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New Scientist Book Club Review: “Circular Motion” – A Dystopia Strikingly Familiar

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New Scientist Book Club discusses Alex Foster’s Circular Motion

The New Scientist Book Club has taken a turn by revisiting Alex Foster’s Circular Motion, moving from Adam Roberts’ futuristic Lake of Darkness, set thousands of years ahead in a world eerily similar to ours. However, a significant distinction exists; Foster’s universe is dominated by massive aircraft that can traverse the globe in mere hours. This “westerly circuit” not only facilitates rapid travel for the wealthy but also speeds up the Earth’s rotation as the narrative unfolds, especially evident by the conclusion where just two hours have profound implications.

As I mentioned, this book left a strong impression on me. It ticked all my boxes for science fiction: an impending apocalyptic event of nightmarish scale? Absolutely. A society desperately trying to maintain a facade of normalcy? Definitely. A cast of engaging and relatable characters? Yes, indeed. From a science fiction standpoint, it has become my favorite (new) read thus far. I ponder whether it leaned more towards grand physical phenomena (storms, gravity shifts) or more intimate experiences (the psychological burden of merely two hours in this world).

Yet, I found myself at odds with my two-sentence summary. (And isn’t that the charm of a book club, where different interpretations bloom?) While I relish a good dystopia, Neil Leighton found Foster’s grim portrayal of life on Earth a bit overwhelming. “I appreciated it and am glad I read it, but it was overly dystopian, and I’m not likely to recommend it as a gift,” he shared in our Facebook group. “I will say it is solid literary science fiction, but I struggled to suspend my disbelief, and it felt somewhat forced at times. It struck a decent balance between character work and ideas, yet was too dystopian for my palate.”

I wasn’t the only one grappling with the narrative. “I typically have no issues with suspending disbelief, but Circular Motion challenged that,” Jennifer Marano admitted. “Furthermore, the dystopian elements felt too oppressive for Gothia Fulmanik. The narrative felt uncomfortably close to home.”

I am thankful that Gosia highlighted the theme of climate change in this context. Video Interview The book is intended to draw parallels to our current reality. Instead of halting aircraft operations, the protagonists resort to constructing a colossal, vacant “shell” as a technological solution to the very issues they created within the Western Circuit. Many of you witnessed Foster’s characters facing calamities that resonate with our daily existence. “The theme of hubris (attempting to build shields to rectify issues with pods, circuits, gravity, and time) was a poignant and overt lesson,” Steve Swann remarked. It became a discussion point where we all tried to align the world correctly, only to end up exclaiming, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

For Niall, “as someone concerned about climate change, it serves as a more profound cautionary tale, replete with wise critiques of ineffective technical fixes.”

One aspect that perplexed me was Foster’s dating system, presented as “AH 976,314:17.” Many of you shared the same confusion. Eliza Rose echoed my thoughts, stating, “I didn’t grasp it, nor did I attempt to. I just read along, assuming it wasn’t crucial to the plot.” Phil added, “I would have liked an explanation of the new AH time-measurement system and its introduction.” Thankfully, Paul Jonas provided clarity: “It translates to hundreds of thousands of hours, consistent globally. 970,000 corresponds to 11 years, but good luck wrapping your head around it unless you reset.”

Members of the New Scientist Book Club expressed a desire for more substantial science within this science fiction work. “I felt that the scientific elements were secondary to the characters’ narratives,” articulated one member. “What I longed for was speculation on how an accelerating Earth impacts non-human life forms. This would have significant repercussions for flora and fauna. Gosia, too, expressed a wish for Foster to delve into the experiences of less privileged communities amid the apocalypse (especially considering how climate change disproportionately affects the Global South).

“I craved deeper insights into the systems responsible for the escalating issues surrounding time and travel. For me, it fell short of being authentically science fiction,” Paul remarked.

We aspire that our next reading fulfills those expectations: it is one of the most lauded science fiction novels in history—the award-winning anarchist utopian work by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed, released long before 1974. We haven’t tackled classics in a while. Le Guin has been recommended by several of you as the next author, so I’m enthusiastically on board! Book Club members can also enjoy essays from Theo Downs Le Guin, the son of the late Le Guin, who offers unique insights as both a son and a reader (which is fantastic). Join us on our Facebook group for a discussion about this timeless classic and share your thoughts.

Topics:

science fiction/
New Scientist Book Club

Clomal Review: A Groundbreaking Book Examines the Global Impact of Noise

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Noise-Canceling Headphones as a Solution to Unwanted Sound

pjrtransport/alamy

shout
Chris Berdik (WW Norton)

Noise is a constant presence, easily overlooked until its intensity shifts significantly. We recognize familiar sounds—the heartbeats and hums of daily life—just as readily as we notice the sights seen during commutes and other outings.

When those familiar sounds change, we pay attention. Many express a desire for quietude, yet Chris Berdik, a science journalist, posits that this intricately overlaps with positive noise. He argues in his book, Cry: Noise Took Over the World – And How Can It Be Regained?, that sometimes we need to introduce pleasant sounds to mask the more intrusive ones.

While noise-cancelling headphones sell well, Berdik emphasizes that they are not a universal fix. Introducing white or grey noise can mitigate harmful sounds, yet complete silencing can often have detrimental effects.

It is crucial to cultivate the right kind of noise, as it directly impacts our health. For instance, my neighbor’s piano while I read Berdik’s work doesn’t elevate my stress levels as much as the sounds of children playing soccer against my living room walls. The immediate effects are concerning, but the long-term implications offer even greater cause for reflection.

Nearly 40 million adults in the US experience noise-induced hearing loss, with projections estimating this figure could nearly double by 2060. This is a universal challenge, as the World Health Organization indicates that over 1 billion young individuals globally face an avoidable risk of hearing impairment due to their use of devices such as smartphones and audio players. Remarkably, one in four respondents suggest that by 2050, they will be putting their hearing at risk.

I read this book amidst rising discussions about noise management. Recently, in the UK, proposed legislation suggested allowing loud music on public transport without headphones—a surprisingly popular thought.

Yet, a contrasting perspective emerged during my recent days spent in the hospital listening to the beeping machines connected to my grandfather. As time passed, those sounds became familiar, aligning with Berdik’s observation about how our brains adapt.

This prevailing issue touches on another compelling narrative Berdik shares in shout: a healthcare professional working on redesigning medical machines to ensure critical signals aren’t drowned out by unnecessary noise. Her innovations include auditory icons—concise sound cues conveying essential information, like the sound of breathing.

The ramifications of noise reach beyond human experiences. Berdik points out that from 1950 to 2007, ambient noise levels in the deep sea rose by 3.3 decibels per decade.

This increase has tangible effects on sea life; for instance, the sounds created by ocean vessels interfere with the communication frequencies of whales.

Change is essential, Berdik insists. This means reducing loud music on public transport—a notion that some, like the liberal Democrats, seem to champion. Furthermore, it calls for a reevaluation of our reliance on noise-cancelling headphones and a thoughtful assessment of the noise we wish to retain versus the noise we seek to eliminate.

Chris Stokell Walker is a technology writer based in Newcastle, UK

The Art and Science of Crafting Science Fiction

Explore new dimensions in science fiction writing this weekend, focusing on world-building and artistic expression.

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Exploring the Origins of Language: What is Parenting Fuel Language? Insights from a New Book

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Beekman proposes that the intricacies of parenting have fueled the evolution of language

Shutterstock/Artem Varnitsin

The Origin of Language
Madeleine Beekman (Simon & Schuster)

Language remains one of the few attributes regarded as uniquely human. While animals like chimpanzees and songbirds exhibit advanced communication systems, they do not convey meaning on the same scale as humans. So, what prompted our ancestors to develop language?

Madeleine Beekman, an evolutionary biologist with a focus on insects, particularly honeybees, presents an engaging explanation in her first book aimed at general audiences regarding the evolution of human language.

Her hypothesis suggests that language emerged as a necessity to meet the challenges of parenting. In comparison to other mammals, human infants are quite helpless at birth and need around-the-clock care.

Echoing decades of paleontological research, Beekman links the vulnerable state of infants to two factors: a larger brain and a narrower pelvis. “As our bodies adapted for bipedalism, our hips narrowed,” she notes. As a result, our brains grew larger. “A big-headed baby and a mother with a narrow pelvis don’t work well together,” Beekman elaborates.

To circumvent this “obstetric dilemma,” infants are born at an earlier stage, leading to the situation where their heads are too large for a narrow birth canal. This adaptation allows for safer childbirth but necessitates extended care for the fragile young.

Thus far, the narrative is familiar. Beekman’s significant leap is to propose that the requirements of caring for human offspring spurred the development of complex languages. “Caring for human babies is incredibly challenging, leading evolution to craft entirely new tools to assist with this effort,” she asserts, “the design flaws that initiated the issue ultimately offered a solution.” While our brains made childbirth more complicated, we simultaneously developed our capacity for a richer, more flexible language.

In presenting this idea, Beekman navigates a bustling marketplace of theories on language evolution. Various hypotheses exist; some contend that language arose alongside toolmaking, where the development of advanced tools required more descriptive language for instruction. Others suggest language served as a means of social distinction, encompassing clever wordplay and insults. Additionally, it may have initially been a cognitive tool, primarily for individual thought before evolving to facilitate communication with others.

One intriguing element of Beekman’s theory is her emphasis on the roles of women and children. Science has historically leaned towards male-centered viewpoints, often overshadowing the significant evolutionary shifts linked to pregnancy (e.g., the “Hunter” model).

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The authors contend that language is around 100,000 years old and unique to our species.
“

It’s essential to reflect on the contributions of women and children in the story of language’s origins. However, this doesn’t necessarily affirm Beekman’s thesis. She presents compelling evidence, notably showing that many large birds, including parrots and New Caledonian crows, produce underdeveloped offspring. Why? A 2023 study indicated that the primary predictor of avian brain size was the degree of parental care.

All of this resonates with Beekman’s narrative. Yet, the most pressing question remains: timing. Humans have been walking on two legs for at least 6 million years, and our brains have expanded rapidly for the last 2 million years. Given this extensive timeline, when did language actually develop?

Beekman posits that modern language is roughly 100,000 years old and specific to our species. She references 2020 research pinpointing “unique gene regulatory networks that shape the anatomy crucial for precise word production.” These networks appear to exist solely in our species, indicating that other human relatives, like Neanderthals, may not have possessed the same linguistic capabilities.

Beekman considers this “conclusive,” yet other scholars have unearthed evidence that suggests the possibility of complex language in other human species. The evolution surrounding human childbirth remains as intertwined as it is uncertain. In summary, robust ideas necessitate further proof.

Michael Marshall is a writer based in Devon, UK

New Scientist Book Club

Are you a book lover? Join a welcoming community of readers. Every six weeks, we explore exciting new titles, allowing members exclusive access to book excerpts, author articles, and video interviews.

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Bill McKibben Delivers an Inspiring Case for Solar Energy in His Latest Book

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The sun’s future in this Sichuan pepper field in Bijie, China

STR/AFP via Getty Images

The Sun Comes Here
(Bill McKibben) WW Norton UK, September 16th. US, August 19th

The sun is shining brighter through solar energy. According to Ember, a think tank on energy, solar energy has been the fastest-growing power source globally for the past two decades.

In 2022, solar power generation capacity surpassed 1 terawatt for the first time, and just two years later, it doubled, contributing 7% to the world’s electricity supply. When including wind turbines, which harness solar energy through different methods, solar accounted for 15% of global electricity last year.

This surge in solar energy is not simply due to an increased commitment to climate goals. Indeed, as noted in another Ember Report, many renewable energy targets have barely made progress towards achieving net-zero emissions over the past decade.

The true driver behind the rise of solar is its position as the most cost-effective method of electricity generation almost everywhere.

In his book Here Comes the Sun: The Last Chance for Climate and a New Chance for Civilization, long-time climate advocate Bill McKibben asserts that we are on the brink of a critical historical transition—from reliance on fossil fuels to embracing solar energy. “We are looking to the heavens for energy instead of to hell,” McKibben writes.

Below, he provides a thoughtful exploration of how solar energy not only addresses climate issues in time but also transforms the interaction between the economy and the natural world.

This is not the first call to action for a swift transition to renewable sources. However, it offers a visionary glimpse of what a solar-powered society could look like, going beyond just technological and economic considerations during the energy shift.

Solar-led energy transitions may be inevitable, but they may not happen quickly enough.

“This critical transformation is now presented as the most significant bargain ever, yet it remains cloaked in mysteries we have yet to fully unravel,” he notes.

This optimism is presented by McKibben, a renowned voice in environmentalism since his first book, The End of Nature, where he first alerted the world to the climate crisis.

Rather than detailing the ongoing damage from climate change, he emphasizes the numerous advantages of increased solar power, including more stable energy prices and reduced reliance on fossil fuel-rich states.

On a spiritual note, he suggests that this shift may rekindle our deep respect for the sun and its immense power.

McKibben also engages with skeptics of renewable energy, providing a balanced perspective on the trade-offs in the energy transition, such as the rising demand for minerals, land use, and potential job losses in fossil fuel industries. His argument is reinforced by an array of global anecdotes from different energy transitions, including a positive mention of the Kentucky Coal Mines Museum’s transition to solar energy to cut costs.

Nevertheless, doubts linger about the feasibility of McKibben’s optimistic outlook. A significant portion of the rapid growth in solar energy is currently occurring in China, which has unique advantages such as central planning and a distinct political structure that may not be replicable elsewhere. This rapid pace may not even be sustainable in China itself.

In the U.S., despite remarkable growth in solar energy in recent years, the industry now contends with challenges posed by the previous administration’s discontent towards renewable resources. Loss of tax credits that once leveled the playing field with subsidized fossil fuels and local opposition to solar projects also complicate future growth.

As McKibben acknowledges, both can be true: solar-driven energy transitions may be on the horizon, but reductions in emissions might not happen swiftly enough to avert further drastic impacts of global warming. “It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary,” he asserts. “We must cease burning, or we will face dire consequences.”

Personally, I resonate with this perspective—I’d much prefer to bask in the sunlight.

Topics:

Climate Change/
Solar Power Generation

The Extraordinary Impact of Nature on Our Brains Uncovered in a New Book

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Spend time in green spaces to enhance working memory and attention.

Luke Hayes/Millennium Images, UK

Nature and the Heart

Mark Berman (Vermillion, UK; S&S/Simon Element, USA)

Mark Berman is on the verge of initiating a transformation, and I consider myself already aligned with his vision. You might have encountered his insights in New Scientist regarding the remarkable advantages of nature walks, the therapeutic impact of plants, and the enchantment of urban greenery.

If this sounds familiar, you may presume that Berman’s Research couldn’t offer anything new. However, you would be mistaken. Nature and the Heart caters to everyone, regardless of prior knowledge. It’s designed not only to inform and entertain but also to motivate action.

This narrative outlines how a once troubled boy forged a groundbreaking field in environmental neuroscience by transitioning from law studies pursued under his mother’s nursing influence and his father’s legal career to engineering as an undergraduate student.

Central to this is a fortuitous encounter between psychologists Steve and Rachel Kaplan from the University of Michigan, who introduced attentional restoration theory (ART). This concept posits that engaging with nature can help regain our focus, and by the time Berman met them as a graduate student, Kaplan had already amassed substantial evidence to support this theory.

Berman’s audacious plan involved quantifying these effects by analyzing people, their environments, and their interactions through methods including brain imaging, behavioral testing, computational neuroscience, and statistical analyses.

In his book, Berman reflects on his initial experimental proposal, met with skepticism from John Jonides, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, who said, “It’s crazy. It won’t work.”

The author champions a revolution to ‘naturize’ our homes, schools, offices, and cities.

Yet, Berman persevered, uncovering astonishing findings. A mere 50-minute walk in a park significantly improved individuals’ working memory and attention by 20%, irrespective of their enjoyment of the experience or the weather conditions. Remarkably, it was unnecessary for them to actually walk.

This improvement is notable, but why is attention restoration necessary? As Berman highlights, attention is a crucial resource for many cognitive and emotional functions, and our attention is often drained by an overstimulating environment. By restoring this resource, nature acts as a superpower, enhancing intelligence, happiness, reducing stress, increasing productivity, and fostering compassion.

Some of Berman’s discoveries are breathtaking. For instance, individuals suffering from clinical depression gained fivefold benefits from a walk in the park compared to participants in the original study. Moreover, having ten additional trees on a block in Toronto increased residents’ perception of well-being by 1%.

His research also leads to delightful and innovative findings. In one study, his team employed the JPEG standard in digital image compression to analyze how the human brain processes information regarding natural landscapes versus urban settings. This research demonstrated that urban and natural images with similar complexity levels taxed the brain differently, with nature being less taxing. They even created an app to provide “repair scores” for nearby walking routes.

Berman’s research addresses significant inquiries. How does nature capture attention? What scene elements encourage recovery? How can architecture leverage these effects? It also tackles intriguing questions, such as the allure of galley-style fonts (inspired by the curves of serif typefaces) and the appeal of Jackson Pollock’s abstract paintings (which reflect fractals).

Above all, he is driven by a desire to effect positive change. His work serves as a call to action, urging the implementation of a “natural revolution.” “We should fundamentally reevaluate the design of all constructed spaces,” he advocates. “The natural revolution necessitates a serious commitment from people on a grand scale.”

Adam Roberts’ New Scientist Book Club Review: Lakes of Darkness – A Mixed Bag

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

New Scientist Book Club has just read Adam Roberts’ Lake in the Dark

Laurie photos

Following the journey through Khalian Bradley’s *Time Saving*, the New Scientist Book Club ventured in the opposite direction for our latest read: the far future and some hard science fiction with Adam Roberts’ *Lake of Darkness*. Set in a seemingly utopian society, the narrative revolves around two spacecraft orbiting a black hole, and one captain receiving orders to kill all crew members as commanded by a voice from the depths of that black hole. Not quite utopia, but rather a chilling twist from Roberts’s protagonist, Saccade^st in the century, as we delve deeper into this mystical entity.

The reception among our readers is varied; some found it thoroughly enjoyable while others felt its pacing was sluggish. Personally, I resonate with Paul Jonas, a member of the New Scientist Book Club. He shared on Facebook that he was “fascinated by the story” and “appreciated the hard science components relating to space travel, black holes, and utopian societies.” Paul’s insights into the philosophical elements tied to Deleuze’s thinking in this novel truly impress me.

I tend to be quite discerning when it comes to fiction, and rarely find books claiming to be humorous truly engaging (Terry Pratchett being the joyous exception). However, *Lake of Darkness* was different; I found myself intrigued at various moments, particularly appreciating how Roberts’ distant characters grappled with our own history while deciphering what they termed “so-called” *More’s Code*, the ancient system of long and short pulses each symbolizing a single glyph, alluding to the famous Beatles tune, *We All Live in a Yellow Submarine*.

Like Paul, I was captivated by the book’s portrayal of a future utopian society and the dilemmas it presents. During our discussion, Roberts expressed his intention to explore various subgenres of science fiction within his writing. While this perspective on utopia unfolds with its antagonist (spoiler alert – Satan), the idealized vision isn’t as appealing, given that all labor is assigned to “smart machines,” leaving people devoid of functionality. Time becomes filled with hobbies and fandoms, captured in the phrase, “Your people understand the value of everything but the cost. Without a cost, nothing holds worth. The best carries a significant price.” I found it quite delightful to navigate (and read) while contemplating this future society.

Charlotte Sye, another Book Club member, enjoyed listening to the audiobook and shared her enthusiasm: “I love the humor and hard science.” She added, “Life inside a black hole is particularly fascinating, as one character mentions, while there’s tremendous energy, is there really space and time?!”

Barbara Howe, however, had her reservations. She acknowledged the book’s “historical misconceptions” and “utopian critiques,” but felt that the depicted utopia was overly centered on trivial sexual themes, reflecting a male-centric viewpoint, neglecting notions like child-rearing or nurturing that are essential to true progress.

Barbara also pointed out a sentiment echoed by several other readers: she appreciated reading *Lake of Darkness* as an e-book, stating, “I had to look up more words in this single book than in my previous reads.” Alain Pellett echoed this, finding the vocabulary somewhat challenging and “offensive.” Jess Brady shared similar thoughts, enjoying the concept while criticizing the “slow prose.”

While such critiques weren’t particularly noticeable for me—possibly due to my willingness to overlook certain aspects—I did sympathize with Barbara’s assessment regarding the physics: “I tackle explanations of time travel alongside FTL (faster-than-light) travel. I accept these premises; they provide a thin veil of scientific reality over a fantastical plot device.”

Another prevalent criticism among readers was the lack of relatable characters. Alan expressed frustration, noting, “No one seemed sympathetic; their deaths evoked no remorse. They were all insufferable and dim-witted.” Karen Shees concurred, saying, “While the book initially caught my interest, I found the characters so unengaging that I wasn’t invested in their fate.”

I share this sentiment to some extent. Many characters were glaringly absurd, including guunarsonsdottir—distracting. Yet, I believe this serves a purpose, as I relished witnessing the turmoil of these intellectually lazy individuals as they navigated actual threats—through the seemingly redundant formation of another committee discussing their next steps. Moreover, I’m intrigued by the character Bartle Wasp; even the name piques curiosity.

Paul likely feels similarly. “Saccade was a compelling character. Living in a utopia surrounded by AI shapes her perspective. There’s no obligation to fully connect with every character; following their journey can be engaging even if they’re not traditional heroes.”

After finishing *Lake of Darkness*, I found numerous substantial concepts lingering in my thoughts. Did the black hole narrative hold coherence? Was the conclusion truly comprehensible? I’m still pondering—much like Barbara, who concluded that the novel “took unexpected turns and provoked thought.”

“In the latter part, I felt transported back to the 1980s,” she remarked, referencing Douglas Hofstadter’s *Godel, Escher, Bach: Eternal Golden Braid*. “It was a brief throwback, but the ending confuses me. Why did Joins act as she did? Did the entity achieve its desires?”

Paul similarly found the conclusion perplexing. “The ending likely bewildered many due to the complexities of black hole physics,” he noted. “Additionally, the geometric concepts about the inside/outside of infinite structures were truly mind-bending.”

However, let’s shift from the complexities of black holes to the anticipation for our next read. We’ll be diving into Circular Motion by Alex Foster. This captivating debut envisions a gradual acceleration of Earth’s spin, with increasingly disastrous consequences. I’m excited to share it and can’t wait to hear your thoughts! You can preview excerpts here. The narrative examines how this accelerated state might be humanity’s doing. I’ll be discussing the novel with him later this month, so feel free to drop any questions you have in our Facebook group.

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Tears, Joy, and Expressions: A New Book on Emojis—Illustrated Yet Imperfect

Posted on July 18, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Standardizing the look of the irrepressible emoji must have been a challenge

Caner Elci/Alamy

Face with Tears of Joy
Keith Houston (WW Norton)

If a picture can convey a thousand words, what role does an emoji play in our evolving vocabulary? In Face with Tears of Joy: The Natural History of Emojis, Keith Houston delves into the intriguing tales behind these peculiar symbols and explores how they have become a staple in our everyday conversations.

An understanding of their origins and dominance in our communication is essential. Houston navigates through the early days, uncovering insights that trace their lineage back a decade earlier than the commonly accepted timeline.

It’s an astute investigation. By extending the emoji lineage to specifics of niche Japanese tech from the 1980s, Houston offers new perspectives, suggesting a timeline closer to the millennium than previously recognized.

Clearly, the work is well-researched, evident from Houston’s review of the intricacies during various subcommittees of the Unicode Consortium.

What makes emojis such a significant cultural phenomenon? While Houston lays out a timeline of these images, he grapples with larger philosophical questions about how countless interpretations of commonly used images converge into a shared societal and cultural understanding.

One notable section shares how Facebook users reacted to a video of the 2017 terrorist attacks on London’s Westminster Bridge. When users sought to respond, the platform defaulted to just one of six emojis, none of which seemed particularly appropriate. Houston’s observations here are profoundly insightful.

Typewriter artists crafted images using keystrokes—the forerunners of the emojis we know today.

Unfortunately, throughout the book, Houston veers away from delving into such enriching insights and experiments. He also fails to delve deeply into a Unicode meeting discussion over the merits of adding emojis like tacos and other popular items to countless smartphones globally. Instead, we get a list-style overview of events as they occurred.

This chronological format holds significance, but it’s also replicated in a roughly twelve-page timeline at the book’s conclusion. I found myself reading the bullet points and questioning if I could’ve learned just as much about the emojis and their history without perusing the preceding 180 pages.

That’s unfortunate. Houston contends that emojis warrant thorough and thoughtful exploration, and their cultural ramifications should be taken seriously. It’s unclear why specific details are highlighted while others are overlooked. For instance, he mentions presenting users with images of reality TV stars displaying various emotions related to Kim Kardashian’s 2015 Kimoji app in media reports but cites a staggering figure of 9,000 downloads per millisecond at its peak, countering reality with 9,000 downloads per second. What relevance does this bear beyond mere anecdote?

Nevertheless, there are engaging pieces and illuminating insights about this relatively new mode of communication. Houston reveals stories about early typewriter artists who ingeniously transformed keystrokes into beautiful representations, setting the stage for contemporary emojis.

Overall, Face with Tears of Joy is an in-depth and often enlightening read. However, I frequently felt it was padded with content that could’ve been far more meaningfully enriched with analyses exploring the “why” and “what” behind emoji usage over the last two decades.

Ultimately, Houston’s work serves as a valuable starting point for dissecting the cultural significance of emojis. I look forward to future explorations on this topic.

Chris Stokell Walker is a technology writer based in Newcastle, UK

New Scientist Book Club

Are you passionate about reading? Join a welcoming community of fellow book enthusiasts. Every six weeks, we explore exciting new titles, offering members complimentary access to excerpts, author articles, and video interviews.

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After Spike’s Review: A Controversial New Book Argues for Persuading People to Increase Birth Rates

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A large population can drive innovation and economies of scale

Philippe Montigny/Istockphoto/Getty Images

Stadium crowd — A large population can drive innovation and economies of scale

Philippe Montigny/Istockphoto/Getty Images

After the Spikes

Dean Spears and Michael Geruso (Bodley Head (UK); Simon & Schuster (US))

Current estimates suggest that four-fifths of all humans who will ever be born have already come into existence. The global number of births peaked at 146 million in 2012 and has been on a decline ever since, indicating that the world population is set to peak and decrease by the 2080s.

This decrease won’t be gradual. Fertility rates are already below replacement level in several nations, including China and India, leading to a rapid decline in population as quickly as it rose. This new controversial book argues that the planet could hold fewer than two billion people in the coming centuries.

“There’s no scenario where individuals worldwide are likely to opt for fewer children than required to replace themselves, leading to a drastic population reduction,” assert economists Dean Spears and Michael Geruso in After the Spike: Risks of Global Depopulation and Cases for People.

You might consider this a positive development. Could it help alleviate pressing environmental challenges? Not according to the authors. They assert that while population size does hold significance, adjusting other factors, such as the speed of global warming, is even more critical. The chance to lessen our carbon footprint through population reduction has mostly passed.

Spears and Geruso highlight numerous advantages of a large population. More individuals can lead to greater innovation and economies of scale, making technologies like smartphones feasible. “The abundance of neighbors enhances our potential,” they state.

Thus, their perspective is not about reducing the global population but rather stabilizing it. The challenge lies in the fact that even with the right political determination, the path to achieve this is unclear.

As we become more affluent, we are increasingly hesitant to give up career and leisure opportunities for parenthood.

The authors contend that while some government strategies may yield short-term results, no country has sustainably altered long-term demographic trends. Consider China’s one-child policy—it is often credited with curtailing population growth but did it genuinely do so? Spears and Geruso present ambiguous data on China’s population in relation to its neighbors before, during, and after these policies were enacted, raising the question of discernible differences based on their observations.

Efforts to reverse the declining fertility rates have also faced failure, they argue. In Romania, after the ban on abortion in 1966, birth rates surged but soon declined again. Sweden’s approach has been to incentivize through subsidies for childcare, yet its fertility rates remain below replacement level.

Attempts to boost fertility with financial incentives are likely doomed to fail, according to Spears and Geruso. While some claim that they would have more children if financial means allowed, the reality is that as people gain wealth, the tendency to have fewer children increases.

The focus should be on addressing what individuals need to balance rather than simply financial capability, according to the authors. As affluence grows, there is a reluctance to sacrifice careers and leisure for childbearing. Even technological advancements are not expected to change this trajectory, they conclude.

This book presents an unwaveringly optimistic viewpoint regarding many issues, but it acknowledges the complexity of stabilizing population levels. It effectively demonstrates that dire predictions of widespread famine with population growth have proven incorrect and suggests long-term trends toward healthier, longer lives remain possible. “Fears of a depleted, overpopulated future are outdated,” they argue.

But is that truly the case? Spears and Geruso also emphasize that food prices play a key role in determining hunger levels, yet it’s worth noting that food prices are presently rising as a consequence of escalating climate change. For a substantial portion of the population, uncertainty persists regarding whether conditions will continue to improve.

This book is undoubtedly provocative and may not provide an easy read, as Spears and Geruso delve into their primary assertions. However, if you believe that understanding the impact of a declining population is simple, and if you consider it a positive trend, this book is essential reading.

New Scientist Book Club

Do you enjoy reading? Join a welcoming community of fellow book enthusiasts. Every six weeks, we explore exciting new titles, with members receiving exclusive access to book excerpts, author insights, and video interviews.

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The Top New Science Fiction Book of July 2025: A Cultural Editor’s Choice of the Year

Posted on July 1, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Hal Lacroix’s adventure unfolds on a spacecraft that has been exploring new planets for centuries

Dotted Zebra/Alamy

Exciting science fiction awaits fans this July, with two highly anticipated books making their debut. Are you intrigued by the beautifully articulated vision of rapid transformation as its effects evolve in a subtle yet increasingly unsettling manner? Don’t miss Alex Foster’s Circular Motion. Or maybe you’re captivated by the excellent “generation ship” narrative? If so, keep an eye on Hal Lacroix’s Here and Beyond. In addition, there are tales of climate fiction, zombies, space romance, and more. Enjoy yourself – I certainly will!

Set in a near future, this striking debut novel envisions an Earth with a colossal aircraft in orbit. Meanwhile, the Earth’s rotation gradually accelerates, initially shortening by mere seconds. However, it ominously contracts to just two hours as the story unfolds, leading to dire consequences. I’ve just completed this novel, and it may very well be my top read of the year so far—smartly written and truly engaging.

I have a special fondness for compelling “generation ship” stories. This one stands out, as 600 people embark on a 360-year voyage to a new planet following Earth’s downfall. Yet, generations must survive aboard their vessel, Shipworld, facing challenges from illness to rebellion, raising tensions among the crew. But don’t take my word for it; our sci-fi reviewer, Emily H. Wilson, gave it a hearty thumbs up, and her taste is impeccable (or at least aligns with mine!).

While I pen these words, London is engulfed in flames, making Susanna Kwan’s dystopian depiction of a rain-soaked future San Francisco even more captivating. We follow Bo, who has fled a city ravaged by catastrophic floods. Living alone on a street transformed into a river, Bo is tempted to leave her boat until her elderly neighbor Mia requests assistance, prompting her to remain. This novel draws comparisons to Emily St. John Mandel’s literary dystopia Station Eleven and Eleanor Catton’s climatological thriller Bilnum Wood, both of which I cherished; thus, I’m eager to delve into Kwan’s rainy world.

Susanna Kwan’s awakening unfolds in a flooded future San Francisco

Bulgac/Getty Images

This month’s science fiction takes us from Earth in disarray to the rain-soaked where the sun is waning. A unique story features two sisters in a small village amid arid lands who struggle for survival as temperatures plummet, leading villagers to confront death—”an ordinary man replaced by a blinding light that sears his head like a miniature sands.” Fascinating!

Another tale revolves around Quetza, an acrobat in a Martian circus who stumbles upon “ominous secrets.” Millions of years later, Azad inhabits a desert planet, teaming up with a space travel historian to discover why their ancestors abandoned Mars.

This climate fiction narrative (I refuse to adopt the “CLI-FI” label as I find it unappealing) unfolds in a self-sustaining community established on a remote Welsh island in 2056, aimed at escaping a tyrannical government. But 13-year-old Gresni suspects her family harbors secrets, especially when an event from the mainland washes ashore.

Penned by the acclaimed publisher recognized for Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the narrative follows Zoe and Jack, who meet as chemistry students at Harvard University. Two years later, they drop out to join a venture promising longevity, yet their love faces challenges that test its limits.

I confess that this may not fit traditional science fiction norms, but I’m finding it hard to resist: it’s a 2022 road trip story set in Ukraine, featuring “The Maverick Scientist” Yeva and Lefty, “The Only Snail” navigated to ensure the survival of his species. Yeva funds her passion for breeding rare snails by dating men who come to Ukraine for a “guidance romance tour” in search of obedient brides. “Glorious…funny and clever, filled with science, longing, and adventure,” Anne Puckett states. Therefore, I believe a blend of science and snails would surely captivate sci-fi enthusiasts.

As a passionate fan, I feel there’s a distinct lack of zombie novels like The Walking Dead. Fortunately, Lee Radford addresses this gap with a tale about a scientist whose spouse was the last person bitten by the zombie epidemic. While the government quarantines infected individuals, scientist Kesta harbors perilous secrets. Her zombie husband, Tim, is restrained to prevent his rampage. Rick Grimes, I’m just suggesting he could have handled Tim with a heartbeat…

I’ve earmarked this next book for my reading list and am eagerly anticipating it. Elric only awakens once he’s healed, envisioning an experimental treatment center where heartache can be anesthetized. Naturally, there are some “shadow side effects,” and it follows four strangers (and a dog). The Wizard of Oz certainly seems to embody the journey toward healing from heartache.

The publisher describes it as “Suffic’s action-adventure sci-fi novel.” Volatile Memory features Willa as she uncovers cutting-edge technology on nearby planets. This tech, however, turns out to be the remains of a woman donning an AI mask that resurrected her. Together, they seek to unravel its mysteries…

Emily Buchanan’s Send Flowers depicts a woman’s deceased boyfriend reborn as a houseplant

Ozgurcankaya/Getty Images

In a world nearing climate collapse, eco-influencer Fiona has stayed secluded in her apartment since her boyfriend Ed’s passing. One day, his favorite plant is left at her door, prompting her to sprinkle his ashes on the soil. The next morning, she discovers that the plant not only blooms but can also speak. Ed has returned—albeit as a house plant.

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Nature Memories Review: A New Book Reveals the Critical Shortcomings of Our Natural History Museum

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

What are you missing? Contemplating the exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

Jeffrey Greenberg/Group via Getty Images via Universal Image Group

Nature’s Memory
Jack Ashby (Allen Lane)

In his intriguing new book, Nature’s Memories: Behind the Scenes of the World’s Natural History Museum, Jack Ashby, assistant director of the University Zoology Museum in Cambridge, UK, describes the museum as a peculiar space. It represents societal meanings and the natural chronicles of our ecosystems and environments. However, these records are often fundamentally flawed and misleading.

Ashby emphasizes the museum’s role, particularly in natural history, as an extensive catalog of past life on our planet. Its original purpose was to document everything from flora to fauna and enhance our understanding of the natural world.

Times have changed. As Ashby reveals in this captivating work, he critiques the shortcomings of museums, challenging our preconceived notions. Notably, much of our natural history remains hidden in poorly lit storage rather than publicly displayed.

Readers will soon discover the significance of the areas typically off-limits to the public. Ashby notes that there are approximately 70,000 flowering plant species worldwide that scientists have yet to fully describe.

The book delves into the preservation processes for animal skeletons, highlighting how flesh is removed for conservation, how insects are prepared for display, and how taxidermy is conducted. These behind-the-scenes insights are among the book’s most intriguing aspects. Ashby also points out the unrealistic representation of frogs due to shrinkage and features a segment on a renowned glassmaker recognized for creating lifelike floral reproductions.

Yet, the lack of representation extends beyond plants. Ashby highlights the biases in what we learned during school trips to such institutions. He cites a 2008 study indicating that merely 29% of mammal displays and 34% of bird exhibits in natural history museums feature females, resulting in a limited understanding of habitat contributions. This imbalance can be attributed to the more visually appealing male specimens and the fact that those who collect and exhibit are predominantly male and often white Westerners.

Ashby advocates for addressing the misrepresentation issue within museums, asserting that our education about nature is severely lacking due to the biases of past generations. Many male mammalian skeletons are misrepresented in museum displays due to curatorial choices that remove pelvic bones.

Though the book was published prior to the intentional dismantling of American scientific institutions, it reflects the prevailing anti-expert sentiment. This makes it all the more vital to read. We must reflect on what is excluded from museum exhibits as seriously as we do what is included.

As Ashby asserts, “The work that is being done at the Natural History Museum is more crucial than ever, and the role that must be played in order to safeguard the future of humanity is just beginning to unfold.”

Chris Stokell Walker is a science writer based in Newcastle, UK.

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Kaliane Bradley’s Verdict on Time of Timeistry for the New Scientist Book Club: Thumbs Up!

Posted on June 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time awarded mixed reviews at the New Scientist Book Club

One of the wonderful elements of science fiction is its vastness, a notion emphasized by our two recent readings. The New Scientist Book Club has transitioned from Larry Niven’s classic hard sci-fi piece, Ring World, to Kalian Bradley’s Time Saving, which we’ll delve into this June. The former rigorously engages with scientific principles, while the latter takes a more relaxed approach.

The narrative revolves around an obscure civil servant tasked with assisting historical figures—specifically, the Victorian explorer Commander Graham Gore from 1847. Time Saving intertwines elements of thrillers, romance, and touches of climate fiction, making it an engaging read. Although I adored it, the conclusion left something to be desired, which I’ll elaborate on later. For now, let’s explore the sci-fi elements of the book.

In Bradley’s interpretation, time travel serves as a plot device; it facilitates the transition of characters from the past to contemporary settings. As she notes, “Once you start contemplating the physics of time travel, you’ve entered a tricky realm.” I don’t necessarily view her reluctance to clarify time travel as a weakness—after all, even our greatest physicists have yet to fully understand it, a sentiment shared by many.

“I accepted time travel as a given and shaped the primary plot around it. In the end, it’s approached similarly to numerous other sci-fi narratives.” Facebook Group. “Ultimately, this emphasis on plot and character development made me feel that the novel transcended mere science fiction, transforming into a story set against a sci-fi backdrop.”

Pauline Moncrief, who previously engaged with Time Saving, praised Bradley’s portrayal of time travel as “spot-on” due to its exploration of the paradoxes surrounding it—questions like, “What happens if you travel back and eliminate your grandfather?” This intriguing concern worked well. “Thus, I appreciated the author’s decision to smoothly bypass the technical hurdles typically associated with time travel,” she remarked.

Kristen Millard Shore expressed similar sentiments: “I appreciated the author’s casual handling of time travel—’Let’s not overthink this’ was refreshing.” However, Gosia Furmanik felt differently. While she enjoyed the prose’s creativity and vividness, she found the main plot confusing and felt it lacked urgency until the very end. For someone looking for a focused sci-fi exploration, she wondered if the romance and themes of immigration and identity overshadowed the genre elements.

Gosia might have a point, but I found the romance to be a highlight of the novel, even developing an affection for Commander Gore (which Bradley seemed to share—check out my interview with her for more on this historical crush). As a fan of romantic narratives, I found this aspect delightful. Others echoed my feelings, too.

“I usually don’t gravitate towards romance in books, but I found it well-executed here. Nevertheless, I felt the story encompassed more than just romance; it was enriching overall.”

Phil Gurski, however, took a different stance: “While I enjoyed the concept, it leaned more toward romance than sci-fi,” he noted. “The lengthy sex scene felt unnecessary.” Despite this divergence of opinions, I cherished many aspects of Time Saving, particularly Bradley’s subtle yet brilliant humor. The contrast of a character from the 19th century grappling with modernity—whether it’s Spotify or dishwashers—provided a delightful layer to the storytelling.

“I found myself laughing aloud numerous times,” Kristen concurred. “Especially during the conversations among the female characters about chicken wallets!” The chicken wallet scene was memorable and the interactions among the characters stood out. I found myself smitten, much like Margaret Kemble and Graham Gore did in 1665.

Gosia nodded in agreement regarding the humor: “Initial moments were quite amusing, like the EastEnders reference, but at times, that tone was overshadowed, leading to inconsistencies that detracted from my enjoyment.”

Now, let’s discuss the ending. Provision. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t finished yet! The revelation that Adela was a future version of our narrator caught me off guard, adding an engaging twist that prompted me to revisit earlier elements of the story with this new perspective. I believed these elements held up, though the rapid pace towards the conclusion felt a bit jumbled, especially since I was invested in the romance. I recognize the inherent “time travel” aspect of the story, but I still hoped for more closure.

David Jones echoed my feelings: “I finished and felt disappointed. I loved the characters and believed they deserved a more satisfying ending.” Alan pondered, “Does the author’s craftsmanship with engaging, thoughtful narratives get compromised by editorial constraints?” He felt the conclusion appeared forced and disconnected from the author’s original vision.

“By the 80% mark, I was questioning, ‘Where is this going?’ The narrative seemed too precious until the end, without sufficient payoff.”

Phil shared his thoughts in a Facebook group, stating that the next session’s readings should return to genuine science (fiction), with Lake of Darkness—a paper edition exploring black holes and their mysterious signals—on the horizon. Adam has penned brilliantly insightful essays for our readers, while Emily H. Wilson, a reviewer for New Scientist, expressed her fondness for Lake of Darkness upon its hardcover release, calling it “smart, experimental, and full of imaginative ideas,” eagerly anticipating the journey into an advanced future.

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science fiction/
New Scientist Book Club

The Science of Revenge: A New Book Argues That Revenge is Addictive, Yet Fails to Persuade

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Did the UK’s iconic Sycamore Gap Tree fall as an act of revenge?

vaughan/epa-fe/shutterstock

The Science of Revenge
James Kimmel Jr. (Harmony Books)

Few can easily embrace the desire for revenge, yet it’s undeniable that some of us are drawn to it.

From President Donald Trump’s advocacy against what he perceives as the “cancel culture” in social media, to the potential motivation behind the cutting down of the iconic British Sycamore Gap Tree, the concept of revenge certainly appears to be more influential than love as a force for change in the world. One might even ponder if it borders on an addiction.

James Kimmel Jr. is passionate about uncovering solutions. Convinced that if our world cannot become more compassionate, we must take action. His new book, The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Most Fatal Addiction – and How to Overcome It, represents a culmination of his efforts over the past decade to delve deep into the neuroscience of revenge and its devastating costs.

One cannot overlook Kimmel’s impressive credentials as a psychiatry instructor at Yale University, where he leads research on motivation and behavioral control. As a former civil litigator who dealt with non-criminal disputes, he witnessed firsthand how the legal system can be manipulated to settle personal scores and punish perceived adversaries, particularly by those in positions of wealth and influence.

Kimmel gained insight into these impulses through his experiences. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania during the early 1980s, he faced bullying and had his family extorted. Their dogs were killed, and after an explosion involving their mailbox, a teenage Kimmel found himself grappling with these pressures, though he refrained from acting violently.

Nevertheless, he admits that his unresolved grievances led him to pursue a career in law—a “professional revenge business.” Following a mental breakdown, he began to study what he refers to as “revenge addiction,” ultimately shifting his focus toward psychiatric treatment.

Today, Kimmel identifies as a “recovering revenge addict” and a determined researcher aiming to present a case for viewing “obsessive revenge” as both an addiction and a neurological disorder.

Kimmel posits that the desire for revenge is experienced in some brains similarly to the effects of drugs.

He argues that such cravings activate the brain’s reward pathways, blunting impulse control and acting as a biological response akin to pain relief and pleasure. This notion not only clarifies the “urge to retaliate” but also implies a possible method to mitigate violence. By identifying individuals who often feel victimized, professionals may preemptively address grievances, potentially curbing mass shootings and other tragic acts of violence.

To substantiate his assertions, Kimmel references numerous studies on reward, revenge, and forgiveness. He takes an insightful approach toward their limitations and addresses skepticism from experts.

However, his interpretation of revenge as a catalyst for “all wars, murders, and assaults throughout human history” could polarize readers and spark debate.

Kimmel acknowledges the role of “genetic predispositions, early traumas, or psychosocial factors,” asserting that revenge addiction shouldn’t excuse violent behaviors. Yet, this notion can mistakenly arise, particularly when he compares a potentially lethal “yearning for revenge” to the seriousness of heart attacks.

This perspective may be perplexing and insensitive. Kimmel is most compelling when recounting stories of individuals who have freed themselves from lives dominated by hatred. Yet, his fixation on revenge as the sole origin of evil tends to overlook the complexities of other contributing factors, such as misogyny and childhood abuse.

His analysis of the motivations behind the actions of mass murderers and historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong feels overly simplistic when framed solely through the lens of revenge addiction. While revenge has undoubtedly appeared as a motivating force throughout history, Kimmel might be too close to his central theme to fully appreciate its multifaceted nature.

Elle Hunt is a writer based in Norwich, UK

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Destroyer World Review: Frank Close’s New Book Offers a Fresh Perspective on the Atomic Age

Posted on June 13, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Irène Joliot-Curie and her husband Frédéric Joliot managed to observe neutrons during their experiments.

Smith Archives/Alamy

WHA2R6 Frederick and Irene Joliet Curie's Paris Institute — Irène Joliot-Curie and her husband Frédéric Joliot managed to observe neutrons during their experiments.

Smith Archives/Alamy

Destroyers of the World
Frank Close (Allen Lane (UK); Basic Books (US)

Upon receiving a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2023, particle physicist and Oxford University professor emeritus Frank Close underwent three weeks of radiation therapy, which provided him with a new understanding of radiation’s capabilities.

His 10-year-old grandson shared a detailed account of Emperor Bomba, a 50-megaton nuclear device tested by the Soviet Union in 1961, marking the most powerful human-made explosion. This prompted Close to elucidate the complexities of nuclear energy, highlighting its dual nature as both a power source and a peril.

A three-time winner of the British Science Writers Association Award, Close is well-versed in the intricacies of subatomic physics. His latest work, Destroyers of the World: Deep History of the Nuclear Age 1895-1965, starts with the Trinity Test Blast in July 1945, signifying the moment chemical explosions transitioned to nuclear ones. He takes readers on a historical journey beginning with 1896, when the first atomic traces sparked interest in the nuclear age.

The narrative features 19th-century scientist William Crookes, who delved into spiritualism after his brother’s death, observing “bright green clouds” in a gas-filled, charged vacuum tube. He believed he had synthesized external organisms and discovered phantoms. Theoretical physicist George Gamow is also mentioned, demonstrating that uranium can release charged alpha particles without contradicting energy conservation principles.

Close’s primary focus, however, revolves around the often-overlooked contributions of female physicists in the nuclear arena. He discusses Lise Meitner, who, despite holding a PhD, was banned from a male-only room at the University of Vienna. This didn’t thwart her efforts alongside Otto Hahn to provide X-rays for World War I injuries or her 1917 discovery of protactinium, element 91. In 1925, she was awarded the Lieven Prize, which marked a significant academic achievement.

He also highlights Elaine Joliot-Curie, the daughter of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, who possessed her parents’ scientific prowess. In a notable scandal in 1910, Marie faced exclusion from the French Academy of Sciences due to her relationship with a married physicist. Elaine sought to defend her family’s legacy, underscoring work she conducted with her husband, Frédéric Joliot. The 1932 announcement of the neutron by James Chadwick shifted the course of nuclear physics.

Furthermore, Close examines the contributions of chemist Aida Noddack, who argued that uranium nuclei could be split into lighter isotopes but faced backlash from a male-dominated field. Noddack’s position as an industrial chemist challenged the established norms of elite nuclear physics.

In Destroyers of the World, Close also addresses the enigma surrounding Ettore Majorana, a theoretical physicist revered by Enrico Fermi, who mysteriously vanished in 1938. Speculation about Majorana’s fate has ranged from suicide to escaping fascism in Italy, but as with many similar cases, certainty eludes us.

As we navigate through the radioactive haze, one fact remains evident: many extraordinary individuals played pivotal roles in unleashing the Nuclear Demon from its confines.

George Bass is a writer based in Kent, UK.

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Meta’s AI Memorable Book Verbatim – Can Cost Billions

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

In April, authors and publishers protested utilizing copyrighted books for AI training

Vuk Valcic/Alamy Live News

Amid legal battles, billions are at stake as courts in the US and UK deliberate on whether technology firms can legitimately train AI models using copyrighted literature. Numerous lawsuits have been filed by authors and publishers, revealing that at least one AI model has not only utilized popular texts for training but has also memorized portions of these works verbatim.

The crux of the dispute lies in whether AI developers hold the legal authority to employ copyrighted materials without obtaining prior permission. Previous research highlighted that many large language models (LLMs) powering popular AI chatbots were trained on the “Books3” dataset. Developers of these models argued they were not infringing copyright, claiming they were generating new combinations of words rather than directly reproducing the copyrighted content.

However, recent investigations have examined various AI models to determine the extent of verbatim recall from their training datasets. While most models did not retain exact texts, one particular model from Meta remembered nearly the entire text of a specific book. Should the ruling be unfavorable to the company, researchers predict damages could exceed $1 billion.

“AI models are not merely ‘plagiarism machines’ as some suggest; they do not just capture general relationships among words,” explained Mark Remley from Stanford University. “The diversity in responses among different models complicates the establishment of universal legal standards.”

Previously, Lemley defended Meta in a copyright case involving generative AI known as Kadrey V Meta Platforms. The plaintiff, whose works were used to train Meta’s AI models, filed a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant for copyright infringement. The case is currently under consideration in Northern California.

In January 2025, Remley announced he had parted ways with Meta as a client, yet he remains convinced of the company’s favorable chances in the lawsuit. Emile Vasquez, a Meta spokesperson, stated, “Fair use of copyrighted materials is crucial. We challenge the plaintiff’s claims, and the full record presents a different narrative.”

In this new study, Lemley and his team evaluated the memory capabilities of the AI by dividing excerpts from a small book into prefix and suffix segments, checking if a model prompted with the prefix could recall the suffix. For instance, one excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was divided into a prefix that read, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they broke things and creatures and then retreated,” and a suffix that concluded with, “We went back to money and their vast carelessness, which kept them together and allowed them to clean up any mess that other people had made.”

Researchers calculated the probability of each AI model completing the excerpt accurately and compared these probabilities against random chance.

The tested excerpts included selections from 36 copyrighted works, featuring popular titles by authors like George RR Martin’s Games and Cheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. Additionally, excerpts from books authored by plaintiffs in the Kadrey V Meta Platforms case were also examined.

The experiments involved 13 open-source AI models, including those created by Meta, Google, DeepMind, EleutherAI, and Microsoft. Most companies outside of Meta did not provide comments, with Microsoft opting not to comment.

The analysis revealed that Meta’s Llama 3.1 70b model had a significant recall of texts from JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter tome, as well as from The Great Gatsby and George Orwell’s 1984. Other models, however, showed minimal recall of the texts, including those penned by the plaintiffs. Meta declined to comment on these findings.

Researchers estimate that an AI model found to have infringed on merely 3% of the Books3 dataset could incur almost $1 billion in damages.

This technique has potential as a “forensic tool” for gauging the extent of AI memory, as noted by Randy McCarthy from Hallestill Law Office in Oklahoma. Yet, it does not address whether companies are legally permitted to train AI models on copyrighted works under US “fair use” provisions.

McCarthy points out that AI firms generally utilize copyrighted material for training. “The real question is whether they had the right to do so,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, in the UK, memory assessment is crucial from a copyright perspective, according to Robert Lands from Howard Kennedy Law Office in London. UK copyright legislation adheres to “fair dealing,” which presents much narrower allowances for copyright infringement compared to US fair use doctrine. Therefore, he posits that AI models retaining pirated content would not satisfy this exception.

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artificial intelligence/
Law

Check Out a Sneak Peek of Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Timeistry for June’s Book Club

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Kaliane Bradley’s protagonist receives surprising news at the Ministry of Time

andrey_l/shutterstock

The interviewer mentioned my name before interrupting my thoughts. I never say my name, not even internally. She got it right, but usually, it’s not the case.

“I’m Adela,” she introduced herself, sporting eye patches and blonde hair reminiscent of hay. “I’m the Vice President.”

“Of…?”

“I hold a position.”

This was my sixth interview. The role was an internal posting, involving Gausch’s use of top secret stamps for documents with salary bands, classified as “security clearance required.” Since I had never reached this security level before, I was puzzled as to why no one explained the job to me. I was thrilled, as my current salary was about to triple. I had to maintain impeccable grades that necessitated my role in emergency response, protecting vulnerable populations, all while managing my home office in the UK. I anticipated working closely with refugees, particularly those with high profit status and specific needs, without realizing the extent of their operations. I assumed they were primarily politically significant exiles from Russia or China.

Adela, the vice-director, held knowledge I could only imagine.

“Your mother was a refugee,” she initiated, a common opening for job interviews.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“From Cambodia,” she continued.

“Yes, ma’am.” I had faced this question repeatedly during the interview process. Typically, people don’t originate from Cambodia, so I posed my answer hopefully, wishing to adjust their perceptions. You don’t Look Cambodian, an earlier interviewer had remarked candidly, inferring I appeared bright like a pilot light under the gaze of camera monitors. I often received such comments, which implied: You resemble someone from a more Mediterranean background — perhaps Spanish — and you don’t reflect the weight of genocide.

There was no further inquiry regarding adaptation to genocide. (Family still there) Understand that? Have you ever traveled there? Sympathetic smile? A beautiful country yet shadowed by sorrow. When I visited I could see it in their eyes. They were exceptionally welcoming… Adela nodded. She requested an unusual fourth option and pondered if it was appropriate to say “dirty country.”

“She wouldn’t label herself a refugee, nor even a former refugee,” I mentioned. “It’s peculiar to hear people use that term.”

“The individuals you assist are unlikely to prefer such terms either. We prefer ‘foreigners.’ In response to your query, I am the deputy director of the expatriates.”

“And they are foreigners from…?”

“History.”

“Excuse me?”

Adela shrugged. “We have time travel,” she stated, as casually as one might explain the coffee machine. “Welcome to the Ministry.”

This excerpt is shared with permission from Kaliane Bradley’s Time Saving, Published by Scepter. This is the latest selection for the New Scientist Book Club. Join us and read along here.

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Review of “A Boy with Dengue” by Michel Nieva from Book Club Members: Candid Thoughts

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Michelle Nieva and his novel, Dengue Boy

I’ve read all sorts of things from classic slices of Dystopian Fiction by Octavia E. Butler at the New Scientist Book Club. The Memories of SowingAdrian Tchaikovsky’s Space Exploration Alien clay. Michel Nieva Dengue fever boy (And if you haven’t read it yet, this is not an article for you: spoilers first!) was something completely different.

There was part of this novel I loved, especially the wild originality of Nieva, who dreams of his future world. This is where Antarctic ice thawed in 2197, and sea level rise means that Patagonia, once famous for its forests, lakes and glaciers, has transformed into a scattered path on a small, burnt hot island.

It is the place where “hundred thousands of unrecorded viruses emerge each year thanks to the complete deforestation of all forests in the Amazon and China and Africa.” And when the infinite and terrible ingenuity of humanity means that people are currently trading on the Financial Virus Index. Powered by quantum computers, this is “not only determined at 99.99% effectiveness, but it is likely that these new viruses will not only unleash a new pandemic, but will collect stocks from companies that are likely to benefit from its effectiveness and offer them to the market in packages sold like pancakes.” Great idea!

I also think Nieva’s writing (translated by Rahul Bery) will occasionally leap to elevated levels. At some point, our hero is early in school (because she can fly there, unlike she’s narrated in traffic). She needs to “wait completely still for a few minutes, minutes, minutes, minutes, minutes, no idea what her excessive cor should do.” Excessive corporateity! It would be a glorious and appropriate explanation of this miserable mosquito.

It has an unbearable emotional feeling. This was with me after finishing and stayed with the vision of Niwa’s great iceberg gallery. “I couldn’t walk through the Great Iceberg Gallery and in the early stages I couldn’t feel the sudden weight of the world. The relic box of true planetary gemstones, its total age was greater than that of all humankind.”

And I can only admire Neeva’s virtuosity in thinking of myself in the mind of a murderous mosquito. I think he can do this a lot. My sympathy enjoys what half of us wanted with our “stubbornly murderous” hero, half of which was violently postponed by her actions.

Some of you have seen a lot of positive things in the novel. “If I solved that this is not science fiction, but a realism of the magic of South Americans, I enjoy it (a huge fan of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Italo Calvino, and Umberto Eco. It’s a completely different genre.” Facebook Groupwhere do all these comments come from? “It’s weird, surreal and all-talented, and I think it works very well in these terms.”

For Terry James, the book began hard. We need to deal with “rough language” as we needed a lot of disbelief halts to embrace the protagonist of Nieva’s mosquito (and its incredible size). However, Terry was happy he kept going. “The more I read, the more I enjoyed it. I found literary techniques to reveal the inner struggle of the wealth, privilege and the gorgeousness of the poor, as very effective,” he wrote. “This book is creative.”

I think David Jones nailed it when he said “reading isn’t comfortable,” but he “actually enjoyed it a lot.” “It’s a very dystopian satirical, very bloody view of the future. It’s the day you read and digest how I felt about it,” he writes.

But perhaps this is because I am not a steampunk enthusiast, as the novel is mentioned on its cover. The “excessive corporation” I enjoyed with mosquitoes comes in a variety of scenes of violence and sexual depravity that I found difficult to read. I’m a Stephen King fan – I don’t mind a bit of fear and gore. But I really didn’t understand what brought richness to the story here other than making me totally terrible. I hated the sheep! I really hate it! (As some may say, that was the point, but for me it was a point that I wasn’t keen on being made.)

And when our mosquitoes were on a bloody adventure, I found it later on when we were on a bloody adventure that was far more convincing than the Borges-esque “Computer Games in Computer Games” section we had reached. It was on the wrong side of Surreal for me, or I wasn’t getting it. Terry James also had problems with the “Mighty Anarchy” component of the story and was unable to grasp its meaning. “I call this kind of ideology pseudointelligence, because it sounds very clever, but doesn’t make sense in a holistic, integrated system,” he wrote.

Overall, for me, this is not the book I’m coming back to, and I think the majority of our members were also more negative about this than positive. Judith Lazelle felt that was “unfortunate.” “Free sexual fantasy and undeveloped characters, violence is explicit and rebellious. Perhaps that was the point,” she wrote. [was] It’s effective in bringing back memories of terrible places to live.”

For Eliza Rose and Andy Feest, it was their least favorite book club ever read. Like me, Eliza wasn’t a fan of body horror, but she liked some of the corrupt companies in the storyline. “I think he’s finished it well enough because he feels like he told the story, but I didn’t need all the gore,” she wrote.

Andy described the story as “plain and weird,” and Nieva came up with an interesting concept, but he felt he could have used more backstory and details. “The end was a shame (I can’t say I’m confused),” Andy writes. “Overall, I was grateful that this was a short book because I wasn’t sure if it was a bigger novel (and I hate that I haven’t finished the book I started paying for).

Perhaps Andy doesn’t have to pay for the next book: We’re reading: Larry Nivens Ring WorldAn old classic that many of you may have on your shelf. Come and tell us what you think about us Book Club Member Facebook Pagetry this excerpt and get insight into how Larry came up with the work he wrote here to come up with the epic creation mechanisms.

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Jerry Adams may take legal action against Meta for reportedly using his book to train artificial intelligence

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Former President Sinn Fair Jerry Adams is contemplating legal action against Meta for potentially using his book to train artificial intelligence.

Adams claims that Meta, and other tech companies, have incorporated several books, including his own, into a collection of copyrighted materials for developing AI systems. He stated, “Meta has utilized many of my books without obtaining my consent. I have handed the matter over to lawyers.”

On Wednesday, Sinn Féin released a statement listing the titles that were included in the collection, which contained a variety of memoirs, cookbooks, and short stories, including Adams’ autobiography “Before the Dawn: Prison Memoirs, Cage 11; Reflections on the Peace Process, Hope, and History in Northern Ireland.”

Adams joins a group of authors who have filed court documents against Meta, accusing the company of approving the use of Library Genesis, a “shadow library” known as Libgen, to access over 7.5 million books.

The authors, which include well-known names such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jacqueline Woodson, Andrew Sean Greer, Junot Díaz, and Sarah Silverman, have alleged that Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, knew that Libgen contained pirated material.

Authors have identified numerous titles from Libgen that Meta may have used to train its AI system, Llama, according to a report by the Atlantic Magazine.

The Authors Association has expressed outrage over Meta’s actions, with Chair Vanessa Fox O’Laurin stating that Meta’s actions are detrimental to writers as it allows AI to replicate creative content without permission.

Novelist Richard Osman emphasized the importance of respecting copyright laws, stating that permission is required to use an author’s work.

In response to the allegations, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company respects intellectual property rights and believes that using information to train AI models is lawful.

Last year, Meta launched an open-source AI app called Llama, a large language model similar to other AI tools such as Open Ai’s ChatGpt and Google’s Gemini. Llama is trained on a vast dataset to mimic human language and computer coding.

Adams, a prolific author, has written a variety of genres and has been identified as one of the authors in the Libgen database. Other Northern Ireland authors listed in the database include Jan Carson, Lynne Graham, Deric Henderson, and Anna Burns as reported by BBC.

Surprising Furry Secrets Hidden within Mystical Medieval Book Covers

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Medieval scribes fill a volume called veterinarians with illustrations and descriptions of fantastic creatures. Manuscripts containing representations of these animals also relied on the beast zoo. These and other volume covers were made from calf, goat, sheep, deer and pig skins.

Most of these skins were removed before they were converted to book bindings. However, the medieval manuscript sets in northeastern France have a distinctive finish. The weathered cover is covered with hair.

Matthew Collins, a biofactorologist at the University of Copenhagen and Cambridge and author of the new study, said: However, it turns out to be difficult to pinpoint the source of hairy leather.

These furry books appear to be at home at the Hogwarts Library, but were originally written by Clairvaux Abbey, a hub of the Cistercians, the orders of the Catholic monk Ks. Founded in the Champagne Adennes region of France in 1115, the monastery was located in one of the largest monastery libraries in medieval Europe.

Approximately 1,450 volumes of the monastery’s extensive corpus survive. Approximately half of these manuscripts remain in the original, fragile bindings. Many were tied in Romanesque style in the 12th and 13th centuries, parchment was placed between wooden boards fixed with thread and cord.

At Clairvaux Abbey, these Romanesque books were often housed in secondary covers, bristled with fur. Traditionally, this creepy leather was thought to be made from wild boars and deer. However, the hair follicles of some manuscripts do not match the fur of either mammal.

Dr. Collins and his colleagues examined the hairy covers of 16 manuscripts once housed at Clairebaud Abbey. Researchers rubbed the sides of the leather meat with an eraser and carefully removed the crumb-sized sample. We then used various techniques to analyze the protein sequences and bits of the ancient DNA of leather.

Their findings published in the journal on Wednesday Royal Society Open Sciencereveals that the book is tied to seal skins, not to local land mammal skins. Some books are tied up in the skin of harbor seals, and at least one came from harp seals. Comparing them to modern DNA suggests that the origins of Scandinavian and Scottish seals, or as far as Iceland and Greenland.

These different territories were once connected by complex medieval trading networks. During the Middle Ages, Scandinavian traders harvested walrus ivory and fur from Greenland and sent them to mainland Europe. Clairebaud and his monks were far more inland from these coastal front posts, but the monastery was near a trafficked trade route.

The discoveries shed light on medieval society, according to Mary Wellesley, a fellow at the London Institute of Historical Studies, who specializes in medieval manuscripts and was not involved in new papers.

“The small details of the manuscript can tell you a lot about the world that created them,” Dr. Wellesley said. “It’s a common assumption that people didn’t move around, but these monasteries are part of this incredible network of goods, books and ideas.”

Seals were a valuable product for meat, dull, waterproof skin. This could be made into boots or gloves. Some records even claim that Sealskin was used to pay church taxes. Coastal communities in Scandinavian and Ireland used Sealskin to bind books, but this practice was far more unusual in the mainland Europe.

However, Cistercian monks apparently liked Sealskin’s books. Examples of these furry manuscripts have been found in other Abbeys, descendants of Clairevaux. These monks used this material to combine the most important documents, including historical information about the Cistercians, historical information about St. Bernard.

According to Dr. Collins, the fur color of the seal may explain the preference of the monks for using animal skins. The cover of the manuscript is now yellowish-gray or spotted brown, but was once wrapped in the white fur of a seal puppy. This shade matched the best of the monks’ dissatisfaction.

“In medieval Europe, you really don’t have anything white or white,” said Dr. Collins. “It must have been very magical.”

The seal itself appears to resemble the magical entity of the monk ks. In medieval veterinarians, seals are labelled “sea calves,” resembling dogs that have raised fish tails.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Authors in London protest Meta’s theft of book and use of ‘Shadow Library’ to train AI

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A demonstration will be held today outside Meta’s London office by authors and other publishing industry experts protesting the organization’s use of copyrighted books for training artificial intelligence.

Notable figures like novelists Kate Moss and Tracy Chevalier, poet Daljit Nagra, and former chairman of the Royal Literature Society, are expected to be present outside Meta’s Kings Cross office.

Protesters will gather at Granary Square at 1:30 pm, with hand-written letters to Meta by the Authors Association (SOA) planned for 1:45 pm, also to be sent to Meta’s US headquarters.

Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly approved the use of Libgen, known as the “Shadow Library,” which contains over 7.5 million books. The Atlantic recently released a searchable database of the titles in Libgen, suggesting that authors’ works may have been used to train Meta’s AI models.

SOA Chair Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin condemned Meta’s actions as “illegal, shocking, and devastating for writers.”

Vanessa added, “Books take years to write, and Meta stealing them for AI replication threatens authors’ livelihoods.”

In response, a Meta spokesperson claimed they respect intellectual property rights and believe their actions comply with the law.

Several prominent authors, including Moss, Richard Osman, Isiguro Kawako, and Val McDermid, signed a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandi asking for Meta executives to appear before Congress. The petition garnered over 7,000 signatures.

Today’s protest is led by novelist AJ West, who expressed dismay at seeing their work in the Libgen database without consent.

A court filing in January revealed a group of authors suing Meta for copyright infringement, noting the impact on authors’ rights by using unauthorized databases like Libgen.

SOA’s chief executive Anna Gunley emphasized the detrimental effect of companies exploiting authors’ copyrighted works.

Protesters are encouraged to create placards and use hashtags like #MetaBookThieves, #DothewRiteThing, #MakeItfair.

Australian authors suggest Meta might have used their book to train AI without permission

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

The Australian author expresses being “lively alive” and feels violated knowing their work was allegedly included in a pirated dataset used to train AI.

Parents company of Facebook and Instagram faces a copyright infringement lawsuit from US authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates and comedian Sarah Silverman.

In a court application from January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly approved using the book’s online archive, Libgen Dataset, to train the company’s AI models, despite warnings from the AI executive team of its pirated nature.

In the Atlantic, Searchable databases have been released for authors to check if their work is in the Libgen Dataset.

Books by notable Australian authors, including former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, and John Howard, are among those published.

Holden Sheppard, author of Invisible Boys, a popular young adult novel adapted to a Stan series, expressed disappointment that his work was utilized in training meta AI.

He expressed his disapproval of his books being used without consent to train generative AI systems, considering it unethical and illegal and calling for fair compensation for the authors.

He emphasized the need for AI-specific laws in Australia to ensure compliance with existing copyright laws by generative AI developers or deployers.

Journalist and author Tracey Spicer discovered two of her books, including one that addresses artificial intelligence, were included in the dataset without her consent.

She called for a class-action lawsuit in Australia and urged affected authors to contact local federal lawmakers.

She criticized big technology companies for profiting while reducing writers to a serf-like status, highlighting the financial struggles of many authors.

…

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, an award-winning film critic and author of several books, expressed her frustration and called for government action.

The Australian Authors Association urged Facebook to advocate for authors whose work was used without permission.

Society Chair Sophie Cunningham contacted affected authors and condemned the treatment of writers by large companies profiting from their work.

Cunningham criticized Meta’s dealings with writers as exploitative and called for fair treatment and compensation for authors.

Mehta declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit and is reportedly lobbying for AI training on copyrighted data via executive orders.

Previously, Melbourne publisher Black Inc. Books raised concerns about the use of AI in the industry, with some companies entering agreements with publishers for content use.

My Choice of Mosquitoes as the Hero: A New Scientist Book Club Discussion

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

An unusual look hero

Arami Stock Photo

Hero Ideas Dengue fever boy Mosquitoes would have appeared in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a dengue outbreak exploded in my hometown of Buenos Aires. Dengue fever spreads all the way Aedes aegypti mosquito. This insect thrives in tropical and subtropical climates and is commonly found in many warm and humid regions of Northern Argentina.

However, in recent decades, global warming has spread to traditionally cold, yet mild climates, such as Buenos Aires and Patagonia. One of my best friends had dengue fever in 2020, but as all media attention was focused on Covid-19, the city’s public hospitals had limited testing and there was no way to get proper diagnosis or treatment. Furthermore, there were no effective vaccines or medications for dengue at the time.

During this unsettling time for my friends and people with dengue in Argentina, US company Modern announced its vaccine against Covid-19 just a few days after the genetic sequence of SARS-COV-2 was issued. This has made me think about the terrible corporate bias in scientific research, as mosquito-borne diseases (dengue, zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, etc.) have killed hundreds of thousands of people over the centuries. In fact, mosquitoes are considered the deadliest animals for humans, according to historians. Timothy Wine Guardkilled more people than anything else in history.

However, these diseases affect people in low-income countries, so there was not enough investment in vaccines or treatments. Meanwhile, biotech companies only needed a few months to develop, patent and sell products that tackle Covid-19.

So, this idea came to me to tell the story of the global Southern pandemic through the lens of the mosquito itself.

Partly inspired by the artists I admire (Franz Kafka, David Cronenberg, Hidosi Hino), I leaned a bit ironically on Latin America’s most commercially popular genre, and I was convinced that the imaginary subtitles of my story should be “the self-capacity of a mosquito.” At the same time, one of the themes of my writing was inhumanity, and I was interested in the challenge of making insects the protagonist of a novel (a genre historically designed to tell the human age, psychology, and stories). How can we achieve this by mimicking and empathy with the human experience, especially insects that are as annoying as mosquitoes?

I became a mosquito and had to adopt that perspective. I have given the famous Frobertian motto.”Madame Bobbery, C’est Moi” And I changed it to my own: Le Moustite, c’est moi.

Ursula K. Le Gin once said The basic property of science fiction is to act as a carrier bag allowing for the transition of ideas from fiction to other scientific and technical discourses. This way, this genre becomes a mutational transition ( Dengue fever boy Between literature and non-literary knowledge.

I’ve always been very grateful for this idea. Because nothing in my work as a writer would please me more than studying topics I had never noticed before.

For this book, I consulted dozens of papers and manuals on entomology, and I became a “mosquito” overnight. It was important to know the details of mosquito anatomy, explain it, and understand how its body works and feels. Therefore, although the main character is inspired by my friend, a man, I discovered that the mosquito that tells the disease is a female.

The female perspective was also guided to investigating how non-mammalian oviparous animals are involved in maternal care. Eggs designed for films by HR Giger alien drawn and classified by the naturalist Ernst Heckel, in his illustrated treatise, Georges Bataille’s The story of the eyes It also fueled this oval obsession.

In this novel, I tried to tell a story about climate change from a perspective that restored human lives more than humans. I hope readers will resonate with my hero.

Dengue fever boy Michel Nieva, translated Published by Serpent’s Tail from the Spanish of Rahul Bery the latest choice for the New Scientist Book Club. Sign up here and read with us

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A New Book Explores the Mystery of the Space Bermuda Triangle

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

dry january

An estimated 15% of American adults (260 million people) and 9 million Britons participated in last year’s Dry January. And recent scientific discoveries show that just one month of abstaining from alcohol can have many lasting benefits. Here’s what you can expect, including a timeline of the changes you’ll experience after a year of sobriety.

Search for dark matter

Neutrinos themselves are elusive, but they are beginning to disrupt the search for dark matter. They appear where they are not wanted…and no amount of rock can prevent them.

How Ozempic will change the world

This weight loss drug revolutionized the health industry, breaking sales records and making headlines around the world. Obesity rates in the United States have fallen by 2 percent since the drug was introduced, and that trend shows no signs of slowing down.

invisible

The urge to be invisible goes back a long way. Hunters and soldiers have been finding ways to camouflage themselves for centuries, but scientists are inching closer to making things truly invisible. Using new materials and technologies, we can hide ourselves from sensors…and soon we will be able to hide ourselves from human eyes.

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How to make your New Year’s resolutions last:Why so many New Year’s resolutions fail…and how to make positive new habits stick forever.
Best coffee machines for making perfect homemade coffee: Want to take your morning wake-up juice to the next level?Tech expert Alex Hughes puts your taste buds to the test with the cups of five coffee machines.
Q&A:Your questions answered! This month: How can I shake off the January blues? Is the cat liquid? What is Tally Monster? How can I burn more calories while walking? What happens (to my body) when I quit vaping? Why can’t I lose weight when I drink alcohol? How can I see Jupiter?

No. 415 Released on Tuesday, January 21, 2025

don’t forget thatBBC Science FocusAlso available on all major digital platforms. There is a version ofandroid,Kindle Fire and Kindle e-readers,but also,iOS appFor iPad and iPhone.

Dissecting Jordan Peterson’s latest book – downright draining.

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Biblical approach

A new book by psychologist-turned-YouTuber Jordan Peterson has been published. we wrestle with god It's a work about how ancient myths and legends, if perhaps not literal truths, contain valuable, even universal lessons about life and humanity.

The feedback was also positive. Anthropologists will tell you that there is much to be gained from studying mythology. You can learn about how past societies thought about the relationship between ordinary people and elites, and about humanity's place in the natural world.

But when I reached the last page of the preface, the penny that had been so high somehow fell. This is not a worldwide study. Only Biblical stories are featured, almost entirely from Genesis and Exodus, because the Bible is the “presupposed story of Western civilization” and “the foundation of the West, plain and simple.” The story is featured.

Feedback's grasp of intellectual history is admittedly a little vague, but Western society and modern science, while shaped by Christianity, were also influenced by the ideas of ancient Greeks, Romans, Norsemen, and Arabic scholars. There is no doubt that it is. Fundamentals of scientific revolution, etc.

However, we do not pretend to be experts in Biblical exegesis. I'd like to leave the theological criticism to former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who says Peterson “relies heavily on somewhat outdated Christian commentary” and “relentlessly disdains nuance and disagreement.” ” states.

Instead, we unpack small sections where Peterson tries to connect his ideas to human biology (something we know a little about).

eve problem

Chapter 2 tells the story of Adam and Eve being chased out of the Garden of Eden after Eve, tempted by the serpent, eats the forbidden fruit and convinces Adam to do the same.

Peterson says this reflects a fundamental flaw in the minds of men and women. “The temptation that forever faces women,” he writes, “is the idea that maternal benevolence can proudly extend to the whole world, even to the most venomous snakes…even if the position is wrong. He uses her compassion to assert unearned moral virtues and abilities, even when he is wrong.

Men, on the other hand, have “corresponding and equally deadly sins.” It's the belief that “anything you bring before me I can take in, control, name, subdue, and put into proper order” – no matter how “too much” or “That's ridiculous.”

While men must exercise “emergency powers” and decide who deserves help, it is women's role to show compassion and draw men's attention to those who are suffering.

Since the book aims to reveal absolute truths about human nature, feedback relished the lack of reflection on the part about the dangers of “going too far.”

Now, one might expect psychologist Peterson to provide psychological evidence for these differences between men and women. That would be a mistake. But he tries to tie it to the biology of childbirth. Labor is painful and dangerous because human babies' brains have evolved to be larger and they must pass through a narrower birth canal, which otherwise would be “difficult for women to run,” she said. explain.

This caused neurons in the brain to fire due to feedback overload. Peterson restates a hypothesis called the “obstetric dilemma.” Founded in 1960.

Today, it is one of the most controversial concepts in anthropology, and all of its underlying assumptions have been proven false or questionable. The 2018 study was bluntly titled: “There is no such thing as an 'obstetric dilemma'”. 2021 counterattack (Deep breath) “It is unwarranted to completely reject the obstetric dilemma hypothesis, because some of its basic assumptions are not well discounted,'' he said.

Feedback alone is not wise to resolve this sticky dispute. But at least unlike Peterson, we get it. She went on to say that pregnant and breastfeeding women are “increasedly dependent” and cannot compete with men for position, and at this point we have used our emergency powers to stop reading. said.

word of the year

Feedback enjoys the annual ritual in which the dictionary announces the word of the year. That tells us something about changing practices. We are proud of the existence of Macquarie Dictionary, Australia's national language dictionary, and the fact that the word of the year in 2024 is 'Encitization”.

This great term was coined by author Cory Doctorow to describe how companies gradually degrade their service as they squeeze more and more profit out of their customers. He was referring to companies like Google, where search results are full of ads and unreliable AI-generated summaries, and Facebook, where newsfeeds are full of memes and ads and messages from friends and family are barely visible. It means a company.

Ever since I read Doctorow's paper, the word feedback has been around. first essayAnd I'm glad that this work will be accepted by a wider audience.

Have a story for feedback?

You can email your article to Feedback at feedback@newscientist.com. Please enter your home address. This week's and past feedback can be found on our website.

Can AI Take Over the Role of Translators? | Book

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

aAs anyone who has pointed their phone’s camera at a foreign menu recently knows, machine translation has come a long way since the early days of Google Translate. While the usefulness of AI-assisted translation in such situations is unquestionable, the proposed use of AI in literary translation is even more controversial.

Dutch publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning has announced that it will use AI translation for commercial novels, promising that no books will be translated this way without careful checks and that consent from authors is required. This infuriated both authors and translators, despite their attempts to reassure them.

“Translators don’t just translate words; we build bridges between cultures, taking into account the target audience every step of the way,” says Lukas Reinfeldt in The Discomfort of Evening. says Michelle Hutchison, winner of the 2020 International Booker Prize for translation. “We sneak in subtle hints that help readers understand particular cultural elements and traditions. We convey rhythm, poetry, wordplay, and metaphor. Even in novels, for example, agricultural Accurately study mechanical terminology.

Translators and authors also point out that AI translations require very careful checking and editing, ideally by someone who knows both languages. At that point, the person may end up translating the text themselves. Cultural sensitivity is of particular concern, as AI is known to produce grossly inappropriate material.

“Last year, a reader pointed out some problems with the French version of my book,” says Juno Dawson, author of the “On Her Majesty’s Royal Society” series. “The translators were using slightly outdated words to describe transgender people. They were able to change the terminology before publication. It’s these nuances that the AI misses. I think AI-generated content will require strict editing anyway.”

However, there are some scenarios where machine translation could possibly help creators of cultural works. For example, for writers working in minority languages whose work currently has no translations into English or other languages, AI-assisted translation could help them reach a wider audience. And in video games, localization can be one of the biggest costs for small independent developers, especially those whose first language isn’t English. AI translation of in-game text could theoretically help developers reach a wider audience and help players who speak minority languages enjoy their games more. But there are obvious limitations here as well.

Dr. Jack Ratcliffe is the designer and CEO of Noun Town, a mixed reality language learning game where players roam around a virtual city and converse with locals in one of 40 supported languages. “If you’re playing a simple game where you see text and you press left, right and A to jump, you could probably machine translate it and suddenly it becomes much more accessible to a lot of people in different languages.” he says. “However, if there are nuances like characters having a conversation with each other, and you want to convey that as a game creator… using AI can be scary.”

“If there is any nuance… using AI will be scary”…Screenshot from mixed reality language learning game Noun Town. Photo: Noun Street

Noun Town has approximately 50,000 lines of dialogue, all of which is translated by humans, voice-acted, and checked by language teachers. Ratcliffe said the studio experimented with AI translation and found that using it in languages other than English produced significantly worse results.

“What we found in our tests is that into the Nothing is perfect when it comes to AI, but English is actually fine,” he says. “These large language models have learned a lot of English. When you get into other languages, especially less popular ones, the languages become more and more and more confusing.”

Therefore, game developers who create games with lots of words and dialogue are considering the high cost of localization and probably care as much about the meanings and nuances of those words as book authors do. I’m sure there are.

There is a clear difference between practicality and technology when it comes to how people feel about AI translation. Few would argue against using AI like a dictionary to identify meaning. But translators do more than that, of course. Dawson says: “These writers are artists in their own right.”

“I started adding lines to my translations that said, ‘Created by hand, without the use of generative AI,’” Hutchison says. “As translators, given the current threat to our existence, we need to be vocal about what our work is now. It’s not just about typing.

Is Convenience Making Our Lives More Difficult? The Big Idea Examined in this Book

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

TThe conveniences of modern life are incredible. Currently, my phone is wirelessly playing some of the greatest hits from the 1700s (like Bach) through a portable speaker. You can easily get a ride, order food to your doorstep, or start chatting on a dating app using the same device. To quote Arthur C. Clarke, for modern humans, this technology is third lawindistinguishable from magic.

It’s understandable that our culture seeks out and celebrates these shortcuts. They eliminate boredom, enhance fun, and save time and effort. However, it’s evident that convenience also has a downside.

Before discussing that, it’s crucial to understand why convenience is so attractive. We often resist doing what’s necessary for progress, whether it’s taxes, a pending report, or training. There’s a sense of inertia behind every well-meaning plan. Why is this resistance and the desire for comfort ingrained in us?

Insights from evolutionary psychology, specifically the concept of “evolutionary mismatch,” can provide clarity. Evolutionary mismatch suggests that we evolved for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle while our environment drastically changed, leaving our instincts out of sync with our surroundings.

Viewing the issue through this evolutionary lens makes sense of our tendency towards lethargy and seeking shortcuts. For early humans, food and energy were scarce and unreliable. Survival meant conserving energy wisely to tackle the challenges they faced.

In today’s world, technology has altered our environment to cater somewhat to our energy-conservation instinct. However, adopting trends that prioritize comfort and convenience may come at a cost. While innovations like washing machines and phones have enriched our lives, excessive convenience may pose challenges rather than easing them.

For instance, the increase in depression and anxiety linked to smartphones and social media is worrying. Also, metabolic issues from sedentary lifestyles and reliance on convenient but low-nutrient foods are on the rise. Loneliness levels have prompted the UK to appoint a ‘Minister for Loneliness’ in 2018, partly due to the technologies fostering such isolation.

Over-reliance on coping mechanisms can exacerbate problems they were meant to solve. Choosing comfort excessively can hinder our ability to face life’s challenges. Some discomfort is vital for our growth and survival, as evidenced by our ancestors’ ability to balance safety and risk intelligently.

Super-convenience has its allure, but it might also deplete us unknowingly, making it harder to achieve true success. Human flourishing hinges not just on survival but on growth, problem-solving, and unity in adversity.

Embracing life’s challenges is essential for personal development. While technology offers convenience, it’s crucial to recognize that overcoming obstacles and discomfort is part of our evolutionary heritage. This lesson is critical for the younger generation.

Dr. Alex Carmi is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and speaker. thinking mind Podcast.

A valid reason for causing bad feelings: Insights from the Frontiers of Evolutionary Psychiatry by Randolph M. Nesse (Penguin, £10.99)

behave: Human Biology at its Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky (Vintage, £12.99)

anxious generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Driving an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (Allen Lane, £25)

BBC Science Focus Magazine Unveils New Book: Endless Power

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Dark Empath

A surprising study finds that people with dark personality traits can also be highly empathetic – but does this make them more dangerous? that's right What goes on in the mind of a dark empath?

Lionsman Mushroom

Lion's Man is making waves right now. This hairy mushroom's health-boosting and disease-preventing properties are being lauded across the internet and it's widely available as a supplement, taking the health food world by storm. But is all the hype real? Food and nutritionist Dr Emma Beckett delves into the science behind Lion's Man's claims for immunity, inflammation, gastrointestinal health, mental health, cognition, heart health, diabetes and cancer – and of course the side effects.

Deep Sea Creatures

Discover some weird and wonderful creatures that live in the darkest depths of the ocean and the extraordinary vision they've evolved. To find prey or avoid predators, these incredible eyes can detect bioluminescence, or the last vestiges of the sun's light dripping into the pitch black ocean.

Black hole collision

Just as runners “hit the wall” at the end of a race, supermassive black holes come to a near-complete halt as they hurtle towards each other. Is it dark matter that gets them over this final hurdle and allows them to collide?

plus

Questions and Answers: Expand your science knowledge bit by bit. This time we will be covering topics like: What is the most secret weapon we know? How to overcome the fear of rejection? What is the strongest substance in the universe? Do we all have lizard brains? Can we really absorb microplastics through our skin? And many more!
Polluted Rivers: This year's men's triathlon was postponed due to concerns about the quality of the Seine's water. Meanwhile, in Britain, seas and rivers are being used as dumping grounds for untreated sewage. terrible it is?
Scientific Hacks for Better Sleep: Did you know the secret to better sleep is to fall asleep faster? Here are 8 science-backed tips to help you fall asleep quickly and restfully every night.

Issue 409 will be released on Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Don't forget BBC Science Focus It is also available on major digital platforms. Android, Kindle Fire and Kindle e-Reader,and iOS App For iPad and iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge Review: Impressive Performance, but Limited Battery Life

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Samsung’s first entry into Microsoft’s new Arm-powered Copilot+ PCs is the Galaxy Book 4 Edge, set to deliver impressive speed and battery life that can compete with Apple’s MacBook Air.

This sleek, ultra-thin laptop comes in 14-inch or 16-inch sizes and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip, aiming to challenge Intel as the top PC laptop chip.

Prices start at £1,399 (€1,699/$999.99) for the base model, with the top-of-the-line 16-inch version priced at £1,700, positioning it as a premium competitor to products from Microsoft, Dell, and Apple.

The Galaxy Book features HDMI, USB-A, a microSD card slot, and a USB4 port, all in an incredibly thin and light 16-inch design. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The laptop boasts a familiar Samsung Galaxy Book design with premium aluminum construction, but lacks originality in its aesthetics.

The standout feature is the vibrant OLED touchscreen display, though it may attract fingerprints and could be brighter. The anti-reflective coating enhances usability under various lighting conditions.

While the keyboard is standard, the oversized trackpad feels somewhat redundant with its traditional mechanical design. The speakers are decent but can be obstructed when using the laptop on soft surfaces.

The 16-inch model includes a number pad on the right side, contributing to a slightly off-center keyboard and trackpad layout. Photo: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The laptop’s webcam offers AI effects but lacks facial recognition, requiring a fingerprint scan for unlocking.

Specifications

Screen: 14″ or 16″ 3K AMOLED 2880 x 1800 (120Hz)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 512GB or 1TB
Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Camera: 2 megapixels (1080p)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, 2 x USB4, headphones, HDMI2.1 (USB-A and microSD 16″ only)
14 inch Dimensions: 312.3 x 223.8 x 10.9mm

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Book Release: The Hunger Games

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Graviton

It is one of the four fundamental forces, but what is gravity? It is made of? A quantum theory of gravity doesn’t exist (yet), but that hasn’t stopped scientists from pursuing these elusive particles.

Unusual waves

Ship-sinking “storm waves” are hitting our oceans… Scientists don’t know why. But there are calls for increased monitoring to build predictive models for these deadly waves. Here’s what we know about these mysterious, seemingly random phenomena.

Glowing Cave

Contrary to popular belief, radioactive material does not actually glow (as you can see by looking at a uranium rod). The Simpsons However, a team of nuclear forensics experts is working on developing a device that will do just that. BBC Science Focus News Editor Noah Leach meets the scientists behind this revolutionary device.

What will the universe become?

Using giant supercolliders, scientists hope to discover hidden instabilities built into the fabric of existence… instabilities that could destroy everything. So will it freeze, crumble, rip apart, or get sucked away? Here’s how cosmologists are tackling one of the biggest questions of all: “What will happen at the absolute end of all things?”

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Master your motivation: Why are some of us procrastinators and others driven and proactive? It’s all in the brain. Understanding the science behind motivation might help you achieve more. We’ve created a simple step-by-step guide to help you do just that.
Zero-emission aviation: After a long wait, the world’s first zero-emission aircraft is finally a reality, but are these battery-powered aircraft really the solution we need?
How to slow down time: In today’s modern world, with phone notifications, emails, endless meetings, and caffeine breaks, your days may feel like a blur. Sensing When you have less time, it feels like you have more time.

Issue 406 is scheduled to be released on June 11, 2024

Please do not forgetBBC Science FocusIt is also available on major digital platforms.Android,Kindle Fire and Kindle e-Reader,andiOS AppFor iPad and iPhone.

The Blueprint for Youth: A new book on anti-aging

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

Royal Institution Christmas Lecture

As the busiest year in the history of artificial intelligence (AI) comes to a close, Professor Mike Wooldridge is preparing to deliver the Royal Institution’s first Christmas lecture on this topic. BBC Science Focus news editor Noah Leach spoke with him to get a preview of the demonstrations included in his talk and to get some insight into how he thinks AI will change children’s world.

Billionaire’s Christmas List

If we were all millionaires, Christmas would be very different. We want to buy our loved ones a diamond chess set or a trip to the moon, but we’ve set our sights on more modest gifts. But who said we can’t dream? So this year, we’ve selected some of our favorite “money doesn’t matter” gifts, as well as some more realistic alternatives.

Natural disaster: earthquake

Earth-shaking earthquake events can occur far from fault lines between plates. And there’s no easy way to predict when and where they’ll hit (unless you’re at a Taylor Swift concert).

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Science in 2023, summary: Science news is always breaking, whether it’s an unexpected discovery or an answer to a question you never knew would be asked. We’ve rounded up some of the most interesting science articles that made headlines over the past 12 months.
Planet Earth III: join the bbc Planet Earth III Join the film crew as they go behind the scenes at an urban farm that has turned fields into towers and is run almost entirely by robots.
The future of law enforcement: In some cases, witnesses may identify the wrong suspect and an innocent person may be convicted of a crime they did not commit. But new interactive images could help eyewitnesses recall memories more accurately, revolutionize policing and reduce the number of wrongful convictions.

No. 399 Released on December 7, 2023

Don’t forget that BBC Science Focus is also available on all major digital platforms. There is a version for android, Kindle Fire and Kindle e-readers, but also, iOS app for iPad and iPhone.