In the NYT, science writer John Noble Wilford reports that scientists have finally pinned a firm date on the earliest evidence of advanced tool-making by Homo erectus, a forerunner of modern humans. The new study dates the axe shown below to 1.76 million years ago.
Image: P. J. Texier/MPK/WTAP
Read more: Earliest Homo Erectus Tools Found in Kenya.
via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Terrorist methods are widely available – a manual lists 14 “simple tools” to wage violent jihad. So why are there so few Islamist terrorists?… more
Where Does the Milky Way Get Energy? via Big Think by Big Think Editors
Researchers at Notre Dame think they have found the energy source that keeps our Milky Way Galaxy burning bright, creating one Sun-sized star every year. Without “fast-moving clouds of hydrogen raining down on the galaxy’s disc”, our home in the cosmos would have … Read More
The Origin of the Seventh Cholera Pandemic via Britannica Blog by Kara Rogers
Last week [late August], an international team of scientists reported in the journal Nature that the seventh cholera pandemic, which began in 1961 and continues today, occurred in three major waves, all of which originated in the Bay of Bengal. The intercontinental waves of cholera have overlapped temporarily, and multiple outbreaks have demonstrated evidence of long-range transmission, meaning that a strain was introduced at a location very distant from that of its most recent ancestor. The latter is significant because it suggests that outbreaks in places where cholera has long been absent, such as Haiti, which suffered a large-scale cholera outbreak following the earthquake in 2010, are not uncommon.
Not pretty!
via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Self-control is the best predictor of a successful life. To prevent that next lapse of will, take Steven Pinker's advice: Eat chocolate... more
The Grand Frontier of Artificial Intelligence via Big Think by Daniel Honan
In 1950, Alan Turing invented a test [published in 1950 in Mind v59] for determining a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour. At the time, some predicted that so-called “Strong A.I.”, that is, artificial intelligence that matches or exceeds human intelligence, could be achieved in a few decades. Over sixty years later …
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Death by Browser Toolbar Overload [Humorous Image] via the How-To Geek by Asian Angel
How many times have we all seen and had to fix browsers like this?
All of the tool-bars in the world are on this computer… (Larger Version of the Image) [via Reddit]
via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Early computer culture was a battle between grey, regimented corporations and psychedelic hippie-nerds. It’s still not clear who won... more
Statistical Numbing. Why Millions Can Die, and We Don’t Care. via Big Think by David Ropeik
Four year-old Khafra was near death three days ago when he was brought to the refugee camp hospital. He was emaciated, his ribs showing through his taut dry skin. He panted for breath. His desperate eyes bulged. His mother Alyan could only sit at his side and watch, helpless, sad ...
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"Engine, Mount Washington Railway, White Mountains, New Hampshire."
The little engine that could also serve as a portable pizza oven.
8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
Note: copying of images from Shorpy is not possible.
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