Feedback is 快猫短视频鈥檚 popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com
Rings of power
Feedback is often on the lookout for a nice gift for Mrs Feedback, a task made significantly trickier by her pesky habit of pre-ordering books before we even realise they exist.
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So we were briefly intrigued to learn about something called 鈥渟mart jewellery鈥�. Basically, imagine wearable technology like a Fitbit or Apple Watch that can monitor your heart rate and so forth, but instead of looking like a bit of tech, it is integrated into luxury jewellery.
A recent South China Morning Post headline explains that 鈥溾��. For example, we could get a shiny new , which integrates 鈥淕ucci鈥檚 instantly recognisable interlocking G motif鈥� with health-tracking technology that can 鈥渄iscreetly monitor sleep, heart rate, temperature and activity, among other metrics鈥�. Or rather, we can鈥檛: it was a limited edition. Second-hand ones on eBay start from 拢390 and escalate from there.
Feedback can think of at least one way this could go wrong. As a Bluesky user who goes by Zack Pizzaz , a wedding ring that monitors its users鈥� every emotion and movement could be the premise for a dystopian science fiction novel. It certainly sounds like the sort of thing Margaret Atwood would come up with. But surely, no business is proposing that people give their partner a smart ring and then monitor their every move?
Oh wait, our mistake, someone is proposing exactly that. Depending on your relationship status, you may or may not be aware of the dating app RAW. It requires users to submit only unfiltered photos of themselves, apparently to counter practices like catfishing. Which, OK, fine, whatever, but the company is launching a spin-off product called the RAW Ring. It is 鈥淎I powered鈥� with 鈥渉eart rate & temperature sensors鈥� 鈥� and 鈥渧oice tracking鈥�.
According to co-founder Marina Anderson, the ring is 鈥渓ike a bestie on a finger 鈥� keeping tabs on heart beats, body heat, and interactions around your partner. When something鈥檚 up, you鈥檒l know. Simple as that鈥�. A of her in The Verge reported that she believed such emotional surveillance could deepen relationships.
Or as the RAW Ring website proudly proclaims: 鈥淢arriage evolves, and so does loyalty. Sacred vows go digital. RAW鈥檚 mission? Making true love trackable.鈥�
We mentioned all of this to Mrs Feedback, and she informed us that if we buy her any of these items, we will be facing a divorce and alimony. A book token it is, then.
Thinking big
Here鈥檚 another headline for you, this time from UK talk radio station LBC: 鈥� admits to performing hypnotherapy to 鈥渆nlarge鈥� women鈥檚 breasts in the past鈥�. Apparently, Zack Polanski of the UK鈥檚 Green party worked at a London hypnotherapy clinic in 2013, where he used hypnosis with the aim of helping women grow bigger bosoms. This was reported on by The Sun newspaper at the time, under the inevitable headline 鈥樷��. Polanski has since apologised for this stage of his career.
Setting aside the ethics of this, neuroscientist Dean Burnett was , in the same way that drivers are fascinated by crashes, to wonder if there was any potential mechanism for it. After all, the mind and body are closely linked, to the point that our mental state can influence our immune system and gut health. And Burnett notes that 鈥渢here鈥檚 a condition in women known as , where the patient 颈蝉苍鈥檛 pregnant, but legitimately believes she is, and so displays the symptoms of being legitimately pregnant. Including enlarged and lactating mammaries鈥�.
If you鈥檙e starting to wonder if Polanski might have been onto something, stop it now. Burnett describes that line of reasoning as 鈥渁 very stark example 鈥f how easy it is to construct a convincing-sounding argument via very selective cherry picking of useful data鈥�. He goes on to demonstrate that hypnosis is nowhere near as powerful as it would need to be to act as a breast-enlargement tool.
Also, if hypnosis really were that effective, why wouldn鈥檛 the newly embiggened breasts also start producing milk?
Heroin and chips
On the ongoing theme of spurious correlations (Feedback, 5 July), Martin Couchman flags Tyler Vigen鈥檚 delightful site. At , you will find a vast catalogue of correlations that don鈥檛 mean anything at all. For instance, correlates beautifully with successful climbs of Mount Everest, and has declined in lockstep with the fall in numbers of library technicians in Iowa.
Those are pretty silly, but we can go sillier. Barry Dexter writes in to tell us of a statement he used while teaching, which made it clear to his students that correlation doesn鈥檛 equal causation 鈥� 鈥渁t least I think it did鈥�, he adds conscientiously. The statement: 鈥淓very heroin addict started on milk.鈥�
Finally, Dan Salmons tells us of his stint working for 鈥渁 well-known credit card company鈥� at the time when chip and PIN technology was first introduced. 鈥淚 was able to show my colleagues that the volume of cards in circulation was very nicely correlated with the price[s] of potatoes and steel,鈥� says Dan. 鈥淲hich of course, is exactly what you鈥檇 expect, since these are what chips and pins are made of.鈥�
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