Recommended Links of the Week (No. 735)

Whoever wants a selection of links, videos and galleries of all kinds has come to the right place. In this edition of the Recommended Links of the Week: the blind spot, the extremist mind, pornography consumption among young people, the Earth's magnetic field and the Internet's neutral points. All that and more, below...

How pornography influences young people: "Online pornography can hardly be compared with the pornography of fifty years ago, found in erotic magazines, an X-rated cinema or on VHS. In the mid-1980s it was still necessary to walk into a video store and overcome the shame to watch a pornographic film. The digitalization of content has transformed the accessibility, the reach of the pornographic industry and leisure and consumption habits. But the issue is not only that young people can very easily and free of charge access content that may be inappropriate."

Science, philosophy and extraterrestrial life: "In short, without philosophy there is no science. Scientists, for the most part —oh, there are so many and so different... it's hard to believe that the same ones are always shown to us in the major media—, have neither the time to know, nor the desire to learn, whether what they do has some ontological and epistemic essence or is simple existential entertainment, pragmatism to order the universe in our own image and likeness, and instrumentalism to create gadgets with which to doze without having to contemplate how life goes by."

The science hidden in the mind of an extremist: "Once collected by philosophy or religion, today this idea about the balance between two opposites —that between white and black there is a wide variety of greys that are a better reflection of reality— continues to be present in our society. So, for example, beyond religion or philosophy, if we speak of science, we could frame within psychology or sociology the study of how human beings position themselves on the spectrum that unfolds between two opposing positions, whether ideological, political, social or religious."

The blind spot: "In The blind spot, Daniel Goleman refers to a shadow zone that affects us all. A blind spot, an emptiness that lacks existence. You too can discover that blind spot in your perceptual system with a simple experiment. Just cover your left eye and then fix your gaze on the black rhombus. Then you must move your head away or closer, without ever stopping to stare at the rhombus. You will discover that at a certain distance, perhaps about 40 or 50 centimeters, the black circle disappears."

The brick that will retire the batteries: it stores energy to offer cheap light 24 hours a day: "What happens at night, when there is no sun to keep generating energy with the numerous solar panels spread across Spain? Storage systems made up of batteries become indispensable to provide constant energy. Different solutions respond to this growing demand, such as a new type of concrete that works like a giant battery in building walls or these new thermal bricks."

How the innovative cargo ship with giant sails works to sail on wind energy: "Using the wind to propel ships is one of the oldest maritime technologies, but now it may be reaching another level. A cargo ship equipped with giant rigid sails of British design has just set out on its first voyage. The shipping company Cargill, which chartered the ship, hopes the technology will help the maritime transport industry chart a course toward a greener future. The WindWings sails are designed to reduce fuel consumption."

This is life in the Sonoran Desert, the hottest place on the entire planet: "The hottest spot on the entire planet is no longer in Death Valley. Nor in some lost place in the deserts of the Middle East. On the contrary, climate change has led the Sonoran Desert to take that distinction. Despite being bordered by the sea, on the northwest coast of Mexico, this ecosystem has been affected by the rise in the planet's temperatures."

Starliner, the ship that didn't want to carry people into space: "The United States currently has three crewed ships in service: SpaceX's Crew Dragon, Boeing's Starliner and NASA's Orion (built by Lockheed Martin). It is the first time a nation has three crewed space vehicles at the same time. But, for now, only the Crew Dragon has flown to space with people on board (and it has already done so successfully ten times). Orion will carry astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission, hopefully in 2024, but what about the Starliner?"

What is the Earth's magnetic field for? Our cosmic shield: "Without the magnetic field, life on Earth simply would not exist. Its main function is to act as a protective shield against the cosmic threats that brush against our planet. Mainly, it keeps us safe from the solar wind, which is a flow of charged ion particles that detach from the upper solar atmosphere. This type of particle emits radiation that, without the magnetic field, would simply reach the Earth's surface in full force."

Karel Zeman, master of old-school special effects: "But Zeman's true career as a film director began with the creation of his own series of satirical animated shorts starring a puppet named Mr. Prokouk, which was a great success and became one of the favorites among Czechs. His experiment with glass animation resulted in a short film that tells a poetic love story without words using animated glass figures."

Neutral points, essential to how the Internet works: "The neutral points, or Internet exchange points, are a key element in how the Internet works. Many people know how to use the network of networks. However, very few know how the Internet works so that each user can see at all times the information they request, regardless of their location. In this sense, the "neutral points" are an essential part of the Internet's infrastructure. So let's see below what Internet exchange points consist of and how they work."

How do they know what dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures looked like?: "Paleontology would begin to take shape, as flying and aquatic reptiles were discovered. In 1924, William Buckland would find the jaw of the Megalosaurus. The following year, the physician Gideon Mantell would find the tooth of the Iguanodon and, in 1932, the Hylaeosaurus. Richard Owen would call them dinosaurs, "terrible reptiles". Although Mantell defended that they were cunning animals similar to birds, Owen considered them degenerate, stupid and slow reptiles that became extinct by their own, their own ineptitude."

Videos

Dog steals a car and crashes it, 3D printing changed the life of this little dog, a slug eating a mushroom, plays the guitar like no one else, the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing live, he built a machine to cut his own hair, Derren Brown - Cold Reading (with Spanish subtitles), an afternoon at the pool eating pasta (by an artificial intelligence), Mortal Kombat 1 (more fighters), a micro apartment in Japan, building a wooden car in 24 hours, a rescue filmed by drone, a sinister mass of clouds advancing, the market launch of the Windows 95 operating system, what happens if you destroy a black hole, The Beach Boys singing "Hurt" (by AI), why we will never be able to talk to animals, the stop-motion short film Other Half (2021) and desynchronizing robots.

Galleries

Thousands of works of art in excellent quality, Kuli Bordados, the best portrait photos of 2023, the architecture of Alexander Zhidkov, Soviet fashion in the 80s, Star Wars if it were Finnish, the best black-and-white photos of 2023, nature in focus 2023, a camera for little birds, Interview magazine covers (retro), thread art, the Vertedero Animado and the Tiradero Visual de la Semana.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend, or a good week if you read this on Monday. Hug!