast Experience

"Tesla FSD Cannonball Run 002: v13 Better, But Hardware Has Limits"

UK Demands Apple Break Own Encryption

"UK orders Apple to let it spy on users' encrypted accounts"

Security officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create a back door allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not merely assistance in cracking a specific account, and has no known precedent in major democracies. Its application would mark a significant defeat for tech companies in their decades-long battle to avoid being wielded as government tools against their users, the people said, speaking under the condition of anonymity to discuss legally and politically sensitive issues...

The law, known by critics as the Snoopers’ Charter, makes it a criminal offense to reveal that the government has even made such a demand. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

 

Hash Table Search Breakthrough

"Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture". (Via D.J.)

AIs Doing Better Without Human Doctors?

"When Doctors With AI Are Outperformed by AI Alone". (Via G.F.)

Noether's Theorem Explained

"How Noether's Theorem Revolutionized Physics"

US, China, And AI

Video: "Can America Win the AI War with China?"

Ancient Polynesian Navigators

"Sail with ancient Polynesian navigators"

Chemical Laws

"Chemical laws"

Cleaner Air

"The world has probably passed 'peak air pollution'"

More Known About Unknowability

"New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth"

WikiTok

"Developer creates endless Wikipedia feed to fight algorithm addiction". Direct link to Wikitok.

Optimal Egg

"The best way to cook an egg -- in 32 minutes". 

Original Nature paper: "Periodic cooking of eggs".

Nuclear Fusor

"A Young Man Used AI to Build A Nuclear Fusor and Now I Must Weep". (Via G.F.)

Spine Stimulator

"Spinal cord electrical stimulation restores neural function in clinical trial". (Via H.R.)

Coffee Marketing

Not sure if this is brilliant or clueless marketing!

 

Everett On Expertise

Dr. Peter Everett: "On Professional Expertise"

Navy Lasers

"US Navy evaluates laser weapon aboard destroyer":

HELIOS represents a major step forward in naval warfare, providing a cost-effective countermeasure against drones, small boats, and other asymmetric threats. The U.S. Navy has been expanding its directed energy arsenal, and the HELIOS-equipped USS Preble joins a growing number of Navy ships fielding high-energy laser weapons. 

The successful testing of HELIOS underscores the U.S. Navy’s commitment to integrating laser weapons into its fleet to counter evolving threats. Unlike conventional missile-based defense systems, directed energy weapons like HELIOS offer a virtually unlimited magazine, rapid engagement capabilities, and lower per-engagement costs.

 

AI Tutor

"Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says everyone should get an AI tutor right away". (Via D.F.)

Miniature Roman Lock

"Metal Detectorist Unearths Miniature 1,600-Year-Old Roman Lock". (Via H.R.)

Why Ice Doesn't Stick To Polar Bear Fur

"How polar bears stop ice from freezing on their fur". (Via H.R.)

Silver On Preparing For AI

Nate Silver: "How should you prepare for an AI future?"

Navy AI

"The Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) became the first warship to deploy with a program-of-record artificial intelligence (AI) platform.

Car Battery Update

"A variety of new batteries are coming to power EVs"