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"The researchers first looked at hot spots-locations with an exceptionally high number of unique species that also has a loss of habitat of 70 percent or more. ... In these 35 hotspots-spread throughout the world's continents with the exception of Antarctica-the researchers found 3,202 languages-nearly half of all languages spoken on Earth. ... It's unclear why areas of endangered species concentration and endangered languages coexist. ... The study is a starting point to explore the relationship between biological and linguistic-cultural diversity."

Some people subconsciously display the telltale signs of deception that make their lies relatively easy to spot -- but other liars are much more elusive. Neuroscience has been looking into what happens in the brain to explain this difference.

"A small band of linguists, engineers and computer scientists, among others, are busy training computers to recognize hallmarks of what they call emotional speech - talk that reflects deception, anger, friendliness and even flirtation. ... Algorithms developed by Dr. Hirschberg and colleagues have been able to spot a liar 70 percent of the time in test situations, while people confronted with the same evidence had only 57 percent accuracy ... His lab has also found ways to use vocal cues to spot inebriation, though it hasn't yet had luck in making its computers detect humor - a hard task for the machines, he said."

This story is part of BBC Future's "Best of 2015" list, our greatest hits of the year. Browse the full list. - Thomas Ormerod's team of security officers faced a seemingly impossible task. At airports across Europe, they were asked to interview passengers on their history and travel plans.

Over the past few months, the online word game Wordle has skyrocketed in popularity, with cryptic grids of gray, green and yellow squares appearing on social media.The game is challenging, but simple: Once a day, players have six guesses to identify a new five-letter word (all players receive the same word on a given day). Each guess provides color-coded hints: a letter turns green if it is in the correct spot, yellow if it is part of the word but in a different spot, and gray if it is not in the word at all. In Wordle, the process of intuiting a target word from color-coded clues provides a window into our subconscious understanding of how language works, according to UChicago linguist Jason Riggle. In effect, it turns everyone into a linguist, forcing us to wrestle with sound fragments and stitch them together according to probability distributions.

This article talks about how AI-generated texts can be distinguished from human writing. It explains why it is essential for us to tell them apart and why it is still not able to perfectly mimic humans.

This article discusses some of the ways AI-generated text can differ from sentences written by humans.

A machine learning algorithm analyses verbal and non-verbal cues It could correctly identify if someone is suicidal with 93% accuracy Researchers incorporated the algorithm into an app trialed in schools By recording conversations and analysing cues such as pauses and sighs, it could help to flag those most at risk of taking their own life Researchers are developing an app which could help to prevent suicides by flagging those most at risk.

"Chimpanzees appear to consider who they are "talking to" before they call out. Researchers found that wild chimps that spotted a poisonous snake were more likely to make their "alert call" in the presence of a chimp that had not seen the threat. This indicates that the animals "understand the mindset" of others."

Insecurity has several linguistic calling cards, and learning to spot them may help you both assuage others and more skillfully present yourself to the world. People at the edges of a given group are more likely to use language that emphasizes their membership in the group. Central figures are less likely to assert their belonging. Also signs of insecurity: a focus on the pronoun "me", borrowing prestige by using a different conversational style, and hypercorrection.

Improvising can be tough on the spot, especially for politicians. Spontaneity is an illusion of meticulous design and one of the most effective rhetorical devices for creating spontaneity is metanoia- correcting or changing one's mind.

Dwight tries to logically reason his relationship with Jim: Jim is Dwight's enemy, but Jim is also his own worst enemy. Therefore the enemy of Dwight's enemy is his friend. So Jim is actually Dwight's friend. But Jim is also his own worst enemy, and the enemy of a friend is an enemy. So Jim is...what? It is fallacy in humor because though the logic makes some sense, it goes in circles and puts Dwight in the same spot but more confused than helped.

Sounds like two possible fallacies: arguing from ignorance (if he's not my friend, he must be my enemy), and/or false choices.

This is Boone: the enthymeme in this commercial is: you should choose Geico because Geico insurance can save you 15% or more. part A of this is that geico can save you money but the second part of this is missing. part B could be something like: choosing an insurance company that saves you money is good. so all together it would be: Geico can save you 15% or more and choosing an insurance company that will save you money is good so you should choose Geico. the fallacy here is kind of hard to spot but it could be false dichotomy: there are multiple other insurance companies that could save youl money and but it seems as if Geico is the only one.

Contrary to popular belief, liars don't actually give many visual giveaways to their lies. The better cues are in their speech. The common misconceptions about liars and their body language are actually signs of anxiety. More often than not, truth-tellers are assumed to be liars because they are anxious to recount the correct details

Talks about how you may be able to spot a psychopath via language use.

The article examines some commonly-used colloquial terms that could be construed as racist, and the reasons behind why those terms are not innocent. Author Michael Coard asserts, "Racism is not just lynching, cross-burning, redlining, employment discrimination, educational barriers, or even malicious slurs, and those who manifest the unconscious and passive form of racism are not so easily identifiable."

This article describes a recent study in which scientists were able to use CT scans to generate 3-D models of Neanderthal ear structures. In the past, attempts to determine whether Neanderthals used language hinged on the hyoid bone, a single piece of the Neanderthal vocal tract. However, these scientists took a different approach by looking at the ears of Neanderthals to give clues about Neanderthal language. By running the ear models through computer programs, scientists were able to determine that the Neanderthal ear's "sweet spot" included higher frequencies characteristic of consonant production, and therefore human language. This is exciting because it gives scientists another piece in the puzzle of early human language development.

Hawaii put forward a plan Tuesday, 1/17/2023, to make preschool available to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032, which if successful would put the state in a rarified group of states managing to provide pre-kindergarten education to most of its children. Hawaii's leaders have aspired to universal pre-K for decades but have found it elusive. A recent analysis found the state was moving so slowly toward that goal that it would take 47 years to build all the public preschool capacity Hawaii needed. The state expects it will need 465 new classrooms to serve the additional students. Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who has been tasked by Gov. Josh Green to lead the state's efforts, said only half of Hawaii's 35,000 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool, either by paying expensive tuition for private schools or obtaining one of the few spots in publicly-funded pre-K programs. The state estimates there are about 9,200 children whose parents want to send them to preschool but aren't able. It's targeting its plans at this group.