Behind every smart TV show, there is a tireless script coordinator, technical adviser, researcher or producer who makes sure the jargon is right, the science is accurate and the pop culture references are on-point. To get a better sense of who keeps the angry nerds at bay, Wired checks in with fact-checkers behind TV’s geekiest shows.

If there’s one thing constantly running through the heads of nerds watching Breaking Bad, it’s that Walter White might be the most badass chemist of all time.

< … Read More → "TV fact-checkers: breaking down Breaking Bad’s dark chemistry"

The Library of America is publishing a two volume treasure of science fiction next September 27, in which great contemporary science fiction writers introduce classics of the field from the 1950s.
via Boing Boing

Continue … Read More → "Classic SF of the 1950s: beautiful books introduced by Gibson, Gaiman, Reed, Willis, Straub and others"

Have you ever wondered what space smells like? Maybe you thought it smelled like a sterile hospital or maybe a fresh meadow. Wrong. According to astronauts who’ve actually been up into space, it stinks up there, and NASA wants to reproduce that odor.

To better acclimate astronauts to space, NASA is gathering intel on what exactly space smells like from the experts — you know, astronauts who have done space walks, ducked … Read More → "Astronauts say space smells really bad"

We see a lot of projects using Eagle for the schematics and PCB layout. There are a few that use Kicad, but we hear very little about other alternatives. Recently, [Limpkin] has been working with Altium and Cadence and wrote about how they compare when it comes to PCB layout. Neither are free packages so it’s good to know what you’re getting into before taking the plunge.
via < … Read More → "Comparing Altium and Cadence PCB layout tools"

Graffiti artist MEGX recently has converted a bridge in the town of Wuppertal, Germany into a LEGO-Bridge. After painting, the bridge looks like a “LEGO brick bridge”. It took four weeks to get a result like this. If you happen to stop by Wuppertal, you can see the LEGO bridge along Schwesterstraße, Cool.
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Science Fiction: it has been a muse of geeks, techies and scientists for decades. Many of the technologies we explore on Singularity Hub were first imagined and explored in SF (star trek tricorders, the WWW, robot cars, etc), driving technologists to make them real, which in turn inspires a new round of SF. In thinking about predicting and solving global grand challenges, the storytelling and worldbuilding of SF has much to contribute. Singularity University’s (SU) 1st ever Science Fiction panel took place on July 17th. As a prelude, here’s an interview with& … Read More → "Singularity Hub interviews Vernor Vinge: How will we get to the technological singularity?"

While some superheroes rely on powers granted to them by hazardous radiation or magical rings, others get by with science. In the Dark Knight Rises, which TIME movie critic Richard Corliss called “maybe the best, most troubling, assured and enthralling of all the superhero movies,” Batman survives by using his wits, fighting chops, money and plenty of cool gadgets. We decided to take a look at the comic book world’s most improbable technology, from out-of-this-world pseudoscience to completely pointless gizmos.
via Read More → "9 examples of improbable superhero technology"

At various points in Earth’s history, dust fell into the ocean and fed algae, which gobbled up carbon dioxide and sank to the bottom of the sea, taking greenhouse gas with them and cooling the world. That’s a key conclusion scientists are drawing from an unusual 2004 experiment in which they grew a massive algae bloom in the Southern Ocean. Data from the experiment may also tell researchers … Read More → "Algal blooms could have caused last ice age"

Most of us—no matter how many time-saving techniques we employ—don’t have enough time to waste. When we do, we try to fill the void with more tasks. The problem with all your productivity? Turning down the volume on life is extremely beneficial. We fight against boredom, distraction, and procrastination all the time, but that doesn’t mean you should get rid of them completely.

It probably sounds a little counterintuitive to suggest to anyone that they start slacking off, but in reality it’s about as important … Read More → "The holy trinity of inactivity: how boredom, distraction, and procrastination are vital to healthy living"

The price of Bitcoins surged this week, rising above $9 for the first time in almost a year. The increase suggests growing public interest in the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency.

Last month, we marked the one-year anniversary of the Bitcoin bubble popping. We noted that after plunging for the last six months of 2011, the price of Bitcoin had begun to stabilize around $5. But almost as soon as we published that article, the currency began appreciating rapidly. Today, one Bitcoin is worth about $9.20—a 40 percent increase in a month.
via Read More → "Bitcoin price soars above $9 for the first time in almost a year"