The publisher of a high-profile, now-corrected study on black plastics has been removed from a critical index of academic journals amid questions about quality criteria, according to a report by Retraction Watch. On December 16, Clarivate—a scholarly publication analytics company—removed the journal Chemosphere from […]
Author: canadianguy
Handwriting activates broader brain networks than typing, study shows – PsyPost – 2024-12-19
While keyboards dominate modern classrooms, a new study in Frontiers in Psychology suggests handwriting may be irreplaceable when it comes to learning. Researchers found that writing by hand activates far more extensive and interconnected brain networks compared to typing, particularly in regions linked to […]
Autism Is Not a Trend: Four things autism is and one thing it isn’t – Psychology Today – 2024-12-18
The first I learned about autism was as a kid told I had Asperger’s. For a long time, what autism meant to me was not having friends, feeling misunderstood, and generally being a bit weird. When I began reading more and hearing some of […]
‘Don’t make us pay’: Northern Ontario mayors say immigration cuts hurt their cities – Global News – 2024-12-15
As the federal government looks to drastically reduce its immigration targets over the next few years, the mayors of northern Ontario’s largest cities say they need more immigrants to sustain local economies and population. The mayors of Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay and Sudbury […]
Cards Against Humanity is suing SpaceX for trespassing on its ‘pristine’ property – The Verge [2024-09-20]
Cards Against Humanity sued SpaceX for allegedly trespassing on and damaging its property in Texas. The company behind the card game is asking for $15 million in damages, according to its complaint against SpaceX, filed in Texas state court on Thursday, but has also […]
Music industry’s 1990s hard drives, like all HDDs, are dying – Ars Technica [2024-09-12]
One of the things enterprise storage and destruction company Iron Mountain does is handle the archiving of the media industry’s vaults. What it has been seeing lately should be a wake-up call: roughly one-fifth of the hard disk drives dating to the 1990s it […]
Generative AI backlash hits annual writing event, prompting resignations – Ars Technica [2024-09-04]
Over the weekend, the nonprofit National Novel Writing Month organization (NaNoWriMo) published an FAQ outlining its position on AI, calling categorical rejection of AI writing technology “classist” and “ableist.” The statement caused a backlash online, prompted four members of the organization’s board to step […]
Your trip to the emergency department is taking longer every year: report – CTV News [2024-08-30]
Trips to the emergency department are costing Canadians more time every year, according to a new report. Compared to three years ago, trips take an average of 20 to 30 per cent longer across Canada, according to data from the Canadian Institute for Health […]
Online trolls enjoy trolling, but not being trolled – PsyPost [2024-07-26]
A recent study has explored the intriguing relationship between dark humor, online trolling, and certain dark personality traits. The findings reveal that individuals who enjoy dark humor often possess traits such as sadism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Furthermore, these traits are linked to a greater […]
Barbie movie “may have spurred interest in gynecology,” study finds – Ars Technica [2024-07-26]
This post contains spoilers—for the movie and women’s health care. There’s nothing like stirrups and a speculum to welcome one to womanhood, but for some, the recent Barbie movie apparently offered its own kind of eye-opening introduction. The smash-hit film ends with the titular […]
Woman sues Bell, customer service rep who allegedly shared phone number with harassers – CBC News [2024-07-25]
A Cape Breton woman whose video defending a transgender rights advocate made her the target of online vitriol and threats is suing her cellphone provider and a customer service agent she alleges shared her number and home address with harassers. Richelle McCormick said the […]
Why going online is no longer fun – ComputerWorld [2024-07-24]
For many years, using a computer was a carefree pastime. Not anymore. Before roughly 1999, internet privacy wasn’t a concern; most people didn’t worry about cybersecurity; content was almost completely free; freeware, shareware, and open-source software were plentiful; and Big Tech wasn’t running the […]
Is Copilot for Microsoft 365 a lying liar? – ComputerWorld [2024-07-24]
In the earliest months after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the generative AI (genAI) power behind Microsoft’s Copilot, the big news wasn’t just how remarkable the new tool was – it was how easily it went off the rails, lied and even appeared to […]
Firefox’s New ‘Privacy’ Feature Actually Gives Your Data to Advertisers – Lifehacker [2024-07-16]
Firefox finds itself in a tricky position at times, because it wants to be a privacy friendly browser, but most of its funding comes from Google, whose entire business is advertising. With Firefox 128, the browser has introduced ‘privacy-preserving ad measurement,’ which is enabled […]
Conrad Black, who battled Chrétien over British peerage, removed from U.K. House of Lords – CBC News [2024-07-10]
Former media baron Conrad Black, who famously tried to sue then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in his fight to secure a British peerage, has been removed from the House of Lords over his lax attendance. House of Lords Speaker Lord John McFall announced Wednesday that […]
My Windows Computer Just Doesn’t Feel Like Mine Anymore – How-to Geek [2024-06-21]
An operating system is the most personal part of a “personal” computer, and it used to be that as a Windows user I didn’t feel like I was renting my computer from Microsoft, but in recent years that feeling has all but evaporated. To […]
U.S. to ban Kaspersky cybersecurity products over security concerns – Global News [2024-06-21]
The Biden administration will ban cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab from selling products in the United States over concerns the firm is closely tied to Russia and poses a security risk. “Russia has shown it has the capacity and … intent to exploit Russian companies […]
Focusing on greenery during city walks has mental health benefits – PsyPost [2024-06-18]
In a new study published in the journal People and Nature, researchers from Bangor University and Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have demonstrated that simply observing natural elements during urban walks can significantly benefit mental health. The research shows that city dwellers who […]
Rodney Atkins – If You’re Going Through Hell
Rodney Atkins – If You’re Going Through Hell (YouTube Music Video)
Google apologizes for ‘missing the mark’ after Gemini generated racially diverse Nazis – The Verge [2024-02-21]
Google has apologized for what it describes as “inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions” with its Gemini AI tool, saying its attempts at creating a “wide range” of results missed the mark. The statement follows criticism that it depicted specific white figures (like […]
ChatGPT goes temporarily “insane” with unexpected outputs, spooking users – Ars Technica [2024-02-21]
On Tuesday, ChatGPT users began reporting unexpected outputs from OpenAI’s AI assistant, flooding the r/ChatGPT Reddit sub with reports of the AI assistant “having a stroke,” “going insane,” “rambling,” and “losing it.” OpenAI has acknowledged the problem and is working on a fix, but […]
Why an Ontario town with fewer than 6,000 people has OPP’s largest jail – Global News [2024-02-07]
Nestled between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, Sioux Lookout appears to be a typical northern Ontario town. It’s made up of a few roads and a newly minted roundabout. A hunting shop, a coffee spot and an LCBO fill out its downtown core. The quiet […]
Fact checking Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s claims about trans athletes – Global News [2024-02-02]
During Wednesday’s videotaped announcement of policies targeting Alberta’s trans community, Premier Danielle Smith said one of those policies would prohibit trans women from competing in womens’ sports. Smith suggested a trans athlete has “advantages” over their cisgender counterparts. “There are obvious biological realities that […]
Calls for more training after assault charges dropped against Hamilton man Tasered by police during a seizure – CBC News [2024-01-31]
A Hamilton man who was slapped with assault charges after he suffered a seizure and then was Tasered by police in October 2022 is extremely happy the Crown dropped the charges this week. The incident involving Marcus Charles, however, has prompted calls for more […]
Does Religion Get You High? – Psychology Today [2024-01-31]
Karl Marx once said religion is the opiate of the masses. His metaphor may have a whiff of literal truth, even if it was intended as a hostile attack on religion from an atheistic perspective. It may be worth considering the possibility that religion […]
