22 articles from SATURDAY 11.1.2020

Beware a closing of the British mind if we abandon European endeavours | Nick Cohen

Post-Brexit, we should be wary of spurning joint projects in science and educationLeaving the EU will produce the greatest loss of freedom since the Second World War. The freedom of businesses to trade with Europe dominates politics. But I suspect the loss of the freedom of the individual to live and work where they want in the EU, to fall in love and bring home whoever they choose and, above all,...

How astrology paved the way for predictive analytics

Astrology has influenced science for millennia, argues a new book – and it endures in algorithmic data modellingIf you type “Why are millennials” into Google, the top result completes the question with “obsessed with astrology”. Never mind the answer; the question alone is likely to incite exasperation among scientists, most of whom would condemn astrology as pseudoscience at its most...

I thought I needed alcohol to enjoy sex… but being sober made it so much better

Drunk sex was the only kind I could have with a new guy – until I quit drinking and focussed on sexual satisfactionI never expected I’d be proud of myself for having a one-night stand. Before I quit drinking, I’d always say I “loved dating”. Truthfully, I loved drinking and drunk sex was often the logical conclusion of the evening. I’d convince myself that having four or five drinks on...

Fossil Reveals Earth's Oldest Known Animal Guts

They say you should trust your gut, which is what Emmy Smith did when she went hunting for fossils in 2016. Smith, a field geologist, had a hunch she would find something interesting at a site north of Pahrump, Nevada, and she did. But what her gut hadn't told her was that some of those fossils would turn out to contain the oldest known animal guts on the planet."It was just really...