Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for May, 2011
Blow Your Mind: Machines, Morality and Sexbots
by Robert Lamb | May 19, 2011
As we covered in a previous episode, robots can now be programmed to deceive other robots and even humans. But did you know they can also be programmed to approximate something like guilt? Julie and I consult with Dr. Ronald Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology on teaching bots how to process like humans.
And yes, we will also talk about sexy, sexy sexbots — machines crafted through our ingenuity to appeal to our most basic cravings. We’ve all heard of the notorious Roxxxy. What does it mean to have feelings for a machine, ethically? Dr. Arkin weighs in and even goes so far as to declare Roxxxy a “bad robot.” And not in the naughty sense. In the crappy sense.
Yes, this is a real thing that people do.
According to a Miami Herald writer who horse-surfed with Beach Horses in Bradenton Beach, Fla., you’re led into the ocean bareback on a horse, and once the animal is submerged in water up to its shoulders, you’re free to stand up on its back and “surf.”
Here’s an intriguing proposition from toymaker Arvind Gupta: Could we use trash to build inexpensive learning tools for children? In this video from Ted.com, Gupta demonstrates how several of his toys are built. His passion is as impressive as his inventiveness. Seriously: This man is the MacGyver of toys. With nothing more than a few [...]
As doctors, scientists and engineers build better robotic prosthetics, some tricky ethical questions arise. One of those questions can be worded this way: Is it ethical to amputate a limb in order to replace it with a robotic prosthesis? Some people won’t raise an eyebrow to such a question. Others might feel that choosing to lose a flesh-and-blood limb in order to gain a robotic one is wrong. In fact, those arguments are taking place in the real world right now.
In the world of sound, Gordon Hempton — aka the Sound Tracker — is a pretty big deal. He’s traveled Earth recording everything from the clattering shuffle of freight trains to nocturnal symphonies of chirrups and clicks in forests across the planet. In addition to his life as a globetrotting audio ecologist, Gordon is dealing [...]
Did you know that we have a Forums section at HowStuffWorks.com? It’s relatively new and it’s a place where our visitors, fans and staff can discuss topics ranging from the silly (here’s a post I wrote about whether Marvel should create a unified mythology for films based on comic books) to serious subjects. And here’s the kicker — we know we don’t have all the answers. But maybe some of you out there do.
When discussing the concept of love at first sight on the most recent Stuff Mom Never Told You episode, Molly and I speak solely from the perspective of being able to actually see the object of attraction. But how might that instant magnetism change if you’re blind? According to one blind man’s account, it seems that ‘love at first sight’ then becomes ‘love at first sound’.
Wingsuit flying, if you’re not aware, is the adventurous pastime of those for whom traditional skydiving no long stirs the exhilarating fear of death. I researched the topic shortly after arriving at HowStuffWorks to write How Wingsuit Flying Works, but as remarkable as the engineering is and as phenomenal as some of the related world records are, it really takes a video like this to drive home the sheer madness and awe of it all.
There is no big shortage of guys in search of cheap, abundant, free energy. We are, after all, going to eventually run out of fossil fuels — if we haven’t already — and we will require something to keep the global economy humming, lest it shut down. One of my favorites is a man in Florida who figured out a way to make common saltwater burn. Anything that can be made combustible is inherently potentially useful for energy, since at the very least heat can be used to create steam which can be used to turn a turbine, which can generate electricity. And what’s more abundant on the surface of Earth then salt water?
It’s no secret that censorship is a historically controversial topic, and the rise of the internet has reinvigorated some of the traditional, ongoing debates. For example, how should a country determine what information becomes classified? Or, to take it from another angle, how much power should the state have when it comes to censoring material [...]
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Have a Coke and a Smile
- The Latest in Frugal Lodging: Camping in Somebody Else’s Backyard
- The Painted Beauties of Bucovina
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
