[20200519_114228 UTC: Updated to remove possible loss as my perceived implication of the original question.--martyb]martyb writes:If you were given $1,000 to play a game, would you accept a 50 percent chance to double your money or a 100 percent guarantee of gaining an additional $500?Implied in the question was that a 50% chance to double the $1,000 was also a 50% chance to lose all of the $1,000. Put that way, I'd take the 100% guarantee of gaining $500 more. Hmm. But why did I make that choice? What if I started with just $10? Or even $1? Would I choose differently? What if I started with $100,000 or even $1,000,000? Then what would my choice be — and why?That opening question was one of 17 hypotheticals posed when attempting to replicate 1979 foundational research on loss aversion and prospect theory.Global Study Confirms Influential Theory Behind Loss Aversion:
For those who've been long-time readers of SoylentNews, it's not exactly a secret that I have a personal interest in retro computing and documenting the history and evolution of the Personal Computer. About three years ago, I ran a series of articles about restoring Xenix 2.2.3c, and I'm far overdue on writing a new one. For those who do programming work of any sort, you'll also be familiar with "Hello World", the first program most, if not all, programmers write in their careers.A sample hello world program might look like the following:
RandomFactor writes:Researchers lead by Gwendel Fève, a physicist at Sorbonne University in Paris, have discovered the first experimental evidence that certain quasi-particles are 'anyons', members of a third kingdom of particles that are not fermions or bosons.
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for nutherguy:Note: Dell has two models of the Alienware Area-51m. The Alienware Area-51m R1 was released in January of 2019. It is now announcing the Alienware Area-51m R2. Though both are upgradable, the upgrades are not interchangeable between these two releases.Alienware's Upgradeable Laptop Still Holds Tons of Promise, But Not at That Price:
RandomFactor writes:The United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Space Force are targeting Sunday morning for launching the secretive reusable X-37B spaceplane back into orbit for a sixth mission.Watch live here (launch is scheduled for 9:14am Eastern time)The launch was originally planned for 8:24 AM EDT Saturday May 16th but was scrubbed due to weather.To date the space plane has spent a total of 2,865 days in orbit, with the longest mission running for 780 days and ending in October 27th, 2019. The details of the current mission are, as with previous missions, mostly undisclosed, however this mission has a notable difference:
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Bytram:Nine in ten biz applications harbor out-of-date, unsupported, insecure open-source code, study shows:
An Anonymous Coward writes:CBS is launching a new Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds, which will be a TOS prequel set prior to Kirk assuming command of the Enterprise. As in season 2 of Discovery, the new series will feature Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Rebecca Romjin as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Spock. Discovery has been polarizing for Star Trek fans with many fans criticizing the writing of both Discovery and Picard, saying it deviated from the defining characteristics of Star Trek. Despite the criticisms, Mount's portrayal of Pike in Discovery was generally received well. The story for the pilot will be developed by Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet, the first two of which are executive producers of Discovery. Because filming of TV shows has generally been halted by COVID-19, it is not known when the series will film or premiere on CBS' streaming service.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
NotSanguine writes:Jennifer Ouellette over at Ars Technica is reporting on new research on "how distrust in health expertise spreads through social networks."The article, published on 13 May, in the journal Nature compares network relationships within both pro and anti vaccination groups on Facebook. From the Ars piece:
Runaway1956 writes:Quitte frankly, the article doesn't amount to much - the video is worth clicking the link! This is what all the Folding at Home is all about!https://www.rt.com/news/488669-coronavirus-structure-detail-video/
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for carny:wash-your-damn-hands-and-clothesDurable, washable textile coating can repel viruses: New research could lead to safely reusable PPE: