Hacking a Tesla Model S

Credit: Tesla Motors

Computerisation is a growing trend in motor vehicles. For some, this means the possibility of hacking the system, in similar ways & for similar reasons that other computing platforms are hacked.

Engine management, for pollution control & power management is an important application. Hackers have developed "hot chips" aka "big chips" to increase engine power.

While a reasonable increase in engine power will typically be benign, computers are also used to control anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control & in some cases suspension.

In parallel with computerisation, a growing number of vehicles are also being connected to the Internet. This raises the spectre of hacking by outside agencies.

With the above in mind, the organisers of the SyScan computer security conference in Beijing from 16-17 July are incorporating a hack-a-Tesla competition into their event. Prize is $10,000.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093211_hack-a-tesla-model-s-and-win-10000

One of the commenters on the item linked above seems to see this as a consumer rights issue. I have no issue with anyone jail-breaking their phone, or modifying the operating system of their own desktop computer, where all of the risks are borne by the hacker & in any case are restricted to a bricked phone or some lost files.

Driving, or riding in, a motor vehicle is the most dangerous thing most of us do on a regular basis. Nor is the danger restricted to drivers & passengers. Pedestrians & even people inside buildings are sometimes killed or injured, by wayward motor vehicles. Inherent danger is one of the major driving forces behind incorporation of computers into cars. Think traction control, anti-lock braking, stability control & suspension control.

Given the inherent dangers, I see no place on public roads for hacked motor vehicles. / hack hacker hacking hacked process cracking software operating system OS computer smart phone smartphone car electric cars challenge hackTesla Model S electric $10,000 prize register registers SyScan conference eligible enter competition rules Tesla Model S experts try their luck learn lessons crack its software entirely-electric Tesla websites central display screen operating major functions of the car from a remote computer web browser 17 inch screen warranty would be void high-tech nature Tesla already takes security very seriously full vulnerability disclosure program allowing users to report any flaws in the car's system ex-Apple security expert Kristin Paget improve digital security research take control of cars hitting brakes jerking the steering wheel fun and games exploited experimentally subtext very sinister advanced hacking virus viruses lessons learned /

What men really find attractive in a woman's face is — the size of her feet?

Credit: New Scientist

Which of the faces in the image above is prettier?

Heterosexual male test subjects overwhelmingly chose the one on the left by 3.5 to one. Almost 10 times as many chose the same face as, "more feminine".

In fact, neither is the face of a single woman. Both are composites. On the left, of women with unusually small feet, & on the right, women with unusually large feet. This seems to tell us that men prefer women with small feet & they can spot foot size from the appearance of the face!

Something similar for narrowness of hip, length of thigh & overall height.

Things aren't so clear for women, but there is a preference for men with long torsos & small wrists — as evidenced by facial appearance.

More at New Scientist (free registration may be required):

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19118-why-men-are-attracted-to-women-with-small-feet.html#.U7-YUNB_W2c / face more attractive tastes most heterosexual men composite face morph faces eight women unusually small feet faces women unusually large feet smaller feet prettier faces men study longer thigh bones and narrower hips taller overall close most strikingly different morphs Jeremy Atkinson evolutionary psychologist University at Albany New York colleague Michelle Rowe measured hand length foot length thigh length hip width 60 white female college students adjusted individual differences in overall height 16 body-part measurements eight women shortest lengths longest constructed morphs faces rated attractiveness 77 heterosexual male students short-footed more attractive more feminine pick narrow-hipped morph more attractive long-thighed morph researchers reported Human Behavior and Evolution Society Eugene Oregon markers marker healthy childhood biologists stress poor nutrition during foetal development puberty affect sex hormone levels cause earlier puberty relatively short and stout more benign childhood continue growing for longer attain slender slenderer stereotypically feminine face body most men find more attractive David Perrett psychologist University of St. Andrews UK studies facial attractiveness small-wristed morph better candidate for a long-term relationship /