- User page undergoing expansion/revamp. Please excuse the blank section until it is completed. Thank you.
Introduction
Hi. My name is The Transhumanist.
- As a transhumanist...
I love emerging and evolving technologies, and so...
I'm currently immersed in studying AI (particularly generative AI and reasoning engines), and big data.
I dabble in JavaScript, including writing user scripts from time to time.
My best user script so far, is SearchSuite...
SearchSuite provides further control over Wikipedia search results, such as on/off features to sort them, to present results one-per-line, and more. While it seems to work fairly well, there is definitely room for improvement. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
By the way, most of the scripts I've been working on are for building and augmenting outlines...
- As an encyclopedist...
I'm interested in all knowledge, especially how to organize it so you can find whatever is most relevant at any given moment.
I've been around Wikipedia since the Fall of 2005, and have been working mostly on Wikipedia's structure, and its knowledge navigation systems, throughout that time.
Selected articles that I've worked on
-
Prehistoric technology is technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past using written records. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is prehistoric, including earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they first used to hunt food, and later to cook.
There are several factors that made the evolution of prehistoric technology possible or necessary. One of the key factors is behavioral modernity of the highly developed brain of Homo sapiens capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. The advent of agriculture resulted in lifestyle changes from nomadic lifestyles to ones lived in homes, with domesticated animals, and land farmed using more varied and sophisticated tools. Art, architecture, music and religion evolved over the course of the prehistoric periods. (Full article...) -
Trichophyton is a genus of fungi, which includes the parasitic varieties that cause tinea, including athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are molds characterized by the development of both smooth-walled macro- and microconidia. Macroconidia are mostly borne laterally directly on the hyphae or on short pedicels, and are thin- or thick-walled, clavate to fusiform, and range from 4 to 8 by 8 to 50 μm in size. Macroconidia are few or absent in many species. Microconidia are spherical, pyriform to clavate or of irregular shape, and range from 2 to 3 by 2 to 4 μm in size. (Full article...) -
Knowledge extraction is the creation of knowledge from structured (relational databases, XML) and unstructured (text, documents, images) sources. The resulting knowledge needs to be in a machine-readable and machine-interpretable format and must represent knowledge in a manner that facilitates inferencing. Although it is methodically similar to information extraction (NLP) and ETL (data warehouse), the main criterion is that the extraction result goes beyond the creation of structured information or the transformation into a relational schema. It requires either the reuse of existing formal knowledge (reusing identifiers or ontologies) or the generation of a schema based on the source data.
The RDB2RDF W3C group is currently standardizing a language for extraction of resource description frameworks (RDF) from relational databases. Another popular example for knowledge extraction is the transformation of Wikipedia into structured data and also the mapping to existing knowledge (see DBpedia and Freebase). (Full article...) -
The history of California can be divided into the Native American period (about 10,000 years ago until 1542), the European exploration period (1542–1769), the Spanish colonial period (1769–1821), the Mexican period (1821–1848), and United States statehood (September 9, 1850–present). California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. After contact with, many of the Native Americans died from foreign diseases. Finally, in the 19th century there was a genocide by United States government and private citizens, which is known as the California genocide.
After the Portolá expedition of 1769–1770, Spanish missionaries began setting up 21 California missions on or near the coast of Alta (Upper) California, beginning with the Mission San Diego de Alcala near the location of the modern day city of San Diego, California. During the same period, Spanish military forces built several forts (presidios) and three small towns (pueblos). Two of the pueblos would eventually grow into the cities of Los Angeles and San Jose. After Mexico's Independence was won in 1821, California fell under the jurisdiction of the First Mexican Empire. Fearing the influence of the Roman Catholic church over their newly independent nation, the Mexican government closed all of the missions and nationalized the church's property. They left behind a "Californio" population of several thousand families, with a few small military garrisons. After the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, The Mexican Republic was forced to relinquish any claim to California to the United States.
The California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 attracted hundreds of thousands of ambitious young people from around the world. Only a few struck it rich, and many returned home disappointed. Most appreciated the other economic opportunities in California, especially in agriculture, and brought their families to join them. California became the 31st U.S. state in the Compromise of 1850 and played a small role in the American Civil War. Chinese immigrants increasingly came under attack from nativists; they were forced out of industry and agriculture and into Chinatowns in the larger cities. As gold petered out, California increasingly became a highly productive agricultural society. The coming of the railroads in 1869 linked its rich economy with the rest of the nation, and attracted a steady stream of settlers. In the late 19th century, Southern California, especially Los Angeles, started to grow rapidly. (Full article...) -
Traditionally, meals have been prepared by women in a home kitchen (painting from the circle of Jean-Baptiste de Saive, 1563).
A meal is an occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The English names used for specific meals vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. A meal is different from a snack in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling.
Though they can be eaten anywhere, meals usually take place in homes, restaurants, and cafeterias. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are normally held in conjunction with celebratory or momentous occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, and holidays.
The type of food that is served or consumed at any given time depends on regional customs. Three main meals are typically eaten in the morning, early afternoon, and evening in most civilizations. Furthermore, the names of meals are often interchangeable by custom as well. Some serve dinner as the main meal at midday, with supper as the late afternoon/early evening meal, while others may call their midday meal lunch and their early evening meal supper or dinner. Except for breakfast, these names can vary from region to region or even from family to family. (Full article...) -
An EXCOMM meeting during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a crisis between the United States and Soviet Union over ballistic missiles in Cuba
A crisis (pl.: crises; ADJ: critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, a crisis is a testing time for an emergency. (Full article...) -
In geography and particularly in geographic information science, a geographic feature or simply feature (also called an object or entity) is a representation of phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Earth. It is an item of geographic information, and may be represented in maps, geographic information systems, remote sensing imagery, statistics, and other forms of geographic discourse. Such representations of phenomena consist of descriptions of their inherent nature, their spatial form and location, and their characteristics or properties. (Full article...)
-
Robots revolt in R.U.R., a 1920 Czech play translated as "Rossum's Universal Robots"
An AI takeover is an imagined scenario in which artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as the dominant form of intelligence on Earth and computer programs or robots effectively take control of the planet away from the human species, which relies on human intelligence. Possible scenarios include replacement of the entire human workforce due to automation, takeover by an artificial superintelligence (ASI), and the notion of a robot uprising. Stories of AI takeovers have been popular throughout science fiction, but recent advancements have made the threat more real. Some public figures, such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, have advocated research into precautionary measures to ensure future superintelligent machines remain under human control. (Full article...) -
This glossary of philosophy is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to philosophy and related disciplines, including logic, ethics, and theology. (Full article...)
-
The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the most popular version of the singularity hypothesis, I. J. Good's intelligence explosion model of 1965, an upgradable intelligent agent could eventually enter a positive feedback loop of successive self-improvement cycles; more intelligent generations would appear more and more rapidly, causing a rapid increase ("explosion") in intelligence which would culminate in a powerful superintelligence, far surpassing all human intelligence.
The Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann (1903-1957) became the first known person to use the concept of a "singularity" in the technological context.
Alan Turing, often regarded as the father of modern computer science, laid a crucial foundation for contemporary discourse on the technological singularity. His pivotal 1950 paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", introduced the idea of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human.
Stanislaw Ulam reported in 1958 an earlier discussion with von Neumann "centered on the accelerating progress of technology and changes in human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue". Subsequent authors have echoed this viewpoint. (Full article...) -
Two pieces of string under a light microscope
String is a long flexible structure made from fibers twisted together into a single strand, or from multiple such strands which are in turn twisted together. String is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects. It is also used as a material to make things, such as textiles, and in arts and crafts. String is a simple tool, and its use by humans is known to have been developed tens of thousands of years ago. In Mesoamerica, for example, string was invented some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, and was made by twisting plant fibers together. String may also be a component in other tools, and in devices as diverse as weapons, musical instruments, and toys. (Full article...) -
A depiction of Idris visiting Heaven and Hell from an illuminated manuscript version of the Islamic text Stories of the Prophets (1577)
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.
In some views, this continued existence takes place in a spiritual realm, while in others, the individual may be reborn into this world and begin the life cycle over again in a process referred to as reincarnation, likely with no memory of what they have done in the past. In this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism, and metaphysics.
Some belief systems, such as those in the Abrahamic tradition, hold that the dead go to a specific place (e.g., paradise or hell) after death, as determined by their god, based on their actions and beliefs during life. In contrast, in systems of reincarnation, such as those of the Indian religions, the nature of the continued existence is determined directly by the actions of the individual in the ended life. (Full article...) -
Etruscan: Diomedes and Polyxena, from the Etruscan amphora of the Pontic group, c. 540–530 BCE – From Vulci
Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While some ceramics are considered fine art, such as pottery or sculpture, most are considered to be decorative, industrial or applied art objects. Ceramic art can be created by one person or by a group, in a pottery or a ceramic factory with a group designing and manufacturing the artware.
In Britain and the United States, modern ceramics as an art took its inspiration in the early twentieth century from the Arts and Crafts movement, leading to the revival of pottery considered as a specifically modern craft. Such crafts emphasized traditional non-industrial production techniques, faithfulness to the material, the skills of the individual maker, attention to utility, and an absence of excessive decoration that was typical to the Victorian era.
The word "ceramics" comes from the Greek keramikos (κεραμεικός), meaning "pottery", which in turn comes from keramos (κέραμος) meaning "potter's clay". Most traditional ceramic products were made from clay (or clay mixed with other materials), shaped and subjected to heat, and tableware and decorative ceramics are generally still made this way. In modern ceramic engineering usage, ceramics is the art and science of making objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials by the action of heat. It excludes glass and mosaic made from glass tesserae.
There is a long history of ceramic art in almost all developed cultures, and often ceramic objects are all the artistic evidence left from vanished cultures, like that of the Nok in Africa over 2,000 years ago. Cultures especially noted for ceramics include the Chinese, Cretan, Greek, Persian, Mayan, Japanese, and Korean cultures, as well as the modern Western cultures. (Full article...) -
Athlete's foot, known medically as tinea pedis, is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus may infect any part of the foot, but most often grows between the toes. The next most common area is the bottom of the foot. The same fungus may also affect the nails or the hands. It is a member of the group of diseases known as tinea.
Athlete's foot is caused by a number of different funguses, including species of Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, and Microsporum. The condition is typically acquired by coming into contact with infected skin, or fungus in the environment. Common places where the funguses can survive are around swimming pools and in locker rooms. They may also be spread from other animals. Usually diagnosis is made based on signs and symptoms; however, it can be confirmed either by culture or seeing hyphae using a microscope.
Athlete's foot is not limited to just athletes: it can be caused by going barefoot in public showers, letting toenails grow too long, wearing shoes that are too tight, or not changing socks daily. It can be treated with topical antifungal medications such as clotrimazole or, for persistent infections, using oral antifungal medications such as terbinafine. Topical creams are typically recommended to be used for four weeks. Keeping infected feet dry and wearing sandals also assists with treatment.
Athlete's foot was first medically described in 1908. Globally, athlete's foot affects about 15% of the population. Males are more often affected than females. It occurs most frequently in older children or younger adults. Historically it is believed to have been a rare condition that became more frequent in the 20th century due to the greater use of shoes, health clubs, war, and travel. (Full article...) -
Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled biological limit of around 125 years. Several researchers in the area, along with "life extensionists", "immortalists", or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), postulate that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation, stem cells, regenerative medicine, molecular repair, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, and organ replacement (such as with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition (agerasia). The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated by bioethicists.
The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormone replacement is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse the aging process in the US market generated about $50 billion of revenue a year in 2009. The use of such hormone products has not been proven to be effective or safe. (Full article...) -
Location of Asia
Asian cuisine encompasses several significant regional cooking styles of Asia: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. Cuisine is a distinctive way of cooking practices and customs, usually associated with a specific culture. Asia, as the largest and most populous continent, is home to many cultures, each with its own characteristic cuisine. Asian cuisine, also known as Eastern cuisine, is considered the "culture of food within a society" due to the beliefs, cooking methods, and the specific ingredients used throughout the entire process. Asian cuisines are also renowned for their spices. A key taste factor in Asian cuisine is “umami” flavor, a strong savoriness prominent in Asian cooking, which can be achieved through fermented food or meat extract.
Ingredients common to many cultures in East and Southeast Asia include rice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilis, dried onions, soy, and tofu. Stir frying, steaming, and deep frying are common cooking methods.
While rice is common to most Asian cuisines, different varieties are popular in the various regions. Glutinous rice is ingrained in the culture, religious tradition and national identity of Laos. Basmati rice is popular in the Indian subcontinent, jasmine rice is often found across Southeast Asia, while long-grain rice is popular in China and short-grain in Japan and Korea.
Curry is a common dish in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Curry dishes have their origins in the Indian subcontinent. Countries in Indochina typically use a coconut milk base in their curries; countries in Southwest Asia typically use a yogurt base. (Full article...) -
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilities of competitors. Genius is associated with intellectual ability and creative productivity. The term genius can also be used to refer to people characterised by genius, and/or to polymaths who excel across many subjects.
There is no scientifically precise definition of genius. When used to refer to the characteristic, genius is associated with talent, but several authors such as Cesare Lombroso and Arthur Schopenhauer systematically distinguish these terms. Walter Isaacson, biographer of many well-known geniuses, explains that although high intelligence may be a prerequisite, the most common trait that actually defines a genius may be the extraordinary ability to apply creativity and imaginative thinking to almost any situation.
In the early-19th century Carl von Clausewitz, who had a particular interest in what he called "military genius", defined "the essence of Genius" (German: der Genius) in terms of "a very high mental capacity for certain employments". (Full article...) -
Help may refer to: (Full article...)
-
The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification developed by the Library of Congress in the United States, which can be used for shelving books in a library. LCC is mainly used by large research and academic libraries, while most public libraries and small academic libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification system. The classification was developed by James Hanson (chief of the Catalog Department), with assistance from Charles Martel, in 1897, while they were working at the Library of Congress. It was designed specifically for the purposes and collection of the Library of Congress to replace the fixed location system developed by Thomas Jefferson.
LCC has been criticized for lacking a sound theoretical basis; many of the classification decisions were driven by the practical needs of that library rather than epistemological considerations. Although it divides subjects into broad categories, it is essentially enumerative in nature. That is, it provides a guide to the books actually in one library's collections, not a classification of the world. (Full article...) -
A block is a defensive tactic in chess in response to an attack, consisting of interposing a piece between the opponent's attacking piece and the piece being attacked. This type of blocking will only work if the attacking piece is a type that can move linearly an indefinite number of squares such as a queen, rook, or bishop and there is at least one empty square in the line between the attacking and attacked piece. Blocking is not an option when the attacking piece is directly adjacent to the piece it is attacking, or when the attacking piece is a knight (because knights "jump over other pieces" and cannot be blocked). When an opponent's attack on a piece is blocked, the blocking piece is to some extent pinned, either relatively or absolutely, until a future move by either side allows it to be unpinned.
A check on a king by an opponent's queen, rook, or bishop can sometimes be blocked by moving a piece to a square in line in between the opponent's checking piece and the checked king. The blocking piece is then absolutely pinned to the king by the attacking piece.
Another type of interposing in chess can involve placing a piece between two opponent's pieces where one of those pieces is protecting the other, or they are both protecting each other. This chess tactic can be called interference. (Full article...) -
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, pain (including mental pain), or injury.
Health can be promoted by encouraging healthful activities, such as regular physical exercise and adequate sleep, and by reducing or avoiding unhealthful activities or situations, such as smoking or excessive stress. Some factors affecting health are due to individual choices, such as whether to engage in a high-risk behavior, while others are due to structural causes, such as whether the society is arranged in a way that makes it easier or harder for people to get necessary healthcare services. Still, other factors are beyond both individual and group choices, such as genetic disorders. (Full article...) -
The meaning of life pertains to the inherent significance or philosophical meaning of living (or existence in general). There is no consensus on a definitive answer, and thinking or discourse on the topic is sought in the English language through the question, "What is the meaning of life?" (or the related "Why are we here?" or "What is the purpose of existence?"). There have been many proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The search for life's meaning has produced much philosophical, scientific, theological, and metaphysical speculation throughout history. Different people and cultures believe different things for the answer to this question. Opinions vary on the usefulness of using time and resources in the pursuit of an answer. Excessive pondering can be indicative of, or lead to, an existential crisis.
The meaning of life can be derived from philosophical and religious contemplation of, and scientific inquiries about, existence, social ties, consciousness, and happiness. Many other issues are also involved, such as symbolic meaning, ontology, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, the existence of one or multiple gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related empirical facts about the universe, exploring the context and parameters concerning the "how" of life. Science also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well-being and a related conception of morality. An alternative, humanistic approach poses the question, "What is the meaning of my life?" (Full article...) -
Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies are often perceived as capable of changing the status quo.
Emerging technologies are characterized by radical novelty (in application even if not in origins), relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, and uncertainty and ambiguity. In other words, an emerging technology can be defined as "a radically novel and relatively fast growing technology characterised by a certain degree of coherence persisting over time and with the potential to exert a considerable impact on the socio-economic domain(s) which is observed in terms of the composition of actors, institutions and patterns of interactions among those, along with the associated knowledge production processes. Its most prominent impact, however, lies in the future and so in the emergence phase is still somewhat uncertain and ambiguous."
Emerging technologies include a variety of technologies such as educational technology, information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
New technological fields may result from the technological convergence of different systems evolving towards similar goals. Convergence brings previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video together so that they share resources and interact with each other, creating new efficiencies. (Full article...) -
A superintelligence is a hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. "Superintelligence" may also refer to a property of problem-solving systems (e.g., superintelligent language translators or engineering assistants) whether or not these high-level intellectual competencies are embodied in agents that act in the world. A superintelligence may or may not be created by an intelligence explosion and associated with a technological singularity.
University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest". The program Fritz falls short of this conception of superintelligence—even though it is much better than humans at chess—because Fritz cannot outperform humans in other tasks.
Technological researchers disagree about how likely present-day human intelligence is to be surpassed. Some argue that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will probably result in general reasoning systems that lack human cognitive limitations. Others believe that humans will evolve or directly modify their biology to achieve radically greater intelligence. Several future study scenarios combine elements from both of these possibilities, suggesting that humans are likely to interface with computers, or upload their minds to computers, in a way that enables substantial intelligence amplification.
Some researchers believe that superintelligence will likely follow shortly after the development of artificial general intelligence. The first generally intelligent machines are likely to immediately hold an enormous advantage in at least some forms of mental capability, including the capacity of perfect recall, a vastly superior knowledge base, and the ability to multitask in ways not possible to biological entities. This may allow them to — either as a single being or as a new species — become much more powerful than humans, and displace them. (Full article...) -
Moore's law is an example of futurology; it is a statistical collection of past and present trends with the goal of accurately extrapolating future trends.
Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and work in the future. Predictive techniques, such as forecasting, can be applied, but contemporary futures studies scholars emphasize the importance of systematically exploring alternatives. In general, it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies (colloquially called "futures" by many of the field's practitioners) seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to explore the possibility of future events and trends.
Unlike the physical sciences where a narrower, more specified system is studied, futurology concerns a much bigger and more complex world system. The methodology and knowledge are much less proven than in natural science and social sciences like sociology and economics. There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science, and it is sometimes described as pseudoscience; nevertheless, the Association of Professional Futurists was formed in 2002, developing a Foresight Competency Model in 2017, and it is now possible to study it academically, for example at the FU Berlin in their master's course. To encourage inclusive and cross-disciplinary discussions about futures studies, UNESCO declared December 2 as World Futures Day. (Full article...)
Selected emerging technologies and related articles
-
Smartphones may be used as medical tricorders; smartphone software and camera detect pulse from a fingertip using a technique similar to that of a pulse oximeters.
A medical tricorder is a handheld portable scanning device to be used by consumers to self-diagnose medical conditions within seconds and take basic vital measurements. While the device is not yet on the mass market, there are numerous reports of other scientists and inventors also working to create such a device as well as improve it. A common view is that it will be a general-purpose tool similar in functionality to a Swiss Army Knife to take health measurements such as blood pressure and temperature, and blood flow in a noninvasive way. It would diagnose a person's state of health after analyzing the data, either as a standalone device or as a connection to medical databases via an Internet connection.
The idea of a medical tricorder comes from an imaginary device on the science fiction TV show Star Trek from the 1960s which featured fictional character Dr. Leonard McCoy using it to instantly diagnose medical conditions. One description of the fictional device was as follows: (Full article...) -
The programmable metallization cell, or PMC, is a non-volatile computer memory developed at Arizona State University. PMC, a technology developed to replace the widely used flash memory, providing a combination of longer lifetimes, lower power, and better memory density. Infineon Technologies, who licensed the technology in 2004, refers to it as conductive-bridging RAM, or CBRAM. CBRAM became a registered trademark of Adesto Technologies in 2011. NEC has a variant called "Nanobridge" and Sony calls their version "electrolytic memory". (Full article...)
-
Le grand docteur sophiste, 1886 illustration of Gargantua by Albert Robida, expressing mockery of his casuist education
Casuistry (/ˈkæzjuɪstri/ KAZ-ew-iss-tree) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending abstract rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and jurisprudence. The term is also used pejoratively to criticise the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to ethical questions (as in sophistry). It has been defined as follows:
(Full article...)Study of cases of conscience and a method of solving conflicts of obligations by applying general principles of ethics, religion, and moral theology to particular and concrete cases of human conduct. This frequently demands an extensive knowledge of natural law and equity, civil law, ecclesiastical precepts, and an exceptional skill in interpreting these various norms of conduct....
-
The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise Star Trek which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imaginary setting, in which participants can freely interact with the environment as well as objects and characters, and sometimes a predefined narrative.
In several series, holodecks are an amenity available to the crew of starships. In the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a similar device is referred to as a holosuite, operated by the owner of the space station's bar, Quark, who rents them out to customers. (Full article...) -
An accumulator is an energy storage device: a device which accepts energy, stores energy, and releases energy as needed. Some accumulators accept energy at a low rate (low power) over a long time interval and deliver the energy at a high rate (high power) over a short time interval. Some accumulators accept energy at a high rate over a short time interval and deliver the energy at a low rate over a longer time interval. Some accumulators typically accept and release energy at comparable rates. Various devices can store thermal energy, mechanical energy, and electrical energy. Energy is usually accepted and delivered in the same form. Some devices store a different form of energy than what they receive and deliver performing energy conversion on the way in and on the way out.
Examples of accumulators include steam accumulators, mainsprings, flywheel energy storage, hydraulic accumulators, rechargeable batteries, capacitors, inductors, compensated pulsed alternators (compulsators), and pumped-storage hydroelectric plants. (Full article...) -
A volumetric display device is a display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions, as opposed to the planar image of traditional screens that simulate depth through a number of different visual effects. One definition offered by pioneers in the field is that volumetric displays create 3D imagery via the emission, scattering, or relaying of illumination from well-defined regions in (x,y,z) space.
A true volumetric display produces in the observer a visual experience of a material object in three-dimensional space, even though no such object is present. The perceived object displays characteristics similar to an actual material object by allowing the observer to view it from any direction, to focus a camera on a specific detail, and to see perspective – meaning that the parts of the image closer to the viewer appear larger than those further away. (Full article...) -
Artist's illustration of a cyborg
A cyborg (/ˈsaɪbɔːrɡ/, a portmanteau of cybernetic and organism) is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. In contrast to biorobots and androids, the term cyborg applies to a living organism that has restored function or enhanced abilities due to the integration of some artificial component or technology that relies on feedback. (Full article...) -
A scalpel, lancet, or bistoury is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, podiatry and various handicrafts. A lancet is a double-edged scalpel.
Scalpel blades are usually made of hardened and tempered steel, stainless steel, or high carbon steel; in addition, titanium, ceramic, diamond and even obsidian knives are not uncommon. For example, when performing surgery under MRI guidance, steel blades are unusable (the blades would be drawn to the magnets and would also cause image artifacts). Historically, the preferred material for surgical scalpels was silver. Scalpel blades are also offered by some manufacturers with a zirconium nitride–coated edge to improve sharpness and edge retention. Others manufacture blades that are polymer-coated to enhance lubricity during a cut. (Full article...) -
Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control, or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous, in which they have a pre-programmed list of operations that will be executed unless otherwise instructed. A robotic spacecraft for scientific measurements is often called a space probe or space observatory.
Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to lower cost and risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations such as Venus or the vicinity of Jupiter are too hostile for human survival, given current technology. Outer planets such as Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are too distant to reach with current crewed spaceflight technology, so telerobotic probes are the only way to explore them. Telerobotics also allows exploration of regions that are vulnerable to contamination by Earth micro-organisms since spacecraft can be sterilized. Humans can not be sterilized in the same way as a spaceship, as they coexist with numerous micro-organisms, and these micro-organisms are also hard to contain within a spaceship or spacesuit. (Full article...) -
Figure 1. Spectral irradiance of wavelengths in the solar spectrum. The red shaded area shows the irradiance at sea level. There is less irradiance at sea level due to absorption of light by the atmosphere.
An optical rectenna is a rectenna (rectifying antenna) that works with visible or infrared light. A rectenna is a circuit containing an antenna and a diode, which turns electromagnetic waves into direct current electricity. While rectennas have long been used for radio waves or microwaves, an optical rectenna would operate the same way but with infrared or visible light, turning it into electricity.
While traditional (radio- and microwave) rectennas are fundamentally similar to optical rectennas, it is vastly more challenging in practice to make an optical rectenna. One challenge is that light has such a high frequency—hundreds of terahertz for visible light—that only a few types of specialized diodes can switch quickly enough to rectify it. Another challenge is that antennas tend to be a similar size to a wavelength, so a very tiny optical antenna requires a challenging nanotechnology fabrication process. A third challenge is that, being very small, an optical antenna typically absorbs very little power, and therefore tend to produce a tiny voltage in the diode, which leads to low diode nonlinearity and hence low efficiency. Due to these and other challenges, optical rectennas have so far been restricted to laboratory demonstrations, typically with intense focused laser light producing a tiny but measurable amount of power. (Full article...) -
A volumetric display device is a display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions, as opposed to the planar image of traditional screens that simulate depth through a number of different visual effects. One definition offered by pioneers in the field is that volumetric displays create 3D imagery via the emission, scattering, or relaying of illumination from well-defined regions in (x,y,z) space.
A true volumetric display produces in the observer a visual experience of a material object in three-dimensional space, even though no such object is present. The perceived object displays characteristics similar to an actual material object by allowing the observer to view it from any direction, to focus a camera on a specific detail, and to see perspective – meaning that the parts of the image closer to the viewer appear larger than those further away. (Full article...) -
Diagram of an electrical grid (generation system in red, transmission system in blue, distribution system in green)
An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power over long distances, and finally electric power distribution to customers. In that last step, voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage. Power stations are typically built close to energy sources and far from densely populated areas. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the power grid.
Grids are nearly always synchronous, meaning all distribution areas operate with three phase alternating current (AC) frequencies synchronized (so that voltage swings occur at almost the same time). This allows transmission of AC power throughout the area, connecting the electricity generators with consumers. Grids can enable more efficient electricity markets. (Full article...) -
Omni Processor pilot plant by Sedron Technologies treating fecal sludge in Dakar, Senegal
Omni processor is a term coined in 2012 by staff of the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to describe a range of physical, biological or chemical treatments to remove pathogens from human-generated fecal sludge, while simultaneously creating commercially valuable byproducts (e.g., energy). Air from feces are separated from common air, then these collected air from feces are compressed like (LPG) and used as fuel. An omni processor mitigates unsafe methods in developing countries of capturing and treating human waste, which annually result in the spread of disease and the deaths of more than 1.5 million children.
Rather than a trademark, or a reference to a specific technology, the term omni processor is a general term for a range of self-sustaining, independently developed systems designed with the same end in mind, to transform and extract value from human waste — using various technological approaches, including combustion, supercritical water oxidation and pyrolysis. (Full article...) -
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi in mycoremediation, and plants in phytoremediation), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluents etc., in natural or artificial settings. The natural ability of organisms to adsorb, accumulate, and degrade common and emerging pollutants has attracted the use of biological resources in treatment of contaminated environment. In comparison to conventional physicochemical treatment methods bioremediation may offer advantages as it aims to be sustainable, eco-friendly, cheap, and scalable.
Most bioremediation is inadvertent, involving native organisms. Research on bioremediation is heavily focused on stimulating the process by inoculation of a polluted site with organisms or supplying nutrients to promote their growth. Environmental remediation is an alternative to bioremediation. (Full article...) -
A ground-effect train (concept art)
A ground-effect train is a conceptualized alternative to a magnetic levitation (maglev) train. In both cases the objective is to prevent the vehicle from making contact with the ground. Whereas a maglev train accomplishes this through the use of magnetism, a ground-effect train uses an air cushion; either in the manner of a hovercraft (as in hovertrains) or using the wing–in–ground-effect design. (Full article...) -
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader. This number can be used to track inventory goods.
Passive tags are powered by energy from the RFID reader's interrogating radio waves. Active tags are powered by a battery and thus can be read at a greater range from the RFID reader, up to hundreds of meters. (Full article...) -
Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), formerly called Prompt Global Strike (PGS), is a United States military effort to develop a system that can deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon strike anywhere in the world within one hour, in a similar manner to a nuclear ICBM. Such a weapon would allow the United States to respond far more swiftly to rapidly emerging threats than is possible with conventional forces. A CPS system could also be useful during a nuclear conflict, potentially replacing the use of nuclear weapons against up to 30% of targets. The CPS program encompasses numerous established and emerging technologies, including conventional surface-launched missiles and air- and submarine-launched hypersonic missiles. (Full article...)
-
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in applications throughout industry and academia. In a manner analogous to electricity or computers, AI serves as a general-purpose technology. AI programs are designed to simulate human perception and understanding. These systems are capable of adapting to new information and responding to changing situations. Machine learning has been used for various scientific and commercial purposes including language translation, image recognition, decision-making, credit scoring, and e-commerce. (Full article...)
-
A game being played on a smartphone
A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to handheld game console, portable media player or graphing calculator, with and without network availability.
The earliest known game on a mobile phone was a Tetris variant on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device from 1994.
In 1997, Nokia launched Snake. Snake, which was pre-installed in most mobile devices manufactured by Nokia for a couple of years, has since become one of the most played games, at one point found on more than 350 million devices worldwide. Mobile devices became more computationally advanced allowing for downloading of games, though these were initially limited to phone carriers' own stores. Mobile gaming grew greatly with the development of app stores in 2008, such as the iOS App Store from Apple. As the first mobile content marketplace operated directly by a mobile-platform holder, the App Store significantly changed the consumer behaviour and quickly broadened the market for mobile games, as almost every smartphone owner started to download mobile apps. (Full article...) -
ET3 Global Alliance is an American open consortium of licensees that has tried to implement the Evacuated Tube Transport (ET3). It was founded by Daryl Oster in 1997.
The stated goal of the consortium was to build a global transportation system using car-sized capsules traveling in 1.5-meter-diameter tubes via frictionless superconductive maglev. Oster claims that the ET3 system will cost only 20 cents' worth of electrical energy to get up to 350 mph (560 km/h). ET3 claims that initial systems would travel at the speed of 600 km/h (370 mph) for in-state trips and later will be developed to 6,500 km/h (4,000 mph, hypersonic speed).[needs update] (Full article...) -
NCR Corporation model of self-service checkouts and fast-lane at a Sainsbury's store
Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that allow customers to complete their own transaction with a retailer without using a staffed checkout. When using SCOs, customers scan item barcodes before paying for their purchases without needing one-to-one staff assistance. Self-checkouts are used mainly in supermarkets, although they are sometimes also found in department or convenience stores. Most self-checkout areas are supervised by at least one staff member, often assisting customers to process transactions, correcting prices, or otherwise providing service.
As of 2013, there were 191,000 self-checkout units deployed around the globe, and by 2025, it is predicted that 1.2 million units will be installed worldwide. It has been estimated that "the self-checkout system market in the U.S., which accounts for 41% of the global market, reached $1.4 billion in 2021." (Full article...) -
Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) standard visual symbols for use with BioBricks Standard
BioBrick parts are DNA sequences which conform to a restriction-enzyme assembly standard. These building blocks are used to design and assemble larger synthetic biological circuits from individual parts and combinations of parts with defined functions, which would then be incorporated into living cells such as Escherichia coli cells to construct new biological systems. Examples of BioBrick parts include promoters, ribosomal binding sites (RBS), coding sequences and terminators. (Full article...) -
GNU Radio is a free software development toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software-defined radios and signal processing systems. It can be used with external radio frequency (RF) hardware to create software-defined radios, or without hardware in a simulation-like environment. It is widely used in hobbyist, academic, and commercial environments to support both wireless communications research and real-world radio systems. (Full article...) -
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.
Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label and describe individuals. Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological characteristics which are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, palm veins, face recognition, DNA, palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina, odor/scent, voice, shape of ears and gait. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including but not limited to mouse movement, typing rhythm, gait, signature, voice, and behavioral profiling. Some researchers have coined the term behaviometrics (behavioral biometrics) to describe the latter class of biometrics. (Full article...) -
Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. There are three main branches of virotherapy: anti-cancer oncolytic viruses, viral vectors for gene therapy and viral immunotherapy. These branches use three different types of treatment methods: gene overexpression, gene knockout, and suicide gene delivery. Gene overexpression adds genetic sequences that compensate for low to zero levels of needed gene expression. Gene knockout uses RNA methods to silence or reduce expression of disease-causing genes. Suicide gene delivery introduces genetic sequences that induce an apoptotic response in cells, usually to kill cancerous growths. In a slightly different context, virotherapy can also refer more broadly to the use of viruses to treat certain medical conditions by killing pathogens. (Full article...)
Selected global issues and related topics
-
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events, the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants have a human source – that is, a source created by human activities, such as manufacturing, extractive industries, poor waste management, transportation or agriculture. Pollution is often classed as point source (coming from a highly concentrated specific site, such as a factory, mine, construction site), or nonpoint source pollution (coming from a widespread distributed sources, such as microplastics or agricultural runoff).
Many sources of pollution were unregulated parts of industrialization during the 19th and 20th centuries until the emergence of environmental regulation and pollution policy in the later half of the 20th century. Sites where historically polluting industries released persistent pollutants may have legacy pollution long after the source of the pollution is stopped. Major forms of pollution include air pollution, water pollution, litter, noise pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination, radioactive contamination, thermal pollution, light pollution, and visual pollution. (Full article...) -
A typical suburban development in the United States, located in Chandler, Arizona
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for very dense urban planning. Sometimes the urban areas described as the most "sprawling" are the most densely populated. In addition to describing a special form of urbanization, the term also relates to the social and environmental consequences associated with this development. In modern times some suburban areas described as "sprawl" have less detached housing and higher density than the nearby core city. Medieval suburbs suffered from the loss of protection of city walls, before the advent of industrial warfare. Modern disadvantages and costs include increased travel time, transport costs, pollution, and destruction of the countryside. The revenue for building and maintaining urban infrastructure in these areas are gained mostly through property and sales taxes. Most jobs in the US are now located in suburbs generating much of the revenue, although a lack of growth will require higher tax rates.
In Europe, the term peri-urbanisation is often used to denote similar dynamics and phenomena, but the term urban sprawl is currently being used by the European Environment Agency. There is widespread disagreement about what constitutes sprawl and how to quantify it. For example, some commentators measure sprawl by residential density, using the average number of residential units per acre in a given area. Others associate it with decentralization (spread of population without a well-defined centre), discontinuity (leapfrogging development, as defined below), segregation of uses, and so forth.
The term urban sprawl is highly politicized and almost always has negative connotations. It is criticized for causing environmental degradation, intensifying segregation, and undermining the vitality of existing urban areas, and is attacked on aesthetic grounds. The pejorative meaning of the term means that few openly support urban sprawl as such. The term has become a rallying cry for managing urban growth. (Full article...) -
Two Indian stamps which combine to symbolize gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally, also regardless of gender. To avoid complication, other genders (besides women and men) will not be treated in this Gender equality article.
UNICEF (an agency of the United Nations) defines gender equality as "women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike."
As of 2017, gender equality is the fifth of seventeen sustainable development goals (SDG 5) of the United Nations; gender equality has not incorporated the proposition of genders besides women and men, or gender identities outside of the gender binary. Gender inequality is measured annually by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports. (Full article...) -
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Maranhão state, 2016
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.
The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, palm oil, rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry (logging), urbanization and mining. The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change).
Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion. (Full article...) -
Solid waste after being shredded to a uniform size
Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others. (Full article...) -
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has existed throughout history (for example Uttarapatha, Silk Road, Amber Road, salt roads), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.
Carrying out trade at an international level is a complex process when compared to domestic trade. When trade takes place between two or more states, factors like currency, government policies, economy, judicial system, laws, and markets influence trade. (Full article...) -
Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...) -
Overconsumption describes a situation where consumers overuse their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this is the point where the marginal cost of a consumer is greater than their marginal utility. The term overconsumption is quite controversial and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. When used to refer to natural resources to the point where the environment is negatively affected, it is synonymous with the term overexploitation. However, when used in the broader economic sense, overconsumption can refer to all types of goods and services, including artificial ones, e.g., "the overconsumption of alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning." Overconsumption is driven by several factors of the current global economy, including forces like consumerism, planned obsolescence, economic materialism, and other unsustainable business models, and can be contrasted with sustainable consumption.
Defining the amount of a natural resource required to be consumed for it to count as "overconsumption" is challenging because defining a sustainable capacity of the system requires accounting for many variables. A system's total capacity occurs at regional and worldwide levels, which means that specific regions may have higher consumption levels of certain resources than others due to greater resources without overconsuming a resource. A long-term pattern of overconsumption in any region or ecological system can cause a reduction in natural resources, often resulting in environmental degradation. However, this is only when applying the word to environmental impacts. When used in an economic sense, this point is defined as when the marginal cost of a consumer is equal to their marginal utility. Gossen's law of diminishing utility states that at this point, the consumer realizes the cost of consuming/purchasing another item/good is not worth the amount of utility (also known as happiness or satisfaction from the good) they'd receive, and therefore is not conducive to the consumer's wellbeing.
When used in the environmental sense, the discussion of overconsumption often parallels population size, growth, and human development: more people demanding a higher quality of living requires greater extraction of resources, which causes subsequent environmental degradation, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Currently, the inhabitants of high-wealth, "developed" nations consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, making up most of the human population (7.9 billion people). However, the developing world is a growing consumer market. These nations are quickly gaining more purchasing power. The Global South, which includes cities in Asia, America, and Africa, is expected to account for 56% of consumption growth by 2030, meaning that if current trends continue, relative consumption rates will shift more into these developing countries, whereas developed countries would start to plateau. Sustainable Development Goal 12, "responsible consumption and production," is the main international policy tool with goals to abate the impact of overconsumption. (Full article...) -
Biotechnology risk is a form of existential risk from biological sources, such as genetically engineered biological agents. The release of such high-consequence pathogens could be
- deliberate (in the form of bioterrorism or biological weapons)
- accidental, or
- a naturally occurring event.
A chapter on biotechnology and biosecurity was included in Nick Bostrom's 2008 anthology Global Catastrophic Risks, which covered risks including viral agents. Since then, new technologies like CRISPR and gene drives have been introduced.
While the ability to deliberately engineer pathogens has been constrained to high-end labs run by top researchers, the technology to achieve this is rapidly becoming cheaper and more widespread. For example, the diminishing cost of sequencing the human genome (from $10 million to $1,000), the accumulation of large datasets of genetic information, the discovery of gene drives, and the discovery of CRISPR. Biotechnology risk is therefore a credible explanation for the Fermi paradox. (Full article...) -
Map of the world's biodiversity hot spots, all of which are heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide.
Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. (Full article...) -
Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...) -
Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from a World Health Statistics 2010, a WHO report.[needs update]
Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. The term includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health.
Access to health care may vary across countries, communities, and individuals, influenced by social and economic conditions and health policies. Providing health care services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes". Factors to consider in terms of health care access include financial limitations (such as insurance coverage), geographical and logistical barriers (such as additional transportation costs and the ability to take paid time off work to use such services), sociocultural expectations, and personal limitations (lack of ability to communicate with health care providers, poor health literacy, low income). Limitations to health care services affect negatively the use of medical services, the efficacy of treatments, and overall outcome (well-being, mortality rates).
Health systems are the organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies. (Full article...) -
Seabirds killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The spill in March 1989 dumped approximately 10.8 million US gallons of crude oil into the environment, killing over 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and numerous other wildlife. The Alaskan fishing industry also suffered tremendously as a result of the spill.
An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity. This point distinguishes environmental disasters from other disturbances such as natural disasters and intentional acts of war such as nuclear bombings.
Environmental disasters show how the impact of humans' alteration of the land has led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences. These disasters have included deaths of wildlife, humans and plants, or severe disruption of human life or health, possibly requiring migration. Some environmental disasters are the trigger source of more expansive environmental conflicts, where effected groups try to socially confront the actors responsible for the disaster. (Full article...) -
Global distribution of dryland areas based on the aridity index computed over a 30-year average during 1981 to 2010. Typical deserts are indicated by the hyper-arid category (light yellow).
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This is driven by a number of factors, alone or in combination, such as drought, climatic shifts, tillage for agriculture, overgrazing and deforestation for fuel or construction materials. Though vegetation plays a major role in determining the biological composition of the soil, studies have shown that, in many environments, the rate of erosion and runoff decreases exponentially with increased vegetation cover. Unprotected, dry soil surfaces blow away with the wind or are washed away by flash floods, leaving infertile lower soil layers that bake in the sun and become an unproductive hardpan. .
At least 90% of the inhabitants of drylands live in developing countries, where they also suffer from poor economic and social conditions. This situation is exacerbated by land degradation because of the reduction in productivity, the precariousness of living conditions and the difficulty of access to resources and opportunities. (Full article...) -
Gray goo (also spelled as grey goo) is a hypothetical global catastrophic scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating machines consume all biomass (and perhaps also everything else) on Earth while building many more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy (literally: "consumption of the environment"). The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident.
Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines or clanking replicators.
The term gray goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. In 2004, he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'gray goo'." Engines of Creation mentions "gray goo" as a thought experiment in two paragraphs and a note, while the popularized idea of gray goo was first publicized in a mass-circulation magazine, Omni, in November 1986. (Full article...) -
The collapse of Lehman Brothers (headquarters pictured), the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, on September 15, 2008, is often considered the climax of the 2008 financial crisis.
The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis, was a major worldwide economic crisis, centered in the United States, which triggered the Great Recession of late 2007 to mid-2009, the most severe downturn since the Wall Street crash of 1929 and Great Depression. The causes of the financial crisis included predatory lending in the form of subprime mortgages and a resulting U.S. housing bubble, excessive risk-taking by global financial institutions, and lack of regulatory oversight. The first phase of the crisis began in early 2007, as mortgage-backed securities (MBS) tied to U.S. real estate, and a vast web of derivatives linked to those MBS, collapsed in value. A liquidity crisis spread to global institutions by mid-2007 and climaxed with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, which triggered a stock market crash and international banking crisis.
During the 1990s, the U.S. Congress had passed legislation intended to expand affordable housing through looser financing rules, and in 1999, parts of the 1933 Banking Act (Glass–Steagall Act) were repealed, enabling institutions to mix low-risk operations, such as commercial banking and insurance, with higher-risk operations such as investment banking and proprietary trading. As the Federal Reserve ("Fed") lowered the federal funds rate from 2000 to 2003, institutions increasingly targeted low-income homebuyers, largely belonging to racial minorities, with high-risk loans; this development went unattended by regulators. As interest rates rose from 2004 to 2006, the cost of mortgages rose and the demand for housing fell; in early 2007, as more U.S. subprime mortgage holders began defaulting on their repayments, lenders went bankrupt, culminating in the bankruptcy of New Century Financial in April. As demand and prices continued to fall, the financial contagion spread to global credit markets by August 2007, and central banks began injecting liquidity. In March 2008, Bear Stearns, the fifth largest U.S. investment bank, was sold to JPMorgan Chase in a "fire sale" backed by Fed financing.
In response to the growing crisis, governments around the world deployed massive bail-outs of financial institutions and other monetary and fiscal policies to prevent a collapse of the global financial system. By July 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, companies which together owned or guaranteed half of the U.S. housing market, verged on collapse; the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 enabled the federal government to seize them on September 7. Lehman Brothers (the fourth largest U.S. investment bank) filed for the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history on September 15, which was followed by a Fed bail-out of American International Group (the country's largest insurer) the next day, and the seizure of Washington Mutual in the largest bank failure in U.S. history on September 25. On October 3, Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, authorizing the Treasury Department to purchase toxic assets and bank stocks through the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Fed began a program of quantitative easing by buying treasury bonds and other assets, such as MBS, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed in February 2009 by newly elected President Barack Obama, included a range of measures intended to preserve existing jobs and create new ones. These initiatives combined, coupled with actions taken in other countries, ended the worst of the Great Recession by mid-2009. (Full article...) -
Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali (Mexico) to Calexico, California
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.
Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse. An example is agricultural runoff. Pollution is the result of the cumulative effect over time. Pollution may take many forms. One would is toxic substances such as oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and industrial waste products. Another is stressful conditions such as changes of pH, hypoxia or anoxia, increased temperatures, excessive turbidity, or changes of salinity). The introduction of pathogenic organisms is another. Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.
Control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans as well as legislation. Technology solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). (Full article...) -
Women selling produce at a market in Lilongwe, Malawi
Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. The availability of food for people of any class and state, gender or religion is another element of food security. Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Individuals who are food-secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Food security includes resilience to future disruptions of food supply. Such a disruption could occur due to various risk factors such as droughts and floods, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars. Food insecurity is the opposite of food security: a state where there is only limited or uncertain availability of suitable food.
The concept of food security has evolved over time. The four pillars of food security include availability, access, utilization, and stability. In addition, there are two more dimensions that are important: agency and sustainability. These six dimensions of food security are reinforced in conceptual and legal understandings of the right to food. The World Food Summit in 1996 declared that "food should not be used as an instrument for political and economic pressure."
There are many causes of food insecurity. The most important ones are high food prices and disruptions in global food supplies for example due to war. There is also climate change, water scarcity, land degradation, agricultural diseases, pandemics and disease outbreaks that can all lead to food insecurity. (Full article...) -
Existential risk from artificial intelligence refers to the idea that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) could lead to human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe.
One argument for the importance of this risk references how human beings dominate other species because the human brain possesses distinctive capabilities other animals lack. If AI were to surpass human intelligence and become superintelligent, it might become uncontrollable. Just as the fate of the mountain gorilla depends on human goodwill, the fate of humanity could depend on the actions of a future machine superintelligence.
The plausibility of existential catastrophe due to AI is widely debated. It hinges in part on whether AGI or superintelligence are achievable, the speed at which dangerous capabilities and behaviors emerge, and whether practical scenarios for AI takeovers exist. Concerns about superintelligence have been voiced by computer scientists and tech CEOs such as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Alan Turing, Elon Musk, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In 2022, a survey of AI researchers with a 17% response rate found that the majority believed there is a 10 percent or greater chance that human inability to control AI will cause an existential catastrophe. In 2023, hundreds of AI experts and other notable figures signed a statement declaring, "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Following increased concern over AI risks, government leaders such as United Kingdom prime minister Rishi Sunak and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an increased focus on global AI regulation. (Full article...) -
Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.
Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.
Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption. Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries.
Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity. For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate. Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss. Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems. (Full article...) -
Unemployment rate, 2021
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period.
Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, which is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed added to those unemployed).
Unemployment can have many sources, such as the following: (Full article...) -
Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...) -
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, internet telephony, and file sharing.
The origins of the Internet date back to research that enabled the time-sharing of computer resources, the development of packet switching in the 1960s and the design of computer networks for data communication. The set of rules (communication protocols) to enable internetworking on the Internet arose from research and development commissioned in the 1970s by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense in collaboration with universities and researchers across the United States and in the United Kingdom and France. The ARPANET initially served as a backbone for the interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the United States to enable resource sharing. The funding of the National Science Foundation Network as a new backbone in the 1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial extensions, encouraged worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies and the merger of many networks using DARPA's Internet protocol suite. The linking of commercial networks and enterprises by the early 1990s, as well as the advent of the World Wide Web, marked the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet, and generated sustained exponential growth as generations of institutional, personal, and mobile computers were connected to the internetwork. Although the Internet was widely used by academia in the 1980s, the subsequent commercialization of the Internet in the 1990s and beyond incorporated its services and technologies into virtually every aspect of modern life.
Most traditional communication media, including telephone, radio, television, paper mail, and newspapers, are reshaped, redefined, or even bypassed by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as email, Internet telephone, Internet radio, Internet television, online music, digital newspapers, and audio and video streaming websites. Newspapers, books, and other print publishing have adapted to website technology or have been reshaped into blogging, web feeds, and online news aggregators. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interaction through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking services. Online shopping has grown exponentially for major retailers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, as it enables firms to extend their "brick and mortar" presence to serve a larger market or even sell goods and services entirely online. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries. (Full article...) -
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources to achieve later benefits". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broader viewpoint, an investment can be defined as "to tailor the pattern of expenditure and receipt of resources to optimise the desirable patterns of these flows". When expenditures and receipts are defined in terms of money, then the net monetary receipt in a time period is termed cash flow, while money received in a series of several time periods is termed cash flow stream.
In finance, the purpose of investing is to generate a return on the invested asset. The return may consist of a capital gain (profit) or loss, realised if the investment is sold, unrealised capital appreciation (or depreciation) if yet unsold. It may also consist of periodic income such as dividends, interest, or rental income. The return may also include currency gains or losses due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Investors generally expect higher returns from riskier investments. When a low-risk investment is made, the return is also generally low. Similarly, high risk comes with a chance of high losses. Investors, particularly novices, are often advised to diversify their portfolio. Diversification has the statistical effect of reducing overall risk. (Full article...) -
Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible causes of a societal collapse include natural catastrophe, war, pestilence, famine, economic collapse, population decline or overshoot, mass migration, incompetent leaders, and sabotage by rival civilizations. A collapsed society may revert to a more primitive state, be absorbed into a stronger society, or completely disappear.
Virtually all civilizations have suffered such a fate, regardless of their size or complexity. Most never recovered, such as the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the Maya civilization, and the Easter Island civilization. However, some of them later revived and transformed, such as China, Greece, and Egypt.
Anthropologists, historians, and sociologists have proposed a variety of explanations for the collapse of civilizations involving causative factors such as environmental degradation, depletion of resources, costs of rising complexity, invasion, disease, decay of social cohesion, growing inequality, extractive institutions, long-term decline of cognitive abilities, loss of creativity, and misfortune. However, complete extinction of a culture is not inevitable, and in some cases, the new societies that arise from the ashes of the old one are evidently its offspring, despite a dramatic reduction in sophistication. Moreover, the influence of a collapsed society, such as the Western Roman Empire, may linger on long after its death. (Full article...)
Did you know...
- ... that under Soekotjo Sastrodinoto, the municipal government of Surabaya signed up the city's homeless population for the transmigration program?
- ... that while the laws governing Jewish astrology prohibit worshipping the stars, gaining knowledge of their influences on humans is permitted?
- ... that the LACE satellite tracked rocket plumes from space for the United States's Star Wars program?
- ... that five percent of Barbados's population turned out to protest the death of Milton King in Cape Town police custody?
- ... that because the capital of The Gambia is on a small island, its population has overflowed into Serekunda in the nearby municipality of Kanifing?
- ... that the studios of Basin PBS had once been a movie theater, a church meeting space, and a nightclub?
- ... that Hamas militant Tito Masoud, who manufactured the first Qassam rocket, became wanted by Israel after a colleague revealed his name under interrogation?
- ... that the COSMOS field is the largest contiguous survey of the universe ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope?
- ... that the Apollo 16 Heat Flow Experiment was disabled when astronaut John Young tripped over a cable and tore it from its connector?
- ... that ice in outer space is an amorphous solid, and this may be the most common phase of ice in the universe?
- ... that the steps of Pohang Space Walk represent an ascent to an unreachable utopia?
- ... that in the 1909 election to the city council of Surabaya, less than 1 percent of the population was enrolled to vote?
- ... that five peregrine falcon chicks were released from the roof of an office building in Virginia in an unsuccessful attempt to combat an overpopulation of pigeons?
- ... that the first dogs in space returned to Earth with a parachute?
Need help?
Do you have a question about any subject that you can't find the answer to?
Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
Selected images that captured my attention
-
NGC 1300 is a barred spiral galaxy located roughly 69 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Eridanus. In its core, the nucleus shows its own extraordinary and distinct "grand-design" spiral structure that is about 3,300 light-years long. -
The mushroom cloud caused by the detonation of the "Fat Man" bomb during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, rising approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) above the hypocenter. -
Crash landing of an F6F Hellcat into the port side 20mm gun gallery of the USS Enterprise, November 10, 1943. Lieutenant Walter L. Chewning, Jr., USNR, the Catapult Officer, is climbing up the plane's side to assist the pilot from the burning aircraft. The pilot, Ensign Byron M. Johnson, escaped without significant injury. Note the plane's ruptured belly fuel tank. -
A lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano found in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lava lakes, which can form in three different ways, are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. Persistent lava lakes such as the one at Nyiragongo, which is the largest to appear in recent times, are rare. -
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin saluting the flag of the United States, part of the Lunar Flag Assembly, during Apollo 11. The Lunar Flag Assembly was designed to survive a Moon landing and to appear to "wave" as it would in a breeze on Earth. This flag fell over when the Lunar Module Eagle took off. -
A neutral density filter is a filter that reduces or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition. The filter reduces the amount of light entering the lens, allowing the photographer to select combinations of aperture, exposure time and sensor sensitivity to avoid overexposed pictures. It would normally be attached to the lens, but is hand-held here to illustrate the effect. -
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower of the Cathedral of Pisa, Italy. The third oldest structure in the city's Square of Miracles, it is known worldwide for its unintended tilt. The tower's tilt began during construction in the 12th century, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt gradually increased until the tower was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The tower, which measures 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. -
View from Notre-Dame de Paris. -
The International Space Station (ISS) as seen from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Zarya, the first module of the ISS launched in 1998, is seen in the foreground. Since then, twenty-six Space Shuttle flights have docked with the ISS to assemble various other modules and components, which include four pairs of solar arrays seen on each side. -
-
One of two monkey selfies taken by Celebes crested macaques using equipment belonging to the British nature photographer David Slater. In mid-2014, the images' hosting on Wikimedia Commons was at the centre of a dispute over whether copyright could be held on artworks made by non-human animals. Slater argued that, as he had "engineered" the shot, he held copyright, while Wikimedia considered the photographs public domain on the grounds that they were made by an animal rather than a person. In December 2014, the United States Copyright Office stated that works by a non-human are not subject to US copyright, a view reaffirmed by a US federal judge in 2016. -
United States Navy personnel engage in Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) training between a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). SPIE involves either a person or goods being lowered from or raised to a helicopter via a cable above terrain on which landing would be difficult. -
American astronaut Eugene Cernan (born March 14, 1934), shown here on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission, the last time any human has set foot on it. In that final lunar landing mission, launched December 7, 1972, Cernan became "the last man on the moon" since he was the last to re-enter the Apollo Lunar Module during its third and final extra-vehicular activity. Prior to this, Cernan had also gone into space twice on the Gemini 9A and Apollo 10 missions. -
Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and currently the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Downtown Dubai. Construction took over five years, and the skyscraper was officially opened in January 2010. -
The mushroom cloud from the Ivy Mike nuclear test, one of two tests conducted as part of Operation Ivy at the Pacific Proving Grounds on Elugelab in the Marshall Islands. Mike was the first successful full-scale test of a multi-megaton thermonuclear weapon, and it left an underwater crater 6,240 ft (1,900 m) wide and 164 ft (50 m) deep where the island had been. -
The sperm whale is the largest toothed animal on Earth. The species was hunted extensively by humans throughout history, until protected by a worldwide moratorium on whaling starting in 1985–86. -
-
The Hubble Extreme Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax released by NASA on September 25, 2012. The successor to the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, this image was compiled from 10 years of previous images with a total exposure time of two million seconds, or approximately 23 days. -
The American Bison, or Buffalo, is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and once inhabited the Great Plains in massive herds. They were central to the lives of Native American tribes. This pile of bison skulls from the 1870s illustrates the extent of their slaughter in the 19th century by settlers: from a population of about 60 million in 1800 to as few as 750 in 1890. They have since been reintroduced into the wild and are no longer considered a high risk endangered species. -
The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on July 25, 1946. Its purpose was to test the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. It was the second US nuclear bomb set off since the bombing of Nagasaki. -
Devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana during 2005, shown here looking down on Interstate 10 at West End Boulevard towards Lake Pontchartrain. Over 1,800 people were confirmed dead with 705 still missing. It was the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history causing around $86 billion in damage. This photo shows flooded roadways as the United States Coast Guard conducted initial damage assessment overflights of New Orleans on Monday, August 29, 2005. The city flooded due primarily to the failure of the levee system. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops. -
The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy located 21 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier, who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. This image, released on February 28, 2006, is composed of 51 individual exposures, as well as some extra ground-based photos. At the time of its release, it was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by the Hubble Space Telescope. -
The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct located in Segovia, Spain that transports water from the Rio Frio. It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century CE. One of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula, the aqueduct is considered a symbol of Segovia and is present on the city's coat of arms. -
Glaucus atlanticus is a species of small, blue sea slug. This pelagic aeolid nudibranch floats upside down, using the surface tension of the water to stay up, and is carried along by the winds and ocean currents. The blue side of their body faces upwards, blending in with the blue of the water, while the grey side faces downwards, blending in with the silvery surface of the sea. G. atlanticus feeds on other pelagic creatures, including the Portuguese man o' war. -
Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the August 28 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 people participated in the march, which featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a major factor leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The march was also condemned by the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X, who termed it the "farce on Washington". -
Lucky Diamond Rich (b. 1971) is a New Zealand-born performance artist and street performer who holds the Guinness World Record for most tattooed man, taking the title from Tom Leppard in 2006. He is recognized by Guinness as being covered in tattoos over 100% of his body, including the inside of his eyelids, ears, and mouth. -
A Marginated Tortoise hatchling. -
aurora australis, as seen from the International Space Station. Aurorae are natural light displays in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude thermosphere. The particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. -
Sandboarding is a boardsport similar to snowboarding, but competitions take place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered mountains. Here, a member of the US Navy sandboards down a dune in Jebel Ali, Dubai. -
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Saint Anthony Falls of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once the third-busiest bridge in the state, it suddenly collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring 145. Rescue of people stranded on the bridge was complete in three hours, while recovery of bodies—involving 75 local, state and federal agencies—took three weeks. An NTSB investigation cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that a too-thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets. -
Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station, observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and astronaut. She was selected by NASA in 1998 and made her first spaceflight in August 2007 on the STS-118 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. -
An overhead view of Skylab, the United States' first space station, in Earth orbit as photographed from the Skylab 4 Command and Service Modules. Skylab 4 was the last mission to Skylab and brought back its final crew; this photograph was the last one taken of the station before the mission re-entered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated in 1979. -
You are feeling very sleepy... -
A dust storm rushes towards a military camp as it rolls over Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, just before nightfall on April 27, 2005. A dust storm (or sandstorm) is a meteorological phenomenon common in dry, arid and semi-arid regions, usually the result of convection currents created by intense heating of the ground. These currents then carry clouds of sand over large distances. -
-
A swan created using modular origami, a paperfolding technique which uses two or more sheets of paper to create a larger and more complex structure than possible with single-piece origami techniques. Each individual sheet of paper is folded into a module, or unit, and then modules are assembled into an integrated flat shape or three-dimensional structure by inserting flaps into pockets created by the folding process. These insertions create tension or friction that holds the model together. -
-
San Francisco Bay shrouded in fog, as seen from the Marin Headlands looking east. The fog of San Francisco is a kind of sea fog, created when warm, moist air blows from the central Pacific Ocean across the cold water of the California Current, which flows just off the coast. The water is cold enough to lower the temperature of the air to the dew point, causing fog generation. In this photo, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen poking through the fog, and the Bay Bridge is visible in the distance. -
Height comparison of notable statues: 1) Statue of Unity 240 m. 2) Spring Temple Buddha 153 m. 3) Statue of Liberty 93 m. 4) The Motherland Calls 91 m. 5) Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m. 6) Statue of David 5.17 m. -
The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan, which has been burning since 1971 when it was ignited by Soviet scientists who expected it to burn out within days. They were trying to prevent the release of poisonous gases. The name "Door to Hell" was given to the field by locals. The hot spots range over an area with a width of 60 metres (200 ft) and to a depth of about 20 metres (66 ft). -
Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, on a concrete-floored dock at the port of Hvalba, which is in the Faroe Islands, north of the United Kingdom. Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practised since at least the 10th century. It is strongly regulated by Faroese authorities and is approved by the International Whaling Commission. -
An animation of a cicada undergoing ecdysis, the molting of the exoskeleton in arthropods and related groups. Since the cuticula of these animals is inelastic, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The old, empty exoskeleton is called an exuvia. Within one or two hours, the cuticle hardens and darkens, during which time the animal grows, since growth is otherwise constrained by the rigidity of the exoskeleton. Each frame of this image was taken at one-minute intervals, with a 30-minute gap in middle while the cicada rested. The entire process took about 2 hours to complete. -
A man engaging in big wave surfing at Mavericks, located just north of Half Moon Bay, California. Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into or are towed onto waves which are at least 20 ft (6.1 m) high, and is a hazardous activity, as surfers can be pushed far beneath the surface of the water after a wipeout. -
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.15, undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26 2004. The earthquake generated a tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people around the Indian Ocean, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. This photograph shows the tsunami as it reached Ao Nang, Thailand. -
Imagine waking up to this. Which makes me wonder whatever happened to the guy who took this photo.
Trump news tracker
- 4 March 2025 – Second Trump tariffs
- U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports to the United States take effect, while an existing 10% tariff on all Chinese imports rises to 20% amid an ongoing trade war. (AP)
- 3 March 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- U.S. President Donald Trump pauses all U.S. military aid to Ukraine with immediate effect. (Bloomberg)
- 2 March 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer announces after a meeting of European Union leaders in London that a "coalition of the willing" is working on a Ukraine peace plan that they will present to U.S. president Donald Trump. (Sky News)
- 1 March 2025 – Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump
- United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order designating English as the country's official language. (The Guardian)
- 28 February 2025 – Protests against the second presidency of Donald Trump
- Economic Blackout
- A 24-hour consumer spending boycott takes place across the United States, in protest of wealth and income inequality, high prices of essential goods, and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by the Trump administration. (AP)
- 28 February 2025 – 2025 United States federal mass layoffs
- The United States Social Security Administration announces it will lay off over 7,000 jobs to align with President Donald Trump's executive order, despite its workforce already being at a 50-year low. (NPR)
- 28 February 2025 – Ukraine–United States relations
- U.S. president Donald Trump, U.S. vice president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy end their talks early after their meeting in the White House turns into a "heated" exchange. Trump rejects any discussion of specific security guarantees for Ukraine, being interested solely in discussing the Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement. (Time) (AP)
- 27 February 2025 – Denmark–United States relations
- Danish retailer group Salling Group, which operates around 34% of the retail market share in the country, announces it will start differentiating brands owned by European companies from American ones, in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed acquisition of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm. (DW)
- 27 February 2025 – United Kingdom–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington, D.C., for talks that include the Russo-Ukrainian War peace negotiations. Starmer also presents a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to visit London later this year. (NPR)
- 27 February 2025 –
- The Trump administration bans NASA scientists and US government officials from attending the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference that started this week in Hangzhou, China, which are focused on the seventh IPCC Assessment Report on climate change. (Nature)
- 26 February 2025 – 2025 United States tariffs against the European Union
- United States President Donald Trump announces impending 25% tariffs on the European Union, which he states will be generally applied to sectors such as the automotive industry. (The Guardian)
Interests
- Select [►] to view subcategories
Wikipedia newsfeed
- 4 March 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Ukrainian drone strikes an oil pipeline in Rostov Oblast, Russia, setting the pipeline ablaze for several hours before being put out by firefighters. Russia also reports its air defence units repelled another drone attack near Novoshakhtinsk. (Reuters)
- 4 March 2025 – 2024–present Serbian anti-corruption protests
- At least three Serbian lawmakers are injured after flares and smoke bombs were thrown into the National Assembly. Ana Brnabić, the President of the National Assembly, described the attack as terrorism. (CTV News)
- 4 March 2025 – Second Trump tariffs
- 2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico
- U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports to the United States take effect, while an existing 10% tariff on all Chinese imports rises to 20% amid an ongoing trade war. (AP)
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that he will impose a reciprocal 25% tariff on American goods worth up to US$155 billion. (Canada.ca)
- China–United States trade war
- The Chinese Ministry of Finance announces 10–15% tariffs on a range of US food imports, set to start March 10. (Reuters)
- 4 March 2025 –
- A Philippine Air Force FA-50PH fighter jet is reported missing during an overnight training exercise. A search and rescue operation to locate the missing pilots is underway. (The Philippine Star)
- 4 March 2025 – Iran–Turkey relations
- Iran says Turkey's criticism of its foreign policy could lead to worsening ties after Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Iran risks plunging the Middle East into "disorder". (Al Arabiya)
- Turkey summons Iran's chargés d'affaires in Ankara after Iran's foreign ministry summoned Turkey's ambassador. (Al Arabiya)
- 4 March 2025 –
- A23a, the world's largest iceberg, runs aground in shallow waters off the coast of South Georgia in the Atlantic Ocean. (BBC News)
- Scientists from Colossal Biosciences create a new species of genetically modified woolly mice. (The Guardian)
- 3 March 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- U.S. President Donald Trump pauses all U.S. military aid to Ukraine with immediate effect. (Bloomberg)
- 3 March 2025 – Arab–Israeli conflict
- A 70-year-old Arab Israeli man is killed and three others are injured in a mass stabbing at a bus station in Haifa, Israel. The perpetrator, an Israeli-Druze from Shfar'am, is killed by civilians present at the attack. (Al Jazeera) (DW) (The Times of Israel)
- 3 March 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan
- A suicide bomber kills one person and wounds three others in Kalat, Balochistan, Pakistan. (AP News)
- 3 March 2025 – Western DR Congo clashes
- The Congolese military announces that eight members of the Mobondo militia, including one of their leaders, were killed the previous day when an army patrol seized the group's headquarters in the Kwamouth Territory, Mai-Ndombe Province. (Radio Okapi)
- 3 March 2025 – 2024–25 Australian region cyclone season
- Cyclone warnings are issued to residents of Brisbane, South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales as Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall on Thursday or early Friday local time. (The Guardian Australia)
- 3 March 2025 –
- A bus rolls down a ravine after colliding with a truck in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31 people and injuring 22 others. (Reuters)
- At least 80 people are trapped inside a supermarket in Güímar, Tenerife, and dozens of cars are swept away to sea and stuck in mud in Gran Canaria after torrential rain caused floods across the Canary Islands in Spain. (Canaria Weekly) (The Sun)
- 3 March 2025 – 2025 Mannheim car incident
- A car drives into a crowd of people near a Carnival market in Mannheim, Germany, killing two people and injuring 25 others, including fifteen seriously. A man has been arrested. (Euronews) (DW)
- 3 March 2025 –
- The Holy See reports that Pope Francis has been diagnosed with "acute respiratory distress" as a result of bronchospasms and a build-up of bronchial mucus, after recovering from pneumonia and bronchitis several days ago. (VOA) (NPR)
- 2 March 2025 – Gaza war
- 2025 Gaza war ceasefire
- Israel agrees to a United States-led plan to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, during which half of the 59 remaining hostages will be released. Hamas rejects the proposal, insisting that the deal proceed with phase two, which includes the release of all remaining living hostages, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a permanent end to the war. (The Times of Israel)
- 2 March 2025 – 97th Academy Awards
- The 97th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, United States. Anora wins the most awards, taking five, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. Adrien Brody wins Best Actor for The Brutalist. (Reuters)
- Anora director Sean Baker becomes the first person to win four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing) for a single film, also tying Walt Disney's record for most Academy Awards won in a single ceremony. (The Independent)
- 2 March 2025 – 2025 Southeastern United States wildfires
- Several wildfires erupt across South Carolina and North Carolina, United States, resulting in the evacuation of endangered towns, including several in the Myrtle Beach area. South Carolina governor Henry McMaster declares a state of emergency in response. (The New York Times) (NBC)
- 2 March 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Coalition of the willing (Russo-Ukrainian War)
- United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer announces after a meeting of European Union leaders in London that a "coalition of the willing" is working on a Ukraine peace plan that they will present to U.S. president Donald Trump. (Sky News)
- Russia–United States relations
- United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth orders a halt to offensive cyber operations and information operations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command. (NBC News)
- 2 March 2025 – 2025 Abkhazian presidential election
- Acting leader of Abkhazia Badra Gunba is elected President with 55% of the votes. Georgia rejects the election, as it claims Abkhazia as part of its territory. (Reuters)
- 2 March 2025 –
- Firefly Aerospace successfully lands the Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, delivering payloads to Mare Crisium with instruments to study lunar regoliths and the interactions between solar wind and Earth's magnetic field. (Space.com) (NASA)
- 1 March 2025 – War on terror
- War against the Islamic State
- Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
- Puntland counter-terrorism operations
- The Puntland Dervish Force captures an IS–Somalia base in Buqa Caleed, in the Cal Miskaad mountain range of Bari Region, Puntland, Somalia. (The Somali Digest) (Horseed Media)
- United States Central Command says that it has carried out a precision airstrike in Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior military leader in Hurras al-Din. (Al Arabiya)
- 1 March 2025 – Colombian conflict
- 2025 Catatumbo clashes
- Three men are found dead in a vehicle near the village of Orú in the Tibú municipality, Norte de Santander, Colombia, with one body dressed in a National Liberation Army (ELN) uniform. (El Heraldo de Colombia)
- After placing an ELN flag at the entrance of the municipality of Saravena, Arauca, the ELN detonate an improvised explosive device, targeting Colombian soldiers attempting to remove the flag. No casualties are reported. (El Heraldo de Colombia)
- 1 March 2025 – Gaza war
- 2025 Gaza war ceasefire
- The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to expire today while talks on the second phase, which aims to end the war, remain inconclusive. (DW)
- Gaza Strip famine
- Israel blocks the entry of all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire ends. (AP)
- 1 March 2025 – Kivu conflict
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Civil society groups in the Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, report that 23 people were killed and another 20 were taken hostage in raids by an Islamic State-affiliated faction of the Allied Democratic Forces militia over the past week. (Arab News)
- 1 March 2025 – Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency
- The Kurdistan Workers' Party announces a ceasefire with Turkey after forty years of conflict. (Al Jazeera)
- 1 March 2025 – Syrian civil war
- Druze–Syria clashes
- At least one person is killed and approximately nine others are wounded in the Druze-majority city of Jaramana, following armed confrontations between local residents and security forces affiliated with the transitional government. In response, the Suwayda Military Council declares a state of alert, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instruct the Israel Defense Forces to "prepare to defend" the city. (ANHA) (Times of Israel)
- 1 March 2025 – Brit Awards 2025
- At the 2025 Brit Awards, Charli XCX wins British Artist of the Year, while her album Brat wins British Album of the Year and her song "Guess" wins Song of the Year in collaboration with Billie Eilish. Ezra Collective wins Best British Group. (BBC News)
- 1 March 2025 –
- A group of winter swimmers in Most, Czechia, set a new world record for the largest polar bear plunge with 2,461 participants. The previous record was 1,799 participants set in Mielno, Poland, in 2015. (AP)
- At least 37 people are killed and 30 others are injured when two passenger buses collide near Uyuni, Potosí department, Bolivia. (BBC News)
- 1 March 2025 – United Kingdom–Ukraine relations
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with UK prime minister Keir Starmer in London, where they sign off on a British loan of GB£2.26 billion to buy military supplies for Ukraine. (BBC)
- 1 March 2025 – 2025 Romanian presidential election
- 2024–2025 Romanian election annulment protests
- Tens of thousands of demonstrators hold a rally in Bucharest, Romania, in support of presidential candidate Călin Georgescu and demand that the second round of the annulled 2024 election is held instead of a new election. (AP)
- 1 March 2025 – Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump
- United States President Donald Trump signs an executive order designating English as the country's official language. (The Guardian)
- 1 March 2025 – Presidency of Yamandú Orsi
- Yamandú Orsi and Carolina Cosse are inaugurated as the president and vice president of Uruguay in Montevideo. (Reuters)
- 1 March 2025 –
- At their annual general meeting in Northern Ireland, the International Football Association Board approves a new rule stating that beginning the following season, if a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team is awarded a corner kick. (BBC)
- 28 February 2025 – 2025 Darul Uloom Haqqania bombing
- Five people, including Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, the head of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S) party and son of Sami-ul-Haq, are killed and twenty others are injured in a suicide bombing inside of a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (The Indian Express)
- 28 February 2025 – Mexican drug war
- At least four people are shot dead in a mechanical workshop in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. This is the second massacre this week in the state, the other in Perote, which left three workers dead and one wounded. (La Jornada)
- Three policemen and a civilian are killed in two attacks in Guanajuato, Mexico, the first in Celaya and the second in Apaseo el Alto. (Revista Proceso)
- 28 February 2025 – Protests against the second presidency of Donald Trump
- Economic Blackout
- A 24-hour consumer spending boycott takes place across the United States, in protest of wealth and income inequality, high prices of essential goods, and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by the Trump administration. (AP)
- 28 February 2025 – 2025 United States federal mass layoffs
- The United States Social Security Administration announces it will lay off over 7,000 jobs to align with President Donald Trump's executive order, despite its workforce already being at a 50-year low. (NPR)
- 28 February 2025 – 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Three people are killed as tropical cyclone Garance makes landfall in Réunion in the Indian Ocean. (AP)
- 28 February 2025 – 2025 disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- At least 60 fatalities and nearly 1,100 symptomatic cases are reported to be a result of a disease outbreak of unknown etiology in the Province of Équateur, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CBS News)
- 28 February 2025 – 2025 Southwest United States measles outbreak
- The number of measles cases in Texas, United States, increases to 146 with 20 people hospitalized, spanning nine counties in the state. (AP)
- 28 February 2025 – Ukraine–United States relations
- Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2025 Trump–Zelenskyy meeting
- U.S. president Donald Trump, U.S. vice president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy end their talks early after their meeting in the White House turns into a "heated" exchange. Trump rejects any discussion of specific security guarantees for Ukraine, being interested solely in discussing the Ukraine–United States Mineral Resources Agreement. (Time) (AP)
- The U.S. State Department terminates U.S. support of Ukraine's energy grid restoration amid an ongoing energy crisis. (NBC)
- 28 February 2025 – Colombia–Israel relations, Israel–Malaysia relations, South Africa–Israel relations, Boycotts of Israel
- Colombian president Gustavo Petro, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa release a joint statement announcing they will close their ports to any ship carrying weapons supplied to Israel. (Middle East Monitor)
- 28 February 2025 – Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict
- The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) postpone the joint summit of their foreign ministers that would have agreed on a ceasefire plan for the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congolese and Rwanda governments never received invitations to the meeting. (Critical Threats Project)
- 28 February 2025 – Russia–United States relations
- Russia appoints Alexander Darchiev as its new ambassador to the U.S. following talks between the two countries in Istanbul on restoring regular diplomatic contacts and embassy staffs. The post has been vacant for several months. (Barron's) (Interfax)
- 28 February 2025 –
- Mexico extradites 29 alleged cartel members to the United States, including Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Treviño Morales, Omar Treviño Morales, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes and Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez. (BBC News) (CBS News)
- Greeks organize a 24-hour nationwide general strike on the second anniversary of the Tempi train crash, Greece's deadliest railway disaster. (Reuters)
- Following the 2024 quota reform movement in Bangladesh, students who led the protests announce the formation of a new political party, the National Citizen Party, led by Nahid Islam, a student activist and the chief coordinator of the Students Against Discrimination movement. (DW)
- Microsoft announces it will shut down Skype in May 2025 to focus its support and development on Teams. (DW) (Bloomberg News)
- 27 February 2025 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Gaza war
- 2025 Gaza war ceasefire
- As part of the first stage of the ceasefire deal, Hamas releases the bodies of four Israeli hostages in return for the Israeli government releasing 617 Palestinian prisoners. The second phase of the ceasefire has not been negotiated. (DW)
- Thirteen people are injured in a car-ramming attack in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, Israel. The suspect, a Palestinian residing in Ma'ale Iron, is later shot and killed by police after an attempted stabbing attack. (Times of Israel)
- 27 February 2025 – Kivu conflict
- 2025 Bukavu offensive
- 2025 Bukavu M23 rally bombings
- A grenade attack at an M23 rally in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, celebrating their recent victory over government forces in the city, kills at least eleven people and wounds 65 others. (Reuters)
- 27 February 2025 – Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency
- Jailed Kurdish leader and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) founder Abdullah Öcalan calls for an end to the conflict with Turkey and asks the group to disarm and disband, amid peace efforts between the Turkish government and the PKK led by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party. (Rudaw) (Reuters) (DW)
- 27 February 2025 – Somali Civil War
- Somali capital city Mogadishu enters a security lockdown after several mortars were fired toward Aden Adde International Airport during a visit from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. (Anadolu Agency)
- Somali forces regain control of Balad after Al-Shabaab launches a coordinated attack, detonating roadside bombs and briefly seizing the town. (Hiiraan Online)
- 27 February 2025 –
- Villa Somalia security guards open fire on civilians at Lido Beach in Mogadishu while attempting to clear the beach ahead of a visit from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, killing a teenage boy and wounding several others. (Idil News) (HBN)
- 27 February 2025 – Denmark–United States relations
- Danish retailer group Salling Group, which operates around 34% of the retail market share in the country, announces it will start differentiating brands owned by European companies from American ones, in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed acquisition of Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm. (DW)
- 27 February 2025 –
- A fire at a three-story residential building in Quezon City, Philippines, kills eight people and injures one other. (AP)
- Two people are killed when a Robinson R44 helicopter crashes on a private property in Uvalde, Texas, United States. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are currently investigating the accident. (KENS-TV)
- Two Russian tourists are killed in a shark attack while scuba diving in the Verde Island Passage off Batangas, Philippines. (Fox News)
- 27 February 2025 – United Kingdom–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington, D.C., for talks that include the Russo-Ukrainian War peace negotiations. Starmer also presents a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to visit London later this year. (NPR)
- 27 February 2025 – Persecution of Uyghurs in China
- Forty Uyghur men detained in Thailand for over a decade are deported to China, despite concerns regarding their likely imprisonment. (Al Arabiya)
- 27 February 2025 –
- The prosecutor's office in Paris, France, closes a criminal complaint case by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) against technology company Apple for alleged money laundering and deceptive business practices related to the purchase of minerals in the DRC from armed militias. It is one of the DRC's two lawsuits, with another in Belgium. (Reuters)
- 27 February 2025 – 2024 Austrian legislative election
- The Social Democratic Party, the Austrian People's Party, and the NEOS party in Austria agree to form a coalition government, leaving out the far-right Freedom Party, who won the most seats in the National Council in the 2024 legislative election. The coalition agreement ends Austria's longest period without a government since World War II. (DW) (Euractiv)
- 27 February 2025 –
- The Trump administration bans NASA scientists and US government officials from attending the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conference that started this week in Hangzhou, China, which are focused on the seventh IPCC Assessment Report on climate change. (Nature)
- Meta Platforms says it has fixed an error that resulted in Instagram users' Reels feeds displaying violent and graphic videos despite these users having content filters enabled. (Al Arabiya)
- OpenAI releases their latest large language model, GPT-4.5. (The Verge)
- 26 February 2025 – Somali Civil War
- African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia
- The Somalian government and the African Union finalize the troop distribution for the new peacekeeping mission AUSSOM, resolving prior disputes with Ethiopia and later Burundi. The mission will deploy 11,900 personnel, including soldiers, police, and civilian staff. Under the agreement, Uganda will contribute 4,500 troops, followed by Ethiopia with 2,500, Djibouti with 1,520, Kenya with 1,410, and Egypt with 1,091. (VOA)
- 26 February 2025 – Sudanese civil war, 2024 famine in Sudan
- The United Nations-operated World Food Programme announces it has been forced to temporarily cease the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur, Sudan, due to an escalation in fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the region. Doctors Without Borders also temporarily ceased operations in the camp last week. (DW)
- 26 February 2025 – Mexican drug war
- A roadside bombing kills a Texan rancher in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Authorities say the victim was driving on his ranch when the explosive device detonated. (El Financiero)
- 26 February 2025 – Conservation and restoration of Pompeian frescoes
- Archeologists find monumental frescoes at the House of Thiasus in Pompeii, Campania, Italy, providing insight into the Dionysian Mysteries. (Reuters)
- 26 February 2025 – 2025 United States tariffs against the European Union
- United States President Donald Trump announces impending 25% tariffs on the European Union, which he states will be generally applied to sectors such as the automotive industry. (The Guardian)
- 26 February 2025 –
- British oil and gas company BP announces an agreement with the Iraqi government to develop four oil fields around Kirkuk and increase production, with the value of BP's investment estimated at US$25 billion. (Society of Petroleum Engineers) (Reuters)
- Eighteen people are killed and thirty-one others are injured when a bus overturns in Prachinburi province, Thailand. (CTV News)
- An unvaccinated child dies of measles at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, United States, as the first death since the disease was considered eradicated in the country in 2000. (ABC News) (AP)
- 26 February 2025 – United States–Venezuela relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump cancels energy corporation Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela. (Reuters)
- 26 February 2025 –
- United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk condemns Israel's human rights violations in Gaza and denounces Israeli settlements. (Reuters)
- 26 February 2025 – 2020 Nice stabbing
- Brahim Aouissaoui, the perpetrator of the 2020 stabbing in Nice, France, is sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. (CTV News)
- 26 February 2025 – 2025 Romanian presidential election
- Călin Georgescu, the candidate received the most votes in the annulled 2024 presidential election, is detained by police and taken for questioning by the general prosecutor's office over allegations of false statements about financing sources, illegal possession of weapons, and forming an organization that is "fascist, racist, or xenophobic". (AP)
- 26 February 2025 –
- Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, is sentenced to one year in prison and banned from participating in politics for six years for "separatist actions", such as advocating for secession. (The Guardian)
- 26 February 2025 – 2025 Anguillian general election
- The opposition Anguilla United Front (AUF) wins a majority in the House of Assembly. AUF leader Cora Richardson-Hodge becomes the first female Premier of Anguilla. (Jamaica Observer)
- 26 February 2025 – Freedom of the press in the United States, Gulf of Mexico–America naming dispute
- The Trump administration bans reporters from the Associated Press, Reuters, Der Tagesspiegel, and HuffPost from the White House over their refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America". (Reuters)
- 26 February 2025 – Constitutional crisis in Somalia
- Somalia's Federal Parliament fails to meet due to a lack of quorum, with only 137 MPs present, two short of the required amount. The delay raises concerns about a potential no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre's council of ministers. (Hiiraan Online)
- 25 February 2025 – Kivu conflict
- M23 campaign
- 2025 Uvira offensive
- The Congolese military launches an attack against M23-aligned rebels around the town of Minembwe in South Kivu in an effort to recapture it, and claims to have killed four rebel commanders in a drone strike. (Critical Threats Project)
- 25 February 2025 – Syrian civil war
- Israeli invasion of Syria
- The Israeli Air Force strikes targets throughout Southern Syria as Israel begins a military operation to "demilitarize" the southern Syrian governorates of Daraa, Suwayda and Quneitra. Syrian state media reports airstrikes near Damascus. At least two people are reportedly killed. (ABC News) (The Times of India)
- 25 February 2025 – 2020s European re-armament
- The United Kingdom announces an increase in military spending to 2.5% of its GDP by 2027, and 3% by 2034 at the latest. The move comes just before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington, D.C. (The New York Times)
- 25 February 2025 – Casamance conflict
- The Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance reach an agreement to end their 40-year conflict at talks mediated by Bissau-Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embalo. (The Defense Post)
- 25 February 2025 – Central African Republic Civil War
- Nine people are killed and hundreds of homes are burned down in 3R rebel attacks in Bamingui-Bangoran, Central African Republic. (AP)
- 25 February 2025 –
- American fabrics and handicraft supplies retail chain Jo-Ann Stores files its second bankruptcy claim and announces it will close all 800 stores in the 49 states, with liquidation sales beginning immediately. (NPR)
- Iraq agrees to reopen the oil pipeline between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey after a conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani, having been closed for two years due to a dispute between Iraq and Turkey. (Andalou Agency) (The Arab Weekly)
- 25 February 2025 – 2025 Chile blackout
- A nationwide power outage occurs in Chile, impacting most of the country's population and causing the temporary stoppage of several significant industries. (Reuters)
- 25 February 2025 – 2025 Queensland floods
- At least twelve people are killed by a melioidosis outbreak caused by standing waters from persistent flooding in Queensland, Australia. (7News)
- 25 February 2025 – 2025 Sudanese Air Force Antonov An-26 crash
- A Sudanese military plane crashes shortly after takeoff from Wadi Seidna Air Base on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, killing at least 46 people and injuring several others. (BBC News)
- 25 February 2025 –
- Four workers are killed and six others are injured when an elevated highway under construction collapses in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. (AP)
- A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits near the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, with no damage reported. (ABC News)
- 25 February 2025 – Rwanda–United Kingdom relations, Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict
- The UK government suspends financial aid and imposes economic sanctions on several high-ranking Rwandan officials over the country's military support for M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
- 25 February 2025 – Ukraine–United States relations
- Ukrainian Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna announces that Ukraine has reached a deal with the United States on mineral resources. (Kyiv Independent)
- 25 February 2025 – 2025 Thiruvananthapuram mass murder
- A man brutally beat ( five people, including his brother, girlfriend, to death with a hammer in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, South India. gulfnews Economic Times
- 25 February 2025 – Environmental issues in Brazil
- The Brazilian Public Prosecutor's Office files a lawsuit against mining corporation Vale S.A. and the state of Pará for mass metal poisoning that has affected the Xikrin indigenous people, whose Indigenous Territory is located in the state. (News-Press NOW)
- 25 February 2025 –
- The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office arrests three executives of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina on charges of corruption and fraud regarding gasoline quality that cost the government more than $11 billion USD. (The Straits Times) (The Jakarta Globe)
- 25 February 2025 – Second presidency of Donald Trump
- Executive orders in the second presidency of Donald Trump
- U.S. District Judge for the Western Washington District Court Jamal Whitehead temporarily blocks President Donald Trump's executive order to suspend the Refugee Admissions Program, ruling that President Trump cannot nullify the law passed by Congress, following a lawsuit against the Trump administration by the International Refugee Assistance Project. (AP)
- 24 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State
- Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
- Puntland counter-terrorism operations
- Puntland forces capture key locations, including Dararmadobe, Uraar and the Four Corners of Mountains in Gaatir Oodan, which have served as command and defense bases for the Islamic State militias. Troops uncover mass graves, including the bodies of senior Middle East ISIL members killed in UAE and US airstrikes. Vehicles and motorbikes rigged with explosives were found in the Cal Miskaad mountains of Puntland’s Bari Region. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)
- 24 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Ryazan Refinery in Ryazan, Russia, suspends operations after an overnight drone attack by Ukraine destroys the main crude distillation unit at the facility. Locals report hearing at least five explosions during the attack. (Reuters)
- 24 February 2025 – Syrian civil war
- Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
- Druze militia leaders announce the formation of the Suwayda Military Council as a coalition of southern Syrian forces for promoting regional secularism and democracy. The council accuses the Syrian transitional government of committing ethnic cleansing operations and extrajudicial killings, and vows to prevent Syrian Armed Forces from entering Druze settlements. (El Manshar) (El Manshar 2)
- 24 February 2025 – 2020s European re-armament
- German chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz declares the rapid re-militarization of Germany and Europe as a whole to be an immediate priority, in order to provide military support for Ukraine against Russia, as well as to pursue European military independence from the United States and possibly NATO. (BBC News)
- 24 February 2025 – Terrorism in France
- Three molotov cocktails are thrown at the Russian consulate in Marseille, France. No perpetrators are apprehended, but police suspect terrorism. (France24)
- 24 February 2025 –
- American coffeehouse chain Starbucks announces that it is cutting 1,100 jobs across its stores in the United States as part of cost reduction measures. The company also announces that its menu will be "simplified" and shrunk by 33%. (BBC News)
- 24 February 2025 – Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Over 50 people die after an unknown virus outbreak in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CTV News)
- 24 February 2025 – Measles resurgence in the United States
- The Department of State Health Services in Texas, United States, places several major cities in the state on high alert due to a measles outbreak that spreads to 99 people in Texas and New Mexico, the third-largest outbreak since it was considered eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. (Texas Public Radio) (The Independent)
- 24 February 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United Nations General Assembly votes 93–18, with 65 abstentions, to pass a resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine. The 18 countries that voted against include the United States, Russia, Israel, Belarus, and North Korea. (CNN) (NPR)
- 24 February 2025 –
- The Australian eSafety Commission fines instant messaging service Telegram A$1 million (US$640,000) for delaying its response to inquiries on preventing child exploitation and extremist content. (Reuters)
- NASA formally announces that asteroid 2024 YR4 now poses "no significant threat" to Earth in 2032 and beyond as the chances of an impact drop to 1-in-59,000 (0.0017%). This means a planetary defense mission to intercept and deflect the object in 2028 during a close flyby of Earth is no longer necessary. (NASA) (Ars Technica)
- 23 February 2025 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli occupation of the West Bank
- 2025 Israeli operation in the West Bank
- The Israel Defense Forces deploy tanks into the West Bank for the first time since 2002, declaring that the 40,000 Palestinians who fled refugee camps in the region cannot return. (AP) (PBS)
- 23 February 2025 – War against the Islamic State
- Islamic State insurgency in Puntland
- Puntland counter-terrorism operations
- At least three IS–Somalia fighters are killed in a joint Puntland armed forces–U.S. Africa Command airstrike targeting IS militants hiding in the Cal Miskaad mountains of the Bari Region of Puntland, Somalia. (Horseed Media) (Hiiraan Online)
- 23 February 2025 – Australian frontier wars
- The University of Newcastle publishes the final findings of its eight-year long attempt to record and map all major massacres of Indigenous Australians during the colonisation of Australia, finding that at least 10,000 were killed. (The Guardian)
- 23 February 2025 – Israeli invasion of Lebanon
- Israel launches airstrikes in the Baalbek area in northeastern Lebanon and other areas in the south of the country. (Times of Israel)
- 23 February 2025 – Sudanese civil war
- The Sudanese Army recaptures El Geteina, White Nile State, Sudan, after heavy fighting with the Rapid Support Forces. (Sudan Tribune)
- 23 February 2025 –
- Two toddlers are killed when a buried land mine from a rocket-propelled grenade that was left from the Cambodian Civil War explodes in Svay Leu District, Siem Reap province, Cambodia. (Shanghai Daily)
- 23 February 2025 – 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards
- At the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Timothée Chalamet wins Outstanding Leading Male Performance for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, while Demi Moore wins Outstanding Leading Female Performance for her role in The Substance. Political thriller film Conclave wins Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Motion Picture. (NPR)
- 23 February 2025 – Humanitarian impact of the Sudanese civil war
- Sudanese officials report that 58 people have been killed and 1,293 people have been affected by a cholera outbreak in Kosti, White Nile State. (AP)
- 23 February 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine–NATO relations
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he is "ready" to resign from the presidency in exchange for NATO accession as part of a potential peace agreement. (CNN) (AP)
- 23 February 2025 –
- American Airlines Flight 292, flying from New York, United States, to New Delhi, India, is forced to divert to Rome Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, due to an unspecified security concern later deemed to be non-credible. The flight was over the Caspian Sea near Turkmenistan when it diverted back towards Europe. (AP)
- 23 February 2025 – 2025 German federal election
- Germans vote to elect the Bundestag. The opposition CDU/CSU wins a plurality, with 28.5% of the vote and 208 seats. The governing Social Democratic Party finishes in third place with 16.4% and 120 seats, while the far-right Alternative for Germany finishes in second place with 20.8% and 152 seats. (CNN) (DW)
- 23 February 2025 – Funeral of Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine
- The joint funeral for Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine is held at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)
- 23 February 2025 – Protests against the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Protests are held across Europe and Canada to mark the 3rd year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Kyiv Independent)
- 23 February 2025 –
- The Vatican announces that Pope Francis remains in critical condition, with a new diagnosis of mild kidney failure, along with pre-existing conditions pneumonia and other unidentified respiratory diseases. (AP)
- In cricket under the ODI format, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli becomes the first player to reach the 51 centuries and the fastest player to reach 14,000 runs. (Times of India) (AP)
- 22 February 2025 – Gaza war
- 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis
- Hamas releases six living hostages, including pre-war hostages Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both captive for more than nine years. (Times of Israel)
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the delay of the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners indefinitely, citing the "humiliating" procedure of the hostages' release. (AP) (NBC News)
- 22 February 2025 – Islamic terrorism in Europe
- 2025 Mulhouse stabbing attack
- A 69-year-old Portuguese Lino Sousa Loureiro is killed and seven other people are injured in a mass stabbing attack by a 37-year-old Algerian man at a market in Mulhouse, France. The stabbing is being treated as a suspected Islamic terrorist attack. (AP) (CNN)
- 22 February 2025 – Kivu conflict
- 2025 Bukavu offensive
- Hundreds of Congolese police officers join the M23 movement in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the rebel group consolidates its control of the city. Around 1,800 police officers have surrendered their weapons to the new authorities, according to the Congo River Alliance. (Reuters)
- 22 February 2025 – Yemeni civil war
- Operation Prosperity Guardian
- Houthi forces launch surface-to-air missiles at a U.S. fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea for the first time with both missiles missing their target. (Reuters)
- 22 February 2025 – Mali War
- The Tuareg independence movement accuses Malian soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries of killing 24 civilians, which constitutes a war crime. (Al Jazeera)
- 22 February 2025 – 75th Berlin International Film Festival
- Norwegian drama film Dreams (Sex Love) wins the Golden Bear award at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival, while Tilda Swinton is awarded the Honorary Golden Bear for her range and legacy. (DW) (Berlinale)
- 22 February 2025 – Real Plaza Trujillo roof collapse
- The death toll following the structural collapse of a metal roof of the Real Plaza Trujillo in Trujillo, Peru, rises to eight. The La Libertad government announces a period of mourning from February 22–23. (La Republica)
- 22 February 2025 –
- A bus carrying passengers to a wedding ceremony overturns in Ranhghati, Rajasthan, India, killing two people and injuring 30 others. (The Times of India)
- A bus crashed into a petrol tanker in Niger State, killing 14 and injuring six.[1]
- An SUV crashed into a truck near Dhanbad while traveling to the 2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela, killing six and injuring two.[2]
- 22 February 2025 – China–Cook Islands relations
- The Cook Islands signs a five-year memorandum of understanding to collaborate with China in seabed mining, which includes technology transfer, logistics support, and deep-sea ecosystem research. (DW) (The Guardian)
- 22 February 2025 – UPMC Memorial Hospital shooting
- Two people, including a police officer, are killed and seven other people are injured in a mass shooting at the UPMC Memorial Hospital in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, United States. (York Daily Record) (Fox News)
- 22 February 2025 –
- One person is killed and another is injured in a shooting at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The FBI is investigating the shooting but it is believed the incident was not an act of terrorism. (ABC News)
- Mohamed Amra, a French criminal and suspected drug lord known as "The Fly", is recaptured in Romania, nine months after escaping during an ambush that killed two French prison officers. (Sky News)
- The Vatican City issues a statement informing of the worsening health of Pope Francis after more than a week in hospital due to respiratory problems. Vatican officials say Pope Francis is now in critical condition and that the prognosis "remains guarded". (Reuters)
- 21 February 2025 – Gaza war
- 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Gaza war hostage crisis
- Israel says that forensic testing revealed one of the bodies returned by Hamas yesterday does not match with Shiri Bibas nor with any other hostages. Her sons Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, were all positively identified. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire and demands the return of her body along with the other remaining hostages. (BBC News)
- Hamas claims that Shiri's body was "mistakenly mixed" with others who were killed and buried under the rubble in Gaza, and returns an additional body the group says is hers. The identity is soon afterwards positively confirmed by Israel. (Al Arabiya) (BBC News)
Me (incomplete), described in userboxes...
|
History and contributions...
Awards and praise I've received over the years...
Tip of the day April 21, 2006: Thanks for helping a newbie!
I just want to thank you for building on my tip and making it a true wikipedia tip of the day. I'm still learning a lot about how to do things around here, so your help was greatly appreciated! Keep up the great work, and keep on Going for it!
Smashing!
Barnstar
Barnstar
Award
|
|
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar | |
| Your kindess was not random, because you were kind enough to listen to my requests to fix my userpage. Your major kindness will not be ignored, as this BarnStar is my token of appreciation! Kyo catmeow! 01:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC) |
!!!
<O.o --The Prophet Wizard of the Crayon Cake 01:45, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
- You're welcome. The Transhumanist 01:55, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
Barnstar
|
The da Vinci Barnstar | |
| Awarded to User:The Transhumanist. Sometimes those who take on large areas of wikipedia organisation seem to be taken for granted, and this is just to show that your work is appreciated by the community. Khukri (talk . contribs) 09:56, 12 December 2006 (UTC) |
!
Cool signature Kamope · talk · contributions 12:58, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks. The Transhumanist 05:52, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for the hints in your userpage tutorial. 
. I am a new user and familiar with HTML markup, but not so with Wikimark up. Your userpage tutorial really helped! Real96 06:14, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
- You're welcome. I'm glad you found it useful. If you see any way to improve it, by all means, please feel free to do so. The Transhumanist 06:36, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
How can I sum the above up....? Oh yes:
|
|
The Original Barnstar | |
| For your revamp of The Welcoming Committee, and of the Welcome Page, I award you the original barnstar. Well done! Anthonycfc [T • C] 18:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC) |
WOW!!
as a near- noob, this is by far the most detailed and useful article on wikipedia for me! Excellent! I really wish I had a user page like this after two years...Snailey! 15:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
Barnstar
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar | |
| For all your work with admin coaching, barnstar awarding, Wikipedia-expanding, and various administrative duties (if you can call all that political stuff we Wikipedians must wade through such a name), I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Tireless Contributor Barnstar. Good job. S h a r k f a c e 2 1 7 19:36, 5 May 2007 (UTC) |
Just a few words...
TT, my friend, my mop would never have been gained without your incredible expertise. My kindest regards to you, and drop by as often as possible! Now, a little token of my appreciation...
My kindest possible regards,
Anthony 21:38, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
Barnstar
|
What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar | |
| I award you this Brilliant Idea Barnstar for helping others to earn Barnstars and awards through your Award Center! • The Giant Puffin • 13:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC) |
Award
Hello The Transhumanist, (Hold on, can I say that or is it "Hello Transhumanist")
I was going to give you an award but there wasn't one good enough, so I made one better than any that has ever been seen before - This message. Yes, yes, I know, you don't think your worthy of it, but I assure you, you are the only one good enough for it - Pheonix 19:34, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
A Help:Contents Barnstar
|
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar | |
| As the top contributor to Help:Contents, you deserve this barnstar. Thank you! Jreferee (Talk) 05:59, 23 August 2007 (UTC) |
Barnstar
|
|
The Original Barnstar | |
| For taking up the challenge and improving my command page, I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Original Barnstar. Another feather in the Transhumanist cap, eh? :-P |
:D
Hi there Trans Face!
X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) 01:36, 20 December 2007 (UTC)
You won an award!
|
|
X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) awards you the unofficial funniness award!
|
You deserve a barnstar for your efforts. I can't think of anyone who has contributed more to Wikipedia, except maybe Jimbo. I'm not sure where to put this on your frontpage, so here it is:
|
|
What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar | |
| For boldly redirecting Debt-based monetary system to Criticisms of fractional-reserve banking, both saving it from deletion while defending Wikipedia from those who would violate WP:FRINGE, and being one of the most helpful editors on Wikipedia, in general. Zenwhat (talk) 03:41, 7 January 2008 (UTC) |
Barnstar
|
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar | |
| I, Diligent Terrier, award you this "Tireless Contributor Barnstar" for your work in starting the List of basic American Civil War topics article from scratch. Great Job! DiligentTerrier • talk |sign here 22:17, 12 January 2008 (UTC) |
My Userpage
Hi There First id like to thank you immensly for your pages about creating a decent userpage!! They are great and I would be lost without them!! Just one question, On my userpage i have a small welcome banner up the top. How do I make this text larger and change the font? Sorry if you have already covered this somewhere. Thanks in advanceCstubbies (talk) 12:40, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
A valuable service
I think you need recognition for doing the job of ten other editors, and doing it out of altruism and genuine belief in Wikipedia. Not many editors here have the same good attitude and provide the same service as you - I don't have any specific point to put across, but I thought you should just be prodded and reminded that you do a lot of good around here, in the hope you'll keep it up. Kudos! Seegoon (talk) 17:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)
:)
|
The Excellent Userpage Award | |
| Nice page. jaytur1 (talk · contribs) 12:13, 10 February 2008 (UTC) |
Welcoming committee
Just a note, I've made a minor update to your contributions. To reiterate my edit summary, you put in a tonne of effort there, and you deserve to be credited for it :) Feel free to revert, nonetheless. Regards, AGK (contact) 16:44, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
Hi there TTH, Just wanted to thank you for your labors on this page, which is a great resource for us. Bill Wwheaton (talk) 17:48, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
You'd better hope there is a humour barnstar
... because you just gave me the biggest laugh in weeks. Good stuff giving that RfA spammer what-for here. αѕєηιηє t/c 22:03, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
Nice work -- I will withdraw the AfD nom. – ukexpat (talk) 00:55, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
|
The Barnstar of Recovery | |
| For saving List of basic Canada topics from being deleted, I - Milk's Favorite Cookie hereby award you this Barnstar! Congrats! - Milk's Favorite Cookie 01:16, 15 March 2008 (UTC) |
Fictional lists
The deletion review was approved for recreation: Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2008 March 10. Just letting you know, in case you weren't watchlisting it. I'm not sure what you have to do next to get the old version undeleted though (if that's what you wanted :) Nice catch on rescuing that grouping. -- Quiddity (talk) 00:21, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
'Tis for you
|
|
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar | |
| I've noticed the extra mile you've gone to help a new user, and I wanted you to know it hasn't gone unnoticed. Keep up the good work! Keeper | 76 | Disclaimer 16:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC) |
Barnstar
|
|
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar | |
| I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for being patient and taking four rounds of references from me, until they were all valid. LAAFan 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC) |
|
|
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar | |
| I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for putting funny stuff on his discussion page which led me to copy them and put some of those funny stuff on my website. Thanks. Emir34 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC) |
Hi Transhumanist, I wanted to note that I saw all of your work on the List of Basic France topics, and I appreciate it! Lazulilasher (talk) 02:12, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
From Zach...
|
|
The da Vinci Barnstar | |
| For helping me so many times. and for my wonderful userpage. Cheers, Zacharycrimsonwolf 04:08, 30 September 2008 (UTC) |
Guidance Star
|
The Guidance Barnstar | |
| For helping me to find resources on humanism, which I will hopefully be able to use to improve the articles on it here as well! Scapler (talk) 02:39, 11 November 2008 (UTC) |
Happy Transhumanist's Day!
|
The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, |
→ Dylan620 (Toolbox Alpha, Beta) 00:26, 1 June 2009 (UTC)
Happy The Transhumanist's Day!
|
|
The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, Cheers, If you'd like to show off your awesomeness, you can use this userbox. |
- Congrats. :) –Juliancolton | Talk 23:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)
I think...
...you need a barnstar for all of the hard work you have put into the WP:WPOOK!
|
The Barnstar Barnstar | |
| You deserve two! at-210 discovered elements ∞ what am I? 20:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC) |
Barnstar
Transhumanist my friend,
It's about time you deserve a barnstar for all your contributions to outlines on Wikipedia, and also for being the promoter that you are for outlines. If it wasn't for you we might not have outlines as they are, so it is my honor to present to you the Special Barnstar because no other barnstar could merit what you do for outlines on Wikipedia. :-) Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
|
The Special Barnstar | |
| This barnstar is presented to Transhumanist for all the hard work, contributions, coordination, and promotion he does in advancing the idea, coverage, content, and quality of Outlines on Wikipedia. For this he deserves a Special Barnstar Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC) |
Well done
|
|
The Special Barnstar | |
| This award is in appreciation of the excellent work you have done supporting the development of Outlines on Wikipedia Thruxton (talk) 18:59, 5 December 2010 (UTC) |
Made me laugh
You once said in a AFD: "If you are building a robot, you can start with just the left pinky." I love that. Happy New Year! Jerry delusional ¤ kangaroo 20:34, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
another thanks
I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of a formatted signature. For some reason I couldn't find any reference to how it is done in the years I have been here. Cheers. ◦◦derekbd◦◦my talk◦◦ 12:16, 4 June 2011 (UTC)
Impressed
I just wanted to tell you (probably not the 1st ^^ ) that your are an incredible wikipedia member, your userpage is simply amazing and your contribution is...gigantic? huge? Incredible? not for the number edits (still high) but rather over the appropriateness of the things that you have created, especially the outline project. I wont give you another award, you already have billions, but simply a modest "Bravo!". --
Offiikart (Talk) 05:23, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
Thanks
Hi, thanks a lot for the barnstar, you are truly a user with whom it is pleasant to interact. I greatly appreciate your help, your tips and you recognition on the work done, even if only very minimal compared to the work you have done.
I think you, more than everyone else, deserve a special recognition. Here is the first Barnstar I ever awarded :
|
The WikiProject Barnstar | |
| To The Transhumanist who created the outline project and tirelessly continues to improve it. A special thanks for your help and your recognition. OffiikartTalk 13:54, 29 June 2011 (UTC) |
ps. I did put the page alert on my watchlist 
A barnstar for you!
|
The Original Barnstar |
| Your fine contributions are not overlooked. You are a quality editor, and we are so glad you are here. Thanks to the user:Transhumanist! Pinkstrawberry02™ talk 01:49, 13 October 2011 (UTC) |
Note to user getting this message: Please respond on Pinkstrawberry02's talk page. If for some reason you cannot, please send them a {{talkback}} and reply on your own talk page. Thanks for your understanding in this manner. See ya around the wiki!
barnstar
|
The Chess Barnstar | |
| Awarded for many contributions to chess articles, especially the Outline of chess. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 16:34, 18 October 2011 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
|
The Original Barnstar |
| Thanks so much for your work on the Outline of domestic violence, it is so much better that it's astounding how far it's come along. Thanks for making my first outline "sing"! CaroleHenson (talk) 11:11, 21 November 2011 (UTC) |
- You're first one? Wonderful! I can't wait to see what you come up with next. And I also look forward to seeing what you have in store for this outline. Thank you for the barnstar. It's very nice to feel appreciated. The Transhumanist 22:10, 21 November 2011 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
|
|
The Original Barnstar |
| Wow! Thanks for your help on the Future studies project. I can't believe all the pages you've contributed to, but glad you found ours!... RealFuturist (talk) 17:09, 3 February 2012 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Copyeditor's Barnstar |
| Thanks for the ndashes on the Apple outline article. Zach Vega (talk) 00:58, 13 April 2012 (UTC) |
A cookie for you!
|
Many years ago, back before I had created my current account, I created a humble little userspace navigation menu based off of two of your menus from the User Page Design Center (initially 15, but ultimately 6). Over the years it has grown, but I don't know if I ever would have started it without seeing your menus first. I just want to thank you for putting the effort into creating those menus and then sharing them at the Design Center where they have been helpful for people like me. I hope you don't mind me borrowing from your hard work! Thanks again and take care! Michael Barera (talk) 03:30, 13 January 2013 (UTC) |
Thank you
|
The Instructor's Barnstar | |
| This Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have performed stellar work in the area of instruction & help for other editors. Just wanted to stop by and say this edit was something I wanted to do but simply did not have the "kahunas" to do so. Thank you for the bold edit :-) Moxy (talk) 07:25, 13 February 2013 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Barnstar of Diligence |
| For your efforts on updating, improving and organising Outline of human anatomy LT910001 (talk) 06:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar |
| For your work on "Outline of space science" Tetra quark (don't be shy) 05:55, 18 January 2015 (UTC) |
Thank you. The Transhumanist 07:45, 18 January 2015 (UTC)
A cup of coffee for you!
|
A cup of coffee for you! masum (talk) 06:10, 5 October 2015 (UTC) |
Thank you. The Transhumanist 06:56, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
At Tip-Of-The-Day: Thank you for your updates & guidance!
Want to let you know the value of your insights & feedback!
Regards, JoeHebda (talk) 21:53, 19 October 2015 (UTC)
- Thank you. Keep up the good work. The Transhumanist 16:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
Pony!
Pony!
Congratulations! For all your hard work on redirect repair at Glossary of North American horse racing and general wikignoming along the way of articles such as Easy Goer, you have received a pony! Ponies are cute, intelligent, cuddly, friendly (most of the time, though with notable exceptions), promote good will, encourage patience, and enjoy carrots. Treat your pony with respect and he will be your faithful friend! We need more wikipedia editors like you! Montanabw(talk) 02:22, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
To send a pony or a treat to other wonderful and responsible editors, click here.
Thank you for being one of Wikipedia's top medical contributors!
- please help translate this message into the local language
|
The Cure Award |
| In 2015 you were one of the top 300 medical editors across any language of Wikipedia. Thank you from Wiki Project Med Foundation for helping bring free, complete, accurate, up-to-date health information to the public. We really appreciate you and the vital work you do! Wiki Project Med Foundation is a user group whose mission is to improve our health content. Consider joining here, there are no associated costs, and we would love to collaborate further. |
Thanks again :) -- Doc James along with the rest of the team at Wiki Project Med Foundation 03:59, 29 February 2016 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
|
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar |
| Great work with the Outlines :) Pratyush (talk) 21:07, 26 September 2016 (UTC) |
Thank you. The Transhumanist 15:31, 28 September 2016 (UTC)
Love the outlines
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I think your planet outlines are really cool. I have long thought it was a shame that only Wikipedians seem to know about Books or Portals, because they are really great tools for structuring knowledge (while everyone loves diving down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, we could really do with some better content organization). The outlines strike me as a great way to bring that sort content organization to mainspace, where it will actually reach a large number of readers. I notice that I am the first one to edit them besides yourself, and I hope you know that I do so with love.
|
|
What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar | |
| Great idea with the outline articles - a great solution to a need for better mainspace-based content structuring! I see from WP:Outlines that you actually came up with this concept some years ago, but this is the first I've noticed it. A2soup (talk) 02:46, 8 February 2017 (UTC) |
A Barnstar for you!
|
The Portal Barnstar | |
| The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Awarded to Transhumanist for his overly enthusiastic efforts regarding the portal system and WikiProject Portals. – Lionel(talk) 11:02, 30 April 2018 (UTC) |
- Transhumanist, thank you for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of portals. It reminds me of the time when a series of attacks on scientific bibliographies led to the formation of WikiProject Bibliographies. I don't understand why your detractors are so passionate about deleting portals, but your actions have been a model for how to deal with an attack constructively. RockMagnetist(talk) 16:10, 5 May 2018 (UTC)
A Barnstar for you!
|
The Article Rescue Barnstar | |
| May all who see this barnstar know that The Transhumanist made a valiant and commendable effort for defending the portal namespace from deletion. It preserved countless hours of work initially invested into creating the content. Moreoever, The Transhumanist, is doing a yeoman's job in attempting to improve the content within with portal namespace. RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 00:24, 26 May 2018 (UTC) |
@RightCowLeftCoast: Thank you. I feel honored. Please keep in mind that I have not been working alone. Credit goes to the nearly 400 editors who came forward to speak up for the keeping of portals. And although the RfC to delete all portals is over, the job of defending portals from deletion is not. For the portal namespace to be retained in the long term, the portals in it will need to be improved to a worthy quality level, otherwise we may see more deletion attempts. This task is far more than a single editor can handle. Fortunately, many editors have come forward to meet the challenge. Working to develop portals and the entire portal system, is a team of 80 editors who are diligently redesigning, upgrading, updating, and maintaining portals. They are the members of the Portals WikiProject, and without them there might be no portals. They are doing a wonderful job, and I am very proud of them. Thank you. — The Transhumanist 17:22, 26 May 2018 (UTC)
Precious
thinking-related topics
Thank you for organising a list of thinking-related topics, for Shift work sleep disorder and the index of oral health and dental articles, for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, and beginnings such as Portal:Thinking/Selected picture, - you are an awesome Wikipedian!
Precious
portals
Thank you for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, for the concept of outlines, for sectional redirects, for articles such as Life Extension Foundation, for service from 2006, including portal philosophy and user page design center, - repeating (1 & 4 June 2009): you are an awesome Wikipedian!
Thank you. I looked, but couldn't figure out what 1 & 4 June 2009 were referring to. Just curious. — The Transhumanist 19:26, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
- Follow the link "awesome W." and look for your name: 2 others said it before me! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:48, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
Executive director of portals
|
|
The Portal Barnstar | |
| Not sure if a simple barnstar can express the communities gratitude to the portal work that you're doing. Your an indispensable member of our community. Moxy (talk) 18:08, 7 June 2018 (UTC) |
Moxy, thank you. I'm honored, and I receive this praise for the team, without whom there would be very little progress on portals. They are literally transforming them into something new. I'm glad to be a part of that. — The Transhumanist 18:20, 7 June 2018 (UTC)
A Barnstar for you
|
|
The Portal Barnstar | |
| The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Thanks for the great work you have been doing in the WikiProject. Dreamy Jazz talk | contribs 22:15, 4 July 2018 (UTC) |
You are welcome, formerly Wpgbrown. Nice new name. ;) — The Transhumanist 10:26, 6 July 2018 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
|
The Technical Barnstar |
Good to see others of the view we have as to the need to know more. Im a research person here just of this week and your views relate to my work here. take care.
Tleesd (talk) 17:56, 5 September 2018 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thank's for updating the Portal:Seventh-day Adventist Church. You deserve this star for your good work. Catfurball (talk) 15:28, 12 October 2018 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
|
The Tireless Contributor Barnstar |
| For your excellent work on Portals. Everyday the portal project improves. Your dedication and willingness to get people involved really pays off. Cannot wait to continue working with you and the Portal team. Thank you for your work. AmericanAir88(talk) 00:30, 30 October 2018 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar | |
| Thank you for helping me in my first attempt in creating a portal page ‑‑V.S.(C)(T) 10:51, 23 December 2018 (UTC) |
Some barnstars for you!
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for creating Portal:Hummingbirds when I asked for it. Keep doing a good job! Catfurball (talk) 00:01, 4 January 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for making Portal:Capsicum. Catfurball (talk) 19:38, 5 February 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for making Portal:Peaches. Catfurball (talk) 21:11, 5 February 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for creating Portal:Woodpeckers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:15, 14 February 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for creating Portal:Tyrant flycatchers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:16, 14 February 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for creating Portal:Plums, you do a great job creating portals. Catfurball (talk) 18:45, 21 February 2019 (UTC) |
|
|
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar |
| Thanks for creating Portal:Cotingas for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:07, 22 February 2019 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
|
The Portal Barnstar | |
| For your tireless dedication to creating, maintaining, and improving portals, as well as your active involvement in making improvements to the system of portals itself. I'm sorry to hear that you're temporarily unable to create them, but your work is greatly appreciated 🙂 Brendon the Wizard ✉️ ✨ 14:17, 23 March 2019 (UTC) |
A Barnstar for you
|
|
The Original Barnstar | |
| message Ambuj Shukla 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC) |
You have made immense contributions to outlines over the years, and have encouraged many more Wikipedians to follow your lead. The impact of your contributions are great. Keep doing the good work! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ambujshukla2004 (talk • contribs) 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)
- Thank you. — The Transhumanist 00:06, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
|
The Outline Barnstar | |
| Hello The Transhumanist, you are receiving this award for the creation and continued dedication to WikiProject Outlines. You deserve this barnstar more than anyone. Jerium (talk) 19:18, 12 November 2023 (UTC) |
A barnstar for you!
|
The Barnstar of Good Humor |
| I appreciate you reviving the User page design center! I used this when I was new. Also, everyone has a phases where they religiously obsess over their user page (especially userboxes), and this tool is a good way to show them how to have fun with it. Panini! • 🥪 23:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC) |
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus