💻 Technology & Computing
52 entries
Putting a Wet Phone in Rice Fixes Water Damage
Rice is ineffective and can leave starch dust inside, worsening damage; proper drying is critical
ChatGPT Is a Search Engine
It's a probability machine that occasionally gets the facts right by accident
5G Towers Cause Cancer
Non-ionising radio waves below the threshold to break a chemical bond, let alone a DNA strand
Modern Attention Spans Are Shorter Than a Goldfish's
The number is fake; the goldfish is fake; the source is a Microsoft slide deck citing a citation that cites itself
Thomas Edison Invented the Light Bulb
Edison improved the practical bulb; many inventors contributed before him
Chemtrails are secret chemical spraying for population control
Contrails are water vapour; chemical spraying would be impractical and visible
Cell phones cause brain tumors from radiation
Mobile phone radiation is non-ionizing; large studies show no reliable link
Jurassic Park's DNA-from-amber premise is biologically possible
While mosquitoes preserve in amber, dinosaur DNA recovery remains impossible
Vaccines Contain Microchips for Tracking
Impossible physics: microchips too large for hypodermic needles and require power sources
Theranos' Proprietary Blood Tests Were Not as Revolutionary as Claimed
The company and CEO Elizabeth Holmes perpetuated fraudulent claims about technology capabilities
Macs Don't Get Viruses
macOS systems are vulnerable; they've had fewer historical attacks due to market dominance of Windows, not superior architecture
Always Fully Drain Your Battery Before Recharging
Lithium-ion batteries suffer from deep discharge cycles; partial charges extend lifespan
Incognito/Private Browsing Makes You Anonymous Online
Private modes only hide browsing history from local devices; ISPs, websites, and networks still track you
5G Technology Causes Health Problems or Spreads Disease
5G frequencies are non-ionizing radiation; no scientific evidence links them to COVID-19 or health harm
The Internet Is a Series of Tubes
Senator Ted Stevens' 2006 gaffe was technically garbled but captured packet-routing's spatial distribution reality
AI Will Become Sentient and Take Over Humanity
Current AI systems are narrow task-learners with no consciousness; general intelligence remains theoretical
Dark Mode Significantly Saves Battery Life on All Screens
Dark mode only reduces power on OLED displays; LCD screens consume similar power regardless of content
Facebook Listens Through Your Microphone
Targeted advertising stems from data mining behaviour, not audio surveillance; microphone monitoring at scale is implausible
NASA Spent Millions Developing a Space Pen While Soviets Used Pencils
Fisher Pen developed the ballpoint privately; NASA adopted it later; Soviets also eventually bought them
Video Games Cause Violence and Aggression
Decades of research show no causal link; violence correlates with socioeconomic factors and access to weapons
Blue Light Glasses Stop Screens Damaging Your Eyes
The screens aren't damaging your eyes; the glasses aren't doing anything
AI Detectors Reliably Catch ChatGPT-Written Essays
They flag false positives at around 20 percent and have a particular bias against non-native English writers
Microwave Ovens Emit Dangerous Radiation
Microwaves use non-ionizing radiation; properly designed ovens are safe
Microwaves produce dangerous radiation in food
Non-ionizing radiation is safe; properly sealed ovens safe
Glass is a liquid that slowly flows over time
Glass is amorphous solid; it doesn't flow at room temperature
More Megapixels = Better Photos
Sensor size, lens quality, and computational photography matter more than raw pixel count
Closing Background Apps Saves Phone Battery
Force-closing apps forces the OS to relaunch them from scratch, consuming more power than suspension
Waving a Magnet Near Your Hard Drive Wipes It
Modern HDDs are magnetically shielded; SSDs have no magnetic storage and are immune
More RAM Always Makes Your Computer Faster
RAM helps only when you're hitting capacity limits; excess RAM provides minimal benefit
Leaving Your Laptop Plugged In Ruins the Battery
Modern laptops have battery management that stops charging at 100%; continuous trickle-charging doesn't degrade batteries
You Need Antivirus Software on Every Device
Modern OSes include built-in security; third-party antivirus adds little for most users and sometimes introduces vulnerabilities
Quantum Computers Will Break All Encryption Overnight
Practical quantum computers capable of cryptanalysis are decades away; post-quantum standards are already emerging
Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer
WHO classifies RF as 'possibly carcinogenic,' but decades of epidemiology show no causal link
Blue Light from Screens Causes Permanent Eye Damage
Blue light causes digital eye strain but not retinal damage; sunlight exposure poses larger photochemical risk
Typing Your PIN Backwards at an ATM Alerts Police
Urban legend with no technical basis; ATMs have no mechanism to detect reverse PINs or trigger alerts
Deleting Files Permanently Removes Them
Deletion marks space as reusable; files persist until new data overwrites them, allowing forensic recovery
Y2K Was Overblown; Nothing Would Have Happened Without Fixes
Billions spent on preventive fixes averted genuine infrastructure failures and data corruption
Charging Your Phone Overnight Permanently Damages the Battery
Modern phones halt charging at 100%; continuous trickle-charging produces minimal degradation
Bitcoin Is Completely Anonymous
Bitcoin is pseudonymous with a public ledger; all transactions are traceable and linkable to identities
Wifi Is Slowly Cooking Your Brain
Wifi is non-ionising radio at about a thousandth of the power of the sun on your face
Oprah Winfrey Is the Only Self-Made Female Billionaire
Oprah is a billionaire but not the only self-made female billionaire; numbers vary by year
Power lines cause cancer through electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic fields from power lines are non-ionizing; no proven cancer link
Microplastics from water bottles are severely toxic
Microplastics present but health impact unclear at current exposure levels
WiFi routers emit dangerous radiation causing illness
WiFi uses non-ionizing radiation at safe levels
Ancient Egyptians had electricity from Baghdad Battery
Baghdad Battery was a decorative jar; insufficient capacity for practical use
Video games shrink your brain
Some studies show structural changes; causation and harm unclear
The Telescope Was Invented by Hans Lippershey (or Giordano Bruno, or Zacharias Janssen)
Telescope invention was likely simultaneous among multiple inventors; attribution remains disputed
Airport X-Rays Damage Digital Photos and Files
X-rays don't affect solid-state memory; SSDs and memory cards are immune to ionizing radiation at airport levels
You Should Defragment Your SSD Regularly
Defragmentation harms SSDs by causing unnecessary write cycles; modern file systems and TRIM handle optimization
Clearing Cookies Makes Your Computer Faster
Cookies are tiny text files; clearing them frees negligible storage and doesn't affect performance
Cell Phones Interfere with Airplane Instrument Systems
Modern aircraft avionics are shielded; the ban reflects frequency allocation conflicts and congestion, not equipment interference
WiFi Causes Cancer and Health Problems
WiFi operates at 2.4 GHz non-ionizing frequency; no epidemiological evidence supports health claims