Weird science

October 1, 2024

Weird science: A scientist claims our universe might be an advanced computer simulation, and the proof is in the Bible. The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He says “the Word” refers to the underlying computer code controlling the simulation. I know what you’re thinking: “Whoa, this is too much for my brain. I’m going to see if Prince Harry is divorcing Meghan Markle yet.”

Tags: code, computer, science, universe

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Brace yourself: Superintelligent AI is on its way

Let me tell you a little about Sam Altman, one of the leading figures pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence. He’s 39, from Chicago and worth about $1 billion, give or take. He dropped out of Stanford after two years to start Loopt, a location-based social media app that sold for $43.4 million in 2005.

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I wasted 36 hours trying to do it myself

So many of the calls, emails, messages and DMs I get are about privacy and security. I can’t remember the last time I had a full day where no one asked me some version of “How do I get all this info about me off the internet?”

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$10 for remote start

That’s what Mazda is charging for its connected features. They used to be free, and there was even an open-source (free) workaround. Yep, Mazda had that taken down. They’re not the only car company charging for previously free stuff.

78.7% drop in value

For X since Elon Musk took over. Yeesh. That’s based on a Fidelity disclosure valuing its stake in X at around $4.19 million. The initial investment? $19.66 million.

3 cups of coffee

The amount linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. That’s 200 to 300 mg of caffeine per day. One small steep for man, one giant steep for mankind.

1 million Starlink users

Added over the last four months. They hit 3 million total in May. Some major price drops certainly helped; Starlink lowered its dish price from $499 to $299 in August. I use it on my boat and as a backup at home.

$50,000 spent on AI

By the Secret Service. They won’t say why (national security and all that), but we do know the money went to Microsoft Azure and OpenAI cloud services (paywall link).

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Maybe you’ll find something good to watch on this list.

1,000-year-old seed

Grew into a 10-foot tree with biblical significance. It took 14 years, but scientists grew a once-extinct plant. It appears to be the one that produced a medical extract called “tsori” that was referred to in the book of Genesis and Old Testament accounts of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

740 million children

Will be nearsighted by 2050. Blame less time spent outside and more screen time for youngsters. An estimated four in 10 kids will need prescription glasses. Girls are more likely than boys to develop myopia (the fancy name for objects far away looking blurry).