TIL that John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and subject of the film A Beautiful Mind, earned a PhD thesis in 1950 with a 26-page dissertation. It had 2 citations, one being an article that Nash had written.
TIL that spruce beer, a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees, is natural source of vitamin C. The drink originated with the Indigenous peoples of North America who used it as a cure for scurvy during the winter months when fresh fruits were not available.
TIL polar swimmer Lewis Pugh is able to raise his core body temperature from 98.6 to 102F just before diving into freezing water; researchers have called it 'anticipatory thermogenesis'.
This is the homemade atmospheric water generator I designed to function in the Negev desert. I am not patenting it, and I hope others either use it, or help improve the design. I used these to create the Arad botanical garden atop a mountain in the Middle East.
TIL the vast majority of auto insurance claims are processed through a software called Colossus, created by McKinsey, was systematically designed to increase a company's bottom line profit margins and to screw out consumers...
Key to willpower lies in believing you have it in abundance. People who believe they have an abundant supply of self-control are more likely to feel invigorated by mentally taxing activities than people who believe their willpower is a finite resource
Darwin Made Me Do It: Our evolved nature provides us with the resources to live morally decent lives, even if the theory of natural selection undermines the project of moral philosophy.
AI progress has often been measured by the ability to defeat humans in zero-sum encounters (e.g. Chess or Go). Less attention has been given to human–machine cooperation. Scientists develop an algorithm that can cooperate with people and other algorithms at levels that rival human cooperation.
Research published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics finds that gluten free foods (1,724 food items) contain more fat, salt & sugar than their gluten containing equivalents - with the exception of crackers. Plus, gluten free foods were 159% more expensive than regular food.
Can’t get rid of that awful breath? Grab a flashlight and check for tonsil stones in the back of your throat. They are fairly easy to swab away with a cotton swab.
Study of sapiosexuality suggests some people really are sexually attracted to intelligence. The study in the journal Intelligence found that most people desire a partner who is smart. Furthermore, a small percentage of them reported that they were specifically sexually aroused by intelligence.