All the Gear You Need to Throw a DIY Karaoke Party
Check the Mic Karaoke just isn’t karaoke without a microphone. But you’re not Rosalía, and your living room isn’t a recording studio—all you need is…
As Machines Get Smarter, How Will We Relate to Them?
Bicycling in a hilly, busy city like San Francisco provides a cognitive as well as a physical workout. I survive in traffic by flexing not…
We Are All Livestreamers Now, and Zoom Is Our Stage
But now I’m trapped. I feel two-dimensional. I desperately need to break out of this simulation. After days of muting and unmuting, I go out…
It’s Called Artificial Intelligence—but What Is Intelligence?
Elizabeth Spelke, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard, has spent her career testing the world’s most sophisticated learning system—the mind of a baby. Gurgling infants might…
Six-Word Sci-Fi: Write About Love in the Time of Coronavirus
SO I MARRIED THE DELIVERY MAN. —Hamish Hamish via Facebook Honorable Mentions: Love is sacrificing the last ply. —Kristos Samaras via Facebook There is an…
Metaphors Matter in a Time of Pandemic
Vibrating, near-hallucinatory, the Manú National Park in Peru is among the most biodiverse places on earth. Just about every one of the park’s 4.3 million…
Yes, a Solar Minimum Is Coming. No, It’s Not Going to Mess Up The World
Because we are normal people living in normal times, normal things are happening. Like news tabloids reporting that the Sun is in “lockdown”, and that…
Should You Self-Isolate if You Suddenly Lose Your Sense of Smell? Here’s What We Know
Waking up and not being able to smell the coffee could be a sign of COVID-19. The World Health Organization recently announced that a sudden…
We Just Got Promising Early Results For One COVID-19 Vaccine in The US
US biotech firm Moderna reported promising early results on Monday from the first clinical tests of an experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus performed on…
Experts Think The Coal Industry May Never Recover From The Pandemic, And We’re Not Sad
For the first time ever, official energy statistics from the US government show renewables are on track to generate more electricity than coal for the…