Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay–and it is making its way into every part of our lives. With self-driving cars using A.I. to make split-second steering decisions, A.I. helping to sort job and college applications, and companies using A.I, to sway customer behavior, a lot of people are growing fearful of the technology. People used to fear monsters in the darkness, but in modern times, some of our scariest monsters are lines of code in a machine.
Its formula long forgotten, the mystery of why Roman concrete remained strong over several millennia when more modern versions crumbled much faster has long baffled scientists and engineers. But now the secret of “self-healing” concrete has been rediscovered and it could lead to a construction revolution more than 2,000 years after it was first discovered.
How much do you know about Hera, one of the original Olympians, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and fertility, and fan of peacocks and cows? There’s a lot more to this goddess than most people think. Check this article out to learn 10 fun facts about Hera that most people probably aren’t familiar with.
Whether it’s for a school assignment or a larger goal for your life, these tips can help you make the most of your time.
Researchers have found that people wearing heavy backpacks perceive the hills they are climbing as steeper than people who aren’t wearing backpacks do. Read this article to find out more about how our perceptions can become distorted.
Fear may be able to spread from person to person—just like a virus. Recent studies have indicated that humans can smell fear and disgust in the body odor of those nearby, causing the part of their own brain that processes those emotions to become active.
The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) went on strike for 148 days this summer, demanding that studios put guardrails around AI’s encroachment on their work. The effects of their new contract will echo in industries far beyond Hollywood.
You may know a lot about mythology, but is evertying you think you know correct? Mental Floss discusses some of the most common misconceptions people have about Greek and Roman myths.
It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see.
From toilet paper to yogurt and coffee to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking their package sizes without lowering their prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s something that is accelerating worldwide.
Could it be possible that finishing a race in 3rd place may make you happier than coming in 2nd? Science says it is very common, and the ‘why’ has everything to do with our perception of the most likely alternative outcome.
There is a famous optical illusion with two gray lines inside a number of black and white bars. The gray bars are the same color, but they appear lighter or darker depending on which bars are around them. Science was never sure why, but it seems the answer lies in you brain’s neurons and how fast they can fire.
A middle-aged woman—known as SM—blithely reaches for poisonous snakes, giggles in haunted houses, and once, upon escaping the clutches of a knife-wielding man, didn’t run but calmly walked away. All because a rare kind of brain damage precludes her from experiencing fear of any sort.
The imprint of Greek and Roman mythology is all around us, from the names of our shoes (Nike, the goddess of victory) to the names of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, etc). And maybe a certain recent movie series has made you familiar with a little Norse mythology, like Thor and Loki, too. Now a new show is introducing Western audiences to Chinese mythology. Find out how costume designers approached dressing ancient Chinese gods for a modern American audience.
There was a time when there was no written language and almost all communication was spoken. Even when language evolved, it was often written on stone and not very portable until the invention of paper. History is full of such advances. Even the now ubiquitous smartphone was thought to be science fiction just a couple of decades ago. But have you ever asked yourself what advances may come next?
Have you ever seen an accomplished athlete suddenly perform as if they’ve completely forget how to play their sport? If so, you’ve seen “the yips”–the sudden and unexplained loss of an athlete’s typical skills–in action. The yips are basically the opposite of achievement. Learn more about a term that started in golf, quickly moved to other sports, and is increasingly being used in other fields like politics, business, and education.
How do you make something old and familiar feel fresh and new? Science suggests the trick is to interact with it in new ways. Something as simple as eating popcorn–but doing so with chopsticks–can result in people rating the popcorn as tastier and more enjoyable than eating the same popcorn with their hands. Read the article and think of ways you may make things you already own feel new again.
When most people think of an illusion, they think of an image or video–but there are audio illusions that trick your hearing, too. After you watch this video, you’ll have to ask yourself “Can I trust my own ears?”
While hard work is a good path to success, there is another route that some people have followed: the simple accident. Some of the world’s biggest discoveries and inventions have happened by accident. And yet, to see a mistake and not think of it as a failure, but rather as a new and unexpected form of success, takes a special kind of industrious mindset.
Eyewitness testimony can be really important when investigating crimes, but how can we make them more reliable? SciShow looks at the scientific and psychological evidence around several ways in which your memory can fail–and how we may be able to minimize these effects.
Have you ever wondered just what, exactly, money is? We earn it. We spend it. But why do we all agree that one little piece of green paper is only worth a bag of chips and a different piece of green paper is worth a full, fancy dinner? This article takes a look at currency, what it is, how it got started, and what forms it might take in the future.
