According to a 2022 poll from YouGov, 39% of Americans believe they have some form of paranormal ability. About a quarter of that group think they can sense other people's auras or emotion; 15% say they can hear voices or sounds from ghosts; and about 13% think they can see events from the past or future. This is a public service announcement to the nearly 13 million Americans who believe they have supernatural powers: You are leaving a lot of money on the table. Various groups of skeptics worldwide have put a total of $1,408,424 (and one goat) on the table, and all that filthy lucre is just waiting to be collected by anyone who can manifest paranormal power. The specific kinds of powers you need to demonstrate to win the prizes run the gamut. Dutch organization Stichting Skepsis will shell out 12 grand to practitioners of some forms of alternative medicine who can demonstrate its effectiveness (so if you're into applied kinesiology, give 'em a shot), and you can get a free goat from Fayetteville Freethinkers for proving a "fulfilled Biblical prophecy." But whether you're able to see the future, move objects with your mind, or talk to spirits, there's a prize out there for you. The history of paranormal prizesThe first monetary prize for proof of paranormal activity was offered by Scientific American in 1922. In the midst of the spiritualism movement, the publication offered $2,500 for anyone who could produce a "spirit photograph" (a photo that captures an image of a ghost) under controlled conditions, and $2,500 for anyone able to produce a "visible psychic manifestation." Famous (at the time) medium George Valiantine gave it a shot and was able to create the illusion of a trumpet floating in the air in a dark room, but the test committee (which included Harry Houdini) had connected his chair to a light in an adjoining room, which lit up whenever Valiantine left his chair, which was also every time the trumpet appeared. Valiantine was proven a fraud, and Scientific American kept their cash.The most famous bounty for psychic ability is the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi, a magician turned professional skeptic, first offered a prize of $1,000 back in 1964, but the cash grew to a million by 1996. Between 1964 and 2015 when the prize was discontinued, over 1,000 people applied, but none were successful at demonstrating their supernatural power under controlled conditions. No remote viewers were able to remote view. No dowsers were able to find hidden objects. No mind reader was able to read minds.How paranormal prizes can backfireYou'd think that a 100% failure rate might make people question the reality of psychic abilities, but for a lot of people, public failure can make psychic abilities seem more plausible. At least that's how it worked for Uri Geller. Geller, who's still around and still claiming supernatural power, began gaining attention in the early 1970s for his supposed ability to bend spoons with his mind. While he never tried for James Randi's prize, the two had a famous run-in on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show that demonstrated the problems with disproving paranormal activity. Carson, who had been magician, was skeptical of Geller's claims, and brought him on his show and presented him with some tests that Randi helped develop. If you want to see some uncomfortable TV, check it out: If you don't have the 20 minutes to spare, Carson lets Geller take his time and try any of a series of test of his ability, but Geller can't. With Carson watching carefully and not allowing Geller control of any of the props, Geller can't bend a spoon with his mind; he can't determine whether a container holds water. He can't do anything.You'd think a public failure this complete would have ended Geller's career, but it had the opposite effect. Geller blamed his failure on "not feeling strongly" and claimed he might have been "blocking himself" that night. Many apparently saw Geller's failure as proof that he was the real thing; after all, if he was a magician, the tricks would have worked. Geller then became a popular guest on other talk shows where he was able to perform his tricks successfully under less controlled conditions, and a star was born. Why disproving anything is difficultWhile Uri Geller and other high-profile psychics are performers and are no doubt aware of how they're achieving their results, the 13 million or so Americans who believe they possess special powers aren't being deceitfulit's just easy to believe in the supernatural. When something unusual happens, when a one-in-a-million occurrence occurs, it's easy to see that as proof of a mysterious, unexplainable something. If you're thinking about a friend and they text you that very minute, how can you not see that as evidence of some weird connection? But one-in-a-million events happen to over 300 people in America every single day, and there's no James Randi or Johnny Carson around to provide a controlled experiment to prove it's just a coincidence, to explain that you probably think of people all the time who don't text you that minute.But maybe I'm wrong. If I am, there's over a million dollars and a goat out there waiting for the right person to come along and claim them.

The White Lotus fans have much to look forward to in February: The third season of the satirical anthology series will premiere on Max on Feb. 16, with additional episodes airing weekly at 9 p.m. ET. This installment was filmed around Thailand, including Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, and stars season one's Natasha Rothwell (reprising her role) along with heavy hitters like Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, and Parker Posey. Also returning in February is the Emmy-winning series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Feb. 16), now in its 12th season. On the film side, Max will stream A24's We Live in Time (Feb. 7), a romantic drama about a decadeshown in nonlinear fashionin the life of a couple played by Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2024 and is mostly known for inspiring an excellent meme.Here's everything else coming to Max in February, including Puppy Bowl XXI (Feb. 9), the annual Super Bowl Sunday event featuring 142 rescue puppies. Kickoff airs at 1 p.m. ET followed by the competition at 2 p.m. ET.Whats coming to Max in February 2025Available February 142 (2013)Accidentally Brave (2023)Bad Boys (1995)Bad Boys II (2003)Brian Banks (2019)Cabin in the Sky (1949)Cleats & Convos with Deebo Samuel, Episode 114 (B/R)Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)Deepwater Horizon (2016)Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)Dredd (2012)Duplicity (2009)Entertainment (2015)Experimenter (2015)Final Destination (2000)Final Destination 2 (2003)Final Destination 3 (2006)Final Destination 5 (2011)Ivanhoe (1952)Jackie (2016)Jezebel (1938)Jupiter's Darling (1955)Just Mercy (2020)King Solomon's Mines (1950)Kitty Foyle (1940)Kusama: Infinity (2018)Lady Be Good (1941)Lassie Come Home (1943)Life Partners (2014)Lili (1953)Little Women (1949)Love & Basketball (2000)Mad Money (2008)Malcolm X (1992)Mary of Scotland (1936)Massacre (1934)Mechanic: Resurrection (2016)Mildred Pierce (1945)Mister Roberts (1955)Mr. Church (2016)Mrs. Miniver (1942)Neptune's Daughter (1949)Noma: My Perfect Storm (2015)One Way Passage (1932)Safe in Hell (1931)Shadow on the Wall (1950)Skate Kitchen (2018)Skiptrace (2016)Sleepwalking (2008)Speed (1994)Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)Support the Girls (2018)Take Out (2004)Taxi Driver (1976)The Bank Job (2008)The Color Purple (1985)The Conjuring (2013)The Guilty (2018)The Harvey Girls (1946)The Host (2007)The Last Circus (2011)The Last Days on Mars (2013)The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)The Life of Emile Zola (1937)The Lost Patrol (1934)The Notebook (2004)The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)The Search (1948)The Tall Target (1951)The Wave (2016)The Window (1949)The Woman in Red (1935)They Were Expendable (1945)Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)Traitor (2008)Unknown (2011)Vacation from Marriage (1945)Waitress (2007)Watch on the Rhine (1943)We Are the Best! (2014)Available February 2The Edge with Micah Parsons, Episode 122 (B/R)We Baby Bears, Season 2C (Cartoon Network)Available February 390 Day Fianc Pillow Talk: Before the 90 Days, Season 7 (TLC)Common Side Effects, Season 1 (Adult Swim)Dog Detectives, Season 1 (Animal Planet)Very Scary Lovers (ID)Available February 4Celebrity IOU, Season 9 (HGTV)The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Season 3 (CNN Originals)Available February 6Destinations of the Damned with Zak Bagans, Season 1B (Discovery)Izzy Does It, Season 1 (HGTV)The Takedown: American Aryans (Max Original)Available February 7Lu & The Bally Bunch, Season 1AHow I Left the Opus Dei (El Minuto Heroico: Yo Tambin Dej El Opus Dei) (Max Original)We Live in Time (A24) (2024)Available February 8Luther Vandross: Never Too Much (CNN Films)Available February 9Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff (Animal Planet)Puppy Bowl XXI (Animal Planet)Available February 11Central Intelligence (2016)Central Intelligence: Extended Edition (2016)Father Stu (2022)Available February 12Guy's Grocery Games, Season 37 (Food Network)Available February 13Home Sweet Rome, Season 1B (Max Original)Available February 14Silly Sundays, Season 1AWaitress: The Musical (2023)Available February 16Have I Got News for You, Season 2 (CNN Originals)Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Season 12 (HBO Original)Love & Marriage: Huntsville, Season 9 (OWN)Pearl: The X-Traordinary Origin Story (2022)The White Lotus, Season 3 (HBO Original)Available February 1790 Day Fiance, Season 11 (TLC)Evil Lives Here, Season 17 (ID)Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers (Food Network)Watchmen: Chapter II (2025)Available February 18We Beat The Dream Team (TNT & HBO Original)Available February 19Exposed: Naked Crimes, Season 3 (ID)Moonshiners: Master Distiller, Season 7A (Discovery)Renovation Aloha, Season 2 (HGTV)Available February 20Bea's Block, Season 1B (Max Original)Available February 21Elevation (2024)Available February 22House Hunters Renovation, Season 18 (HGTV)Available February 24End of Watch (2012)Homestead Rescue, Season 12 (Discovery)Available February 25Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest (HBO Original)Wipeout, Season 2B (TBS)Available February 27Cyotl: Hero and Beast (Cyotl: Hroe y Bestia), Season 1 (Max Original)Available February 28Christina on the Coast, Season 6B (HGTV)Morbius (2022)Toad and Friends, Season 1A

Xbox is hosting its Developer Direct showcase today, and you'll be able to watch along live on YouTube, Twitch or our handy embed below.The stream starts as 1PM ET / 10AM PT and is supposed to feature updates from the developers of South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33and Doom: The Dark Ages. Xbox is also promising to "visit a surprise location to see another studios brand new game." Windows Central reports the mysterious unannounced game is "a new entry in a legendary Japanese IP which has decades of history," which certainly sounds intriguing. At the very least, the rest of the games featured are slated to launch in 2025.Xbox spent most of 2024 adjusting its strategy around releasing games, delaying some titles to this year, and bringing some formerly exclusive games to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The company seems like it's favoring timed exclusives over hoarding everything for Xbox and PC, so the job of this Developer Direct is a little bit different this time. Besides letting developers sell their games, the real test of the show is if it can get you excited about games that are coming to Xbox first, rather than only coming to Xbox at all.You can watch the Xbox Developer Direct showcase on YouTube, Twitch, or right here in the embed above when it starts at 1PM ET / 10AM PT.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/how-to-watch-the-latest-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-110013502.html?src=rss

We all want to protect our phones from the inevitable drops, scratches and tumbles of daily life, but what if your phone case could protect more than just your device? The best eco-friendly phone cases offer a great blend of durability and sustainability, helping to reduce plastic waste and better the planet.Made from natural materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled ocean waste or even sustainable bamboo, eco-friendly and compostable phone cases prove that you dont have to sacrifice style or protection to go green. Theyre designed to safeguard your device while actively combating plastic pollution, making them a win-win for both you and Mother Earth.Whether youre looking for something sleek and minimal or bold and artistic, theres an eco-friendly option out there that will fit your style. Instead of a standard plastic case, you can choose one thats both practical and planet-friendly. Eco-friendly phone case FAQs What makes a phone case eco-friendly? A phone case can be considered eco-friendly when its designed to protect not just your phone but also the planet. What sets these cases apart is the use of sustainable materials like biodegradable plastics, recycled plastic waste or even natural materials like bamboo or flax straw. Instead of contributing to plastic pollution, these materials break down naturally over time, or are made from recycled content that reduces waste. Eco-friendly cases can also go a step further by being compostable, meaning you can toss them in a compost bin at the end of their life and theyll decompose into the earth without leaving harmful residues. Plus, many brands behind these cases focus on sustainable practices, like reducing carbon emissions during production or offering recycling programs for old cases.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-eco-friendly-phone-cases-150016494.html?src=rss

In 3D rendering tasks, Nvidias RTX 4090 outpaces Apples M3 Max and AMDs Radeon GPUs, while Apple retains an edge in 2D workflows.

Netflix's February 2025 list packs another wave of must-watch titles, as well as the occasional time-waster. Here's everything new on Netflix in February 2025.

Britain's competition regulator launched an investigation into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems to assess whether they're in breach of strict new tech laws.

Mickey 17 Directed by Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, an employee with the job to die and be reborn every time his life is in danger. The sci-fi drama cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo. Featuring music by Jung Jaeil, it has cinematography by Darius Khondji, as created from Edward Ashtons novel Mickey 7.DNEG, Framestore, Rising Sun Pictures, and Turncoat Pictures did the VFX work. Production VFX Supervisor is Dan Glass. The film will be released in 2024.The post Mickey 17 Official Trailer appeared first on Vfxexpress.

The Brutalist, a three-and-a-half-hour awards favorite, is a film about human creativity. Ironically, its biggest scandal surrounds artificial intelligence.Brady Corbets epic follows Hungarian Jew Lszl Tth, played by Adrien Brody, as he flees the Nazis and picks up his architecture practice in the United States. Eventually he manages to bring his wife, Erzsbet, played by Felicity Jones, to join him. Both characters frequently speak in Hungarian throughout the film. That dialogue, it turns out, may have been supplemented by an AI speech tool.In an interview with RedShark News, The Brutalists editor, Dvid Jancs, revealed that the film had employed Respeecher, an AI voice editing tool. Cinephiles online blew up, with some even planning to boycott the film. Corbet is now on an oddball apology tour, clarifying just how AI was used by the production. But he shouldnt have to be. The mass freakout fundamentally misunderstands what film editing actually looks like, and how films stay on budget.What is artificial film editing?Jancs is a native Hungarian speaker; he knows how difficult the language is to replicate. Thats true even for Brody, whose mother is in fact a Hungarian refugee. While producers coached Brody and Jones intensively, they used the AI tool Respeecher to insert some of Jancss own pronunciations into the dialogue.In the RedShark interview, Jancs acknowledges how commonplace these types of audio edits are. You can do this in [Avid] Pro Tools yourself, but we had so much dialogue in Hungarian that we really needed to speed up the process otherwise wed still be in post, he said. Thats what the naysayers misunderstand: Film editing is fundamentally artificial. For years, filmmakers have been manipulating dialogue through creative splicing and re-creation. Editing tools have gotten increasingly more sophisticated. Now theyre just labeled with AI.Jancs also said in the interview that generative AI helped create the architectural images featured in the final sequence of the film. Corbet later clarified: Judy Becker and her team did not use AI to create or render any of the buildings. All images were hand-drawn by artists. Remember that The Brutalist, a sprawling cinematic epic of proportions rarely produced in the current film market, was made for a mere $10 million. For reference, the film in which Brody had his breakout, Academy Award-winning role, The Pianist, cost $25 million moreand that was 22 years ago. Hand-drawing all images on The Brutalists budget, even if modulated or inspired by AI, is impressive.But cinephiles online couldnt take it. One viral X post says Jancs is just looking for an excuse to avoid paying visual artists and suggests it amounts to the erasure of a fundamental aspect of . . . acting. Many have said its hypocritical to use AI in a film about the humanity of art; others say Brody should be disqualified from Oscar contention.Whos afraid of the big bad AI?The film industry has a good reason to be fearful of AI. Feature films are being created out of thin air, with no craft behind them. Their quality is still low, but its a daunting sign of whats to come. Some Hollywood studios began collecting body scans of actors, worrying many that extra work would evaporate. Contracts reached in the 2023 Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Writers Guild of America strikes both included AI clauses.But this fear of human replacement has turned AI into a technological boogeyman. The words artificial intelligence are enough of a dog whistle to stir outrage. But lets face it: Hollywood can and will adapt to AI, and there may even be some benefits. These critics are merely burying their heads in the sand instead of properly appraising which applications are helpful and which arent.The Brutalist controversy will eventually pass, though the commotion could be a blow to the films Oscar chances. What will linger is this culture of AI hysteria.

There are certain social media rules we can all agree on: Ghosting a conversation is impolite, and replying k to a text is the equivalent of a backhand slap (violent, wrong, and rude). But what about the rest of the rules? When can we really remind someone of our old Venmo request? What happens when someone tries to flirt with you on LinkedIn?Fortunately, terminally online writers Delia Cai and Steffi Cao are here to answer all your digital quandaries, big or small. Welcome to Fast Companys advice column, Posting Playbook. This week, Steffiexplores what to do when a former employer keeps popping up in your feed.I keep seeing social media content from my former employer, where I had such a horrible experience. I dont even follow themit just comes up. What should I do?Felt this question in my soul. Not only are we fighting for our lives to avoid exes, soured friendships, lurking managers, and well-meaning parents on our social media feeds, we have to contend with the fact that companies also have voice-driven social media presences, and in their bid to lock in on the attention economy, we get their content on our feeds. The algorithm has definitely fed me content from a former employer that I absolutely hated working at, and it bums me out every time I get it on my feed. You were just trying to doomscroll, and now you have to relive the memory of an uncomfortable work environment because someone in the social media marketing department is sending out content into the void in their bid to hit their target KPIs.All you can do for this situation is block and mute. Ban all mentions of the company, avoid watching the content of former coworkers who still post the name. Frankly, thats all you can do to draw digital boundaries. Beyond that, you will need to turn inwards, whether thats in the form of a journal, a therapy session, or a night out with friends you made outside of work. A terrible workplace can truly be so mentally and emotionally corrosive, and it sucks to see reminders of a time you felt so defeated or angry for most of your waking hours, but its important to remind yourself of the other aspects of your life that are fulfilling and exciting. You should log off, sure, but its possible that other reminders will crop up, whether its running into the person who made your life miserable IRL, seeing the name of the company when youre managing your investments, or reading a headline about them in the news.The fact is that you can block the mentions, but you still need to deal with the root problem, which is processing whatever happened that made you have such a knee-jerk reaction to glancing upon the company name during your scrolling session. Companies have such an overarching presence in this country, so its important that you are able to make life easier for yourself by doing things that help you heal and serve as a reminder of the wonderful things in your life outside of your previous work. Hopefully you have a job that fulfills you now, hobbies that excite you outside work, or a support system that understands how messed up your old job was. And this is true of seeing any old pain echoed onto new posts. When you see that ex-boyfriend, ex-friend, annoying ex-manager crop up, its important to have something you know you can lean on.Is like-reacting to texts with no response rude?I personally dont like-react to anything except logistics because I do think it feels like a cold reaction (imagining giving someone a thumbs-up when they tell you theyre getting engaged or something), but I dont take it personally when someone does hit me with one. Of course, this has been a social media etiquette question since the heart button was rolled out, but I think weve collectively settled on the golden rule of intent versus impact. Anyone that is over 40 years old? Not rude. Anyone that generally texts with periods? Not rude. Anyone who doesnt have Twitter or TikTok downloaded on their phone? Not rude. Someone who usually types in all lowercase with exclamation points, but their syntax has suddenly changed for this heated conversation? Rude. Someone who saves their contacts with emojis? Rude.