2026-09-01 Discoveries

Smartphone LED detects hidden cameras with AI

Smartphone LED and AI Detect Hidden Cameras KAISTs SweepLED achieves 94% accuracy with 10,000 won LED device

Apple caught off guard by AI demand for Mac Mini and Mac Studio

Apple's unusually timed announcement of new Mac mini and Mac Studio models this week was driven by unexpectedly strong enterprise appetite for AI hardware, according to The Information. Apple normally releases new Mac models in the…

I turned my security cameras into an automatic bird identification system

I turned three security cameras into an automatic bird identification system using BirdNet-Go. Now my wife and I can track every bird species that visits our yard in real-time.

‘Stunning’ Percolation Proof Solves Decades-Old Puzzle About Phase Transitions

Mathematicians found that a broad class of networks will abruptly shift behavior past a critical point. The post ‘Stunning’ Percolation Proof Solves Decades-Old Puzzle About Phase Transitions first appeared on Quanta Magazine

ChatGPT Work Tool and Skill Reference

A complete reference to the tools and full skill definitions available in this Codex Work session.

Fixing an Expensive Amprobe Cable Tracer With Mystery Fault

Perhaps the most annoying kinds of faults are those that involve expensive equipment that just sit around in a cupboard, only for them to just stop working at all. Such …

Pairing Google Antigravity with Gemini 3.7 Flash solves notable multi-agent math and…

Gemini 3.7 Flash powers autonomous agent teams in Antigravity to solve open math problems, build CPU emulators, and optimize OSS.

Tim Curry (RIP) Breaks Down His Most Iconic Roles: Rocky Horror, Clue, Muppet Treasure…

Upon hearing of Tim Curry’s death last week, some of us could recall having seen him on stage: in Amadeus or Spamalot on Broadway, perhaps, though he also drew acclaim in the work of Stoppard, Brecht, and Shakespeare. For many more of us — perhaps all of us — it was his most memorable film and…

Building An Energy-Harvesting Business Card

The hope is always that a good business card will leave a good impression. For those in the electronics field, they also serve as an opportunity to showcase creative design …

Memory Decline Starts Earlier Than You Might Think

Middle-age memory slips are a bit strange

Marka27 Superimposes Pop Culture, Graffiti, and Political Critique in Urgent Portraits

Marka27 taps into his own experiences of living between cultures and the arbitrary nature of national borders. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Marka27 Superimposes Pop…

WebTerm Learn

Learn the terminal like a game — in a browser sandbox

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements: Visualizing the Chemical Elements That Could…

The Periodic Table of Elements lists the 118 chemical elements that make up everything in our world. Some you’re familiar with—Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, etc. Others maybe less so—Vanadium, Germanium, and Yttrium. According to the American Chemical Society, 44 of those 118 elements might…

New Test for Broken-Heart Syndrome Offers Insights into the Mysterious Disease

It could prevent unnecessary invasive procedures

Simulating UAVs In Unreal Engine

When it comes to building real-world flying vehicles, testing can be arduous and expensive. You have to find somewhere to fly, then you have to contend with environmental conditions and …

EP–2350 FX–MIC

The programmable mic you can squeeze, shake & play

Contradiction and the Unknown Permeate Isaiah Lee’s Imaginative Dollhouse Paintings

For Chicago artist Isaiah Lee, a dollhouse becomes the site of uncanny imaginations. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Contradiction and the Unknown Permeate Isaiah Lee’s…

Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

Infamously simulation-heavy colony builder Dwarf Fortress is getting a Myth and Magic update later in 2026 that generates a sorcery system to fit your world.

Playa Phone

Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO

Can Earth Run Out of Water?

We’re using freshwater faster than nature can replace it, draining some sources beyond recovery. But avoiding water bankruptcy may be surprisingly affordable. #kurzgesagt #inanutshell #kurzgesagt_inanutshell #learnwithshorts #science…

The Extinct Tasmanian Tiger’s Bite Was Unlike Any Other Predatory Mammal’s

Which makes its extinction even more tragic

Orato

Practice speaking with AI.

I think the military commissary's freezers were hacked

The frozen pizza aisle has become the national security risk du jour