Stunning ultraviolet images of Mars captured by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft, offering scientists new understanding of the planet’s atmosphere by rendering atmospheric ozone, clouds, and hazes in different colors. How far we’ve come from Étienne Léopold Trouvelot’s pioneering 19th-century depictions.
Beautiful animated short film about the wonder and fragility of life. Couple with what happens when we die.
Some artists want assurances that their own work not be used to train the AIs… But.. the algorithms are exposed to 6 billion images with attendant text. If you are not an influential artist, removing your work makes zero difference. A generated picture will look exactly the same with or without your work in the training set. But even if you are an influential artist, removing your images still won’t matter. Because your style has affected the work of others—the definition of influence—your influence will remain even if your images are removed. Imagine if we removed all of Van Gogh’s pictures from the training set. The style of Van Gogh would still be embedded in the vast ocean of images created by those who have imitated or been influenced by him.
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What’s more, lines of influence are famously blurred, ephemeral, and imprecise. We are all influenced by everything around us, to degrees we are not aware of and certainly can’t quantify. When we write a memo or snap a picture with our phone, to what extent have we been influenced—directly or indirectly—by Ernest Hemingway or Dorothea Lange? It’s impossible to unravel our influences when we create something. It is likewise impossible to unravel the strands of influence in the AI image universe.
How they built the wormhole in the lab and what it all means.
Amanita muscaria, poisonous to humans, is edible for reindeer and might have inspired the myth of Santa’s flying sleigh. According to the BBC:
In the past, Sámi shamans took fly agaric in their visionary rituals. They even drank urine from reindeer believed to be under the influence.
Also see the strange science of mushrooms and music.
HT @ologies
John Steinbeck on the art of receiving and the true meaning of gratitude.
Stunning 19th-century French natural history illustrations from La Monde de la Mer.
Nature is always listening – the fascinating science of mushrooms, music, and how sound waves stimulate mycelial growth.
Listening as a creative act: There are gifted musicians, yes, but there are also gifted listeners – the great composer Aaron Copland (born on this day in 1900) on how to be one.
The Dragon Arum and other stunning 200-year-old illustrations of flowers inspired by Erasmus Darwin’s scandalous scientific poem introducing the sexual reproduction of plants.