A pedestrian in downtown San Francisco was found critically injured and trapped underneath a driverless car Monday night. But the company that operates the autonomous car says it's not at fault.

For many of us, the mere words “Pythagoras’s theorem” are enough to revive pencil-smudged exercise books and desperate attempts to copy classmates’ work. And yet, it turns out the name that has struck dread in countless school kids over the centuries is about as accurate as this writer’s attempts at geometry. Because although it is assumed that the legendary Greek philosopher Pythagoras himself was to thank for the equation a2 + b2 = c2, it turns out it was being used some 1,000 years before his time. Archaeologists have found the equation on a Babylonian tablet which was used for teaching back in 1770 BCE – centuries before Pythagoras’s birth in around 570 BC, as IFL Science notes. Another earlier tablet, from between 1800 and 1600 BC, even features a square with labelled triangles inside. Translations of the markings, which followed the base 60 counting system used by ancient Babylonians, prove that these mathematicians were familiar with Pythagorean theorem (although, obviously, they didn’t call it that) as well as other advanced mathematical principles. In a paper dedicated to the discovery, data scientist Bruce Ratner wrote: "The conclusion is inescapable. The Babylonians knew the relation between the length of the diagonal of a square and its side: d=square root of 2. "This was probably the first number known to be irrational. However, this in turn means that they were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem – or, at the very least, with its special case for the diagonal of a square [...] more than a thousand years before the great sage for whom it was named." And yet, one key problem remains unsolved: why did the equation become equated with the famous Greek? Well, most likely because Pythagoras wanted it to be. In his paper, Ratner points out that although the Ionian icon is widely considered the first bonafide mathematician, little is known about his specific mathematical achievements. Unlike his successors, he didn’t write any books that we know of, so there’s no written evidence of his work. However, we do have proof that he founded a semi-religious school called the Semicircle of Pythagoras, which followed a strict code of secrecy. As Ratner explained: “Pythagorean knowledge was passed on from one generation to the next by word of mouth, as writing material was scarce. Moreover, out of respect for their leader, many of the discoveries made by the Pythagoreans were attributed to Pythagoras himself. “Consequently, of Pythagoras’ actual work nothing is known. On the other hand, his school practiced collectivism, making it hard to distinguish between the work of Pythagoras and that of his followers. “Therefore, the true discovery of a particular Pythagorean result may never be known.” Still, he stressed, even though Pythagoras wasn’t the brains behind the most famous formula in maths, he does deserve a little credit for putting it on the map. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A NASA rover has captured incredible footage of a “dust devil” sweeping across the surface of Mars. To many on Earth, dust devils are known to form vertical columns of particles and hot air when the weather is particularly warm. But, astronomers have now observed a dust devil forming on Mars and it was absolutely huge, reaching an astounding 1.2 miles high. Images of the phenomenon were captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, which made its way to the Red Planet on 30 July 2020 and landed in February 2021. The machine’s cameras captured the plume of air and particles moving from east to west, travelling at a speed of around 12 miles per hour at Thorofare Ridge, on the western rim of the planet’s Jezero Crater, on 30 August 2023. The rover was located around 2.5 miles from the passing dust whirlwind when it captured the incredible scene in a series of photographs. NASA used the image data received from Perseverance to create a moving image made up of 21 frames taken four seconds apart, sped up 20 times. A NASA blog post about the phenomenon explained: “Using data from the imagery, mission scientists determined that the dust devil was about 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) away, at a location nicknamed ‘Thorofare Ridge,’ and moving east to west at a clip of about 12 mph (19 kph). “They calculated its width to be about 200 feet (60 meters). While only the bottom 387 feet (118 meters) of the swirling vortex are visible in the camera frame, scientists used the dust devil's shadow to estimate its full height at about 1.2 miles (2 kilometres).” It comes after alien enthusiasts were given a new reason to get excited about potential life on Mars, after scientists found cracked mud on the Red Planet. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen NEW YORK Sam Bankman-Fried is set to go on trial on charges

Experts have been left baffled after the body of a female orca (Orcinus orca) was found on a beach and inside there were seven sea otters that had been swallowed whole. The dead animal washed up on the Commander Islands (Komandorski Islands) on the Bering Sea coast in 2020 - far from its typical area, according to the study published in Aquatic Mammals. But there has been further confusion due to otters not being associated as part of an orca's normal diet, with the species preferring seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales. Six of the seven otters were inside the orca's stomach while the other one was lodged in the orca's throat, raising a possible answer to how the mammal died. Dr Olga Filatova, a cetacean researcher at Moscow State University described what they had found as "very unusual" and noted that otters are not associated with an orca's - aka a killer whale's - diet. “...killer whales normally do not eat sea otters - there were some observations of them harassing and killing sea otters, but very few proofs of actual consumption," she said. What's more, the fact that the otters were swallowed whole is also different from how orcas typically consume their food as they normally rip it apart. Therefore, this particular orca swallowing seven otters whole has raised some eyebrows. Some possible theories Dr. Filatova has come up with as to understand what happened include the idea that the orca was "very hungry, or sick, or crazy". Meanwhile, this bizarre case could possibly be the answer to the recorded decline in sea otters in the area. “Investigating the stomachs of stranded killer whales is crucial to directly confirm feeding on particular species," Dr Filatova and her colleagues concluded. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three scientists for discovering a way to study the world at a level previously thought impossible. The Nobel Assembly announced that Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier would receive the 2023 prize “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter”. “The laureates’ contributions have enabled the investigation of processes that are so rapid they were previously impossible to follow,” the committee announced during a ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday. Applications for the research include molecular fingerprinting applied to biological samples like blood plasma. By observing minute changes with this technique, it is hoped that in the future it will be possible to detect cancers at a very early stage. The award comes a day after the Nobel Assembly awarded Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.” The awards for chemistry, literature, peace and economics are set to be announced between Wednesday, 4 October, and Monday, 9 October. More to follow Read More Solar airship targets first non-stop round-the-world flight without fossil fuels Zuckerberg says Metaverse can bring back the dead – virtually Apple blames Instagram for overheating iPhones

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK Sam Bankman-Fried is set to go on trial on Tuesday on fraud and

A French company is aiming to complete a non-stop circumnavigation of the Earth using a solar-powered airship in a bid to test a new form of zero-emission travel. France-based Euro Airship is building the Solar Airship One with the aim of completing the round-the-world journey without fossil fuels in less than a month. Flying at an altitude of around 20,000 feet (6,000 metres), the futuristic craft uses a casing of solar panels, batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells to deliver power day and night, making it theoretically possible to fly forever. “The good thing is that we’re not doing this world tour flight just for an exhibition or for an adventure... There is an additional process after that for our technology,” French aerobatic pilot Dorine Bourneton, one of the pilots of the airship, told Flying magazine. “We’ve been working for the last 20 years in R&D, and we self financed it. Since July 2020, we signed a partnership with Capgemini, and they are helping to develop the industrialisation phase.” Engineers at Capgemini have been working with Euro Airship on the design, manufacturing and assembly process. “The Solar Airship project demonstrates that it is possible to catalyse an ecosystem to foster the emergence of sustainable air transport solutions,” said Corinne Jouanny from Capgemini Engineering. Construction of the Solar Airship One is set to begin this year, with the non-stop flight taking place in 2026. The project is part of a new generation of eco-friendly airships that are aiming to offer an alternative to conventional aircraft, which account for around 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. British manufacturer Hybrid Air Vehicles is also aiming to begin flights in 2026 of its Airlander 10 airship, while Google founder Sergey Brin is building the Pathfinder 1 airship as part od his Lighter Than Air venture. Read More Fossil fuels ‘becoming obsolete’ as solar panel prices plummet

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has said that the company’s Metaverse platform may one day help people interact with the virtual avatars of their deceased loved ones. In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman in the Metaverse, Mr Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on the future of virtual reality and the company’s VR platform. He shared details on Meta using new technology to scan users’ faces to build their 3D virtual models, Insider first reported. Mr Fridman asked the Meta chief if there was the possibility of the technology being used to talk to dead friends and relatives. “I would love to talk to people who are no longer here that are loved ones. So if you look into the future, is that something you think about?” he asked. While acknowledging that the idea was complex, the Meta boss said there is “probably some balance” for the idea of creating a virtual version of a dead person by using VR and AI. “If someone has lost a loved one and is grieving, there may be ways in which being able to interact or relive certain memories could be helpful,” Mr Zuckerberg told the podcaster. But the Meta boss also acknowledged such a technology could become “unhealthy”. “I’m not an expert in that, so I think we’d have to study that and understand it in more detail,” he said. The tech giant’s expenses have shot up since it began investing in its futuristic virtual reality social media platform Metaverse. Data from July revealed that despite a strong rise in Meta’s advertising revenue and dramatically cutting costs as well as laying off staff, the company had increased expenses due to the development of the metaverse, its artificial intelligence projects and legal fees. At a developer conference last week, the tech giant unveiled the next version of its VR headset, the Quest 3, that would cost $499 and begin shipping 10 October. Mr Zuckerberg said Meta was “focused on building the future of human connection” where people would interact with hologram versions of their friends or colleagues with AI bots built to assist them. “Soon the physical and digital will come together in what we call the metaverse,” he said. But observers have pointed out that Meta’s transformation to build the nascent virtual-reality world has been slower than expected, costing the company billions of dollars. Experts have also highlighted that global interest for virtual reality headsets has been low. A recent survey by Piper Sandler found less than 1 per cent of US teenagers regularly used virtual reality headsets, with less than a third of the 5,690 teens polled owning a VR device. Only 7 per cent of the respondents had plans to purchase a VR headset and over half said they were either unsure or uninterested. Faced with the challenges of uncertainty around the global economy and a slump in online advertising, the tech giant slashed over 20,000 jobs. Mr Zuckerberg also dubbed 2023 to be the company’s “year of efficiency”. Meanwhile, Apple has also launched its own VR headset, the Vision Pro, which it hopes will be its most important product since the iPhone. Apple’s virtual reality tool allows people to see apps projected on top of the room they are in, enabling them to be “freed from the confines of a display”. Apple’s headset, however, is on the pricier side. It costs $3,499, while Meta’s latest one comes at around $500. Read More Apple blames Instagram for overheating iPhones Tom Hanks calls out AI version of him made without his permission: ‘Beware!’ Meta launches AI chatbots with ‘personalities’ to take on ChatGPT Meta launches AI chatbots with ‘personalities’ to take on ChatGPT Meta showcases new AR/VR tech at annual Connect conference Apple blames Instagram for overheating iPhones

Elon Musk’s X Corp, the company formerly known as Twitter, is being sued by another social network also named X, a lawsuit filed in a federal court revealed. The lawsuit, filed by a Florida-based ad agency X Social Media LLC, alleged that the popular social media platform violates Florida common law because of “unfair competition and trademark and service mark infringement”. It also accused the company owned by Mr Musk of violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUPTA). The accusing company said it has existed in the American state with its registered trademark as “X SOCIALMEDIA” continuously since 2016. It said it has existed as “a vanguard in utilizing social media and marketing technology to connect consumers with legal services in situations where those harmed would otherwise remain voiceless and without remedy”. The Florida-based company, founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Jacob Malherbe, said its “distinctive” and “dominant” letter “X” is used to signify the beginning of a life-changing journey towards justice. The ad firm said its ”X” mark is successfully associated with its social media advertising services, adding that it has invested “over $2m to date” in building brand awareness and reaching consumers. It argued that it has “already suffered loss in revenue that correlates with X Corp’s rebrand and use of the mark ‘X’.” “In addition to the symbolic emphasis of the ‘X’, X Social Media frequently emphasizes the ‘X’ portion of its mark throughout its advertising, blogs, and newsletters highlighting its work,” the company said. “X Corp’s use of the ‘X’ mark and recent attempt to register the mark in association with social media, business data, promotion and advertising, business consulting, market research services, and advertising services necessitates this action because its conduct has caused and will continue to cause serious irreparable harm to X Social Media,” the ad agency says. It remains to be seen how X Corp would respond to the lawsuit. X Corp did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. Read More Elon Musk facing defamation lawsuit in Texas over posts that falsely identified man in protest Elon Musk mocked by Ukraine’s parliament over tweet taunting Zelensky Elon Musk to live stream himself gaming on X in ‘everything app’ bid Elon Musk to live stream himself gaming on X in ‘everything app’ bid Musk confirms he is cutting election integrity staff from X/Twitter ahead of 2024 Reddit will start paying people to post

Apple is working on a software fix following reports that some of its new iPhone 15 models are overheating.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned on Monday of a "nightmare" scenario for the internet if Google's dominance in online search is allowed to continue, a situation, he said, that starts with searches on desktop and mobile but extends to the emerging battleground of artificial intelligence.