M.I.T. researchers have devised a virtual-reality technique that lets them read old letters that were mailed not in envelopes but in the writing paper itself after being folded into elaborate enclosures. From a report: In 1587, hours before her beheading, Mary, Queen of Scots, sent a letter to her brother-in-law Henry III, King of France. But she didn’t just sign it…
Tag: Art
How a 10-Second Video Clip Sold For $6.6 Million
In October 2020, Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile spent almost $67,000 on a 10-second video artwork that he could have watched for free online. Last week, he sold it for $6.6 million. Reuters reports: The video by digital artist Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, was authenticated by blockchain, which serves as a digital signature to certify who owns it…
Scientists Have Invented Light-Up OLED Tattoos
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Tattoos are usually considered a form of personal expression, but a team of researchers in Europe have created what they’re calling the world’s first light-emitting tattoo based on OLED screen technology that, besides presumably looking kind of cool, could also serve as a visible warning about potential health concerns. In a recently published…
Why an Animated Flying Cat With a Pop-Tart Body Sold for Almost $600,000
In the 10 years since Chris Torres created Nyan Cat, an animated flying cat with a Pop-Tart body leaving a rainbow trail, the meme has been viewed and shared across the web hundreds of millions of times. On Thursday, he put a one-of-a-kind version of it up for sale on Foundation, a website for buying and selling digital goods. In the…
Ancient Egypt’s Mona Lisa? An elaborately drawn extinct goose, of course
Nearly five millennia ago, an artist inked an incredibly detailed painting of geese in the tomb of an Egyptian vizier and his wife. Source: https://www.livescience.com/ancient-egypt-art-extinct-goose.html
Australia’s oldest rock painting is an anatomically accurate kangaroo
Using an unusual dating method, scientists have identified the oldest known example of rock art in Australia. Source: https://www.livescience.com/kangaroo-art-australia-oldest.html
Martin Scorsese Argues Streaming Algorithms Devalue Cinema into ‘Content’
In a new essay for Harper’s magazine, Martin Scorsese argues the art of cinema is being systematically devalued and demeaned by streaming services and their algorithms, “and reduced to its lowest common denominator, ‘content.'” “Content” became a business term for all moving images: a David Lean movie, a cat video, a Super Bowl commercial, a superhero sequel, a series episode. It…
Could Earth’s Reversing Magnetic Poles Accelerate Climate Change?
A team of researchers from Sydney’s University of New South Wales and the South Australian Museum have investigated how the reversal of Earth’s magnetic pole about 42,000 years could have changed earth’s atmosphere. CNN reports: “Using the ancient trees we could measure, and date, the spike in atmospheric radiocarbon levels caused by the collapse of Earth’s magnetic field,” Chris Turney, a…
Upheaval and extinctions linked to magnetic reversal 42,000 years ago
42,000 years ago, a breakdown in Earth’s magnetic field led to environmental catastrophes and mass extinctions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/magnetic-field-reversal-42000-years-ago-neanderthal-extinction…
Biden To Order Review of US Reliance on Overseas Supply Chains For Semiconductors, Rare Earths
President Joe Biden will direct his administration to conduct a review of key U.S. supply chains including semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, medical supplies and rare earth metals. From a report: The assessment, which will be led by members of both Biden’s economic and national security teams, will analyze the “resiliency and capacity of the American manufacturing supply chains and defense industrial base…