Rogue Worlds Throw Planetary Ideas Out of Orbit

It took Pearson months to align the resulting 12,500 JWST images of the Orion nebula, pixel by pixel. The formidable task was frustrated by the telescope’s exquisite sensitivity: Many of the faint objects typically used as landmarks blinded JWST’s ultra-sensitive eye. “The brown dwarfs that are normally difficult to see were wiping out bits of… Continue reading Rogue Worlds Throw Planetary Ideas Out of Orbit

During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus

When you were a child, it seemed like an ingenious plan: Splash hot water on your face and stagger into the kitchen, letting out a moan that could make angels cry. One touch of your flushed forehead would convince your parents to diagnose a fever and keep you home from school. No matter how elaborately… Continue reading During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus

People Who Speak Backward Reveal the Brain’s Endless Ability to Play with Language

In 2020 Adolfo García, a neurolinguist at Argentina’s University of San Andrés, had a chance encounter with a photographer who amused his models by chattering to them backward—the Spanish word casa (house) became “asac,” for instance. Upon learning that the photographer had been fluent in “backward speech” since childhood and was capable of holding a conversation… Continue reading People Who Speak Backward Reveal the Brain’s Endless Ability to Play with Language

Quantum Physics Isn’t as Weird as You Think. It’s Weirder

Down at the level of atoms and electrons, quantum physics describes the behavior of the very smallest objects. Solar panels, LED lights, your mobile phone and MRI scanners in hospitals: all of these rely on quantum behavior. It is one of the best-tested theories of physics, and we use it all the time.  On the… Continue reading Quantum Physics Isn’t as Weird as You Think. It’s Weirder

Google DeepMind Trains ‘Artificial Brainstorming’ in Chess AI

When Covid-19 sent people home in early 2020, the computer scientist Tom Zahavy rediscovered chess. He had played as a kid and had recently read Garry Kasparov’s Deep Thinking, a memoir of the grandmaster’s 1997 matches against IBM’s chess-playing computer, Deep Blue. He watched chess videos on YouTube and The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. Despite… Continue reading Google DeepMind Trains ‘Artificial Brainstorming’ in Chess AI

UFO Nuclear Missile Shootdown (Big Sur UFO Incident)

Podcast: Download MYS285: In 1964, the US Air Force was conducting tests of nuclear weapons off the coast of Big Sur, California. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss the claim that a UFO shot down one of those missiles designed to carry nuclear devices, whether aliens were responsible, and whether it was meant as a… Continue reading UFO Nuclear Missile Shootdown (Big Sur UFO Incident)

Published
Categorized as Weird Tagged

AI Designs Little Robots in 30 Seconds, and They Keep Sprouting Legs

Artificial intelligence can design an autonomous robot in 30 seconds flat on a laptop or smartphone. It’s not quite time to panic about just anybody being able to create the Terminator while waiting at the bus stop: as reported in a recent study, the robots are simple machines that scoot along in straight lines without… Continue reading AI Designs Little Robots in 30 Seconds, and They Keep Sprouting Legs

The Parties Have Irreconcilably Different Visions for America

“It’s so nice to have Representative Jones, who’s a Republican, and Representative Smith, a Democrat, with us today. Even though they belong to different parties, we know that we all want the same thing for our community, and our nation.” As the former CEO of the Chester County Chamber, I presided at countless events where… Continue reading The Parties Have Irreconcilably Different Visions for America

Published
Categorized as Intel Tagged