arguments

There are more and more people convinced that we are wrong about Pompeii. And they have more and more compelling arguments

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“It was daytime anywhere in the world, but there the darkness was darker and thicker than any other night.” Those words of Pliny the Youngerremain almost 2,000 years later the best description of the hell on Earth that was, according to traditional historiography, the days of August 24 and 25 on the slopes of Vesuvius. Preserved under thick layers of volcanic ash and pumice, Pompeii has given us many surprises since 1748 when Charles III ordered the systematic exporation of the city. But what no one could have expected is that on August 24, 79, the Pompeians would dress in wool. With wool? These are the conclusions of the latest work by the tropos group of the University of Valencia: after analyzing 14 tracings of different victims of Pompeii, the researchers they came to the conclusion that the majority of the victims were wearing two layers (tunic and cape) and that both were made of wool. Furthermore, it was a very heavy wool. That is, with a very dense plot. The cold of Pompeii… in August? As I’m sure you have noticed, at the beginning of the article, just when I was about to say the date of the eruption, I added “according to traditional historiography.” And it is not a rhetorical device. Traditionally, following the letters that Pliny the Younger sent to Tacitus explaining the death of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, it has been assumed that the eruption took place on August 24. However, in recent years evidence of a possible autumn eruption has been accumulating. The last one was a charcoal inscription with the date October 17. In that sense, the discovery that the Pompeians were dressed in wool could be understood as an argument in favor of the autumn eruption. Although it doesn’t have to. And yes, it is true that it sounds strange to be dressed in two layers of wool in a normal August in the Gulf of Naples. However, the authors do not agree. In Live Science, without going any further, several experts explained that “they wore wool because it was what was worn.” It is a common, resistant and, above all, fashionable textile. In fact, the same UV hastened to add that it is well possible that wool was used as “protection” against a “harmful environment” (ash, gas, heat) and not only against the cold. So we don’t know when Vesuvius erupted, right? The truth is that no and that, if you allow me, is very interesting. Pompeii is, without a doubt, the most studied Roman site in the world and, despite everything, there are many things that escape us. That fascinating combination between knowing or not knowing is exactly what attracts us most to the tragic city that in two nights in the year 79 ceased to be so. Image | University of Valencia In Xataka | 2,000 years later, Pompeii continues to reveal fascinating things: the latest is a blue room for unknown uses

A hero without a cape recorded the same shot for a year. Along the way he left the flat earthers without arguments

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Intrigued by the phenomenon, Eratosthenes decided make an observation in Alexandria, located about 800 kilometers north of Siena. There, on the same day and at the same time, he noticed that a vertical stick did cast a definite shadow. The discrepancy led him to a fundamental question: how was it possible that in one place there was no shadow and in another there was, at the same time? Eratosthenes deduced that the only explanation was that the earth’s surface was curved. A lot of time has passed since then, but the flat earthers are still among us. The home experiment. For centuries, the idea of ​​a flat Earth has outlived telescopes, satellites and lunar missions. Despite the overwhelming evidence, from the images taken from space and the established physical principles from Aristotleflat earthers have continued searching for the edge of the planet, organizing expeditions to Antarctica or navigations to the supposed “end of the world” that invariably end with the same discovery: that the edge does not exist. Be that as it may, an anonymous Reddit user has dismantled once again his entire creed without leaving home. Armed only with a security camera, the shadow of his garage and the patience of an entire year, he managed to record a test as simple as it was incontestable: the movement of the Sun drawing a figure of eight perfect on the ground. The footprint of the Sun. Between March 2024 and March 2025, this user (under the alias RedditorofReddit07) marked daily, at the same time, the position of the end of a shadow cast by a corner of his garage. After twelve months, the yellow dots traced on the cement an asymmetric curve in the form of infinity: an analemma. This phenomenon, documented by astronomers for centuriesis the direct result of the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth’s axis and the planet’s elliptical orbit around the sun. In the summer months, the star reaches the highest point of the analemma; in winter, the lowest; and during the intermediate seasons the rest of the figure is drawn. Each latitude generates a slightly different shape, but they all share the same essence: an Earth that moves, rotates and tilts, not a motionless disk under a celestial lantern. The physics of time. The analemma not only reveals the movement of the planet, but also the difference between solar time and time measured by clocks. In theory, noon always occurs at 12 o’clock, but the Sun does not reach its highest point at exactly the same time every day. This variation, a consequence of the inclined axis and the unequal speed with which the Earth travels its orbit, is the reason why the analemma adopts a figure-eight shape. Science sums it up in a formula called the “Equation of Time,” an adjustment that explains why solar days vary in length and why the apparent position of the Sun advances or lags throughout the year. This mismatch is as predictable as it is beautiful, and can only be explained by a spherical planet that orbit a starnot by a flat disk with a wandering Sun that rises and falls without altering its size. The impossible refutation. In the flat earth modelsthe Sun moves on a plane, like a lamp on a table, projecting its light in circles on the surface. If that were true, the end of a shadow always observed at the same time should remain fixed throughout the year. However, the garage experiment shows exactly the opposite: a harmonic displacement that only fits the heliocentric model. Reproducing this effect in a flat world would require, in addition to an act of faith without a network, that the Sun change its trajectory, height and speed in an absurd way, violating the very laws of optics and gravity that its alternative model allows. The flat earthers themselves, faced with such evidence, barely manage to develop new explanations that are more imaginative than scientific. The method. He merit of the experiment It lies not in its complexity, but rather in its humility. Without telescopes or laboratories, a simple fixed camera and a daily routine were enough to record the annual dance of the Earth in front of the Sun. Each shadow point marked on the cement is a slap to the conspiratorial noise that floods the internet. In times when science is forced to defend the obvious, an ordinary garage has become an observatory and an anonymous user a popularizer. He already said it Carl Sagan himselfalthough he only needed a stick to dismantle conspiracies. Image | reddit, jailbird In Xataka | 48 people went to Antarctica to prove that the Earth is flat. They confirmed what can be done with a simple stick In Xataka | Astronomers cannot define this object. They only know that it is heading at two million km/h to the center of the Milky Way

Google’s compact has very good arguments, although not everything shines the same

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What if they told you that the cheapest mobile of Google of current generation has the same chip as its high range and that you will receive updates until 2032? On paper sounds very good, but another thing is to live with him for weeks. In a new one 24/7 of the Xataka YouTube channelwe have tested the Pixel 9a To verify how it yields, how it behaves in the day to day and if your camera remains the greatest claim. The first week makes it clear where the shots go. “The experience is being one of the most comfortable I’ve had with a phone in a long time,” says our partner. It is a manageable mobile, light and thought to be used with one hand. The 6.3 -inch OLED screen has 120 Hz and good brightness to exterior soda rate. But there is a design decision that attracts attention: “It seemed that we had overcome the great frames with Pixel 9, but they have returned in this middle range.” The 9A pixel repeats processor: mounts the same G4 tensioner than the most expensive models. So why sometimes seem to go slower? “I’ve found some Punctual thyrox or a certain slowness when unlocking the phone or opening some application. ”The device, in addition, arrives with 8 GB of RAM compared to the 12 GB of higher models. Is this combination a problem? Video tests can help us draw a conclusion. Where there are no surprises is in the operating system, which is Android 15. “It is the software that is closest to Android Stock that we can experience, ”he points out. Without aggressive layers or Bloatware, and with a promise that highlights:“ We have 7 years of updates, which would support us until 2032. ”Our partner reflects on whether the mobile will endure so much time. And then there is AI. Circle to Search, Gemini, Gemini Live… Functions that are already integrated into the system. But in practice, they have not had much prominence. “I have not had the need to use any of the Artificial Intelligence Tools”Will it be a matter of habit? Or real utility? In any case, will we know more in the video. In photography, Pixel 9a bets on balance. “He doesn’t want to be the best, but he wants to give us very good results,” he explains. The main sensor offers natural images, with a balanced dynamic range and pleasant blur even without using the portrait mode. That is how some loose points that can be decisive for some users also appear on the scene when choosing this phone or not. The battery improves previous generations. Now we have 5,100 mAh and that shows. “Most cycles will have achieved about 7 hours of active screen.” In practice, it is a mobile that It arrives at the end of the day with marginalthough without overcoming the best rivals in autonomy. Nor does it do so in fast charge: 23 W and something more than an hour to load it completely. Where then does this pixel 9a fit? Is it a recommended mobile? Everything will depend on the user’s needs, but to discover it you can help you in this video that Emos preparing in Xataka and which is already available on our YouTube channel. We invite you to take a look and leave your opinions in the comments. Images | Xataka In Xataka | I had no idea why my phone burned so much in summer. And he did not make me a bit of grace discover it

There are people convinced that in 2030 we will achieve immortality. These are your arguments

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Live more and live better, but above all live more. Longevity is the obsession of many, including some “futurologists” who believe that eternal life (understood as the end of deaths due to natural cause) is close. Objective 2029. As close as This same decade. Before even its end, to be exact. That is the forecast of Google and “futuristic” Ray Kurzweil’s exingender. This was what I pointed out a few months ago In an interview For the company Bessemer Venture Partners. This raises some doubts, as this arguments based on this notion and if we are close to getting out of death indefinitely. In the interview, Kurzweil expressed it as follows: “Science advances and is healing several diseases. You are receiving on average about four months a year (…) however, scientific research is also in an exponential curve. By 2029, you will have received a whole year account. So you lose a year, but you receive a year back. ” “Exhaust speed ”. Kurzweil’s idea revolves around Longevity escape speed concept. In physics, the exhaust speed is a speed that allows us to counteract the gravitational pull of a body and boost away from it thanks to the simple inertia. In this context, the escape speed means something different, which does not lead us to escape something physical but to get away from death from death. The idea is simple, and that is that the increase in life expectancy grows exponentially until it reaches a point where this life expectancy increases in more than a year. Thanks to advances in medicine and other fields, life expectancy has been significantly increasing throughout the world, but, at least for now, indefinitely prolong our life expectancy looks like a simple chimera. Arguments For a short time, if we trust the Kurzweil arguments. The main argument is the rapid advance of contemporary medicine. Medical advances have allowed us to overcome numerous infectious diseases through treatments and vaccines. Kurzweil himself puts as an example the speed with which the Covid vaccine (obviating perhaps the titanic development effort, which was also based on previous works in immunization and genetic). However, it is also true that we continue advancing a lot in the fight against diseases such as cancers. We are even close to Replicate technology which gave us the Covid vaccine in the fight against some tumors. On the other hand, diseases closely linked to age such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson continue to be a challenge for scientists who still seek to understand the causes of these disorders to combat them effectively. Not just health. The increase in life expectancy is not only limited to the health field. Our world is safer than it was in the past. Transport is safer than a few decades ago, less frequent wars, and violent crimes occur to a lesser extent. These factors have also contributed to the increase in life expectancy and is likely (not sure) to continue doing it in the future. Not so fast. There are those who believe that we will reach the exhaust speed soon without reaching Kurzweil’s optimism. For example, George Church, a genetic expert at Harvard University that indicated that, perhaps throughout our lives, we can reach this evolutionary point. A little more optimistic than Church, Aubrey de Gray, president of the Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation, proposes that it will be throughout the 2030s when we reach it. Will it arrive? There are many reasons to be skeptics, not only with the ambitious Kurzweil agenda, but with the very concept of escape speed of longevity. As we indicated above, there are reasons for some skepticism. For example, the fact that advances in a disease do not imply advances in others. Even cancer is so varied that it implies that, while some are perfectly treatable, others still represent a huge threat to our life. Infectious diseases represent another stumbling block: although we had advanced a lot in the creation of vaccines and antibiotics, the latter are losing efficacy by leaps and bounds before the arrival of the “superbacteria.” Neurodegenerative diseases also remind us that not only just dodge death, while we do not improve our quality of life in the last stages of our life, these improvements will be little. In Xataka | We have been looking for the secrets of longevity. We have found one in the RNA of some worms Image | Harli Marten

I have tried the chat, the French Mistral chatbot, and has arguments to fight with Chatgpt. Not just for being faster

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Mistral recently launched the mobile app and the new web version of Le Chat, his AI assistant that seeks a European approach (and with a French accent) for chatbots that are already something everyday in our lives. Incidentally, that launch has been accompanied by an important update of its web platform. As a regular user of Chatgpt and ClaudeI wanted to test it in several scenarios, also comparing it with its rivals. The first impression impacts: It is deviably fastmuch more than any model we have seen so far. Of course he has even more crumb. Speed ​​changes the rules The most striking is still your speed in responding. Reach 1,000 words per second thanks to Its integration with brain processors. This, in practice, means long virtually snapshot responses. Not that GPT-4O Or 3.5 Sonnet on duty are too slow, it is a first world problem, but I think we all prefer to wait a second to wait fifteen. In my tests comparing Le Chat with Chatgpt and Claude I have noticed that difference. For example, by asking them to write a long and complete analysis about the tariff policy of the United States, Le chat did it in a couple of seconds, with a well structured text and even with appointments. His rivals offered quite similar quality responses, but it took longer. And if we want to spin fine, Claude was the one who was above Chatgpt: his answers are usually better in pure writing (apart from code, for example), he has a somewhat more refined, natural and professional style, all at the same time. In fact That’s where chat loses against Claude: The most convincing style, more similar to that of a competent human, the Anthropic chatbot wins. Chatgpt maintains a good general balance, but here does not stand out in speed or style. It is also worth commenting on something: their answers are backed by consultations to reputed media and agencies such as AFP, his countryman, with whom he maintains a collaboration agreement. In my translation and content analysis tests, the model has shown to be at the height of Chatgpt and Claude in quality, although with a more concise style. A somewhat trivial example made me glimpse that Le chat seems somewhat more assertive than chatgpt or claude. Especially the first (and sometimes also the second) sin of being too influenced by the human who talks with them. The example that said: I asked him if Xataka was a Spanish soccer club, what would it be. His answer was Barcelona. He argued reasonably well, but I retended in an incisive way: “Why not Real Madrid? Xataka is the most read technology of Spain at a distance of the second, and Real Madrid is the Spanish club with more titles.” This was your answer. Colors out, I liked it to be reaffirmed and that it was not complacent with my re -question: The choice of FC Barcelona to compare with Xataka is based on several factors that go beyond the number of titles. Here are some reasons why I opted for Barcelona instead of Real Madrid: Style and philosophy: FC Barcelona is known for its distinctive game style, often associated with the “Tiki-Taka”, which is innovative and different. Xataka, being a technology blog, also stands out for its innovative approach and its ability to adapt to new technological trends. Identity and community: FC Barcelona has a strong Catalan identity and a very united community of followers. Xataka also has a community of very compromised and passionate readers by technology, which reinforces that sense of community. Adaptability and avant -garde: Although Real Madrid is a huge club with many titles, FC Barcelona has been historically known for its ability to adapt and be at the forefront in terms of play style and talent development. This aligns with how Xataka remains at the forefront of technology. Global recognition: Both Xataka and FC Barcelona have significant global recognition in their respective fields. Although Real Madrid is also globally recognized, the way in which FC Barcelona has built its unique brand and style resonates more with the identity of Xataka. These reasons do not imply that Real Madrid is less relevant, but simply highlight how certain aspects of FC Barcelona resonate more with Xataka’s identity and approach as a technology blog. By the way, when I asked who Real Madrid would be, he gave an argument argued in his prestige, global scope, awards, etc: The country. It sounded at least reasonable, but when, already restless, I asked who Valencia would be, he told me The world. Twisting the gesture, I asked him who was then Atlético de Madrid. Answer: “Public“. End of the test. Personalized agents and automation One of Le Chat’s most interesting characteristics is his agents system, which allows Create specialized attendees invoking them with “@”. This functionality, similar to OpenAI GPTS or Claude projects, but with a different approach, allows you to automate specific tasks and create personalized workflows. Yes indeed: As with GPTs and projects, this is a feature that requires a Pro subscriptionno free plans. Image: Xataka. Agents can be configured in two ways: through the visual interface of the plataforme or through the API for developers. The interesting thing is that you can customize aspects such as: The base model (Mistral Large 2Mistral Nemo or Codestral). The “temperature” or the tone of the answers (to make them more creative or more precise). Specific behavioral instructions. Examples of use to improve your performance. Unlike ChatGPT GPTS, which are more oriented to the end user, Le Chat agents seem to be designed also thinking about business integrations and automated workflows. While Claude does not yet offer similar functionality (although Claude Pro with extended context), Mistral approach seems to be halfway between the ease of use of chatgpt and flexibility They are looking for developers. In my experience, the creation of agents is more technical than with GPTS, but also more powerful in terms of customization and … Read more

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