You know that very common, even overused, fantasy trope where magic is forbidden, and those who practice it are hunted?
You could freshen it up a bit with a tribute to these brave souls who maintained their faith in the face of oppressive laws.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/secret-paths-ireland-catholic-forbidden-mass-photography
Baymax? That you?
Originally shared by Singularity Hub
Low-Cost Soft Robot Muscles Can Lift 200 Times Their Weight and Self-Heal http://suhub.co/2mskd3H
Via Brand Gamblin.
It’s no wonder David Brin used dolphins in his Uplift stories.
Originally shared by Ralf Haring
“All the dolphins at the institute are trained to hold onto any litter that falls into their pools until they see a trainer, when they can trade the litter for fish. In this way, the dolphins help to keep their pools clean. Kelly has taken this task one step further. When people drop paper into the water she hides it under a rock at the bottom of the pool. The next time a trainer passes, she goes down to the rock and tears off a piece of paper to give to the trainer. After a fish reward, she goes back down, tears off another piece of paper, gets another fish, and so on.”
…
“One day, when a gull flew into her pool, she grabbed it, waited for the trainers and then gave it to them. It was a large bird and so the trainers gave her lots of fish. This seemed to give Kelly a new idea. The next time she was fed, instead of eating the last fish, she took it to the bottom of the pool and hid it under the rock where she had been hiding the paper. When no trainers were present, she brought the fish to the surface and used it to lure the gulls, which she would catch to get even more fish. After mastering this lucrative strategy, she taught her calf, who taught other calves, and so gull-baiting has become a hot game among the dolphins.”
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/jul/03/research.science
“I’m sorry, Dave, I can’t let you do that.”
Originally shared by ExtremeTech
Nice. Also, Creepy.
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/261110-brain-electrodes-nissans-b2v-driver-skills-amplifier
Originally shared by Self-Rescuing Princess Society
“Grainy images of women driving ambulances and working in munitions factories in the first world war have become familiar to us all. Yet the remarkable story of the extraordinary women who took over men’s jobs in hospitals, laboratories and government research facilities only to be forced to relinquish them once men returned from the front is largely unknown. Patricia Fara’s important book, the first of many being published to commemorate the centenary of women receiving the vote, is written as a paean to these forgotten pioneers. Although many of their individual stories remain sketchy, the details of their lives and contributions lost or overlooked, their collective history provides a compelling tale.”
Another book to add to the pile.
Gene therapy is looking promising, though it’s very early days.
Originally shared by Singularity Hub
Gene Therapy Had a Breakthrough 2017—2018 May Be Even Better http://suhub.co/2Dd8Aom
The cartoonist was, of course, investigated by the FBI, and accumulated a thick file there. This inspired her to increase the political content of her cartoons.
Originally shared by Self-Rescuing Princess Society
“Ormes’ panel [Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger], far from being merely frivolous jokes told by a precocious young girl, contained biting commentary and scathing indictments on issues related to oppression and subjugation through racist policies, government witch hunts, military industrialization, or other means. Through Patty-Jo, Ormes highlights the ways that, as Whaley notes, ‘a young, middle-class, educated Black child in the throes of the civil rights era would express herself.'”
Originally shared by Roy Hembree
VR while driving
Renault and Ubisoft have created a demo VR experience to help sell level 4 self-driving cars. The idea is that since the car does the driving the person in the driver’s seat can do something else with their time, like spend it in virtual reality. It’s currently unusual to see people in public spaces wearing VR headsets; it would be really weird to see someone driving like this.
“The virtual reality experience is just an example of something you can do in a self-driving car that you can’t do in a standard vehicle or even at home. The experience uses data from the car’s sensors to show you a virtual representation of the road and the objects near you, while giving reality a makeover to turn a boring road into something fantastical.”
So much for roadside attractions.
The pass rate on these tests varies from zero to roughly half.
Originally shared by David Brin
I don’t care for political-correctness litmus tests, but I do admit they can be effective and important temporary measures that alter thinking and help to change bad habits. One is the “Bechdel test” — which asks two simple questions of a movie: ‘Does it have at least two named female characters? And do those characters have at least one conversation that is not about a man?’
I’ve seen a better and more stringent version that asks: “And do those characters have at least one conversation that is not about relationships?” Notice that the latter version goes more to the heart of stereotyping in women’s movie roles.
Well, these columnists at FiveThirtyEight have asked, “What does the next Bechdel Test look like? The time is ripe for a successor. Is there a short, punchy test we can apply?” They asked a dozen women in Hollywood, and the answers ranged from on-target and helpful all the way to a couple that seem downright thought-police vicious. But sure, let the discussion ensue!
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/next-bechdel/
Only note whicy film scores best according to the largest number of these tests? The Independence Day sequel! Another that did well? Passengers. Science fiction leads the way! Hint: judging by the standards and context of its time, SF has always had a branch or several wings that were more advanced and eager for justice. Dissing that past science fiction was sexist provokes the question “compared to what?” In the sense of provocatively doing its job and poking at the ground ahead, SF was always ahead of its time.
If it’s connected, it can be hacked.
Via Charlie Kravetz.
Originally shared by TechNationNews.com