That's Interesting
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A Review of Electric Vehicle Consumer Subsidies in Canada
06th November, 2023A look at EV purchase subsidies in Canada, which have been introduced to accelerate market uptake of these vehicles as part of governments’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. Transportation accounts for almost one-quarter of Canada’s total GHG emissions, so it is not surprising that Canadian policymakers are focusing on emissions from this sector.
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Longitudinal evidence that infants develop their imitation abilities by being imitated
30th October, 2023Theoretical advances in social sciences over the last century purport imitation as a central mechanism for the emergence of humans’ unique social-cognitive abilities. Uncovering the ontogeny of imitation is therefore paramount for understanding human cultural evolution.
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5 things serious coffee fans should know
22nd October, 2023A look at the science behind the beverage that 63% of Americans drink daily (more than tap water), according to the National Coffee Association.
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An update on eukaryotic viruses revived from ancient permafrost
16th October, 2023One quarter of the Northern hemisphere is underlain by permanently frozen ground, referred to as permafrost. Due to climate warming, irreversibly thawing permafrost is releasing organic matter frozen for up to a million years, most of which decomposes into carbon dioxide and methane, further enhancing the greenhouse effect. Part of this organic matter also consists of revived cellular microbes (prokaryotes, unicellular eukaryotes) as well as viruses that remained dormant since prehistorical times.
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Behavioral Machine Learning? Computer Predictions of Corporate Earnings also Overreact
22nd September, 2023There is considerable evidence that machine learning algorithms have better predictive abilities than humans in various financial settings. But, the literature has not tested whether these algorithmic predictions are more rational than human predictions.
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Not even the machines are rational
11th September, 2023For 50 years, behavioural economics has thrown the gauntlet at the rational expectation hypothesis and the concept of homo economicus. But now, rationality could fight back. AI and machine learning algorithms have become so powerful that their forecasts can compete with analyst forecasts (at least before transaction costs) and these algorithms certainly aren’t biased like humans are. Or are they?
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Bloated Disclosures: Can ChatGPT Help Investors Process Financial Information?
27th July, 2023Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can fundamentally change the way investors process information. A probe into the economic usefulness of these tools in summarizing complex corporate disclosures using the stock market as a laboratory, shows that unconstrained summaries are dramatically shorter, often by more than 70% compared to the originals, whereas their information content is amplified.
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Cold Water Swimming – Benefits and Risks
06th March, 2023Cold water swimming – also known as winter swimming or ice swimming – describes swimming outdoors (lake, river, sea, swimming pool, etc.) mainly during the winter or in the colder and polar regions. Although chronic exposure to colder water temperatures has been shown to be beneficial to one’s health, several studies have outlined the potential risks.
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The tamer the cow, the smaller the brain
14th December, 2022The first large-sale study of brain sizes across cattle breeds reveals that docile dairy and beef cows have smaller brains than aggressive bullfighting breeds
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Here are the winners of the 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes
17th October, 2022Would you give yourself an alcohol enema for science? Test the running speed of constipated scorpions in the lab? Build your very own moose crash test dummy? Or maybe you’d like to tackle the thorny question of why legal documents are so relentlessly incomprehensible. These and other unusual research endeavors were honored in the 2022 annual Ig Nobel Prizes.
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