In the throes of an economic downturn, with unemployment rates mounting, the very idea of a robot chef might seem indulgent at best — at worst, downright offensive.
On the subject of designing lovable robots to prepare our food.
“The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade [...]” ☞
Want to bury some warm childhood memories under a mountain of cold analysis? A close examination of the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ aesthetic.
A recent post of Things Magazine—where I happened upon the above link—offers a review, of sorts, of such ‘graph fetishism’.
From Japanese writer Yoko Tawada, a rumination on snowless winters in Tokyo.
Cargo rockets, auto-driving cars, color-coded freeway lanes, never walking anywhere: Magic Highway USA (or, the future of American infrastructure as imagined by Disney in 1958).
New York Times film critic A. O. Scott’s thoughtful piece on whether Where The Wild Things Are—and the whole nascent crop of kids’ movies that don’t even pretend to be just for kids—represents a brand new problem for overprotective parents.
The New Yorker’s Richard Brody weighs in.
Every year, the possibly deranged Michael Pusateri collects time-lapse photography of Halloween costumes and detailed “Well who are you supposed to be?” stats viz. those Trick ‘r Treaters who are unlucky enough to land on his doorstep.
In 2009, ‘nothing’ was the second most popular costume. Also note the ~30% increase in attendance vs. 2008. Possible economic indicators?
What is a mind—a soul or a brain? As David Brooks wrote last month, that’s the trendiest question in modern science.
But when you think about it, the issue broke free of academic science a long time ago. For sure, it’s undermined the popular distinction between clinical depression and plain old despair. And it’s given rise to a new, annoying trend in literature: the neuronovel.
A story in the Christian Science Monitor about Chhewang Norphel, a seventy-something Indian man who builds artificial glaciers.
The idea is simple: Divert the unneeded autumn and winter runoff into a series of large, rock-lined holding ponds. As the days grow colder, the ponds freeze and interconnect into a growing glacier.
h/t Kottke
In the October issue of Scientific American, noted physicist Lawrence Krauss delivers a serious blow to Trekkies and rocket jockeys everywhere: we should probably stop shooting people into space.
How many Americans watch cable news channels like CNN, MSNBC or Fox News?
New(ish) study supports adage that self-destructive motorcyclists are good news as long as you’re waiting for an organ.
Why are healthcare costs going to bankrupt most American families by the year 2020? Listen and find out!
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