While not the most recent news (Summer 2016), it’s worth highlighting that we’re already living in the world of AI. Google tasked it’s DeepMind AI unit to address the challenge of lowering energy usage in its data centers. Rising to […]
On the topic of things that last a very long time, polyethylene (the most common plastic) takes hundreds of years to decay. That’s a problem because we produce about 80 million tons of it annually, and much ends up in […]
Nuclear power is a great source of renewable energy, and while many place it in the category of clean energy, it carries a serious downside – radioactive nuclear waste. This stuff is not only dangerous, but also has a crazy long half-life […]
You probably already know how correlated success and reading tend to be. This post offers some concrete tips on how to fit more books into your already busy life. First and foremost is a tip that hits home for me […]
Humans are genetically wired to be story tellers and story listeners. Our ability to tell stories actually sets us apart from other species and allows us to form larger groups that get more accomplished together. This strength is, unfortunately, one […]
Last week we learned about 3D knitting enabling real-time creation of clothing. This week Amazon makes the news with its patent around on-demand clothing manufacturing. From the patent: “By aggregating orders from various geographic locations and coordinating apparel assembly processes […]
Someone made a Chrome browser extension that replaces every instance of the word millennial with snack people, and it’s pretty damn funny. | learn more
A historian found that people used to divide their sleep into two separate periods, waking up in the middle of the night to take care of stuff – chores, reading, praying, etc. Electric lights might have caused our schedules to […]
Chicago’s 50 wards each have an alderman. How does the city distribute funds for residential infrastructure? It splits it up evenly across each alderman, creating a “cherished perk” of the job. But it’s probably not the best way to spend […]
At the turn of the last century, the city had a hygiene problem. The lack of indoor plumbing in most residences meant that most people didn’t have a place to wash up. So, the city built 21 public bath houses. Forgotten […]