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The Mystery of Go, the Ancient Game That Computers Still Can’t Win

The challenge is daunting. In 1994, machines took the checkers crown, when a program called Chinook beat the top human. Then, three years later, they topped the chess world, IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer besting world champion Garry Kasparov. Now, computers match or surpass top humans in a wide variety of games: Othello, Scrabble, backgammon, poker, even Jeopardy. But not Go. It’s the one classic game where wetware still dominates hardware.

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posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:31 PM PST - 72 comments

For more than half a century, pallet futurists have announced the next big thing, only to see the basic wooden variety remain the workhorse of global logistics. Pallets, previously.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:56 PM PST - 34 comments

"Once illuminated, the line transforms: It mimics and abstracts, glows and flickers, and implores and distracts." An online museum of Hong Kong's neon signs.
posted by spitefulcrow at 3:18 PM PST - 7 comments

Psycho-Pass is a fantastic anime written by Gen Urobuchi, the man who brought us 2011's brilliant Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Even if you are not an anime fan (I'm iffy on it myself), Psycho-Pass is worth checking out. Set in a "utopian" society where psychological profiles can be analyzed remotely, police carry guns that can only fire at would-be criminals, and aptitude tests determine how to provide "the greatest number of people with the greatest amount of happiness", Psycho-Pass asks intriguing, provocative questions about the relationships between humans and computers, criminals and society, and the responsibilities we owe society, versus the responsibilities said societies owe us in turn. There is also a good deal of people shooting each other, if you're into that sort of thing.

Psycho-Pass can be watched for free, either subbed or dubbed, at Hulu (as can Madoka if "lighthearted" "fantasy" is more your cup of tea).
posted by Rory Marinich at 2:17 PM PST - 39 comments

The Complex City Guide has a bit of information on 15 possible headquarters for the Illuminati, but it's a slideshow with limited information, and there's a lot of information out there, so let's get into it. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief at 1:52 PM PST - 74 comments

The Pissing Tanker is on a Mission to Stop Public Urination in India
posted by KokuRyu at 12:11 PM PST - 48 comments

The Black Fantastic: Highlights of Pre-World War II African and African-American Speculative Fiction: pulp historian Jess Nevins attempts to shine a light on a long neglected part of science fiction and fantasy. [more inside]
posted by MartinWisse at 11:23 AM PST - 16 comments

How Naspers CEO Koos Bekker beat the New York Times at its own game by Michael Moritz [more inside]
posted by infini at 10:50 AM PST - 12 comments

Tomorrow morning 281spellers will begin to compete for the title of 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion, and starting Wednesday, you can play along. [more inside]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:24 AM PST - 29 comments

Kyle Kallgren finishes "Shakespeare Month" on his art house movie review series "Brows Held High" (previously) with a smashing take down of Roland Emmerich's 2011 Shakespeare-was-a-fraud conspiracy thriller "Anonymous". [more inside]
posted by The Whelk at 9:36 AM PST - 25 comments

A Dictionary of Navy Slang Compiled From Various Sources 67 pages of history and hilarity.
posted by timsteil at 8:24 AM PST - 35 comments

how one gay athlete's coming out (autoplaying video) led to an activists' war
posted by and they trembled before her fury at 5:35 AM PST - 34 comments