The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 A new study upends everything we know about particle physics
A particle called the W boson is much heavier than previously thought. (Quanta)
+ Physicists are stressed out by it. (CNET)
2 The war in Ukraine has spread to Google Maps
After Putin invaded, some mapmakers changed Crimea from a disputed territory to part of Ukraine. (Slate $)
+ Hackers tried to infiltrate Ukrainian military personnel’s Facebook accounts. (The Verge)
+ Holding Russia to account for war crimes won’t be easy. (The New Yorker $)
3 China wants to stop web giants abusing their algorithms
By asking the likes of ByteDance to disclose how they work. (Bloomberg $)
4 Gig drivers are being murdered while they’re working
Why isn’t more being done to protect them? (The Markup)
5 We don’t actually know how many billionaires there are
Mainly because they don’t want to be identified. (NYT $)
6 Can Twitter’s edit button really be a force for good?
Editing typos is fine but altering entire tweets would be Extremely Bad Indeed. (Wired $)
+ Maybe the company should focus on combating abuse instead? (FT $)
+ Elon Musk is holding an AMA session to set anxious employees’ minds at ease. (WP $)
+ Twitter will now let you excuse yourself from tweets you don’t want to be tagged in. (CNET)
7 How do you live with a mental disorder that doesn’t officially exist?
The nature of complex trauma makes identifying triggers uniquely difficult. (Slate $)
+ Ukraine’s children are deeply scarred by the war. (Wired $)
8 Brands are sinking serious cash into the metaverse
But virtual spaces are still attracting few visitors. (Rest of World)
+ The metaverse’s main problem? A lack of mainstream uses. (FT $)
+ Virtual reality was kickstarted by a parachute accident in the 90s. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ Lego wants to make the metaverse child-friendly. (WP $)
9 If you recently received a text message from yourself, you’re not alone
It’s part of a huge wave of spam. (NYT $)
10 Are people quitting YouTube?
Subscriber numbers are swelling, but creators say their view counts are falling. (OneZero)
+ This conservator’s art restoration videos are having no trouble attracting viewers. (Artnet)