Quick, define the word “metaverse.” Coined in 1992 by science fiction author Neal Stephenson, the relatively obscure term exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly after Facebook rebranded as Meta in October 2021. There are now myriad
A new project has just launched with the goal of preserving all human knowledge. The problem? It’s illegal. The Pirate Library Mirror is what it says on the tin: a mirror of existing libraries of pirated content. The project focuses specificall
Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helps explain why elementary particles (the smallest building blocks of nature) have mass. For particle physicists, this was the end of a decades-long and hugely difficult journey – and arguably th
One of the major selling points of the electric vehicle is its oil-free, eco-friendly technology, which has been touted as a key solution to The Great Carbon Emissions Dilemma. But as EVs become increasingly mainstream, an important question has emerged among
This article was originally published on Built In by Eric Kleppen. Variance is a powerful statistic used in data analysis and machine learning. It is one of the four main measures of variability along with range, interquartile range (IQR) an
Around the world, and against all scientific evidence, a segment of the population believes that Earth’s round shape is either an unproven theory or an elaborate hoax. Polls by YouGov America in 2018 and FDU in 2022 found that as many as 11% of Americans believe the Ea
I love writing code to make things: apps, websites, charts, and even music. It’s a skill I’ve worked hard at for more than 20 years. So I must confess last week’s news about the release of a new “AI assistant” coding helper called GitHub Copilot gave me complicated feel
The Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), a non-profit community of open-source advocates, today announced its withdrawal from GitHub in a scathing blog post urging members and supporters to rebuke the platform once-and-for-all. Up front: The SFC’s problem with GitHub
How far would you go to save the planet? Well, there’s a movement of activists aiming to make it impossible to own a huge, polluting 4×4 SUV in the world’s urban areas. So, they are taking out SUVs and their owners, flattening one tire at a
Picture this. You’re in San Francisco. It’s late at night, and you’re driving back home. You’re dreaming of your warm bed. But, you arrive at the intersection of Gough and Fulton Streets — and shock! Horror! You’re forced to stop. The road, it seems, is blocke