Mind Magicians have long exploited quirks in our perception of the world to make us experience the impossible. Now, cognitive psychology is exploring how they do it and revealing fresh insights into how our minds work 8 April 2025 Philip Harris When Gustav Kuhn was 13, a friend pulled an egg out of his ear. Kuhn was astounded – but his wonder didn’t abate, even after he learned that the egg was made of foam and had been easily hidden in his friend’s hand. “I was quite fascinated by those eggs,” he recalls. The trick sparked an obsession with how the brain can be hoodwinked into believing the impossible. “My whole life during my teenage years was centred [on] magic and deception,” he says. “I became completely addicted.” Kuhn’s adolescent fascination eventually led to a career in magic – although he hasn’t exactly followed the trajectory he had in mind at 13. Though he is a practising magician, he is primarily a psychologist, working to understand what the cognitive quirks that lead us to perceive a rabbit being pulled from a hat or a levitating £5 note can reveal about the brain. “I’ve been trying to create the science of magic, which uses [tricks] as a way of exploring the human mind,” Kuhn says. It seems to be working – more than 150 “science of magic” papers have been published since the late 2000s. This research attempts to peel back the layers of conscious experience to demonstrate how expectation seems to control our perception of reality and how easily we can be led into making decisions while retaining a sense of agency. The field, though, has attracted criticism from members of both disciplines. Some scientists worry that it lacks rigour, while some magicians are concerned that these experiments strip the…

New vacation-rental startup Savvy put up a billboard in Austin, not far from Vrbo's headquarters. Courtesy of Savvy 2025-04-12T04:11:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? New vacation rental company Savvy took a swipe at Airbnb and Vrbo with its new Texas billboard. The company chose a spot near Vrbo's Austin office, mimicking Vrbo's recent sign targeting Airbnb. Savvy is emphasizing its no-fee model to lure hosts and guests away from the two bigger platforms. Just in time for summer, a rivalry between vacation-rental companies is brewing.Last month, Vrbo crowned itself the "hotter, cooler, friendlier" platform with a billboard teasing rival Airbnb. Vrbo put the billboard right outside Airbnb's San Francisco headquarters.Now Savvy, a brand-new vacation rental company, is taking a shot at both of its much-bigger rivals.Savvy placed a billboard close to Vrbo's Austin headquarters to drive home its "no-fee" model, mimicking Vrbo's own playbook for poking fun at Airbnb. Vrbo put a billboard outside Airbnb's San Francisco headquarters earlier this year. Courtesy of Outfront Media Savvy — an Austin-based startup with 13 employees that launched in February — promises no fees for hosts to list their properties for rent or for guests to book with them."As the new kid on the block, we thought it would be fun," Savvy founder Eric Goldreyer told Business Insider.Goldreyer thought focusing on fees was a way to seize upon common customer gripes about Airbnb and Vrbo."What customers really care about is saving money on their stay," he said.Airbnb called Vrbo's original sign "desperate," though Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky did post a laughing emoji on Instagram in response to it. Airbnb and Vrbo both declined to comment on Savvy's billboard.Savvy has 150,000 properties across US, Canada, Mexico, Goldreyer said.It has a long way to go before catching up with its competitors. In 2024, Airbnb said it had 7.7 million listings around the world, while Vrbo said it had more than 2 million. Savvy is trying to draw attention to its no-fee modelFees on Airbnb have been a sticking point for guests and hosts over the years, with some saying rising costs made them quit booking via the platform altogether. Airbnb has gone to extra lengths to make sure guests can easily see the total price of a stay including cleaning fees and taxes.Airbnb primarily uses a split-fee model, where the most common arrangement is a 3% service fee for hosts and a fee around 14% for guests. Vrbo charges hosts a 5% fee and guests up to 20%.Hosts list their properties for free on Savvy, and guests don't incur booking fees, Goldreyer said.However, hosts can choose to pay for a subscription that boosts how prominently their home is featured on Savvy.Savvy is primarily targeting larger-scale rental operators to grow its listing base.The platform only registersprofessional short-term-rental hosts who have at least five properties and use formal booking software, among other requirements. Goldreyer said Savvy wants a consistent experience for guests."We don't want people that host as their side hustle," he explained. "We want to know if our guest gets there at 11 p.m. and the Bluetooth lock goes out, there's a professional they can call." Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Airbnb.

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Nature, Published online: 09 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08854-xA photonic processor capable of running advanced artificial intelligence models with near-electronic precision is introduced, marking a substantial step towards post-transistor computing technologies.

April 12, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

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Some progresshttps://www.zerohedge.com/markets/march-deficit-unexpectedly-tumbles-5-year-low-doge-cracks-down-democrat-money-laundering

News Death Stranding 2’s Development is “95 Percent Complete” – Kojima Kojima Productions and PlayStations' open world sequel will launch exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on June 26. Posted By Shubhankar Parijat | On 12th, Apr. 2025 That big flagship single-player PlayStation title that we’ve been waiting for for a while is finally coming not long from now in the form of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and as its release date draws nearer, creative director and Kojima Productions boss Hideo Kojima has offered an update on how development is going. Spotted by Twitter user @Genki_JPN, speaking recently during the official Kojima Productions podcast, Kojima revealed that Death Stranding 2’s development is roughly at the 95 percent mark. Likening the project to a 24-hour cycle, Kojima went on to say that it is currently at 10 PM, which means it’s within touching distance of the finish line. Of course, given how close to launch the game is, this is what most would have expected (or at least hoped for), but it’s good to have confirmation nonetheless, especially for those who may have been concerned about potential delays. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches exclusively for the PS5 on June 26. Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding 2 is currently 95% complete while speaking on his Koji10 radio show! #DS2 “It’s at about 95% now… It feels like it is 10 o’clock (PM), speaking of 24 hours, Koji Pro’s DS2 is at 10 o’clock (PM), there are 2 hours left”via @koji10_tbs pic.twitter.com/sOZjY7ZLg7 — Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 10, 2025 Tagged With: Atomfall Publisher:Rebellion Developments Developer:Rebellion Developments Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, PCView More Monster Hunter Wilds Publisher:Capcom Developer:Capcom Platforms:PS5, Xbox Series X, PCView More South of Midnight Publisher:Microsoft Developer:Compulsion Games Platforms:Xbox Series X, PCView More Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out! Death Stranding 2’s Development is “95 Percent Complete” – Kojima Kojima Productions and PlayStations' open world sequel will launch exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on June 2... Zenless Zone Zero Launches for Xbox Series X/S in June HoYoverse has announced an Xbox release date for its action RPG, which is currently available for PS5, PC, and... Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Launch Trailer Hypes up Imminent PS5 Release The action-adventure title launches for Sony's console on April 17, though those who purchase the Premium Edit... Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition Will Launch for PS5 in May 6 It will be accompanied by the RTS' next DLC, The Three Kingdoms, which brings new civilizations, campaigns, an... Nintendo Switch 2 vs 1 – 15 Biggest Differences You May Not Know Here's how the Switch's successor is looking to change things up. Where Does DOOM: The Dark Ages Fit in the Series’ Timeline? id Software has offered brought details, but how exactly will the upcoming shooter tie into other DOOM titles?View More

For those that don't know, we have been helping keep track of all the 2024 Game of the Year awards from different websites and publications, and it seems that Astro Bot won the most. Most of the work done was by BrickArts295 and a huge thank you for him. He also provided other stats that I think are interesting from this year and past years. A huge thank you to everyone that helped finding the Goty awards for 2024. And may the race to 2025 Overall Goty start... Read more

For as tremendous as FromSoftware games are, none of them are particularly good at co-op. You can’t just invite your friend and join a party in Elden Ring. You need to be in the right place, with the right password, while the right stars in the universe align just to hit monsters with your friends. If it wasn’t for the seamless co-op mod by Yui, Elden Ring’s co-op would be borderline unplayable.A few months ago, Yui went back and fixed co-op in Dark Souls 3. And now she’s fixed the most important game in FromSoftware’s history: the original Dark Souls.The first version of the seamless co-op mod for Dark Souls Remastered was released on Thursday. With it, you can play the action RPG that kicked off a whole genre with up to six players. “Simply put, the mod allows you to play with friends throughout the entirety of the game with no restrictions,” Yui wrote in the description on Nexus Mods.In the announcement video, you can see that it works like the Elden Ring version: You use a custom item in your inventory to summon people into your world at any time. Defeating bosses won’t disband the group like it does normally, and everyone won’t be prevented from interacting with NPCs. It just works.“Dark Souls 1 was my first Dark Souls game and it has a special place in my heart,” Yui told Polygon over DMs. “I also believe that the interconnected world of the game makes it a truly great candidate for seamless co-op.”Yui said it was much easier to make than the one for Elden Ring, but that there were a few issues that had to be worked out. Dark Souls came out 11 years before Elden Ring and wasn’t designed to be truly open-world, so players are gated by fog doors during regular co-op. Yui had to work around the game unloading parts of the map when people get too far away from the host, which “took a good amount of reverse engineering to get down,” she said.Even with those roadblocks, it only took her a week to get the mod running. It’s fully functional right now, but Yui said she’ll continue to fix any reported bugs until its flawless.Installing the mod requires unzipping some files into the right place and choosing a unique password for everyone to use. Then you’re free to roam around Lordran with your posse of Chosen Undead. And don’t worry about getting banned. The mod doesn’t touch FromSoftware’s servers and uses separate save files. Your co-op crew is safe.See More: Dark SoulsPlaystationPlaystation logoWindowsWindows logoXboxXbox logoExplore The GameWhy it mattersDon’t be fooled by the castles and dragons, Dark Souls isn’t your typical dark fantasy action RPG. Though the world is bleak, it’s full of charming weirdos, beautiful views, and brutal combat that can be just as much of a joke as a challenge.— Tyler Colp, Games Writer