This mirror trick might break your brain

Plus, ahoy! Newest wellness wave? Kratom. Get it here »]( [StackSkills]( [Welcome To The Futurist]( [Welcome To The Futurist]( [Advertise]( | [Talk To Us](mailto:letschat@getthefuturist.com) | [Shop]( | [Unsubscribe]( [The Futurist is your daily tech, cosmic, and science (both weird or otherwise) newsletter with articles and content curated just for you.]( [/mess] [Can Silicon Valley be tamed? Unpacking big tech's obsession with faulty AI | PCMag]( [Can Silicon Valley be tamed? Unpacking big tech's obsession with faulty AI]( “Is Silicon Valley in a state of moral decline thanks to generative AI? NYU psychology and neural science professor emeritus Gary Marcus thinks so, but he's not convinced it's a new phenomenon. The US 2008 financial crisis spurred a Silicon Valley shift toward value extraction and the prioritization of startup valuations over actual profits or sustainable business models, … which has trickled into the generative AI we see today, where AI's risks are deemed worth it because of the hypothetical concept and dream of artificial general intelligence ... But Marcus has more than just an ax to grind with generative AI.” [// PCMag »]( [/health] [Mit45 - Never heard of kratom? We’re about to blow your mind. | [Partner]]( [Never heard of kratom? We’re about to blow your mind.]( In the West, kratom might still be on the fringes, but in Southeast Asia, it's a long-celebrated source of vitality and calm. Its rich, green leaves are packed with over 40 alkaloids that deliver both stimulating and soothing effects. With MIT45, you get to experience the kratom buzz with products sourced from the finest farms and subjected to stringent testing to ensure unmatched purity and consistency. And for a limited time, you can get 3x rewards on all products plus free gummies with every purchase with code FREEGUMMIES. Grab your lab coats, kids — this isn't just another wellness fad. This is high-quality wellness backed by serious science, not just flashy packaging. [Ad] [// Try kratom today »]( [/science] [Visualizing ship movements with AIS data | Beautiful Public Data]( [Visualizing ship movements with AIS data]( “As we run, drive, bike, and fly, humans leave behind telltale tracks of movement on Earth — if you know where to look. Physical tracks, thermal signatures, and chemical traces can reveal where we’ve been. But another type of breadcrumb trail comes from the radio signals emitted by the cars, planes, trains, and boats we use. Just like ADS-B transmitters on airplanes, which provide real-time location, identification, speed, and orientation data, the AIS (Automatic Identification System) performs the same function for ships at sea. … I downloaded all of 2023's transit count maps and loaded them up in QGIS to visualize this year of marine traffic. The resulting maps are abstract, electric, and revealing.” [// Beautiful Public Data »]( [/trippy] [Brain-bending experiment reveals why kids struggle with writing | Boing Boing]( [Brain-bending experiment reveals why kids struggle with writing]( “Here's a fun puzzle from Martin Gardner's book, Amusing Experiments. … Put this page on your table and put a mirror in front of the picture. Now raise your left hand and hold it over the picture in such a way that you cannot see it; you can only see its reflection in the mirror. Take a pencil in your right hand and put it at the place START. Now look only in the mirror and try to draw a line from START to FINISH, but you mustn't go over the borders? It isn't easy because your reflexes don't work so well when you see a reversed image. So now you will understand that it is very difficult for a child when he begins to learn to write or draw pictures.” [// Boing Boing »]( [/ai] [StackSocial -The best new singer-songwriter of 2024 is… | [Partner] ]( [The best new singer-songwriter of 2024 is…]( AI is getting good… almost too good. Like, write-its-own-songs-that-don’t-suck kinda good. Who knows? The song of the summer five years from now could very well be a hit devised by the likes of bots with great programming and exquisite taste. Bots like Supermusic AI, we mean. This impressive AI takes your lyrics and adds instrumentals and vocals, creating a complete song that could hold its own on the Billboard Hot 100. Don’t believe it? Just click below and scroll to listen to some soundbites — and let us know whether you can tell if it’s AI… or not. [Ad] [// Make AI music »]( [/cheer] [5 stories to make you fall in love with autumn | Atlas Obscura]( [5 stories to make you fall in love with autumn]( “Wave goodbye to the sun-soaked beaches and melting popsicles of summer, and say hello to fall leaves and a chill in the air. Grab your blanket and cozy up with a cup of tea to read five stories sure to get you in the mood for fall, from the inside story on growing giant pumpkins to why the heck we can’t settle on one name for this magical season.” [// Atlas Obscura »]( [/bites] [// Is it a succulent or just a sad, dying cactus? This app will help you identify and care for whatever that thing is you’re growing in your apartment »]( [// Kratom is changing the wellness game. Never tried it? Now’s your chance. Feel the buzz with MIT45’s for top-tier purity and effects »]( [// Your personal assistant is here. Finally! Yes, it’s a robot. And yes, it can probably help you more than some humans »]( [/design] [@matitectura on Instagram]( [@matitectura]( Interested in having one of your social posts featured in The Futurist? [// Get in touch »](mailto:letschat@getthefuturist.com) Powered by StackCommerce 73 Market Street | Venice, CA 90291 Copyright © 2023 StackCommerce All rights reserved [Unsubscribe.]( [View this email in your browser.](