Unknown Fields (UF) is a design studio, originating in London’s Architectural Association, that “ventures out on annual expeditions to the ends of the earth exploring unreal and forgotten landscapes, alien terrains and obsolete ecologies.” Mark Pilkington, author of Mirage Men and publisher of Strange Attractor, has just led this busload of architects, writers, filmmakers and artists in an exploration of the mythic landscape of the American Southwest, and the stories that it … Read More → "Where airplanes go to die"

Sport is not new to mankind, but the evolution of new sports has been largely dependent on the evolution of new technology. From javelin (spear) throwing, archery and chariot racing in ancient times, through bicycle, motorcycle and automobile racing in recent times, as new forms of human endeavor develop around a new technology, there’s always a competition to be found. Wingsuit flying is little more than a decade old, but … Read More → "A new sport evolves as the World Wingsuit League begins"

@

Called the “snail” by Italians and the “monkey tail” by the Dutch, @ is the sine qua non of electronic communication, thanks to e-mail addresses and Twitter handles. @ has even been inducted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, which cited its modern use as an example of “elegance, economy, intellectual transparency, and a sense of the possible future directions that are embedded in the arts of our time.”

The origin of the symbol … Read More → "The accidental history of the @ symbol"

The human body is an extraordinary machine, and our behavior an incessant source of fascination. In Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond (public library), psychology and neuroscience professor Robert R. Provine undertakes an “analysis and celebration of undervalued, informative, and sometimes disreputable human behavior” by applying the lens of anthropologically-inspired, observational “ … Read More → "Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond, a book by psychology and neuroscience professor Robert R. Provine"

All this newfangled technology is going to make young people stupid.

This is a very old argument, dating back (at least) to 370-ish BC, when Plato wrote the The Phaedrus. Like the better-known Republic, Phaedrus is written as a conversation between the character of Socrates and other people. At one point, Socrates tells a legend of an Egyptian god who invents writing and tries to give the gift of the written word to a wise king. The king is … less than enthused.
via < … Read More → "Why technology might not make children stupid, after all"

The above image shows a beautiful example of two spectacular robots at work: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter‘s HiRISE camera captured the Curiosity rover’s fresh tracks on Mars.
via Wired

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In the end he didn’t have to wear a beak. But Vladimir Putin did don white overalls and big black goggles as he took to the skies over northern Siberia in a motorised hang glider to help endangered cranes begin their migration to wintering grounds in Iran and India.

Unfortunately no one had told the young birds, who only formed up behind Russia’s … Read More → "Vladimir Putin leads endangered cranes on migration route in hang glider"

The International Space Station requires maintenance just like any other piece of technology. After astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide failed to install a new main bus switching unit (MBSU) last week due to stuck bolts, workers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center brainstormed on various ways to solve the problem. In the end, the astronauts had to construct improvised tools to get the job done. These tools included, among … Read More → "NASA used a toothbrush to fix a problem on the International Space Station"

From Shawn Clover’s website:

After reading San Francisco is Burning, Dennis Smith’s superb book of San Francisco’s reaction to the 1906 earthquake, I got to thinking. What if I could precisely line up photos taken in 1906 with my own and combine the two together? I’ve always been frustrated by typical & … Read More → "Composited images using photos from the 1906 SF earthquake and photos of the city today"

Much to the annoyance of home-owners everywhere, cockroaches are amazingly tough, and they’re able to squeeze into remarkably small spaces. These are some of the same qualities that researchers would like to see in tiny reconnaissance robots that could perform tasks such as searching earthquake-damaged buildings for survivors. Such adaptable, robust mini-robots would be quite challenging to create, however. A team of scientists from North Carolina State University are working on an alternative – … Read More → "Scientists develop remote control system for cockroaches"