Tag Archives: News

Soon We’ll All Be Cyborg Psychics

08 Monday Sep 2014

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Direct Brain-To-Brain Communication Used in Humans (IFLS)
The Science Daily Press release on the same subject

It’s true. Human beings have now exchanged thoughts. What’s more, they did with 8,000 kilometers separating them. On one end, they read the brain activity of one person and transmitted it to the brain of the second person. The communication was very simple, and it had a small margin of error. This stuff may be small-scale, but it’s proof that it’s possible.

cyborg art

So the question is, is this where we’re headed? We can speak metaphorically about “living in the internet” and being cyborgs because we can’t put our phones down or leave our computers, but will we literally become cyborgs, with our computers in our heads?

Honestly, I find this terribly exciting, but I know I’m often an optimist about new technology. There are scary aspects to this kind of technology too. Are we also looking at the future of mind control?

So what do you think, readers? Where could this technology take us?

Science Mimics Life and Awe Creates Art

18 Monday Aug 2014

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Hummingbirds Are More Efficient Than Helicopters When It Comes To Hovering
IBM Reveals Incredible New Brain-Inspired Chip
I recommend reading both these articles (they’re cool) but the titles really convey all you need to know for this blog entry.

To me, articles like these are reminders to stop and reflect on how amazing life is. Life itself is a miracle. We exist in such beautiful, wonderful complexity, and we only barely understand the physical aspects of our existence, nevermind the spiritual aspects. This fills me with awe.

Sometimes it seems like scientists (at least as represented in pop culture) are too confident that we know all there is to know, or that humans know and can do better than nature. But really? It’s reassuring to see scientists looking to the world around us and realizing that there is still so much to learn. Even looking at the tiny, beautiful hummingbird, so fragile, yet so powerful, can teach us how to better build machines that can fly us around the world. Looking at the human brain can allow us to improve upon machines that can calculate equations no human brain could process without aids (if only a writing instrument and surface).

hummingbirds are better than helicopters

Sometimes people ask writers where they came up with their ideas. Especially in fantasy, given how departed it can be from reality. And one part of the answer… I think is awe. When I witness something and am filled with awe, I am inspired. I don’t know that art can be created without awe.

So what do you think? Do you think art comes from awe? Or do you think humanity can improve upon nature? Let me know in the comments, or share any other thoughts you might have.

SPRAY CAKE

04 Monday Aug 2014

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It’s coming.

It will be beautiful.

It’s… SPRAY CAKE!

Spray batter into pan. Microwave. Eat!

Strangely, these students are the first people to think of cake batter in a can. Seriously people? We didn’t come up with this sooner? We should all be ashamed of ourselves.

These Harvard students had a final project to do, and they ended up winning top prize for the Harvard Innovation Challenge with Spray Cake.

Needless to say, this lazy lady is super excited for this product to hit the market. I mean, I’ve tried Cake In A Cup before (I tried Googling it, but I couldn’t find the recipe I used to use) but it still takes all the conventional ingredients and time to make. Spray Cake? Bring it.

No seriously, bring it to my house, I want to eat it.

Flaming Cats

16 Monday Jun 2014

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So here’s an interesting article for you:
Why Do 16th-Century Manuscripts Show Cats With Flaming Backpacks?

Since we have a tiny shred of faith left in humanity, someone decided to write this article to destroy it. Apparently setting cats on fire has been a historical tactic in war. You can read the article for an in-depth explanation and lots of pretty pictures, but I’ll boil it down here.

Some sick mind decided that cats would be the perfect arsonists; simply strap an something to the animals, set it on fire, and send it into a besieged city to smoke out the occupants. Worse, this was not an isolated incident in history. Different leaders, even in different countries, have used this tactic. And while cats seem to be the animal of choice for this tactic, other animals were used too (like pigeons).

cutest kitten

You want to do what to me?

The Russians even trained dogs to carry explosives under tanks and then detonated them to destroy the German tanks.

Now, I’m not a huge animal rights activist, but I believe how we treat animals matters – at the absolute least, it’s a reflection of ourselves and our character. And using animals like this doesn’t say much about us. I share this because we should learn from our pasts.

The Blood Countess was right… sort of.

05 Monday May 2014

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Did you hear? A new study is showing that Swapping Young Blood for Old Reverses Aging. Essentially, scientists injected the blood of younger mice into elderly mice, and found that many age-related infirmities were reversed. Scientists have high hopes that this discovery could be used on humans to similar effect, especially when it comes to Alzheimer’s and heart enlargement.

We’ll have to recruit vampire cats to kill all the vampire mice that are sure to be bred through this program.

This is awesome, but didn’t someone already discover this? Ah yes, the Blood Countess. She was the most prolific female serial killer in history, and she bathed in the blood of virgins to keep herself young. Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed and four collaborators were convicted for the murder and torture of 80 different girls, but accusations ran as high as 650.

…Okay, so the staying young and even the bathing in virgin blood thing were never actually proven, but still. Does this sound like a coincidence to you? ;)

The Earth Is Awsome: Earthquake Lights

07 Monday Apr 2014

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Scientists find records of rare ‘earthquake lights’

So this is awesome. Apparently, under certain conditions, bright lights herald the coming of earthquakes.

Certain types of earthquakes in certain areas can set off blazes of light seconds — sometimes days — before the actual quake. These can manifest as floating balls of light, bluish columns shooting up out of the earth and even reverse lightning, reaching up into the sky from the ground.

Now this phenomenon is extremely rare, so it shouldn’t be depended upon as a warning sign. ;) The article lists the conditions required for earthquake lights to appear, and lists a bunch of recorded incidents where these lights were witnessed.

Unsurprisingly, these lights have been responsible for a few “UFO” sightings.

UFO clouds

Not UFOs.

To me, this is just more evidence of how vast, complicated, and utterly amazing our world is. We really have very little understanding of the world around us, although our knowledge grows every day.
It makes you wonder about the rest of the UFO sightings too. I’m a skeptic when it comes to alien life (especially visiting Earth), but it’s not something I rule out. But our minds like to come up with some explanation – sometimes any explanation – to explain those things we don’t understand.

Driving On Air

24 Monday Mar 2014

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New Hybrid Car Runs On Air!

What does this world have tons of? Air! Talk about a renewable resource. Of course, it’s rarely as simple (or cheap) as it sounds. IFLS does a good job (as usual) of breaking down the science, so if you’re curious, take a read.

But sometimes I wonder if oil’s grasp on the world will ever loosen. There are all kinds of hybrid vehicles operating on different sources of energy out there, but it seems like they’re all just too expensive. The problem is this – they need infrastructure to be feasible. So do gasoline-powered vehicles, but since theirs is already in place, let’s face it, it’s “cheaper.” Like with electric cars, I see the plug-in problem here. How does one recharge without plugging in at some point, and where/how are we going to get the resources wide-spread enough for it to be feasible? It’s great to hear that hybrid technology is becoming (at least a bit) more cost-effective, but I have to wonder.

Are we waiting for an apocalypse to overhaul everything? :P

So what do you think? Will we be seeing a new kind of vehicle (not necessarily air-powered) widespread on our roads in the future? What form do you think they’ll take, if they do?

And where are our flying cars?

Happy Face Thinking

03 Monday Mar 2014

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So I stumbled across this article: Emoticons Are Reshaping Our Brains, We Now Process :-) As A Human Face
Essentially,

A study in Social Neuroscience posits that, since they were introduced two decades ago, emoticons have begun to actually reshape our brains—but only some emoticons.

By way of background: When a human views another human’s face—even if it’s upside-down—a particular part of the brain is activated.

…Before 1982 there would be no reason that ‘:-)’ would activate face sensitive areas of the cortex but now it does because we’ve learnt that this represents a face.

I personally go for no nose.

At any rate, there’s definitely something to this. I’ve used a startling array of emoticons since I discovered the internet, including (but not limited to): :) ;) :D ^_^ ^_~ o.o O.o :( :P >.< XD XP =^..^= and orz. ("orz" is a little guy kneeling on the ground pounding his head on the floor. Do you see it? DO YOU?)

How amazing are our brains that they can change and adapt like this?

Also, an amusing argument about smilies: Should Smilies Have Noses: The Great Emoticon Debate

So how about you? Are all my above emoticons familiar to you? Nose or no nose?

Invisibility Cloak, Here I Come

03 Monday Feb 2014

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So I ran into this brief article on the potential future of invisibility: How do you make things invisible?
stealth jet
“Metamaterial” is apparently the future of stealth: not just invisibility, but undetectability. Now, I was curious for a more in-depth look at the stuff, so I of course consulted Wikipedia. I was subsequently reminded that my degree was a BA, not a BSc. As it turns out (and it’s not really a surprise), metamaterials are pretty complicated.

What I took away from it though, was that a Harry Potter-esque invisibility cloak was unlikely. This caused the fangirl portion of my brain so lose most of its interest, although a healthy dose of academic curiosity remains. So while I failed to achieve a comprehensive translation of the entirety of the article, I learned that metamaterials actually have potential uses in many areas (including various sensors and communications). Despite my lack of a thorough understanding, I am still inspired. I love it when I can walk away from even a short article going, “That is awesome.”

So here’s to science. Keep being awesome. (And keep making awesome things.)

The Eve Before New Year’s Eve

30 Monday Dec 2013

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Well, this is it. Christmas is over, and the new year is almost upon us. I know a lot of people do the whole New Year’s Resolutions thing, but I’ve never been big on it. I know this year I will publish my first book, but other than that… meh. To me, self-improvement and setting goals is an ongoing thing. It is isn’t something I do once a year and not the rest (although I realize that for some people it’s simply a reminder). I’ve also never been big on set deadlines, so I simply work hard at something until it’s done. I want it done right more than I want it done on time.

That being said, there is something exciting about the concept of a new year. So here’s to the coming new year!

Fireworks

As for my general goals, there are some things I want to work towards. First and foremost, I want to publish my two novels. I want to write more, too. I’ve been neglecting my writing lately in favor of publishing and other life stuff. I also want to stabilize my work position (it’s been… interesting, to say the least), and I want to eat better and exercise more.

But how about you, my fine readers? Any resolutions?