Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [technology]

The making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function.

176 questions
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Are blue light filters, not blue lights, on phones and computer screens harmful to sleep?

These existing questions ask whether the blue lights, not blue light filters, from computer screens affect sleep: Does blue light from screens (phone, computer, TV) before sleep affect sleep? Does the color temperature of a computer screen affect…
BCLC
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Can devices detect your sleep cycle and wake you in a more refreshed state?

There are a number of products on the market that claim to be "better alarm clocks" that allows you to feel more refreshed when you wake - even if you sleep a few minutes or tens of minutes less. There are two claims: that one feels more refreshed…
Larry OBrien
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Is there a text string that crashes iPhones?

WARNING: DON'T VISIT THE LINK BELOW ON AN IPHONE A colleague of mine, who works in the technology field, told me that there is a specific text string that can crash any iPhone (specifically iOS 6) which tries to display it. He alleges that the…
Coomie
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Is the Comic Sans font easier to read for dyslexics?

After getting into an argument with a friend about the use/existence of the Comic Sans font, he said that it is one of the few typefaces that virtually eliminates confusion among dyslexics. It appears others have the same opinion. Many sources…
tpg2114
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Does the production of a home PV solar panel provide a net benefit to the environment?

Considering everything that goes into producing a single PV solar panel; from obtaining the necessary materials, transportation etc. is there a net benefit to the environment over the lifetime of the panel? A net benefit would be one in which less…
FarmerGiles
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Does technology have a negative effect on attention span?

Is it true that today's "information age" with the internet, TV, cell phones, movies, iPhones, etc can decrease your attention span? Society's impatience and short attention span is becoming a greater problem and is unleashing a chain reaction…
GBa
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Is the "Back to the future" Huvr board real?

This website is promoting a hovering skateboard. As far as my knowledge can tell, this seems fake. The only two known technologies I know of which can hover like that are magnets and quantum levitation. But they both require a modified floor, which…
Hello World
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Did one of the victims of the Buffalo shooting invent a water-powered engine for cars?

According to a number of conspiracy sites (see Natural News and Newspunch), Buffalo shooting victim Aaron Salter Jr had just invented and patented a gas-free car that runs on water (implying that is why he was shot). Ignoring the conspiratorial part…
TheAsh
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Did Apple "jumpstart" the USB market?

Did Apple "jumpstart the USB market"? An example of the claim is as follows: When Apple released their iMac there was a rush to release peripherals to support them. Before that nobody really cared about USB despite the fact that it was present on…
Brian M. Hunt
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Are low-spec computer parts just faulty high-spec computer parts?

Someone was telling me that lower-price or lower-spec computer parts such as graphics cards and central processing units are actually just higher-spec, higher-price units that have manufacturing faults. So instead of the manufacturer throwing them…
Rowan Freeman
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25
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Can a computer be hacked to use a connected speaker as a microphone?

I read a book in which someone hacked into a computer and used the speakers (not a microphone) to listen to what was happening in the room. Is this even remotely possible without gaining physical access to the computer, assuming you could completely…
John Stimac
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Would humans be more advanced if the Dark Ages never happened?

So there are a lot of people who say that the Dark Ages, lasting about 1,000 years, set humans back technologically. However, some say that since the Dark Ages really only affected Western Europe, and not the Middle East or Asia, it wouldn't make a…
James
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Is the Pale Blue Dot smaller than a pixel?

The Earth in the famous Pale Blue Dot image (below) is claimed by NASA to be "0.12 pixel in size". How can something be visible on a digital screen which is smaller than a pixel (or sub-pixel, which is still only a third of a pixel)?
MSpeed
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Do new loudspeakers require a “break-in” period?

Foreword I've lifted this from audio.stackexchange.com where it hasn't seen a lot of discussion. It's a question that interests me though so I thought I'd post it here, verbatim, and see what comes of it. Some speaker manufacturers† claim that one…
user2466
23
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2 answers

Is Sprockit the robot an AI or a fake?

I just attended a local technical conference and there was a robot roaming the building, talking to people. His name was Sprockit, and he was talking with people. He saw a guy and said "Hey dude, good to see you again" and the guy replied in a…
thursdaysgeek
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