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2013-05-25T22:59:46Z

Watch philosopher Daniel Dennett explain how to reprogram your brain

2013-05-25T22:12:03Z

Drawing from the recently published Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, philosopher and scientist Daniel Dennett breaks down the rhetorical signals that can indicate a shifty argument ("surely" and "rather" among them), the mental "programs" that can help people better dissect the world around them, and how these systems allow humans to expand their thinking beyond what Dennett refers to as the "bare brain" we received through biological evolution. Along the way, he discusses the power that language has as a tool. "The Bible says: 'In the beginning was the Word' — no, no. The word was a very recent development. The word is the beginning of intelligent design, though. The Bible was sort of right about that."

Photosynth's 3D interactive panoramas reportedly coming to SkyDrive

2013-05-25T21:00:23Z

Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service may soon be getting support for 3D panoramas using Photosynth technology. Earlier in May, Microsoft updated SkyDrive with an emphasis on photos, creating a chronologically ordered "All Photos" view and accepting full-resolution uploads from Windows Phone 8. Now, the highly reliable LiveSide reports that SkyDrive will also allow users to upload and view 3D panoramas. The new feature will be based on Photosynth's toolset, supporting interactive panoramas stitched together from photos and videos.

LiveSide notes that it's not clear whether SkyDrive will support synths, a kind of inverse panorama that captures multiple sides of a single building or other object. We also don't have any word on when...

The complex and fickle science of taste

2013-05-25T20:12:48Z

Salt, sugar, and fat: these three components can make a food that's palatable to just about anyone. But inside the food industry, researchers struggle to balance universal likes with the strange specificity of human taste: a concept that is often based less on what we innately dislike and more on what we think we dislike. Our strong aversions to foods can be shaped by something as simple as the language used to describe them. At Smithsonian Magazine, Tom Vanderbilt examines the science of why people think food is good or bad, from military MREs to a bottle of Antico Broilo wine.

New York City planning to use a new, more progressive handicapped symbol

2013-05-25T19:57:01Z

For some years now, the ubiquitous "handicapped" symbol — a blue and white logo of a person leaning back in a wheelchair known as the international symbol of access — has come under fire from disability activists who feel the logo paints disabled people as passive. Now, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a new logo might be gaining some traction. New York City has agreed to start using a more active logo designed by activists at Gordon College in eastern Massachusetts; current plans call for NYC to start displaying the logo all over the city starting this summer. "It's such a forward-moving thing," said Victor Calise, commissioner of the New York mayor's Office for People With Disabilities.

The movement...

The Classics: 'Commandos 2: Men of Courage'

2013-05-25T18:30:02Z

For a game with an almost cartoonish art style, Commandos 2: Men of Courage happens to be one of the most visceral and realistic recreations of the Second World War. Unlike the legions of gung-ho WW2 shoot-em-ups that have you blasting through waves of identikit baddies, the Commandos series rewards stealth, cunning, and guile. Instead of a one-man army, you get a crack squad of artfully differentiated commandos whose strengths and weaknesses contribute real depth to the gameplay. The explosives expert is slow and deliberate, the reformed thief is sprightly and agile, and the big muscly dude can take a lot of damage. Those traits are both visually apparent and functionally important, and they make each protagonist feel organic and real.

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Watch this: Jimmy Fallon enters the world of Rockefell in 'Game of Desks'

2013-05-25T16:58:02Z

There's no doubt that the late night TV scene is a cutthroat one — we all still remember the epic Conan vs. Leno battle for the seat of The Tonight Show a few years ago. Jimmy Fallon's now giving us his own look at what goes on behind the scenes of his Late Night show with a new digital original entitled Game of Desks. It's a ridiculous and affectionate tribute to Game of Thrones that casts Fallon in several roles, including an Eddard Stark-esque protagonist — but Fallon also dons a blonde wig for his own disturbing take on dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen. Aside from the humor, it's also quite a high-production affair, with some excellent costumes (check out The Roots in full gear as the Late Night's Watch) and an intro ripped...

Drive and fly seamlessly with this crazy remote control quadrocopter car

2013-05-25T15:32:02Z

A PhD student has created a remote control flying car, and he's looking to fund the project on Kickstarter. Called "B," the vehicle functions as a regular four-wheeled RC, but housed within its wheels are four propellers that with the flick of a switch can generate enough lift to turn the B into a quadrocopter. Able to fly for around 15 minutes on a single charge, the B also has a 720p camera and microSD card slot embedded in its body for recording on-board video. Its creator Witold Mielniczek previously worked on a DARPA-contest-winning HALO Unmanned Aerial Vehicle before turning his attention to this solo project.

The Weekender: Bitcoin lives on, a new Xbox is revealed, and how tech can predict tornadoes

2013-05-25T14:00:02Z

Welcome to The Verge: Weekender edition. Each week, we'll bring you important articles from the previous weeks' original reports, features, and reviews on The Verge. Think of it as a collection of a few of our favorite pieces from the week gone by, which you may have missed, or which you might want to read again.

Google takes the 'last step' to shut down its failed social network Buzz

2013-05-25T13:27:58Z

Google's Buzz social network stands as one of the company's most high-profile missteps to date, but the search giant is taking the "last step" to put the failed service behind it. Past Buzz users received an email (discovered by Engadget) from Google yesterday saying that it's moving all Buzz data to Google Drive. A pair of archives will appear in all users' Drives: one private, which contains all Buzz data, and one public, which will show data that was previously made public, and is accessible to anyone with the link. Neither of the archives will count towards your Google Drive storage allowance. The shift will take place on July 17th, and any users worried about the transition can head to their Google Profile to delete any posts they...