P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #449

Troll Energy

my story 🚀

🪄 Real giant troll statue. Not real dancing. This was maybe my funnest use of AI this week. I finally upgraded my several-versions-behind iPhone, so I now I have the feature that’ll remove all the people from a photo with a magical AI button. I uploaded the photo to the Sora app and asked for a troll hula dance. I think it turned out great! Someone tried to scold me for the energy use associated with AI, but I reject that de-growth philosophy. First, Texas leads the US in renewable energy growth, and I feel like I’m doing my part to create demand for even more renewable energy. Second, I think we’ll all be better off when we use more energy, not less! After all, high-income low-energy countries don’t exist. Yet, I do turn off the lights in my house when I leave a room!

fun facts 🙌

Airlines are running out of flight numbers. “American Airlines, Delta, and United are running out of flight numbers, and nobody knows what to do about it.” ~ learn more

How a turf war between lizards in Florida impacts mosquitoes and maybe human health. Brown anoles are fighting a silent battle in Florida, but “may unwittingly be helping humans by absorbing the mosquito bites, and decreasing the transmission of serious pathogens to humans.” As invasive Peter’s rock agamas push them out, mosquitoes turn to birds, potentially increasing disease spread to humans. ~ learn more

Rap falls off the Billboard Top 40. “Rap has officially dipped out of the top 40 songs on the Billboard charts for the first time in 35 years.” The combination of Billboard’s new rules and the genre’s declining market share has led to this surprising absence. Don’t worry, people still love rap, its just that the new rap music tends to suck (says this aging man). ~ learn more

Ride to the stratosphere. “Welcome to the space elevator, the only elevator that goes to space.” Along the way, you’ll learn about everything from towering cumulonimbus clouds to the death-defying records of high-altitude birds and planes. ~ learn more

oh, chicago 🏆

Poop canal needs a new name. The 125-year-old Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which reversed the flow of the Chicago River, is facing a rebranding. “Now is the time to re-envision, reimagine and redefine what the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal can be for the next 125 years,” says Summit’s mayor. Six new names, including Chicago-Lockport Canal, are under consideration. ~ learn more

Cabrini Green’s infamous past. Built on grounds once called “Little Hell,” Chicago’s Cabrini Green is “the most notorious project complex in Chicago history” due to its violent reputation and notorious location. ~ learn more

tech, startups, internet ⚡

Quantum computers at Los Angeles port. The port is testing a quantum computer algorithm to optimize containers and trucks at one of its docks. It can “assess all the possible solutions to a problem and find the best one almost straight away.” But not really the best one, as this quantum computer actually doesn’t do that. Also, the truckers don’t feel the difference in wait times at the dock where it’s being tested. All that said, it actually might be effective. ~ learn more

Goodbye SEO, hello AEO. The shift from SEO to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is underway. “As humans shift FROM ‘keywording’ for 10-blue links to do all the work themselves TO typing resolution questions to have the LLMs do nearly all the work...” This evolution heralds massive conversion rate increases, with ChatGPT traffic converting at 16% versus Google organic’s 1.8%. ~ learn more

Quantum Echoes algorithm. I guess this quantum thing is about to get real. Google’s “Willow quantum chip demonstrates the first-ever algorithm to achieve verifiable quantum advantage on hardware.” The Quantum Echoes algorithm runs 13,000 times faster than the best supercomputers, marking a significant step towards real-world quantum applications. ~ learn more

better doing 🎯

Ten rules for negotiating a job offer. “Negotiating is a natural and expected part of the process of trying to make a deal. It’s also a signal of competence and seriousness. Companies generally respect candidates who negotiate, and most highly attractive candidates negotiate (if for no other reason, because they often have too many options to choose from).” ~ learn more

Scams at scale. “Aided by AI, the thieves and scammers are now relentlessly working to hack this basic human instinct. They’re stealing more than money.” With digital interactions expanding, the erosion of trust is accelerating quickly. ~ learn more

to your health ⚕

Sunlight and cancer defense. More sun, not less! Dr. Max Gulhane presents evidence on how “sunlight, Vitamin D system and circadian rhythms regulate cancer defense and immune function.” This insightful talk explores the nuances of skin cancer and safely obtaining sunlight. ~ learn more

The impact of red-flag prescribing. The researchers studies mental health prescriptions that were “inconsistent with any guidelines” and found that such “… prescribing increases self-harm, use of emergency rooms, and health care costs.” This study examines how adherence to treatment guidelines affects adolescent mental health outcomes. ~ learn more

under the microscope 🔬

Why synthetic blood is so challenging. “Developers of synthetic blood of either type will need to overcome economic and manufacturing challenges before they can scale for use in patients.” Despite promising research approaches, scaling up synthetic blood production remains a formidable task due to these hurdles. ~ learn more

Infrasound’s hidden dangers. Our world is filled with inaudible sounds that “a lot of research suggests is harmful to our health.” Benn Jordan explores innovative ways to capture and understand these silent threats. ~ learn more

thoughts of food 🍔

Health writer tries 25 healthy protein bars. “Well, I decided to undertake a rigorous, science-driven challenge: to try the most talked-about “healthy” protein bars and identify which are actually worth your time (and money). Basically, I ate 25+ protein bars in the name of research.” ~ learn more

Beef jerkey flower bouquet. “Our arrangements are 100% edible and truly are made for that rugged one of a kind, hammer swinging, IPA drinking, duck hunting, beast of a man-animal you call yours.” The Beef Jerky Flower Bouquet comes in a pint glass, offering a range of flavors like Original, Teriyaki, Hot, and Mixed. ~ learn more

Lab-grown chocolate? The chocolate market faces volatility due to “cacao trees...vulnerable to drought and disease,” prompting innovations like lab-grown chocolate. California Cultured’s CEO explains how they cultivate cacao plant cells for cocoa butter and flavor compounds. ~ learn more

teaching the kids 👩‍🏫

Polls show the public supports gifted education. “A plurality of New York State and New York City voters believe that G&T programs should be expanded, not eliminated.” Despite public backing, there’s still a notable disconnect between support and actual implementation in policy. ~ learn more

big ideas 📚

Electrifying railways significantly reduces pollution. A study found a switch from diesel to electric trains reduced black carbon exposure by 89% on San Francisco’s Caltrain. “The transition from diesel to electric trains occurred over just a few weeks, and yet we saw the same drop in black carbon concentrations in the station as California cities achieved from 30 years of clean air regulations,” said Joshua Apte, study senior author. ~ learn more

Hello Thermo World. I’ve shared about this company before, and I may someday truly grasp what they’re doing. It sure seems cool! “Extropic’s computers feature new types of computational primitive that sample from simple probability distributions. And it turns out if you combine many of these sampling circuits together using some concepts from machine learning, you can actually build a system that does kind of the same fundamental task as something like ChatGPT or Midjourney.” ~ learn more

Argentina’s economic turning point. “Milei now has a clear path to finish what he started.” With October’s legislative elections behind him, Argentine President Javier Milei’s radical reforms could attract tens of billions in foreign direct investment. ~ learn more

thanks for reading!