▰ Open Book: Nothing: John Cage and 4’33” is the title of a forthcoming children’s book about John Cage, written by Nicholas Day and illustrated by Chris Raschka. It comes out on April 2, 2024, from Neal Porter Books. Says Day in an interview with Publishers Weekly: “I think Cage is kind of the most open — especially late Cage — and, to use the word joyful, open-spirited of a composer. And that’s part of why 4’33” works so well as a question for children to start with, right? Because it’s this thing that can feel alienating to people who have had more contact with the world, but if your experience with the world is still fresh, the questions that 4’33” asks seem intuitive and perfectly natural.” (Thanks, Mike Rhode!)
▰ Palm Pilots: “When a distraction force (such as pulling on a finger) is applied, the ambient pressure in the surrounding tissues, which is equal to the air pressure surrounding the body, keeps the joint surfaces together until the force is big enough to overcome this. A vacuum is then suddenly formed in the joint space when the bones pull apart as far as the ligaments and capsule allow.” The New Scientist explains why popped knuckles can be so loud.
▰ Dark Side of the Moon: Gizmodo.com: “International space agencies and private companies alike are racing to the lunar surface, hoping to establish a permanent presence on Earth’s natural satellite that would propel them to farther celestial pitstops. All that increased activity on the Moon may affect the unique radio silence on the lunar far side, an ideal location for radio telescopes to pick up faint signals from the cosmic past.”
▰ AI EQ: Founded in 2021, the Hume AI company (hume.ai) has raised $50M for its conversation AI, which involves “emotional intelligence,” such as recognizing “when users are finished speaking” and generating “vocal responses optimized for user satisfaction.”
▰ Sonic Recall: Tristan Louth-Robins has a lovely six-panel comic on his blog about sonic recall and the evolution of his listening.