If you're looking for a clear explanation of how ChatGPT works and its limitations, check out this short online course called "The Bullshit Machines," created by two professors at the… Read the rest of the article: ChatGPT isn't hallucinating — it's bullshitting

When you log into your bank's website, you might be presented with an image showing distorted numbers and letters and asked to enter them into a field to prove you're… Read the rest of the article: reCAPTCHA: 819 million hours of wasted human time and billions of dollars in Google profits

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams was a notorious procrastinator. When it became clear that he wasn't making progress on a text adventure game adaptation, Infocom sent… Read the rest of the article: What it was like working with procrastinator Douglas Adams on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" game

For years, doctors have warned patients with high cholesterol to avoid eating eggs because it would put them at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). But new research reveals… Read the rest of the article: Eggs lower heart disease death risk by 27%, new research shows

In 2021, I wrote a short item titled "Canada investigating a cluster of 42 cases of a mad cow-like brain disease." CBC reported at the time that the first case… Read the rest of the article: Mystery brain disease affecting hundreds in Canada: memory loss, seizures, and behavioral changes

Malibu mansions face the same statistical certainty of burning as inner-city tenements, yet receive vastly different levels of protection and support. As the late Mike Davis argued in his 2018… Read the rest of the article: 2018 essay: "The Case for Letting Malibu Burn"

This handcrafted digital fluid simulation pendant creates pure magic — as you move it, light flows like liquid inside the golden case. The creator, Mitxela, assembled a grid of tiny… Read the rest of the article: Artist creates digital fluid simulation jewelry that flows like water

Daniel Wirtz thought he was watching a child prodigy at work. The 9-year-old girl on a German game show was solving complex spot-the-difference puzzles in seconds. "To my eye, both… Read the rest of the article: The trick that makes spot-the-difference puzzles ridiculously easy

[UPDATE Jan 10, 2025 12:14P M. Kaim posted a followup to LinkedIn: "The university has determined that I have satisfactorily complied with their request to take down the site, and… Read the rest of the article: Student says University of Washington has threatened to expel him for a course-trading app he built for class project [UPDATED]

Cory Doctorow, my friend and longtime Boing Boing colleague, has a new Kickstarter campaign that has already raised over $46,000 for his upcoming novel Picks & Shovels. Set in 1982, this… Read the rest of the article: Punk programmers and queer hackers expose Reagan-era tech corruption in Cory Doctorow's new novel, on Kickstarter now

Are humans the result of a pig and a chimpanzee mating? Maybe, says Eugene M. McCarthy, who holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Georgia, and specializes in… Read the rest of the article: Geneticist claims humans evolved from pig-chimp mating

The visionary artist behind Blade Runner and Tron had a surprising holiday hobby: crafting intricate gingerbread castles. In a recently unearthed home video from 1990, Syd Mead (1933-2019) reveals his… Read the rest of the article: From Blade Runner to baking: Syd Mead's amazing gingerbread creations

Scotty Allen, a former Google engineer, successfully machined an entire iPhone housing from a solid block of aluminum — a feat that took 11 month accomplish. "This is the start… Read the rest of the article: Man spends year creating aluminum iPhone housing from solid metal block

"There is one woman who mostly edits about hamsters, and always on her phone. She has never interacted with anyone else. Who is she? She's not part of any community… Read the rest of the article: Wikipedia's 7-year yogurt spelling war was longer than three Shakespeare plays

For the last several years, Tom Whitwell, has written an annual list of 52 things he's learned that year. He just posted his new one. Here are five samples: There… Read the rest of the article: Tom Whitwell's annual collection of 52 fascinating facts returns, featuring expensive calculators and trademarked scents

There's a scene in Quentin Tarantino's 2015 Western, The Hateful Eight, where Kurt Russell grabs Jennifer Jason Leigh's guitar and smashes it against a wooden column. Turns out that wasn't… Read the rest of the article: Famous movie prop "accident": 1870s Martin Guitar destroyed during filming of "The Hateful Eight"

"I'm acutely aware that I could go any day now but — I don't know why — it doesn't concern me. I'm not afraid of it. I have that feeling… Read the rest of the article: 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke dances barefoot in new Coldplay video

Bluesky is being overrun by AI-powered disagreement bots, as YouTuber Hank Green says in this video. After posting his thoughts about Twitter and Bluesky differences to Bluesky, he received a… Read the rest of the article: Bluesky's bot invasion: AI accounts argue with everything you post

Want to be that person who gives cool and unexpected books this season? Or maybe you're looking to treat yourself? Here are six titles that range from political satire to… Read the rest of the article: An anti-boring book guide: six great gift picks

   LIKE BOING BOING BUT NOT THE ADS?   CLICK HERE TO GO AD-FREE! A mystery illness has killed dozens in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just over two weeks. Health experts… Read the rest of the article: Unknown disease kills up to 143 in Congo