Four short links: 16 November 2016
CRISPR in Humans, VR Sadness, Reasoning, and Robot Dancing
- CRISPR Gene Editing Tested in a Person for First Time (Nature) — On 28 October, a team led by oncologist Lu You at Sichuan University in Chengdu delivered the modified cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer as part of a clinical trial at the West China Hospital. Milestone.
- The Post-VR Sadness — In the first couple minutes after any VR experience, you feel strange, almost like you’re detached from reality. You will interact with physical objects with special care because, for some reason, you think that you can simply fly through them. Interacting with your smartphone touch screen becomes almost comical because the interface seems so dull and disappointing to you. It’s like your fingers are passing through the touch screen when touching it. This specific feeling usually fades within the first 1–2 hours and gets better over time. It’s almost like a little hangover, depending on the intensity of your VR experience.
- Reasoning about Truthfulness of Agents Using Answer Set Programming (PDF) — The paper illustrates how, starting from observations, knowledge about the actions of the agents, and the normal behavior of agents, one can evaluate the statements made by agents against a set of observations over time. NB Facebook newsfeed software creators.
- RHex Dances — we have now advanced robot technology to the point where they can dance as well as I can. Brace for impact, humanity—the dance floor is being disrupted!
