“The language I’ve invented is pronounced with the same phonetics as Latin,” explained Justin Harlan, my 21-year-old student. He was doing a presentation on his video game Ordenai, which was so outstanding that it left my boisterous class speechless. This was in the fall of 2019, my first semester teaching Read more…
The mix of content makes for a podcast that should satisfy even the pickiest of listeners. New episodes arrive every other week. There are also transcripts available so your kids can read along while listening to improve literacy. Circle Round Apple, Google, Stitcher, NPR Here’s another creative story podcast that Read more…
When news hit earlier this week that Chinese hackers were actively targeting Microsoft Exchange servers, the cybersecurity community warned that the zero-day vulnerabilities they were exploiting might have allowed them to hit countless organizations around the world. Now it’s becoming clear just many email servers they hacked. By all appearances, Read more…
We often hear about cyberattacks, cyber operations, and malware infections that target computer systems or smartphones. Attacks against civilian infrastructure facilities such as hospitals, water sanitation systems, and the energy sector similarly get a lot of airtime. But there is another type of high stakes system that gets much less Read more…
In 1896, Italian physician Riva Rocci published the first of four papers on an invention that is still widely used. It was his take on the sphygmomanometer, a device to measure the pressure that a pumping heart exerts on the arteries. In other words, blood pressure. Rocci’s basic approach of Read more…
So people can distinguish what’s accurate, and they say it’s important in deciding what to share. But when it comes down to actually making that choice, accuracy doesn’t seem to matter much. Or, as the researchers put it, something about the social media context shifts people’s attention away from caring Read more…
“Many models are not intended as predictors but as tools to help decisions. So when you see something presented on the news, notice that it is usually a statement of what ‘could’ happen, and listen for what else ‘could’ happen if people react to the epidemic,” Lessler told me. “A lot of people have a tendency to focus on the worst Read more…
Huawei, the crown jewel of China’s tech industry, is reeling from a financial one-two punch delivered by US chip sanctions and a campaign aimed at cutting international markets. But with Huawei rapidly expanding into new markets and the Chinese government investing heavily to gain technological independence from the West, that Read more…
“We have to take on sexual assault and harassment and violence against women in the military,” President Joseph Biden said at the White House in early March. “Sexual assault is abhorrent and wrong at any time, and in our military so much of unit cohesion is built on trusting your Read more…
If you find yourself in some secluded spot in the American West—maybe Yellowstone, or the deserts of Utah, or the forests of Oregon—take a deep breath and get some fresh air along with some microplastic. According to new modeling, 1,100 tons of it is currently floating above the western US. Read more…