Surprising Science — March 24, 2014

Meet Victor, the Trash-Talking Robot

This is exactly what the world needs: a trash-talking robot. Victor likes to think that he’s a a master Scrabble player, and it gives him a superiority complex that he takes out on those around him. But the problem is, he’s not very good at Scrabble. And when he loses, Victor gets into an even fouler mood.

What’s the point of building such a mercurial robot? Watch this video from The Wall Street Journal to find out:

Image credit: SeanMcMennemy/Flickr

A red sad face, a yellow neutral face, and a green happy face

Neuropsych

Psychology studies that go viral are likelier to be bogus

A new 20-year analysis of over 14,000 psychology studies finds that a study’s media coverage is negatively linked to its replicability.

The Future

How a device transmits radio waves with almost no power

Apart from the energy needed to flip the switch, no other energy is needed to transmit the information.

The Present

Radical idea: Redraw the U.S. map as a nation of city-states

While cities drive national economic growth, their political geography means they cannot effectively deal with inequality, poverty, and other socioeconomic problems.

The Learning Curve

Why do high IQ people stagnate in their careers? Emotional intelligence

Research suggests that emotional intelligence is more vital for success than IQ.

The Present

Even in the age of AI, some problems are just too difficult for computers

Computers are growing more powerful and more capable, but everything has limits

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