29Feb/24

The leap year is February 29, not December 32 due to a Roman calendar quirk – and fastidious medieval monks

Rebecca Stephenson, University College Dublin

Have you ever wondered why the extra day of the leap year falls on February 29, an odd date in the middle of the year, and not at the end of the year on December 32? There is a simple answer, and a slightly more complex one.

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23Feb/24

Dating apps are accused of being ‘addictive’. What makes us keep swiping?

Dr Anastasia Hronis, University of Technology Sydney

A class-action lawsuit filed in the United States against Match Group – the parent company of dating apps Tinder, Hinge and The League – is making headlines around the world.

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19Feb/24

History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future

Daniel Hoyer, University of Toronto

American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

I’ve been working as a historian and complexity scientist for the better part of a decade, and I often think about this phrase as I follow different strands of the historical record and notice the same patterns over and over.

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12Feb/24

How AI could change our relationship with religion

Sreevas Sahasranamam, University of Glasgow

Science and faith are often kept in two distinct boxes that hardly ever intersect. However, I believe that as AI becomes more mainstream, it will fundamentally alter our engagement with faith and spirituality.

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11Feb/24

conspiracy theories are the result of two sets of hardcore fans colliding

Melissa Avdeeff, University of Stirling

At Super Bowl LVIII, Taylor Swift will appear on the field at Allegiant Stadium after her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, wins the game. But she won’t be performing. Swift’s appearance will be a Pentagon-backed psy-op to turn the rigged game into a calculated political endorsement, to secure the 2024 presidential election for Joe Biden.

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