Questions tagged [technology]
The making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function.
188 questions
33 votes
2 answers
5k views
Did Microsoft Windows popularize Klondike solitaire?
I saw this claim on Twitter: Sometimes in period movies or TV, they'll depict someone playing Solitaire. But the form of Solitaire they're usually depicted playing—a.k.a. Klondike—was actually very ...
- 833
15 votes
1 answer
16k views
Is the six million dollar hut challenge real?
According to a video posted on YouTube two weeks ago, there exists a "$6,000,000 Hut Challenge - 150 Days Alone" in which a contestant can win the aforementioned six million dollars by ...
- 4,245
5 votes
1 answer
642 views
Did Allies confiscate 150 000 tonnes of secret files from Nazi Germany after WWII?
Recently I found an about an article about Germany's intellectual property theft during the National Socialist Government era. I checked many of the claims and they seem to be true, but there are few ...
- 121
7 votes
1 answer
612 views
Did the German Nazi government create rockets capable of speeds of 8,000 km/h?
Recently, I found an article about Germany's intellectual property theft during the National Socialist Government era. I checked many of the claims and they seem to be true, but there are few I didn't ...
- 121
23 votes
2 answers
6k views
Are first-person view (FPV) drones responsible for 75% of casualties on Russian side in Russia-Ukraine war?
Youtuber Civ Div states on video A year after it was learned that they [first-person view (FPV) drones] are the most effective weapon on the battlefield. The stats are insane. There was a Russian ...
- 11.5k
5 votes
1 answer
775 views
Does running an NLP model generate 300 tonnes of CO₂?
The AI critic Kate Crawford writes in her book The Atlas of AI: With a focus on trying to understand the carbon footprint of natural language processing (NLP) models, they began to sketch out ...
- 235
19 votes
1 answer
2k views
Can a person's age be automatically estimated based on hand gesture analysis?
Background The Australian Government recently asked for submissions from the public regarding the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 which requires social media platforms to ...
- 147k
1 vote
1 answer
868 views
Does the Sono cancel noise from outside by vibrating a window?
Created by industrial designer Rudolf Stefanich, the Sono sticks to glass surfaces and claims to dial down unwanted noise. After it receives a sound’s vibrations, it claims to reprocess them much like ...
3 votes
0 answers
335 views
Was AI used in the June 2024 NHS data breach?
There is a BBC segment called "AI Decoded" in which they have convened a panel of cyber security experts. The episode is titled "Hackers expose deep cybersecurity vulnerabilities in AI&...
- 131
12 votes
1 answer
1k views
Are phones listening to our conversations for ad targeting?
Are 'smartphones' (i.e. Google and social media) listening in on users' conversations for targetted advertising? I don't mean keeping a record of the voice commands we give virtual assistants, but ...
- 1,081
8 votes
1 answer
1k views
Does Hamas have 500 km of tunnels under Gaza?
In 2021, Hamas leader said "We have 500 km of tunnels in Gaza". The reason I find it dubious is due to speed of digging. Accodring to Wikipedia, a tunnel boring machine can dig in rock in a ...
4 votes
3 answers
677 views
Can Russia jam GPS as far as Sofia, Bulgaria (with ships)?
It's been claimed by various observers that Russia is behind GPS glitches in Romania and Bulgaria. The next day, September 1, it was happening again. Pilots approaching Sofia complained of the same ...
- 66.1k
13 votes
0 answers
2k views
Can some people beat roulette wheels using "visual ballistics"?
In the past, people beat roulette wheels using machines that measure ball speed and predict where the ball will land. That is discussed in the question Is it possible to gain an edge in roulette ...
- 1,659
6 votes
0 answers
969 views
Was the ELIZA effect real?
ELIZA is an oft referenced early chatbot developed in the 1960's. The legend behind it is that the simplistic chatbot was so convincingly human to early users that they supposedly forgot it was a ...
27 votes
1 answer
71k views
Did one of the victims of the Buffalo shooting invent a water-powered engine for cars?
According to a number of conspiracy sites (see Natural News and Newspunch), Buffalo shooting victim Aaron Salter Jr had just invented and patented a gas-free car that runs on water (implying that is ...
- 4,164