The Polar Express

• Synthetic faces now appear as real as genuine ones – if not more so.
• One generates new, plausible images (faces, in this case), while the other tries to discriminate real images from fake ones.
• Researchers have found that people shown synthetic faces mixed in with real ones struggle to tell the difference.
• Another study found that synthetic faces were rated as more real than photographs of actual faces.

Unconscious awareness in the brain

• In another recent study, researchers in Australia delved deeper into our ability to tell the difference between real and synthetic faces.
• In their first experiment, online participants failed to distinguish between the two types of faces, and again perceived the synthetic faces as more real than the real ones.

• The results from the EEG test showed that brain activity differed when people were looking at real versus synthetic faces.
• So one explanation might be that synthetic faces were perceived as subtly different to real faces in terms of the distances between features like the eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Although it may be surprising to think that our brains have access to information that is outside of our conscious awareness, there are many examples of this in psychology.
• In the array of faces at the top of the article, the real and synthetic faces are as follows (from left to right): R S S R S R S R R S R R R S R R R S

Robin Kramer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• The Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) has taken delivery of a historied alternative fuel testbed locomotive, most recently operated by BNSF as a hydrogen fuel cell switcher in Southern California.
• After several years of operation and data collection in Hobart, the unit was retired in 2014, and recently donated to ORM by BNSF.
• The test unit set the stage for future developments in alternative energy technology at BNSF, which is also planning a mainline hydrogen fuel cell locomotive demonstration with Progress Rail and Chevron in 2024.
• “We’re thrilled to add this unique BNSF locomotive to our museum roster,” stated Greg Hall, ORM trainmaster.

• Publishing April 4, 2023, Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy is the first in a contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.
• Angie Thomas said: "I think I can speak for a lot of us when I say that over the past two years, I've desperately needed an escape.
• While I'm known for writing young adult fiction that hits on hard topics, whenever I want to read for enjoyment, I usually turn to middle grade fantasy novels.
• But we've never seen Angie in the fantasy realm, weaving her own original magic systems with African American history and legend.

• NEW YORK, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Serial entrepreneur and author Andrew Duplessie announced today that his debut novel, Too Scared to Sleep, has been sold to Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books.
• The book represents the first teen novel deal for Duplessie, already an accomplished writer in the horror genre online, where he has racked up millions of reads.
• Andrew Duplessie says, "I'm really excited for people to read Too Scared to Sleep.
• HarperCollins Children's Books is one of the leading publishers of children's and teen books.