Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Time for the Health Department to shut down he lumbersexual trend. Photo: Cavan Images/Corbis This is going to be hard for all of us to accept, because beards are glorious and men with beards are divine. They look magnificent on the chins of many, and men have even found new ways of elevating the beauty…
Quantum computing could make complex calculations trivial—but it’s currently fraught with problems. Now, though, IBM has solved one of the biggest, allowing it to detect the internal errors that could otherwise render quantum calculation useless. One of the many problems exhibited by the breed of future computers is that they exist in the delicate and…
Last year, NASA’s advanced propulsion research wing made headlines by announcing the successful test of a physics-defying electromagnetic drive, or EM drive. Now, this futuristic engine, which could in theory propel objects to near-relativistic speeds, has been shown to work inside a space-like vacuum. Illustration: “Dreamscape IV,” by jamajurabaev, via Deviantart NASA Eagleworks made the…
One month after Zayn Malik quit One Direction, we are still a world in mourning. At times like this, we turn to trusted authority figures—like renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. During an event at the Sydney Opera House this weekend, an audience member asked Hawking about the “cosmological effect” of Malik leaving 1D and breaking…
The ubiquitous — and endangered — food may soon be a luxury item. Will the California drought signal the end of affordable guacamole for all? Photo: Bobby Doherty Do you love avocados? I mean, really love them? Because as much as you might think you love avocados — and maybe you are one of the…
Bonding over nothing is still bonding. This is something that people need to remember when they turn their noses up at the popularity of the Reddit Button. In the three weeks since it has appeared, it has been described as an evil April Fool’s joke, a social experiment, and a total waste of time. The…
In 1998, Carnegie Mellon researchers warned that the internet could make us into hermits. They released a study monitoring the social behavior of 169 people making their first forays online. The web-surfers started talking less with family and friends, and grew more isolated and depressed. “We were surprised to find that what is a social…
‘Beenado’: Truck carrying millions of bees overturns on Seattle highway Millions of bees swarmed a Seattle highway on Friday, April 17, 2015 when a truck carrying boxes of their hives overturned. By Brian Ries2015-04-17 15:33:01 UTC A semi truck carrying millions of bees bound for a blueberry farm near Seattle overturned on a highway early…
In the midst of a historic drought, Californians have no way of knowing who’s guzzling the most water. That’s not an accident. It’s by design, thanks to an obscure 1997 measure that weakened one of the state’s chief open government laws, the California Public Records Act. For the source of this legislation, look no further…
Bravo for companies that are starting to focus on innovation again! It’s about time. But even with this renewed attention to innovation, some managers keep projects resource-starved, in the belief that scarcity drives creative invention. Although ingenuity can sometimes spring up when means are scarce, managers beware: It is a dangerous miscalculation to think that…