On Sunday, July 27, 1890, Vincent van Gogh did not return in time for dinner to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers sur Oise. He had been staying at the inn since he arrived in the small village two months earlier. It was part of his daily routine to have his evening meal at the inn after spending the mornings and late afternoons painting in the surrounding countryside. But on this day, he failed to show up for the evening meal.
History
Here come the machines – AI takes control of fighter jets
Behind last year’s buzz following the release of the text generator GPT-3 , there was another machine learning headline that gave cause for pause: AI controlled fighter jets had defeated a human piloted fighter jet 5-0 in a Darpa simulation. Looks like today’s fighter pilots may be going the way of the shining medieval knight in armor–obsolete and unsustainable because of catastrophic vulnerabilities on the battle field.
The First Eco-Warrior of Design
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the designs of William Morris – his trellises and willows and honeysuckles – are a little out-of-date and irrelevant. Popular designs like Strawberry Thief adorn cushions and mugs, but do they really fit the modern interior? Surprisingly, not only have these botanical themes made a massive comeback, but Morris himself has been enjoying a new wave of popularity – as an environmental prophet and anarchist.
Watch a Short 1967 Film That Imagines How We’d Live in 1999: Online Learning, Electronic Shopping, Flat Screen TVs & Much More
Nobody uses the word computerized anymore. Its disappearance owes not to the end of computerization itself, but to the process’ near-completeness. Now that we all walk around with computers in our pockets (see also the fate of the word portable), we expect every aspect of life to involve computers in one way or another. But in 1967, the very idea of computers got people dreaming of the far-flung future, not least because most of them had never been near one, let alone brought one into their home.
The Walkman’s Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution
In 1979, when Sony introduced the Walkman—a 14-ounce cassette player, blue and silver with buttons that made a satisfying chunk when pushed—even the engineers inside Sony weren’t impressed. It wasn’t particularly innovative; cassette players already existed, and so did headphones. Plus, the Walkman could only play back—it couldn’t record. Who was going to want a device like that?
Digital Nihilism on Tap: Download Nietzsche’s Major Works as Free eBooks
In times of deep distress I’ve often found the brutal, unsparing candor of Friedrich Nietzsche a strange comfort. While wholly enamored of the aristocratic, Hellenistic past of literary invention, the often bilious German philosopher nonetheless had no illusions about the nature of power, which does as it will and is not held in check by what we take for common values.
Instantly add colour to black and white photos with this free and easy website
Recent World War One doc They Shall Not Grow Old mesmerised many over Christmas with its hours of colourised war footage, but the ability to add colour to black and white imagery is no longer in the domain of top-end production studios.
Created by GovTech Singapore, the website Colourise SG allows anyone to upload any black and white photo for a simple and almost instantaneous colourisation.
The Disappearing Planet: Comparing the Extinction Rates of Animals
The subtly designed A Disappearing Planet by freelance data journalist Anna Flagg reveals the extinction rates of animals, caused by a variety of human-caused effects, including climate change, habitat destruction and species displacement.
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