Dear Readers,
As we gear up for a great 2023, we bring you the third edition of our newsletter, comprising the Disney movies’ gender disparity, the state of Data analytics and AI, and a new protection system from lightning strikes.
3 Reading Recommendations
- Did you know that 98% of the dialogue in the Jungle Book movie is from male characters? Data visualizations can be fun and even more informative while providing evidence for arguments and claims. Glance through this extraordinary analysis of screenplay scripts in Hollywood by the Pudding that analyzes the dialogues by women and men in Disney movies | The Largest Ever Analysis of Film Dialogue by Gender: 2,000 scripts, 25,000 actors, 4 million lines (pudding.cool)
- As the roles for Chief Data Officers continue to rise, more companies are embracing the need for Data-driven analytics and AI systems at their workplaces. With Data Modernization increasingly becoming a top investment focus internally, organizations are looking to up their Data Science and AI game. However, building a data-driven culture remains a struggle, with only few organizations actively working towards it or even realizing it as a priority need | Action and Inaction on Data, Analytics, and AI (mit.edu)
We are all aware of the myth of Sisyphus, doomed to push the boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down again, repeating the task for eternity. What if Sisyphus lived in today's world? What would his punishing task look like? Look at artist Chaz Hutton's comic as he discusses the challenge of creating a comic and revisiting it from various perspectives while maintaining the enjoyment of the process. | The Sisyphean Task of Drawing Sisyphus
1 Mathematical Concept to Ponder Upon
The Ulam Spiral is a fun and visual way to discover prime numbers. It is a grid of numbers arranged in a spiral pattern where prime numbers are marked and color-coded, allowing patterns and symmetries to emerge. It is a unique representation of the distribution of primes that offers endless possibilities for exploration, a wonderful way to learn about prime numbers and number theory. | Ulam Spiral of Prime Numbers
1 Crazy Idea Picking Up Steam
Since the 18th century, the primary method for protecting communities from lightning has been through a lightning rod, but it has only sometimes been effective. Scientists have developed a laser device, slightly larger than a car, which can produce up to a thousand pulses per second into the sky. These pulses create virtual lightning rods that successfully intercept the lightning flashes and redirect their currents. Could lasers be the future for protecting us from lightning? | This rapid-fire laser diverts lightning strikes
1 Tech in Pop-Culture
Marvin the Paranoid Android, Wall-E, and even the Mars rovers bring out a cathartic reaction of sadness in us. Is there a particular reason the robots are depicted as sad and lonely beings? Nicholas Russel delves into the recurring theme of sadness in popular culture's portrayal of robots and posits that it may stem from the idea that robots, as artificial beings, cannot truly experience emotions. | From Hitchhiker’s Paranoid Android to Wall-E: why are pop culture robots so sad?
