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These are all the colors emitted by the Sun. Notice anything missing?

The Sun emits an impressive range of visible light. Some colors, however, are more strongly represented than others – while others are missing entirely. The data depicted here was acquired by the Fourier Transform Spectrometer at the National Solar Observatory atop Kitt Peak, near Tucson, AZ. That data was originally translated into an awesomely named…

Why a superintelligent machine may be the last thing we ever invent

If you want to know about the future of artificial intelligence then you must read documentary filmmaker James Barrat’s new book Our Final Invention. We’ve got an incredible excerpt from the book, about the coming intelligence explosion that could redefine the human condition. “The Intelligence Explosion,” an excerpt from Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and…

Legend of Conan scriptwriter hired for masculine grittiness, excellent

The Legend of Conan is still happening! What with Hercules, Expendables 3 and Escape Plan coming down the pipe it feels like we’re reliving the oiled muscled movies of the ’80s, only with old people. And now The Legend of Conan hired a writer. Deadline is reporting that Andrea Berloff, best known for World Trade…

My Cloud Is A New Option For Storing Your Stuff From Anywhere

Chances are you have files stored all over the internet—some in Dropbox, a few in Google Drive, and so forth. Western Digital has new cloud storage system out today called My Cloud that can help you consolidate your photos, videos, and other documents. My Cloud is basically what we’ve come to expect from these type…

Why Letting Superman Kill Kills Superman

Will today’s mailbag be the final word on Man of Steel’s controversial ending? Hopefully! Are the Disney Princesses put in an absurdly violent scenario? You bet! Does a zombie baby question get taken too far? It most certainly does! Welcome to Postal Apocalypse! God Loves, Superman Kills Chris M.: Mr. Postman: I’ve been nerd-raging over…

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Windows 8.1, then some good news: you can now pre-order it, Start button and all, on DVD for the princely sum of $120.

FAA Advisory Panel: Wi-Fi Is Safe During Takeoff and Landing

Last week, an FAA advisory committee recommended that airline passengers should be allowed to use smartphones, tablets and e-readers during takeoffs and landings. Now, it’s added Wi-Fi use to that list. Praise be! The Wall Street Journal reports that the 28-member committee has come to the conclusion that Wi-Fi use is essentially safe on flights.…

Vincent van Gogh’s never-before-seen sketchbooks

Did you know Vincent van Gogh kept a sketchbook? Several of them, in fact. For years, seven of them were kept at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, hidden away in the institution’s archives. Now, they’ve been unveiled for all the world to see in Molly Oldfield’s The Secret Museum. The first sketch in the Van Gogh…

How Will We Communicate in the Future?

From the invention of the telephone approximately 150 years ago to tapping out little messages on devices that also simultaneously edit our photos, store our grocery lists, and help us locate ourselves, the way we communicate has changed. Today, we want to know what you think the next century will bring for communication. Will the…

If Twitter Timelines Were Real Physical Things How Long Would They Be?

Given the amount of inane gibbering that fills your Twitter timeline, it can sometimes take an age to scroll through all that… insight. But what if it was a real, physical, thing? How far would you actually be scrolling? Obviously that’s a little like asking how long a piece of strong is; depending on who…

At last, the beautiful song that Dimetrodon deserves

This latest song from The Doubleclicks is about one of my favorite animals, Dimetrodon, a mammal-like reptile called a synapsid who lived during the Permian period, millions of years before dinosaurs evolved. Somehow, The Doubleclicks have figured out exactly why I love Dimetrodon. I have been whining for years that somebody should write a song…

Check out the hilarious cameo from last night’s Agents of SHIELD

The funniest scene from Agents of SHIELD episode two was also the most surprising, as an unexpected character showed up. Check out the clip right here! Spoilers ahead… Once again, Samuel L. Jackson proves that a Nick Fury cameo makes absolutely everything better, just as he did at the end of Iron Man way back…

Watch the Second World War unfold over Europe in 7 minutes

YouTube user EmperorTigerstar has painstakingly mapped the changing front lines of World War II in Europe. Incredibly, the map accounts for every single day of the war — from the invasion of Poland through to the surrender of Nazi Germany. This timelapse offers a fascinating glimpse into the ebbs and flows of the 6-year long…

Report: LG Has a Curved, Flexible-screened Smartphone in Production

LG has revealed to a Korean website that it’s already put a curved, flexible-screened smartphone into production—which will go on sales in Asia later this month. The South Korean ZDNet site explains that sources within LG have told it that the Z will be a high-end Android handset with a flexible display. Sadly—though, arguably, inevitably—that…

Peter Dinklage explains why his X-Men character isn’t “the villain”

Arrow’s exec producer says the Flash will have a close relationship with a surprising character. Joe Quesada explains Graviton’s appearance in Agents of SHIELD. And check out Julianne Moore’s makeover to play PresidentAlma Coin in the Hunger Games. Spoilers ahead! X-Men: Days of Future Past Peter Dinklage told Entertainment Weekly all about his view of…

Apple has taken on a new Engineering Director: Jean-Francois Mulé, from CableLabs, who’s an expert in IP voice and video, and TV apps. He claims to be “part of something big” at Apple. Make of that what you will!

Does Political Belief Make You Suck at Math?

A recent study seemed to suggest that political ideology can have a profound effect on how good you are at math. But how accurate is that finding? In this video, Cambridge University mathematicians do a great job of breaking down the research and picking it apart. Turns out the findings are accurate—and they could be…

How You Can Brew Beer In Your Own Digestive Tract

Imagine: your wife begins to think you’re a closet alcoholic, so she purchases a breathalyzer to test your blood alcohol content (BAC) throughout the day. Your doctors concur with her assessment, thinking you’re sneaking off into dark corners to imbibe without the judging eyes of the world to condemn you. The only problem, you really…

Hulu has finally added Chromecast support to its Hulu Plus app, which means you can gorge on Modern Family and Parks and Recreation to your heart’s content.

Reuters: A Retina iPad Mini Would Face Severe Stock Shortages

Rumors have been swirling which suggest that Apple is readying a new iPad mini with Retina display. Now, though, Reuters reports that supplies will be severely limited when the new tablet goes on sale. Citing a number of supply chain sources, Reuters claims that Apple will be “unable to widely roll out” the Retina display…