Day: April 11, 2021

Feature bloat: Psychology boffins find people tend to add elements to solve a problem rather than take things away

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists working on the psychology of problem solving may have hit upon why things always seem to get more complicated. A newly uncovered heuristic – a mental shortcut or rule of thumb – shows bias towards adding features to find a solution, rather than subtracting existing features. A simple experiment in Lego has provided some Read more about Feature bloat: Psychology boffins find people tend to add elements to solve a problem rather than take things away[…]

Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep

Posted on by Robin Edgar

 Here we show that individuals who are asleep and in the midst of a lucid dream (aware of the fact that they are currently dreaming) can perceive questions from an experimenter and provide answers using electrophysiological signals. We implemented our procedures for two-way communication during polysomnographically verified rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep in 36 individuals. Some had Read more about Real-time dialogue between experimenters and dreamers during REM sleep[…]

Actor in Hollywood Ponzi Scheme “sold” Netflix exculsives for $690 million

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Zachary Horwitz never made it big on the Sunset Strip — there was the uncredited part in Brad Pitt’s “Fury” and a host of roles in low-budget thrillers and horror flicks. But federal charges suggest he had acting talent, duping several financial firms out of hundreds of millions of dollars and enabling him to live Read more about Actor in Hollywood Ponzi Scheme “sold” Netflix exculsives for $690 million[…]

Apple Never Made iMessage for Android to Lock Users In: Epic v Apple

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As part of the ongoing legal battle between Fortnite maker Epic and Apple, some new information has come to light confirming the most annoying thing about Apple’s iMessage app: that Apple could make a cross-platform version of iMessage for Android phones, but it won’t because it would be bad for business. This info comes from Read more about Apple Never Made iMessage for Android to Lock Users In: Epic v Apple[…]

Alibaba antitrust investigation: Beijing slaps e-commerce giant Alibaba with record US$2.8 billion fine in landmark case. US antitrust still going nowhere.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China’s antitrust regulators slapped a record fine on one of the country’s largest technology conglomerates, closing a months-long investigation that began last Christmas Eve and setting the precedent for the government to use anti-monopoly rules to regulate the country’s Big Tech. Alibaba Group Holding, the world’s largest e-commerce company and owner of this newspaper, was Read more about Alibaba antitrust investigation: Beijing slaps e-commerce giant Alibaba with record US$2.8 billion fine in landmark case. US antitrust still going nowhere.[…]

Glass molded like plastic could usher in new era of complex glass shapes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The production of glass—one of humanity’s oldest materials—is getting a 21st century makeover. A new approach to glassmaking treats the material like plastic, allowing scientists to injection mold vaccine vials, sinuous channels for carrying out lab chemistry, and other complex shapes. “It’s a really exciting paper,” says André Studart, a materials scientist at ETH Zürich. Read more about Glass molded like plastic could usher in new era of complex glass shapes[…]