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Could my glasses be making my eyesight worse?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-armitage-399647">James Armitage</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-hockley-1517162">Nick Hockley</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> So, you got your eyesight tested and found out you need your first pair of glasses. Or you found out you need a stronger pair than the ones you have. You put them on and everything looks crystal clear. But after a few weeks things look blurrier without them than they did before your eye test. What’s going on? Some people start to wear spectacles for the first time and perceive their vision is “bad” when they take their glasses off. They incorrectly interpret this as the glasses making their vision worse. Fear of this might make them <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140513-do-glasses-weaken-your-eyesight#:%7E:text=A%20study%20from,they%20are%20right%3F">less likely to wear their glasses</a>. But what they are noticing is how much better the world appears through the glasses. They become <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2576117X.2022.2033588">less tolerant</a> of a blurry world when they remove them. Here are some other things you might notice about eyesight and wearing glasses. <h2>Lazy eyes?</h2> Some people sense an increasing reliance on glasses and wonder if their eyes have become “lazy”. Our eyes work in much the same way as an auto-focus camera. A flexible lens inside each eye is controlled by muscles that let us <a href="https://www.aao.org/museum-eye-openers/how-does-eye-focus">focus on objects</a> in the distance (such as a footy scoreboard) by relaxing the muscle to flatten the lens. When the muscle contracts it makes the lens steeper and more powerful to see things that are much closer to us (such as a text message). From the age of about 40, the lens in our eye <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-lose-our-hearing-and-vision-as-we-age-67930">progressively hardens</a> and loses its ability to change shape. Gradually, we lose our capacity to focus on near objects. This is called “<a href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/presbyopia">presbyopia</a>” and at the moment there are no treatments for this lens hardening. Optometrists correct this with prescription glasses that take the load of your natural lens. The lenses allow you to see those up-close images clearly by providing extra refractive power. Once we are used to seeing clearly, our tolerance for blurry vision will be lower and we will reach for the glasses to see well again. <h2>The wrong glasses?</h2> Wearing old glasses, the wrong prescription (or even someone else’s glasses) won’t allow you to see as well as possible for day-to-day tasks. It could also cause <a href="https://headaches.org/readers-mail-glasses-causing-headache/">eyestrain and headaches</a>. Incorrectly prescribed or dispensed prescription glasses can lead to vision impairment in children <a href="https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2126392">as their visual system is still in development</a>. But it is more common for kids to develop long-term vision problems as a result of <a href="https://www.cera.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Healthy-Young-Eyes-Guide-ACC.pdf">not wearing glasses when they need them</a>. By the time children are about 10–12 years of age, wearing incorrect spectacles is less likely to cause their eyes to become lazy or damage vision in the long term, but it is likely to result in <a href="https://www.cera.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Healthy-Young-Eyes-Guide-ACC.pdf">blurry or uncomfortable vision</a> during daily wear. <a href="https://goodvisionforlife.com.au/">Registered optometrists in Australia</a> are trained to assess refractive error (whether the eye focuses light into the retina) as well as the different aspects of ocular function (including how the eyes work together, change focus, move around to see objects). All of these help us see clearly and comfortably. <h2>What about dirty glasses?</h2> Dirty or scratched glasses can give you the impression your vision is worse than it actually is. Just like a window, the dirtier your glasses are, the more difficult it is to see clearly through them. <a href="https://www.optometry.org.au/wp-content/uploads/GVFL/Brochure_PDFs/Care-for-Glasses-2018-A4-single-page-final.pdf">Cleaning glasses regularly</a> with a microfibre lens cloth will help. While dirty glasses are not commonly associated with eye infections, some research suggests dirty glasses can <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207238">harbour bacteria</a> with the remote but theoretical <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6628431/#:%7E:text=59%2C60%5D.-,S.,39%2C40%2C41%5D.">potential to cause eye infection</a>. To ensure best possible vision, people who wear prescription glasses every day should clean their lenses at least every morning and twice a day where required. Cleaning frames with alcohol wipes can <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207238">reduce bacterial contamination by 96%</a> – but care should be taken as alcohol can damage some frames, depending on what they are made of. <h2>When should I get my eyes checked?</h2> <a href="https://goodvisionforlife.com.au/faqs/">Regular eye exams</a>, starting just before school age, are important for ocular health. Most prescriptions for corrective glasses <a href="https://www.ahpra.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD16%2F20156&dbid=AP&chksum=676U2aH1QM4XJ6ICVAVaKg%3D%3D">expire within two years</a> and contact lens prescriptions often expire after a year. So you’ll need an eye check for a new pair every year or so. Kids with ocular conditions such as progressive myopia (short-sightedness), strabismus (poor eye alignment), or amblyopia (reduced vision in one eye) will need checks at least every year, but likely more often. Likewise, people over 65 or who have known eye conditions, such as <a href="https://goodvisionforlife.com.au/vision-problems/glaucoma/">glaucoma</a>, will be recommended more frequent checks. An <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6706420/">online prescription estimator</a> is no substitute for a full eye examination. If you have a valid prescription then you can order glasses online, but you miss out on the ability to check the fit of the frame or to have them adjusted properly. This is particularly important for multifocal lenses where even a millimetre or two of misalignment can cause uncomfortable or blurry vision. Conditions such as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/diabetes-vision-loss.html#:%7E:text=Diabetic%20retinopathy%20is%20caused%20when,vision%20or%20stopping%20blood%20flow.">diabetes</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525980/">high blood pressure</a>, can affect the eyes so regular eye checks can also help flag broader health issues. The vast majority of eye conditions can be treated if caught early, highlighting the importance of regular preventative care.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225169/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-armitage-399647">James Armitage</a>, Associate Professor in Vision Science, Optometry Course Director, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-hockley-1517162">Nick Hockley</a>, Lecturer in Optometric Clinical Skills, Director Deakin Collaborative Eye Care Clinic, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-my-glasses-be-making-my-eyesight-worse-225169">original article</a>.

Body

UFO sightings: 15 most chilling sightings in history

“Unexplained aerial phenomena” When it comes to extra-terrestrial life and making contact with those from outer space, everyone has an opinion. Some think it’s all a hack, some are open to speculate, and others still are entirely taken with the tales and stories as old as time, cameras poised and tinfoil hats at the ready (one of many crazy conspiracy theories). UFOs have fascinated and confused us for years as each new flying saucer or hovercraft sighting makes national news and splits us into two camps. While it’s easy to debunk individual stories, it’s much harder to argue with the US Department of Defense. In videos leaked back in 2007 and 2017, the Pentagon has aimed to “clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real.” In the video, unidentified objects are seen spinning and hovering in the air and above the water while two navy pilots remark in shock and confusion over the two oblong, disk-shaped “objects.” Whether you’re a believer or a sceptic, UFO sightings bring out a little wonder (and a little fear!) in all of us. Take a look at these sightings and stories and make of it what you will. Most importantly, keep looking to the sky. Betty and Barney Hill It’s only fair that we begin with one of the most famous UFO and alien abduction cases in history: the Betty and Barney Hill case. The two were driving on a road in the US state of New Hampshire at night when a bright light seemed to start following them. When they eventually got home, it was daylight, their clothes were dirty and ripped, their watches had stopped working – and they couldn’t remember a thing. During sessions with a psychiatrist, they later recalled being probed and violated by aliens during an abduction. The case was investigated by Project Blue Book, a now declassified UFO secret. The Melbourne 350 More than 300 students and teachers of Westall High School in Melbourne, Australia saw an unbelievable sight on April 6, 1966, shares the New York Post. They were all looking incredulously at five planes that were attempting to corner and capture a UFO. This went on for a while before the UFO zipped away, out of sight. It is reported that the headmaster of the school and even strange men in black suits told the students and teachers never to say anything about it, even though it was witnessed by hundreds of people. Zimbabwe children and the end of the world In September of 1994, several UFOs allegedly hovered near a school in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, reports Vanity Fair. The children who observed these UFOs were terrified when they were asked to explain what had happened. They described beings with big heads, no nose (just two holes), no mouth, and long black hair. The children said they were dressed in dark suits and communicated telepathically. “‘I think it’s about something that’s going to happen,’” said one little girl. ‘What I thought was maybe the world’s going to end. They were telling us the world’s going to end. I don’t even know. It just popped up in my head. He never said anything. He talked just with his eyes.’” <div class="slide-image" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The Rendlesham Forest Incident Known as “Britain’s Roswell,” the Rendlesham Forest Incident is one of the most famous UFO reports. The reason? Because the witnesses involved in the December 1980 event were, in fact, US military personnel and considered highly credible witnesses. They reported seeing an alien aircraft zoom through the forest. When they went to go check it out, it seemed as though strange hieroglyphics were written all over the craft. It turns out that this was most likely a prank played on the US soldiers by the British military. The O’Hare International Airport saucer On November 7, 2006, US United Flight 446 was about to depart from Chicago’s O’Hare International airport, when a dozen United Airlines employees spotted an odd metallic craft hovering over the gate. The employees reported that it hung in the air for several minutes before finally shooting up at breakneck speed into the clouds. The strangest part? The UFO did not register on the airport’s radar, despite all the witnesses. The FAA declined to investigate, chalking it up to a “weather phenomenon.” The Frederick Valentich Disappearance Australian pilot Frederick Valentich was flying over the Bass Strait when he encountered something that he couldn’t identify, according to News.com.au. He got on his radio to notify air control that there was a strange vessel the likes of which he had never seen before, circling him, as if taunting him. “It is hovering and it is not an aircraft,” were the last words Valentich said before he and his plane disappeared forever. Robert Matthews and missing time According to CBS Reality, an Airman named Robert Matthews got off of a bus in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, to report for his first tour of duty back in 1966. Matthews saw strange lights appearing in the deserted area where the bus driver had told him to call and wait for a truck to pick him up and take him to base. Afraid, he used a payphone to call the base a second time, what he thought was five minutes later. The person who answered the phone told him that the truck had arrived to pick him up five minutes after he got off the bus, but that the driver couldn’t find Matthews. In actuality, an hour separated those two phone calls. This phenomenon is called “missing time” and is commonly associated with alien abduction cases. The Broad Haven Primary School drawings The BBC reports that in 1977, a group of school children from the Broad Haven Primary School claimed to have seen a UFO near their playground. The teachers of the school refused to believe them, but when the children were separated and asked to draw pictures of the experience, they all came up with the same drawing of a flying saucer. Barbara Lamb and the lizard man A woman named Barbara Lamb, a psychotherapist who observed crop circles, claimed that a reptilian figure appeared in her house one day, reports Vanity Fair. He was tall and had piercing yellow eyes. Normally not fond of snakes and lizards, the reptile appeared friendly and welcoming to Lamb, so she reached out to touch his hand. Then the lizard man vanished as suddenly as he appeared. Fred Crisman and Harold Dahl In 1947, Harold Dahl was out on the Puget Sound in Washington State, USA with his son and his dog. History.com recounts that Dahl saw six strange aircraft overhead, one of which fell an estimated 450 metres out of the sky and into the water below. The metal debris hurt his son and killed his dog. Dahl told his supervisor at work, Fred Crisman, what had happened and Crisman came and verified it for himself. Soon afterward, a man in a black suit supposedly came to Dahl and warned him not to speak of the incident again – it is said that this incident inspired the movie Men in Black. The Washington Merry-go-Round A 1952 incident where seven unidentified objects appeared over secure air space near the US Pentagon was captured on film. The crafts were registered on radar, and jets were immediately sent to investigate these suspicious, strange crafts. However, when the American jets approached that air space, those seven objects disappeared from the radar. When the jets landed, the objects returned to the radar screen once more. President Harry S. Truman was notified and Airforce Intelligence Director General Sanford held a press conference saying that there were reports “made by credible observers of relatively incredible things. It’s this group of observations that we are attempting to resolve.” There was no resolution. Japan Airlines Flight 1628 In 2001, former FAA official John Callahan told a conference of high ranking officials that in 1986, Japan Airlines Flight 1628 was on its way from Paris to Tokyo when crew members spotted several UFOs. In a television documentary, the American Heroes Channel reports that the JAL crew called in multiple UFOs surrounding the plane, including one that was four times their own size. They made an emergency landing in Anchorage, Alaska, where the ground crew confirmed the sighting. The Muscarello Exeter incident It was 1965 in Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, when a hitchhiker named Norman Muscarello saw five strange red flashing lights in the woods. As TV station WMUR recounts, the source of the lights suddenly came towards him at a frightening speed. Muscarello dove into a ditch to avoid being hit before flagging down a motorist. The police investigated the area, and they, too, saw the same aircraft with the same bright red lights speed off out of sight. Today, the event is celebrated with a yearly Exeter UFO Festival. A Knock on Rick Sorrells's Door In 2008, an unfathomably large aircraft hovered above Stephenville, Texas, USA. Many people in the community saw it, and according to the Mutual UFO Network, a pilot named Steven Allen reported that the unusual aircraft was flying at an estimated 4,800 kilometres per hour and was being chased by fighter jets. Then, a man named Rick Sorrells said he saw the same thing while hunting. Later, Sorrells says a strange man knocked on his door and said, “‘Son we have the same calibre weapons you have, but we have more of them. You need to shut your mouth about what you saw.” Richard French and the Drowned UFOs In the 1950s, it was Lieutenant Colonel Richard French’s job to explain away UFO phenomena for the government. There was only one problem: Lt. Col. French actually saw alien ships with his own eyes, reports the Daily Mail. At a Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in 2013, the then-83-year-old man told the truth for the first time about what he saw as a young man in the waters of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada: two UFOs that had crashed and sunk in the water, and aliens trying to fix them. They succeeded and took off. He didn’t mention UFOs in his report at the time. How’s that for a freaky government cover-up? Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/culture/15-most-chilling-ufo-sightings-ever-recorded?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </div>

International Travel

Rare sighting as famous friends step out in support of Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox has been joined by a host of his famous friends for a screening of his upcoming documentary. The new documentary explores the Back to the Future star's ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease, and the changes in his life and condition as he gets older. In a show of support for the actor, his celebrity mates joined together for a screening of Still at New York's Lincoln Center. Among the famous faces was actress Meg Ryan, who has not been spotted in public for more than six months. The former rom-com queen, best known for starring roles in films like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, lives a more quiet life outside of the spotlight these days. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr1TCUeO8e3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr1TCUeO8e3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Tracy Pollan (@tracy.pollan)</a> </div> </blockquote> Ryan hasn’t appeared on screen since the 2015 film Ithaca, which she also directed. However, she is plotting a return to screens later this year, with Ryan starring in and directing the film What Happens Later, which is currently in production. Ryan was among a star-studded group of famous friends supporting J. Fox for the premiere of his doco, with stars including Bill Murray, Denis Leary, Joan Jett, Katie Couric, Mariska Hargitay, and Debra Messing. The screening of the documentary comes after Michael J. Fox <a href="https://oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/i-m-not-gonna-be-80-michael-j-fox-s-tragic-admission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> that his battle with the disease is getting more difficult. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">“I’m not gonna be 80,” he said in a preview for an upcoming episode of the American current affairs program CBS Sunday Morning, according to Page Six. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">In the clip, Journalist Jane Pauley tells Fox that he has “not squandered” but that his condition will eventually “make the call” as to when it’s his time to go. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">“Yeah, it’s, it’s banging on the door,” the actor said. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">“I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher.” <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Image credits: Instagram

Caring

Chatbots set their sights on writing romance

Although most would expect artificial intelligence to keep to the science fiction realm, authors are facing mounting fears that they may soon have new competition in publishing, particularly as the sales of romantic fiction continue to skyrocket. And for bestselling author Julia Quinn, best known for writing the Bridgerton novel series, there’s hope that “that’s something that an AI bot can’t quite do.” For one, human inspiration is hard to replicate. Julia’s hit series - which went on to have over 20 million books printed in the United States alone, and inspired one of Netflix’s most-watched shows - came from one specific point: Julia’s idea of a particular duke. “Definitely the character of Simon came first,” Julia told BBC reporter Jill Martin Wrenn. Simon, in the Bridgerton series, is the Duke of Hastings, a “tortured character” with a troubled past. As Julia explained, she realised that Simon needed “to fall in love with somebody who comes from the exact opposite background” in a tale as old as time. And so, Julia came up with the Bridgerton family, who she described as being “the best family ever that you could imagine in that time period”. Meanwhile, Simon is estranged from his own father. Characterisation and unique relationship dynamics - platonic and otherwise - like those between Julia’s beloved characters are some of the key foundations behind any successful story, but particularly in the romance genre, where relationships are the entire driving force. It has long been suggested that the genre can become ‘formulaic’ if not executed well, and it’s this concern that prompts the idea that advancing artificial intelligence may have the capability to generate its own novel. ChatGPT is the primary problem point. The advanced language processing technology was developed by OpenAI and was trained using the likes of internet databases (such as Wikipedia), books, magazines, and the likes. The BBC reported that over 300 billion words were put into it. Because of this massive store of source material, the system can generate its own writing pieces, with the best of the bunch giving the impression that they were put together by a human mind. Across the areas of both fiction and non-fiction, it’s always learning. However, Julia isn’t too worried about her future in fiction just yet. Recalling how she’d checked out some AI romance a while ago, and how she’d found it “terrible”, she shared her belief at the time that there “could never be a good one.” But then the likes of ChatGPT entered the equation, and Julia admitted that “it makes me kind of queasy.” Still, she remains firm in her belief that human art will triumph. As she explained, “so much in fiction is about the writer’s voice, and I’d like to think that’s something that an AI bot can’t quite do.” And as for why romantic fiction itself remains so popular - and perhaps even why it draws the attention of those hoping to profit from AI generated work - she said that it’s about happy endings, noting that “there is something comforting and validating in a type of literature that values happiness as a worthy goal.” Images: @bridgertonnetflix / Instagram

Books

Vinyl record sales keep spinning and spinning – with no end in sight

Over the past decade, vinyl records have made a major comeback. People purchased US$1.2 billion of records in 2022, a 20% jump from the previous year. Not only did sales rise, but they also surpassed CD sales for the first time since 1988, according to <a href="https://www.riaa.com/2022-year-end-music-industry-revenue-report-riaa/">a new report</a> from the Recording Industry Association of America. Who saw that coming? I certainly didn’t. In the mid-1990s, I sold off my family’s very large collection of records over my wife’s protests. I convinced her we needed the space, even if the buyer was picking up the whole stash for a song. Back then, of course, there were far fewer options for listening to music – it was years before <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9986-the-year-in-streaming-2016/">on-demand streaming</a> and <a href="https://www.shockwave-sound.com/blog/music-on-the-move-a-short-history-of-mobile-listening/">smartphones</a>. <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/jay-zagorsky/">I now teach at a business school</a> and <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">follow the economy’s</a> latest trends. Sales of records have been increasing since 2007, and the data shows the vinyl record industry’s rebound still has not peaked. Last year, the music industry sold 41.3 million albums, more than in any year since 1988. This resurgence is just one chapter in a broader story about the growing popularity of older technologies. Not only are <a href="http://www.the-standard.org/life/vinyl-records-making-a-comeback-after-30-years-of-being-behind-cds/article_9108143e-3bdd-11ea-be0d-97edd557218b.html">LP records coming back</a>, but so are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2018/09/24/sales-are-booming-manhattan-typewriter-store-mostly-thanks-young-people-tom-hanks/">manual typewriters</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/24/board-game-popularity/">board games</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-gen-z-ers-drawn-to-old-digital-cameras-198854">digital cameras from the late 1990s and early 2000s</a>. There are many <a href="https://blog.technavio.com/blog/reasons-behind-upsurge-vinyl-record-sales">theories about why records</a> are <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/music/why-is-vinyl-making-a-comeback">making a comeback</a>. Most of them miss the point about their appeal. <h2>Why records and not CDs?</h2> One suggestion is that sales have been spurred by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p057l522">baby boomers</a>, many of whom <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/09/the-pace-of-boomer-retirements-has-accelerated-in-the-past-year/">are now entering retirement</a> and are eager to tap into the nostalgia of their youth. Data shows this theory is not true. First, the <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/vinyl-albums">top-selling vinyl albums right now are current artists</a>, not classic bands. As of this writing, <a href="https://illustrationchronicles.com/jamie-hewlett-gorillaz-and-the-enduring-evolution-of-pop">Gorillaz, a band formed in the late 1990s</a>, was at the top of the vinyl charts. Second, <a href="https://www.riaa.com/reports/2021-u-s-consumer-music-profile-musicwatch-inc/">data from the recording industry</a> shows the most likely person to buy a LP record is in Gen Z – people born from 1997 to 2012. Another theory is that records are cheap. While that might have been true in the past, today’s vinyl records command a premium. “Cracker Island,” the Gorillaz album that is currently topping the vinyl sales charts, <a href="https://usstore.gorillaz.com/products/cracker-island-standard-vinyl">lists for almost $22</a> – twice the cost of the CD. Plus, subscribing to an online service like Spotify for 15 bucks a month gives you access to millions of tracks. A third explanation for the resurgence is that <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/does-vinyl-really-sound-better/">people claim records have better sound quality</a> than digital audio files. Records are analog recordings that capture the entire sound wave. Digital files are sampled at periodic intervals, which means only part of the sound wave is captured. In addition to sampling, many <a href="https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/what-data-compression-does-your-music">streaming services and most stored audio files compress the sound</a> information of a recording. <a href="https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/soco/projects/data-compression/lossy/mp3/concept.htm">Compression allows people</a> to put more songs on their phones and listen to streaming services without using up much bandwidth. However, <a href="https://electronics.sony.com/hi-res-audio-mp3-cd-sound-quality-comparison">compression eliminates some sounds</a>. While LP records are not sampled or compressed, they do <a href="https://www.perfectvinylforever.com/faq">develop snap, crackle and popping sounds</a> after being played multiple times. Records also skip, which is something that doesn’t happen with digital music. If you’re really going for quality, CDs are usually a superior digital format because <a href="https://www.gearpatrol.com/tech/audio/a731474/reasons-to-buy-cds/">the audio data is not compressed</a> and has much better fidelity than records. Yet even though CDs are higher quality, <a href="https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/">CDs sales have been steadily falling</a> since their peak in 2000. <h2>The ultimate status symbol</h2> In my view, the most likely reason for the resurgence of records was identified by an economist over a century ago. In the late 1890s, <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Veblen.html">Thorstein Veblen</a> looked at spending in society and wrote an influential book called “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class">The Theory of the Leisure Class</a>.” In it, he explained that people often buy items as a way to gain and convey status. One of Veblen’s key ideas is that not everything in life is purchased because it is easy, fun or high quality. Sometimes harder, more time-consuming or exotic items offer more status. A cake is a great example. Say you offer to bring a cake to a party. You can buy a bakery-made cake that will look perfect and take only a few minutes to purchase. Or you could bake one at home. Even if it’s delicious, it won’t look as nice and will take hours to make. But if your friends are like mine, they’ll gush over the homemade cake and not mention the perfect store-bought one. Buying and playing vinyl records is becoming a status symbol. Today, playing music is effortless. Just shout your request at a smart speaker, like Siri or Alexa, or touch an app on your smartphone. Playing a record on a turntable takes time and effort. Building your collection requires thoughtful deliberation and money. A record storage cube alongside an accompanying record player also makes for some nice living room decor. And now I – the uncool professor that I am – find myself bemoaning the loss of all of those albums I sold years ago. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/vinyl-record-sales-keep-spinning-and-spinning-with-no-end-in-sight-201444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

The truth about computers and your eyesight

Do you ever find that at the end of the day your eyes are bloodshot, dry or fuzzy? It could be because you are your addicted to you digital devices. Here’s what you need to know. An increasing reliance on technology including laptops, tablets, smart phones and so on has given rise to a new health condition called computer vision syndrome (or CVS), which is effecting many Australians of all ages. Including a number of eye and vision-related problems, CVS is a result of prolonged use of digital devices. While they’re not thought to be permanent, symptoms of CVS are generally unpleasant and can cause some discomfort. Furthermore, CVS is also thought to be having an impact on the incidence of myopia (short-sightedness) with a study conducted by the National Eye Institute in the USA reporting the prevalence of near-sightedness increasing by around 66 per cent over the past 30 years in America. Whether for work or pleasure, the dramatic rise in ownership of smartphones and tablets coupled with modern day trends that involve doing more and more things from these devices (paying bills, shopping, research), is causing our eye muscles to work harder and for longer periods. There are ways to can prevent or at least limit any problems created by a digital device obsession. Keep an eye out for… You’ve probably experienced at least one of the common symptoms of computer vision syndrome which include: <ul> <li>Eyestrain</li> <li>Headaches</li> <li>Blurred vision</li> <li>Dry eyes</li> <li>Neck and shoulder pain</li> </ul> These symptoms may be caused by other factors such as uncorrected vision needs, glare, poor lighting, improper posture, etc. You should always consult an eye care professional who will be able to diagnose computer vision syndrome through an eye exam. What you can do to save your sight… With these simple practices, you can reduce, or even prevent the effects of computer vision syndrome: <ul> <li>Make sure the lighting in the room is comfortable on the eyes, and prevents you from staring into glare on the computer screen</li> <li>Position the computer screen so that your head is in a naturally comfortable position while working</li> <li>Take breaks. A few minutes away from the computer can go a long way when it comes to your eyes. Think of it similarly to the way you take stretch breaks for your arms and back.</li> <li>Make sure your seat is comfortable. A comfortable chair with support for your neck and back will help you avoid neck and shoulder strain commonly associated with computer vision syndrome.</li> </ul> Image: Getty

Body

Illegal fishers and wayward sharks are in the sights of new multispectral imaging

The oceans are warming. Reefs are dying. Fish are on the move. As a result, sharks and illegal fishers are scouring Australia’s coast in search of an increasingly elusive catch, and that, says ESpy Ocean founder Ian Dewey, is having an immense impact on everything from regional tourism to ocean ecologies. Illegal fishers, like sharks, are elusive predators. Their survival depends on being fast, silent and unexpected. They’re threatening a $1.6-billion regional Australia industry. Sharks also aren’t behaving the way they used to. They’re turning up in unexpected places, at unexpected times, which can result in tragedy. “Everyone says use drones or dirigibles to spot them,” Dewey says. “But everyone knows that when we’re on the beach in our string bikinis and Speedos, the last thing we want is a drone above us.” With dark fleets of illegal fishing boats turning off their tracking systems to breach international boundaries, time is of the essence in addressing the problem, just as it is with wayward sharks. “Both are increasing problems,” Dewey says. “I only know in terms of the illegal fishing missions that we’ve been involved in, but invariably there are people around protected areas on a daily basis”. Traditional spotter aircraft can’t cope, and using satellites to track vessels isn’t anything new. What is new is multispectral imaging. A regular camera captures an image on just three channels red, green and blue (RGB) – generating a crisp image of the visible spectrum if the weather is clear. A multispectral image has up to 110 different frequencies, ranging from ultraviolet to microwave. This imaging technology is nothing new. What is new is applying machine learning to identifying what it “sees”. “So it was a matter of working out what we can do through clouds in all kinds of weather, preferably right on dawn,” says Dewey. “I just started going through what frequencies can do what and – if we are looking for a boat – what the hell’s it gonna look like?” It’s a similar story for sharks – what multispectral signatures do different species give, at what depth, under what conditions, at what time? Dewey says the potential to extract such detail from hyperspectral imaging is enormous. It can identify what a boat is made from, what sort of paint has been used (and how old it is), and what equipment is on the deck. “All these things mean that your picture is different to every other boat in the ocean,” he says. “If we see you today, we can see you tomorrow, match those frequencies, and say – we got you!” ESpy demonstrated the potential of the technology for New South Wales Fisheries over the last Easter long weekend. Suitable satellites were identified, access to their hyperspectral cameras was secured, and patrol vessels were stationed in strategic locations waiting for a call to action. “Our system is incredibly fast, which gives us the edge,” Dewey says. “Generally, our system allows boats to be caught red-handed. That makes it so much easier where the courts are concerned.” The shark-spotting challenge is a more recent project. ESpy is in initial discussions with NSW Fisheries and the University of South Australia’s Industrial AI Research Centre to develop techniques to spot the predators first thing in the morning and use established behavioural patterns to predict where they could move during the day. While trespassing trawlers present a major issue, the deadliest offender is often someone much closer to home. One dragnet can strip an ecosystem of everything from algae and small crustaceans to dolphins and turtles, leaving damage that can take years to recover. “Our big problem in Australia is the little guy who throws out a net once or twice,” Dewey says. “He’s generally local, or at least from within 100-or-so kilometres. But he’s got a high risk of being caught, so he just wants to get in and take as much as possible as quickly as possible.” <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=195119&title=Illegal+fishers+and+wayward+sharks+are+in+the+sights+of+new+multispectral+imaging" width="1" height="1" />This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/oceans/espy-oceans-tracking-waters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Jamie Seidel. Image: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Uluru turns into a waterfall in “rare and magical” sight

A rare bout of rain <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/northern-territory/uluru-turn-into-waterfall-amid-heavy-rain-in-region/news-story/d7ab44457590e77dfb3740e5d3c78f25" target="_blank">has turned</a> Uluru into a series of waterfalls, with footage emerging of the wondrous sight. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park shared a series of images and videos showing the transformation, after the area received 22 mm of rain earlier in the week. Though that might not sound like a lot of rain, Parks Australia said the area’s average rainfall is just under 300 mm — meaning it received seven percent of its annual rain in a single night. Parks Australia shared the “rare and magical” moment on social media, with one video capturing both the amazing sight and the sounds of burrowing frogs calling to each other. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CVxAxD2Fr3C/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CVxAxD2Fr3C/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (@seeuluru)</a> </div> </blockquote> “For most of the year these frogs are underground, avoiding hot and dry conditions,” Parks Australia explained in the caption. “They emerge after rain to breed, feed and return underground to evade perishing in the harsh weather conditions. “They continue to call for the next day or so, especially in the early morning and at dusk.” <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845319/uluru1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8baae45cf4da4585969de90e41e13193" /> Image: @seeuluru / Instagram But it isn’t the first time this kind of moment has been witnessed. Last year, the area received 30mm of rain — the biggest downpour in three years — which created a series of waterfalls that poured over Uluru. Following the most recent deluge, Parks Australia confirmed that the weather has since cleared. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CV1KPZ9htok/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CV1KPZ9htok/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (@seeuluru)</a> </div> </blockquote> “At about 5.30pm last night the skies lifted and it was clear that the Irish are right and there is a treasure at the rainbow,” the organisation wrote on Thursday, alongside a trio of photos capturing a double rainbow stretched across Uluru. Image: @seeuluru / Instagram

Domestic Travel

Cleo Smith sightings

Police are continuing to call on the public to report sightings of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith after receiving more than 200 from around the country. The officer leading the search, Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde of the Major Crime Division, said the possible sightings had been investigated but were found to be “unfruitful”. “I want to thank the public for calling that information in and that’s been national as well, so there’s been some of those in other states,” Wilde <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/news/wa/cleo-smith-search-takes-new-turn-as-wa-police-receive-more-than-200-reported-sightings-of-the-missing-girl-c-4357503" target="_blank">said</a> on Thursday afternoon. “Other policing jurisdictions have helped us and been there, and followed those leads through for us. “We’re very grateful for that.” <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845177/cleo-smith1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/00f703b533524a1da1c08b96bfffe57c" /> Detective Superintendent Rod Wilde is leading the search for Cleo. Image: 7NEWS Wilde said current investigations into the little girl’s whereabouts had proved “challenging”, but police were “hopeful and confident” they could solve the case. The search for Cleo has seen locals in Carnarvon, the wider community, interstate police, and international agencies such as the FBI assist in attempting to locate her, after she went missing from the Blowholes campsite on October 16. More than 100 campers who were at the site around the time of her disappearance have been interviewed by police, who are asking anyone else who was in the vicinity around that time to come forward. Though Wilde didn’t give any specifics regarding the investigation, he said it was “progressing” through a “system of elimination”. He also reiterated that Cleo’s parents weren’t suspects, and that visits to the family home were routine parts of the investigation. When asked about how Cleo’s parents were, he said they were “coping”. “Understandably, they’re upset. It’s been a difficult time for them,” he said. “Fortunately, they’re looked after by family and friends. Given the circumstances, they’re holding up.” Wilde also said that ash samples taken from burnt-out campfires at the campground were for “forensic opportunity” purposes, and may prove useful at a later date. He said the entire team was “very motivated” and “very grateful” for the assistance they have received in their investigation. Image: @elliejaydee23 / Instagram

News

Hiding in plain sight: Bizarre $10 note conspiracy theory

A cohort of Australian conspiracy theorists has claimed they found “proof” of an organised coronavirus conspiracy on the $10 note. Some “COVID-19 truthers” said the sign of a global conspiracy is featured on the Australian $10 banknote in the form of a gold reflective illustration. “The new $10 Australian note complete with corona virus symbols. You can’t make this up!” one Facebook post read. The coronavirus conspiracy movement, which has led to small protests in Sydney and Melbourne in recent weeks, reportedly believe the pandemic is an orchestrated effort by billionaires and governments to force vaccinations on the general population. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7836144/embed.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/867ee92f4dd04f68bdf656e11078bd70" /> The Reserve Bank said the $10 note feature is an illustrated version of Bramble Wattle. “Tilt the banknote to see a rolling colour effect, which is visible on both sides of the banknote,” the Reserve Bank said on its website. “The feature appears on each denomination of the Next Generation Banknotes series, with a different type of wattle depicted in the design on each banknote. In this instance, the design framing the feature is a designer’s interpretation of Bramble Wattle.” Katie Attwell from the University of Western Australia said conspiracies receive “worrying” level of traction because of the uncertainty the general public is facing. “The general public is uncertain, afraid, and experiencing cognitive impairment from the strain of it all,” Attwell wrote on <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-anti-vaxxers-arent-a-huge-threat-yet-how-do-we-keep-it-that-way-138531">The Conversation</a>. “Governments overseas, most notably the US government, have failed dismally in responding efficiently to COVID-19. This has the potential to devastate citizens’ trust. “In this volatile cocktail, the distinction between what is ‘bats**t crazy’ and what is worryingly plausible starts to break down.” In a <a href="https://10daily.com.au/news/a200519xdyqc/one-in-eight-australians-believes-bill-gates-is-responsible-for-coronavirus-and-wow-20200519">recent survey of 1,073 Australians</a>, one in eight said they believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates is somehow responsible for the coronavirus and the 5G wireless network is spreading the disease. “For those who reject these premises, it’s hard to understand how conspiracists sustain this alternative reality. But for those with long histories of rejecting government and expert authority, it’s completely conceivable,” Attwell said. “Many of those who reject vaccines, or strenuously object to COVID-19 health measures, are influenced by interconnected social groups with clear identities.” Attwell said it might be best to “quietly ignore” lockdown protesters to stop the spread of misinformation, “like a parent walking away from their child’s supermarket tantrum”. “When we walk away from a child having a tantrum in a supermarket, we are also saving them from themselves – even if they can’t appreciate it.”

Money & Banking

Food fraud is hidden in plain sight

The globalization of the food chain has resulted in increased complexity and diminished transparency and trust into how and where our foods are grown, harvested, processed and by whom. Furthermore, recurring incidents of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4014182/food-fraud-avoiding-fake-product/">food fraud</a> remind us that some of those involved in the food chain are exploiting this complexity. Today, consumers are at an <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2019/02/20/Fragmented-global-supply-chains-have-led-to-an-increase-in-food-fraud">increased risk</a> of buying lower-quality food than what they paid for, or worse, eating food with unsafe ingredients or undeclared allergens. Historically, food chain transparency and trust was established between the shopper and the farmer or fishmonger, green grocer, butcher, milkman and baker. Dutch scholar <a href="https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/governing-chinas-food-quality-through-transparency-a-review">Arthur Mol</a> argued that this personal interaction enabled face-to-face transparency, which built trust. Before modern supermarkets, a local village or town grocery store stocked up to 300 items grown or processed within a 240-kilometre (150-mile) radius. In comparison, our post-modern supermarkets carry an <a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/supermarket-facts">average of 33,000</a> items that travel 2,400 kilometres or more. The Canadian government is poised to tackle that problem by announcing <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6435463/buy-canadian-promotional-campaign/">a Buy Canadian food campaign.</a> While the extent of global food fraud is difficult to quantify, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) suggests <a href="https://inspection.gc.ca/food-safety-for-industry/information-for-consumers/food-safety-system/food-fraud/eng/1548444446366/1548444516192">food fraud</a> affects 10 per cent of commercially sold food. Various academic and industry sources suggest that globally, food fraud ranges from US$10 billion to $49 billion. This is likely a conservative range considering estimates of <a href="https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/food-and-wine/cracking-down-on-fake-steak-with-invisible-trackable-barcodes-20180810-h13t3n">fake Australian meats</a> alone and sold worldwide are as high as AUD$4 billion, or more than US$2.5 billion. If you add the sales of fake wines and alcohol, adulterated honey and spices, mislabelled fish and false claims of organic products, wild-caught fish or grain-fed meat, the numbers, and risks, increase significantly. Are Canadian regulations adequate? Regulations are in place to protect Canadians. The Safe Food for Canadians Act (known <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2018-108/index.html">as the SFCR</a>) and the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-27/page-2.html#h-234067">Food and Drug Act</a> work together to protect Canadian consumers from food safety and food fraud risks. The SFCR states that food businesses must have preventative controls in place as well as product traceability records to ensure imported products meet Canadian laws. A provision of the Food and Drug Act states: “No person shall sell an article of food that (a) has in or on it any poisonous or harmful substance; (b) is unfit for human consumption; (c) consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance; (d) is adulterated; or (e) was manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged or stored under unsanitary conditions.” Another section of the act declares: “No person shall label, package, treat, process, sell or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition, merit or safety”. But are the regulations being enforced? The CFIA is very active in food fraud prevention and detection. In July 2019, the agency received $24.4 million in new <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/food-inspection-agency/news/2019/07/government-of-canada-prevents-nearly-12800kg-of-adulterated-honey-from-entering-the-canadian-market.html">food fraud funding</a> after announcing that 12,800 kilograms of adulterated honey was blocked from entering the Canadian market. Honey adulteration is the process of cutting pure honey with fillers and cheaper sweeteners, including corn syrup. The CFIA has several enforcement instruments it can apply to offenders including <a href="https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/accountability/compliance-and-enforcement/amps/fact-sheet/eng/1547233099837/1547233100149">administrative monetary penalties</a>, <a href="https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/accountability/compliance-and-enforcement/licences/eng/1324052022644/1324052753628">licence suspension or cancellation</a> and <a href="https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/prosecution-bulletins/eng/1298575869119/1299852705293">criminal prosecution</a>. Is food fraud the same as consumer fraud? No. Canada is recovering from a significant consumer fraud incident where some of the most trusted brands colluded for more than a decade to fix the price of bread in what’s <a href="https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/04335.html">often termed breadgate</a>. This was a breach of the <a href="https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/04267.html">Canadian Competition Act</a>. Canada was one of the first countries in the world with a formal Competition Act, initiated in 1889. While breadgate’s egregious breach of trust shocked Canadians, consumers are known to have short memories and to quickly forgive. The protection of insiders acting as whistle-blowers in the food industry is critically important to expose both consumer fraud and food fraud. However, most food fraud detection requires the use of advanced high-tech methods. In 2017, the University of Guelph’s Biodiversity Institute, in partnership with the CFIA, received $320,000 in <a href="https://news.uoguelph.ca/2017/09/u-g-cfia-collaboration-gets-320000-investment/">federal funding</a> to develop better genomics and DNA bar-coding tools, including portable devices. DNA bar-coding allows researchers to match animal and plant DNA against a reference database to identify a species. Mislabelled fish, sausage The partnership has published a number of research papers uncovering food fraud and <a href="https://news.uoguelph.ca/2019/02/persistent-seafood-mislabeling-persistent-throughout-canadas-supply-chain-u-of-g-study-reveals/">revealing the mislabelling of fish</a> species in Canadian restaurants and grocery stores, an area of the institute’s research that now spans more than a decade. In January 2019, the institute <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996919300304?via%3Dihub">published a paper</a> entitled “Re-visiting the occurrence of undeclared species in sausage products sold in Canada” as a followup to a previous study that showed a <a href="https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/guelph/20-of-tested-sausages-contained-mislabeled-meat-u-of-g-study-1.3532113">20 per cent mislabelling rate for sausages</a>. The followup indicated 14 per cent of the 100 sausages tested still contained meat DNA that was undeclared on the label. Even more concerning for the public is that many types of food fraud and mislabelling have gone undetected. New technology and methods of testing still has to catch up. As social media amplifies recurring high-profile incidents of food fraud, trust in our global food supply chains remains a concern. For the foreseeable future, much of Canada’s food fraud remains hidden in plain sight, sitting right there on our grocery store shelves. Written by John G. Keogh. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/fish-sausage-even-honey-food-fraud-is-hidden-in-plain-sight-130186">The Conversation.</a>

Legal

Should we scoff at the idea of love at first sight?

For a lecture course I teach at Brown University called “Love Stories,” we begin at the beginning, with love at first sight. To its detractors, love at first sight must be an illusion – the wrong term for what is simply infatuation, or a way to sugarcoat lust. Buy into it, they say, and you’re a fool. In my class, I point to <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031449/">an episode</a> of “The Office,” in which Michael Scott, regional manager for Dunder Mifflin, is such a fool: He’s blown away by a model in an office furniture catalog. Michael vows to find her in the flesh, only to discover that the love of his life is no longer living. Despairing, but still determined, he visits her grave and sings to her a stirring requiem, set to the tune of “American Pie”: <pre class="highlight plaintext"> Bye, bye Ms. Chair Model Lady I dreamt we were married and you treated me nice We had lots of kids, drinking whiskey and rye Why’d you have to go off and die? </pre> This might as well be a funeral for love at first sight, since all of this comes at delusional Michael’s expense. If you find yourself smitten with someone you’ve only just met, you’ll question whether you should give the feeling so much weight – and risk ending up like Michael. Psychologists and neuroscientists have tried to find some answers. But I would argue that for the best guidance, don’t look there – look to Shakespeare. <h2>Sifting through the science</h2> Even in a class tailored to romantics, when I poll my students about whether they believe in love at first sight, around 90 percent of the 250 students indicate they don’t. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pere.12218">At least one study</a> suggests that the rest of us agree with my students. Like them, participants in this study believe that love takes time. Two people meet and may or may not be infatuated upon first meeting. They gradually develop an intimate understanding of each other. And then, and only then, do they fall in love. That’s just how love works. Then again, maybe we’re more like Michael Scott than we think. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/2017/over-half-americans-believe-love-first-sight.aspx">Other surveys</a> suggest that most of us indeed do believe in love at first sight. Many of us <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/love-at-first-sight-is-real-if-you-believe-1429543032">say we’ve experienced it</a>. What does brain science say? Some studies claim that <a href="http://www.helenfisher.com/downloads/articles/10lustattraction.pdf">we can clearly distinguish</a> what happens in our brains at the moment of initial attraction – when chemicals related to pleasure, excitement and anxiety predominate – from what happens in true romantic attachment, when attachment hormones like <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/oxytocin">oxytocin</a> take over. But other studies don’t accept such a clean break between the chemistry of love at first sight and of “true” love, instead suggesting that what happens in the brain at first blush <a href="https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(15)32763-6/abstract">may resemble what happens later on</a>. Regardless of whether chemical reactions in love at first sight and longer-term romantic love are alike, the deeper question persists. Does love at first sight deserve the name of love? <h2>Shakespeare weighs in</h2> While science and surveys can’t seem to settle on a definitive answer, Shakespeare can. Cited as an authority in nearly every recent book-length study of love, Shakespeare shows how love at first sight can be as true a love as there is. Let’s look at how his lovers meet in “Romeo and Juliet.” Romeo, besotted with Juliet at the Capulet ball, musters the courage to speak with her, even though he doesn’t know her name. When he does, she doesn’t just respond. Together, they speak a sonnet: <pre class="highlight plaintext"> Romeo: If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. Juliet: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss. Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. Romeo: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. Juliet: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake. Romeo: Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. </pre> Even though it’s their first encounter, the two converse dynamically and inventively – an intense back-and-forth that equates love with religion. Love poems typically are spoken by a lover to a beloved, as in many of Shakespeare’s <a href="http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/sonnet.I.html">own sonnets</a> or Michael’s requiem. Generally, there’s one voice. Not in the case of Romeo and Juliet – and the energy between the two is as stunning as it is silly. In the first four lines, Romeo privileges lips over hands, in a bid for a kiss. In the next four lines, Juliet disagrees with Romeo. She asserts that, actually, hands are better. Holding hands is its own kind of kiss. Romeo keeps going, noting that saints and pilgrims have lips. Since they do, lips mustn’t be so bad. They should be used. But again, Juliet answers Romeo readily: Lips are to be used, yes – but to pray, not to kiss. Romeo tries a third time to resolve the tension by saying that kissing, far from being opposed to prayer, is in fact a way of praying. And maybe kissing is like praying, like asking for a better world. Juliet at last agrees, and the two do kiss, after a couplet which suggests that they are in harmony. Romeo and Juliet obviously have unrealistic ideas. But they connect in such a powerful way – right away – that it’s ungenerous to say that their religion of love is only silly. We can’t dismiss it in the same way we can mock Michael Scott. This is not a man with an office furniture catalog, or two revelers grinding at a club. That two strangers can share a sonnet in speech means that they already share a deep connection – that they are incredibly responsive to each other. <h2>What are we so afraid of?</h2> Why would we want to dismiss Romeo and Juliet or those who claim to be like them? We talk excitedly about meeting someone and how we “click” or “really hit it off” – how we feel intimately acquainted even though we’ve only just met. This is our way of believing in low-grade love at first sight, while still scorning its full-blown form. Imagine if we did what Romeo and Juliet do. They show the signs that we tend to regard as hallmarks of “mature” love – <a href="http://www.robertjsternberg.com/love/">profound passion, intimacy and commitment</a> – right away. For Shakespeare, if you have this, you have love, whether it takes six months or six minutes. It’s easy to say that people don’t love each other when they first meet because they don’t know each other and haven’t had a chance to form a true attachment. Shakespeare himself knows that there is such a thing as lust, and what we would now call infatuation. He’s no fool. Still, he reminds us – as forcefully as we ever will be reminded – that some people, right away, do know each other deeply. Love gives them insight into each other. Love makes them pledge themselves to each other. Love makes them inventive. Yes, it also makes them ridiculous. But that’s just another of love’s glories. It makes being ridiculous permissible.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102094/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-kuzner-535698">James Kuzner</a>, Associate Professor of English, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/brown-university-1276">Brown University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-scoff-at-the-idea-of-love-at-first-sight-102094">original article</a>.

Relationships

How to revive tired eyes with the help of yoga

Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community. Yoga isn’t just for stiff shoulders or sore joints – revive tired eyes and even improve your vision with eye yoga. If you spend a lot of time reading or working at a computer, you’ll be familiar with the feeling of tired eyes. Perhaps your vision has become blurrier or it takes you longer to adjust your focus. This video works on eye fatigue, mobility of the eyes and improving peripheral vision. Even if you don’t feel the need to exercise your eyes because there aren’t any immediate symptoms, consider using this self-care yoga practice as preventative. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bk7FFe48MlY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

Body

Cruise horror: teenager loses sight in one eye

When 15-year-old Riley Adams boarded a cruise to New Zealand with his family and a group of friends on January 12, it was supposed to be a fun holiday before school started back. However, the trip turned to horror when, on the first night of the 10-day cruise, the young Queenslander was stuck with a headache. The next morning, his life had changed forever. “What was just a headache when he went to bed that night and then awoke Saturday morning to a golf ball size bulge from his left eye, was confronting to us all,” Riley’s parents, Jason and Jodi Adams, wrote on a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/riley-adams-loss-of-sight-in-1-eye" target="_blank">GoFundMe page</a> to raise money towards their son’s medical costs, which has so far raised over $17,000. <img width="600" height="400" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7267316/27024144_15161629070299_funddescription.jpg" alt="27024144_1516162907.0299_funddescription" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> “After being seen by the on-ship doctors and still being out at sea for another 24 hours, panic did start to creep in. “Once arriving at Dunedin Hospital and having a CT scan done our nightmare began.” A specialist told the family Riley would need immediate surgery to reduce the swelling around his eye. They were told he had contracted sinusitis, which had blocked the drainage holes, leading to a massive inflammation in the eye known as orbital cellulitis. As a result, he lost his sight in that eye. “Devastatingly the outcome we all had to face was that Riley’s optical nerve has been damaged in the time the infection took hold, and now our beautiful, charismatic, outgoing 15-year-old son has lost his sight in his left eye. It's a lot for a family in a foreign country to take in.” Even after the operation, Riley’s eye was still infected, and he was given strong doses of antibiotics and steroids to prevent him contracting meningitis. “Our lives feel like they are just spinning around as we try to take it all in ... As parents we are just so sad for our beautiful boy at 15 to have lost his sight in one of his eyes – this tragedy is devastating at any age but at 15 it breaks our hearts.” In an update published eight hours ago, however, the family finally received some good news – Riley can finally go home after nine days of horror. “As happy as we all are about this, I think we are all a bit apprehensive about leaving our safety net in this Hospital, where we have received the best care imaginable,” Jason and Jodi wrote. “But the three of us embrace it with open arms and realise what is waiting at home for Riley. “From the bottom of our hearts thank you for every donation made and every comment posted. Positivity is definitely the best medicine one can have.”

Travel Trouble

Sights, sounds and tastes of Victoria’s most iconic market

Experience the sights and sounds (and tastes) of Victoria’s most iconic market. The history Opened in 1878, the Queen Victoria Market is one of Melbourne’s great historic sites. A number of markets had operated on the site prior to that time, but were eventually consolidated and turned into one grand complex. Most of the buildings you see today date from the early 1900s and have been meticulously restored over the years. It’s now the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere and covers more than 17 acres. Fun fact: the market is not actually named after Queen Victoria. The name comes from its location, at the corner of Queen and Victoria streets. <img width="498" height="330" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39036/image__498x330.jpg" alt="Image_ (374)"/> The stalls The market is bursting with fresh produce, arts and crafts, souvenirs and places to eat. For fresh produce, make your way through the different halls for Dairy, Meat & Fish, Fruit & Vegetables and Organic. Individual stalls will also be selling fresh bread and cakes, gelato, spices, tea and coffee, preserves, nuts, wine and beer. There will be lots to sample as well as purchase. In the huge general merchandise halls you can find everything from clothing and toys to stationery, sporting goods, games, toys, technology, hardware, beauty products and flowers. The details The market is close to the centre of Melbourne, just north of the CBD. It’s around a 20-minute walk from the main hub of Collins Street and is within the zone of the city’s free tram. The market is open five days a week (closed Monday and Wednesday) from 6 or 8am and closing in the early afternoon or evening. <img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39037/image__500x333.jpg" alt="Image_ (375)"/> Take a tour There’s so much to see at the Queen Vic Market that a tour can be a great way to start. The Ultimate Foodie Tour is a guided 90-minute walk through the heritage listed stalls and includes 10 tastings of food from the best producers, like seafood, pasta, cheese, cured meats and antipasto, and finishes off with a glass of Victorian wine and a hot jam doughnut. Your guide will also reveal some of the market’s secrets, special stories about its past and introduce you to the people behind the produce. <img width="496" height="295" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/39039/image__496x295.jpg" alt="Image_ (377)"/> Winter Night Markets On Wednesdays from June 7 to August 30 every year, the Queen Victoria Market stays open until 10pm for a special winter celebration. Wander through 50 specialty and design stores, 30 gourmet food stalls, live music performances, roaring fires and beautiful lighting installations with a warming glass of mulled wine in hand. It’s a truly magical Melbourne night. Have you ever been to the Queen Victoria Market?

International Travel

6 signs you need to get your eyes checked

When was the last time you had an eye test? If you answered more than two years ago, it’s time to book in. In Australia, more than half of us have some sort of long-term eye condition, and our risk of developing vision problems only grows with age. While one eye test every two years is generally enough for most people, there are exceptions to the rule. If you experience any of the following, it’s time to book in. <ol> <li>Sudden blurry vision or difficulty focussing – This could be indicative of a more serious health condition and requires immediate attention. If the issue comes and goes or is limited to one eye, it’s time to organise an appointment with your optometrist.</li> <li>Sudden vision disturbances – Floaters, flashes of lights or partly obstructed vision could indicate a serious problem in the retina like a hole, tear or detachment. If you experience these symptoms, seek immediate attention or risk losing your vision altogether.</li> <li>Gradual blurry vision – The most common eye conditions are long- and short-sightedness, and gradual blurring of eyesight is the red flag to look out for. If you’re slowly finding it difficult to read up close (or far away), arrange an eye exam.</li> <li>Headaches – Suffering regular, painful headaches is often one of the first signs of short- or long-sightedness due to the strain put on your eyes by squinting.</li> <li>Sudden sensitivity to light – If you suddenly find yourself cringing every time you step outside or into a bright room, it may be a sign of an eye condition – or even an infection.</li> <li>Itchiness, redness or discharge – Is your eye red, itchy, inflamed and producing discharge? It’s likely that you’re suffering a nasty eye infection. Visit your GP or optometrist as soon as possible for efficient treatment options.</li> </ol> Have you ever had vision problems? What symptoms did you experience? Tell us in the comments below. Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2017/02/natural-remedies-for-sinus-relief/">Natural remedies for sinus relief</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2017/01/breast-cancer-symptoms-other-than-lumps/">Breast cancer symptoms other than lumps</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2017/01/how-to-know-if-you-have-arthritis/">How to know if you could have arthritis</a>

Body

Grandmother sees grandchildren for the first time in 10 years

After being nearly blind for ten years, 72-year-old Solidea Hurst from Wales has finally regained her sight thanks to a breakthrough eye operation. Hurst began losing her sight at the age of 60, when she suddenly developed age-related macular degeneration. It was so bad, she couldn’t even make out the faces of her four grandchildren. “My left eye had completely gone, I had no sight,” she told <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/eye-operation-allows-woman-see-11663027" target="_blank">Wales Online</a>. “It had been good enough to drive with, but I was worried about having an accident, so sent my licence back […] I’d never forgive myself if I killed someone.” The grandmother had tried laser eye surgery to no avail and suffered severe headaches, finally being told there was nothing that could be done to save her vision. That is, until a breakthrough, world-first operation became available in London, which could implant an EyeMax Mono lens, which acts by sending a “widescreen” image behind the eye, compensating for the loss in sight. “Ten years ago I couldn’t see my grandchildren’s faces, now I can,” the thrilled grandmother says. “They’ve grown into beautiful children and it’s so nice to see that happen. I’m very excited by it all.” These days, Hurst is almost fully recovered and hopes to regain her drivers’ license – and her independence. “My granddaughter used to take me shopping and was always telling me to ‘watch my step’, worried I’d fall,” she explains. “Now we can go shopping together and enjoy some retail therapy.” What a wonderful story. Have you had vision-saving eye surgery before? Tell us about how it changed your life in the comments below. Related links: <a href="/health/hearing/2016/07/successful-people-living-with-hearing-loss/">7 successful people living with hearing loss</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/06/5-year-old-girl-walks-blind-father-to-work-every-day/">5-year-old girl walks blind father to work every day</a> <a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/facebook-will-help-describe-photos-for-the-blind/">Facebook will help describe photos for the blind</a>

News

Counting bars optical illusion

This simple visual challenge, requiring you to count the amount of bars in the illustration, seems simple enough. But is it? Count the bars from their bases and you'll get eight of them, but count them at their top ends and you get seven. Try it out for yourself. It seems clear when looking at the image from the furthest to the closest bars, the spaces between them increase. However, try to make sense of the individual lines and it soon becomes a brain-fuddling disaster. The answer is that there are five complete bars in a row, then an additional bar at the end. The rest of the lines are visual trickery. Did you spot this one by yourself? Let us know in the comments below. Related links: <a href="/entertainment/art/2016/05/artist-creates-fashion-designs-with-food/">Artist creates incredible fashion designs using food</a> <a href="/entertainment/art/2016/05/artist-creates-paintings-using-bacteria/">Artist creates “paintings” using bacteria</a> <a href="/entertainment/art/2016/01/classic-art-reimagined-in-modern-times/">Artist reimagines classical paintings in modern times</a>

Mind

Facebook will help describe photos for the blind

Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for the blind and visually impaired. The feature, rolling out this week on Facebook's iPhone app, interprets what's in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence that recognises faces and objects. The iPhone's built-in screen reader, VoiceOver, must be turned on for Facebook's photo descriptions to be read. For now, the feature will only be available in English. The descriptions initially will be confined to a vocabulary of 100 words in a restriction that will prevent the computer from providing a lot of details. For instance, the automated voice may only tell a user that a photo features three people smiling outdoors without adding that the trio also has drinks in their hands. Or it may say the photo is of pizza without adding that there's pepperoni and olives on top of it. Facebook is being careful with the technology, called "automatic alternative text", in an attempt to avoid making a mistake that offends its audience. Google learned the risks of technology last year when an image recognition feature in its Photos app labelled a black couple as gorillas, prompting the company to issue an apology. Eventually, though, Facebook hopes to refine the technology so it provides more precise descriptions and even answers questions that a user might pose about a picture. Facebook also plans to turn on the technology for its Android app and make it available through web browsers visiting its site. The Menlo Park, California, company is trying to ensure the world's nearly 300 million blind and visually impaired people remain interested in its social network as a steadily increasing number of photos appear on its service. On an average day, Facebook says more than 2 billion photos are posted on its social network and other apps that it owns, a list that includes Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Until now, people relying on screen readers on Facebook would only hear that a person had shared a photo without any elaboration. The vocabulary of Facebook's photo-recognition program includes "car", "sky", "dessert", "baby", "shoes", and, of course, "selfie". Tell us: What other changes do you think Facebook should implement to help make it easier for people with disabilities? Written by Michael Liedtke. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Related links: <a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/tips-to-prolong-your-smartphones-battery-life/">Tips to prolong your smartphone's battery life</a> <a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/how-to-avoid-facebook-scams/">How to avoid Facebook scams</a> <a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/03/how-to-make-your-wifi-faster/">4 ways to make your wifi faster</a>

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