The Dark Ages Weren’t Really Dark

Learn about the “smellicopter,” a drone that can smell via a live moth antenna; why the “Dark Ages” weren’t as dark as you might think; and how simple word swaps can secretly trick your brain.

Introducing Smellicopter: a drone that uses a live moth antenna to smell things by Grant Currin

• Smellicopter: an obstacle-avoiding drone that uses a live moth antenna to seek out smells. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uow-sao120720.php
• Anderson, M. J., Sullivan, J. G., Horiuchi, T. K., Fuller, S. B., & Daniel, T. L. (2020). A bio-hybrid odor-guided autonomous palm-sized air vehicle. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 16(2), 026002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/abbd81

The Dark Ages weren't all that "dark" by Steffie Drucker

• Forget about the “Dark Ages.” (2009, October). Dailywritingtips.com. https://www.dailywritingtips.com/forget-about-the-%E2%80%9Cdark-ages%E2%80%9D/
• Pruitt, S. (2016, May 31). 6 Reasons the Dark Ages Weren’t So Dark. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/6-reasons-the-dark-ages-werent-so-dark
• HistoryExtra. (2020, December 10). How dark were the Dark Ages? HistoryExtra; HistoryExtra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/dark-ages-term-what-when-how-obscure/

The Framing Effect Shows How Simple Word Swaps Can Secretly Trick Your Brain by Ashley Hamer

• De Martino, B. (2006). Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision-Making in the Human Brain. Science, 313(5787), 684–687. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128356
• Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453–458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7455683

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