Before there was Fortnite, Minecraft or GTA, the first video game was a digital version of checkers created back in the 1950s, where players typed their moves. #NationalVideoGameDay
The Conversation
Who invented video games?
Video games are everywhere. So who was the first person to come up with the idea of playing a game on a computer screen?
“I meet new Walt Whitmans every day,” he once said. “There are a dozen of me afloat. I don’t know which Walt Whitman I am.” Long before Instagram, Walt Whitman staged selfies to craft his image. In his lifelong search for the “real Me,” the more images he collected, the more he seemed to lose himself in their contradictions.
The Conversation
Like today’s selfie-takers, Walt Whitman used photography to curate his image – but ended up more lost than found
The poet obsessively collected images of himself, foreshadowing both the good and the bad of today’s selfie culture.
White-tailed deer once nearly vanished from North America — down to just 1% of their current population. Their population recovery tells a bigger story about conservation, capitalism, hunting and coexistence.
The Conversation
The rise and fall – and rise again – of white-tailed deer
A new archaeological study finds early evidence of white-tailed deer declines in the 17th century, likely driven by the commodification of deerskin...
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Soviet music lovers found an ingenious way to circumvent censorship: recording banned Western music onto used X-ray films. This "bone music" became a symbol of freedom and self-expression.
The Conversation
When Elvis and Ella were pressed onto X-rays – the subversive legacy of Soviet ‘bone music’
The bizarre, homemade technology became a way to skirt censors in the Soviet Union – and even played an indirect role in its dissolution.
The average lifetime risk of developing dementia between ages 55-95 is 42%, higher for women and Black adults. Chronic stress can impact brain function, mood, and healthy habits, yet is often overlooked in prevention efforts.
The Conversation
Chronic stress contributes to cognitive decline and dementia risk – 2 healthy-aging experts explain what you can do about it
Even small lifestyle changes – such as more social interaction and a better diet – can help reduce stress.
What are chickadees discussing with their calls? Scientists are decoding the intricate "chick-a-dee" call, which contains six elements that can be combined in hundreds of ways, following rules similar to human grammar.
The Conversation
Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls
Mountain chickadees follow systematic grammarlike rules to share important information, stringing together syllables like words in a sentence.
Mind uploading sounds like sci-fi, but some scientists believe it's theoretically possible. The idea: Copy your brain’s memories and thoughts into a computer and live digitally, maybe forever. The catch: We're likely centuries away from making it real.
The Conversation
Can you upload a human mind into a computer? A neuroscientist ponders what’s possible
Science has done many things that seem miraculous. Why not transfer your consciousness to a machine?
Medieval #Christianity honored saints who rejected gender norms to live more fully into their faith. As one scholar writes: “Transness is not merely compatible with holiness; transness itself is holy.”
The Conversation
Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today
There are at least 34 documented stories of transgender saints’ lives, three of which had widespread popularity in medieval Europe.
 #trans #LGBTQ
Unplug your chargers when you’re not using them. It can waste a tiny bit of energy and shorten their lifespan. Cheap chargers? Even bigger safety risk 🔥
The Conversation
Is it OK to leave device chargers plugged in all the time? An expert explains
‘Vampire power’ is real.
Why do some small towns lose their local paper while others don’t? It’s not luck – it’s about wealth, race, and market forces. This means that local news dies where it’s needed most.
The Conversation
Why some towns lose local news − and others don’t
Since 2005, the US has lost over one-third of its local newspapers. A scholar found out why some communities can keep their papers − while others...