Science Magazine – August 25, 2023: This image depicts whole chromosomes, some with structural abnormalities that might be found in cancer. The idea that cancer cells have aneuploidy—abnormal numbers of chromosomes and chromosome portions—has been known for decades.
Scientists and philosophers are proposing a checklist based on theories of human consciousness
In 2021, Google engineer Blake Lemoine made headlines—and got himself fired—when he claimed that LaMDA, the chatbot he’d been testing, was sentient. Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, especially so-called large language models such as LaMDA and ChatGPT, can certainly seem conscious. But they’re trained on vast amounts of text to imitate human responses. So how can we really know?
Allison Anderson Films (August 24, 2023) – A solo travel tour of Acadia National Park on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, the bayside and gateway town of Bar Harbor, Camden and Old Orchard Beach and classic Maine lighthouses.
Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:30 Acadia National Park 03:28 Bar Harbor 04:46 DJI Air 3 06:21 More Bar Harbor 06:47 Camden, Old Orchard Beach, Ogunquit 07:34 Lighthouses 08:30 My Thoughts on Maine 09:36 omg 09:46 The End
HISTORY TODAY MAGAZINE (SEPTEMBER 2023) – This issue features Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore story, conquistador Hernán Cortés’ on trial, the fascist plot to kill the king, the fascinating fusion of Old English names, and sharpshooter Marjorie Foster’s battle with the War Office. Plus: reviews, opinion, crossword and much more!
Faced with a jumble of bewildering ruins, modern visitors to Hisarlik in northwest Turkey, the site of ancient Troy, may find themselves perplexed and sometimes disappointed. The wide bay where the Greeks so famously beached 1,000 ships is gone, buried in silt from a local river, while beyond the fine sloping walls, a palimpsest of settlements spanning 4,000 years lies scarred and disfigured by the deep trench gouged by Heinrich Schliemann, its first archaeologist, during two decades of digging in the 19th century. Schliemann had been drawn to Hisarlik, and also to mainland Greece, by his passion for the Homeric poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and his conviction that they described or reflected real societies and events, not least the decade-long Trojan War.
Balen Shah, the 33-year-old rapper and mayor of Kathmandu, is a man on various missions. Since his unlikely victory in 2022, he has waged war on government ministries, landlords, Nepal’s civil aviation authority, roadside hawkers and landless slum dwellers. Now he is taking on Bollywood because of a supposed historical slight.
An increasingly autocratic government is making bad decisions
Whatever has gone wrong? After China rejoined the world economy in 1978, it became the most spectacular growth story in history. Farm reform, industrialisation and rising incomes lifted nearly 800m people out of extreme poverty. Having produced just a tenth as much as America in 1980, China’s economy is now about three-quarters the size. Yet instead of roaring back after the government abandoned its “zero-covid” policy at the end of 2022, it is lurching from one ditch to the next.
A healthy country uses justice to restore order. Mr Putin uses violence instead
As we published this editorial, it was not certain that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet was shot down by Russian air-defences, or that the mutineer and mercenary boss was on board. But everyone believes that it was and that his death was a punishment of spectacular ruthlessness ordered by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. And that is the way Mr Putin likes it.
FRANCE 24 English Films (August 24, 2023) – The Seine is literally the center of life in Paris, flowing right through the heart of the capital. Considered one of the most romantic rivers in the world, the Seine is overflowing with history and is a great way to discover the city of light.
More recently, officials have given the Seine a facelift, making the banks more accessible and improving the quality of the water. Join Florence Villeminot and Genie Godula for this aquatic episode of French Connections Plus where they dive into the wondrous waters of the river Seine.
UHD Walking Adventures (August 24, 2023) – Cuenca is a city set in the mountains of east-central Spain. Founded by Moors, it retains its Historic Walled Town with steep cobbled streets and medieval castle ruins.
Perched on a limestone spur high above the Júcar and Huécar rivers, it’s most famous for its well-preserved “casas colgadas,” or hanging houses. Cantilevered over the Huécar gorge, they seemingly cling to the cliffs’ edges.
The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, August 24: Republican presidential candidates have their first debate in Milwaukee without Donald Trump, the latest from the BRICS summit in South Africa, after Putin addresses the bloc leaders virtually.
Plus: the Zimbabwe elections, a literary celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day and a Scandinavian shortage in Brussels.
Extreme heat has turned much of the country into a tinderbox. More than 350 fires have broken out in the past five days, the government said.
‘India Is on the Moon’: Lander’s Success Moves Nation to Next Space Chapter
The Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India the first country to reach the lunar south polar region in one piece and adds to the achievements of the country’s homegrown space program.
A Stroke Stole Her Ability to Speak at 30. A.I. Is Helping to Restore It Years Later.
The brain activity of a paralyzed woman is being translated into words spoken by an avatar. This milestone could help others who have lost speech.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
Allison Anderson
FRANCE 24 English
UHD Walking Adventures
Boomers Daily 