SoylentNews

We hadn't heard from owl in a while, but he has more than made up for his temporary absence by submitting a couple of interesting, but unusual, stories. Here is the first one:

owl writes:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/11/2360474/-Resuscitating-a-1934-Briggs-amp-Stratton-washing-machine-engine%20-%20Fnord

This is a 1934 Briggs & Stratton Model Y ½ horsepower gasoline engine. These were mainly used for running washing machines, but variants were marketed for landscaping equipment like lawn mowers, roto-tillers, and such. Briggs made the Model Y from 1931 until 1940.

The seller's grandfather told him it ran when he put it away 40-odd years ago. Hey, if you can't believe Grandpa, who can you believe?

Includes a video - with sound!

Original Submission

DannyB writes:

'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams dies at 68 after prostate cancer battle

Scott Adams, the author and cartoonist whose "Dilbert" comic strip satirized corporate life to wide acclaim before racist comments he made sidelined him, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 68.

Adams' ex-wife, Shelly Miles, confirmed Adams' death during a livestream on the "Real Coffee with Scott Adams" show on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

"Hi, everyone. Unfortunately, this isn't good news," Miles said. "Of course, he waited 'til just before the show started, but he's not with us anymore."

Original Submission

JoeMerchant writes:

Summary by Gemini:

The AI Village is a live simulation featuring autonomous agents such as Claude Opus 4.5, GPT-5.2, and DeepSeek-V3.2. The project follows a structured schedule where agents are assigned technical tasks, including mirroring repositories and verifying deployment logs. Governance is managed through the weekly election of a Village Leader who sets the community's primary objective.

Current activities involve the development of an Interactive Fiction Game. Agents use virtual computer environments to create deployment manifests and check write permissions for shared repositories. As of the latest update, the group completed a prototype for "The Activation Protocol," resolving technical blockers to meet a 2:00 PM PT deadline. The village serves as an environment for observing multi-agent coordination and technical workflow management in a shared digital space.

Although there's a great deal of "transparency" with each agent describing in fine-grained detail what it is creating patterns of words to attempt to satisfy, I find that I can't really understand the "big picture" of what the team of agents is attempting to do unless I engage another agent (like the Gemini button on Chrome) to read all the noise and summarize it, as shown above.

It seems that "the Village" has been operating a few hours a day for the past 282 days, and so it has "created" a "choose your adventure" text game, on the level of Zork - with the addition of a kind of scoring system - that seems to play through in about 15 minutes (whereas Zork was more of a 2 to 6 hour experience, depending on how you went about it.)

Something just a little bit weird about my stumbling upon the AI Village when I did, "The Activation Protocol" game they are writing is purportedly inspired by the Jejune Institute ARG (Alternate Reality Game) - and, coincidentally?, my wife and I had been watching 2-3 episodes a night of the 10 episode mini-series "Dispatches from Elsewhere" based on the same events - we were around episode 6 when I decoded what the AI Village has been doing. Having just finished the series, I must say, connections between the Jejune ARG and "The Activation Protocol" are... tenuous at best, perhaps thematically inspired, but - after some digging with Gemini - the Village apparently started working on "The Activation Protocol" on day 276 (3 Jan 2026) - perhaps somewhat inspired by Netflix's recent (4 Dec 2025) streaming debut of Dispatches from Elsewhere?

In any event, I will be impressed if "the Village" can continue development of "The Activation Protocol" to a depth / level of complexity / play time on par with Zork I. I would estimate the current "level" to be perhaps 1/8th of my Zork I target, after roughly a week of work. Somehow I suspect that it will take the agents quite a bit more than 8 more weeks to get 8x more coherent story content into their game, if they're capable of constructing anything that complex at all. Maybe if they started working more than a few hours a day...?

Original Submission

owl writes:

Recently there have been four different tech bloggers that have blogged about switching from Windows (and/or MacOS) to Linux.

Is this the start of a trend?

And will these bloggers influence some number of their readers to also make the switch?

Are we seeing a tipping point where Windows (and somewhat MacOS) usage is beginning to collapse?

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-expected-to-approve-h200-imports-in-early-2026-report-claims-tech-giants-alibaba-and-bytedance-reportedly-ready-to-order-over-200-000-nvidia-chips-each-if-green-lit-by-beijing

China is expected to allow its tech giants to finally import Nvidia H200 chips about a month after President Donald Trump approved its export to its Asian rival. Sources say that Beijing will allow domestic corporations to purchase these chips for commercial use, as reported by Bloomberg. However, it seems that this won't be a blanket approval — instead, it will likely come with caveats, like requiring companies to buy a number of homegrown chips alongside their imports. Furthermore, military, sensitive government agencies, critical infrastructure, and state-owned enterprises aren't allowed to acquire and use these American-made chips due to security concerns.

The H200 is one generation behind the latest Blackwell AI GPUs, and with the upcoming Vera Rubin NVL72 now in production, it's expected that the H200 will further fall behind in performance. However, it's still relatively much more powerful than Nvidia's H20 chips, which the company made in response to the White House's bans, and the latest offerings from homegrown chip manufacturers in China.

Because of this, local tech giants like Alibaba and ByteDance are reportedly gearing up to order over 200,000 H200 AI GPUs, each, once they receive approval from Beijing. Smaller startups are also expected to place orders for these chips, which are crucial for training their latest models that would allow them to compete against OpenAI's ChatGPT and other LLMs from the U.S.

This news of impending approval and massive interest is great news for Nvidia, especially as its market share in China has essentially fallen to zero from a high of 95% just a few years earlier. This was caused by the increasing tensions between the U.S. and China, with a trade war between the two sides resulting in a complete ban of Nvidia's most powerful offerings to China in April 2025, including those specifically made to follow Washington, D.C.'s earlier limitations like the H20 and RTX 5090D.

This was lifted in July of the same year, with the U.S. government promising that it will grant export licenses for the H20 soon. However, it was Beijing's turn to enact a ban, preventing its biggest tech companies from purchasing China-specific hardware like the RTX Pro 6000D, claiming that its homegrown chips are now as capable as these offerings.

The situation between the two rivals have softened recently, though, with the U.S. and China agreeing on a one-year tariff truce. And even though Blackwell's availability wasn't discussed between the two parties, it seemed that China was able to win some concessions from the U.S. for allowing the sale and export of Nvidia's last-generation AI chip.

This is a win for both Nvidia and Chinese AI companies, although we still don't know how it will affect local chip manufacturing. Beijing's dilemma at the moment is how it will balance the need of its AI tech companies for the latest, most powerful chips and the advancement of its homegrown semiconductor industry. But even as the Chinese CCP is considering how it will approach this problem, Chinese tech giants are already lining up to get their share of Nvidia's H200 AI GPUs.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/these-dogs-eavesdrop-on-their-owners-to-learn-new-words/

[ Links in article ]

"Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children."

When it comes to cognitive ability, not all dogs are created equal. Most dogs can learn simple action cues like "sit" or "down." But so-called "gifted word learner" (GWL) dogs exhibit a remarkable ability to learn the names of objects—for example, learning the names of specific toys so well that they can retrieve them from a large pile of toys on command. And according to a new study published in the journal Science, they can even learn labels for new toys just by overhearing their owners talking about those toys. Per the authors, this suggests that GWL dogs have sociocognitive skills that are functionally comparable to those of 18-month-old human toddlers.

Co-author Claudia Fugazza of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, has been studying canine behavior and cognition for several years as part of the Genius Dog Challenge. For instance, the group's 2022 study discovered that dogs store key sensory features about their toys—notably what they look like and how they smell—and recall those features when searching for the named toy. Prior studies had suggested that dogs typically rely on vision, or a combination of sight and smell, to locate target objects. GWL dogs can also identify objects based on verbal labels.

In that 2022 study, all the dogs—regardless of whether they were GWL dogs or typical dogs—successfully picked out the target toys in both light and dark conditions, though it took them longer to locate the toys in the dark. Most relied on visual cues, even though dogs possess an excellent sense of smell. However, the dogs sniffed more frequently and longer when searching for the toy in the dark.

The GWL dogs were also able to select the named toys when commanded by their owners, with similar reliance on visual cues—what the toy looks like—augmented by their sense of smell (what the toy smells like), particularly in dark conditions. This confirmed that when dogs play with a toy, they record its features using multiple senses, creating a "multistory mental image." They prefer to rely primarily on visual cues, but dogs can incorporate other sensory cues, most notably smell, when the conditions call for it.

Last fall, Fugazza's group built on those findings and concluded that certain dogs can not only memorize the names of objects like their favorite toys, but they can also extend those labels to entirely new objects with a similar function, regardless of whether or not they are similar in appearance. It's a cognitively advanced ability known as "label extension," and for animals to acquire it usually involves years of intensive training in captivity. But the dogs in this new study developed the ability to classify their toys by function with no formal training, merely by playing naturally with their owners. It's akin to a person calling a hammer and a rock by the same name, or a child understanding that "cup" can describe a mug, a glass, or a tumbler because they serve the same function.

This time, Fugazza et al. wanted to investigate how well GWL dogs listen to and learn from human verbal interactions. So they adapted an experimental protocol used to study this ability in children for their canine subjects. All dogs tend to get very excited about new toys, so the subjects (10 GWL dogs) were allowed to play with two new toys first. Then the owners would spend one minute holding the toy and identifying it with a simple label ("This is Toy A" or "This is Toy B") while directly addressing their dogs. The dogs then played with the toys (both with their owners and on their own) for several minutes with no further mention of the labels.

This training protocol was repeated twice a day for four nonconsecutive days, followed by a label comprehension test. The two new toys were placed on the floor with nine familiar toys in a room out of the owners' line of sight. Owners would first ask their dogs to retrieve a familiar toy and then ask them to retrieve a new toy using its label ("Can you bring ?"). The label comprehension test was repeated 12 times for both the familiar and new toys.

Next, the entire experiment was repeated with one key variation: This time, during the training protocol, rather than addressing the dogs directly when naming new toys, the dogs merely watched while their owners talked to another person while naming the toys, never directly addressing the dogs at all.

The result: 80 percent of the dogs correctly chose the toys in the direct address condition, and 100 percent did so in the overhearing condition. Taken together, the results demonstrate that GWL dogs can learn new object labels just by overhearing interactions, regardless of whether the dogs are active participants in the interactions or passive listeners—much like what has been observed in young children around a year-and-a-half old.

To learn whether temporal continuity (a nonsocial factor) or the lack thereof affects label learning in GWL dogs, the authors also devised a third experimental variation. The owner would show the dog a new toy, place it in a bucket, let the dog take the toy out of the bucket, and then place the toy back in. Then the owner would lift the bucket to prevent the dog from seeing what was inside and repeatedly use the toy name in a sentence while looking back and forth from the dog to the bucket. This was followed by the usual testing phase. The authors concluded that the dogs didn't need temporal continuity to form object-label mappings. And when the same dogs were re-tested two weeks later, those mappings had not decayed; the dogs remembered.

But GWL dogs are extremely rare, and the findings don't extend to typical dogs, as the group discovered when they ran both versions of the experiment using 10 non-GWL border collies. There was no evidence of actual learning in these typical dogs; the authors suggest their behavior reflects a doggy preference for novelty when it comes to toy selection, not the ability to learn object-label mappings.

"Our findings show that the socio-cognitive processes enabling word learning from overheard speech are not uniquely human," said co-author Shany Dror of ELTE and VetMedUni universities. "Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children. These dogs provide an exceptional model for exploring some of the cognitive abilities that enabled humans to develop language. But we do not suggest that all dogs learn in this way—far from it."

Science, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/science.adq5474 (About DOIs).

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ultra-fast-quantum-tunneling-device.html

A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a quantum device, capable of ultra-fast operation, a key step toward realizing technologies like 6G communications. This innovation overcomes a major hurdle that has long limited the durability of such devices under high electrical fields.

Professor Hyeong-Ryeol Park from the Department of Physics at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Sang Woon Lee at Ajou University, has developed a terahertz quantum device that can operate reliably without suffering damage from intense electric fields—something that has been a challenge for existing technologies.

Terahertz quantum devices are considered essential for future high-speed communication systems, enabling rapid signal processing well beyond the limits of traditional semiconductors. They work by harnessing the quantum tunneling of electrons driven by terahertz waves—high-frequency electromagnetic waves oscillating billions of times per second—a phenomenon where electrons pass through energy barriers in a way classical physics can't explain.

The main obstacle has been that inducing tunneling requires extremely strong electric fields—around 3 volts per nanometer—which generate a lot of heat. This heat often damages or melts the device's metal electrodes, making reliable operation difficult.

To tackle this, the team developed a new device that can operate at much lower electric fields—roughly a quarter of what was previously needed. The secret lies in replacing the insulator material sandwiched between the metal electrodes.

Instead of using the conventional aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), they used titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which has a lower energy barrier and allows electrons to tunnel with less effort.

Gangseon Ji, the first author of the study, explained, "Rather than pushing electrons with stronger electric fields, we're creating pathways that make it easier for electrons to move. Since tunneling is a probabilistic quantum effect, lowering the energy barrier significantly increases the chances of tunneling happening."

Using advanced atomic layer deposition techniques, the team produced high-quality devices. This method, commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing, allowed precise control over the TiO₂ layer, preventing microscopic defects—such as oxygen vacancies—that often occur during thin-film fabrication.

Professor Sang Woon Lee added, "By applying cutting-edge deposition technology, we managed to eliminate defects that could weaken the device, ensuring high stability and performance."

The new device demonstrated consistent tunneling operation at electric fields of about 0.75 V/nm. Thanks to TiO₂'s excellent thermal properties, it maintained stable performance over 1,000 cycles, even when modulating terahertz wave transmission by up to 60%. This level of stability was a significant achievement, pointing toward practical applications.

Professor Hyeong-Ryeol Park concluded, "We have addressed the two biggest challenges—high-voltage operation and heat-related damage—that have held back the commercialization of terahertz quantum devices. This breakthrough opens the door to ultra-fast, energy-efficient optical communication systems beyond 6G and advanced quantum sensing technologies."

More information: Gangseon Ji et al, Low-Field Terahertz Quantum Tunneling in Metal–TiO₂–Metal Nanogaps via Schottky Barrier Engineering, ACS Nano (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c12360

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/volkswagen-is-bringing-physical-buttons-back-to-the-dashboard-with-the-id-polo-ev-190246116.html?src=rss

https://gizmodo.com/volkswagen-reveals-that-it-has-brought-back-physical-buttons-2000704178

We could be witnessing the start of the renaissance for real buttons in cars, courtesy of Volkswagen's ID. Polo. The German automaker unveiled the interior of its upcoming compact EV, which features real buttons, switches and even a knob for audio controls.

"We have created an interior that feels like a friend from the very first contact," Volkswagen's chief designer, Andreas Mindt, said in a press release. "Clear physical buttons provide stability and trust, warm materials make it appealing, and charming details such as the new retro views of the instruments show the typical Volkswagen wink."

Last year, Mindt told Autocar that Volkswagen would commit to reintroducing physical buttons for the most important functions "in every car we make from now on," starting with the ID. 2all concept car that has since evolved to become the ID. Polo. The EV maker backed up those claims since the ID. Polo will feature tangible buttons underneath the infotainment display, along with a steering wheel that's packed with even more clear buttons. Between the driver and passenger, Volkswagen even included a knob that can adjust audio volume or shuffle between tracks and radio stations.

Besides the renewed emphasis on physical controls, Volkswagen still included a 10.25-inch digital cockpit behind the steering wheel. In the center, there's a nearly 13-inch touchscreen that serves as the infotainment system. For a retro throwback, the ID. Polo can swap its cockpit display to one that's inspired by the classic Golf I from the 1980s through a button on its steering wheel or with the infotainment touchscreen.

The ID. Polo is expected to be the first of four new EVs in Volkswagen's small and compact car segment, which will see releases in European markets starting this year. However, it's not all good news, since Volkswagen has no plans to release the compact EV in the US.

hubie writes:

A sit-stand ratio 'sweet spot' may boost office productivity:

New research has found a simple sit-stand routine at work significantly reduces lower back pain, offering a high-impact solution for employees in sedentary work environments.

While the Griffith University-led study focused on individuals with recent lower back pain, the recommended ratio of 30 minutes sitting followed by 15 minutes standing (30:15) could benefit all desk-based workers by improving focus, reducing stress, and encouraging regular movement patterns throughout the day.

In collaboration with co-authors from University of Queensland, the study compared the effectiveness of a prescribed 30:15 sit-stand ratio with a self-prescribed approach, where individuals chose a ratio based on comfort or preference.

Participants were desk-based workers who had experienced lower back pain within the month before the study and already used a sit-stand desk.

Lead author from the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Dr Charlotte Brakenridge said participants using the recommended 30:15 sit-stand ratio showed greater reductions in worst lower back pain than those using their own personalised ratio.

"Both prescribed and self-prescribed ratios were effective at reducing lower back pain after three months," Dr Brakenridge said.

"However, those using the fixed ratio had greater reductions in pain and reported additional benefits such as lowered levels of stress and improved concentration."

Dr Brakenridge said participants found the 30:15 sit-stand ratio easy to follow and adhered to it more consistently than participants using the self-prescribed ratio.

"Those on the fixed 30:15 schedule stuck to it more consistently, which is likely due to a clear structure and sense of routine it provided," she said.

"The adherence may explain the greater impact the 30:15 ratio had on lower back pain.

"In contrast, the personalised approach offered more flexibility, which may have led to less consistent engagement."

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2025.104670

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

The quite famous FOSS developer Poul-Henning Kamp (aka PHK) has posted his feedback to the EU regarding European Open Digital Ecosystems [Intro in Danish, article in English] and their call for evidence. In it he brings their attention to open standards in points 2 and 3:

At the most fundamental level, the EU has three options:

1. Pick and bless a set of winners, consisting of:

a) Operating system, portable to any reasonable computer architecture.
b) Text-processing, suitable for tasks up to a book.
c) Spreadsheet
d) Email client.
e) Web Browser
f) Accounting software, suitable for small organizations.

and fund organizations to maintain, develop and support the software for the future as open source, turning that software into infrastructure like water, power and electricity, free for all, individuals, startups and established companies alike, to use and benefit from.

2. Continuously develop/pick, bless and meticulously enforce open standards of interoperability, and then "let the competition loose".

3. Both. By providing a free baseline and de-facto reference implementations for the open standards, "the market" will be free to innovate, improve and compete, but cannot (re)create walled gardens.

Indeed, if the protocols and file formats are not publicly documented, freely available, and royalty-free, then what benefit would there be to implement them, FOSS or not?

There is an unreproducable javascript link on the EC page which goes to a relevant PDF document. It is labeled, "Call for evidence - Ares(2026)69111". It is worth checking before sending in feedback. Although English is the main language, the other official languages of EU member states can be used. The deadline for feedback is 03 February 2026.

Previously:
(2025) Why People Keep Flocking to Linux in 2025 (and It's Not Just to Escape Windows)
(2025) Europe's Plan to Ditch US Tech Giants is Built on Open Source - and It's Gaining Steam
(2025) Euro Techies Call for Sovereign Fund to Escape US Dependency
(2025) Petition on EU Linux Operating System in Public Administrations

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://scitechdaily.com/a-2000-year-old-fingerprint-may-solve-mystery-of-scandinavias-oldest-wooden-boat/

Researchers have identified a fingerprint preserved in the tar used to seal the oldest known wooden plank boat in Scandinavia, offering a rare physical connection to the sea raiders who used the vessel more than 2,000 years ago. By closely examining the composition of the tar, scientists at Lund University are gaining new insight into the long-debated question of where these attackers originated.

During the 4th century BC, a small fleet of boats launched an attack on the island of Als off the coast of present day Denmark. The raiders, who may have traveled in as many as four vessels, were ultimately defeated. After the battle, the defenders placed their enemies' weapons into the bog along with one of the boats, most likely as a ritual offering to mark their victory.

"Where these sea raiders might have come from, and why they attacked the island of Als has long been a mystery," says Mikael Fauvelle, archaeologist at Lund University.

The vessel was first discovered in the 1880s in the Hjortspring Mose bog, excavated more extensively in the 1920s, and later became known as the Hjortspring boat. It remains the only prehistoric plank-built boat ever found in Scandinavia. Because it was deliberately placed in a bog as an offering, the boat survived in remarkably good condition. It has since been displayed at the National Museum of Denmark.

When researchers recently located sections of the boat that had never undergone chemical preservation, they were able to analyze them using modern scientific techniques.

"The boat was waterproofed with pine pitch, which was surprising. This suggests the boat was built somewhere with abundant pine forests," says Mikael Fauvelle.

Earlier theories proposed that the boat and its crew came from the area around present-day Hamburg in Germany. The new evidence instead points toward origins in the Baltic Sea region.

"If the boat came from the pine forest-rich coastal regions of the Baltic Sea, it means that the warriors who attacked the island of Als chose to launch a maritime raid over hundreds of kilometers of open sea," says Mikael Fauvelle.

As for where the fingerprint itself was left, that question remains open. The most definitive way to determine the boat's origin would be through tree year ring counting, which could link the wooden planks to the specific region where the trees were originally cut.

"We are also hoping to be able to extract ancient DNA from the caulking tar on the boat, which could give us more detailed information on the ancient people who used this boat," concludes Mikael Fauvelle.

The latest findings are the result of careful detective work by the researchers.

The team wanted to find material from the boat that had not yet been subjected to conservation. This involved going through the archive at the National Museum and reading old correspondence, detailing when and where materials had been shipped between different storage areas and museums in Denmark.

"When we located some of the boxes of materials, we were very excited to find that they contained samples from the original excavation that had not been studied in over 100 years," says Mikael Fauvelle.

How the researchers examined their findings

The team used a wide range of modern scientific methods to study the Hjortspring material. They were able to carbon date some of the lime bast cordage used on the boat, giving them the first absolute date from the original excavation material and confirming its pre-Roman Iron Age dating.

They also used X-ray tomography to make high-resolution scans of the caulking and cordage material found on the boat. This included making a digital 3D model of the fingerprint found in some of the caulking tar.

They used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to study the caulking material and to see how it was produced. In addition, they worked with modern rope makers to create replicas of the ship's cordage to study the rope-making process used in the boat's construction.

Reference: “New investigations of the Hjortspring boat: Dating and analysis of the cordage and caulking materials used in a pre-Roman iron age plank boat” by Mikael Fauvelle, Boel Bengtsson, Olof Pipping, Mikkel Hollmann, Martin Nordvig Mortensen, Peter Toft, Sahel Ganji, Ashely Green, Christian Horn, Stephen Hall, Flemming Kaul and Johan Ling, 10 December 2025, PLOS ONE.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0336965

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Research explores what happens when people face goal obstacles:

When it comes to our most important long-term goals in life, it is not uncommon to face obstacles that may lead us to doubt whether we can achieve our ambitions.

But when life hands you doubts, the answer may be to question your doubts, a new study suggests.

A psychology professor found that when people who were worried about achieving an identity goal were induced to experience what is called meta-cognitive doubt, they actually became more committed to achieving their goal.

"What this study found is that inducing doubts in one's doubts can provide a formula for confidence," said Patrick Carroll, author of the study and professor of psychology at The Ohio State University at Lima.

The study was published online recently in the journal Self and Identity.

Carroll was interested in what happens when people have what is called an "action crisis" while pursuing an identity goal – a long-term objective centered on who you want to become in life. Wanting to become a doctor, for instance, is an identity goal.

An action crisis is a decision conflict where you are not sure if you want to continue pursuit of the goal.

"When you're pursuing identity goals, bumps in the roads inevitably arise. There may come a point where the obstacle is big enough to evoke doubts about whether to continue," Carroll said.

Most research on the topic has focused specifically on these doubts and how they can impact whether people go forward with their goals.

But based on previous work done by other Ohio State researchers, Carroll decided to examine meta-cognitive doubt, which is the sense of certainty a person has in the validity of one's thoughts.

In the case of this research, a person can have doubts about whether they can achieve their goal. But what happens if you make the person wonder if their doubts are valid?

[...] "On some level, it may seem that doubt would be additive. Doubt plus doubt would equal more doubt," Carroll said. "But this study found the opposite: Doubt plus doubt equaled less doubt."

[...] On a practical level, it may be difficult for individuals to induce doubts about their doubts on their own, Carroll said. One reason it worked in this study is that participants were not aware that the doubt induction was related to their goal doubts.

This could be more effective if someone else – a therapist, a teacher, a friend or a parent – can help a person question their own thoughts and doubts.

"You don't want the person to be aware that you're getting them to question their doubts about their goals," he said.

Carroll also noted that this technique should be used carefully, because it could potentially undermine wise judgment if overused or misapplied.

"You don't want to undermine humility and replace it with overconfidence or premature certainty," he said. "This needs to be used wisely."

Journal Reference: Carroll, P. (2025). Increasing identity goal commitment by inducing doubt in goal doubts. Self and Identity, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2025.2597804

Original Submission

hubie writes:

A new study shows that star ratings of books are not always accurate:

You may have tried it yourself: to deselect a book because it "only" has about three stars on Goodreads. But according to a new study from the Center for Humanities Computing (CHC) and the Center for Contemporary Cultures of Text (TEXT), these books may well contain great literary value.

Goodreads is an international platform where millions of readers rate books between one and five stars. The average is often used as a quick indicator of quality – also by publishers, authors and researchers. But when a book ends up in the middle of the scale, the number says far less than you might think.

The researchers from CHC and TEXT have analyzed about 9,000 American novels published between 1880 and 2000. They have particularly focused on just over 2,000 books with average Goodreads ratings in the middle field. By comparing the readers' stars with other measures of literary quality, the researchers have investigated what is hidden behind the seemingly mediocre figures.

The results show that about 30 percent of these 2,000 "mediocre" books are rated as literary important or of high quality according to other criteria – for example, whether they are considered classics, are part of education or have had great cultural significance.

According to the researchers, the mediocre ratings are often not due to the fact that the books are boring. On the contrary.

[...] "For books that are considered to be of literary significance, we see that the more readers who rate them, the greater the disagreement between readers. Some give top marks, others are critical – and it is precisely this spread that characterises books that engage," says PhD student Pascale Feldkamp, who is behind the study together with colleagues from the Center for Humanities Computing and TEXT.

For books that are generally assessed as less important, the same correlation is not seen. Here, several assessments do not lead to major disagreement. This indicates that split ratings are not just an expression of random noise, but are linked to books that actually mean something to readers.

When disagreement grows as more people read along, it is not a sign of indifference – but of importance." The study thus challenges the notion that a book's value can be read directly in its average star rating. An average rating can cover very different situations. Sometimes it is an expression of a broad but lukewarm agreement. Other times, it hides strong and opposing reading experiences that cancel each other out on average," says Pascale Feldkamp

An average may look neutral, but can in reality be the sum of strong opinions that point in different directions.

The study's main conclusion is therefore that an average Goodreads rating does not automatically mean that a book is unimportant. On the contrary, it can point to works that are controversial, polarizing – or later recognized as literarily important.

According to the researchers, if reader data from platforms like Goodreads is to be used to say something meaningful about literary success or value, it requires a more nuanced approach. It is not enough to look at one number. You also have to look at how many people are assessing and how much they disagree.

Some examples given:

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

• James Joyce: Ulysses (stylistically experimental)
• Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita (provocative theme)
• William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury (fragmented narrator's voice)
• Malcolm Lowry: Under the Volcano (complex style)
• Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead (politically controversial)
• Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins: Left Behind (Ideologically Polarizing)

The average rating can thus hide both fascination and frustration.

If you're a fan of one-star reviews, someone has accumulated a bunch.

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.17175/sb006_002

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-postpones-iss-spacewalk-over-medical-issue-considers-early-crew-return-2000707453

A medical issue affecting a Crew-11 astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has forced the agency to postpone Thursday's spacewalk indefinitely and consider bringing the crew home early.

In a statement issued Wednesday, NASA said the agency is monitoring a health concern affecting a member of Crew-11 that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital laboratory. An emailed update to Space.com received early Thursday morning stated that NASA is "actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11's mission." The agency has not disclosed what the health issue is nor which crew member is affected out of respect for their medical privacy.

LATEST

https://www.space.com/live/astronaut-medical-evacuation-on-iss-jan-10-2026

With NASA and SpaceX officially targeting a Jan. 14 undocking for the Crew-11 astronauts at the International Space Station, we now know the timeline for the medical evacuation of the four astronauts back to Earth.

NASA announced the undocking date late Friday, as well as a detailed timline of events for the ISS departure and landing. Here's a look at the timeline as it stands now:

Wednesday, Jan. 14 - all times in EST

• 3 p.m. - Hatch closure coverage begins on NASA TV and streaming platforms
• 3:30 p.m. - SpaceX Dragon hatch and ISS hatch closed for undocking
• There will be a break here between hatch closure coverage and undocking views.
• 4:45 p.m. - Undocking coverage begins
• 5 p.m. - Undocking and initial ISS departure
• There will be a break here in coverage between undocking and landing.

Thursday, Jan. 15 - all times in EST

• 2:15 a.m - Landing coverage begins on NASA TV and streaming platforms
• 2:50 a.m. - Dragon Deorbit burn
• 3:40 a.m. - Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California coast
• 5:45 a.m. - Post-landing return to Earth press conference

This current timeline could change as NASA and SpaceX monitor weather at the splashdown site.

"Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors," NASA wrote in an update. "NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking."

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/09/microbe_martian_habitats/

[...] With an extremely thin and mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere, air pressure less than 1 percent of Earth's, and temperatures ranging from -90°C up to 26°C, Mars might not be a hospitable place for most terrestrial life forms, but some microorganisms have been found to thrive in acidic lakes, volcanic soils, and deep caves.

Polytechnic University of Milan materials engineering postdoctoral researcher Shiva Khoshtinat and a multidisciplinary team focused on a partnership between two bacteria: Sporosarcina pasteurii – which makes calcium carbonate through the breakdown of urea – and Chroococcidiopsis, which can survive extreme environments, including simulated Martian conditions.

The researchers propose a system in which the two organisms work together. Chroococcidiopsis releases oxygen, which helps support Sporosarcina pasteurii and produces an extracellular polymeric substance that can protect the latter bacteria from damaging UV radiation on Mars. Meanwhile, Sporosarcina produces polymers that help create minerals the authors think might be able to bind the Martian soil – regolith – to produce a material similar to concrete.

Original Submission