Meanwhile. . .

Via Leo Levy

 

 If dating as an adult has you feeling like you’re back in high school, blame the algorithm. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington have found that the algorithms which control most online dating platforms these days prioritize both popularity and attractiveness over compatibility when making user recommendations.  The study authors evaluated data from over 240,000 users on a major online dating platform in Asia over the course of three months. This led to the determination that a user’s chance of being recommended by the platform’s algorithm increased by a notable margin as their average attractiveness score went up. This indicates the algorithm is biased toward users who are either more popular or considered more attractive on the platform.

Between April and June of 2023, U.S. cellphone users reported that out of every 100 times they tried to use data, text, or make a call, they had problems 11 times. That’s up from about nine problems per 100 connections in most of 2020 and 2021, according to a report from J.D. Power. All three major carriers—Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T had worse scores on this metric in the first part of 2023 than they’d had in early 2021.  

At most art museums, touching the paintings may result in you being removed from the premises, but one traveling exhibition encourages visitors to get hands-on. Featuring renowned works like Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”  re-created in 3D, it offers those who are visually impaired the opportunity to fully experience the legendary pieces. Artist Tomas Bustos and his wife Jacinta came up with Masterpiece Relief for the Blind after visiting the Louvre over a decade ago and seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. “My wife says, ‘It’s a shame that the blind would never see the “Mona Lisa.”’ And it kind of gave me an idea to do a relief,” he told NPR. So Bustos drew the painting to scale, then sculpted it in clay and cast it in bronze.

Hairdressers have long had a reputation for being good listeners. Now, a new initiative in West and Central Africa is tapping into this strength by training hairdressers as mental health ambassadors. The effort, launched by the Bluemind Foundation, is geared toward reaching women in a comfortable and accessible environment where they feel safe to share their stories.

One fearless kayaker completed the biggest recorded descent of a glacial waterfall, and video of the 65-foot drop will have your jaw on the floor

Prison phone calls are now free in Massachusetts, making it the fifth state in the country to eliminate the fees

A federal judge blocked Montana’s TikTok ban yesterday. The law, the first of its kind in the nation, was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have prohibited all use of the hugely popular video app in Montana. The ruling: The ban “oversteps state power” and was designed to target the Chinese company that owns TikTok, rather than to protect Montanans, the judge said.

With a busy transcontinental network of 254,000 miles of tracks at its height a little over a century ago, America moved on trains. Today, the United States’ passenger rail system is an echo of its former self, with swathes of the network unused or surrendered to freight. Over the last century, the United States shifted its focus ­— and investments ­— away from passenger railroads and toward travel by cars and planes. That may be starting to change

A recent AP poll in the U.S. showed nearly half of Americans think too much is being spent on Ukraine. An increasing number of Republicans are not in favor of sending more aid, and it is not clear if or when a request for more from the White House will be approved by Congress. When asked about this, Zelenskyy replied bluntly that “the choice of Americans is the choice of Americans.” But he argued that by helping Ukraine, Americans are also helping themselves.