Feedback is our play file of bizarre stories, implausible advertizing claims, confusing instructions and more
Humans 1 December 2021
Load of old…
The stereotype of scientists arsenic unfeeling automatons is lazy and, successful Feedback’s experience, wholly inexplicable. On the contrary, the passions the pursuit of cognition bring to the boil often froth implicit successful raw, all-too-real emotion.
We consciousness this with a 2020 insubstantial successful the diary ACS Nano from Martin Pumera astatine the Center for Advanced Functional Nanorobots astatine the University of Chemistry and Technology successful Prague that our science fabrication columnist Sally Adee sends us, entitled “Will immoderate crap we enactment into graphene summation its electrocatalytic effect?”
Ah graphene, that two-dimensional c wonder-repository of hopes, dreams and the UK government’s full concern strategy. As acold arsenic Feedback tin discern, the bony of contention this insubstantial is tearing hunks of earthy nutrient disconnected is whether you tin boost energy-producing chemic reactions wrong hydrogen substance cells and the similar by adding a pinch of different chemic elements to their graphene-surfaced electrodes.
“To marque our constituent of the meaninglessness of efforts to co-dope graphene with assorted elements experimentally, we measure successful this enactment if guano-doped graphene poses immoderate advantages implicit nonguano-doped graphene,” the researchers write, with forthrightness of some connection and intent. Having basted graphene successful vertebrate poo, they reason that it does.
Feedback is impressed, though not wholly surprised: aft all, backmost successful the time nations went to warfare implicit guano for its nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur content, prized for making fertiliser and gunpowder. Now conscionable adhd it to the database of cleanable energy’s imaginable soiled secrets (13 November, p 38). Unless of people the full thing’s a heap of aged crap. We accidental this wholly without feeling.
King bee
Joyously, Lars Chittka, prof of sensory and behavioural ecology astatine Queen Mary University of London, takes to Twitter with a picture of a subscription connection from chez nous. “For years, the New Scientist addressed maine arsenic Queen L Chittka – astir apt an AI conflation of my sanction and address,” helium writes. “Now immoderate automatism has added ‘Her Royal Highness’.”
We ascribe this not to automatism, Lars, but the shade successful our machine’s appreciation of your cutting-edge probe connected the sensory and navigational capabilities of bees, a satellite successful which determination is lone 1 statement for the top, errm… dog. We deliberation it’s alternatively sweet, but if you privation america to effort to unjam said machine, bash fto america know.
Horny problem
Many acknowledgment to astir of Canada, and also, pleasingly, John Burman of Port Macquarie, Australia, who constitute successful pointing retired the lone quality of existent value past week: Air Canada’s announcement that, successful effect to the devastating floods that chopped cardinal proviso links to confederate British Columbia, it would beryllium temporarily adding goods capableness into Vancouver airdrome “equivalent successful value to astir 860 big moose”.
We adhd this to our towering heap of “Culturally applicable measurement units (Canada)”, portion idly wondering what 43 people moose construe to volumetrically. This raises the absorbing occupation of optimal moose tessellation, which whitethorn necessitate much mathematical firepower than our speculative doodles of interlocking antlers. The related question of however galore big antheral African elephants the moose person to is of people lone applicable if they are flying successful a jumbo jet.
Uncertain times
Feedback understands that the quality of quantum world and the determination of the bound betwixt its fuzzy realm and our solid, classical satellite are active areas of research, if lone for a certain, tiny worth of “understands”. Seeking further enlightenment, we person for galore years been an anxious pupil of quantum overspill effects into the classical realm.
“Please participate thru some doors,” a committee with arrows pointing close and near instructs Jonathan Stoppi successful the Mary Winspear Centre successful Sidney, British Columbia. “Please person your impervious of vaccination and photograph ID acceptable to present.”
This 2nd portion successful peculiar alternatively puzzles us. Even supposing an individual’s quantum trajectory tin beryllium recombined down the doors, what does a affirmative impervious of vaccination determination archer america astir vaccination presumption earlier they walk done the doors? Possibly for the purposes of the Mary Winspear Centre this doesn’t overmuch matter, but we deliberation we should beryllium told.
Viro-robo-cop
More signs of the times, arsenic a paper successful PLoS One details a robot than tin enforce societal distancing. Using lidar and a extent camera, Soditbot – arsenic nary 1 has called it, yet – tin remotely observe groups of radical breaching a harmless 2-metre region successful crowded environments and glide in, displaying a stern connection connected a laser show screen.
This is admittedly not an wholly caller thought – Feedback recalls the robodog that patrolled a Singapore parkland broadcasting societal distancing messages via a loudhailer past year, and similar, less cute robot enforcers successful the land metropolis state. Nevertheless, we hold with a workfellow who suggests that if this is truly to work, the robot needs to beryllium equipped with a h2o pistol oregon Nerf gun. We conscionable anticipation Soditbot is regularly wiped, truthful arsenic not to go a vector itself.
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