A NEW TECHNOLOGY, VIRTUAL EMBODIMENT, CHALLENGES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHO WE ARE
As soon as virtual reality became workable, in the early nineteen-eighties, researchers imagined creating vivid, detailed, hallucinogenic worlds. In the memoir “Dawn of the New Everything,” the V.R. pioneer Jaron Lanier recalls evangelizing the technology by describing a virtual two-hundred-foot-tall amethyst octopus with an opening in its head; inside would be a furry cave with a bed that hugs you while you sleep. (“Virtual reality tugs at the soul because it answers the cries of childhood,” Lanier writes.)
Read moreA SOLAR POWER RESEARCHER DISCUSSES THE “DUCK CURVE” HE HELPED DISCOVER
Solar power’s greatest challenge was discovered 10 years ago. It looks like a duck. Source: vox.com
ANCIENT ROMAN BATHROOMS – WHAT DID THEY DO WITHOUT TOILET PAPER?
Roman toilets didn’t flush. Some of them were tied into internal plumbing and sewer systems, which often consisted of just a small stream of water running continuously beneath the toilet seats. Source: sapiens.org
“NIGHTMARE” SUPERBUGS CONTINUE TO LURK IN US, BUT CONTROL EFFORTS WORKING
Several types of “nightmare” drug-resistant bacteria are lurking within healthcare settings across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest surveillance data. But the data also suggests that recently implemented control efforts are helping to squelch the deadly germs. Source: arstechnica.com
LARGE CRACK IN EAST AFRICAN RIFT IS EVIDENCE OF CONTINENT SPLITTING IN TWO
A large crack, stretching several kilometres, made a sudden appearance recently in south-western Kenya. The tear, which continues to grow, caused part of the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse and was accompanied by seismic activity in the area. Source: theconversation.com
WHO REALLY CAME UP WITH CHINA’S ‘FOUR NEW INVENTIONS’?
China claims it invented high-speed rail, mobile payments, e-commerce and bike-sharing, but did it? Source: bbc.com
CS224N: NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING WITH DEEP LEARNING
NLP projects at Stanford. Source: stanford.edu
APPLE HAS HIRED GOOGLE’S HEAD OF SEARCH AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Yesterday, Google SVP of Engineering in charge of search and artificial intelligence John Giannandrea announced his departure from the company. Now the reason for that departure is clear: he’s been hired by Apple to lead the company’s ‘machine learning and A.I. strategy,’ reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Source: arstechnica.com
BOOK: MATHEMATICS FOR MACHINE LEARNING
We are in the process of writing a book on Mathematics for Machine Learning that motivates people to learn mathematical concepts. The book is not intended to cover advanced machine learning techniques because there are already plenty of books doing this. Instead, we aim to provide the necessary mathematical skills to read those other books. Source: github.io
THE RICHEST AMERICAN FAMILY HIRED TERRORISTS TO SHOOT SLEEPING FAMILIES
The incident, known as the Ludlow Massacre, occured in April of 1914, and it sparked a 10-day battle in the coalfields of the American West. It was the bloodiest episode in the history of American class conflict, and the closest thing to war between compatriots since the Confederacy was defeated a half-century earlier. Source: timeline.com