After death, we all run the risk of being forgotten. Such was the case of Garzapelta muelleri, an ancient reptile that lived over 200 million years ago and even went unidentified for 30 years after its bony remains were found.
Florian Ulrich Jehn is a scholar who examines ways that humanity could mitigate starvation risks in the event of existential crises, such as nuclear war. He and colleagues have published a peer-reviewed report which considers the possibility of the mass cultivation of seaweed in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
Such an event and any ensuing nuclear winter could devastate terrestrial food production due to reduced sunlight. But tropical oceans are likely to remain environmentally sound. The authors conclude that it might be possible to produce sufficient quantities of Gracilaria tikvahiae in quantities equal to 45% of global human food needs.
-via Marginal Revolution | Still shot from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove
Sometimes, when we find ourselves daydreaming or staring into the air, we might notice some squiggly lines or funny shapes floating about, and no matter where we look, they seem to be moving along with our eyes. There are different names for these shapes: eye floaters, vitreous floaters, and Muscae volitantes (lit. "flying flies"), but its scientific term is myodesopsia.
These floaters appear in our vision when blood or other cells that got into the vitreous humor - the transparent, gel-like substance filling the space between the lens and the retina - block light passing through the eye, casting shadows onto the retina.
Unlike the aqueous humor, the liquid substance found between the iris and the cornea, the vitreous humor never washes out or gets replenished. So, whatever gets into the vitreous, stays there for the rest of our lives. Meaning, if you are seeing eye floaters right now, you will continue seeing them until death do you part.
For most people, these eye floaters present no issues. We sometimes take notice of them until our attention drifts elsewhere. Others, however, might experience too many floaters clouding their vision, but this is more common in older people.
A sudden increase in floaters may be a sign that someone is suffering from posterior vitreous detachmant (PVD), when the vitreous becomes separated from the retina. This poses the risk of retinal tearing which can cause blindness.
Several treatments are available, but even the standard procedure, a vitrectomy, is still considered risky and must only be used as a last resort.
In their filing, the Guild alleged that OpenAI may have downloaded authors’ books from pirated ebook sites and used them to train its ChatGPT models. The authors say that OpenAI should have paid a reasonable licensing fee or opted to train their models using works that are already in the public domain.
AI models have made it a lot easier for written works to be produced lickety-split, which makes certain people's jobs a lot easier, but also others, such as professors in academia, might have a harder time checking students' work for any sign of AI assistance. What could be the best way to harness the potential of AI models such as ChatGPT while mitigating the possible negative effects? That is something we can only wait and see.
The Hard Times is a gift to this world. Or at least, a gift for me, the target audience for their Onion-esque satires of music and music fandoms, particularly of the underground variety. For example: the site recently published a delightful package highlighting the Best Ska Bands in every US state, which really went above and beyond to embrace the worst cliche jokes about ska while also highlighting some fantastic bands at varying levels of success across the country. — Read the rest
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I’m writing to you today from Podcast Movement in Colorado — where I hope to meet many of you over the next few days.
This morning kicked off with a discussion on the state of the podcasting industry hosted by Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein. Panelists included industry veterans such as Magnificent Noise’s Eric Nuzum, Lemonada Media’s Jessica Cordova Kramer, Workhouse Media CEO Paul Anderson, and Barometer CEO Tamara Zubatiy.
Some interesting insights from the panel:
Brand safety is a huge factor right now in the marketplace. “There’s never been more sensitivity than there is right now,” noted Anderson. It’s easier for...
I am bad at letting things marinate: ideas, problems, meat. The issue is I don’t know what I want to eat until an hour after I’m hungry, which is not the time to start a cooking pre-process. I want to get to the post-process: eating. Nothing will illicit a “Pass” faster from me than reading a recipe and realizing I…
“Plan ahead” is typically your best piece of advice for ensuring a successful trip to Walt Disney World, but sometimes waiting until the last minute pays off. To the tune of $150 per person, to be exact. If you’re dreaming of a Disney World trip this summer but can’t make the budget work, maybe this will help (a…
