The Collatz conjecture, also known as the “3x + 1 problem,” is infamous for being so deceptively simple that for decades mathematicians have obsessively made attempts to crack the seemingly impossible problem. It’s named after German mathematician Lothar Collatz who posed the problem in the 1930s. Here’s how it works: 

The problem sounds like a party trick. Pick a number, any number. If it’s odd, multiply it by 3 and add 1. If it’s even, divide it by 2. Now you have a new number. Apply the same rules to the new number. The conjecture is about what happens as you keep repeating the process.

But Collatz predicted that’s not the case. He conjectured that if you start with a positive whole number and run this process long enough, all starting values will lead to 1. And once you hit 1, the rules of the Collatz conjecture confine you to a loop: 1, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, on and on forever.

Recently, Terence Tao presented a proof that is considered “one of the most significant results on the Collatz conjecture in decades.” But the sheer difficulty of the problem has led other mathematicians to believe that a perfect solution is simply unreachable and research efforts would be better spent elsewhere. 

What do you think about this? Read the full article from Wired. 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Samin Nosrat adamantly wanted to have illustrations for her cookbook, and teaming up with creative illustration journalist and artist Wendy MacNaughton turned out to be one of her most brilliant ideas ever. Now a Netflix series, Salt Fat Acid Heat is a promising guide to the world of culinary taste that advocates for a mastery of those four crucial elements. Food recipes and methods are brought to life by these practically informative and captivating watercolor illustrations. 

To find out more about their collaboration, check out the full article from Saveur. 

(Image credit: Wendy MacNaughton via Saveur)

Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council have warned people that having a standard of two alcoholic drinks per day is no longer safe. This news comes after a review of evidence revealing the lifetime risk of dying from alcohol-related disease or injury. 

Released just in time for Christmas, the National Health and Medical Research Council on Monday published a draft report which updated Australia’s alcohol guidelines for the first time since 2009.

The new guidelines warn that adults should have “no more than 10 standard drinks per week” to reduce the health risks from alcohol, or roughly 1.4 drinks a day. The maximum an adult should have on a single day is four standard drinks.

More about official health guidelines and effects of alcohol from The Guardian. 

Photo: Julia Nastogadka / Unsplash

A malnourished dog seeking shelter stumbled upon the home of a family in Philadelphia. The door wasn’t shut properly, so the dog was able to enter with ease after leaving and coming back several times. Turns out the owner mistakenly thought the electric lock had secured the door. Thankfully, this was the opportunity for the ill dog to climb in and find warmth and safety indoors. It was around 3 a.m. after a storm blew past when the wife noticed the dog shivering and wet inside their home. 

The family named the dog “Suzy” and they are currently giving her medical treatment for her multiple health complications.

Jokinen says she walks on three legs due to a paw infection, she has an infection in her teeth, extremely underweight and a flea and tick infestation. She was also not chipped, veterinarians said.

The happy accident was captured on CCTV. Get the full story at ABC Action News. 

(Video: Jack Jokinen / Facebook)

Picture this: you’re an employer seeking a new hire, and after several interviews you find one candidate that stands out perfectly for the job. You shake hands with a congratulatory smile, looking forward to work with this new member of the team. One week passes and you still haven’t heard back from the recruit. In fact, he never comes to sign the contract and you never see from him again. 

Now, replay the same scenario, except with you as the employee being interviewed for a job.

You just got a glimpse of what it means to be ‘ghosted’ and how it can work both ways. Yes, it’s a term that’s become popular because of awkward Tinder dates, but it’s also being applied to the work setting as employers on LinkedIn have noticed a trend. 

Read more from Megaphone about ghosting as a ‘generational trend’ and ‘mutual respect’ in the workplace. 

Photo: www_slon_pics / Pixabay

Two UC Berkeley professors co-authored a study that reportedly 

resulted in the creation of a new material that can capture carbon dioxide from wet flue gases in an effort to mitigate climate change.

The material in this study was designed for the purpose of capturing carbon dioxide from the exhaust of power plants, according to Jeffrey Reimer, professor and chair of UC Berkeley’s chemical and biomolecular engineering department.

Using a computer to find MOFs or metal organic frameworks (what Reimer calls “tinker toys”), researchers were able to design a material for extracting CO2 from wet flue gases. 

For more about wet flue gases and why this study matters for climate change, head over to the original post by The Daily Californian. 

Photo: Pixabay

On Monday, the Hubble Space Telescope released this image of a galaxy, known as IC 2051, positioned about 85 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Mensa. 

This galaxy was observed for a Hubble study on galactic bulges, the bright round central region of spiral galaxies. Spiral galaxies like IC 2051 are shaped a bit like flying saucers when seen from the side; they comprise a thin, flat disc, with a bulky bulge of stars in the centre that extends above and below the disc. These bulges are thought to play a key role in how galaxies evolve, and to influence the growth of the supermassive black holes lurking at the centres of most spirals. 

Find out more about galactic discs and bulges in the original post by ESA/Hubble & NASA. 

Photo: Patrick Hendry / Unsplash

Robocall is another term for those unwanted and often repetitive auto-dialed calls that are typically a telemarketing strategy to get you to buy something, possibly even a fraud scheme that can cost millions of dollars. Thankfully, Ethan Garr and his team released an app in 2017 called RoboKiller specifically designed to disrupt, confuse, and even annoy spam callers by wasting their time with deliberately outlandish responses recorded beforehand, so that they never dial your number again. There is also a flagging feature for those calls that did not get blocked, and the app uses an algorithm that learns from user feedback in real time. 

This is what it says on their App Store Preview: 

RoboKiller is the award-winning app that blocks spam calls. [It] has been featured on The New York Times, NBC, Wired, Engadget, Vice and other publications.

RoboKiller is free to download, however a subscription is required after a 7-day free trial. Find out more about how the app works on Ozy. 

Photo: Icons8 Team / Unsplash

Want to learn cool facts about the octopus is less than 4 minutes? On this episode of National Geographic’s informative series called 101 Videos, we’re presented with bite-sized information along with captivating visuals of the interesting life of the eight-armed cephalopod. The video’s caption says:

How many hearts does an octopus have? How do species like the mimic octopus camouflage themselves? Find out about these and other octopus facts.

Did you know that octopuses are considered one of the most intelligent invertebrates? 

Discover more about these awesome deep sea creature from the original post by Nat Geo.

(Video: National Geographic)

Canine cognition is a relatively new field of study otherwise known as psychology for dogs. Leading ‘dog psychologists’ suggested that what makes dogs so inordinately popular among people is their “human-like social cognition.” But not everyone agreed with them, including behavioral scientist and dog enthusiast, Clive Wynne.

Wynne determined to find a scientific explanation as to what makes dogs ideal living companions. In Dog is Love: The Science of Why and How Your Dog Loves You, he explains how the secret superpower of dogs is not super intelligence, but really their uncanny capacity for love and loyalty.

Further making his point, he cites other studies on the intricacies of the brain’s reward system involved in human-dog interactions. Find out more from the original article by Science Focus.

Photo: Eric Ward / Unsplash

Non-biodegradable plastics are cheap, easily manufactured, and useful for food preservation and packaging, but its negative consequences tend to far outweigh the benefits, especially as it accumulates in landfills and oceans at an alarming rate. Lawmakers from different countries have started making steps towards banning single-use plastic in their respective localities, with some doing so in favor of other plastic substitutes. However, even some options were discovered to be not as environment-friendly as initially thought. 

So, what does it take to make a truly sustainable alternative to single-use plastics? Several companies and start-ups have already created their own single-use plastic replacements. And the proposed solutions so far include a spectrum of interesting ideas from fish skin to seaweed.

Head over to Wired for more about commercially viable plastic alternatives and the issues surrounding it.

-via Wired

Photo: Jordan Beltran / Unsplash

The magnetic North Pole is shifting at an ever-increasing rate compared to when records of its course were first kept in the 16th century, according to experts in geomagnetism. It is moving at a rate of 50 kilometers a year across the Arctic region, to be exact. Meanwhile the magnetic South Pole “has stayed almost stationary for decades.”

The magnetic North Pole is the peripatetic point on the Earth’s surface where its magnetic field, created by molten iron churning deep within the planet’s core, points directly downward.

But why is this so important? 

Together with satellite positioning data, the model underpins modern navigation, and frequent revisions are essential so operators can reconcile magnetic sensors and compass readings with geographic reality.

Learn more about how geomagnetism impacts our world in this day and age from Ozy.  

Photo: Artem Beliaikin / Pexels

We are nearing the end of another decade marked by a flux of mobile technology breakthroughs and mishaps, having come so far from the very incipient stages of the smartphone. Innovation is the name of the game in this ever-growing and now increasingly diversified smartphone market, with Chinese companies like Huawei, OnePlus, and Xiaomi making waves in the western market and competing alongside household names like Google, Apple and Samsung. How have the past 10 years shown changes in smartphone design and function? 

As we look back at the 2010s, we remember moments when front-facing cameras were a novelty, exploding phones were a thing, and bigger (screens) meant better. 

New Atlas covers all this and more on their smartphone history review.  

Photo: Free Creative Stuff / Pexels

In a highly competitive environment where technology is constantly developing, how will the automated industry impact job prospects for young people preparing to enter the job market? As we immerse ourselves more fully in the information age, it’s important to understand how we can cope with the diverse challenges that it brings. 

Born after 1996 on the heels of the millennials, Gen Z is just entering the workforce. Its members are the first true digital natives, and their ability to adapt to an automating workplace will likely determine their success.

In particular, the “human touch” remains an essential and invaluable element in the tech industry. Being able to relate on a deeper level to your target audience and knowing how to creatively and effectively get your ideas across are just some key traits that can help you compete with automatons who lack such complex capabilities. Combining these with “hard skills” involving technical know-how, such a diverse skill set can be one solid way to impress employers.  

Find out what other soft skills Gen Z members need to succeed on Reuters. 

Photo: Andy Kelly / Unsplash

Looking for your next travel destination? Here are some top suggestions from Lonely Planet, a travel guide website with content from “experts who visit every destination.” Making it to number one on their list is the Central Asian Silk Road, known for its historical background as an ancient center of trade and commerce as well as a hub for cultural, political and religious life. Today you can enjoy its “ancient cities, bustling bazaars, wild landscapes, and the storied Silk Road route snaking through the region.” Or you can take the scenic route across the landscapes of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Whichever region you may end up choosing to visit, it is sure to be an adventure. 

Watch the video from Lonely Planet here. 

Photo: Jamie Street / Unsplash