Category Archives: Evolution

eFootball is a fresh start for Konamis long-running Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series. Not only does the game take a radically different approach by switching from a paid annual release to a free-to-play model, but its also being built on an entirely new game engine this time around: Unreal Engine 4.

The shift has naturally led to questions over whether eFootball will be able to overcome some of the typical pitfalls and challenges that the free-to-play model can pose, and how content will be delivered to players after release.

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, we spoke with eFootballs producer Seitaro Kimura about how the development team will manage cross-play, the benefits of working with Unreal Engine 4, and what he considers eFootballs biggest innovation to be.

From Pro Evolution Soccer to PES, and now eFootball Kimura-san explained that the decision to scrap the series long-running name (known as Winning Eleven in Japan) was down to a multitude of factors. Chiefly, the prospect of turning the game into a viable esport.

We were working on a project to revamp the PES game engine to coincide with the release of the next-generation of home game console such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, says Kimura-san.

At the same time, we knew that we needed to meet the needs of the market by making the game free-to-play and cross-platform, allowing players to compete and cooperate across devices.

Following the major changes in the game engine and business aspects, we [wanted to] create a large cross-platform esports scene. To this end, we made the decision to unify Winning Eleven in Japan and PES overseas into eFootball.

eFootball is powered by Unreal Engine 4, replacing Konamis FOX Engine that powered the likes of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and previous iterations of PES behind. Building a game in an entirely new engine is always a challenge, but Kimura-san that Unreals development community helped make the series transition to Unreal Engine 4 a little smoother.

With the Unreal Engine, there are many more options for approaches, and with so many people using the Unreal Engine, I can refer to a lot of knowledge, says Kimura-san. Also, at UNREAL FEST, I was able to listen to development case studies of titles that had adopted Unreal Engine, so I was able to get more practical information.

Also, because we were able to develop for all platforms in one environment, we were able to handle cross-platform play relatively smoothly. The gameplay portion of the game uses an in-house football engine, so the integration was very challenging.

eFootball is set to launch with nine officially licensed teams in total, and we now know that new teams will be added and updated for free, along with individual squads. We will also continue to offer Live Update, a free data update service, so each teams transfers and squad changes will be updated weekly, says Kimura-san.

There will also be the predictable mix of licensed teams and made up ones, according to Kimura-san. There will only be a small number of teams available at launch, but other licensed teams with made up names will be available as usual via free updates.

Popular offline modes such as Master League, will be available in the future as premium downloadable content in eFootball, and the game will feature a Match Pass system that allows you to pick your favorite players and earn items based on the numbers of matches you play. Both free and paid passes will be available, says Kimura-san. Paid elements will include individual players for our new Team Building Mode, the aforementioned Match Passes, and we plan to sell additional modes in the future."

But how will eFootball balance the multiplayer and single-player components when it comes to fixes and future updates, and avoid falling into the Pay to win trap that so many free-to-play games succumb to?

We do plan to sell the existing offline modes as premium content in the future. As for those fixes and updates, they will be done in the same way for all modes, says Kimura-san. We are focusing on making sure that all players can enjoy a fair game, so the game specifications will not be a Pay to Win system where paid elements will determine who wins or loses in a match.

Unlike FIFA 22, eFootball will let you play with friends no matter which platform theyre on, including mobile. If you do opt for the mobile version, which will also support controllers in a future update, the good news is you wont always need a Wi-Fi connection if you want to get your football fix on, Kimura-san confirms.

Yes, it is possible to play online using 4G or 5G connection, Kimura-san explains. We are developing and adjusting so that differences in communication quality depending on the environment you are playing in will have as little impact on gameplay as possible.

But will there be a Nintendo Switch version of eFootball? Perhaps, though Kimura-san failed to provide an answer at this point. He did shed some light on what PS5 and Xbox Series X players can expect when they boot up eFootball for the first time, however.

Please expect to see major visual enhancements on PS5 and Xbox Series X, says Kimura-san. However, there is no 120Hz support on console.

While switching to free-to-play and choosing a new name is certainly a big deal for eFootball, its success will ultimately be decided by how it recreates the beautiful game. And when it comes to improvements on the pitch, Kimura-san believes that by focusing on the 1v1 element of football, adding a completely new animation system, and by working with some of the best players in the world, eFootball will ultimately benefit.

The most interesting part of football, in my opinion, is the 1v1 attack and defense. The 1 vs. 1 gameplay is the most innovative aspect of eFootball and will change the balance of the game, says Kimura-san.

In order to make this happen, we have innovated in every way possible, Kimura-san explains. In order to understand how the best players in the world play, we brought in [Andreas] Iniesta and [Gerard] Piqu as our gameplay advisors and asked them for their advice.

In addition, realistic gameplay requires both varied animations and high responsiveness. To achieve this, we built a completely new animation system, including technology we call Motion Matching. You can enjoy the delicate touch of the ball, feinting to deceive your opponent, defending with your body, or blocking a shot at the last second.

Interestingly, this new approach has led to eFootball adopting a control scheme similar to FIFA, with the triggers now controlling sprint and close control instead of the shoulder buttons.

With the revamp of the game engine, we have focused on the most exciting part of football, the 1v1 battle between players. As we created the game system by deconstructing the mechanics of winning and losing in real-life 1v1 battles and the tactics used by top-level players, we had to restructure the control method in order for players to enjoy the evolved tactics, says Kimura-san. Also, instead of having more complicated controls, the game is more intuitive and allows players to focus on the gameplay against their opponents, so we believe that people who have enjoyed the PES series in the past will be able to get used to it and enjoy playing against each other.

We wont have to wait long until we can go hands-on with eFootball, which will release early Autumn (likely September) for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and mobile. Whether the game will be a championship contender or relegation fodder remains to be seen.

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How the (pro) evolution of Konamis eFootball came to be - TechRadar

Sydney McLaughlin

Courtesy of New Balance

Sydney McLaughlin is feeling on top of the world.

Earlier this month, the 22-year-old narrowly topped Dalilah Muhammad, also of Team USA and the defending Olympic champion, to win gold in the women's 400m hurdles at the Summer Games. Finishing the race in 51.46 seconds, McLaughlin also smashed her own world record, which she'd previously set at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

"Honestly, it's a dream come true something I have truly dreamt about ever since I was a kid," McLaughlin tells PEOPLE, reflecting on the Olympic event while chatting about her upcoming footwear and apparel collaboration with New Balance.

Her performance in Tokyo was a victory lap following her previous Olympic experience when she failed to make the final in her event at the 2016 Rio Games, where she competed at 16 years old as one of the youngest American track athletes in history.

RELATED: Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad Break Previous World Record Vying for Gold in Hurdles: 'A Great Race'

Sydney McLaughlin

Courtesy of New Balance

"I think 2016 definitely just taught me a lot about the stage in this high-level competition. Going into Tokyo, I was much more prepared mentally and emotionally," she says. "I am grateful to the experience of 2016, even though it wasn't the best. I can truly appreciate all of that because it prepared me for Tokyo this year."

This time around, McLaughlin says her biggest obstacle was "just being patient with myself."

"I think going in, I knew it was gonna be a very fast race. It was definitely a tough one, but my training had been in a place where I knew I was capable of going that fast," she shares. "It was really about executing and the confidence in myself to just go out there and do what I knew how to do."

After Tokyo, McLaughlin has been excited to launch a new venture. The athlete is releasing her New Balance x Sydney Signature Collection, which showcases her rise from young track athlete to world record holder and reigning Olympic gold medalist.

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Sydney McLaughlin

Courtesy of New Balance

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Sydney McLaughlin

Courtesy of New Balance

"I started working on this almost two years ago, and it was something that was supposed to come out last year after the Olympics, but it got pushed," McLaughlin tells PEOPLE. "So it's been a long time that we've been working on it. It's been really cool to just have the opportunity to create something that I can kind of call my own."

One of the themes of the collaboration is also one of McLaughlin's personal mottos: "Be the first you." A butterfly motif is present across the collection, which McLaughlin says holds a special meaning to her both personally and professionally.

"This idea of evolving and growing into this beautiful creation, I think, over this past year for me has definitely been one of the main themes of my life, so it's cool that the collection also reflects that," she explains. "New Balance first came to me with the idea of incorporating the butterfly because they knew that was something very close to me. Ever since I was young, my father always told me to 'be the butterfly.'"

RELATED: Sydney McLaughlin Shares Day in Her Life Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Reflects on Rio in 2016

Next, McLaughlin is set to compete next at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. As an athlete, she explains that she's already feeling the pressure to ask herself, "what are we working on next?"

But before she gets back to training, McLaughlin says she's taking some time to soak in all that she's accomplished so far.

"It's one of those moments I truly want to just enjoy before progressing on to what's to come," she shares, adding: "Right now I'm just trying to turn my brain off and enjoy this time."

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Sydney McLaughlin on Her Evolution from 2016 Rio Games to Winning Gold in Tokyo: 'Dream Come True' - Yahoo Entertainment

GARRISON, N.Y. Prosperos grievance has been gnawing at him a dozen years when at last he speaks of it to his teenage daughter, Miranda, explaining how they were forced from their noble life in Milan into island exile.

His own treacherous brother snatched his dukedom away, propelled by an evil nature and a craving for power that Prospero bookish sorcerer, kindly father, distracted ruler hadnt suspected in him.

Does he sense his own darkness, though? His own lust for dominion? The way Prospero spins his tale, he is a great man and a good guy wronged. But in Ryan Quinns fitfully magical production of The Tempest at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, the cruelty that lurks in him is abundantly on display.

The long-lashed, gold-dusted spirit Ariel (Britney Simpson), forced to do Prosperos bidding, desires her freedom from him more than anything. The brutish Caliban (Jason OConnell) wants the same, and to be left in peace on the island that was his before this enslaving invader arrived. Both of them call him master.

Whats curious is that Howard W. Overshowns Prospero, played with a recessiveness consistent with a character most at home in his library, does not dominate the play. He does, however, orchestrate all that happens in it, starting with the storm he whips up to shipwreck his brother (Sean McNall), the queen of Naples (Nance Williamson) and others in a quest for retribution.

Comedy is the strongest suit here, led by OConnells bedraggled, delicate Caliban, who sounds like John Lithgow might if he were a downtrodden brute with a sympathetic case to plead. The productions rollicking high point comes with his discovery by the delightfully put-upon Trinculo (Ralph Adriel Johnson), and their joint discovery by the drunken butler Stephano (Kurt Rhoads).

The young lovers Miranda (Kayla Coleman) and Ferdinand (an extraordinarily charming Tyler Fauntleroy) are sweet to watch, while much of the magic of the island comes from the lovely sung enchantments of Ariel.

Plumped up with music (sound design and music composition are by Charles Coes and Nathan Roberts) and movement (choreography is by Susannah Millonzi), this production is the festivals last in its longtime home at Boscobel House and Gardens, where performances take place in an airy tent that frames the expansive lawn and the hills beyond as background scenery. (The company is moving just a few miles away.)

When the show begins with clouds of fog billowing just where the lawn slopes down, and the figures of the company rising through it and coming toward us, we know that Quinn will use the landscape well.

There is some flatness to the production, though. At the performance I saw, the first frisson of pleasure came with Calibans initial scene: the laughter of an audience that suddenly finds itself in the palm of an actors hand. Standout performances by Simpson and OConnell, Fauntleroy and Johnson are more memorable than the storytelling as a whole.

But in Overshowns finely understated interpretation, Prosperos evolution is starkly clear. When he asks Ariel how the shipwrecked queen and nobles are, she suggests that they are pitiful from his torments: that if he could see them, his affections would become tender.

Dost thou think so, spirit? he asks.

Mine would, sir, were I human, she says, with such gentleness and dignity that compassion seems the only proper course.

And we feel him, very subtly, doing something that wounded, angry rulers seldom do. He begins to let go of his vengefulness.

The TempestThrough Sept. 4 at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, N.Y.; hvshakespeare.org. Running time 2 hours 15 minutes.

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Review: The Tempest Starkly Amplifies Prosperos Evolution - The New York Times

Our Senior Editorial Board Members lent their expertise to judge the entrants to the competition, selecting the overall winner, runner up and best image from each category. The board members considered the scientific story behind the photos submitted in addition to their artistic judgement.

Please enjoy viewing our winning images and discovering the stories behind the camera!

The overall winning image by Kristen Brown from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA depicts a school of jack fish in a spiral formation at Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Kristen Brown said: This image represents both the beauty and bounty of our oceans as well as the spiraling crisis unfolding within the marine environment. Coral reefs with high coral cover and plentiful fish populations like this one at Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef are sadly becoming rarer. Without a concentrated effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve water quality, coral reefs as we know them are at risk of disappearing within our lifetime. Senior Editorial Board Member Josef Settele recommended the entry, saying: Marine biodiversity sustains life and the health of our planet, but human activities are threatening the well-being of the worlds oceans. Kristen Browns striking image is a symbol for the need for concentrated efforts to manage biodiversity loss and set conservation priorities.

Runner Up and Best Image for Evolutionary Developmental Biology and Biodiversity

Our runner up and best image for this category was submitted by Kseniya Vereshchagina, an ecologist who studies Lake Baikal in south-eastern Siberia. Lake Baikal is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in the world, giving rise to rich and particularly unique freshwater fauna. However, Kseniya explains that in areas of heavy industry and active tourism, there is a significant impact on coastal communities. Kseniya and her lab group at Irkutsk State University found that in areas of intense human activity, the immunity of endemic amphipod crustaceans is weakened, making them more susceptible to parasitic infection. Kseniya tells us that this image shows an endemic amphipod crustacean densely covered with an overgrown colony of parasitic ciliates. Lake Baikal holds exceptional scientific value to ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Such research highlights the need to minimize the impact of human activity on this precious site.

Behavioral Ecology

This stark winning image for the Behavioral Ecology category was submitted by an evolutionary biologist and conservation photographer affiliated with the University of Valencia, Spain. Roberto tells us that Spiders are one of the most sophisticated hunters on earth. Nevertheless, they cannot escape from what evolution has provided to other species. In particular, some groups of wasps are specialized in hunting spiders and use them as a trophic resource for their larvae. I found this epic scene in a wall of a biological station in Tiputini, Ecuador.

Population Ecology

The winning image for the Population Ecology category was also submitted by Roberto Garca-Roa. Roberto said: Thousands of soldier termites are able to migrate in a complex social environment where each individual has its own mission framed altogether in a global objective: the survivorship and reproduction of the colony. In this case, these termites used meters of an abandoned rope to move across the Malaysian forest. Once humans disappear, nature recovers its space and uses what is needed to survive.

Human Evolution and Ecology

Our winner in this category entitled Learning to Be Human was captured by Roberto Garca-Roa. Primates can be useful models to study the evolution of human locomotion.To caption this winning image, Roberto Garca-Roas writes, To understand our present and predict our future, humans aim to gain enough knowledge to fill the gap of our past. Bipedalism, for example, is probably one of the most critical steps in our evolutionary history. How did it happen? With just a few seconds to capture this scene in France, I was allowed to photograph how a baboon Papio learnt to walk on two legs in a project that aims to investigate how bipedalism evolved in hominids.

Ecological Developmental Biology

Our winner in this category was an entry by Chey Chapman, a PhD student studying the mechanisms underlying zebrafish tissue regeneration at the Royal Veterinary College, the University of London. Mammals cannot repair severe damage to tissues a severed limb does not grow back. However, zebrafish have a spectacular ability to regenerate various tissues after traumatic injury. Chey tells us that This image shows the blood vessels in a regenerated zebrafish tail fin two weeks after clipping at the horizontal white line. Whether regeneration is a primitive or adaptive trait to environmental conditions is the subject of much debate, and the mechanisms underlying the regeneration process are not yet fully understood. Transgenic zebrafish, such as the line used to generate this image, are an important tool to help us better understand why some animals have the power of regeneration by allowing the visualization of certain cell types labelled by fluorescent reporters.

Editors Pick

The Editors pick titled Eerie Stalker by Dimitri Ouboter from the Institute for Neotropical Wildlife and Environmental Studies, Suriname captures a Giant Gladiator Frog seconds before escaping from an attempted snake attack. Giant Gladiator Frogs have been previously observed escaping from the jaws of snakes by emitting distress calls, jumping and inflating their lungs, making it harder for small snakes to hold on to them.

Many congratulations to all of our winners! Their images have been released under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), so everyone is welcome and encouraged to share them freely, as long as you clearly attribute the image author.

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BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition 2021: the winning images! - BMC Series blog - BMC Blogs Network

Most of us remember watching Disney princess movies growing up it is safe to assume that almost everyone has seen at least one of them. Generations grew up with these fancy, beautiful princesses, sometimes even serving as role models with their kindness and loving personas. The impact of these princess movies, however, is far from benign. Many of them taught kids the stifling bonds of gender roles and emphasized the importance of looks and beauty standards. In recent years, though, Disney has attempted to redefine what it means to be a Disney princess. This move gives hope for young generations, especially girls, to be powerful on their own.

There are two types of Disney Princesses: traditional ones and new ones; and there are three eras: the Classics Era, the Renaissance Era and the New-Age Era.

Classics Era (1937-1959)

The Classics-Era princesses Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were primarily passive and temperate. They were waiting for someone to come rescue them. These princesses also fit squarely into conventional beauty standards.

Snow White is the typical, beautiful, gentle and innocent princess. The only thing she does in the movie is clean the house for seven guys and get saved by another one. Cinderella is more developed but still struggles to progress beyond the limits of needing someone to save her; she is curious about the world, but ends up with the strong Prince Charming that saves the day. In Sleeping Beauty, the fairies give Aurora the gift of beauty not intelligence or personality when she is a newborn. As the story continues, we dont even get a chance to see Auroras depth of character only her beauty and grace. In the Classics Era, these kinds of gender stereotypes and the objectification of submissive female characters were at their peak.

Renaissance Era (1989-1999)

The Renaissance Era of Disney princesses, also called the rebel children era, appears to have been in response to a wake-up call for a needed transition from being conventional to being a reformer. While the Renaissance Era improved on the Classics Era by making princesses curious about the world rather than doing the housework for others, Disney still stuck to the motif of princesses needing someone. This era includes Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.

With Ariel, Disney finally succeeded in creating a complex character. Out of all her sisters, Ariel can sing the best, yet she wonders about life on land. After seeing Prince Eric, she decides to exchange her singing voice for the opportunity to become a human. She develops into a self-sustained princess without reliance on anothers help, even at the cost of going against her family and community.

Another great example of Disneys development is Belle from The Beauty and the Beast. In Belle, we see a woman whose key characteristic is not her beauty, but rather her intelligence and love of books. She doesnt fit in society, and even sings a whole song about how she wants to break away from it. As the story continues, we see that she is not preoccupied with beauty but instead falls for the ugly, terrifying Beasts kind personality and big heart. Like Belle, Jasmine continues to follow in her footsteps and resists societys expectations for her to marry someone of political import. There are even a few times that Aladdin points out Jasmines intelligence and ambition, a rarity for Disney. Jasmine is also the first Disney princess of color, a revolutionary move at the time.

Though Disney may have taken a step forward with Jasmine, they lose credibility with another princess of color. Pocahontas, also powerful and free-spirited, fears getting married to Kocoum and falls in love with an English settler, John Smith. After all the pain white colonizers caused to Indigenous people (which the movie easily glosses over), its not easy to watch an indigenous woman fall for a white colonizer. Pocahontas wants peace between nations and cultures, and she wants to help the other side, although we clearly see from the plot that white colonizers arent there for friendly reasons.

Pocahontas is Disneys first attempt at basing a princess on a real person rather than a fairy tale; I still feel that it failed, though:they twisted the facts about her story, focusing on her romance with John Smith instead of her leadership abilities and brave soul. In reality, Pocahontas was around 11 when she met Smith, who was believed to be in his late twenties or early thirties, and she was captured by white colonizers, held for ransom and encouraged to convert to Christianity. She married tobacco farmer John Rolfe and died of an unspecified illness at around age 21.After all the progress of the preceding films, it is sad to see a regression in Pocahontas. Even though Pocahontas still represents a strong and brave role model for young girls, the movie is sexist, racist and problematic.

Mulan is one of the bravest and strongest princesses of all, as she is the best fighter in an all-male army. She fights for her country and her roots, showing that women can do anything they want, even if it defies tradition. Also, for the first time, a princesss love interest remains in the background, a relief after many years of male dominance in a princess movie.

New-Age Era (2009-present)

The latest era of Disney princesses, the New-Age Era, also known as the independent woman era, is the most recent and most equal era of Disney. It includes Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, Anna and more. Tiana definitely embodies the new definition of a princess. She works hard to achieve her dreams and keep her promise to her father, and she doesnt turn to shortcuts or a man to help her get there. She is straightforward in every situation, even if its hard, a virtue making her the best role model out of all the Disney princesses.

Another Disney princess wanted to see life outside of her tower, where she was locked up and spent all of her childhood and young adult life. Rapunzel is free-spirited, artistic and stubborn. Even though Mother Gothel told her that the outside world is full of evil and that she wouldnt be able to handle it, Rapunzel followed her instincts and pursued her dream. Rapunzel represents a strong, determined personality, defying the stereotype of women as innocent, weak and inadequate by themselves.

Merida is the composition of opposing opinions on being a princess. She lacks a lady-like attitude she gets in a fight with her mother about her masculine demeanor refuses to get married and is interested in archery. She is the first Disney princess without a male savior counterpart, making her the first fully independent Disney princess. Being a princess no longer means being feminine, gentle or having a prince charming. Gender roles have changed, and thus the most recent phase claims its name: the independent women era.

In the story of Elsa, a powerful girl is afraid of those powers and is seen as evil. She isolates herself because of her evil power, but as the story continues she embraces it with the help of her sister. Instead of romance, Frozen focuses on the undying bond between two sisters, Anna and Elsa. Even though Elsa hurt Anna with her powers unintentionally, Anna forgives Elsa and wants to be there for her, in bad and better times. Anna even rejects her love interest, Kristoff, to help Elsa, who she loves the most and would do anything for her. They represent the importance of independence, womens unity and doing just fine without a man by their side.

One of Disneys newest princesses, Moana, continues to carry on the theme of the independent, brave women. She doesnt have any love interest, and she is determined to save her people no matter how dangerous the journey. She is another inspiration for girls who do not need a man to accomplish their goals.

Disney has come a long way after many years, and is still continuing to make progress over time. I remember not liking iconic Disney princesses when I was a kid because they needed a man or magic to realize their goals. I have since noticed many changes in the meaning of being a princess over the years, and Im glad that Disney decided to change their stories and let female characters define themselves without a need for someone else.

Disney today and tomorrow will inspire young girls to follow their own path not the traditional path, but working hard for their dreams, and not waiting for anothers help that is, becoming their own inspirations. I hope that Disney continues to progress, because we still live in a male-dominated society, and in many facets of life women still arent allowed to be what they want. I believe with open-minded and egalitarian princess movies, a new generation will rise to solve these problems for a better society.

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From Snow White to Moana: The Evolution of Disney Princesses - The Stanford Daily

Harley Quinn writer Stephanie Phillips has a PhD in rhetoric and composition, a master's in English, was a competitive Muy Thai fighter, and loves comics. But for a long time she felt like she didn't really 'get' Wonder Woman.

Phillips has always seen Wonder Woman as a "symbol of strength," but the human side of Diana Prince was a hard thing for her to grasp on a personal level. After a journey to understand Wonder Woman's humanity for herself which led to her using Wonder Woman in her Muy Thai fighting prep, Stephanie Phillips is now putting the character on her own path to understanding her own humanity in Wonder Woman: Evolution.

Debut November 16, Wonder Woman: Evolution teams Phillips with artist Mike Hawthorne, inker Adriano Di Benedetto, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and letterer Tom Napolitano as they take the Amazonian warrior to a cosmic court to act as Earth's representative when its crimes are put on trial.

Newsarama spoke with Phillips about the upcoming series, her acclimation to understanding Wonder Woman for herself, and following the character through a re-examination of her own identity.

Newsarama: Stephanie, the subtitle 'Evolution' leaves open a world of possibility. What does it mean in terms of you and Mike's story?

Stephanie Phillips: When I was initially tasked with a Wonder Woman story, I started to think about what interests me about this character. Since her inception, I think Wonder Woman has been this incredibly symbolic character, often steeped in mythology and lore. I love that about her, but I realized that I didnt feel like I had a good handle on Diana personally, like taking her a step beyond her symbology I want to know who she is.

So, on the one hand, 'evolution' symbolizes my interest in seeing Diana evolve through her own history and emerge out the other side of this trial as a changed person evolving into something different than weve seen from Diana in past stories.

Second, 'evolution' here also refers to a more specific story note that Diana is standing trial for humanity because weve evolved beyond evolutionary needs and now use these new technological capabilities to destroy the planet and each other.

While Diana is evolving throughout this story, were also thinking about the cost of evolution more broadly as well.

Newsarama: So this cosmic entity that whisks Diana off - who is it, or who are they?

Phillips: Theyre a little bit mysterious. They have god-like abilities and serve as arbiters, presiding over a kind of neutral ground where they judge the many species in their universe. Their job is to keep all the various planets and species in check when one gets a little too far out of line and poses a threat, they intervene. At the moment, they see humanity as posing a potential threat not just to Earth itself, but to the cosmos.

The story will explore how they serve to make their decision about humanity and why Diana is the chosen proxy.

Newsarama: Who its it that has selected Diana as Earth's proxy in a trial to judge all mankind's worthiness to exist?

Phillips: Our god-like aliens specifically select Diana for the trial. Part of this story will be about understanding why Diana is selected.

Newsarama: This has shades of classic Greek mythology, but also the various cosmic superhero trials. What are you aiming for here?

Phillips: Personally, I am aiming for an exploration of Wonder Woman via her relationships, specifically to the Justice League, the Amazons, and even to humanity as a whole. I really like this foil as a chance to ask questions about Dianas priorities, her moral compass, and even her understanding of her own identity and sense of belonging.

I would also say theres a bit of a Platonic dialogue happening in this book. As Diana is left to think about how she defines failure and success, as well as how she interacts with the many different worlds shes a part of, she will have different 'guides' for these discussions. I think the people Diana converses with will, at points, be a little surprising to Diana (and readers!), and Im really excited to see that unfold.

Newsarama: What does Diana think about all of this?

Phillips: Like the hero we know her to be, Diana initially rises to the challenge. Earth needs a hero, and thats her job. But the trial is more than just swinging a sword at oncoming enemies, and it will quickly push Diana in ways she was not expecting.

Newsarama: What are this challenges that Diana is up against?

Phillips: This is tough to answer without giving too much away, but I will say that the trials are not what Diana expects. She is ready with a sword to face oncoming alien enemies, but there is a lot more to this challenge than Diana was anticipating, and the struggles will take a pretty drastic psychological toll on our hero.

Newsarama: How does this fit within the continuity of Wonder Woman we see in the current Wonder Woman comic? Is this same Wonder Woman, or one from a different universe in the DC Multiverse?

Phillips: The miniseries really does stand on its own and readers dont have to read any other Wonder Woman stories to jump in. We do touch on her past quite a bit, showcasing the Amazons and even the Justice League, but weve intentionally created something self-contained that can be read as a standalone Wonder Woman adventure.

That being said, the current ongoing series by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, and Travis Moore is excellent and I would definitely encourage everyone to pick it up!

Newsarama: You began this year as part of the Sensational Wonder Woman book, and now you're heading into the final months writing a solo series, after really coming into your own with the Harley Quinn book. How does it feel to be here?

Phillips: I see writing these characters as a responsibility and a privilege. I have a responsibility to the characters that I love deeply and grew up reading to do right by them, and its such an honor to be trusted with their stories. I have the coolest job in the world (apart from you know actually being Wonder Woman, because that seems pretty cool!).

Newsarama: How do you view Diana, and the role/mantle of Wonder Woman personally?

Phillips: Back when I was fighting, I actually used to attend weigh-ins with Wonder Woman attire on. Before fights I would even watch or read Wonder Woman fight scenes and just feel inspired by this character who can be ruthless, empathetic, and strong while making all of those elements beautiful.

But the first time I was asked to write Diana I realized that, in my mind, she was this symbol of strength and not someone I was connecting with on a human level, so this story seeks to really question that humanity in a very large way pushing and challenging Diana in ways she is really uncomfortable with. And, hopefully, well see something cool emerge on the other side!

Newsarama: You're working with artist Mike Hawthorne, who is returning to DC after years at Marvel. I know its early on, but what's it like working with him?

Phillips: Just incredible. The word that immediately comes to mind about my collaboration with Mike is 'respect.' I love Mikes work and I try to do my best to create a variety of scenes and then let Mike do his thing, because that 'thing' is being exceptionally talented!

Working with Mike, inker Adriano Di Benedetto, and colorist Jordie Bellaire what a team! Tom Napolitano is lettering the series, which Im also thrilled about. Its just really the best group of people I could ask to collaborate with and I really think that shows in the end product.

Newsarama: Big picture, what do you hope people get out of Wonder Woman: Evolution?

Phillips: This story is incredibly personal and kind of raw for me. Im asking a lot of questions that I might not have the answers to (nor does Diana), but I think thats where some of the power comes from. Analyzing your life, decisions, identity, and belonging to hopefully allow us to see Diana in a way that we havent seen her before. The setting may feel very grand and sci-fi with aliens and distant planets, but this is actually a very human story and Im interested in that juxtaposition. We have to go to another planet and face a committee of aliens in order to find Dianas humanity.

Wonder Woman: Evolution is joining a diverse tapestry of Diana Prince adventures. Here are our recommended best Wonder Woman stories.

More:

Wonder Woman: Evolution writer Stephanie Phillips reveals how the character helped her in competitive Muy Thai fighting - GamesRadar+

Photo credit: Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash.

Continuing to address a new Substack piece by James Croft where he objects to some of my comments on his debate with Stephen Meyer, today we turn to a hot topic: aliens!

In my article on the God hypothesis and the problem of background knowledge, I said that were Croft to apply his demand for background knowledge consistently, it would mean we couldnt indirectly infer our way to non-divine alien entities either. Croft doesnt concede this, but he does say there would be a degree of hampering from a lack of such knowledge:

How could someone responsibly construct a hypothesis that a new, non-human intelligent agent might exist? Does the lack of background knowledge that Ive pointed to on the part of God also hamper attempts to abductively infer that aliens are the cause of some phenomenon, for instance? To some degree, it does and of course it does.

He illustrates with an example: Suppose a crew lands on Mars and finds a perfectly spherical floating orb of unknown make and origin. If this crew had independent background knowledge of alien races with means and motive to build floating spheres, this would make the inference to aliens stronger than if they didnt.

This is true! Trivially true, in fact. Neither Meyer nor any other ID-friendly philosopher would disagree with Croft that background knowledge can make a good inference to the best explanation better. But the question at hand is whether its always needed to make it good.

In this specific case, Croft happens to think that absent background knowledge, Aliens! would be a weakly justified hypothesis. Here, my mind immediately went to the scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey where moon colonists discover a monolith not a floating sphere, but a grounded rectangular prism, which emits a high-pitched sound when the sun comes out:

The scene is shot and scored in a very ominous way, where the ominousness lies precisely in the sense that the monolith is, well, alien.! And in fact, as the story unfolds, we learn that it is.

Maybe for Croft, it wouldnt be so ominous. But maybe it would. I would actually be curious to know if he thinks its analogous to his floating sphere or not. A more interesting question, though, would be to ask him what our Mars landers should conclude if they find, say, a cave wall displaying the digits of pi. Or perhaps a friendly garbage-collection robot, with a design unknown to any human designer on Earth at the time. Those sorts of discoveries would be much more analogous to what we observe as we examine human and animal bodies on a micro and macro scale code, function, moving parts in service of a whole, and so on and so forth.

But Croft believes he can say more. The inference to aliens behind the floating orb is weak, but Meyers inference to God is even weaker [emphasis Crofts]. He then gives a proof-of-concept argument based on the background knowledge about human beings, evolution and astronomy our Mars landers could still appeal to:

1. We know that intelligent life can evolve on particular kinds of planets, because we did.

2. We know that there are lots of potentially life-permitting planets in the universe, because we have found many of them, and we can tell from our understanding of astronomy and physics that there must be many more out there.

3. It is reasonable to conclude, given what we know about the evolution of life on our planet, that intelligent life may have evolved on one of these other worlds.

4. It is plausible, given what we know about humans and other animals, that such life would also want to create technologies (as we and other animals do), and also that they might want to contact other species.

5. Sufficiently advanced alien technologies might be inexplicable to us, just as the technologies we have today would be inexplicable to our ancestors were they to view them. And, therefore:

6. It is not unreasonable to postulate that this phenomenon (the floating orb) is a technology created by an alien intelligence.

The second half of this argument is good (hurray, agreement)! However, I find it ironic that Crofts Premise 4 appeals to the creativity, drive, and, well, intelligence that we observe in ourselves to design things. He appears to believe this is a legitimate stepping stone on the way to aliens, but in his frame, it abruptly loses all legitimacy on the way to God. His Premise 5 also shows deference to things that might be beyond our ken from our currently limited human perspective, also wise! But are doctors and scientists likewise not still stymied by many mysteries within creation itself? Have there not been numerous times when they declared something useless, only to discover theyd been too hasty?

But of course, the really eyebrow-raising premise here is the first one: We know that intelligent life can evolve on particular kinds of planets, because we did. Is that a fact? Obviously, Im not here to recap the entire debate over the evolution process, nor the origin of life process. The origin of life debate is especially heated, as Meyer shows in his latest book, and as other excellent scientists like Brian Miller and James Tour have done at length elsewhere. I wont repeat their arguments (though Ill link to just one article by Miller treating a critical review of Meyers book at length), but I will say its cheeky of Croft to simply help himself to this statement as his own Premise 1 in a hypothetical case for aliens, when its the very question at issue in the debate over the God hypothesis. If this is how he defines background knowledge, perhaps we simply have different standards for knowledge!

The extreme improbability that life would originate by chance is a good note on which to pause and pick up next time, as I address Crofts more technical objections to Meyers Bayesian inference.

Link:

Croft, Continued: I'm Not Saying It's Aliens - Discovery Institute

A study from the University of So Paulo has found that the evolutionary stability of a bird species depends on its role in seed dispersal networks. The experts report that the stability of each species increases with the more types of seeds that it disperses.

More than 70 percent of all flowering plants depend on birds to disperse their seeds. The research suggests that birds which feed on fruit from a wide variety of plants have better evolutionary chances.

The bird species that occupy more central positions in a network, that have more connections, tend to be more stable in macroevolutionary terms, said study first author Gustavo Burin.

According to Burin, establishing this correlation between species interactions and their evolutionary dynamics was a huge challenge because it required an analysis of two processes seed dispersal and evolution that occur on entirely different time scales. While evolution plays out over millions of years, seed dispersal is an annual process.

We worked on this for four years, integrating data on 468 bird species belonging to 29 seed dispersal networks, said Burin. We demonstrated that the more links a bird species establishes with plant species, the greater its evolutionary chances.

More precisely, the greater the evolutionary stability of a bird species, the more chances we have of observing its relative importance in a seed dispersal network, measured by the number and pattern of interactions established by the bird species.

Burin explained that bird species which occupy central positions in a seed dispersal network have two important traits either they live longer or they belong to groups that accumulate many species in a relatively short time, so that if a species disappears its replaced by many other similar ones.

In Brazil, examples of long-lived species include the Rufous-bellied thrush and the Sayaca tanager.

Here were emphasizing the importance of interaction with plants to the evolutionary success of bird species, but the reverse may also be true in the sense that plants that can rely on more bird species to disperse their seeds are more likely to propagate and survive. When a dispersing vertebrate exists, the seeds can be carried dozens of miles away from the plant, said Burin.

The effects are the strongest in tropical areas that are warm and wet with less seasonal variability. This helps to explain why biodiversity hotspots persist in Colombias Amazon region and in Southeast Asia, explained the researchers.

The study was funded by So Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP, and is published in the journal Science.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

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Birds involved in more seed dispersal have evolutionary stability Earth.com - Earth.com

A 2010 Pagani Zonda R Evolution supercar is available via a direct sale for US$6.5 million at RM Sotheby's. Karissa Hosek 2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

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A 2010 Pagani Zonda R Evolution supercar is available via a direct sale for US$6.5 million at RM Sothebys, as the auction house kicks off its flagship annual auction Thursday in Monterey, Calif., as part of the Monterey Car Week.

The 2010 Pagani Zonda R Evolution, currently exhibited at the Monterey Conference Center, is the fifth of 10 examples produced by Pagani between 2009 and 2011, RM Sothebys said.

Pagani is an Italian manufacturer of sports cars and carbon fiber components that was founded in 1992 by the Argentinian Horacio Pagani. The automaker unveiled its first car, the Zonda C12, at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. In 2007, it developed its first track-focused model, the Zonda R, which was regarded as the marques tour de force.

The 2010 Pagani Zonda R Evolution features an exposed, woven carbon fiber bodywork, and is powered by a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR-derived, 6.0-liter V12 engine that produces 800 horsepower to top a speed of 230 miles per hour, according to RM Sothebys.

The auction house declined to disclose the identity of the consignor, but said that the car is being offered for the first time publicly in the U.S.

During the extended three-day auctions from Aug. 12-14, RM Sothebys will offer more than 264 lots of classic cars and sports cars, including a collection from late Texas businessman Paul Andrews. Highlighting this collection is a rare 1962 Aston Martin with an estimated value of between US$11 million and US$14 million.

The top lot is an iconic 1970 Porsche 917K that was built as one of the three 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans race entries of the JW Automotive Engineering/Gulf Racing team, which has an estimate of between US$16 million and US$18.5 million.

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RM Sothebys Offers Pagani Zonda R Evolution Supercar During Monterey Car Week - Barron's

As India enters the 75th year of its Independence, my mind goes back 25 years, to its 50th anniversary and Queen Elizabeths visit. Inviting her to celebrate Indias Independence was a generous gesture considering Britains past imperial role. It also demonstrated Britains hope that the past could stay in the past, and a future partnership of two great democracies be established.

The visit ran into rough weather. To woo the British-Sikh vote, a significant factor in several constituencies, the British high commissioner was instructed to negotiate a visit to Amritsar and the Golden Temple. IK Gujral, the then prime minister (PM), made it clear that he didnt want the Queen to go to Amritsar unless she was willing to apologise for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Eventually, in an embarrassing compromise as far as Gujral was concerned, it was agreed the Queen would visit Jallianwala Bagh and lay a wreath, but she would not apologise. During the visit, the Duke of Edinburgh didnt make things any easier by questioning the official figures of the number of people killed in the massacre when General Reginald Dyer ordered his soldiers to open fire on a peaceful crowd trapped in the garden. The Queens husband was reported as saying that General Dyers son had told him that the figure was much lower hardly a reliable source.

Before coming to India, the Queen visited Pakistan. This did not please the external affairs ministry. During the visit, the British foreign minister, Robin Cook, offered to mediate between India and Pakistan. With the unhappiness over Amritsar and the anger over Cooks blunder, the press coverage of the tour became extremely negative, so much so that the Palace issued a statement saying that the Queen thought the visit was going very well.

British PM, Boris Johnson, seems to have learnt the lesson from this sorry story: Dont push too hard, dont ride roughshod over Indian sensitivities if you want to negotiate successfully, as he does. He desperately wants a Free Trade Agreement to justify his promise that Brexit will leave Britain free to negotiate far more beneficial trade agreements than those it was tied to by its membership in the European Union.

Johnson is taking it step by step. He met Narendra Modi virtually two months ago, and they agreed on an enhanced trade partnership. Modi described this as a roadmap to a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. He also spoke of an ambitious roadmap to elevate India-United Kingdom (UK) relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. That sounds something like the alliance of two great democracies Britain hoped that the Queens visit would symbolise.

India is a constitutional democracy. According to its first president Rajendra Prasad, its democracy has historic links with Britain. He said, We have all derived from the British Parliament and we still continue to derive inspiration from its proceedings, from its history....(and) from its traditions. Furthermore, at the recent G7 summit hosted by Johnson in June, Modi, although only a guest, signed the open societies statement, the joint commitment to strengthen democracy globally.

There are now questions being asked about how democratic India is. The United States government-funded non-governmental organisation Freedom Houses 2021 report has demoted India from free to partly free, alleging discriminatory policies, rising violence and a crackdown on freedom of expression. India has also dropped two places in the Economist Intelligence Units Democracy Index. It alleges a crackdown on civil liberties in India.

These allegations have been furiously denied, but the truth is that Indias democracy does have an international image problem, which if it remains, will stand in the way of establishing a comprehensive partnership with Britain. It also makes Indias commitment to the worlds richest nations campaign for democracy appear implausible.

The views expressed are personal

Read more:

India-UK: The evolution of a post-colonial relationship - Hindustan Times