Learning Languages

"Why people fail at learning languages". (Via M.A.)

Old And Older English

"How far back in time can you understand English?" 

I can follow back to 1600, but beyond that it's more like a foreign language.

Powerful Vaccine

"Single vaccine could protect against all coughs, colds and flus, researchers say"

Shatner Guitar Album

"Shatner is making an album with 35 metal icons -- and an AI-generated Les Paul, apparently". (Via Dave J.)

AI And Math Proofs

Daniel Litt: "Mathematics in the Library of Babel"

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Due to external circumstance, posting may be very light/irregular for the next few weeks.

New Form Of Old Bigotry

Garry Tan: "The New War on Asian American Excellence"

Asian Americans aren’t trespassers. We’re founders, investors, teachers, doctors, engineers, artists, and athletes. We create jobs. We build companies. We strengthen communities. And we will not apologize for existing, for succeeding, or for teaching our children that hard work matters.

NDE's Explained?

The scientific debate over "near death experiences". Non-paywall link here.

Point-Counterpoint On AI And Societal Upheaval

Matt Shumer argues that AI will cause tremendous economic/societal upheaval, "Something Big Is Happening".

Connor Boyack responds, invoking Bastiat's principle of the seen vs. the unseen: "AI isn't coming for your future. Fear is."

And from Tatiana Tsiguleva: "Matt wrote a lot about the jobs AI will eliminate. He barely mentioned the other list: the jobs AI will create."

All three essays are worth reading. 

3D-Printed Food For Soldiers

"Beyond MREs: The US Army Is Testing 3D-Printed Food for the Battlefield"

New Plastic

"The compleximer: New type of plastic mixes glass-like shaping with impact resistance". (Via H.R.)

AI Is Astonishingly Good At Writing Romance Fiction

NYT: "Can Chatbots Write Emotionally Rich Romance Fiction?" (gift link).

This is both appalling and funny at the same time.

Nature Article Claims We Have Reached AGI

Nature: "Does AI already have human-level intelligence? The evidence is clear". Non-paywall link here.

I'm not convinced by their argument. 

Parenting Win

Parenting advice from Scott Alexander.

 

Dark Matter Map

"See the Most Detailed Map of Dark Matter Ever Made, Bringing Astronomers a Step Closer to Unraveling Its Mysterious Nature"

Berluti Knot

Video: "The World's BEST Shoelace Knot! ...The Berluti Knot"

Mysterious Shoes

"Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From"

The leading theory is that the black leather boots, which were discovered by volunteers, were traveling on a cargo ship that sank nearby roughly 150 years ago.

AI Predicts Disease Risk From Sleep Data

AI can predict death or major medical events (e.g., stroke or heart attack) from monitoring your sleep: "A multimodal sleep foundation model for disease prediction" (Nature Medicine). Via D.J.