On the show this week:

• Thinking About It
• Japanimated
• Space Between Your Fears
• Death is a Plug-in
• What Are, Water, Everywhere?

CQ: Presume that humans that grew up on different planets are genetically modified — whether by nature or science — and therefore more adapted to different environments. Would they still be eligible for the Olympics?

Thanks to Rich the TT for the email!

Full list of 27 articles after the jump!

• Thinking About It:
  • Are we fundamentally fooling ourselves? Is it possible that it doesn’t matter?: The NY Times – Consciousness: The Mind Messing With the Mind
  • A copy of the popular “it’s just a copy” theory.: The Conversation – Could we upload a brain to a computer — and should we even try?
  • If we can raise kids on TV, why not virtual kids?: Japan Today – How do you teach human interaction to a robot? Lots of TV
  • Is AI the ultimate cover band, backup band, or THE band?: The Verge – (O) Google’s art machine just wrote its first song
  • Better written than half the Hollywood scripts, although a little too Shakespearean in dialogue.: io9 – (O) Watch This Fascinatingly Incoherent Short Film Written By a Neural Network
  • It’s a little like using Pokemon Go to teach people about socializing. Oh.. Wait..: LiveScience – Microsoft Mines ‘Minecraft’ to Study Artificial Intelligence
• Japanimated:
  • (EXTRA) Japan is a mythical place..: The New York Times – Cartoons Keep Order at Japanese Construction Sites
  • (EXTRA) Don’t we all sorta rent our friends, mostly?: This Week – Inside Japan’s booming rent-a-friend industry
  • (EXTRA) Is there too much pressure to create the “perfect” childhood? Wasn’t that the 50s?: The Plate – Is There a Dark Side to Those Adorable Bento Boxes?
  • (EXTRA) I’m sure you could rent-a-farmer to drive one..: RocketNews24 – (O) Japan’s better farming through precision drone strikes
• Space Between Your Fears:
  • (EXTRA) Waiting for the solar space plane next..: Live Science – Solar Plane Completes Historic Round-the-World Flight
  • (EXTRA) Seems a little like a backward step from “we’ll be on Mars in 5 years”, but is it more realistic?: ScienceAlert – Experts says a ‘space base’ halfway between the Moon and Earth could be built in 10 years
  • (EXTRA) Surprisingly, not the Space Guy!: Mashable – Three special Lego figurines are currently orbiting Jupiter
  • (EXTRA) Are we being too cautious, or are we just too impatient?: New Scientist – Rip up the rule book and let NASA’s Mars rover check ‘life’ zone
  • (EXTRA) I wonder how big “contamination from curious species” factors in..: Scientific American – New Equation Tallies Odds of Life Beginning
  • (EXTRA) Can you treat incorrect mental processes with incorrect ideas?: ScienceAlert – A hospital in Argentina is using astrology to treat mental health patients
• Death is a Plug-in:
  • (EXTRA) A historical bio of a young Trump?: Unknown source: – (O) This 25-year-old lived for more than a year without a heart
  • (EXTRA) We are hurting ourselves in new vain ways.: Metro – Selfie elbow is now a genuine health issue
  • (EXTRA) Maybe it can tell you to stop taking selfies..: Live Science – Ultrathin Electric ‘Tattoo’ Can Monitor Muscles and More
  • (EXTRA) Otherwise known as “stars on ice”!: New Scientist – A visual tour of the weird world of the cryogenically frozen
  • (EXTRA) Number 10: you’ll probably never know if it was successful.: New Scientist – 9 things you need to know about cryogenically freezing your body
  • (EXTRA) Probably the ones that scream “don’t freeze me!”: Nova Next – (O) Some Genes Don’t Turn On Until After You Die
  • (EXTRA) It is the single most important liquid we have invented. (But I may be biased..): NPR – If War Is Hell, Then Coffee Has Offered U.S. Soldiers Some Salvation
• What Are, Water, Everywhere?:
  • (EXTRA) The Earth still doesn’t know the words..: LiveWire/The Conversation – (O) What’s Causing Mysterious ‘Worldwide Hum?’
  • (EXTRA) Cthulhu snores.: Gizmodo – (O) An Unearthly Sound Is Emanating From the Caribbean Sea
  • (EXTRA) Should weather forecasts be crowdsourced?: The UK Telegraph – Met Office seeks ‘weather obsessed’ British public to help make more accurate forecasts
  • (EXTRA) Of course, they can also probably dock up with other split houses, creating a whole floating orgy thing..: The UK Daily Mail – Bizarre floating ‘prenup house’ can be split in two if a marriage doesn’t work out – letting spouses simply sail away

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS | More