Top of the weekend to you all. You know the end of the year is nigh when Australia faces its annual reckoning with its vanilla taste in music. My Spotify Wrapped left me somewhat mystified, so let’s move on to this week’s reads and try again next year.
1. Why we lock lips in love
What’s in a kiss? “About 80m bacteria, for starters,” writes Donna Lu, which might make you reconsider your next pash-and-dash with a random. Or maybe you should just roll with it, given one researcher suggests kissing helps humans assess a potential mate’s suitability. It’s one of many theories, none definitive, for why humans kiss.
Not all couples: A 2015 study of 168 cultures globally found less than half kissed romantically – and the less clothed they were, the less likely they were to kiss.
How long will it take to read: Three minutes.
2. Tori Amos on the Neil Gaiman allegations
Tori Amos became an instant star in 1992 with Me and a Gun, a song recounting her experience of sexual trauma. She was friends with the writer Neil Gaiman – who this year has been accused of sexual misconduct by five women – from the time she became a public figure.
At the end of addressing the allegations, writes Kira Cochrane, the singer looks “crestfallen and hollowed out”. It’s the centrepiece of a frank interview in which Amos, now back on the road, recalls hitting rock bottom as a “fifth-rate” Pat Benatar.
This week I learned … that Cornflake Girl, the now 61-year-old’s biggest hit, was inspired by a conversation about female genital mutilation.
How long will it take to read: Five minutes.
3. Who wants to live for ever?
It’s a proposal straight out of Black Mirror: that the human brain can be put on ice once the body has passed. Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a research fellow at Melbourne’s Monash University, says cryopreservation is real, almost commercially available, and that in theory it should preserve our identity indefinitely.
How to hit restart after the pause button has been pressed? That, says the neuroscientist, is still in the realms of sci-fi.
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“My existential despair that everyone I love will one day disappear hasn’t gone away completely, but it offers a glimmer of hope.” – Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
How long will it take to read: Six minutes.
4. The people using AI as a therapist
Of the many things being outsourced to artificial intelligence, relationship counselling seems one of the more unlikely. Not to Tim, though, who uses ChatGPT to draft loving texts to his wife and to roleplay difficult conversations.
What do the professionals think about people putting their trust in AI? “Everything that we do in terms of outsourcing our emotions means we’re missing an opportunity to connect with ourselves,” warns the therapist Susie Masterson. “And if we cannot connect with ourselves, how the heck do we expect to connect with someone else?”
Real world solutions: Tim, who has whittled his daily ChatGPT time down to 15 minutes, admits many questions he took to AI “probably could have been solved with a good friend group”.
How long will it take to read: Five minutes.
5. Sprinting’s next big thing
How fast is Gout Gout? At 16, he’s the fourth-fastest Australian ever over 200 metres. And his coach and manager reckon that this summer, Usain Bolt’s under-18 world record over the distance is firmly in his sights.
Di Sheppard, the aforementioned coach, is doing her best to manage the young sprinter’s expectations amid the growing hoopla. “You have to keep them grounded,” she says. “Everything you do is a stepping stone and we are a long way from the top.”
How long will it take to read: Three minutes.
Further reading: What do Vladimir Putin and Nicolás Maduro have to do with cricket? Here’s Jonathan Liew to fill you in on the Global Super League Twenty20 in Guyana.
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