I love technology (and science)
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The World Might Actually Run Out of People
Either the earth will drown and collapse under an unsustainable level of humanity, or we aren't making enough new humans as the world rapidly modernizes and eventually we will collapse back to a fraction of the current population. Our whole economy is based on the second derivative–growth–which is only sustainable in a world where efficiency gains + population growth > 0. If that equation drops below zero, the whole economic system of the globe needs to be re-worked and I don't have a lot of confidence that that will be a smooth process.
The other interesting implication is, even if that equation stays positive, the balance between the rewards of labor and the rewards of capital is highly susceptible to the value of population growth / efficiency gains. Some postulate that during previous population collapses (plagues et al) wages increased rapidly while the ROI for investment dropped. When the population expands, wages stagnate and ROI's increase. Makes sense I guess; as more people means more competition for jobs, and less people means more competition for workers.
TL:DR I don't know...and now I have a headache. -Brian
Issue 45
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We drive Buckminster Fuller's terrifying Dymaxion car (so you don't have to)
Sometimes I forget how I find my way to certain links; I'm pretty sure this was at the bottom of a fairly deep rabbit hole that originated on Quora. This is a review of a strange-looking vehicle designed by someone who knows a lot about boats and not a lot about cars. - Calvin
Issue 45
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The Foxes That Came in From the Wild
Courtesy of Joe D. comes this really fascinating look at how humans domesticate animals. For the last sixty years, a lab has been breeding foxes for domestication and tracking how other things (cute faces, fluffy tails) develop through the hundreds of generations and tens of thousands of fox'eses lineages. -Brian
Issue 45
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Should a self-driving car kill the baby or the grandma? Depends on where you’re from.
From Steve S.; a fascinating look at how humans think robots should solve this classic ethical problem.
One thought I had while reading this: currently, humans design the robots and write some of the code, so the robot's developer or designer's cultural background probably influences the decisions that that robot will make. Wut. - Calvin
Issue 44
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Former NASA Engineer Creates "Bait" Package That Sprays Porch Thieves with Glitter and Farts
This is a video, but I put it in the science section because this is most over-engineered prank that has probably ever been executed. Tip o' the cap to my Dad for the link. - Calvin
Issue 44
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Want to convince someone that you’re human? This one word could do the trick
Look I'm not gonna click-bait you here, the word is poop. K, now you owe me a link click...sucker! -Brian
Issue 39
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How Overdrives Work, And Why They're Not A Thing Anymore
I recently purchased a car, and when one of my buddies was looking at it he asked about the sixth gear and whether or not it was an overdrive gear. I realized that I wasn't cool enough to know how to answer this question. So I googled it, and found this article. If you like knowing how stuff works (or, in this case, used to work) then check this out. - Calvin
Issue 38
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Racing Series Helps Show the Way to a Battery-Powered Future
My company is the title sponsor for Formula-E which is the new electric variant of Formula 1 racing. With racing taking place in NYC in July (which has probably already happened by the time you read this if I'm honest with myself here) there's a nice overview of the technological implications of high performance all-electric racing. -Brian
Issue 37