The Singularity is Coming

First Click: Playstation 4 Pro, Google Daydream View, Surface Book, and more in the week ahead http://ift.tt/2fxfPuh It’s November which means we’re firmly into reviews season now that all the major product announcements have been made ahead of the holiday season. VIDEO Thursday will see the release of Google’s Daydream View VR headset . The $79 Daydream View announced in October will only support the Google Pixel and Pixel XL at launch, but it’ll work with any future phones built upon Google’s Daydream VR platform. The View also ships with a custom wireless controller that hopes to become "the mouse of VR," as Google's Andrew Narkter put it. Is the Daydream VR better than the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR headset? Watch for our review to find out. VIDEO Thursday also marks the retail availability of the Playstation 4 Pro . The $399 PS4 Pro announced in September features 4K and HDR output thanks to some higher-specced guts . Both Netflix and YouTube committed to dev

How the Electoral College Works, and Why We Have One http://ift.tt/2fgweDR The Electoral College is an integral, if not unusual, part of American democracy. Few other nations have one, and even when they do the system isn’t quite the same. How does the electoral college work and why do we even have one? Our latest video explains. Simply put, the Electoral College was a mechanism designed by the founding fathers to create a layer of bureaucracy between the people and the Presidency. Each state gets a number of “electors” in the College equal to their number of senators and representatives combined, and along with the three that the District of Columbia gets, that totals the 538 we know so well. In order to secure the Presidency, a candidate must earn 270 electoral votes. When you vote for President, you’re not really voting directly for the candidate. You’re really voting for an Elector who represents your district and state, to stand up and vote for the candidate you support.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 with rumored AI button might be delayed until April http://ift.tt/2eeWcuP Samsung could be betting heavily on its as-yet-unseen AI assistant to sell the next generation of Galaxy smartphones. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal , the company is considering adding a dedicated button for the service to next year’s Galaxy S8. "The latest internal prototypes of the premium Galaxy S8 handset include a button on the side edge of the smartphone that would be used to launch a beefed-up virtual assistant," says the WSJ , adding that its sources cautioned that "prototypes aren’t final and could change." Samsung says its assistant will be "significantly differentiated" from rivals This follows a report from Reuters that the company’s AI assistant will be incorporated not only into Galaxy smartphones, but also the company's home appliances and wearables. Earlier this year, Samsung acquired Viv Labs , a startup founded

10 Foods To Eat And Avoid On An Empty Stomach For Better Digestive Health http://ift.tt/2fT18WC Eating is vital to our health and well being. We eat to live. When you consume your foods, in some cases, is just as important as what you are consuming. Eating all the right foods but at the wrong time is counterintuitive and an exercise in futility. The goal in healthy eating is not just eating foods that are good for you and avoiding the bad. It is learning your body and figuring out how to optimize the food that you do eat. This means learning how to improve your digestion and to maximize absorption of the key nutrients your body needs. Eat these 4 foods on an empty stomach: 1. Fresh Fruit Fruit is an incredibly healthy food group: packed with vitamins, nutrients, fiber and water. Incorporating fruit into your diet, the proper way, allows your digestive system to reap more powerful benefits through vitamin intake and improved digestion. Starting your day with fruits helps you d

6 Fruits To Boost Gut Bacteria For A Healthier Digestive System http://ift.tt/2fT4OaW Research is clear: a healthy gut leads to better health overall–mind, body and soul. Gut health is directly related to the composition of your gut bacteria and affects your risk level for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other health issues. In fact, the brain and gut are so tightly wired together that scientists refer to it as the body’s “second brain.” It’s that important! Gut bacteria, or microflora , need a stable environment in which to grow and flourish. The ideal pH in the colon is between 6.7 and 6.9. The colon needs to be slightly acidic to inhibit the growth of undesirable bacteria. Cultivating and keeping the “good gut bacteria” flourishing is paramount to living a full and vibrant life. The foods we eat drastically affect this delicate bacterial balance. Therefore, ensuring that our diets regularly contain foods that generate good gut bacteria is important. The easiest way to ensure a

Why Two People With Similar Abilities Can Have A Huge Difference In Their Achievements? http://ift.tt/2fT4xVm Many of us have life goals whether it’s in our career or personal life; gaining new skills for a job, learning a new language, training for a marathon or simply personal goals for self-growth. Isn’t it strange when two people with similar abilities and ambition can have a huge difference in their achievements? One may take much longer than the other, or one may fail altogether while the other excels. The success we gain from work or personal goals is dependent, not on how hard we work towards them, but on whether or not we have a good strategy for the achievement for these goals. Developing a good strategy when setting goals is the most important and surefire way to achieve success. Here are three ways you can make sure your goals are on track to being fulfilled. 1. Embrace Each Experience As Growth And Forward Movement Achieving our goals is a journey and one that nee

Everyone Is Afraid Of Showing Their Vulnerable Side, But That's What Makes Us Stronger http://ift.tt/2evae6Y For most of us, being strong means having strong set of beliefs and principles that cannot be questioned and always keeping calm and unshaken, whatever the situation is. Yet, it seems that we had it wrong all along. Not recognizing one’s vulnerable side actually lessens their chance of personal growth, because they don’t allow a whole another side of their personality to be expressed, recognized and eventually improved. In the words of Lao Tzu: “A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life; dry and brittle in death. Stiffness is thus a companion of death; flexibility a companion of life. An army that cannot yield will be defeated. A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The hard and stiff will be broken; the soft and supple will prevail.” If we want to live a fulfil

5 Reasons Why The Smarter You Are, The Harder It Is For You To Fall In Love http://ift.tt/2evhTSE If you belong to a group of more intelligent people, your love life may be quite complicated. Finding love and keeping it may come surprisingly difficult to you. You may feel misunderstood in relationships and not quite sure what you do wrong. The answer, as surprising as it seems, may lie in your IQ. Intelligent people seem like they have it all – they exceed at school, their careers are flourishing, their social lives are full of excitement, and their personalities can win over almost anyone. Yet, more often than not, they have difficulty in finding the right partner, falling in love and forming long-lasting relationships. If you are a highly intelligent person, chances are that your intellect is actually responsible for making your love life slightly more complicated than you would prefer it. Or, if your love interest is highly intelligent, you can now understand his or her unusu

Why Rejection Hurts So Bad - And How To Overcome The Pain http://ift.tt/2ev98Ib We’ve all been there. A big interview you thought you did so well, only to be told they’ve found a better fit. A heart-wrenching breakup. The boss denying our big project request. Why does hearing “no” hurt so much? And, for that matter, is there anything we can do about it? The pain of rejection is self-inflicted You know what I mean: Beating yourself up after getting dumped or being rejected. It’s bad enough that our brains are wired to feel pain from rejection.  Scientists placed people in functional MRI machines and asked them to recall a recent rejection , and they discovered something remarkable. It activated the same areas of our brain as physical pain! That’s right – rejection causes you literal pain. Sure, it’s emotional pain, but that’s often the worst kind. Why does our brain do this to us? Scientists believe it dates back to our time as hunter-gatherers. Back then, if you were rejected b

12 Funny Illustrations That Perfectly Sum Up What Adulthood Is Like http://ift.tt/2evghbn Writer Chaz Hutton created these incredibly accurate depictions of the grim realities of adult life. Using nothing more than stick figures and simple graphs, he makes the struggles of adulthood all too real. #1: Not feeling like folding your clothes before you go to bed We’ve all been there. Sometimes your need for sleep is greater than you care for putting clothes away. #2: When getting up early to beat the rush sounds better than partying Hey, who wants to stand in line, anyway? #3: Distractions at work We’ve all had days… or weeks… like these. #4: When pizza beats dieting Hey, at least you had a good time, right? #5: Cheap flights dictate travel Sometimes not breaking the bank sounds like a better idea than culture. #6: The reality of directions It doesn’t matter how many times you repeat, “go left, right, right, left” – you still manage to get lost. #7: Being stuck in

9 Essential Things You Need to Remember To Be Mentally Strong and Successful http://ift.tt/2evgzzg Mari Andrew is a talented illustrator from D.C., and her illustrations about the difficulties of life are seriously relatable. If you’ve ever felt unsure of yourself or worried about your life, you will be able to relate to these pictures. 1. Success Takes Hard Work And Determination 2. We Often Have To Make Sacrifices To Succeed 3. The Path Will Seem Difficult As You Navigate It, But It Will Be Worth The Effort 4. Something That You Dislike About Yourself Could Be One Of Your Best Traits 5. You May Worry About How To Define Yourself, But You Don’t Actually Need To Define Yourself 6. Sometimes The Problem Isn’t As Bad As We Think 7. We Often Worry About Things That Aren’t Important 8. When Our Moods Improve, We Can Feel Like A Totally Different Person 9. It Can Be Difficult To Juggle Everything In A Busy Life, But That Doesn’t Mean That You Can’t Find Happiness The post

Many People Get Stuck At The Third Stage Of Love - What To Do To Be The Exceptional Ones? http://ift.tt/2fT8uJO All romantic relationships are unique in their own way, but they also have many things in common. Most people who start a relationship want to find genuine, lasting love, whether they are in their 20s or their 60s. However, lots of relationships break down and both partners are left wondering why. They might think that they found the wrong person or that they are not ready for a long-term relationship – but the problem might be that they can’t get past Stage Three. Jed Diamond is an author who created the five stages of love. He believes that most people think that stage three is the end of their relationship, when in reality it is the beginning of long-term love. If you want to know how to make a relationship last, you need to understand the five stages of love. How To Make A Relationship Last Using The Five Stages Of Love 1. Falling in Love The first stage of lov

Can't Stop Hitting The Snooze Button? Ask Yourself These 3 Questions In The Morning To Lead A Meaningful Life http://ift.tt/2evgeMJ We often associate hitting our snooze button with not getting enough sleep throughout the night. However, if you take a deeper look into it, you may begin to realize that it’s probably because you’re just not looking forward to a new day and all that it has to offer you. That’s why you opt to hit that snooze button a couple more times in the morning. We recommend asking yourself these three questions to get yourself in the right mindset each day. 1. Who can I help today? By default, we can often be fairly selfish human beings. We often look at situations when it comes to helping people and think, “What’s in it for me?” or, “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” Truthfully, that is an extremely unhealthy way to look at the world, and it breeds selfish and unhappy people. When you are constantly seeking a reward for a simple act of kindness, you

How To Make Engaging Eye Contact For A Great First Impression http://ift.tt/2ev6dPP We look at people every single day, but we don’t always realize how important eye contact really is. We don’t realize all that can be gathered about a person by just engaging in eye contact. Unfortunately for shy people, they are at a disadvantage because they usually have difficulty holding eye contact. For example, when you are in the middle of a job interview or you are on a date, you want to keep your focus on the person you are trying to impress. I’m sure that you’ve heard before that first impressions are everything. Although I do not agree with that statement entirely, I do think it definitely holds some truth. Imagine being on a date with someone, you’re trying to have a conversation with them, and they are looking at everything going on around them instead of paying attention to you. You’d feel pretty ignored, right? You’d feel as if the person you’re talking to is totally disinterested i

George Washington University report outlines opportunities, challenges for kidney health workforce http://ift.tt/2eNNDU5 Washington, DC (November 7, 2016) -- The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) released a new analysis of the kidney health workforce that outlines a mixed picture for the specialty. Authored by researchers from the George Washington University (GWU) Health Workforce Institute, The US Adult Nephrology Workforce 2016: Developments and Trends is available online at http://www. asn-online. org/ workforce . "The research gives us a snapshot of our specialty, highlighting complex problems that nephrologists are uniquely qualified to address," said ASN President Raymond C. Harris, MD, FASN. "This and other data collection and analysis efforts underway at ASN are critical to informing the society's efforts to overcome these challenges and support nephrologists at every stage of their career in providing the optimum level of care for patients with k

China's new cybersecurity law draws criticism from tech companies and rights groups http://ift.tt/2ev2Loe China this week passed a cybersecurity law aimed at combatting hacking and terrorism, though as  Reuters reports , critics say it would strengthen the country's censorship regime and make it more difficult for foreign tech companies to do business there. The law was passed on Monday and is set to go into effect in June 2017. The legislation requires agencies and companies to improve their network defense systems and calls for security reviews in so-called "critical" sectors. It also tightens China's already expansive censorship program by holding companies accountable for any unapproved information that they allow to spread online, according to  The Wall Street Journal , which notes that many of the law's other provisions formalize practices that were already in place. Government officials say the law is necessary to thwart growing online threats.

4 ways to build a human company in the age of machines http://ift.tt/2f8OzFh In the face of artificial intelligence and machine learning, we need a new radical humanism, says Tim Leberecht. For the self-described “business romantic,” this means designing organizations and workplaces that celebrate authenticity instead of efficiency and questions instead of answers. Leberecht proposes four (admittedly subjective) principles for building beautiful organizations. Singularity via Ethical Technology http://ift.tt/hDB3Zd November 6, 2016 at 06:38PM

#DARS16 live coverage and video trailer: From robot swarms to origami modules http://ift.tt/2ffNhGu The 13th International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems ( DARS ) in London this week brings together the very best working in multi-robot systems. The general chair this year is Roderich Gross from Sheffield Robotics. The three-day conference will include 51 presentations from 17 countries, including 4 keynotes by: Nikolaus Correll (University of Colorado Boulder): Material-integrated intelligence for robot autonomy Vijay Kumar (University of Pennsylvania): Coordination, cooperation, and collaboration in multi-robot systems James AR Marshall (University of Sheffield): Go to the bee and be wise: Swarm engineering inspired by house-hunting honeybees Katia Sycara (Carnegie Mellon University): Robust human control of multi-robot swarms You can find the full program here . Papers cover a range of topics including flying and underwater bots, swarms, and

Neuroscience review reframes ‘mind-wandering’ and mental illness http://ift.tt/2eEaFz9 Brain regions within the core default network subsystem (DNCORE) that are more active during task-unrelated thought than during task-related thought (credit: Kalina Christoff et al./Nature Reviews Neuroscience) In a review of neuroscience literature from more than 200 journals, published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience , a University of British Columbia -led team has proposed a radical new framework for understanding “mind wandering” and mental illness. Within this framework, spontaneous thought processes — including mind-wandering, creative thinking, and dreaming — arise when thoughts are relatively free from deliberate and automatic constraints. Mind-wandering is not far from creative thinking. “We propose that mind-wandering isn’t an odd quirk of the mind,” said Kalina Christoff , Ph.D., the review’s lead author and a professor of psychology at UBC. “Rather, it’s something that the mind d

Neuroscience review reframes ‘mind-wandering’ and mental illness http://ift.tt/2eEaFz9 Brain regions within the core default network subsystem (DNCORE) that are more active during task-unrelated thought than during task-related thought (credit: Kalina Christoff et al./Nature Reviews Neuroscience) In a review of neuroscience literature from more than 200 journals, published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience , a University of British Columbia -led team has proposed a radical new framework for understanding “mind wandering” and mental illness. Within this framework, spontaneous thought processes — including mind-wandering, creative thinking, and dreaming — arise when thoughts are relatively free from deliberate and automatic constraints. Mind-wandering is not far from creative thinking. “We propose that mind-wandering isn’t an odd quirk of the mind,” said Kalina Christoff , Ph.D., the review’s lead author and a professor of psychology at UBC. “Rather, it’s something that the mind

Pancreatic cancer set to become third biggest cancer killer in EU next year http://ift.tt/2fqVcB7 (Vienna, 7 November 2016) The number of deaths from pancreatic cancer will overtake breast cancer mortality rates in the EU in 2017, a study has found. The findings, recently presented at UEG Week 2016, mean that pancreatic cancer will become the third leading cause of death from cancer in the EU behind lung and colorectal cancer. Pancreatic cancer mortality rates are increasing in many countries across the EU and it is estimated that 91,500 deaths will occur from the disease next year, compared with 91,000 from breast cancer. The research used time-linear prediction models to estimate mortality rates until 2025, when deaths from pancreatic cancer (111,500) across Europe are projected to have increased by almost 50% since 2010 (76,000)1. All countries included in the study show varying increases in pancreatic cancer mortality rates from 20% to a staggering 131% increase over the 1

Dirty laundry may cause environmental contamination http://ift.tt/2fK0ZWd A new paper published in FEMS Microbiology Letters , resulting from an investigation of a laundry facility that services several Seattle-area hospitals, suggests that soiled clinical linens may be a source of surface Clostridium difficile contamination. C. difficile is a hospital and community acquired pathogen. C. difficile are spore-forming anaerobic bacteria that have been identified in 2-3% of healthy, non-hospitalized adults and in 10-25% of hospitalized adults. Toxin-producing C. difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. It is estimated that 25% of all C. difficile infections occur from exposures in the community that may stem from potential sources including water, soil, livestock, meats, vegetables and pets. There is evidence that C. difficile infections are seasonal and are correlated with 151 respiratory illnesses in the winter, due to antibiotic use. The study det