All posts tagged: solve

Creating a Global Package to Solve the Problem of Plastics

Creating a Global Package to Solve the Problem of Plastics

Published by skeptic

According to the United Nations, plastic production skyrocketed from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to about 400 million in 2024. This number is expected to triple by 2060. Only 10 percent of this plastic is currently being recycled and reused. The rest will remain in our environment for centuries, polluting the planet, from oceans to mountains, contaminating food chains and human bodies, where it risks damage to our organs and brains. In 2025, we will start putting an end to plastic pollution. Since 2022, policymakers in the United Nations, representing over 170 countries, have been negotiating a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty addressing the full lifecycle of plastics, from design to production to disposal. This treaty shares many of the mechanisms present in the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which eventually led to the phasing out of CFCs, the chemicals responsible for ozone depletion. As such, it can be as successful, despite opposition to it. The treaty was due to be finalized by the fifth and final session, in Busan, South Korea, at the end of …

NYT Connections hints and answers for December 5: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #543.

NYT Connections hints and answers for December 5: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #543.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Tweet may have been deleted …

They Searched Through Hundreds of Bands to Solve an Online Mystery

They Searched Through Hundreds of Bands to Solve an Online Mystery

Published by skeptic

The first advancement in years came in May, when a user on the buzzing Reddit community r/TheMysteriousSong found a reference to Hörfest, a contest for amateur bands the radio station held every year in Hamburg, Germany. “It was a very likely way to solve our riddle,” says Arne, a moderator of the subreddit who posts under the handle LordElend (Arne declined to give their last name, citing privacy concerns), “since this was a good explanation as to why an amateur band tape would have been aired on NDR, which usually had high standards.” A search of local government archives turned up thousands of pages on Hörfest, but they wouldn’t be easy to comb through. “We realized that 800 bands, most obscure and not on Google, will need a larger group of researchers,” says Arne. Soon, hundreds of people across multiple platforms were collaborating on extensive spreadsheets, listing band members, sounds, songs, and anything else they could find. One of these investigators, who posts using the handle marijn1412, found that a member of a band on …

English tuition fees rise – but it’s nowhere near enough income to solve universities’ financial crisis

English tuition fees rise – but it’s nowhere near enough income to solve universities’ financial crisis

Published by skeptic

UK education secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced that university tuition fees in England are set to rise next academic year, with the maximum fee increasing by £285 to £9,535. This will be the first increase in university education for domestic undergraduate students since 2017, when fees were raised to £9,250. The additional income is sorely needed. Data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that the money spent on undergraduates’ education has been declining in real terms. On average, £9,600 was allocated per UK undergraduate student in 2023-24, compared to almost £12,000 in 2012-13. On the other hand, other educational stages – early years and primary education – have seen real term increases since 2012. Had fees been linked to inflation since their raise to £9,000 in 2012, they would have reached nearly £15,000 by now. At some point, fewer resources translate into lower quality. Universities have continually been asked to do more with less. As such, they have adapted to the conditions of the market by increasing recruitment of international students, whose annual fees …

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman demonstrates the impact of ChatGPT on forensic linguistics

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman demonstrates the impact of ChatGPT on forensic linguistics

Published by skeptic

This article contains spoilers for We Solve Murders. We Solve Murders is the latest crime novel from Richard Osman, bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club series. The story follows Amy Wheeler, a bodyguard for the security firm Maximum Impact, and her father-in-law, Steve Wheeler, a former London detective now handling small-town investigations in rural England. Amy’s latest assignment is to protect Rosie D’Antonio, the world’s most famous author (“if you don’t count Lee Child”). However, what begins as a routine assignment takes a dangerous turn when Amy becomes the target of François Loubet, a dangerous criminal picking off the associates of Maximum Impact. François pulls the strings of his operation from afar via email. He uses a unique communication method which involves running his messages through ChatGPT with the prompt: “ChatGPT, rewrite in the style of a friendly English gentleman, please.” As a result, his messages – whether they be to Maximum Impact’s CEO, or his own hitmen – adopt a distinctive linguistic style, marked by old-fashioned adjectives (“jolly”, “marvellous”, “blasted”), nouns (“luncheon”), address …

NYT Connections hints and answers for October 31: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #508.

NYT Connections hints and answers for October 31: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #508.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 31’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Tweet may have been …

NYT Connections hints and answers for October 24: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #501.

NYT Connections hints and answers for October 24: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #501.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 24’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Tweet may have been …

NYT ‘Connections’ hints and answers for October 15: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #492.

NYT ‘Connections’ hints and answers for October 15: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #492.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 12’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 15 What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words …

National competition – can your students solve the ocean plastics crisis?

National competition – can your students solve the ocean plastics crisis?

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles The Ocean Health Challenge arrives at a crucial moment. Coinciding with COP29, Green Careers Week and National Engineering Day, it invites students aged 11-18 to engineer a solution to prevent plastic pollution from entering the ocean. Led by prominent UCL academics and broadcasters Dr. Helen Czerski (above), Dr. Zoe Laughlin and Dr. Fiona Truscott, the challenge is CREST-accredited and offers the flexibility to explore various aspects of the problem through subjects ranging from science, computing and maths, to geography, citizenship, design technology and art. Moreover, all of the lesson plans and learning resources are fully adaptable meaning the challenge is ideally suited to be run during lesson time, as well as in clubs and societies, or dropdown and whole-school activity days. By taking part in the challenge students are empowered to design any type of solution, whether it’s a physical device, a digital innovation, or a behaviour change initiative. Running until the 30th November this year, there is plenty of time to participate via a very simple registration process. …

NYT ‘Connections’ hints and answers for October 9: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #486.

NYT ‘Connections’ hints and answers for October 9: Tips to solve ‘Connections’ #486.

Published by skeptic

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 9’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 9 What is Connections? The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words …