Weird News: The Downward Spiral
Moo Tools
Veronika, a Swiss brown cow who lives in Austria, has been documented using a tool, Live Science reported on Jan. 19. Witgar Wiegele, Veronika’s owner, had seen her picking up sticks with her mouth occasionally over about nine years, but then Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, raised the bar. Auersperg and a colleague visited Veronika and placed a broom near her. The cow used the broom to scratch her back, employing the brush end about 2.5 times more than the handle end. She learned to use the handle end to scratch more delicate areas, like her udder or navel. She would also readjust her grip on the broom for a better angle. “It showed the kind of a behavior I would expect from the stricter definitions of tool use,” Auersperg said.
The Downward Spiral
First, we had to be afraid that students would use AI to write papers and otherwise cheat their way through school. Now, NBC News reported on Jan. 28, AI is helping students “dumb down” their work so that it’s more believably original. New generative AI tools, some costing about $20 per month, “humanize” text so that it doesn’t seem to be created by AI. But there’s more! Other software will detect text that has been reviewed by a humanizer. “So where are we? We’re just in a spiral that will never end,” said Erin Ramirez, an associate professor of education at California State University. Aldan Creo, a graduate student from Spain, said he sometimes turns in his original work with a few misspelled words or using Spanish structures that aren’t proper English, just so he won’t be accused of using AI. “Long term, I think it’s going to be a big problem,” he said.
Booze Ban
The Independent reported on Jan. 29 that the Royal Navy is cracking down on boozy sailors. Under the new policy, crewmembers will be restricted to 14 “units” of alcohol (about 6 pints) per week, and ships will be dry on certain days. The change is in response to “significant concerns” about alcohol consumption. For their part, sailors are worried that the move is a slippery slope toward banning booze altogether. One retired rear admiral says the rule could affect morale. “You can screw down a system too much,” Chris Parry said. “Sailors take great risks and make big sacrifices.”
Close Call
On Jan. 24, a calf was born on a Mount Sterling, Kentucky, farm during single-digit temperatures, the Associated Press reported. When farmer Tanner Sorrell went out to check on the mother and baby, the calf was “just frozen. Her umbilical cord looked like a popsicle,” said Sorrell’s wife, Macey. The family made a quick decision to bring the calf into their home to warm up. “I took out the blow dryer and warmed her up, and got her all fluffed out,” Macey said. Soon the visitor was curled up on the couch with her young children, and 3-year-old Gregory named her Sally. The next morning, Sally was reunited with her mom, and all are doing well.