How Prebunking Fights Misinformation, a Parking Lot That Converts Into Apartments and Chile's Failed Constitution | Non-Obvious Insights #337

Dear Newsletterest,

How does "prebunking" help prevent the spread of misinformation (and what if it were a job title)? How to watch NASA's livestream of its Planetary Defense Shield smashing an asteroid "that poses no threat to Earth." Why did Copenhagen create a new art project featuring 50 empty pedestals with no statues? Does an expat exodus from Hong Kong signal that the city is dying? What does Chile's failed new Constitution tell us about human nature? How can outpainting and AI help us all discover a new form of art? What if we could create more buildings designed to be repurposed into something else in the future?

All these questions and my short list of eight search engines to consider using besides Google are all in this week's newsletter. Remember, if you prefer video you can always find new videos with my pick for the Non-Obvious Story of the Week in this playlist on my YouTube channel. Enjoy!

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Outpainting Allows AI To Complete the Picture of History's Great Paintings ... and Much More

Ever wondered what was happening just outside the frame of some of European history's most recognizable paintings? What about the full picture behind the iconic Paramount logo? Those are just two examples of images that were recently run through the openpainting feature from OpenAI in order to illustrate how AI technology, combined with human direction, can be used to complete the picture outside the picture.

These fascinating fabricated images are an intriguing reminder that there is always a hidden part of any scene. In the past, we had to imagine it ourselves. Now technology can help us do it. Combined with the recent news of AI-generated art winning a fine arts competition, it seems clear that this marriage of human creativity fueled by technology may lead us to an exciting new type of storytelling.

Unlike what the sensationalized headlines might have you think, these aren't examples of AI replacing human artists or creating something from nothing. Rather, they are examples of how technology is offering artists a new canvas create art in a way that was never before possible and incite a worldwide discussion. Isn't that what great art has always done?

What If Today's Parking Lots Were Designed To Convert Into Apartments?

Parking lots are an eyesore and steal livable space in many cities, yet they have always been treated as a necessary urban evil. But what about in ten years? Or twenty? As cities build out more convenient and faster public transportation, many of these current parking garages may not be so useful in the future.

Anticipating this, a duo of architecture firms in Calgary have created the design for a convertible parking lot that can easily be repurposed into a residential building or offices when needed. This concept of repurposing instead of building something that will surely be demolished eventually is far too rare. The industry calls this adaptive reuse architecture. Maybe a better name could help the idea catch on more. Any ideas?

"Prebunking" Might Be the Solution to the Misinformation Problem

If debunking is proving something wrong after it has already been released, "prebunking" is the idea that you could prevent lies from being believed if you could warn people about the deception before it happens. A recent Poynter article this week suggests that this type of "mass inoculation" might be effective in fighting misinformation and helping boost the credibility of media overall.

The official definition of prebunking is to "preemptively refute expected false narratives, misinformation or manipulation techniques." That sounds like a brilliant idea in theory. The question is, could this actually work in real life? I believe it could.

The one thing that has always been true about liars and manipulators is that their tactics are often quite predictable. As much as fact checking and the people who do that work are desperately needed, the opportunity for a concentrated effort around prebunking lies seems like something we should all support even more vocally and listen to more.

Perhaps one day there might even be a job title for someone who does this professionally. Senior Prebunker. I like it.

Eight Useful Search Engines To Use That Are Not Google or Bing

Imagine if there were other search engines besides Google!

Yes, that was sarcasm. Of course, there are other search engines ... and I'm not talking about Microsoft's Bing. There are quite a few niche search engines that might actually work better than Google for all types of searches.

This week, I came across a LinkedIn post that got me thinking about this, so I compiled a few of my favorite resources for you (let me know if I missed any that you often use!) ...

www.wolframalpha.com - the search engine of choice by data enthusiasts, scientists and super geeks around the world.
www.duckduckgo.com - a hugely popular search engine the does not track your actions and promises a higher level of online privacy. The platform also just introduced an anti-tracking email service that looks promising as well. Set up your email here >>
www.worldcat.org - a search engine focused on global library collections
www.buzzsumo.com - search engine focused on content ideas to help you find popular topics and concepts that are frequently shared.
www.openverse.com - useful search engine to find content that is open source and available for free usage online.
https://link.springer.com - the scholarly search engine accessing more than 10 million scientific documents, books and articles
www.boardreader.com - a search engine specifically for message boards online that sometimes can help turn up obscure conversations.
www.science.gov - U.S. government search engine for more than 2200 scientific sites.

What Chile's Failed Progressive Constitution Teaches Us (Once Again) About Human Nature

On September 4, the bold political experiment of a sweeping new Chilean Constitution was struck down with 62% of people voting against it. The "left-leaning" Constitution "would have enshrined over 100 rights into Chile’s national charter, more than any other constitution in the world, including the right to housing, education, clean air, water, food, sanitation, internet access, retirement benefits, free legal advice and care 'from birth to death.'"

The draft constitution was alternately praised for being "steeped in science" and criticized as "absurdly utopian." Everyone did agree on one thing: the scope of the proposed Constitution was vast. Probably too vast.

In a country facing rising inflation and crime, the 170 page proposal inspired "widespread uncertainty about its implications and cost." There was, in other words, too much to agree upon too quickly. Change, no matter how desperately needed, usually only comes in small bursts when you're dealing with something as large and complex as an entire nation.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Every week I always curate more stories than I'm able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Want to discuss how I could bring my best thinking to your next event as a keynote speaker or facilitator? Watch my new 2022 speaking reel on YouTube >>

Want to share? Here's the newsletter link:
https://mailchi.mp/nonobvious/337?e=f7921ac548

This Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter is curated by Rohit Bhargava. | View in browser

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Why We Now Love Microsoft's Clippy, France Uses Aerial Photos To Enforce Taxes and Fixing Student Debt | Non-Obvious Insights #336

Thursday, September 1, 2022

The most interesting and non-obvious stories of the week. Dear Newsletterest, This week we will explore the return of Microsoft's Clippy, how the French government is using aerial photos, the rise

Family Travels World Before Kids Go Blind, A Robot Rapper and The "De-extinction" Of The Tasmanian Tiger | Non-Obvious Insights #335

Thursday, August 25, 2022

The most interesting and non-obvious stories of the week. Dear Newsletterest, Scientists are trying to bring back Tasmanian Tigers from extinction. Back to school images from the Smithsonian archives

How Prebunking Fights Misinformation, a Parking Lot That Converts Into Apartments and Chile's Failed Constitution | Non-Obvious Insights #337

Outpainting Allows AI To Complete the Picture of History's Great Paintings ... and Much More

What If Today's Parking Lots Were Designed To Convert Into Apartments?

"Prebunking" Might Be the Solution to the Misinformation Problem

Eight Useful Search Engines To Use That Are Not Google or Bing

What Chile's Failed Progressive Constitution Teaches Us (Once Again) About Human Nature

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Older messages

Why We Now Love Microsoft's Clippy, France Uses Aerial Photos To Enforce Taxes and Fixing Student Debt | Non-Obvious Insights #336

Family Travels World Before Kids Go Blind, A Robot Rapper and The "De-extinction" Of The Tasmanian Tiger | Non-Obvious Insights #335

UPDATE: Here's the lost ketchup article link I forgot! | Non-Obvious Insights #334

The Scientist Who Saved Ketchup, a Boat Climbing Walrus and Why Some People Are Left Handed | Non-Obvious Insights #334

Space Chorizo, the Bookshelf That Converts Into a Coffin and Why I'll Never Buy a MacBook | Non-Obvious Insights #333

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