View time: 1 min 47
Level : Advanced
Month: October 2023
In early 2029, Earth will likely lock into breaching key warming threshold, scientists calculate
Read time : 4 mins
Level : Advanced
By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
In a little more than five years – sometime in early 2029 – the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate, a new study says.
The study moves three years closer the date when the world will eventually hit a critical climate threshold, which is an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1800s.
Beyond that temperature increase, the risks of catastrophes increase, as the world will likely lose most of its coral reefs, a key ice sheet could kick into irreversible melt, and water shortages, heat waves and death from extreme weather dramatically increase, according to an earlier United Nations scientific report. Continue reading
Pics or It Didn’t Happen: The Rise of the Photo-Obsessed American
Read time : 3 mins
Level : Intermediate
By Michael Dinich | Wealth of Geeks undefined
The average American whips out their phone to take a photo six times each day.
A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults revealed that camera rolls are flooded with group photos with friends (66%) and family (69%), as well as photos of friends (63%) and family (58%) without them in it.
Selfies (58%), pet pics (52%), and scenery (43%) also topped the list of frequent photos.
Events to Remember
Respondents are likely to take photos at events such as graduations (45%), weddings (44%), on vacation (40%), and at sporting events (37%) — with the average person taking nearly 23 pics per event.
Following the event, respondents will look back on those photos a little more than once per month, or 13 times per year. Continue reading
Pilots to compete in oldest gas balloon race that could reach from New Mexico to Canada
View time : 2 min 40
Level : Intermediate
Natural wine uncorks back-to-basics movement
View time: 2 min 56
Level : Advanced
Exhibits and collectors editions mark 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Advanced
By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — On the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, rare originals are being displayed and publishers are offering collectors editions of Shakespeare’s plays, including one that sells for $1,500.
Scholars believe that between 200-300 copies still survive from the late 1623 release of “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.” Presided over by two friends and former colleagues of Shakespeare, who had died in 1616, the Folio ensured that lasting texts existed for “Macbeth,” “Twelfth Night” and other cornerstones of Western literature. In Shakespeare’s lifetime, many of his works were unpublished or available only in cheap paperback editions. Continue reading
Martin Scorsese on finding the flow and his dislike of emails
View time : 1 min 57
Level : Intermediate
Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown reels in subscribers as it raises prices for its premium plan
Read time : 4 mins
Level : Intermediate
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix on Wednesday disclosed summertime subscriber gains that surpassed industry analysts’ projections, signaling the video streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing is converting former freeloaders into paying customers.
In an effort to bring in even more revenue, Netflix also announced it’s raising the price for its most expensive streaming service by $2 to $23 per month in the U.S. — a 10% increase — and its lowest-priced, ad-free streaming plan to $12 — another $2 bump. The $15.50 per month price for Netflix’s most popular streaming option in the U.S. will remain unchanged, as will a $7 monthly plan that includes intermittent commercials.
It also raised its prices for subscribers in the U.K. and France. Continue reading
40th anniversary of the first commercial cell phone call
View time: 2 min 57
Level : Advanced
More Than 50% Of Students Use Artificial Intelligence: What Parents and Educators Can Do
Read time : 3 mins
Level : Advanced
By Arnie Nicola | Wealth of Geeks undefined
An RM Technology survey reveals that 66% of teachers believe they received assignments including parts or entirely generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Two-thirds of students actually admitted to using ChatGPT for essays and other homework.
The new school year is well underway, and opportunities and challenges face educators with the increasing prominence of AI in education.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) CEO Richard Culatta says, “With the explosion of generative AI tools, there has been an overwhelming demand for support from educators who recognize the urgency of quickly assessing the opportunities and challenges that AI brings to school.”
Reevaluating Education
With the start of the new school year, school leaders and educators are rethinking how they assign work and homework in an AI-augmented environment. During the summer term, a group of leaders from some of the UK’s most prestigious schools voiced their apprehension regarding the, “very real and present dangers,” posed by AI, adding that, “schools are struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of change in AI and are searching for reliable guidance on the best way forward.” Continue reading