A writing system developed by one of the world’s earliest urban societies has given linguists nothing but grief since it was first discovered on an unintelligible stone seal in the ancient city of Harappa, in what is now Pakistan, 150 years ago. Hoping to finally crack the code, authorities have now announced a $1 million prize to anyone who manages to decipher the so-called Indus Valley Script (IVS).

Advertisement go ad Free

Also known as the Harappan Script, the IVS was invented by the Indus Valley Civilization which emerged in the region encompassed by northern India and Pakistan some 5,300 years ago. Known for its walled cities, the Bronze Age culture thrived for several centuries before mysteriously vanishing, leaving archaeologists with few clues as to how these ancient people lived.

Grants are for two years, in order to enable the grantees to submit a regular application to the next competition in their area of research. It is implemented within the framework of the regular BSF research grants program, i.e., it must exhibit scientific excellence, have a strong element of cooperation between Israeli and American scientists, and fall within the areas of research supported in that year by the BSF. In addition, at least one of the principal investigators should have attained his/her Ph.D., M.D. degree or equivalent, no more than ten years prior to submitting his/her proposal.

Time flows at different speeds in different states of mind, and sometimes expands dramatically. Does this mean that it is created by our minds?

The University of Seville’s SMART tokamak has achieved a critical milestone by creating its first tokamak plasma.

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid, and gas. It is an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons. It was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s.

Me, Yahoo, kuulumme Yahoo-konsernin bränditSivustot ja sovellukset, jotka omistamme ja joita operoimme, mukaan lukien Yahoo ja AOL, sekä digitaalinen mainospalvelumme, Yahoo Advertising. Yahoo-konserniin.

A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that while the baboons noticed and responded to a laser mark shining on their arms, legs and hands, they did not react when they saw, via their mirror reflection, the laser on their faces and ears.

It was the first time a controlled laser mark test has been done on these animals in a wild setting and strengthens the evidence from other studies that monkeys don’t recognize their own reflection.

The researchers observed 120 Chacma baboons in Tsaobis Nature Park, Namibia, between May and October 2021 to better understand self-awareness among wild non-hominid primates, who have previously been tested almost exclusively in captivity.

Well, I find this a bit disappointing. I was hoping that the contest between global workspace theory (GWT) and integrated information theory (IIT) would be announced sometime this year. Apparently, I’m going to have to wait awhile:

Pitts describes the intention of this competition as “to kill one or both theories,” but adds that while he is unsure that either will be definitively disproved, both theories have a good chance of being critically challenged. It’s expected to take three years for the experiments to be conducted and the data to be analyzed before a verdict is reached.

Three years. And of course there remains no guarantee the results will be decisive. Sigh.

What if the future of tunnels wasn’t about digging? The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, the world’s largest immersed tunnel, is being built without a single tunnel boring machine. Instead, engineers are using a bold, unconventional method that’s faster, more precise, and environmentally conscious. Stretching 18 kilometers beneath the Baltic Sea, this $7 billion project is set to transform travel and trade in Europe.

79K Followers, 24 Following, 770 Posts — See Instagram photos and videos from The Why Files