Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 29, 2019

IEEE Spectrum's weekly selection of awesome robot videos; Protecting privacy in the digital world; Alibaba claims fastest RISC-V processor; An argument that soft science can be stronger than hard science; Learning Morse code

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Straight from my RSS feed:

Links and micro-summaries from my 1000+ daily headlines. I filter them so you don't have to.

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1. Video Friday: A Two-Armed Robot That Balances on a Ball - IEEE Spectrum's weekly selection of awesome robot videos includes a 2-armed robot balancing on a ball; an underwater transforming vehicle that switches between Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV) for sea exploration; self-reconfiguring modular robots; A gripper with a passive oppose-able thumb that can pick up flat objects; A robotic arm putting bags on pallets; cleaning and dish-sorting robots; A humanoid robot that dances; and more...
   
   Here's a video of the humanoid dancer:
   

The challenges of locking down my cyber-life - Wikipedia co-founder and Everipedia executive, Larry Sanger, posts an update on his 6-month (and counting) effort to lock down his privacy. He reports the progress he has made in his efforts to stop using the Chrome browser, switch from Google Search to DuckDuckGo, find better password management software, stop using social media logins, stop using gmail, and a number of other privacy enhancing activities.

Alibaba crafts world's 'fastest' 'open-source' RISC-V processor yet: 16 cores, 64-bit, 2.5GHz, 12nm, out-of-order exec - According to China's tech behemoth, Alibaba, it has created the fastest RISC-V processor to date, and it will open source some or all of the blueprints. The RISC V architecture is an open source hardware platform that's backed by tech A-listers like: Google, Nvidia, Western Digital, Qualcomm, Alibaba, and more. Alibaba's processor, the Xuantie 910 is sized at 12 nm, and it runs sixteen 64-bit cores at speeds up to 2.5 GHz. According to Alibaba, the chip is up to 40% faster on benchmarks than its RISC-V competition. This appears to be part of CEO Jack Ma's on-going plan to develop Alibaba's AI capability while reducing reliance on US technology.

Don’t Be Too Quick to Dismiss “Soft Science” - In Scientific American, Matthew J. Monnot argues that the so-called "soft" science behind the study of management and leadership is often more reliable than findings from the "hard" sciences. For example, he notes that ibuprofen explains a very small percentage of total levels of pain, and life-saving medicines often just extend lives for just weeks or months - at enormous expense. On the other hand, a factor like commitment to management by objective (MBO) in business can explain 67% of productivity changes, and authentic leadership shows an astounding 69% correlation with trust. The article closes with the following suggestion: "It's time to move beyond the colloquial term 'soft' science and skills when referring to organizational leadership—perhaps toward something more descriptive such as 'CORE' (Competence in Organizational and Relational Effectiveness) science."

STEEM Understanding The Morse Code - Many of us have programmed it, but can you do it in your head? In this post, @aishwarya discusses the early history of Morse code, informing the reader that it was created when Samuel Morse was inspired by tradegy to create a faster means of communication after receiving a letter of his wife's illness, and returning home to find her already deceased. The post also contains a Morse code chart, a video, and a really cool website that can all help with memorizing the code (I learned half a dozen letters in minutes by using the web site. I'll have to go back later for a refresher and to learn the rest.). (A beneficiary setting of 5% has been assigned to @aishwarya.)

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In order to help make Steem the go to place for timely information on diverse topics, I invite you to discuss any of these links in the comments and/or your own response post.

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My other open posts

@remlaps

• If you want Steem's minnows to use their downvotes, protect them with quorum sensing
  

@remlaps-lite

• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 28, 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 27, 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 26, 2019
  
• My Actifit Report Card: July 25 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 25, 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 24, 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Business, leadership, and entrepreneurship micro-summaries for July 24, 2019
  
• Curating the Internet: Science and technology micro-summaries for July 23, 2019
  

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