Environmentalists won a big victory today in the debate over mountaintop mining: The EPA took the rare step of revoking a permit for a massive site in West Virginia, ruling that it would foul the water for residents in that region of Appalachia, reports the Charleston Gazette . Mountaintop mining involves…
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The marketing for controversial at-home genetics kits claim to empower users with the information they need to take steps to improve their health. But a new study suggests that, in the short term at least, the tests have little impact on behavior.
Continue reading …Fox hunting was banned in England, but you can still enjoy a sporting day on your horse, with a pack of dogs hunting a slightly different type of game: man. The Coakham Hunt began its manhunts—“for fun,” its website reassures—long before fox hunting and other types of hunting…
Continue reading …IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!)
January 13, 2011 No Comment
So, in February IBM’s Watson will be in an official Jeopardy tournament-style competition with titans of trivia Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. That competition will be taped starting tomorrow, but hopefully we’ll get to know if a computer really can take down the greatest Jeopardy players of all time in “real time” as the show airs. It will be a historic event on par with Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov, and we’ll absolutely be glued to our seats. Today IBM and Jeopardy offered a quick teaser of that match , with the three contestants knocking out three categories at lightning speed. Not a single question was answered wrongly, and at the end of the match Watson, who answers questions with a cold computer voice, telegraphing his certainty with simple color changes on his “avatar,” was ahead with $4,400, Ken had $3,400, and Brad had $1,200. Alright, a “win” for silicon for now, but without any Double Jeopardy or Final Jeopardy it’s hard to tell how well Watson will do in a real match. What’s clear is that he isn’t dumb, and it seems like the best chance the humans will have will be buzzing in before Watson can run through his roughly three second decision process and activate his buzzer mechanically. An extra plus for the audience is a graphic that shows the three answers Watson has rated as most likely to be correct, and how certain he is of the answer he selects — we don’t know if that will make it into the actual TV version, but we certainly hope so. It’s always nice to know the thought processes of your destroyer. Stand by for video of the match, along with an interview with David Gondek, an engineer on the project. Update: Video of the match is up, check it out after the break! Gallery: IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round Continue reading IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!) IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round (video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Summer rains sent a mass of red mud and torrents of water rushing down mountainsides in towns outside Rio, enveloping homes of rich and poor alike and killing at least 257 people in 24 hours. (Jan. 13)
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The NAMM trade show — also known as the musician’s candy store — is kicking off today out in Anaheim, which means that audio-focused press releases are starting to pour in. Headset and mic manufacturer Shure is beefing up its line with the introduction of three new models — a set of buds plus two cans. On the bud side, the SE 215 slots in predictably beneath the SE315 , offering a budget-friendly single driver in your choice of black or fancy translucent casing; it comes in at a retail price of $99, some $100 less than the SE315. Moving to cans, the SRH550DJ (pictured center) is — as the name implies — targeted at DJs with a “super-aural design” for full isolation and a 90-degree swiveling headband for flexible wearing positions; this one will set you back $99 on the store shelf. On the upscale side, the SRH940 is billed as a reference set with a premium padded headband, and you’ll pay for it: it’s $299 at retail. All three models will be available this spring; follow the break for the press releases. Continue reading Shure adds SE215 buds, cans for DJs and studios alike Shure adds SE215 buds, cans for DJs and studios alike originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Two recent Belgian auctions of racing pigeons have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars, based on heavy bidding by wealthy Chinese buyers. (Jan. 13)
Continue reading …Europe is a little like a classic Greek tragic hero, brought low by a singular act of hubris: the creation of the euro. In a lengthy piece in the New York Times , Paul Krugman argues that the euro was always a dubious idea, but European leaders “engaged in magical thinking”…
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Photo courtesy bvalium via flickr and Creative Commons license. You might think a pay-what-you-want café could only fly in a place like Portland, Oregon, where the streets are thick with bicycles, the homeless rate is one of the nation’s highest, and every third person seemingly just moved here last year. Yet the pay-what-you-like Panera ‘community’ bakery that the company is scheduled to open in Portland this month is not the first, but the third of these experimental bakeries from this chain. While other restaurants … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Supercut of the Day: “Sarah Palin breathing taken from her speech about the attacks in Arizona and on her.” If someone asks you “so, what is this ‘Internet” thing all the kids are into?,” show them this video and they will get it . [ lurker .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 13/01/2011 19:16 Number of articles : 9
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