📚 Turn “da-da” into data: Get your kiddo ready for the future (and AI) with these 30 free STEM resources. The list includes apps, games and classes to teach youngsters stuff like coding, aeronautics, mathematics and, yes, data science. You could have the next little Elon.
Are scammers using infidelity to manipulate you?
“Your spouse is cheating on you.” That’s the shocking line behind a new sextortion scam. The message includes a link claiming to offer “proof,” but it’s a trap to get you to click. Plus, Gen Z is moving away from Google, and strange science wins big at the Ig Nobel awards.
🪑 Fidgeting at your desk? Science says that’s your body’s way of telling you to get off your butt. Even if you feel comfortable, sitting too long can cause pain and mess with your concentration. Every 30 minutes, stand up and stretch, or at least switch your seating positions. You’ll boost your blood flow, lower stress and even keep your brain sharp. And no more cankles!
These famous tech personalities are all college dropouts except for one. Is it … A.) Michael Dell, B.) Steve Jobs, C.) Elon Musk or D.) Mark Zuckerberg?
15 minutes
To create diamonds. Real diamonds form 100 miles below the earth’s surface at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A team in South Korea used a special gallium-silicon mixture to create a diamond foundation in 15 minutes at room temp. No pressure — the whole thing was done in 2.5 hours.
🤖 It’s alive: OpenAI’s new o3 model can “think,” aka reason and check facts on its own. That’s a giant step toward artificial general intelligence (AGI), where bots can do tasks they were never specifically trained for. Rest easy, o3 is a total ace at math and science, but it’s not quite ready to take over the world.
Weird science: A scientist claims our universe might be an advanced computer simulation, and the proof is in the Bible. The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He says “the Word” refers to the underlying computer code controlling the simulation. I know what you’re thinking: “Whoa, this is too much for my brain. I’m going to see if Prince Harry is divorcing Meghan Markle yet.”
Next time you’re bidding on eBay: Science says you should use a round percentage of the asking price. Say a seller wants $44. You’ll win the bid at $22, or 50%, more often than if you’d offered $24, or 54%. Sweet.
Science anus as easy as it seems: The Ig Nobel Prize (a play on the Nobel Prize) honors those doing quirkier work. Some of this year’s award-winning discoveries: Real plants can imitate the shapes of nearby fake plants, a coin is more likely to land on the side it started (heads or tails), and many mammals can breathe through their anuses. Yup, you read that right.
🤖 Want a job in AI? Recruiters want candidates with a technical background and degree in data science, computer science, mathematics and applied science (paywall link). You also should be proficient in a few programming languages, starting with Python and JavaScript. Bonus points if you’ve taken a course in AI ethics.
📚 Turn “da-da” into data: Get your kiddo ready for the future (and AI) with these 30 free STEM resources. The list includes apps, games and classes to teach youngsters stuff like coding, aeronautics, mathematics and, yes, data science.
What did Elon Musk try for two days before he gave up? Was it … eating only carrots, getting his Ph.D., living in a Mars space simulator or saying “good enough” to any project?
Not only do you blink less when looking at a screen, but science proves most people read more slowly on a screen than on paper. Is it slower by … A.) 5%, B.) 10% or C.) 20%?
🚀 Streaming for science! A crew spent 378 days in a simulated Mars base, cut off from outside contact. How’d they pass the time? By watching a lot of TV. Turns out there’s a lot of downtime between experiments and farming your own food. They were probably binging “Friends” just to stay sane!
$1.25 per issue
For a Popular Science magazine in 1978. Old editions like this one were loaded with cigarette promos, limited-run cars like the Jeep Honcho and DIY kits for early home computers like the Sol-20. I always get a kick out of ‘70s ad copy. They just don’t write them like they used to!
🗞️ Trust fall: Science says you’re more likely to believe fake news from an acquaintance than your best friend. That’s why so many scammers pose as long-lost classmates or distant relatives. Focusing instead on who’s sharing — not what’s being shared — could be the best way to stop fake news.
Wikipedia isn’t the only option: Try Perplexity AI to learn more about a topic you’re interested in. Think of it as your smartest pal who lies from time to time but is versed in science, math, history and most other subjects.
10- to 20-minute “fart walk”
For happy digestion. That’s the funny name for a jaunt to kickstart digestion and help with bloating and gas. Science supports this. Btw, I learned an important lesson while hiking Machu Picchu: Never trust a fart.
The biggest heist in history
What’s the backbone of chatbots like Gemini or ChatGPT? It’s the art, science, and hard work of real humans — humans who may never get credit or compensation.