Leben (Life aka misc) The Planet (on, and off)
Did Life on Earth Come from ‘Microlightning’ Between Charged Water Droplets?
Some scientists believe life on earth originated in organic matter in earth’s bodies of water more than 3.5 billion years ago, but where did that organic material come from…? Maybe electrical energy sparked the beginnings of life on earth — just like in Frankenstein: Researchers decades ago proposed that lightning Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) Technology
Has the Decline of Knowledge Worker Jobs Begun?
After sitting below 4% for more than two years, the overall unemployment rate has topped that threshold since May… “We’re seeing a meaningful transition in the way work is done in the white-collar world, I tell people a wave is coming….” Thousands of video game workers lost jobs last year Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) Technology
China is Already Testing AI-Powered Humanoid Robots in Factories
The U.S. and China are racing to build a truly useful humanoid worker. Whoever wins could gain a huge edge in countless industries. “The time has come for robots,” Nvidia’s chief executive said at a conference in March, adding “This could very well be the largest industry of all.” China’s Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc)
Why a Lost Cellphone Forced an Airplane to Turn Around in Mid-Flight
Last week an Air France flight to the Caribbean had to turn around and return to Paris, after a passenger could not locate their cellphone. Because of fears that an unattended cellphone could overheat — and because the passenger and crew couldn’t find the phone — the Boeing 777 turned Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc)
Are Tech-Driven ‘Career Meltdowns’ Hitting Generation X?
If you entered media or image-making in the ’90s — magazine publishing, newspaper journalism, photography, graphic design, advertising, music, film, TV — there’s a good chance that you are now doing something else for work. That’s because those industries have shrunk or transformed themselves radically, shutting out those whose skills Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc)
Scientists May Have Discovered How To Extract Power From the Earth’s Rotation
No more burning fossil fuels, playing with fissile material, damming rivers, erecting wind mills, or making solar panels. All of our energy needs could potentially be supplied by the angular kinetic energy of the Earth — and because of the mass of the planet, doing so would slow its rotation Read more…