Given the trilogy’s idealistic overtones, it’s easy to understand why the books gained a cult following in the 1970s among hippies and Vietnam War protesters…. It’s more difficult to understand why the trilogy’s most prominent fans today are Silicon Valley tech lords like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and a rising group of far-right politicians in both Europe and the United States. (Kakutani, The New York Times)
Read MoreOver the past month, researchers have independently analyzed the data, which suggested that the planet, called K2-18b, has a molecule in its atmosphere that could have been created by living organisms. Three different analyses have all reached the same conclusion: They see no compelling evidence for life on K2-18b. (Zimmer, The New York Times)
Read MoreOver the past decade, media reports have described rising popular interest in New Age practices such as astrology, tarot card reading and fortune-telling. These practices are frequently associated with young people, and they have developed their own social media cultures on TikTok and other platforms, especially during the period of social distancing brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, how popular are these practices, and why do Americans engage in them? (Rotolo, Pew Research)
Read MoreThe developers behind Character.AI are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company’s chatbots pushed a teenage boy to kill himself. The judge’s order will allow the wrongful death lawsuit to proceed, in what legal experts say is among the latest constitutional tests of artificial intelligence. (Payne, AP News)
Read MoreThe archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay $179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors, according to a statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement. The money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy, it said. (AP/NPR)
Read MoreSome people thought the 1925 Scopes monkey trial marked a cultural defeat for biblical fundamentalism. But a century after what was dubbed the Trial of the Century, the issue is far from settled. Many American adults still embrace creationism — a belief in the literal truth of the Genesis account of the origins of the Earth and humanity. (Smith, AP News)
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