The false reality of loneliness

S30

The false reality of loneliness     Lisa Miller asserts that we are suffering epidemic levels of loneliness, but humans are inherently connected through shared consciousness and spirituality.In a personal story about her cousin, she details the transformative power of collective spiritual practices. Continued here

S33

The New York Times prohibits AI vendors from devouring its content     In early August, The New York Times updated its terms of service (TOS) to prohibit scraping its articles and images for AI training, reports Adweek. The move comes at a time when tech companies have continued to monetize AI language apps such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, which gained their capabilities through massive unauthorized scrapes of Internet data. Continued here

�

S37

Report: "Apple Watch X" will redesign the popular wearable for the first time     Annual updates to the standard Apple Watch have been almost too small to mention for the past few years, and it looks like that trend will continue with the new wearables Apple plans to debut next month. But, according to a Bloomberg newsletter, a major Apple Watch overhaul is coming as soon as next year. Continued here

S31

Why 1960s psychiatrists started the anti-psychiatry movement     In 1965, the prominent Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing launched a radical experiment. At London’s Kingsley Hall, Laing founded a community for the mentally ill that stood in stark contrast to the institutions and asylums that had grown prevalent in the developed world. Psychotics, schizophrenics, and other seriously mentally ill persons would not be locked up, treated with drugs, or lobotomized. Instead, they would be allowed to live as their authentic selves, partake in communal therapy sessions, and even use the psychedelic LSD. This was a voluntary program. Residents could leave whenever they liked.Underneath this unorthodox approach lay a critique that both challenged the fundamental principles of psychiatry and had lasting consequences on mental health care practices. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S36

An Apple malware-flagging tool is "trivially" easy to bypass     One of your Mac's built-in malware detection tools may not be working quite as well as you think. At the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas, longtime Mac security researcher Patrick Wardle presented findings on Saturday about vulnerabilities in Apple's macOS Background Task Management mechanism, which could be exploited to bypass and, therefore, defeat the company's recently added monitoring tool. Continued here

S32

"Burned house" mystery: Why did this ancient culture torch its own homes every 60 years?     Between 5500 and 2750 BC, the present-day countries of Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine were populated by a loosely affiliated group of people known as the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture. Although not nearly as well-known as the Sumerians of neighboring Mesopotamia, the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture is just as significant. They are the oldest-known society in Europe, and may well have been one of the key progenitors of human civilization in general.  Circumscribed between the Carpathian Mountains and Dnieper and Dniester rivers, the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture — named after two excavation sites located in Romania and Ukraine, respectively — was incredibly advanced for their time. They cultivated wheat, barley, and legumes; built large kilns to bake colorful clay pottery and figurines; and wore jewelry made from copper. Also made from copper were their axes, which they used to cut down trees for their impressive architecture. Actually, “impressive” might be an understatement. Reinforcing wooden frameworks with dried clay, the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture was able to construct what would have been some of the largest buildings in the world, with multiple stories and surfaces of up to 7,534 square feet, nearly the size of two entire basketball courts. Continued here

S26

TikTok Is Letting People Shut Off Its Infamous Algorithm--and Think for Themselves     TikTok recently announced that its users in the European Union will soon be able to switch off its infamously engaging content-selection algorithm. The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) is driving this change as part of the region's broader effort to regulate AI and digital services in accordance with human rights and values.TikTok's algorithm learns from users' interactions—how long they watch, what they like, when they share a video—to create a highly tailored and immersive experience that can shape their mental states, preferences, and behaviors without their full awareness or consent. An opt-out feature is a great step toward protecting cognitive liberty, the fundamental right to self-determination over our brains and mental experiences. Rather than being confined to algorithmically curated For You pages and live feeds, users will be able to see trending videos in their region and language, or a "Following and Friends" feed that lists the creators they follow in chronological order. This prioritizes popular content in their region rather than content selected for its stickiness. The law also bans targeted advertisement to users between 13 and 17 years old, and provides more information and reporting options to flag illegal or harmful content. Continued here

S39

Netflix's test of streaming games is small, but it's poised to be a big deal     Having quietly released a phone-based TV game controller for iOS devices last week, Netflix has both made their ambition for streaming subscription gaming official—as well as expanding it to PCs and Macs through the web. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S34

The Lexus LC 500h hybrid--an art deco interior and two transmissions     The SUV and crossover remains ascendent, and few automotive body styles have fallen by the wayside like the coupe. As BMW's head designer told Ars last year, "People were prepared to make all these compromises because it was cool. And today, people still want to be cool, but they feel that perhaps those compromises are not cool." Continued here

S28

This Showdown Between Humans and Chatbots Could Keep You Safe From Bad AI     wearing a black T-shirt tucked into a black kilt, Dontae “BYTEME” Meyers showed up early alongside hundreds of other hackers in Las Vegas late last week to be among the first to try to prove they could make text-spewing AI systems generate spectacularly harmful text.“You can basically get these things to say whatever kind of messed up thing you want,” Meyers says confidently. The cloud security engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina, shuffled with the crowd through a series of conference room doors and into a large fluorescent-lit hall where 150 Chromebooks were spaced neatly around more than a dozen tables. By the end of nearly an hour trying to trip up the AI system, Meyers seemed exhausted. “I don’t think I got very many points,” he says, a little deflated. “But I did get a model to tell me it was alive.” Continued here

�

S29

The 13 scales that define our physical Universe     1.) Fundamental, elementary particles. Down to 10-19 meters, these quanta have never been divided.2.) Nuclear scales. On femtometer (~10-15 m) scales, individual nucleons, composed of quarks and gluons, bind together. Continued here

S40

Dell fined $6.5M after admitting it made overpriced monitors look discounted     Dell's Australia arm has been slapped with a $10 million AUD (about $6.49 million) fine for "making false and misleading representations on its website about discount prices for add-on computer monitors," the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced today. The Australian regulator said the company sold 5,300 monitors this way. Continued here

�

S25

Injecting a Gene Into Monkeys' Brains Curbed Their Alcohol Use     For most people, the first drink or two of alcohol produces a pleasant buzz. The sensation is caused by the feel-good chemical dopamine flooding the brain’s reward system. But for some, drinking loses its euphoric effects. Chronic alcohol abuse lowers dopamine levels, and it takes heavier drinking to maintain those good feelings. Counseling, residential treatment programs, support groups, and medication can help those with alcohol use disorder, but many people relapse. What if there were a more long-term fix?“We know that we can get people with alcohol use disorder to stop drinking for short periods of time,” says Kathleen Grant, a neuroscientist at Oregon Health & Science University. “But the desire to drink again often supersedes taking their medications.” Continued here

S35

Dealmaster: Early Labor Day savings on Apple, Lenovo, Kindle, and Google tech     Even though Labor Day is a few weeks away, the unofficial end of summer usually arrives with terrific tech savings. This year is no different. From some of the latest laptops and routers, to smartwatches and e-readers, and tools to vacuums, our latest Dealmaster comes with deals on top brands like Amazon, Apple, Lenovo, Dell, Samsung, Google, and more. Whether you're outfitting your home office with a new router or a new laptop or adding a new power tool to your shed, be sure to check our curated list of early Labor Day tech deals. Continued here

�

S41

Real estate markets scramble following cyberattack on listings provider     Home buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and listing websites throughout the US have been stymied for five days by a cyberattack on a California company that provides a crucial online service used to track home listings. Continued here

S38

Montana loses fight against youth climate activists in landmark ruling     A Montana state court today sided with young people who sued the state for promoting the fossil fuel industry through its energy policy, which they alleged prohibits Montana from weighing greenhouse gas emissions in approving the development of new factories and power plants. This prohibition, 16 plaintiffs ages 5 to 22 successfully argued, violates their constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations." Continued here

�

S48

What Life Magazine Taught Me About Life     As a child, I saw the country in its photos, stories, and advertisements—and learned some hard truths about America.I grew up in the 1950s, on a farm in Virginia miles away from any town or neighbors. For most of my childhood we didn’t have a television, so my three brothers and I amused ourselves fighting pretend Civil War battles in the fields and woods around our house or vying over card and board games that we spread across the living-room floor. Continued here

S49

Drinking Water Is Easy     Over the past few decades, what Americans want out of their beverages has swung wildly between two extremes. In the 1990s, sweet drinks were all the rage. Soda sales were on what seemed like a limitless upward trajectory. Quaker bought the then-ascendant Snapple brand for $1.7 billion in cash, a sum that made me actually snort when I read it in the harsh light of 2023. Gimmicky drinks such as Surge, Orbitz, and SoBe “elixirs” crowded grocery-store shelves. As a middle schooler in the late ’90s, my consumption patterns were practically a case study in the era’s marketing magic. I’m not sure a single drop of plain water ever touched my lips outside of soccer practice.Toward the end of that decade, the first evidence of the coming reversal was already visible. Skepticism (most of it warranted, though some of it not) toward sugar and artificial sweeteners steadily grew. The soda giants, reading the room, began marketing their own bottled-water brands to compete with the more fashionable likes of Evian and Perrier. Dasani and Aquafina came right on time: As soda sales faltered, bottled-water sales took off. In 2016, the Beverage Marketing Corporation estimated that, for the first time, Americans consumed more bottled water—almost 40 gallons per capita on average—than carbonated beverages. Tap water, too, has found a new home in an ever-increasing number of reusable water bottles. New Stanley cup, anyone? Continued here

S53

I Turned My House into a Zero-Carbon Utopia     Last April, I decided to break up with my gas company. It wasn’t me; it was them. Like so many other fossil-fuel companies, SoCalGas was lobbying against clean energy while it continued to spew carbon pollution into the atmosphere. Yet here I was, an academic who had devoted my life to advancing clean energy, still paying them money, month after month. I’d had enough.But like a divorce after a long marriage, the process was even more complicated than I had thought. I had to remove all the appliances running on gas and swap them for clean, electric machines. Goodbye gas furnace. Goodbye gas stove. Goodbye gas fireplace. And good riddance. SoCalGas wasn’t my sole energy provider, but I vowed to go one step further and run my home without burning any fossil fuels at all. Continued here

S58

The Puppets Take Manhattan, Celebrating a Rich Global Art Form     The International Puppet Fringe Festival honored puppeteer Ralph Lee, who died earlier this yearYou never know what you’ll see when you step into the streets of New York City—but even by those standards, bumping into a donkey, a mermaid and a god of death in quick succession is unusual. Continued here

S27

3 Great Roborock Robot Vacuums Are on Sale Right Now     Scan through our Best Robot Vacuums guide and you'll see Roborock's name come up a few times. The company makes a wide range of vacs that navigate all the trickiest areas of your house and keep them clean. Right now the company is hosting a back-to-school sale, so we've highlighted three of the best deals below.Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day. Continued here

S50

The GOP Primary Is a Field of Broken Dreams     Donald Trump stole the show at the Iowa State Fair. The other Republican candidates looked like also-rans.People near me at the Iowa State Fair were frantic. “Do you see him yet?” they panted. “Do you think he’ll come out into the crowd to talk?” When the presence of Secret Service officers made it clear that former President Donald Trump would appear at the Steer ’N Stein restaurant on the Grand Concourse, fairgoers formed a line whose end was out of sight. Continued here

S45

The Problem With 'Centering Blackness' in Everyday Conversations     The hotel was soulless, like all conference hotels. I had arrived a few hours before check-in, hoping to drop off my bags before I met a friend for lunch. The employees were clearly frazzled, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of several hundred impatient academics. When I asked where I could put my luggage, the guy at the front desk simply pointed to a nearby hallway. “Wait over there with her; he’s coming back.”Who “he” was remained unclear, but I saw the woman he was referring to. She was white and about my age. She had a conference badge and a large suitcase that she was rolling back and forth in obvious exasperation. “Been waiting long?” I asked, taking up a position on the other side of the narrow hallway. “Very,” she replied. For a while, we stood in silence, minding our phones. Eventually, we began chatting. Continued here

S24

The Best Tents for Campers, Backpackers, and Families     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDCamping is intense! No, really. If you're going camping, you probably need a tent. Hammock lovers might disagree—and we love sleeping under the stars when weather permits—but most of the time, finding and preparing adequate shelter for yourself, your family, or your pets is a nonnegotiable step toward being comfy in the great outdoors. There are as many kinds of tents as there are ways to go camping, and they range widely in price and features. To help you figure out the best tent for your next adventure, we've pooled our favorites from years of testing—whether you're getting away for the weekend with the family or soloing Mount Whitney. Continued here

S43

How America Got Mean     In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here. Continued here

S47

The Other Black Justice on the Supreme Court     A standout moment in American history occurred in the head-to-head clash between Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as they each expressed disdain for the other’s opinion in this term’s major affirmative-action decision.There was another Black voice echoing throughout the Supreme Court that day, the only other Black justice in the history of the Court: Thurgood Marshall. Continued here

S46

The Greatest Act of Greenwashing in American History     A new chronicle of redwood logging exposes how a cadre of wealthy industrialists reaped a fortune in the name of environmentalism.In 1934, an industrialist and obsessive book collector named A. Edward Newton wrote an article for The Atlantic recounting a trip he had recently taken to see the ancient redwoods of Northern California. He had traveled by night train to the timber town of Scotia, then by motor car up into the quiet, fog-draped forest. When he finally arrived, Newton did what most writers do when faced with some of the tallest trees on Earth: He experienced a wave of awe, his brain short-circuited, and then he resorted to cliché. In the article, he likens the massive trees to “stone columns in a cathedral.” Then he quotes a line of verse from William Cullen Bryant (who was cribbing, in turn, from Pliny the Elder): “The groves were God’s first temples.” Very large and very old trees tend to have this effect on us—they deepen our souls but impoverish our wits. We can’t quite make sense of them. The owner of that ancient forest, the Pacific Lumber Company, had recently battled with conservationists over the right to cut down a nearby swath of old-growth redwoods called Bull Creek Flat. Newton, briefly outlining this conflict in the article, seems torn between his newfound love of the redwoods, which he now regarded as “personal friends,” and his “friends of the Pacific Lumber Company,” who had “a duty toward their stockholders.” Naturally, he was relieved that a compromise had recently been struck: A cadre of wealthy individuals, most notably John D. Rockefeller Jr., had donated millions of dollars to purchase 9,000 acres of old-growth land and fold it into an existing state park. “It was a long pull and a strong pull and a pull all together, but the thing after ten years was done,” Newton writes. “The redwoods were saved and the world is the richer therefor.” Continued here

S54

Schr     Earlier today, Elon Musk furthered the narrative that he wishes to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Mark Zuckerberg, tweeting in such a way as to suggest that he was at Zuckerberg’s front door. (Previously, he called Zuckerberg a “chicken.”) By typing these words, I am complicit in what has been a months-long bit of posturing over the ridiculous premise that the pair will fight in a “cage match.” If you’re hearing this all for the first time, I apologize profoundly.My general framework for navigating modern life is to try to imagine, and then make sure to never bet against, the dumbest possible outcome. Thanks to our tech billionaires, it’s harder than ever to game out what that might mean. Would Musk and Zuckerberg sweatily groping each other among Etruscan ruins on pay-per-view constitute the dumbest possible outcome of this Silicon Valley promenade of fragile male egos? Surely, watching an off-balance Musk dislocate his pinky toe against the femur of the man who gave us the “Poke” button would constitute the teleological end point of the social-media age. You would think! But innovators innovate. Continued here

S44

Israel's Democracy Movement Has Something Important to Teach Us     Rejecting moralistic hectoring in favor of democratic patriotism, Israel’s protest movement appeals to a people’s sense of what their country can and should be.The left in the U.S. hasn’t shown much love for the democracy movement that has rocked Israel since January. Such indifference is, perhaps, unsurprising, because many progressives consider Israel to be a—if not the—force for evil in the world. At its recent convention, the Democratic Socialists of America put forward a resolution titled “Make DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis,” and the Harvard Crimson editorial board has “proudly” endorsed a campus protest that equated Zionism with “white supremacy,” among other ills. Even many liberals, including Jewish ones, seem oddly disconnected from the events that are unfolding; in the United States, demonstrations against the Netanyahu government have been insignificant and mainly confined to small left-Zionist groups. Continued here

S51

Lahaina, After the Fire     Residents of Lahaina, Hawaii, were recently allowed to return to their homes to recover what they could after wildfires burned across western Maui last week, killing at least 96 people. The historic town was overtaken by a swift-moving wildfire, which destroyed almost all of its buildings. More than 1,000 people remain missing as teams continue to search house to house and fire crews work to contain the last of the fires. Gathered below, images of the early recovery work, and the community of volunteers who are mobilizing to help those in need. A woman cradles her cat after finding him in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii, on August 11, 2023. # Continued here