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Aujourd’hui — 28 mars 2024Divers

Cette sonde spatiale a déjà découvert 5 000 comètes en observant le Soleil

Depuis 1996, le satellite SoHO observe le Soleil. Les données qui ne cessent de s’accumuler nous permettent ainsi de mieux comprendre la structure interne de notre Étoile, ainsi que les processus à l’origine du vent solaire et de la couronne. Mais ce n’est pas tout ! Car depuis sa position...

Bluffant : cette intelligence artificielle parle de vive voix et réagit à vos émotions

Hume vient de dévoiler Evi, sa nouvelle IA dotée d’une intelligence émotionnelle qui détecte vos émotions et y répond. Sa capacité à tenir une conversation de manière naturelle de vive voix est bluffante.

Mory Sacko, porteur d'une cuisine "qui n’existe nulle part ailleurs"

Mory Sacko a banni le mot « fusion » de son vocabulaire. « Nous ne mélangeons pas les gastronomies, il s’agit plutôt d’un dialogue entre différentes cultures », explique-t-il à propos de MoSuke, son premier restaurant qui a ouvert ses portes à Paris en 2020. Les cuisines française, africaine et japonaise y sont au menu et chaque plat est une œuvre d’art à trois volets avec ses propres ingrédients, saveurs et textures.  

« C’est une cuisine qui n’existe nulle part ailleurs, parce qu’à travers elle, je raconte ma propre histoire », poursuit Mory Sacko. Cette dernière, il l’illustre également avec sa tenue. Au travail, il porte la veste de cuisine blanche dont sont traditionnellement vêtus les chefs mais il a fait personnaliser celle-ci : elle est ornée de tissu wax africain et, au lieu d’un double boutonnage classique, elle enveloppe son corps comme un kimono japonais.

Mory Sacko est le premier d’une fratrie de huit enfants nés en France. Son père, d’origine malienne, travaillait dans le bâtiment, tandis que sa mère, élevée au Sénégal, était femme de ménage. Il a grandi en Seine-et-Marne, dans la banlieue parisienne. Ses parents parlaient deux langues à la maison, le soninké et le bambara, et cuisinaient essentiellement des plats d’Afrique de l’Ouest. Parallèlement, le jeune Mory Sacko a nourri une passion pour les mangas et les animés japonais. Des bols de ramen et des onigiris étaient constamment consommés dans les œuvres comme Naruto, Pokémon et One Piece, et il ne pouvait s’empêcher de se demander si les plats de ces programmes diffusés à la télévision étaient aussi bons dans la vraie vie qu’ils le semblaient à l’écran. 

Au milieu de son adolescence, Mory Sacko s’est inscrit dans un établissement d’enseignement secondaire spécialisé dans l’hôtellerie et la restauration, avant de commencer sa carrière en cuisine. C’est en travaillant avec le chef Hans Zahner dans un restaurant de l’hôtel cinq étoiles le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris, et en étant mis au défi de créer un nouveau plat, qu’une étincelle s’est animée en lui et qu’il a vraiment pris goût à la cuisine. « J’ai commencé à penser à la gastronomie et à m’endormir en imaginant des plats », raconte-t-il.

Inspiré par sa passion d’enfance pour le Japon, il a commencé à faire des expérimentations avec des ingrédients tels que le miso, le yuzu et le shichimi togarashi, un mélange d’épices, en complément de sa formation en cuisine française classique. Il a également puisé dans son héritage africain en tentant à plusieurs reprises, en vain, de recréer le mafé, un ragoût à base d’arachides, de sa mère. « Je me suis dit : "au lieu de rechercher cette saveur spécifique, crée ta propre recette" », se souvient-il. Mory Sacko a donc décidé d’utiliser de la pâte miso pour épicer, ce qui a permis de réinventer ce plat typique, conservant ainsi le côté réconfortant du mafé tout en l’alliant à la complexité de l’umami, la cinquième saveur japonaise. 

Désireux de consacrer plus de temps à l’expérimentation et au développement de son propre style de cuisine, Mory Sacko a ouvert MoSuke. Le nom du restaurant est une combinaison de son prénom et de Yasuke, un Africain du 16ᵉ siècle, probablement originaire du Mozambique, qui a échappé à l’esclavage en devenant samouraï dans le Japon féodal. Yasuke est estimé comme avoir été le seul samouraï noir de l’histoire. Mory Sacko a voulu intégrer ce récit historique à l’âme de son établissement pour symboliser le rapprochement des cultures africaine et japonaise. Cette vision s’est avérée très populaire : les tables sont prises d’assaut dès que les réservations sont ouvertes, des mois à l’avance.

Mory Sacko fait partie d’une nouvelle génération qui introduit la diversité culturelle dans la gastronomie française. Il est l’un des rares chefs de couleur à être sous les feux des projecteurs en France. Il a participé à l’édition 2020 de Top Chef et anime sur France 3 sa propre émission de cuisine, Cuisine ouverte. En 2022, lorsqu’il a fallu sélectionner le chef qui cuisinerait pour le président Emmanuel Macron lors d’un Sommet Afrique-France, c’est Mory Sacko qui a été choisi. 

Toute la reconnaissance qui lui est aujourd’hui montrée est bien loin de l’image que donnait la scène gastronomique française à ses débuts, lorsqu’il cherchait en vain des chefs à la peau noire comme modèles. « S’il y a une chose que je peux faire, c’est inspirer les autres et montrer qu’être un chef noir et viser une étoile Michelin n’est pas quelque chose d’extraordinaire », déclare-t-il. Le restaurant de Mory Sacko a reçu son étoile en 2021. Aujourd’hui, le chef est inspiré par ses confrères noirs tels que Marcel Ravin, dont le restaurant Blue Bay de Monte-Carlo a reçu la première de ses deux étoiles Michelin en 2015, ou encore son amie Georgiana Viou, dont le restaurant Rouge de Nîmes en a reçu une au début de l’année.

Outre la promotion de la diversité raciale, Mory Sacko s’engage également en faveur du développement durable. « Si nous voulons continuer à exercer ce métier dans les trente prochaines années, nous devons trouver des solutions », affirme-t-il. Si Mory Sacko tire son inspiration d’autres continents, celui-ci tient néanmoins à importer le moins d’ingrédients possible. Il expérimente par exemple la fabrication de son propre miso, plutôt que de le commander au Japon. Au lieu d’utiliser le traditionnel koji de haricots, son équipe travaille sur la fermentation de niébés, originaires d’Afrique. Le processus dure deux mois et fournira au restaurant suffisamment de miso pour un an. Pour les agrumes japonais tels que le yuzu et le sudachi, Mory Sacko travaille avec un agriculteur situé aux alentours de Carcassonne. Lorsque certains produits doivent être importés, il s’assure que ceux-ci sont de saison et conservés de manière à durer le plus longtemps possible. C’est le cas des piments de Côte d’Ivoire, qui sont séchés, puis fermentés.

Bien qu’il soit à la tête d’un établissement gastronomique et qu’il ait même été accueilli en résidence au restaurant de la marque de luxe Louis Vuitton à Saint-Tropez l’été dernier, Mory Sacko tient à ce que sa cuisine soit aussi accessible que possible. « Il y a vingt ans, les restaurants étoilés étaient réservés à une élite. Aujourd’hui, la bonne cuisine se partage beaucoup plus facilement », explique-t-il. « Les réseaux sociaux ont démocratisé la gastronomie. »

En effet, certains de ses followers l’ont contacté pour lui dire qu’ils désiraient goûter sa cuisine mais qu’ils n’avaient pas les moyens d’aller dîner chez MoSuke. C’est ce qui l’a incité à lancer MOSUGO, un restaurant qui propose de la street food et pour lequel des pop-up stores ont également vu le jour dans tout Paris. Le concept consiste à réimaginer de manière gastronomique la nourriture classique de fast food, comme un hamburger au poulet frit avec de la mayonnaise au miso, des pickles de concombre et de l’emmental. « Je ne veux pas être perçu comme un chef gastronomique perché dans sa tour d’ivoire proposant un menu à 200 euros », déclare Mory Sacko. « Je veux que ma cuisine soit accessible au plus grand nombre, pour que tout le monde puisse y goûter. »

Cet automne, le chef a ouvert un nouveau restaurant au centre de Paris, le Lafayette’s, qui sert des plats d’inspiration française et américaine dans un décor de brasserie. Dans le même temps, il continue à cuisiner au MoSuke, fermant même l’établissement lorsqu’il est absent. Malgré un dévouement évident à son métier, il se détache de ses plats une fois ceux-ci présentés à ses clients. « Dès que le plat est servi, il ne m’appartient plus », en convient-il. « Il appartient au client, qui y trouvera ce qui résonnera en lui. »

Cet article a initialement paru dans le magazine National Geographic Traveller en langue anglaise.

There’s a New King of the Chatbots, and It’s Not ChatGPT

If you asked the general public what the best AI model was, chances are good most people would respond with ChatGPT. While there are many players on the scene in 2024, OpenAI's LLM is the one that really broke through and introduced powerful generative AI to the masses. And as it would happen, ChatGPT's Large Language Model (LLM), GPT, has consistently ranked as the top performer among its peers, from the introduction of GPT-3.5, to GPT-4, and currently, GPT-4 Turbo.

But the tide seems to be turning: This week, Claude 3 Opus, Anthropic's LLM, overtook GPT-4 on Chatbot Arena for the first time, prompting app developer Nick Dobos to declare, "The king is dead." If you check the leaderboard as of the time of this writing, Claude still has the edge over GPT: Claude 3 Opus has an Arena Elo ranking of 1253, while GPT-4-1106-preview has a ranking of 1251, followed closely by GPT-4-0125-preview, with a ranking of 1248.

For what's it's worth, Chatbot Arena ranks all three of these LLMs in first place, but Claude 3 Opus does have the slight advantage.

Anthropic's other LLMs are performing well, too. Claude 3 Sonnet ranks fifth on the list, just below Google's Gemini Pro (both are ranked in fourth place), while Claude 3 Haiku, Anthropic's lower-end LLM for efficient processing, ranks just below a version 0613 of GPT-4, but just above version 0613 of GPT-4.

How Chatbot Arena ranks LLMs

To rank the various LLMs that currently available, Chatbot Arena asks users to enter a prompt and judge how two different, unnamed models respond. Users can continue chatting to evaluate the difference between the two, until they decide on which model they think performed better. Users don't know which models they're comparing (you could be pitting Claude vs. ChatGPT, Gemini vs. Meta's Llama, etc.), which eliminates any bias due to brand preference.

Unlike other types of benchmarking, however, there is no true rubric for users to rate their anonymous models against. Users can simply decide for themselves which LLM performs better, based on whatever metrics they themselves care about. As AI researcher Simon Willison tells Ars Technica, much of what makes LLMs perform better in the eyes of users is more about "vibes" than anything else. If you like the way Claude responds more than ChatGPT, that's all that really matters.

Above all, it's a testament to how powerful these LLMs have become. If you offered this same test years ago, you would likely be looking for more standardized data to identify which LLM was stronger, whether that was speed, accuracy, or coherence. Now, Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini are getting so good, they're almost interchangeable, at least as far as general generative AI use goes.

While it's impressive that Claude has surpassed OpenAI's LLM for the first time, it's arguably more impressive that GPT-4 held out this long. The LLM itself is a year old, minus iterative updates like GPT-4 Turbo, while Claude 3 launched this month. Who knows what will happen when OpenAI rolls out GPT-5, which, at least according to one anonymous CEO, is, "...really good, like materially better." For now, there are multiple generative AI models, each just about as effective as each other.

Chatbot Arena has amassed over 400,000 human votes to rank these LLMs. You can try out the test for yourself and add your voice to the rankings.

La Nasa dévoile les instruments qui iront sur la Lune et sème la première graine d’une agriculture lunaire

La Nasa, toujours convaincue qu'Artemis III se posera sur la Lune fin 2026, vient tout juste de révéler les premiers instruments qui seront utilisés par les astronautes lors de cette mission historique, plus de 50 ans après Apollo 17. 

Suède : ce train de nuit vous emmènera tout droit aux aurores boréales

Les voyageurs qui prennent le train de 17 heures reliant Stockholm à Abisko ont un objectif commun : voir des aurores boréales. Cette petite ville, située à 250 kilomètres au nord du cercle polaire arctique, est l'une des localités les plus septentrionales d'Europe, au ciel particulièrement dégagé, ce qui en fait une destinaion de choix pour les chasseurs d'aurores. Le microclimat unique du village produit un phénomène de « trou bleu », des courants-jets dégageant le ciel et augmentant les chances d'observer des aurores.

Installée dans mon siège côté fenêtre, je plonge mon regard dans l'obscurité. Les amateurs d'aurores boréales ont tout intérêt à se rendre à Abisko. En 2024, les experts affirment que l'activité solaire atteindra un pic (appelé « maximum solaire ») qui se produit tous les onze ans environ.

« Quand l'activité solaire est forte, les aurores envahissent le ciel nocturne, un véritable kaléidoscope de couleurs en perpétuel mouvement », décrit l'astronome John Mason

 

LUMIÈRE NATURELLE

Le train part de Stockholm à 18 heures tous les jours et arrive au petit matin, quand une douce lumière rose enveloppe les plaines enneigées de Sápmi, le territoire traditionnel du peuple sami, qui englobe le nord de la Norvège, la Suède, la Finlande et la péninsule de Kola, en Russie.

Quelques tour-opérateurs organisent des excursions de jour à partir d'Abisko, notamment pour la pêche et l'escalade sur glace, des expériences culturelles samies, l'observation des élans et des excursions photographiques dans les fjords norvégiens avoisinants.

Mais les activités proposées ne s'arrêtent pas là. La nuit, vous pouvez observer la Voie lactée et tous les autres phénomènes célestes depuis la fenêtre de votre hôtel ou vous rendre dans des zones reculées du village, comme la jetée du lac Torneträsk, pour une visite guidée. « Nous n'avons pas beaucoup de pollution lumineuse », explique Niklas Hjort, directeur de l'Abisko Mountain Lodge. « Il vous suffit d'ouvrir la porte et de regarder dehors pour voir les aurores boréales. »

En passant la porte de mon hôtel, elles étaient bien là, tels des rubans verts iridescents.

Chad Blakley, fondateur de Lights Over Lapland, explique que le phénomène du trou bleu distingue le village des autres destinations où l'on peut observer des aurores. « Le ciel d'Abisko est l'un des plus clairs de la planète », explique-t-il. 

Ce petit trou bleu quasi permanent crée un effet coupe-vent, les montagnes dispersant la couche nuageuse pour offrir des nuits claires à la ville située en contrebas. En l'absence de couverture nuageuse, il y a 88 % de chances de voir une aurore boréale lors d'une visite de trois jours à Abisko.

« C'est un exemple de ce que l'on appelle un microclimat, un ensemble de conditions atmosphériques localisées qui diffèrent de celles de la région environnante et créent un modèle météorologique propre à cet endroit », explique John Mason. « Le parc national d'Abisko, dans le nord de la Suède, bénéficie de nuits plus claires que la plupart des autres endroits situés dans l'ovale auroral nord. » Les visiteurs du parc peuvent observer le jeu de lumières au-dessus de la vallée d'Abisko et du lac Torneträsk depuis la grande terrasse extérieure de l'Aurora Sky Station (à environ 900 mètres au-dessus du niveau de la mer).

Ceci étant, la meilleure façon de voir les aurores est sans doute de prendre le train de retour vers Stockholm. À peine une trentaine de minutes se sont écoulées que déjà une annonce retentit dans les haut-parleurs du train : « Chers passagers, si vous observez le paysage par les fenêtres de droite, vous verrez de magnifiques aurores boréales ». La poignée de touristes présents dans le wagon se précipite près des fenêtres, pour assister à ce spectacle qui devait durer plusieurs heures.

Eibhlis Gale-Coleman est une journaliste de voyage indépendante originaire du Royaume-Uni. Suivez-la sur Instagram.

Cet article a initialement paru sur le site nationalgeographic.com en langue anglaise.

What to Do If Your Neighbor’s Tree Hangs Over Your Property

Sometimes it seems like living in a society would be much better if we didn’t have to deal with all these other people all the time. If you own a home, you know that your neighbors are both one of life’s great blessings and often the biggest pain in your ass. On the one hand, sometimes you wake up and they’ve shoveled the snow from your sidewalk, and when you go on vacation they check on your cat! On the other hand, things can get really tense when disputes crop up unexpectedly—like when your neighbor’s tree hangs over your fence.

At first glance this might not seem like a big deal, but those overhanging branches can cause problems. They mess up your property by dumping leaves everywhere; they can scrape your roof shingles, smack into windows during high winds, and get tangled in power lines. Underground, the tree's roots could be worming into your sewer and water lines. That tree might be pretty, and you might enjoy its borrowed shade on sunny days, but if it starts to be a problem, what can you do?

Tree law

America is not so much a large country as a collection of tiny countries standing on each other’s shoulders wearing a trenchcoat, so the laws governing trees and property will vary from state to state—you’ll have to do some local research if you’ve got a situation brewing with a neighbor’s tree. That said, there are three things that are almost certainly true about your neighbor’s tree:

  • It has value. Sure, it’s a tree, and apparently grows for free out of the ground as if by elven magic. But a tree on your neighbor’s property has monetary value. For one thing, your neighbor may have paid for the tree and had it planted. Then there are other benefits, like the carbon dioxide offset of that tree, the cooling effect of its shade, or fruit that it provides. The USDA Forest Service offers a free calculator that estimates the economic benefits of a tree, which isn’t definitive but gives you some idea of how someone might define its value.

  • It’s your neighbor’s property. If the tree’s trunk is entirely on your neighbor’s property, no matter how much it overhangs yours, it belongs to them just like anything else in their yard. If the trunk straddles or crosses the property line, it’s probably considered a boundary tree—community property. That means that you have as much say and responsibility for it as your neighbor, but you still can’t unilaterally make decisions about it.

  • You have the right to defend your property. If the tree’s branches cross the property line, you have the right to trim them, especially if they threaten to damage anything. But you can’t go past your property line under any circumstances.

That last bit might make this all seem very clear and simple: If the tree is causing havoc on your side of the fence, get out there and cut it back to the property line. While you have the right to do that, you should think twice for one simple reason: If you touch your neighbor’s tree and damage it, destroy its aesthetic value, or kill it outright, you could be held liable for the loss and the cost of treating or replacing it. This can run to the thousands of dollars—especially if it’s an expensive ornamental tree that’s part of a cohesive landscaping design.

How to trim

So you have to be careful if your neighbor’s tree is invading and needs trimming. Here’s your best approach:

  • Talk to your neighbor. That liability goes both ways: Since the tree is your neighbor’s property, if it damages your property you can hold them liable. Approach your neighbor and ask if they’ll help trim the tree or grant explicit permission to do the work on your side, releasing you from liability—they might be incentivized to do so if the tree is causing damage. If it’s a boundary tree, you’ll need to negotiate with your neighbor anyway to get anything done.

  • Call the power company. If the offending tree is near power lines, you can probably call your local utility and schedule a free tree trimming. Most utilities have arborists on staff, and they are more than happy to clear branches away from power lines to avoid damage. That being said, keep in mind that the utility may trim more aggressively than you want. Also, keep in mind that once alerted to trees near power lines on your (or your neighbor’s property), the utility can come and trim them any time they want without your permission. Electric utilities have an easement on all private property to allow them access for maintenance and repair.

  • Hire a professional. The more you distance yourself from the tree trimming, the less likely you’ll run into trouble. You’ll want a company that has a certified arborist on staff, because trees are living things and they come in a wide variety of species. An arborist can identify the tree and prescribe the right way to trim it without damaging it or leaving it vulnerable to disease.

A tree growing right by your property line offers a lot of free benefits—but also free problems. If the latter is starting to outweigh the former, be careful—trimming your neighbor’s tree can open up a can of worms.

Un énorme cratère d'impact vieux de 7 000 ans découvert en Inde !

Une nouvelle étude confirme que la structure de Luna, en Inde, serait bien liée à la chute d’une météorite il y a près de 7 000 ans. Il pourrait ainsi s’agir du plus grand cratère d’impact des 10 000 dernières années.

Use the 6/10 List to Take the Stress Out of Cleaning

Making a to-do list is a major step in being productive in any area of your life, from your personal pursuits to your work responsibilities, but when it comes to cleaning your home, you may not think to make one—let alone realize that some kinds of lists are better than others. You should definitely have an attack strategy before you start tidying up, which is why the 6/10 List is such a useful tool for busy people who still want their personal space to look nice.

What is the 6/10 List?

This cleaning method comes from Organized Chaos, which guides people through organizing, cleaning, meal planning, and more. The brand’s TikTok has over 800,000 followers and its video on the 6/10 List has over 3 million views, so it’s CleanTok-approved.

Basically, this method acknowledges and leaves space for the fact that you’re busy and cleaning is overwhelming. It provides an easy framework for how you should schedule and prioritize your cleaning tasks, taking the work out of figuring that out yourself and divvying the tasks across multiple days. 

The list is split into two main categories: “The Daily 6” and “The Weekly 10.” 

The Daily 6 are, roughly, these:

  1. Make beds

  2. Wash dishes

  3. Scrub sink

  4. Wipe counters

  5. Vacuum floors

  6. One load of laundry

The Weekly 10 are generally these:

  1. Wipe out fridge

  2. Wipe out microwave

  3. Tidy pantry

  4. Mop floors

  5. Clean bathrooms

  6. Clean sink drains

  7. Dust furniture

  8. Wash bedding

  9. Tidy car

  10. Clean pets’ bowls

Beyond that, there’s space for monthly tasks (scrubbing showers, deep cleaning appliances, cleaning out the garage, and vacuuming vehicles) and quarterly ones (wiping baseboards and doors, cleaning fans and lights, cleaning windows, cleaning furniture, changing your air filter, wiping down cabinets). 

How to use the 6/10 List

According to Organized Chaos, you can start small by choosing three of the six daily tasks to work on every day, then build your way up to tackling more. Those are the most necessary, basic cleaning steps that will keep your house looking nice, so it’s key to get in the habit of doing them every day. Of course, there are all kinds of other little tasks you could do on top of those—but like the 1-3-5 method of creating a to-do list, this recognizes that there really is a finite amount of things you have energy for in the day, so you should choose which ones you take on strategically. (And don’t forget the Pareto Principle, which says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort, so don’t waste your time on unnecessary tasks.)

The weekly tasks can—and should—be spaced out across the week so you don’t get overwhelmed. Once you get the hang of getting the daily and weekly chores done, reevaluate how using the list is going and feel free to swap out some tasks that might make more sense for your space. You might not have pet bowls to clean weekly, for instance, so something more specific to your life can fill that slot. The goal here isn’t to clean exactly as someone else prescribes, but to build timely habits that you can maintain and which will take the stress off of figuring out what you should even focus on in a given day. 

Une vue à couper le souffle sur Mars pour fêter les 25 000 orbites de la sonde Mars Express

Voilà de quoi donner le tournis ! Depuis qu’elle s’est positionnée autour de Mars en 2003, la sonde Mars Express a accompli plus de 25 000 orbites, les yeux toujours rivés sur la surface de la Planète rouge. Et le compteur continue de tourner, pour notre plus grand plaisir et celui, surtout, des...

You Can Get This 4K Dual-Camera Drone on Sale for $75 Right Now

You can get this dual-HD-camera drone on sale for $74.99 right now (reg. $129.99). It's a budget drone that is excellent for beginners who want to experiment with flying: it has one-key takeoff and landing, altitude hold mode, and four-channel movement with a rolling 360-degree function. You can pair with your smartphone to take pictures and videos or see a real-time feed through the drone's two 1080p cameras; the front with 90-degree views and the bottom with 120-degree views. It also comes with four spare blades and two batteries for 26 total minutes of flying time.

You can get this dual-HD-camera drone on sale for $74.99 right now (reg. $129.99), though prices can change at any time.

25 of the Best Anime Movies Streaming

Anime, a category of animation that goes back at least to 1958's The Tale of the White Serpent, has nothing to prove at this point—though non-Japanese audiences are sometimes still surprised by the variety and depth of the films it encompasses, which are generally a lot broader and more varied than American animation (still mostly thought of as just kids' stuff).

The word "anime" is just a form of a Japanese word referring to animation, and, though Japanese filmmakers have excelled in crafting animated films for decades, it's often taken to represent a particular and specific style or genre. Not so: Movies like Ghost in the Shell, The Red Turtle, Weathering with You, and Howl's Moving Castle have very little in common other than their statuses as cinematic classics at large, and their brilliant, usually hand-drawn animation.

Many of the best anime movies streaming will be familiar to animation fans, but for newcomers, any of them would be a great place to dive into the broad world of anime.

Your Name (2016)

Country girl Mitsuha begins mysterious trading bodies with Taki, a boy from Tokyo, and the two slowly come to understand each other and their separate lives. Gut-punching revelations in the second act take what begins as a coming-of-age rom-com into deeper science-fictional waters, the film revealing itself to have far more on its mind that a metaphysical meet-cute. Director Makoto Shinkai (Weathering with You) and the animators brilliantly play with light, giving some of the movie's real-life locations stunning glow-ups. Never has a body-swap story been this gorgeously rendered, and the film holds a well-earned place near the top of all-time anime box office champs.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, Crunchyroll


Roujin Z (1991)

This wild ride from Hiroyuki Kitakubo, one of the animators of Akira, takes place in the near future—which, because this was made way back in 1991, happens to be the early 21st century. An 87-year-old widower named Kijuro Takazawa is the first test subject for an experimental robotic hospital bed designed to take care of all of a patient’s needs. But then the bed begins transmitting his thoughts, and things get more dramatic from there (if you think this story of a dying man and future healthcare couldn’t possibly turn into a mecha anime, you’re mistaken). For all the wild plot developments, there’s some smart commentary about our eagerness to ignore the needs of the elderly, and the ways in which even “humane” technological advancements can be dehumanizing.

Where to stream: YouTube


Akira (1988)

This is one that everyone's heard of, and with good reason: its wildly kinetic animation and its highly detailed cityscape set a new standard for anime—writer/director Katsuhiro Otomo and company gave birth to a new animated world with this movie, and we're still living in it. Set in a dystopian 2019 (well, differently dystopian than our 2019), the cyberpunk classic finds biker Kaneda forced to face down his friend Tetsuo after the latter gains telekinetic abilities in an accident. Akira is more than just its action, and it's dense enough that it can be hard to follow for the uninitiated—but it's a movie that keeps going bigger with every scene.

Where to stream: Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation


The Red Turtle (2016)

This Studio Ghibli production is, technically, a Japanese and French co-production with a Dutch director—pushing, perhaps, the definition of anime just a bit (globally, we tend to use the term for animation explicitly from Japan). But we're not here to nitpick, especially over something this lovely and moving. The dialogue-free film tells the story of a man who becomes trapped on a desert island with only a giant turtle for companionship, and it turns out the turtle is guarding a secret that changes the man's life. What starts as a survival tale takes on deeper resonance as their bond grows in this powerful emotional journey.

Where to stream: Starz


Paprika (2006)

Dr. Atsuko Chiba and her colleagues are working on a therapeutic tool, a device that allows for the sharing of dreams. She's a scientist by day, and, as her titular alter ego Paprika, a dream detective by night, venturing into dreams to help her psychiatric patients. The device she's using can shatter minds when in the wrong hands and so, when it is stolen, she knows it must be recovered. Satoshi Kon’s mind-bending masterpiece was a clear inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Inception, playing as it does with layers of emotion and reality without ever leaving its audience feeling disoriented.

Well, maybe a little bit disoriented. You'll definitely get a little lost now and again, but it's worth the ride.

Where to stream: Tubi


Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)

This one might be tough sell for the uninitiated, given that it's the twentieth Dragon Ball film—and that's without even mentioning the multiple TV series (nor, of course, the long-running manga). Still, as an entry to the series, you could do a lot worse than this wildly action-packed entry, which is probably the best of the films. Series leads Goku and Vegeta encounter exiled and incredibly powerful Saiyan fighter named Broly, leading to some typically colorful chaos. The sensitive and out-of-control Broly is a genuinely tragic antagonist, and the emotional stakes place this one a bit above the Dragon Ball average.

Where to stream: Crunchyroll


Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Roughly inspired by John Ford’s 1948 3 Godfathers, this one opens on a drag queen, a teenage runaway, and a good-hearted middle-aged alcoholic living on the streets of Tokyo. The odd companions come across a baby in a trash bin on Christmas Eve. With few clues to go on, the three spend the night searching the streets of Tokyo for the baby's parents. The moving adventure that follows comes from director Satoshi Kon, who also directed other classics on this list, including Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Paprika, in his too-short life and career (in 2010, he died from pancreatic cancer at just 46 years old).

Where to stream: Tubi, Hoopla, The Roku Channel


The Girl Who Leaped Through Time (2006)

Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1965 novel of the same name is often cited as an early (and popular) use of the now-familiar time loop narrative, and it’s been adapted multiple times in Japan. The best version (even the book's author loved it) is this 2006 anime from director Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai), following 17-year-old Makoto Konno, who, following a bit of clumsiness that puts her in the path of an oncoming train, discovers that she has the ability to send herself backward in time. Quickly deducing that the use of the power for her own gain can have unexpected consequences, she begins deploying the power only for small and frivolous things. Which is fine, until she also realizes she can only use her power a finite number of times. Potentially tragic circumstances soon threaten to leave her powerless when she needs to alter time the most. Unlike some of the more mature or action-oriented films here, this one perfectly captures the vibe of shōjo manga, with its emphasis on its teen girl lead.

Where to stream: Crunchroll


Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994)

For a newcomer, it can be deeply confusing trying to find an entry point into any of the Japanese mega-franchises. This one's an adaptation of the Street Fighter II Capcom game—but the movie, naturally, has a bit more plot than the fighter, and it's almost entirely standalone. There's not a lot of socially redeeming value here, nor emotional resonance...but the movie does offer exactly what's suggested by the title: sweet violence, with just enough character work to make the punches land a bit harder. The fight scenes are all impressively choreographed, and the ’90s animation style, while very '90s, holds up beautifully.

Where to stream: Prime Video


Mirai (2018)

Mirai feels ignored and abandoned when his new baby sister arrives, his feelings complicated by his father’s affectionate, yet emotionally awkward nature. But then Mirai wanders into a strange garden that transports him through time. He meets his mother as a child, and also his new baby sister as a grown-up. There's adventure to be found along the way, but the movie's real resonance comes in quiet, emotional moments, and from its sensitivity to the complications of growing up—both for us, and for the families that have to deal with us. It always helps to get a new perspective.

Where to stream: Digital rental


Redline (2009)

The plot is minimal, but that’s not in any way a disparagement: This gorgeously hand-drawn thrill ride is a work of art nonetheless. On a distant planet in an evocative future, the most popular race in the galaxy is set to begin. A daredevil driver is determined to compete, but before he has the chance, he’s got to overcome a criminal cartel, the police, and an army of robots. The movie tanked at the box office back in 2009, but quickly became a cult classic. It looks like nothing you've ever seen before.

Where to stream: Vudu


Ghost in the Shell (1995)

A legitimate cyberpunk mind-bender, Ghost in the Shell easily stands alongside spiritual cinematic siblings like Blade Runner or The Matrix (which it explicitly inspired). From director Mamoru Oshii and writer Kazunori Itō, the film finds cyborg security officer Motoko Kusanagi on the hunt for a seemingly invincible hacker. The case leads her to question not only her own identity as, essentially, a robot with a human mind—but also the very nature of reality itself. Along with Akira, this movie became a gateway to anime for an entire generation of American fans, and it holds up well.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi, Freevee


Demon Slayer—Kimetsu no Yaiba—The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)

A dark fantasy with some old-school shōnen style (albeit from a very R-rated point-of-view), Mugen Train picks up following the first season of the Demon Slayer series—that, and the excessive title, would seem to make it a tough recommendation, but it broke box office records in 2021 and became the highest-grossing anime of the year while scoring excellent reviews and winning awards. While there’s undoubtedly some extra resonance to be had when watching the movie in sequence, it works well on its own as the story of a tragic lead Tanjiro Kamado who board the titular train determined to save its passengers. The movie satisfyingly balances its stellar action sequences with some real emotional consequences.

Where to stream: Funimation, Crunchyroll


Only Yesterday (1991)

Though Only Yesterday was Japan’s highest-grossing film of 1991, it remains less well-known than many of its Studio Ghibli siblings, and that’s unfortunate. From director Isao Takahata (also the author of the criminally non-streaming Grave of the Fireflies), Only Yesterday follows 27-year-old Taeko Okajima, who works at a company in Tokyo but takes a train trip into the country side to visit relatives and escape from the hectic pace of the city. The journey conjures memories, both good and bad, of her past life, forcing her to reconcile her present with the life she left behind. It’s a lovely, melancholy take on life’s unexpected pathways.

Where to stream: Max


The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

Isao Takahata capped his career with this Academy Award-nominee based on the 1,000-year-old folktale known as "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter." The deceptively simple pencil and watercolor style is endlessly gorgeous. The story itself involves a woodsman who finds a baby in the bamboo and ultimately decides that it’s his fate to give her the life of a princess. The girl wants nothing more than the love of her family, but the movie turns on the dichotomy between that simple virtue and the need to satisfy the desires of family and community.

Where to stream: Max


Blame! (2017)

In the future, the City grows like a virus, endlessly in all directions, and humans have long since lost control of the automated systems designed to run things. Those same systems now see views humans as “illegals” to be purged, leaving flesh-and-blood survivors caught between the city’s murderous defense systems and the need to find food. One group of humans is on the hunt for the existence of someone with a genetic marker that they believe will allow for access to the city’s control systems—a hunt lead by Killy, a synthetic human who might have the key. Some deeply cool world-building here, and solid CGI animation.

Where to stream: Netflix


The Sky Crawlers (2008)

In a world largely at peace (imagine!), mega-corporations hire fighter pilots to engage in genuinely dangerous combat operations that serve, on one level, as entertainment, but also as a way for the world’s population to blow off some steam and experience the visceral thrills and nationalistic fervor of war without any of the devastating consequences. There’s a lot going on here, including the stories of pilots genetically engineered to remain adolescents, but the beautifully animated aerial sequences (involving mysterious attackers who endanger what was initially intended as a reconnaissance flight) are a highlight. Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) directs.

Where to stream: Tubi


Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)

A meet-cute between 22-year-old university student Tsuneo and Josee gives way to a more unconventional relationship: Tsuneo is hired as a caretaker for disabled Josee by her grandmother. Money, tragedy, and regular life threaten to get in the way of their budding relationship, but the two keep finding themselves drawn back together. The typical "inspirational" disability tropes are kept to a minimum—Josee is a fully rounded character, and the movie takes great lengths to emphasize the barriers that a wheelchair-user is likely to face in Japan, both culturally and practically.

Where to stream: Digital rental


Child of Kamiari Month (2021)

Kanna Hayama was a dedicated runner until the death of her mother, after which she becomes withdrawn and joyless, refusing to share her feelings with her friends and family. Of course, we're in an anime fantasy, so she soon meets a fanged demon-boy during a race who tasks her with taking up her mother's mantle as a literal footrace deity, and sends her on a quest with the help of a talking rabbit. Her adventures put her on a path toward coming to terms with her mother's passing and rediscovering her own sense of joy.

Where to stream: Netflix


Weathering With You (2019)

Makoto Shinkai followed up Your Name with this equally successful successor, a gorgeous vision of rain-soaked Tokyo, and a young woman who can control the weather (visually, this movie beautifully does for water what Your Name did for light). Troubled runaway Hodaka meets and befriends Hina, whose emotions impact the weather. There are life- and world-threatening consequences to all of this, but, ultimately, it's about the triumphs and tragedies of first love.

Where to stream: Max


Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2020)

A cute, music-filled teen love story, this one finds shy, haiku-writing Cherry working at a senior center when he meets Smile, an outgoing social media influencer who's secretly embarrassed about her teeth and braces. They're both deeply insecure in different ways, and each has developed their own coping strategies. Their relationship soon takes a backseat to the story of a couple from five decades earlier, and the quest for a record that connects their love story to that of one of Cherry's clients. The stakes are relatively small and entirely personal, and that's more than OK. It's vibrant and fun, one of the better modern examples of teen romance in modern anime.

Where to stream: Netflix


Memories (1995)

This science fiction anthology is comprised of three short films, each well-done and darkly entertaining. The highlight is the opening segment, directed by anime master Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika)—it's called "Magnetic Blue," and is the story of space salvagers and the engineers who discover a haunted and unforgettably haunting abandoned space station. It's a perfect blend of science fiction and existential horror.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Tubi


The End of Evangelion (1997)

Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series ended with a brilliantly abstract and shocking whisper—one that left many action-craving fans cold. They might have been careful what they wished for. Fim coda The End of Evangelion offers a slice of hell through the eyes of its child-soldier lead, giant robot pilot Shinji Ikari. Where the show ended with the imagery of group therapy gone well, this alternate finale hinges on an apocalypse so horrifying, survival is the cruelest twist imaginable.

Where to stream: Netflix


Perfect Blue (1997)

Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue isn't going to be for everyone, a blurring of fantasy and reality that draws comparisons to the films of Darren Aronofsky—though, of course, it's really the other way around, as Perfect Blue came before both Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, which echo it. (Perfect Blue has also inspired Madonna, so do with that what you will). If nothing else, it proves that anime can do the psychological thriller genre at least as well as any medium can. Its story follows a young Japanese singer who is pushed to quit her career to take a job on television—a move with horrific consequences in the best tradition of high-price-of-fame stories.

Where to stream: Shudder


The Hayao Miyazaki Collection

Hayao Miyazaki's career in animation began in the 1970s, but his work as an artist of global stature began in earnest with 1984's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the first of an unbroken sequence of masterpieces that have pushed subsequent animators into new territory. One can easily make the case that without Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (which he co-founded), we don't have anything like the varied world of animated films we're privileged to see today. Miyazaki's oeuvre could easily take up half of this list so instead, I'm going to suggest that all his movies are similarly great, which is not the same as saying that they're all similar.

Among the director's most beloved are Spirited Away (2001), involving young Chihiro's quest to save her parents from puckish beings in a fantasy realm; Princess Mononoke (1997), a epic environmental parable; Howl's Moving Castle (2004), about a young woman's quest to break a curse and the castle with legs; and My Neighbor Totoro (1988), a sweet story of two girls who meet fantastic creatures in the first near their new home. There are really no bad choices, though, with all but Miyazaki's most recent (Oscar-winner The Boy and the Heron) currently streaming on Max. While wildly varied, each is stunningly animated and lushly detailed, and each deals with the trials and challenges of growing up (at any age).

Where to stream: Max

Les compléments alimentaires peuvent-ils vraiment aider à traverser la préménopause ?

La préménopause (ou périménopause) a le vent en poupe sur le marché des produits non médicamenteux : outre les traitements traditionnels de la ménopause, on trouve de plus en plus de pilules et de crèmes en vente libre destinées aux femmes sur le point d'atteindre la ménopause.

La préménopause, cette période précédant la ménopause, se manifeste généralement vers 45 ans et dure souvent plusieurs années. Au cours de cette phase de transition, les changements hormonaux peuvent entraîner une perte osseuse et provoquer des dizaines de symptômes désagréables tels que des bouffées de chaleur, des troubles du sommeil et des troubles de l’humeur.

Alors que l’hormonothérapie et d’autres médicaments sur ordonnance peuvent aider à soulager certains de ces symptômes, de nombreuses personnes cherchent d'autres solutions. « C’est là que les compléments alimentaires et les produits non médicamenteux entrent en jeu », explique Mary Jane Minkin, gynécologue et professeure clinique à l’école de médecine de Yale.

Mais selon Minkin et d’autres médecins habitués à traiter les symptômes de la préménopause, les données scientifiques relatives à de nombreux produits portent à confusion. « Mieux vaut considérer la plupart de ces produits avec des pincettes », soutient Nanette Santoro, professeure et présidente du département d’obstétrique et de gynécologie à la faculté de médecine de l’université du Colorado.

Voici ce que l’on sait des compléments alimentaires censés soulager les symptômes de la préménopause, et ce que suggèrent les experts à ce propos.

 

QU’EST-CE QUE LA PRÉMÉNOPAUSE ET QUE CONTIENNENT CES COMPLÉMENTS ALIMENTAIRES ?

Pendant la préménopause, les ovaires produisent moins d’œstrogènes et de progestérone (les hormones sexuelles féminines) et leurs taux augmentent et diminuent de façon sporadique, ce qui entraîne des règles irrégulières. La ménopause, quant à elle, se définit par l’absence de règles de plus d'un an.

Bien que les termes « préménopause » et « ménopause » fassent référence à deux étapes distinctes du développement humain, ils sont souvent utilisés l'un pour l'autre, et ce même sur l’emballage de certains compléments alimentaires, souligne Santoro.

Les produits qui prétendent soulager les symptômes de la préménopause sont souvent constitués d’un mélange de divers ingrédients, dont de la vitamine B (pour l’énergie, l’humeur, etc.), de la vitamine D (pour la santé des os) et des minéraux comme le zinc (pour la santé de la peau et des ongles).

Certains contiennent également des plantes comme la maca et la populaire actée à grappes noires, toutes deux censées atténuer plusieurs symptômes, ainsi que des phytoestrogènes, des composés provenant de plantes telles que le soja et le trèfle rouge, qui présentent une structure et des fonctions similaires à l’œstrogène humain.

 

CES COMPLÉMENTS ALIMENTAIRES SONT-ILS EFFICACES ?

Selon les experts, il n’y a tout simplement pas assez de preuves pour affirmer que ces ingrédients soulagent bel et bien les effets secondaires de la préménopause. En effet, certains ingrédients n’ont été que peu étudiés, quand, pour d’autres, les résultats des études se sont souvent avérés incohérents.

Par exemple, des analyses de la littérature scientifique réalisées en 2012 et 2016 ont montré que l’ingestion d’extrait d’actée à grappes noires ne réduisait pas plus les bouffées de chaleur que la prise d’un placebo. Pourtant, une revue systématique de 2017 a soutenu le contraire.

Selon Minkin, les études sur les compléments alimentaires sont souvent loin d’appliquer la méthodologie de référence recommandée pour ce type de recherche, à savoir de vastes essais randomisés, en double aveugle, contrôlés par placebo, qui suivent les participants dans le temps.

Par ailleurs, la diversité des processus de culture, d’extraction et de production de nombreux ingrédients complique davantage la collecte de données fiables, ajoute Minkin.

Prenons l’exemple du soja, parfois commercialisé comme traitement des bouffées de chaleur. En 2023, la Menopause Society, une organisation à but non lucratif américaine, a conclu qu’il était difficile de résumer les études publiées sur le soja depuis 2015, tant elles étaient différentes. En effet, ces études analysent des dosages du soja différents ou des mélanges de soja et de différents minéraux et vitamines, ainsi que différentes formes d'aministration du soja, comme des boissons et des comprimés.

En fin de compte, la Menopause Society n’a recommandé ni le soja ni aucun autre complément alimentaire qu’elle a évalué (dont des capsules d’onagre, de la crème d’igname sauvage et autres) pour traiter les bouffées de chaleur.

Cela dit, les experts expliquent qu’il peut leur arriver de recommander certains compléments alimentaires aux personnes en période de préménopause. Les suppléments de calcium, par exemple, peuvent favoriser la santé des os si l’alimentation n’en fournit pas suffisamment, tout comme la vitamine D, que l’on produit moins efficacement avec l’âge, explique Karen Adams, professeure clinique d’obstétrique et de gynécologie à la faculté de médecine de l’université de Stanford.

En outre, Adams indique qu'il existe « quelques preuves » suggérant que la mélatonine peut améliorer le sommeil, en particulier chez les personnes âgées, mais ces études sont de petite envergure et de courte durée. Les experts ont également averti le National Geographic que la mélatonine ne devait être utilisée qu’à court terme.

Bien sûr, les preuves anecdotiques abondent, certaines personnes jurant que certains compléments alimentaires les ont aidées à soulager leurs symptômes. Cependant, selon les experts, il pourrait s’agir d’un effet placebo puisque dans le cas des traitements contre les bouffées de chaleur, par exemple, des études ont démontré que plus de 30 % des personnes signalaient des améliorations avec le placebo.

Quoi qu’il en soit, si les symptômes s’améliorent et si le complément alimentaire semble sans danger, Minkin préfère aller dans le sens de ses patients. « Ma ligne de conduite habituelle est la suivante : si mes patients trouvent une utilité aux suppléments, je les invite à poursuivre leur traitement », dit-elle.

Mais comment s’assurer qu’un complément alimentaire est sans danger ? C’est une autre histoire.

 

CE QU’IL FAUT SAVOIR AVANT DE PRENDRE DES COMPLÉMENTS ALIMENTAIRES POUR LA PRÉMÉNOPAUSE

Les agences de régulation des médicaments n’ont pas à approuver la plupart des compléments alimentaires pour qu’ils soient commercialisés. Il n’y a donc aucune garantie qu’un produit soit efficace, qu’il n’interagisse pas avec des médicaments ou même qu’il contienne ce qu'indique l’étiquette. « Les fabricants de compléments alimentaires peuvent prétendre tout ce qu’ils veulent », déclare Adams.

Une étude de 2006, par exemple, a révélé que trois des onze produits à base d’actée à grappes noires analysés dans le cadre de l’étude ne contenaient pas d’actée à grappes noires, mais une autre plante à fleurs appelée actée asiatique.

Il est ainsi recommandé aux personnes qui envisagent d’acheter des compléments alimentaires pour la préménopause de rechercher le sceau de la pharmacopée française, de Consumerlab.com ou de NSF International, qui testent les compléments alimentaires pour vérifier des facteurs tels que l’identité des produits et leur pureté. 

 

LES AUTRES SOLUTIONS POUR SOULAGER LES SYMPTÔMES

Si de nombreux médecins ne vous orienteront pas vers les compléments alimentaires, vous pouvez trouver d’autres types de solutions fiables et approuvées.

Selon les experts, l'intervention hormonale constitue le traitement le plus efficace pour pallier les symptômes courants de la préménopause. En revanche, si certains médecins préfèreront l’hormonothérapie (soit le recours à des pilules, des patchs ou à tout autre produit contenant des œstrogènes ou un mélange d’œstrogènes et de progestérone), explique Minkin, d’autres ne vous la recommanderont pas, car la production d’œstrogènes chez les personnes préménopausées peut encore être élevée à certains moments. Une des solutions dans ces cas-là peut être d'avoir recours à une contraception hormonale.

Toutefois, si vous préférez renoncer au traitement hormonal ou si vous n’êtes pas une bonne candidate pour ce traitement (comme les personnes ayant des antécédents de thrombose idiopathique ou de cancer du sein ou d’autres cancers sensibles aux œstrogènes, par exemple), vous pouvez également vous procurer des médicaments non hormonaux sur ordonnance.

Certaines techniques psychocorporelles peuvent également s’avérer utiles.

Pour atténuer les bouffées de chaleur, la Menopause Society recommande deux techniques : l’hypnothérapie, qui implique des séances de relaxation profonde et axées sur la concentration destinées à vous rendre plus influençable, et la thérapie cognitivo-comportementale, axée sur l’identification et le remplacement des schémas de pensée néfastes.

Santoro rappelle que faire de l’exercice physique est « bon dans tous les cas », mais souligne également que selon certaines données, il n'aide pas à réduire les bouffées de chaleur. Par ailleurs, le fait de suivre un régime alimentaire équilibré, composé d’aliments entiers et non transformés, permet de contrôler la glycémie, d’assurer un apport adéquat en vitamines et de prévenir la prise de poids qui peut survenir pendant la préménopause, souligne Santoro.

Enfin, Minkin insite : il est essentiel de consulter un fournisseur de soins de santé bien informé qui peut vous aider à naviguer parmi les options, y compris les compléments alimentaires.

« J’encourage toujours mes patients à consulter des sources fiables, ajoute-t-elle, et à ne pas fonder leurs décisions sur les propos d’une star de cinéma. »

Cet article a initialement paru sur le site nationalgeographic.com en langue anglaise.

Ce robot humanoïde peut prédire un sourire avant qu’il ne se produise !

La tête robotisée Emo est capable d’identifier une expression faciale avant qu’elle ne soit marquée sur le visage et d’y répondre avec son équivalent. C’est un grand pas vers l’ajout de la communication non verbale aux robots humanoïdes.

The Only Four Gardening Tools You Actually Need

According to a recent study, Americans spend over $500 a year on gardening tools. That's a lot. Gardening is one of those hobbies that requires a few tools, so it's inevitable that you're going to drop some cash, but you only really need a few. You can start gardening with incredibly little overhead. 

A pretty good shovel

If you’re digging in the dirt, you’re gonna need a shovel. They come in a surprising number of shapes, all of which serve a different purpose, but the one you’ll use most often is a common garden spade. With a wide pan, flared edges and a soft point, a spade will easily slide into the earth with a lip you can stand on. The width of the pan will allow you to scoop up the dirt generously, with edges that’ll hold the dirt on the pan, and you can use the point that you can use to break up the soil. While we often think of wooden-handled garden tools, I prefer shorter handles made of steel, which are less likely to break. I’m particularly fond of the Radius line, with its easy circular handles, but the Bully long-handled shovel is also solid. 

A hand spade or hori hori

Shovels work at a distance, but to dig a hole to plant in, or work with the dirt when you’re closer to it, you’ll want a hand spade. Like shovels, these come in many shapes, but it’s best to start with a general tool. A spade that isn’t too wide or narrow, with a good sharp edge and a comfortable handle that isn’t going to wilt in the summer sun or get gross in the rain. You can also consider a hori hori, which is a longer blade with a serrated edge.  While it won’t allow you to scoop soil in the way a spade will, a hori hori is a spectacular all around hand tool that allows you to get a deep hole precisely where you need it, without disturbing nearby plants, will cut through rhizomes like butter, and get right to the roots of weeds. 

Garden gloves

You don’t really need garden gloves. Digging in the dirt with your hands is good for your soul, if not your manicure. Gloves can, however, be useful if you are working with thorny plants, or worms give you the ick. For that reason, I keep a few sets around—a workhorse pair that will stand up to the thorniest roses, and a pair of softer gloves for basic gardening work. Since I lose them often, having more than one pair at any time is always useful.

A great hose attachment

If there are plants, they’ll need to be watered. Any hose will do for now, but you’ll want a decent nozzle for that hose so you can adjust how much you’re watering and where that water goes. If you have hanging planters or beds that are a little out of reach, consider a nozzle on an extension pole. For just buzzing around the garden, a simple spray attachment will work. Be sure to bring those attachments inside for the winter. These attachments tend to leak easily, so spend a little more to get one of decent quality. 

There are legions of tools that I enjoy and use, from seeding gadgets to aprons to trellises, but you’ll figure out what you enjoy using over time. None of them are required to enjoy spending time outside or start digging in the dirt.

Profitez du week-end de Pâques pour forger votre esprit critique !

Universcience présente le Printemps de l’esprit critique 2024 et la troisième édition du Baromètre de l’esprit critique, deux manifestations qui se tiendront du 21 mars 2024 au 3 avril 2024 à la Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, aux Étincelles du Palais de la découverte et sur le blob.fr. De...

How to Recognize an AI-generated Cookbook

As I sit here eating rich, juicy dumplings made by a dedicated human chef, I’m pondering—lamenting?—AI's role in the food industry. Specifically, I’m stewing over one small, wholesome corner that AI has been butting into: cookbooks. AI-generated recipes and cookbooks aren’t new by any means, but they’re more prevalent than ever, and better at impersonating human authors than before. These AI cookbooks are sneaky, but they're not perfect, and you should be able to decide if that’s what you really want to buy. Luckily, there are a few red flags to keep an eye out for.


By the way, the dumplings were from East Wind Snack Shop. The human chef and owner, Chris Cheung, wrote a cookbook, Damn Good Chinese Food, and it’s for sale here along with some other fantastic cookbooks:


An AI-generated cookbook in the wild

A recent post on X from Matthew Kupfer shows just how creepy AI cookbooks can be. It’s mostly hilarious, but quickly becomes alarming when you realize someone used AI to generate a bio and a photo of the “author.” 

A screenshot of @Matthew_Kupfer's post on X
Credit: @Matthew_Kupfer/X

Clearly, AI-generated recipes and cookbooks are already out there. That’s fine—besides the knowledge and work that it silently scraped from all the recipes on the internet—it is what it is. Even companies like Instacart have taken a dip in AI waters to generate recipes, but at least they're up front about it. They also note that the recipes "may not be perfect" due to the nature of its creation. AI recipes are untested, likely unedited, and there’s a possibility the meal comes out weird in some way, but hopefully not inedible.

But the dubious recipe quality is just one part of the problem. Cookbooks aren’t just collections of recipes. They’re years of hard work, mistakes, successes, incredible photography, experiences, and stories. Those stories are woven into recipes that share a person’s life. Maybe I’m a little sensitive because I’m an aspiring cookbook author myself, but it’s the impersonation that is unsettling. The lengthy prose of manufactured human experience, and the faux inspiration—you’ll have to excuse me, but I’ve lost my appetite. 

Your AI is showing

Since you can’t rely on the usual tricks—checking for the author’s photo or only searching for hardcover books—you might have to dig a little deeper, and trust your gut. Here are a few things to look out for when you're vetting a cookbook.

Odd cover claims

While the title might seem harmless, like The Complete Crock Pot in the X post, the subtitle, or other quips and promises on the cover can be a dead giveaway. For example, “2000 days easy delicious recipes” sounds like an extreme amount of days, and it seems to be missing a word.

Clunky phrasing or repeats

Speaking of missing words, this tip is from our post on how to tell if you’re chatting with a bot, and it’s applicable for cookbooks too. Look out for grammatical missteps, sure, but also oddly robotic phrasing and repetition. As Jeff Somers notes in the aforementioned post, “Even the best conversational AI often has trouble with the weird complexities and contradictions of language.”

If you feel like a sentence just doesn’t sound right, like “This electrical cooking equipment is used to make meals, particularly when you want to leave your cooking uncontrolled for hours,” you’re not being judgmental. This is not how most folks would describe crockpot cooking.

Repeated phrases are also a hallmark of AI writing. I intentionally switch up vocabulary when I write because I know it’s boring to read the same words again and again, but AI doesn’t get bored. It gets even. Just kidding, it’s awful at alternate phrasing. You wouldn’t believe how many times the section “What is Crock-Pot?” has the exact, or nearly identical, phrasing for “a crock pot, or slow-cooker, is a pot made of ceramic…” It’s a lot.

Publishing houses versus self published

Many AI-generated cookbooks are sold online, and they are self published. You can probably figure out why. As of right now, most established publishing houses are interested in making deals with human authors. It’s a shame because there are a lot of self-published authors out there who write great books, and big publishers can make it difficult for even great books to be seen. In the case of cookbooks though, look for what publishing company it's from; if it's listed as "self published" or "independently published," be wary.

Errors with key ingredients

If you can, look closely at some of the recipes in the book. While AI doesn’t usually make egregious measurement mistakes, like suggesting two cups of salt, it can omit things. If a recipe is titled “Barley Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs,” and there are no herbs or barley to be found in the ingredient list, you might be dealing with an AI cookbook. Likewise, if a cookbook claims to be for special diets, like a low-glycemic cookbook or this vegan cookbook that got ripped off by AI, keep a lookout for recipes that don’t fit the diet. 

AI might hurt our human feelings when it imitates us, but this type of error is where untested, unedited recipes get dangerous. A vegan is likely to catch butter or mozzarella listed in a recipe, but beginners following a low-glycemic recipe might not catch a starch error.

Tips for cookbook shopping success

Don’t be fooled by an author picture and biography

AI generates photos with terrifying ease. Read here for tips on identifying pictures of fake humans (two words: errant earrings). If you’re not sure, you can also look up the author. AI “authors” will have no history besides the cookbook, so you won’t have to do much research.  

Check for AI-generated reviews

AI reviews look suspiciously alike—like word-for-word alike—and 20 or 30 reviews will post on the same date, or within a tight time frame. If you see that, the next step is to click on the one- or two-star reviews. Those are probably humans and they’re probably telling you the cookbook is AI generated.

Shop in a bookstore

A what? A brick and mortar bookstore. If you’re buying new, then you can rest assured that bookstores like Warwick’s and Greenlight Bookstore are buying their stock from reputable publishers. If you’re buying used, then at least you can flip through the book and thoroughly check for the red flags mentioned above. Plus, you’ll be supporting a real-life bookstore, and that’s nice too.

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Gemini Finally Comes to Google Messages (for Some Users)

Google has been upfront about its plans to inject its Gemini AI into just about everything it can, save for the base Pixel 8—which it says has some hardware limitations that keep it from sporting the latest Gemini version. One of the latest ways to get the Gemini treatment is through Google Messages.

This rollout isn't surprising at all, as Google officially confirmed the addition of Gemini to Messages around a month ago. Now, though, it has finally started to become available to some Google Messages beta users, and here's what you can expect from the new integration.

For starters, it's only available for beta testers that have RCS enabled, are at least 18 years old, and own a Pixel 6 or newer, Pixel Fold, Galaxy S22 or newer, Galaxy Z Flip, or Galaxy Z Fold. Any other devices aren't eligible for Gemini in Google Messages just yet. Google also says you'll need to have your phone's language set to English in places where Gemini in Messages is available, or French if you're in Canada.

Once you're into the beta and have Gemini, though, you'll then be able to do a number of things with the AI chatbot, including talk to the bot for information. You can respond to Gemini using text or image prompts, and you'll even be able to use extensions in your chats with Gemini.

If you want help drafting messages, all you need to do is ask Gemini and it will provide an appropriate response you can edit and then send as you see fit. You'll also be able to give feedback directly in the Messages app by long-pressing and holding down on the response you want to provide feedback for and then selecting the thumbs up or thumbs down to indicate what kind of response it was.

Google hasn't said yet whether it will allow Gemini Advanced users access to their premium features in Messages, so we'll have to wait for more information about the AI feature to become available before we can say for sure. But, at least for now, you can join the beta for Google Messages and test out the feature as long as you meet the requirements outlined above.

Google Wants You to Use AI for Your Next Vacation

Google hopes you'll trust its AI-powered search enough to use it to plan your next vacation. According to a blog post released this week, Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) can now help you plan an itinerary of destinations for your next trip, including highlighting must-visit locations, restaurants, and even an overview of possible flight and hotel options.

The new system builds heavily off of Google's AI search response system, which scours the internet for different responses to your queries. Google says that using SGE will provide you with all the details you need, including photos, reviews, and other info about businesses that you might visit. Of course, that isn't taking into account the problems that SGE is already experiencing, like the fact that it is pushing scam and malware sites in SGE results. Hopefully Google has resolved some of that, but be careful which links you click on in the meantime.

Aside from SGE, Google has also highlighted how recommended lists in Google Maps can help you plan your vacation better, including showcasing lists of recommendations from sites you trust as well as locals who know all the best spots. This doesn't really build off AI, but it's likely we'll see more AI features coming to Google Maps and other Google products in the future.

It isn't all that surprising to see Google pushing more AI features across its various projects. The company has made big strides to put its Gemini AI chatbot out there, and it is likely we'll even see these trip-planning features make their way to Maps at some point, though perhaps in a different fashion. However, it will probably be a while before you can fully trust the information these AI tools are spitting out at you.

What's New on Paramount+ With Showtime in April 2024

Par : Emily Long

Paramount+ viewers can start April with the premiere of the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery (April 4), which will wrap up the 65-episode series that rejuvenated the sci-fi franchise in 2017. There's also season four of The Challenge: All Stars (April 10), the reality competition show that, this time around, brings together former players to go head-to-head in South Africa. There's also CTRL+ALT+DESIRE (April 16), a three-episode docuseries about the manhunt to capture Grant Amato following the murder of his family members.

For Paramount+ With Showtime subscribers, there's Talk to Me (April 1), a supernatural horror film from A24 about a group of friends who use an embalmed hand to communicate with the spirit world.

Paramount+'s live programming kicks off with the CMT Music Awards (streaming on April 7) followed by live coverage of The Masters, which begins on April 8. There's also The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time (April 14 at 9 p.m. ET), a livestream of the artist's 100th sold-out concert of his MSG residency.

Here’s everything else coming to the service in April. Note that titles with an asterisk are exclusive to Paramount+ With Showtime; everything else is also available to subscribers on the ad-supported plan. Those with two asterisks are available to Paramount+ With Showtime users streaming live on CBS and to all subscribers the following day.

Paramount+ Originals and premieres coming in April 2024

Arriving April 1

  • Talk to Me*

Arriving April 4

  • Star Trek: Discovery, season five premiere

Arriving April 7

  • CMT Music Awards**

Arriving April 10

  • The Challenge: All Stars, season four premiere

Arriving April 12

  • DORA, premiere

Arriving April 14

  • The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time**

Arriving April 16

  • CTRL+ALT+DESIRE

Arriving April 26

  • Knuckles, premiere

TV shows coming to Paramount+ in April 2024

Arriving April 1

  • Jeff Dunham: I'm with Cupid

Arriving April 3

  • Bubble Guppies (Season 6)

  • Bubble Guppies: Bubble Puppy’s Fin-tastic Fairy Tale

  • Bubble Guppies: Guppy Style!

  • Bubble Guppies: The Puppy and the Ring

  • CMT Crossroads (Seasons 21-22)

  • CMT Presents The Judds: Love Is Alive - The Final Concert

Arriving April 8

NCISVerse: The First 1,000**

Arriving April 10

  • Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out (Seasons 19-20)

Arriving April 17

  • Mighty Planes (Seasons 1-4)

  • RENO 911! (Season 8)

  • The Last Cowboy (Season 4)

Arriving April 24

  • Air Disasters (Season 9-10)

  • How Did They Fix That? (Seasons 1-2)

Movies coming to Paramount+ in April 2024

Arriving April 1

  • Arsenal*

  • B.A.P.S.

  • Bandslam*

  • Black Lotus

  • Blades of Glory

  • Catch and Release

  • Chaplin

  • Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin'*

  • Cloud Atlas

  • Cold Mountain

  • Daddy's Home

  • Deep Impact

  • Domestic Disturbance*

  • Drive Me Crazy

  • Edge Of Darkness

  • El Dorado

  • Emma

  • Empire Records

  • Face/Off

  • First Blood

  • Galaxy Quest*

  • Get Rich or Die Tryin'

  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

  • Hotel for Dogs

  • I Love You, Man

  • Identity

  • Inherent Vice

  • Jacob's Ladder*

  • Juice

  • Just Like Heaven

  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

  • Last Night*

  • Life

  • Like a Boss

  • Magnolia

  • Malcolm X

  • Max Steel*

  • Mimic

  • Muriel's Wedding*

  • My Baby's Daddy

  • Nebraska

  • Nick of Time*

  • Planes, Trains and Automobiles

  • Rambo: First Blood Part II

  • Rambo III

  • Saturday Night Fever

  • Secret in Their Eyes*

  • Team America: World Police

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

  • The Crossing Guard*

  • The Evening Star*

  • The Heartbreak Kid

  • The King of Comedy

  • The Ring

  • The Ring Two

  • The Ring Two (Unrated)

  • The Score

  • The Secret Garden

  • The Station Agent

  • The Transporter Refueled*

  • The Uninvited

  • TMNT

  • Total Recall

  • Transformers

  • Up in Smoke

  • Vacancy

  • Varsity Blues

  • Whip It

  • Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

  • Wild Card*

  • Wuthering Heights*

Arriving April 11

  • School For Scoundrels*

Arriving April 12

  • Deliver Us from Evil

Arriving April 25

  • The Painter

Xbox Cloud Gaming Now Supports Mouse and Keyboard for Beta Users

Mouse and keyboard fans, rejoice: Microsoft is finally rolling out support for these peripherals for Xbox Cloud Gaming, so long as you're a selected Xbox Insider.

The company is rolling out mouse and keyboard support as part of its latest Xbox Update Preview for Alpha Skip-Ahead testers. That means general Xbox Insiders will still need to wait, but for those in the "invite only" testing program, you should be able to hook up your favorite mouse and keyboard to play games that previously required a controller.

Microsoft says mouse and keyboard support works in cloud gaming on Microsoft Edge and Chrome, as well as the Xbox App on PCs (for those enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview). If you're playing in a browser, you'll need to enable Preview features first. You'll find the option on xbox.com/play by clicking your profile picture, choosing Settings, and enabling Preview features.

The program currently supports 14 titles at this time. Not a ton, but enough to get you started with experiencing mouse and keyboard controls on Xbox Cloud Gaming:

  • Fortnite (browsers only)

  • ARK Survival Evolved

  • Sea of Thieves

  • Grounded

  • Halo Infinite

  • Atomic Heart

  • Sniper Elite 5

  • Deep Rock Galactic

  • High on Life

  • Zombie Army 4 Dead War

  • Gears Tactics

  • Pentiment

  • Doom 64

  • Age of Empires 2

Microsoft has acknowledged a known issue with Atomic Heart, as there can be issues when swapping from your controller to mouse and keyboard while streaming the game.

You'll also notice that games display controller UI elements until you start to use your mouse and keyboard to interact with the game. If you see "press A to start," for example, trying clicking or moving with WASD to adjust the UI.

Browser users should take note that the stream needs to be in full screen for your mouse and keyboard to work. If you want to exit full screen, hit the Escape key. You also need to click on a game stream element in order for the game to recognize your mouse input. You can also press F9 to exit out of mouse and keyboard controls for the game.

You Can Get OneAir Elite on Sale for $80 Right Now

You can get a lifetime subscription to OneAir Elite on sale for $79.97 right now (reg. $790) until April 2. OneAir is a deal-alert service that lets you know when great flight deals are available—it tracks millions of fares in real time, lets you set destination-specific alerts, and lets you book destinations based on your budget. You just select your preferred departure airports (up to ten of them) and wait for OneAir notifications via email and mobile notifications. A lifetime Elite Plan offers access to Business, First, Premium, and Economy flights, and the membership can easily pay for itself with one great trip deal. OneAir Elite also offers discounts for hotels, ground transportation, entertainment, and activities.

The OneAir app is available on iOS and Android, and a lifetime subscription to a OneAir Elite Plan is on sale for $79.97 right now (reg. $790) until April 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT, though prices can change at any time.

Don't Trust These 'Reset Password' Pop-ups on Your Apple Devices

If you're minding your business on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and all of a sudden are spammed by pop-ups requesting that you reset your Apple ID password, you would understandably be a bit freaked out. The thing is, this is actually happening, and you should exercise caution—but not panic—if it happens to you.

What's behind the Apple ID password reset attack

As explained by Krebs on Security, bad actors are attacking Apple users by spamming their devices with password reset requests. These pop-ups do not go away unless you dismiss or engage with them via the Allow or Don't Allow options, which means in order to continue using your device, you need to constantly tap Don't Allow.

The pop-ups themselves aren't necessarily nefarious: This is how Apple allows you to change your Apple ID password on a non-trusted device, or on the web. Let's say you forget your Apple ID password and go through Apple's password reset website to reset it: Once you enter the appropriate amount of information, Apple will send a pop-up to your trusted, connected devices to approve the reset process. Once you approve, you can enter a new password.

What bad actors are doing, however, is exploiting some vulnerability in Apple's MFA (multi-factor authentication) process to not only send these reset pop-ups to your devices, but to truly spam you with them. You may dismiss the pop-up only to receive another almost immediately. One victim had to dismiss over 100 of these pop-ups before they finally stopped.

While we don't know exactly how attackers are spamming users with pop-ups, it's not difficult to imagine how they're targeting their victims. When you go to Apple's password reset site, you need to present your Apple ID and your phone number. If an attacker knows these two credentials of yours, they're free to trigger a reset pop-up.

Of course, you don't want to hit Allow. When you do, whoever is initializing this password request will be able to change your password on your behalf. When they do, they'll be able to log into your account on their devices and lock you out. While it's scary enough with how easy it would be to accidentally tap Allow after being spammed so many times, it's even more concerning that the pop-up appears on your Apple Watch as well. Krebs on Security reports on one victim who received the pop-up on their watch while they were sleeping: I could imagine myself accidentally tapping Allow if half-asleep, just trying to dismiss the notification.

It's not over if you hit "Don't Allow"

Even if you're able to wait out attackers and dismiss these notifications over and over again, they have another tactic at play. Since they have your phone number, they'll call you directly, spoofing their number as Apple Support. (It will literally show Apple Support's official number as the incoming caller.)

If you were to answer this call, attackers would try their best to convince you they were Apple Support, perhaps presenting certain information of yours that they have as "proof." Once they trick you, they'll trigger an SMS-based OTP (one-time password) code, which Apple uses to prove your identity when logging in somewhere unfamiliar. Don't share this code with anyone. Apple even includes that warning in the text it sends to you. While ideally, you wouldn't be talking to the attackers in the first place, if you're already in this situation, know that Apple Support would never ask for this code themselves.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there's any way to protect yourself from these spam pop-ups if attackers already have your Apple ID and phone number. The only thing to do is to change your phone number, which is probably more of a hassle than it's worth in this case. (But if you have other reasons to do it, it might be worth it.) We'll just need to wait for Apple to fix whatever vulnerability these bad actors are exploiting to protect us. In the meantime, trust no one, and never tap Allow or OK on unsolicited pop-ups.

Your PS5 Will Soon Be Able to Capture Game Clips to Help Other Players

If you're playing a game on your PS5 and can't defeat a particularly challenging boss or figure out how to solve a certain puzzle, you'll soon be able to get help from an anonymous stranger. Sony has announced that later this year, your PS5 will be able to automatically capture game clips from your play sessions and upload them as hints for other players—and clips taken by other players will be available for your reference, too. This addition is called Community Game Help, and it's something you'll have to opt into, offering an interesting way to get help with a game without looking up an online walkthrough.

How you can contribute to PS5's Community Game Help

A screenshot of the upcoming Community Game Help settings page.
Credit: Sony

In the coming months, you will be able to opt in to Community Game Help, which means that videos from your gameplay will help others. Once this feature is rolled out to your PS5, you can go to PS5 settings > Captures & Broadcasts > Captures > Auto Captures > Community Game Help > Participate. This will allow you to opt in to the program.

This settings page, according to Sony, will also let you select how many videos you want to let the console capture every month. When you do certain things in supported games, your PS5 will automatically capture these videos and upload them to Sony's servers. When videos are uploaded, a moderator will review your content and decide if it can be published under Community Game Help. If your video is published, you'll get a notification on your PS5 and it'll appear under the Your Published Videos option on the Community Game Help settings page.

Sony says that your PS5 will automatically delete these clips once they're uploaded, which means that you don't have to worry about running out of storage. The company has also addressed other privacy concerns by confirming that only raw gameplay footage will be uploaded. Sony won't access your webcam feeds, party chat audio, or audio from your mic. According to Sony, this feature will be available "in select games later this year, and [its] goal is to expand it to as many titles as possible in the future."

How to use Community Game Help on your PS5

A screenshot of the upcoming Community Game Help feature from Sony's PS app.
Credit: Sony

At the moment, Community Game Help is being rolled out slowly, so it could be a while before it shows up on your PS5. To check if you've got it, you can hit the PS button when you're playing a game, select a card labelled Hints Inside, and select any of the videos under Community Game Help. This will also be available on the PS app.

These Monitors Are on Sale for as Low as $80

Dell's TechFest sale lasts for a few more days, so if you've been looking for a laptop, monitor, or other Dell product, take a quick look. If the 34-inch Ultra-wide LG monitor going for 50% off or the comically wide Samsung Odyssey G9 gaming monitor don't tickle your fancy, then perhaps one of these Dell monitors will. Here are my favorite three deals from the sale.

The 24-inch Dell SE2422H monitor is $79.99

You're not going to find anything fancy on the Dell SE2422H monitor, but if you're looking for a decent budget monitor that will get the job done, this monitor for $79.99 is a good option. The Dell SE2422H launched in 2021 and usually hovers around the $120 price point, according to my price tracking tools. It is a VA panel with 1920 by 1080 resolution, which is Full HD. What is surprising is the 75Hz refresh rate, which is more than the standard 60 Hz that you'll find in most monitors. You can do much worse for $79.99 than this monitor.

The 32-inch Dell S3222DGM curved gaming monitor for $249.99

For a budget gaming monitor, the Dell S3222DGM offers great value for the money. The 32-inch LED screen display features 2560 by 1440 Quad High Definition resolution (between FHD and 4K), 165Hz refresh rate, which is more than the 144 Hz you'll find on most monitors at this price, and HDMI DisplayPort connectivity. It has a curved display and a 2 ms response time. For $249.99, you're getting a respectable gaming monitor for a great price.

The Dell 32-inch G3223Q 4K gaming monitor with a $150 e-gift card

The Dell 32-inch G3223Q 4K UHD gaming monitor is not discounted per se, but it does come with a $150 Dell e-gift card that essentially makes the monitor $549.99 (if you were looking to spend at least $150 more on other products). The lowest I've seen this monitor go for is $599, so this is a solid deal. This 32-inch 4K gaming monitor offers HDR, has HDMI 2.1 port support, solid color accuracy, and is light at 13.29 lbs. But as our friends at PCMag will tell you, this monitor has a low contrast ratio, dims when viewing Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) content, and has high input lag. If most of your gaming is High Dynamic Range (HDR) instead of SDR, then that con will not matter much.

These Dell and Alienware Laptops Are up to $700 Off

Dell's ongoing sale ends March 31, but there are still plenty of deals on laptops to take advantage of. If you're looking for a new laptop, I have pulled my top three choices from the sale that you should consider.

The Dell XPS 13 for $599

This Dell XPS 13 came out in 2022 as a light and slim portable laptop starting at $999. The XPS line from Dell has been trying to perfect the affordable portable laptop, and when the new XPS 13 came out in 2023, it forced the 2022 version to lower its price to $799, but you can get it now for $599. The 2022 version is a good laptop for most people looking to do everyday computing tasks and stream media, but it's not for heavy media editing or gaming. It's a 13.4-inch laptop with 1920 by 1200 resolution, the standard 60Hz refresh rate, a Core i5-1230U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

The Inspiron 16 Laptop for $599

If you'll take a bit more power over portability, consider the Inspiron 16 laptop. As the name implies, this is a bigger 16-inch laptop, which means less portability, but it still has a solid battery life with up to 13 hours of juice (the XPS gets up to 12). The Inspiron 16 also has twice as much storage and RAM, with 512 GB and 16 GB, respectively. Most of the other specs are about the same, with 1920 by 1200 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and a Core i5-1335U processor.

The Alienware x16 gaming laptop for $1,599.99

If you're looking for a deal on a gaming laptop, consider the 2023 Alienware x16, which is $700 off. Like the other laptops on this list, this model is cheaper because it was superseded by the newer Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop. But as our friends at PCMag will tell you, this is still an "excellent" gaming laptop. The x16 has a 16-inch screen with 1920 by 1200 resolution, a 480Hz refresh rate, a Core i7-13700H processor, 16GB of RAM, 2TB SSD, and an RTX 4060 GPU.

JetZero autorisé à faire voler son démonstrateur d’avion à ailes mixtes

JetZero est prêt à faire décoller son démonstrateur d'avion à ailes mixtes. L'avionneur mise sur 2030 pour que cet avion soit opérationnel. Il pourrait servir à transporter du fret à l'US Air Force ou bien être utilisé comme avion de ligne.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro Is Better (and Pricier) Than Other Brands

Video doorbells have become quite common since their arrival on the market 10 years ago: 20% of American households currently use one. The cost of owning and operating a video doorbell has plummeted, so how does Ring, which offers relatively expensive video doorbells and an almost required subscription plan, remain on top of the market? After testing the new Ring Battery Doorbell Pro ($229.99 plus subscription), I think the answer is that Ring continues to solve some of the most common problems with video security.

Ring's software is the least buggy of any doorbell or security camera I’ve tried. It connects quickly when notified; allows you to interact with whoever is at the doorbell; and grabs clips that respect the zones you’ve set up. Ring has added new functionality to the Doorbell Pro, and features exceptional video quality—but I believe it’s Ring’s ability to deliver on the most basic needs of a video doorbell that keep it so popular. 

Traditional details and lots of accessories

Over the last year, I’ve tested doorbells from Google, Aqara, and Blink; while each had pros and cons, they helped prime me to appreciate the new Ring. In the 10 years of Ring’s market presence the design of the doorbells has barely shifted, and the Ring design is the most stately and substantial of the video doorbells out there. Ring wraps their doorbells in brushed metal with black plastic and metal accents—they tend to look and feel more substantial. The Doorbell Pro continues that tradition: The top half of the doorbell is shiny black plastic and metal, and the bottom half is wrapped in brushed silver metal (that you can swap for another metallic finish). The large circular button with blue light that Ring is known for is present, and the Ring ships with a wedge mount for your door, but there are tons of mounts available online if you need a different kind. There's also a solar charger available now as well as indoor chimes.

A more labor-intensive installation results in a more secure doorbell

While Rings aren’t hard to install, they are harder to install than many of the brands I’ve mentioned above. In all of those cases, the doorbells mount very simply, but also insecurely. The Ring has always had a mounting system that is supposed to provide security for the doorbell itself, and ships with its own specialty screwdriver. The doorbell itself has to catch onto the mounting plate and is then secured with a number of small screws to the mounting plate. Physical installation took about 10 minutes, and setup took another 15. Once the Ring app is installed and the doorbell was plugged in via USB, the app easily found and added the doorbell. You can spend a lot of time configuring the Ring, but I advise you to live with the doorbell for a few days to see what settings you need. 

Ring continues to conquer response lag time

Once up and running, Ring will begin sending you a raft of notifications. There are two types—notifications of activity in front of the doorbell and of the doorbell actually being rung. In both cases, you’re likely to decide to click on the notification and see what the activity is. This is where Ring differentiates itself from other doorbells: With all the other brands, I experienced connection errors, delays, and time outs. Ring, on the other hand, connects quickly and painlessly to show you the clip of what happened—or the live view, so you can monitor or interact in real time. While there's always a slight delay based on your wifi signal, Ring’s response time is far and away the best of all I’ve tried. 

This means that the other feature people buy video doorbells for—interacting with someone at your door—works better on a Ring than other models. That response time is important—your UPS driver isn’t waiting around for a 30-second response delay.

Subscriptions are pricey and essential to using the doorbell

Seeing those clips (not the live view) is dependent on having a Ring subscription. While the subscription is optional, not being able to watch those clips renders the Ring almost worthless, in my opinion. The doorbell ships with a free 30-day trial, but once that expires, it’s on you to re-up. Plans start at $4.99 a month for one device and quickly go up from there. Generally, I prefer products that do not require these subscriptions and allow you to store clips locally, like Eufy.

Great video clarity with an assist from new features

The clarity on the new Ring is top notch, and it’s not just the resolution, which clocks in at a reasonable HD 1536p. Ring has designed the lens to get a complete head-to-toe view of whoever is at your door, which means you can also see packages waiting at your door. I was surprised how useful this was. That clarity extends to far-view video—you get remarkably clear details about the delivery person even as they get out of the car. I was impressed at how much better the Ring had gotten at respecting the zones I set up in the app to ignore or pay attention to. I was easily able to set it so I wasn’t bombarded with notifications of people walking by the house—a previous issue I’d had with doorbells. This is likely due to Ring's 3D mapping—a new feature—and Bird’s Eye View, which uses motion detection to determine if the action in front of it is relevant to you or not. I was also impressed by the night vision, which provided clear, color images even once I turned off the porch light—without the graininess you usually see. Some of the other doorbells I’ve tested provide higher resolution, but I hardly noticed the difference. 

Ring has worked hard to layer on new features. The most useful is that Ring can now use AI to help tell if there’s a package at your door. If you tend to leave things at your door, this feature works less efficiently, but it did correctly identify packages most of the time if they were left directly in front of the door, and only twice misidentified a neighborhood cat as a package. Additionally, the doorbell will work with your other Ring devices to track someone’s movement over your property. 

Batteries are now more accessible and more powerful

A real upgrade, in my opinion, was the battery. While you can, of course, buy a wired version of the doorbell, an awful lot of people buy the stick-up battery version, and previous incarnations have required unmounting the whole doorbell to recharge the battery. The process was arduous enough that I was apt to leave the doorbell uncharged often. Now you simply remove the metal faceplate and remove the battery, leaving the doorbell behind. This has two benefits, it’s a lot less work, and you can purchase a backup battery and swap them, so you’re never out a doorbell. The battery life has gotten much better, too. Over a month, the battery only lost one bar, remaining at 75% charge. For comparison, I used to charge my Ring once every eight weeks. 

Bottom line: an expensive but superior video doorbell

There is simply no denying that the cost difference between Ring and competitors is substantial. This Ring model is $229 before the subscription, compared to a Blink doorbell, at $41.99 or Aqara at $119.99. There are lesser Ring models, like the Video Doorbell at $59.99 and Doorbell Plus for $119.99; you can get most of the benefits of the Pro at a lesser cost. Despite my hesitation on cost, there is just no denying that Ring delivers on the original premise of a video doorbell better than other brands—good-quality video of what is happening at the door, in real time. 

Pie bavarde : voilà pourquoi il vaut mieux ne pas l'embêter

Sais-tu quel animal au joli costume irisé noir et blanc, a une excellente mémoire et peut même reconnaitre les humains à leurs visages ? Aujourd’hui, on va parler de la pie bavarde dans Bêtes de Science.

How to Stop Instagram From Automatically Hiding Political Content

Instagram and Threads will now hide political content by default, making it harder to follow current affairs, important updates about government policies, voting rights, protests, and much more. If you're the kind of person who prefers not to view political content on social media, you can stop reading right here. However, if you want to view posts on issues such as healthcare, your government's stance on global conflicts, or the bills your local politicians are backing, then you should review Instagram's settings. (Note: Instagram says that it's only going to limit recommending political content from accounts that you don't follow.)

How to stop Instagram from removing political content

The bigger issue is that algorithms created by corporations are controlling what you see on social media. You can, however, take the power back (mostly). On Instagram, that could mean preventing the service from limiting political content. To do this, open the Instagram app on your phone and tap the Profile icon in the bottom-right corner. Now, tap the three-lines button in the top-right corner and go to Content preferences. On this page, you should select Political content and pick Don't limit on the next page. This setting impacts both Instagram and Threads (it's not available in the Threads app).

The wording on this settings page is unclear about what Instagram defines as "political content." The company says that political content is "potentially related to things like laws, elections, or social topics," which is a vague definition at best. It adds that you won't see political posts from public accounts in its Explore page, Instagram Reels, and suggested posts that show up in your feed.

How this change affects you

Instagram has been talking about distancing itself from news and political content for some time now, and this change cements its stance on the subject. The company says that if you follow political accounts on the service, you'll be able to view their content on your feed, but that it won't recommend these posts if you don't follow the accounts.

This will affect certain accounts much more than others. If someone has been providing valuable information from a conflict zone, that could be hidden from a large number of people who'd benefit from seeing it. Over time, algorithms could easily hamper disaster-relief efforts in situations where there are funding requests for humanitarian aid, or for rescue operations. 

At the moment, it's also unclear if this move will reduce the spread of politically motivated disinformation such as propaganda, anti-vaccine messages, or other types of unscientific rage-bait. 

Ceta : faut-il vraiment diminuer le commerce international des produits agricoles ?

Les sénateurs ont cru faire un geste pour les agriculteurs, et en particulier les éleveurs, en dénonçant l’accord commercial avec le Canada, le Ceta. En fait, ils leur tirent une balle dans le pied car depuis 2017 cet accord bénéficie aux éleveurs ! En effet, la dernière idée à la mode chez la...

How to Block JavaScript on Specific Websites (and Why You Should)

JavaScript is a double-edged sword: It adds lots of useful features to your favorite websites, such as interactive maps, loading images in the background, refreshing content on a site without reloading the page, and more. At the same time, it's exploited by advertisers and tracking companies to deliver ads, pop-ups, and malware, and mine your data. Blocking JavaScript helps improve your privacy, but it risks breaking many websites. Luckily, there is a workaround—disable JavaScript on some sites, but not all of them.

What happens when you disable JavaScript

Disabling JavaScript has a few big advantages. It often loads pages faster, blocks invasive tracking, and sometimes even lets you bypass paywalls. Unfortunately, it will also make some modern websites look like they were designed in the 1990s; in the absence of JavaScript, they might revert to a basic HTML layout. Additionally, forms may not work, you may not be able to sign in to sites, and interactive webpages may not function at all. You'll also notice that your favorite websites look different when JavaScript is blocked. This is because many sites use it to render fonts as well.

It's clear that disabling JavaScript globally is a bit of an extreme option for most people.

The solution: disable JavaScript on specific websites

By disabling JavaScript on some sites, you still get to use JavaScript on sites that break without it, while benefiting from improved privacy, ad blocking, and cleaner layouts on other sites.

Disable JavaScript on a per-site basis in Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, and other Chromium browsers

The JavaScript settings page in Brave, a Chromium-based browser.
Credit: Pranay Parab

You can use a built-in feature to disable JavaScript for specific websites in Chrome and other Chromium browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Arc Browser, etc. To get started, open this URL: chrome://settings/content/javascript. Although this is the way to open Chrome's JavaScript settings page, it works in all Chromium-based browsers. 

On that page, select Don't allow sites to use JavaScript. This will disable JavaScript by default, but you can add exceptions to the rule. Under Allowed to use JavaScript, click Add to select the sites where you want to enable it. Alternatively, you can stay with the default option of Allow sites to use JavaScript and blacklist the sites where you want to block it. You can do that by clicking Add under Not allowed to use JavaScript.

If that sounds like too much work, you can use the excellent NoScript extension with your browser. It blocks JavaScript by default, but you can easily ask the extension to trust certain domains.

For Chrome on Android, follow our in-depth guide to disabling JavaScript on specific webpages.

Block JavaScript on specific sites in Safari

The Safari preferences page for StopTheScript
Credit: StopTheScript

Safari allows you to block JavaScript everywhere or not at all. To block Javascript on all sites in Safari on your Mac, you can go to the Safari menu > Settings > Security and uncheck Enable JavaScript. On your iPhone, this setting is available under Settings > Safari > Advanced. You can uncheck JavaScript

That option is a bit extreme for most people, but you can adopt a more moderate approach by installing the StopTheScript extension. It costs $6 and works with Safari on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. This extension allows you to block JavaScript on the sites you choose. The developer has created a nice tutorial explaining how to use StopTheScript and you can follow the steps to set it up quickly.

Disable JavaScript for some sites in Firefox

A screenshot of NoScript's settings page in Firefox
Credit: NoScript

When you're using Firefox, NoScript is the extension you need. The extension will stop JavaScript on every site by default; you can click its toolbar icon to enable JavaScript on any site temporarily or permanently.

Stop JavaScript for specific sites in Orion Browser

Orion browser's JavaScript settings page.
Credit: Pranay Parab/Screenshot

The Orion browser, which lets you install both Chrome and Firefox extensions, lets you easily enable or disable JavaScript for specific websites. You can go to Orion Settings > Websites > JavaScript to set this up. At the top, you'll see an option to select if you want to enable or disable JavaScript by default. Select Off to disable it by default or On to allow it. Then, click the + button to add sites where the default global setting does not apply.

Hier — 27 mars 2024Divers

How to Start a 'Backdoor' Roth IRA (and When You Should)

If your income exceeds the limits for contributing directly to a Roth IRA, there's still a way to fund one through a strategy known as the "backdoor Roth IRA." This technique allows high-income earners to take advantage of the tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals offered by Roth IRAs.

What is a "backdoor" Roth IRA?

A backdoor Roth IRA is not an official type of account: It's simply a strategic maneuver that involves making contributions to a traditional IRA and then converting those funds into a Roth IRA. This bypasses the income limits that normally restrict high-earners from contributing directly to a Roth.

If you file taxes as a single person, your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) must be under $153,000 for tax year 2023 and $161,000 for tax year 2024 to contribute to a Roth IRA, and if you're married and filing jointly, your MAGI must be under $228,000 for tax year 2023 and $240,000 for tax year 2024.

How the backdoor Roth IRA works

Here are the basics of taking advantage of this backdoor strategy:

  • Make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA. Since your income exceeds the Roth IRA limits, you can contribute to a traditional IRA without taking a tax deduction.

  • Convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. After contributing to the traditional IRA, you can then convert those funds to a Roth IRA. This conversion is a taxable event, but since you didn't get a tax deduction on the contribution, you'll only pay taxes on any earnings.

  • Pay taxes on the conversion. When converting, you'll owe income tax on any earnings in the traditional IRA account. If the conversion happens quickly after the contribution, there likely won't be significant earnings to tax.

IRA eligibility and limitations

There are no income limits for contributing to a traditional IRA or converting to a Roth IRA. The limit on annual contributions to an IRA are $7,000 in 2024 (up from $6,500 in 2023). Remember these contribution limits apply to the grand total contributions you make each year to all your traditional and Roth IRAs. As always, you can and should max out these limits, if possible.

It's important to note that if you have existing pre-tax funds in other traditional IRAs, the conversion will be partially taxable based on the pro-rata rule.

Getting started with your backdoor Roth IRA

To set up a backdoor Roth IRA, you'll need to open a traditional IRA account if you don't already have one. Then, make your non-deductible contribution and initiate the Roth conversion process according to your provider's requirements.

Consulting a tax professional is recommended, especially if you have existing IRA funds, to ensure you understand the tax implications. While the backdoor Roth strategy involves some extra steps, it can be a valuable way for high-income individuals to enjoy the benefits of a Roth IRA.

Cette caméra capture 156 300 milliards d’images par seconde !

Des chercheurs au Canada ont mis au point un appareil photo capable de prendre 156 300 milliards d’images par seconde ! Cette technologie devrait faciliter l’observation de phénomènes ultrarapides, comme la mécanique des ondes de choc dans les cellules vivantes ou dans la matière.

Le vortex polaire tourne à l’envers depuis début mars !

Depuis le 4 mars dernier, le vortex polaire circule de manière inversée. Cette grande bulle d'air froid qui circule au-dessus du pôle Nord présente en effet un comportement inhabituel de manière durable. Mais alors que l'on pourrait s'attendre à l'arrivée d'une vague de froid dans de telles...

TikTok's 'Golden Retriever' and 'Black Cat' Relationship Theory Is Toxic

There are a whole bunch of TikTok trends that are more hurtful than helpful. Another one to add to the list: the "golden retriever boyfriend/black cat girlfriend" theory. The trend, which was coined a few years ago and has since continued to rack up a ton of videos on the subject, describes a relationship between “golden retriever” boyfriend who is easygoing, extroverted, and loves his girlfriend, a "black cat," who appears to have an attitude of indifference, low responsiveness, and is introverted. According to TikTok, this dynamic is one that couples ought to look for if they want a successful relationship and marriage.

One TikTok video lists examples of celebrity marriages and relationships that exemplify the "golden retriever" boyfriend and "black cat" girlfriend dynamic, and why they worked. In another video, a user talks about how, whenever she was the "golden retriever" girlfriend, her relationships never worked out—and only did when she was the "black cat."

This typology, according to Sarah Melancon, a sociologist and sexologist, tends to reflect negative stereotypes about men and women in relationships, only reversed from cultural norms. "Stereotypically, we expect the woman to be more relationship-focused and eager to please, while we expect men to be more detached and less ready to commit or connect.  Either way, when there is an imbalance of interest and effort in a relationship, it won’t be very satisfying," she says.

As for why this dynamic doesn't tend to be the healthiest, Melancon points out that a "golden retriever" boyfriend might be someone who's actually clingy, people-pleasing, or has an anxious attachment style, while the behavior and actions of a "black cat" girlfriend could indicate lack of interest, standoffishness, or an avoidant attachment style.

"Ideally, we want our relationships to be a two-way street," Melancon says. "While things will not be perfectly equal on a day-to-day basis, we want a reasonable balance of love and support flowing between both partners."

And, sure, opposites can attract, and sometimes we tend to be attracted to qualities in others that we lack in ourselves, but the risk involved in a golden retriever/black cat typology, says Melancon, is that "one partner puts in more effort, while the other may not even appear to appreciate it. Any relationship can have those moments, but as a general pattern, both partners will become increasingly dissatisfied with the relationship over time."

Red flags about the "golden retriever" boyfriend

A “golden retriever” boyfriend isn't just about being friendly and generous. Sometimes what looks like an attractive quality is actually hiding a deeper issue that could spell trouble for your relationship down the line.

  • He identifies as a “good boyfriend." He always initiates every text message and date, always apologizes and never takes any blame, surprises you with gifts for no reason at all, and seemingly does everything "right" by you. The problem? "Wanting to be a good partner is great, but wanting to be seen as a good partner turns the relationship into an achievement or source of approval rather than an opportunity to be present," Melancon explains.

  • He's codependent. He texts you all day every day and he wants to see you every day. The issue? "A healthy relationship allows each partner to express themselves and pursue their interests with adequate personal space," Melancon says. "Enmeshment collapses the space between “you and I,” resulting in feelings of pressure, being stifled, or smothered."

  • He's highly extroverted. While this is not a red flag in itself, Melancon says that if there is a major difference in social interest compared to a partner— he likes to be the life of the party and loves having people around him, and you don't—the relationship may not be sustainable.

Red flags about the "black cat" girlfriend

A "black cat" girlfriend might at first appear to be demure and a prize worth chasing, but her qualities might not actually be well-suited for a healthy relationship.

  • She appears disinterested. She takes days to respond to your text message, doesn't insert herself into your life, and generally appears she's not that into you. The problem? "While we don’t need to be our partner’s literal cheerleader, we all need to know that we’re loved and cared for," Melancon says. "A 'black cat' may unintentionally communicate a lack of interest or love," which won't feel good if you're not receiving the attention and affection you deserve.

  • She struggles with communication. She will leave you on read without having a discussion about something that bothered her; she won't ever tell you how she's feeling, good or bad, and doesn't initiate heartfelt conversations. The issue? "No one is a mind reader, so when one partner often shuts down, it can put a major strain on the relationship," Melancon explains.

  • She's highly introverted/anti-social. Again, while this isn't necessarily a red flag, says Melancon, if she is someone who prefers to be alone and doesn't like to engage socially but you do, that will be an issue for your relationship.

The potential challenges that this relationship could face

The “golden retriever” boyfriend may wind up feeling unappreciated, unloved, or even used, says Melancon. Meanwhile, the “black cat” girlfriend may feel overwhelmed or smothered. "Both partners may struggle to attune to one another’s needs and learn to share love in a way that resonates most with their partner," she explains. "Over time, issues like this can degrade the sense of closeness and intimacy between partners."

Melancon says a relationship between a “golden retriever” boyfriend and a “black cat” girlfriend could work out if both are willing to make adjustments and grow together.

"What matters most in a relationship is how both partners feel—whether their needs are met, if they feel safe communicating and setting boundaries, and how much they respect one another," she says. "All of us have shortcomings when it comes to relationships, but as long as partners are willing to grow, unhealthy relationships can transform over time. We all feel anxious at the uncertainty of life and especially love, so utilizing tests and typologies is a common way of trying to control the future. But please don’t end or start a relationship just because of something you see on TikTok."

Pour la Science n°558

Glaciers en sursis

The Most Important Steps to Making an Effective To-do List

The key to a productive day is, for many, a solid to-do list, which is why there are so many elements that go into making one. To be clear, even jotting down all the things you need to get done haphazardly is still better than not doing it, but if you really want to excel, why not put in a little extra time and make one that will help you get everything done for real?

Before making your list, prioritize your tasks

The first step to making a great to-do list is figuring out what actually needs to be on it. You have a few options when you do this, but the first thing you need to do is brain-dump every single thing you want or need to do.

Now, you can use one of three methods to sort and prioritize those tasks. The first is pretty easy: Grade each one using the ABCDE method. Assign each task a grade from A, the most important things that will have consequences if they don’t get done; B, the tasks that won’t have major ramifications right away if undone, but do need to get handled; C, tasks with no real consequences for not being done, but it would be good to get taken care of; D, tasks you can delegate to someone else with confidence they’ll get them done; and E, tasks you can just toss out altogether because they have no purpose or no consequences associated with them.

That’s a pretty subjective approach that asks you to figure out those grades on your own and go with them, so if you need something a little more concrete, consider using the Eisenhower matrix or this handy mathematical approach. If you opt for Eisenhower, you’ll create a graph where the X axis represents urgency and the Y represents importance, so you’ll end up with a top-left quadrant full of tasks that are urgent and important, while the top right will show you tasks that are not urgent and not important, and so on. When doing this, it’s helpful to jot down some context, like deadlines and potential consequences, next to each task, so you can more easily identify if they’re timely (or “urgent”) and consequential (or “important”). If you choose the mathematical route for maximum objectivity, look back at that list of tasks and assign each one two numbers between 1 and 10: The first is how much effort the task will take and the second is how much impact it will ultimately have. Then, divide each tasks “results” number by its “effort” number for a final score, which will also be between 1 and 10, then rank all the tasks from lowest to highest number so you prioritize those that are important but require the least effort, meaning you’ll be able to get more done without expending all your energy and resources. 

Making the to-do list itself

Once you’ve weeded out the important and urgent tasks, you need to make the to-do list itself. Don’t be afraid to embrace multiple types of to-do lists, like long-term ones and daily ones. The important but not urgent tasks, for instance, could be better off getting placed on a list of weekly goals than day-of ones, so you can save the bulk of your time for what is most immediately pressing. 

The gold standard of to-do lists is the 1-3-5 list, so consider sticking to this formula when making your list, whether it’s for the day, the week, the month, or the whole year. With this kind of list, you’ll choose one big task, three medium-sized ones, and five small ones to knock out in the timeframe—and only do those. Your time and resources are finite, so this prevents you from getting overwhelmed or wasting your time on unworthy tasks. A big task should be one that is going to take time and effort, plus have consequences for not getting done. In your personal life, that could be filing your taxes or attending a parent-teacher conference. At work, it could be analyzing data you have to present at a big meeting. Medium tasks are those that require some time and have some consequences, but don’t demand a big chunk of your time or resources. Small tasks are those that are nice to get done but won’t devastate you if they don’t get handled, like sorting through your emails or organizing your notes. Getting these done is going to motivate you and give you a feeling of accomplishment just as much as it’s going to contribute anything concrete to your work. 

Choose your to-do list method

Finally, you have to make a real list, but there are different ways to do that. Don’t try to keep it all in the old noggin; it’s easy to forget things or get off-task. Instead, you can use an app designed for to-do lists, like these, or even hand-write your to-dos. Writing by hand helps you connect to and retain whatever you’re jotting down, so it can be a great way to kick off the day and get your pressing tasks lodged in your brain. If you’re going to be on the move a lot, try writing in a smart notebook, like the Rocketbook Core, so you can scan the pages and have them available on your phone or other devices right away. Otherwise, an old-school planner works really well here. (Here’s a list of great planners for a variety of needs.)

The goal is to get the list down somewhere accessible, but also to spend some time actually creating it, so you connect with the importance of the tasks at hand and commit to them. It takes a little extra time every morning, but can really pay off. 

On sait où est allé Homo sapiens après avoir quitté l’Afrique

Une nouvelle étude reposant sur l’analyse du génome humain suggère qu’après avoir quitté l’Afrique il y a 60 000 ans, Homo sapiens se serait arrêté pendant plusieurs dizaines de milliers d’années au niveau du plateau iranien, avant d’essaimer vers l’Asie et l’Europe.

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