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Why Science Needs Science Journalism

Welcome to Reading List, a roundup of neat journalism concerning science and technology. This week seemed swallowed up by Microsoft’s unanticipated bid for the future with Windows Holographic, that it would be understandable if a few interesting headlines slipped by. Here are awesome pieces by The New York Times, Fast Company, Wilson Quarterly, and The…

Tech News Darren Orf Jan 25 '15

The Actual Benefits Of Speaking Two (Or More) Languages

We’re often told that people who speak two or more languages have a distinct cognitive advantage over monolingual speakers – but how big is this advantage, really? In a fantastic piece published in this week’s New Yorker, Maria Konnikova considers the evidence that supports what what researchers have come to call “the bilingual advantage”: For…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 25 '15

Skull Tongs Are a Great DIY Zombie Weapon for the End of Days

There are plenty of ways to kill a zombie, but everyone knows destroying the brain is the most important ingredient in the recipe for eliminating the undead. Applying his exhaustive skill set of creating dangerous machines that can decapitate, maim, and seriously injure, slinghshot master Joerg Sprave built what he’s called “Skull Tongs,” which can…

Tech News Darren Orf Jan 25 '15

Birdman Upsets Boyhood, Winning Top Honors At PGA Awards

Last night, Birdman won the Producers Guild of America’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, the biggest prize of the of the evening, scoring an upset over Boyhood, which had been favored to win. The last seven PGA winners have gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. https://gizmodo.com/why-superhero-movie-fans-need-to-see-birdman-1649456985…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 25 '15

One Missouri Lawmaker Wants To Make Apple Pay Way Less Convenient

Apple Pay survives on convenience. “Don’t worry about getting out your wallet or fishing in your purse. Just point your iPhone 6 at this register thing and be on your way!” Anything that disrupt that simple flow would pretty much doom the technology, such as asking customers for physical IDs every time you buy something…

Tech News Darren Orf Jan 25 '15

Cyanogen Wants to Wrestle Android Away From Google

Cyanogen, the company behind the popular open source operating system and the OS of choice for last year’s OnePlus One, wants to be even more independent from the Google-based software that lies at its foundation. According to Cyanogen’s CEO, Kirt McMaster “We’re attempting to take Android away from Google.” Bold move, Kirt. Bold move. McMaster…

Tech News Darren Orf Jan 25 '15

NASA’s Opportunity Has Now Explored the Martian Surface for 11 Years

Eleven years ago today—in fact, at this very minute (12:05 am ET)—NASA’s Opportunity rover touched down on Mars for what was supposed to be a 90-day mission. Since then, Opportunity has proven to be an engineering marvel by traveling almost 26 miles on the Martian surface, more than any other off-Earth surface vehicle. Yes, a…

Tech News Darren Orf Jan 25 '15

The Biggest Surprise In Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Is The 12 Monkeys Themselves

How do you turn an existentially comfortless movie about a futile journey from a post-apocalyptic future into the present day into an ongoing TV series? One way is to make the time travel less futile. But another is to create a really scary villain — and with its second episode, 12 Monkeys stars doing just…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jan 24 '15

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Is What Spies Really Do

With a new Cold War already ramping up, you can bet all your remaining pennies that every country is spying on the other with even more enthusiasm than normal. And for a sense of what that actually entails, you should go watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The film is set during the height of the…

Tech News Chris Mills Jan 24 '15

It’s Looking Like The Jetsons Movie May Actually Happen

It’s been in development purgatory for ages, but it looks like Warner Bros has finally bit the bullet on turning The Jetsons into an animated feature film. Deadline broke the news last night, reporting that Matt Lieberman – whose writing credits include Dr. Doolittle: Tail to the Chief, an animated Scooby-Doo movie that Warner Bros…

Movies Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '15

Hozier: Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene

Hozier has been on my musical radar ever since Take Me To Church came out — by which I mean that one song has been saved on my phone since then. But it was only this week that I started discovering how fantastic his lesser-known stuff is. Angel of Small Death & The Codeine Scene…

Tech News Chris Mills Jan 24 '15

The Onion Lampoons Vaccination Exemption

“Regardless of what anyone else thinks, I fully stand behind my choices as a mom, including my choice not to vaccinate my son, because it is my fundamental right as a parent to decide which eradicated diseases come roaring back.” This would be even funnier, if the whole anti-vaxxer mess weren’t so genuinely awful. http://www.theonion.com/articles/i-dont-vaccinate-my-child-because-its-my-right-to,37839/…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '15

Why You Should Care That The FCC Is Trying To Redefine Broadband

In the wake of the ongoing net neutrality argument, another equally important squabble between regulators and telecoms companies has been overlooked. The FCC is trying to redefine ‘broadband’ as “internet which is actually fast enough to use”, and telecoms companies don’t like that one little bit. According to current FCC policy, ‘broadband’ means 4Mbps down/1Mbps…

Tech News Chris Mills Jan 24 '15

Walmart’s Vudu-Only Chromecast Knockoff Somehow Wasn’t Just a Bad Dream

There’s too much year left to name Vudu Spark the worst gadget of 2015. But it will without question go down as the most cynical. The Vudu Spark, for those blessed with not yet being familiar, is a streaming dongle sold by Walmart that literally only streams movies and TV shows from Vudu, a streaming…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jan 24 '15

Watch 60 of Cinema’s Greatest Duels in One Epic Sword-Fight Supercut

Everyone loves a good sword fight. This movie montage by film lover and video editor Clara Darko combines sixty of her favorite duels in cinema into one ridiculously fun, eminently watchable supercut. https://gizmodo.com/10-of-the-most-awesome-sword-fight-scenes-ever-5895092 https://gizmodo.com/something-weird-happens-when-three-master-fencers-battl-1570551641 I’ve watched this four times today, and it’s given me chills – and a big, goofy grin – every time. The…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '15

Bad Graphic Design Puns For Designer In-Jokes

Spending hours laboring over an InDesign template can feel like thankless work, especially when your team of oh-so-gifted writers don’t understand the concept of a word limit. But at least while you’re shedding bitter tears for butchered layouts, these design puns will give you something else to groan about. The cards are the work of…

Tech News Chris Mills Jan 24 '15

These nearly-invisible sea creatures fill the oceans with stellar beauty

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) put an amazing photo set not long ago showing us the smallest marine creatures living in our planet’s seas and oceans. They look like Hubble photos of nebulas and stars. Phytoplanktons, diatoms, different types and forms of algae — they all look beautiful under the microscope. Without these…

Sploid Attila Nagy Jan 24 '15

Alan Turing’s Hidden Manuscripts Are Up For Auction

Alan Turing was a British mathematician who both broke the infamous Enigma code, enabling Britain to stay alive during WWII, and also the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. He’s the reason why people have laboured for decades to beat the ‘Turing Test’, and also the reason why submarines didn’t break the UK in…

Tech News Chris Mills Jan 24 '15

What Ants Can Teach Us About Avoiding Traffic Jams

A physicist at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology has developed a model that could explain how ants handle traffic congestion better than humans. Above: Ants march across a fallen tree in Tanjung Puting National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia | Photo by Daniel Murdiyarso for Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) | CC…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jan 24 '15

Warner Bros Planning New Animated Jetsons Movie

Deadline first broke the story last night that Warner Bros. has hired Matt Lieberman to pen the script for a feature length animated version of The Jetsons. The big question: Will it be 2D or 3D animation? We’ve been hearing for nearly a decade that a live-action Jetsons movie is in the works. And Jetsons…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 24 '15

Why Science Needs Science Journalism

The Actual Benefits Of Speaking Two (Or More) Languages

Skull Tongs Are a Great DIY Zombie Weapon for the End of Days

Birdman Upsets Boyhood, Winning Top Honors At PGA Awards

One Missouri Lawmaker Wants To Make Apple Pay Way Less Convenient

Cyanogen Wants to Wrestle Android Away From Google

NASA’s Opportunity Has Now Explored the Martian Surface for 11 Years

The Biggest Surprise In Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Is The 12 Monkeys Themselves

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Is What Spies Really Do

It’s Looking Like The Jetsons Movie May Actually Happen

Hozier: Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene

The Onion Lampoons Vaccination Exemption

Why You Should Care That The FCC Is Trying To Redefine Broadband

Walmart’s Vudu-Only Chromecast Knockoff Somehow Wasn’t Just a Bad Dream

Watch 60 of Cinema’s Greatest Duels in One Epic Sword-Fight Supercut

Bad Graphic Design Puns For Designer In-Jokes

These nearly-invisible sea creatures fill the oceans with stellar beauty

Alan Turing’s Hidden Manuscripts Are Up For Auction

What Ants Can Teach Us About Avoiding Traffic Jams

Warner Bros Planning New Animated Jetsons Movie

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