Category: ideas

“‘We have gone backwards,’ said Frederick R. Brodzinski, a senior administrator and adjunct professor in computer science who plans to retire in September after 30 years at the university. ‘Morale is horrible on campus. There are too many highly paid administrators, and there’s a lack of clear leadership. We have stepped down on the ladder that we were climbing for about 10 years.'”

“I think the Internet is like a broken slot machine. I didn’t put any money into it, I received all of its flashing, shrieking, beeping cacophony when I hit its jackpot, and no money came out. I wondered why I’d believed in this system at all.”

“I think we have several lines of evidence showing that the cognitive abilities and behaviors of Neanderthals were complex. But we had no direct evidence of their ability to build. That changes the picture for me. It’s puzzling to find such structures so deep inside the cave.”

“What happens to life when AI is everywhere? It promises to dissolve into the background, like the best technology does, automating tasks and maybe telling us a quip or two along the way. But at least now you can throw your phone into a lake. AI won’t offer that kind of escape; it will just be waiting for you when you get home.”

“It’s possible, then, that an animal’s failure to pass the mirror test says more about a human lack of imagination than the animal’s lack of a self-concept, as de Waal argues … Because, think about it: Why should a mirror mean anything to most animals?”

The researchers … are developing a system that would allow a robot to ‘be able to detect and classify unforeseen physical states and disturbances, rate the potential damage they may cause to it and initiate appropriate countermeasures, ie reflexes’, they explained. Just as human neurons transmit pain, the artificial ones will pass on information that can be classified by the robot as either light, moderate or severe pain.”

Well, no, not an actual creature that swims into your ear canal and feeds off brain wave radiation, with instant translation from any language as its excretions. (That would actually prove the existence of God – until it didn’t.) “Last week, New York City-based Waverly Labs announced its recent invention, Pilot, a set of two ear buds that costs $299. Scheduled to be released by spring of 2017, the device purports to offer near-simultaneous translation for four languages.”

“When you’re incredibly stressed and have a million things to sort out there can be nothing more annoying than zen yoga and deep breathing and people who tell you to chill. … Such irritation isn’t simply irrational, as researchers found that neurotic people find anxiety-inducing environments more restorative than traditionally calm ones.”

“While boredom may threaten your ability to work quickly and efficiently, it may be essential to working well. As writer and philosopher Robert Pirsig claimed, “Boredom always precedes a period of great creativity.” Even if that isn’t always the case for you, chances are you need to be a little bored in order to generate your most inventive ideas and produce your highest-quality work.”

Environmental design firm Atelier Ten has developed ingenious schemes like a thermal air storage system inspired by ancient Roman ventilation networks that sent naturally cool air from caves into villas.