All posts tagged: Common

5 common myths about robotic mowers debunked

5 common myths about robotic mowers debunked

Published by Daniella Wilson

If you’ve spent your weekends wrestling with a petrol mower or worrying about the impact of your garden maintenance on the environment, you might have considered a robotic alternative – only to be held back by common misconceptions. While rumours of complicated setups and fragile technology persist, the reality of modern autonomous mowing is far more efficient. We’re debunking the biggest myths surrounding robot lawn mowers, to show you how easy it is to achieve a pristine lawn without sacrificing your free time. Myth One: They take ages to install The installation process is as simple as changing your mower’s schedule (Honda UK) Even in large gardens with complex designs, installing the wire for the Honda Miimo is a straightforward process. All you have to do is lay the wire 20 cm within the lawn perimeter and peg it in every 1–2 metres with the simple-to-use pegs that come included with the mower. If you have trees within the lawn or ponds, they can easily be ringed off. Then, all you need to do is …

College Closures Are Getting More Common

College Closures Are Getting More Common

Published by Jenni Sidey

A slew of new reporting suggests a non-ideal image of American higher education in the year 2026. Hampshire College, the liberal arts institution in Massachusetts, recently announced its future closure due to financial problems. And it isn’t the only one. A number of colleges and universities across the country have shut their doors over the past few years, with others reporting real strain and lowering enrollment. Josh Moody writes in Inside Higher Education, Founded in 1965 and known for its progressive values and student-driven curriculum, Hampshire is the latest in a string of small colleges to announce closures this year, including Labouré College of Healthcare (also in Massachusetts) and Lourdes University. According to new data from Huron Consulting, nearly a quarter of the country’s 1,700 private, nonprofit four-year institutions may be forced to close or merge over the next decade. –Hampshire College Announces Closure According to some sound analysis by Michael B. Horn, two present realities threaten the long-term security of many schools: the declining birth rate and the unpromising “cash flow.” Basically, Americans stopped having as many babies after …

The common fruit juice that could control blood pressure and calm inflammation

The common fruit juice that could control blood pressure and calm inflammation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Most of us think of orange juice as a simple breakfast habit, something you pour without much thought. Yet scientists are discovering that this everyday drink may be doing far more in the body than quenching thirst. A recent study has shown that regular orange juice consumption can influence the activity of thousands of genes inside our immune cells. Many of these genes help control blood pressure, calm inflammation and manage the way the body processes sugar, all of which play an important role in long-term heart health. The study followed adults who drank 500ml of pure pasteurised orange juice every day for two months. After 60 days, many genes associated with inflammation and higher blood pressure had become less active. These included NAMPT, IL6, IL1B and NLRP3, which usually switch on when the body is under stress. Another gene known …

A doctor lists 5 common diet mistakes sabotaging your weight loss goals

A doctor lists 5 common diet mistakes sabotaging your weight loss goals

Published by Daniella Wilson

Thankfully, super restrictive weight loss plans like the Scarsdale Diet have fallen out of fashion and many of us are now increasingly focused on harnessing the benefits of food through a healthier lens of self-care and well-being. Key to this body-friendly approach is really paying attention to what exactly is in your food, embracing ingredients with anti-inflammatory properties that are also famed for helping produce the “happiness hormone”, serotonin.  Also trending? Healthy dinners aimed not at waking up with a flat stomach, but at encouraging the calm, restorative sleep that is so beneficial for our physical and mental health every night. That doesn’t mean though, that a conscious eating philosophy equals being unable to reach and maintain your ideal weight if that’s what you’re hoping to do.  We can acknowledge that those are common goals, while also understanding that to do it in a healthy, effective way can prove to be a real challenge if you aren’t aware of the right tools.  © Getty Images‘Miracle diets’ aren’t the magic solution to keeping your body healthy …

11 Unfortunately Common Humiliation Rituals That Happen At Almost Every Job

11 Unfortunately Common Humiliation Rituals That Happen At Almost Every Job

Published by Jenni Sidey

While constructive negative feedback can sometimes improve employees’ performance in certain contexts, far more research has found that when someone feels embarrassed and ashamed at work, they are less likely to learn from failures and improve. While there are several unfortunately common humiliation rituals that still seem to happen at almost every job, that doesn’t mean they should be normalized. Your boss isn’t your parent, and they shouldn’t punish you as though you were a child. Your humanity deserves to be respected, regardless of your position, power, or salary. Here are 11 unfortunately common humiliation rituals that happen at almost every job 1. Being corrected publicly Zivica Kerkez | Shutterstock.com Especially with someone in a position of power at work, having a safe space to lean into for feedback is important. However, if your boss or manager regularly corrects your behavior in a shameful, public way without ever taking the time to offer real constructive criticism, chances are you’re battling with resentment. It’s uncomfortable dealing with feedback on its own, let alone in a room of …

From LLMs to hallucinations, here’s a simple guide to common AI terms

From LLMs to hallucinations, here’s a simple guide to common AI terms

Published by skeptic

Artificial intelligence is a deep and convoluted world. The scientists who work in this field often rely on jargon and lingo to explain what they’re working on. As a result, we frequently have to use those technical terms in our coverage of the artificial intelligence industry. That’s why we thought it would be helpful to put together a glossary with definitions of some of the most important words and phrases that we use in our articles. We will regularly update this glossary to add new entries as researchers continually uncover novel methods to push the frontier of artificial intelligence while identifying emerging safety risks. Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is a nebulous term. But it generally refers to AI that’s more capable than the average human at many, if not most, tasks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently described AGI as the “equivalent of a median human that you could hire as a co-worker.” Meanwhile, OpenAI’s charter defines AGI as “highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.” Google DeepMind’s understanding differs slightly from these two definitions; …

The 5 Most Common Causes of Arguments and How to Avoid Them

The 5 Most Common Causes of Arguments and How to Avoid Them

Published by Jenni Sidey

You come home from work after a hard day, already irritable, and it doesn’t take much to set you off—a sarcastic comment, or the kids’ toys littering the living room floor. In a matter of nanoseconds, you and your partner are off and running, each snapping at the other, pointing fingers, and talking about “always” and “you never.” Once the dust settles, you realize it was just one of those perfect emotional storms. All is quickly repaired and forgiven. But for some couples, this way of living is not the exception, but the norm. They say things like, “Sure, we argue a lot, like every other couple.” Half of their time on a long weekend is spent in verbal battles, or they’re in a deep emotional freeze for days afterward. My response, as they’re sitting in my office, is no, this doesn’t have to be the status quo; you don’t have to spend your relationship in a state of war. 5 Common Argument Triggers Arguments are not, in themselves, the problem; rather, they are byproducts …

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Long before we had modern antibiotics to rely on, people often turned to traditional medicines from plants to treat infections. The root of tormentil (Potentilla erecta), a small yellow wildflower that grows across Ireland, the UK and Europe, was used for centuries in Irish and European traditional medicine. It was used to treat wounds, sore throats, diarrhoea and gum disease. These traditional uses suggested that tormentil could contain compounds powerful enough to kill microbes. Our latest research has now shown that not only does tormentil have antimicrobial activity, it may also be powerful enough to fight microbes that are resistant to modern antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat. This occurs when bacteria evolve to survive the drugs used to treat common infections. This makes some infections very difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. Antimicrobial resistance could be pushing us …

When Spicy and Vanilla Clash: Finding Common Ground on Uncomfortable Subjects

When Spicy and Vanilla Clash: Finding Common Ground on Uncomfortable Subjects

Published by Sam Flores

When I came out as an atheist, I was expecting some blowback. Frankly, I expected to lose a few friends and sadly, some family as well. I had already been an exotic dancer for a decade at that point, so I was at least prepared to defend myself from the stigmas and stereotypes that come with non-belief. Some were terribly silly, like I must worship Satan, hate God, or the silliest of all, eat babies. (With ketchup perhaps, if only because I despise mustard.) And some much more serious – I must not have any morals or ethics, or simply just want to sin. The former is almost too ridiculous to address, but the latter requires communication and understanding. Which is where humanism came to the rescue. Morals and ethics without God sound scary or impossible to those who come from a place where the two are conflated from birth, then reinforced by the idea of an afterlife based on the judgment of an all-knowing deity. While I didn’t grow up to be particularly religious, …