The Futurist is your daily tech, cosmic, and science (both weird or otherwise) newsletter with articles and content curated just for you. Who invented the pinhole camera, which a lot of people use to look at eclipses? Hint: Was a long time ago. But not as long ago as the concept behind it was developed. (Scroll to the bottom for the answer!) | | “According to some estimates, the generation of the heat used to produce traditional portland cement is responsible for 5% to 8% of all human-made CO2 emissions. A new substance known as C-Crete, however, is claimed to be a much greener – yet still practical – alternative.” | They say the best things in life are free, and when it comes to trials, we certainly agree. Right now, you can try Walmart+ free for 30 days, which is plenty of time for you to test it out and make sure you love it before committing. But what’s not to love? You’ll get free delivery for goods and groceries from your local store, free shipping with no order minimum plus easy returns from the comfort of home, a free Paramount+ subscription, fuel savings, travel perks, and more. Wow. Did we get everything? We think so. Start enjoying all these W+ perks for free for one month with the membership that can save you up to $1,300 each year. [Ad] | “Google’s and Microsoft’s search engines have a problem with deepfake porn videos. Since deepfakes emerged half a decade ago, the technology has consistently been used to abuse and harass women—using machine learning to morph someone’s head into pornography without their permission. Now the number of nonconsensual deepfake porn videos is growing at an exponential rate, fueled by the advancement of AI technologies and an expanding deepfake ecosystem.” | “Millions of Earthlings just watched the "ring of fire" solar eclipse. Out in space, some 22,300 miles above Earth, a powerful U.S. weather satellite captured a different view: the moon's dominant eclipse shadow passing over the planet.” | Supercharge your virtual meetings and webinars by signing up for a Zoom account with WorkingLive. For only $12.99/month, host unlimited meetings and webinars with up to 500 participants and all the features of a premium Zoom plan. [Ad] | “From an up-close image of an ancient horseshoe crab to the chilling documentation of predator-killing contests in Texas, these incredible photos are some of the 2023 winners in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. New Scientist spoke to the winning photographers, alongside broadcaster Chris Packham, about the stories behind the images and how they hope their work will inspire change.” | Interested in having one of your social posts featured in The Futurist? | | The answer: Ibn Al-Haytham | According to the Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon: “The Greeks apparently understood the principle of the pinhole camera and developed convex mirrors and burning glasses as well. The Greeks, however, are not remembered for their ability to putter around, so the pinhole camera waited in the wings for almost 1500 years. Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham), whom D.J. Lovell 1 called the greatest authority on optics in the Middle Ages, lived around + 1000 on the Gregorian calendar, invented the pinhole camera, and explained why the image was upside down. He also studied the optics of the eye and used the Arabic word for lentil to describe the lens of the eye. Indirectly, therefore, he gave us the modern English word, lens, which is the Latin word for lentil.” | | | | |
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