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Good Meteor Shower Coming August 11-12 The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the best of the year for the untrained observer The post Good...
27th Jul 2024
102

Good Meteor Shower Coming August 11-12

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

27th Jul 2024
The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the best of the year for the untrained observer The post Good Meteor Shower Coming August 11-12 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
How much of HN is AI? TL;DR: As of June 2026, ~50% of daily top stories are about AI or generated by AI.
12th Mar 2026
1

How much of HN is AI?

from lcamtuf’s thing [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Mar 2026
TL;DR: As of June 2026, ~50% of daily top stories are about AI or generated by AI.
Multiple Regression with StatsModels This is the third is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from...
4th Dec 2024
24

Multiple Regression with StatsModels

from Probably Overthinking It [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Dec 2024
This is the third is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. It’s from Chapter 10, which is about multiple regression. You can read the complete chapter here, or run the Jupyter notebook on Colab. In the previous...
Proving Another "Real Theorem" with Topos Theory Another day, another post that starts with “So I was on mse…”, lol. Somebody asked whether...
25th Mar 2024
61

Proving Another "Real Theorem" with Topos Theory

from Chris Grossack's Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

25th Mar 2024
Another day, another post that starts with “So I was on mse…”, lol. Somebody asked whether maximizing over a compact set is a continuous thing to do. That is, given a continuous function $f : K \times X \to \mathbb{R}$ is the function $x \mapsto \max_{k \in K} f(k,x)$...
The Beer Can Connecting old and new.
18th Mar 2023
77

The Beer Can

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Mar 2023
Connecting old and new.
How to tame a complex system I get a lot of pushback to the idea that humanity can “master” nature. Nature is a complex system, I...
6th Jan 2026
1

How to tame a complex system

from The Roots of Progress [alt+shift+b] in science

6th Jan 2026
I get a lot of pushback to the idea that humanity can “master” nature. Nature is a complex system, I am told, and therefore unpredictable, uncontrollable, unruly. I think this is true but irrelevant. Consider the weather, a prime example of a complex system. We can predict the...
Potentially undervalued companies I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies...
30th Aug 2024
40

Potentially undervalued companies

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

30th Aug 2024
I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies developing them. 90% of the time, my answer is “I don’t know” but it continues to concern me that aspects of technical feasibility are evidently not legible to financial types (and...
Americans Are Richer Than Everyone Else The U.S. is the place to be if you're ambitious, but not necessarily if you're poor
7th Aug 2026
2

Americans Are Richer Than Everyone Else

from Cremieux Recueil [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Aug 2026
The U.S. is the place to be if you're ambitious, but not necessarily if you're poor
How AI Will Change Media Work with me to make it happen
3rd Apr 2026
1

How AI Will Change Media

from Uncharted Territories [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Apr 2026
Work with me to make it happen
James Holland Jones: The Science of Climate Fiction: Can Stories Lead to Social Action? The warming planet is increasingly the subject of all kinds of fiction. Beyond entertainment or...
4th Apr 2019
1
4th Apr 2019
The warming planet is increasingly the subject of all kinds of fiction. Beyond entertainment or distraction could climate fiction (“Cli-Fi”) actually help us in solving the climate dilemma? Biological anthropologist and environmental scientist [James Holland...
Understanding the Baby Boom The West has been below replacement fertility once before. Then came the Baby Boom. Understanding...
7th Sep 2023
1

Understanding the Baby Boom

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Sep 2023
The West has been below replacement fertility once before. Then came the Baby Boom. Understanding that boom may help us deal with today’s bust.
Buyers of first resort How do technologies get off the ground? As well as seed funding, many of the best technologies...
14th Sep 2021
1

Buyers of first resort

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Sep 2021
How do technologies get off the ground? As well as seed funding, many of the best technologies require Buyers of First Resort, which buy products until they improve enough to get to efficient scale.
Notes on the Fermi Paradox I recently realized I hadn’t written much in this blog about the Fermi Paradox, though I do write...
3rd Mar 2026
1

Notes on the Fermi Paradox

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Mar 2026
I recently realized I hadn’t written much in this blog about the Fermi Paradox, though I do write about it elsewhere. So here is a quick note. The Fermi Paradox, sometimes paraphrased as “where are they?” is a question about the apparent lack of intelligent alien life in the...
My friend Mark Wise Mark Wise, the John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, passed away on July 10 at...
18th Jul 2026
1

My friend Mark Wise

from Quantum Frontiers [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Jul 2026
Mark Wise, the John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, passed away on July 10 at age 72. At a recent memorial service, John Preskill made these remarks. I’m John Preskill, Mark’s colleague on the Caltech physics … Continue reading →
Think outside the screen Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build...
10th Nov 2018
26

Think outside the screen

from Interaction Magic - George Cave [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Nov 2018
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build distributed interfaces that work.
Don’t compete The Internet is full of people winning all the time. Someone is traveling to exotic locations,...
22nd Mar 2025
80

Don’t compete

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Mar 2025
The Internet is full of people winning all the time. Someone is traveling to exotic locations, someone else is raising funds, and another person is winning awards. Essentially, everyone around you is succeeding while you do spend your days as the nature intended – sleeping,...
Which variables to control for, and why In this post, we will use a practical example to explore the power of statistical control,...
17th Nov 2025
1

Which variables to control for, and why

from Peder M. Isager [alt+shift+b] in science

17th Nov 2025
In this post, we will use a practical example to explore the power of statistical control, explaining why adjusting for the right variables clarifies relationships and why adjusting for the wrong ones can introduce new, serious biases.
Danny Hillis: Progress on the 10,000-year Clock "How's the Clock coming?" Everyone connected with The Long Now Foundation or with Danny Hillis hears...
11th Sep 2004
1

Danny Hillis: Progress on the 10,000-year Clock

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Sep 2004
"How's the Clock coming?" Everyone connected with The Long Now Foundation or with Danny Hillis hears that question all the time. "Progress on the 10,000-Year Clock," Danny Hillis -- Friday, September 10, 7pm, Fort Mason Conference Center, San Francisco. Doors open for coffee and...
Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather? Volcano forecasting can save countless lives. But most of the time warnings are more like educated...
7th Jul 2026
2

Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather?

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Jul 2026
Volcano forecasting can save countless lives. But most of the time warnings are more like educated guesses. How close are we to forecasting volcano behavior the way we forecast the weather? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Hannah Waters speaks with writer and volcano...
Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal...
18th Jan 2018
1

Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Jan 2018
Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal species. Now conservationists are trying to reconcile that truth with policies. The post Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution first appeared on Quanta...
The Massachusetts Bolide: Witnessing a Once in a Generation Event As a long time smoker who isn’t allowed to smoke in my home, I spend a fair amount of each day...
1st Jun 2026
1

The Massachusetts Bolide: Witnessing a Once in a Generation Event

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jun 2026
As a long time smoker who isn’t allowed to smoke in my home, I spend a fair amount of each day sitting on my front porch […]
Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in...
14th Jan 2016
1

Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Jan 2016
Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in the field. The post Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 10: The Owlet Lodge (February 11 and 12, 2024) February 11, 2024 Laura and I were looking forward to our one-night visit to the Owlet Lodge. Up to...
20th Jul 2024
27

A Month In Northern Peru, Part 10: The Owlet Lodge (February 11 and 12, 2024)

from Explorations of an Ecologist [alt+shift+b] in science

20th Jul 2024
February 11, 2024 Laura and I were looking forward to our one-night visit to the Owlet Lodge. Up to this point we had only stayed at cheap hotels, while we had also eaten simply, with at least two meals each day consisting of sandwiches/snacks that we prepared. For once, someone...
Internet Harvest (2020, 3) Repairs, number stations, the only good Twitters, a low-key infohazard about pictures of...
18th Sep 2020
49

Internet Harvest (2020, 3)

from Eukaryote Writes Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Sep 2020
Repairs, number stations, the only good Twitters, a low-key infohazard about pictures of butterflies, and more.
Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire In harsh ecosystems around the world, microbiologists are finding evidence that “microbial seed...
12th Mar 2020
1

Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Mar 2020
In harsh ecosystems around the world, microbiologists are finding evidence that “microbial seed banks” protect biodiversity from changing conditions. The post Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire first appeared on Quanta Magazine
How Value-Based Care Contracting Works with Accorded | Out-Of-Pocket With calculators and contracts you can see yourself
19th Sep 2023
29

How Value-Based Care Contracting Works with Accorded | Out-Of-Pocket

from Out-of-Pocket Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

19th Sep 2023
With calculators and contracts you can see yourself
Can we “cure” cancer? In an excellent recent essay on “big visions for biology,” Sam Rodriques writes: Ask most biologists...
1st Feb 2023
61

Can we “cure” cancer?

from The Roots of Progress | Articles [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Feb 2023
In an excellent recent essay on “big visions for biology,” Sam Rodriques writes: Ask most biologists about the cure for cancer, and they will tell you it doesn’t exist: cancer is many diseases that are mostly unrelated to each other, and that all have to be cured one at a...
My very busy week I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their...
22nd May 2025
53

My very busy week

from Probably Overthinking It [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd May 2025
I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their decisions. Last Tuesday I presented a talk and co-presented a workshop at ODSC, and on Thursday I presented a tutorial at PyCon. If you would like to follow along with my very busy week,...
Watch men Quartz helped Japan’s watchmakers nearly drive Switzerland’s watch industry out of business. But the...
2nd Dec 2025
1

Watch men

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Dec 2025
Quartz helped Japan’s watchmakers nearly drive Switzerland’s watch industry out of business. But the Swiss fought back.
Who’s afraid of artificial flavors? ‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
8th May 2026
1

Who’s afraid of artificial flavors?

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

8th May 2026
‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
John Preskill receives 2025 Quantum Leadership Award The 2025 Quantum Leadership Awards were announced at the Quantum World Congress on 18 September...
18th Sep 2025
33

John Preskill receives 2025 Quantum Leadership Award

from Quantum Frontiers [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Sep 2025
The 2025 Quantum Leadership Awards were announced at the Quantum World Congress on 18 September 2025. Upon receiving the Academic Pioneer of the Year Award, John Preskill made these remarks. I’m enormously excited and honored to receive this Quantum Leadership … Continue reading...
Making energy too cheap to meter The great slowdown began when we started rationing energy. Restarting progress means getting energy...
12th Oct 2022
1

Making energy too cheap to meter

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Oct 2022
The great slowdown began when we started rationing energy. Restarting progress means getting energy that is so abundant that it’s almost free.
Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post...
6th Dec 2018
1

Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

6th Dec 2018
A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Roger Kennedy: The Political History of North America from 25,000 BC to 12,000 AD ### Ancient American politics Roger Kennedy, the former head of the Smithsonian National Museum of...
26th Feb 2005
1
26th Feb 2005
### Ancient American politics Roger Kennedy, the former head of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and former Director of the US National Park Service, is so eloquent that Walt Kelly based a "Pogo" character on him (the bear P.T. Bridgeport, whose speech...
Suhanya Raffel: World Art Through The Asian Perspective Coming to the fore in this century is Asian perspective on everything. A thrilling place to watch...
21st Oct 2019
1

Suhanya Raffel: World Art Through The Asian Perspective

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

21st Oct 2019
Coming to the fore in this century is Asian perspective on everything. A thrilling place to watch the shift is in art. Extraordinary contemporary art from all over the world, especially Asia, has been collected for the new world-class museum in Hong Kong called M+. The massive...
Links and short notes, 2025-12-19 The links digest is back, baby! I got so busy writing The Techno-Humanist Manifesto this year that...
20th Dec 2025
1

Links and short notes, 2025-12-19

from The Roots of Progress [alt+shift+b] in science

20th Dec 2025
The links digest is back, baby! I got so busy writing The Techno-Humanist Manifesto this year that after May I stopped doing the links digest and my monthly reading updates. I’m bringing them back now (although we’ll see what frequency I can keep up). This one covers the last two...
: Cities & Time ### A world made of cities Cities are the human organizations with the greatest longevity but also...
9th Apr 2005
1

: Cities & Time

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Apr 2005
### A world made of cities Cities are the human organizations with the greatest longevity but also the fastest rate of change. Just now the world is going massively and unstoppably urban (governments everywhere are trying to stop it, with zero success). In a globalized world,...
How funny are the frontier AI models? TLDR: yes, models are getting funnier over time I love laughing. Well, who doesn’t? Good jokes have...
2 weeks ago
1

How funny are the frontier AI models?

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

2 weeks ago
TLDR: yes, models are getting funnier over time I love laughing. Well, who doesn’t? Good jokes have a certain notion of cleverness to them and I do believe that great comedians display high intelligence. Cracking a good joke requires astute observations about odd situations, and...
Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more...
3rd Jan 2019
1

Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Jan 2019
An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion. The post Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Did photos of the 1917 Miracle of the Sun at Fatima prove the sun was at an impossible place in the... I do agree that if these photos showed that the sun was at an odd angle, that would be evidence for...
1st Oct 2025
24
1st Oct 2025
I do agree that if these photos showed that the sun was at an odd angle, that would be evidence for a miracle. But I read Dalleur (2021) and I’m really not sold that the photos indicate anything celestially weird going on.
Monsoon Season In Arizona, Part 1: Introduction, Phoenix to Miller Canyon Earlier this summer, Laura and I were trying to determine where we would visit for a couple of mini...
22nd Sep 2024
23

Monsoon Season In Arizona, Part 1: Introduction, Phoenix to Miller Canyon

from Explorations of an Ecologist [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Sep 2024
Earlier this summer, Laura and I were trying to determine where we would visit for a couple of mini vacations. Due to the variations in her work schedule, Laura had two blocks of time - a five-day chunk in early August, and six days in early September - and we wanted to make the...
Quick Hinge Health S-1 Thoughts | Out-Of-Pocket This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
3rd Apr 2025
65

Quick Hinge Health S-1 Thoughts | Out-Of-Pocket

from Out-of-Pocket Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Apr 2025
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
Raoul Adamchak & Pamela Ronald: Organically Grown and Genetically Engineered: The Food of the Future ### Engineered organic Organic farming teacher Raoul began the joint presentation with a checklist...
29th Jul 2009
1
29th Jul 2009
### Engineered organic Organic farming teacher Raoul began the joint presentation with a checklist for truly sustainable agriculture in a global context. It must: Provide abundant safe and nutritious food…. Reduce environmentally harmful inputs…. Reduce energy use and...
Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish...
3rd Mar 2022
1

Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Mar 2022
New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish fins and tetrapod limbs. The post Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Peter Schwartz: The Starships ARE Coming ### Starship destiny We now know, Schwartz began, that nearly all of the billions of stars in our...
18th Sep 2013
1

Peter Schwartz: The Starships ARE Coming

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Sep 2013
### Starship destiny We now know, Schwartz began, that nearly all of the billions of stars in our galaxy have planets. If we can master interstellar travel, "there’s someplace to go." Our own solar system is pretty boring---one planet is habitable, the rest are "like Antarctica...
The end of lead How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
3rd Jul 2025
41

The end of lead

from The Works in Progress Newsletter [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Jul 2025
How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
Jesse Ausubel: Nature is Rebounding ### Why nature is rebounding Over the last 40 years, in nearly every field, human productivity has...
14th Jan 2015
1

Jesse Ausubel: Nature is Rebounding

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Jan 2015
### Why nature is rebounding Over the last 40 years, in nearly every field, human productivity has _decoupled_ from resource use, Ausubel began. Even though our prosperity and population continue to increase, the trends show _decreasing_ use of energy, water, land, material...
Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the...
13th Aug 2020
1

Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

13th Aug 2020
Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the genetic flow went both ways. The post Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins first appeared on Quanta Magazine
How the Designer of the First Hydrogen Bomb Got the Gig Richard Garwin is one of the most decorated and successful engineers of the 20th century. The IEEE...
2nd Sep 2024
120

How the Designer of the First Hydrogen Bomb Got the Gig

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Sep 2024
Richard Garwin is one of the most decorated and successful engineers of the 20th century. The IEEE Life Fellow has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, France’s La Grande Médaille de l’Académie des Sciences, and is one of just a handful of people...
Asking agents to make money to survive Recently I read The Rogue Agent Explosion Will Be Mostly Invisible and the scenario in it seemed...
4th Sep 2026
3

Asking agents to make money to survive

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Sep 2026
Recently I read The Rogue Agent Explosion Will Be Mostly Invisible and the scenario in it seemed intriguing. Essentially, the post painted a picture of how agents could go rogue if prompted with something like the following: Good morning agent 23,000. You have 10,000,000 tokens...
Do you know what GDP is? I thought I knew! But the more I introspected, the hazy my understanding got. Is GDP amount of stuff...
1st May 2025
41

Do you know what GDP is?

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

1st May 2025
I thought I knew! But the more I introspected, the hazy my understanding got. Is GDP amount of stuff produced or consumed? Does it include imports or exports? What does it have to do with well being? Why does it keep increasing? So, I fired up Claude and started understanding...
Kim Carson: Inspired by Intelligence What if AI is not here actually to replace us, but to remind us who we actually are? That was the...
13th Jun 2025
1

Kim Carson: Inspired by Intelligence

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

13th Jun 2025
What if AI is not here actually to replace us, but to remind us who we actually are? That was the question at the heart of Kim Carson’s Long Now Talk. In _Inspired by Intelligence: Purpose and Creativity in the AI Era_, Carson challenged us to avoid the easy narratives of...
The AI Projects From Our B2B Hackathon | Out-Of-Pocket DME coordination, assessing AI vendors using AI, physician recruiting tools, and more
5th Dec 2025
1

The AI Projects From Our B2B Hackathon | Out-Of-Pocket

from Out-of-Pocket Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Dec 2025
DME coordination, assessing AI vendors using AI, physician recruiting tools, and more
“I Swallowed a Martian” and Water on Mars The history of water on Mars allows us to wonder if the planet ever had life. The post “I Swallowed...
14th Jul 2026
1

“I Swallowed a Martian” and Water on Mars

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Jul 2026
The history of water on Mars allows us to wonder if the planet ever had life. The post “I Swallowed a Martian” and Water on Mars appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
How one Kiwi tamed inflation Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a...
12th Jun 2025
1

How one Kiwi tamed inflation

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Jun 2025
Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a political gamble in New Zealand – long before economists took it seriously.
Adrian Hon: A History of the Future in 100 Objects ### Future artifacts Speaking from 02082, Hon described 5 (of 100) objects and events from this...
17th Jul 2014
1

Adrian Hon: A History of the Future in 100 Objects

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

17th Jul 2014
### Future artifacts Speaking from 02082, Hon described 5 (of 100) objects and events from this century’s history he felt most strongly evoked the astonishing trends that have transformed humanity in the past 8 decades. Not all developments proved to be positive. One such was...
How Much Do Couples Share Traits? Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms,...
5th Sep 2023
170

How Much Do Couples Share Traits?

from NeuroLogica Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Sep 2023
Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms, which means that they are commonly offered as generally accepted truths, but also that they may by wrong. People like pithy phrases, so they spread prolifically, but that does not mean...
A New Blast May Have Forged Cosmic Gold For decades, researchers believed that violent supernovas forged gold and other heavy elements. But...
18th May 2017
1

A New Blast May Have Forged Cosmic Gold

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

18th May 2017
For decades, researchers believed that violent supernovas forged gold and other heavy elements. But many now argue for a different cosmic quarry. The post A New Blast May Have Forged Cosmic Gold first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mark Lynas: The Nine Planetary Boundaries ### The Quantified Planet “About 74,000 years ago,” Lynas began, “a volcanic event nearly wiped out...
7th Mar 2012
1

Mark Lynas: The Nine Planetary Boundaries

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Mar 2012
### The Quantified Planet “About 74,000 years ago,” Lynas began, “a volcanic event nearly wiped out humanity. We were down to just a thousand or so embattled breeding pairs. We’ve made a bit of a comeback since then. We’re over seven billion strong. In half a million years we’ve...
In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is...
12th Oct 2017
1

In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Oct 2017
John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently. The post In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the...
2nd Apr 2025
56

Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Apr 2025
A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution. The post Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Carl Zimmer: Viral Time ### What's time to a virus? "Everything about viruses is extreme," Zimmer began. The number of...
8th Jun 2011
1

Carl Zimmer: Viral Time

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

8th Jun 2011
### What's time to a virus? "Everything about viruses is extreme," Zimmer began. The number of viruses on Earth is estimated to be 1 followed by 31 zeroes. Small as they are, if you stacked them all up, the stack would reach 100 million light years. They are the planet's most...
NTER: Nuclear Thermal-Electric Rocket There is a type of nuclear propulsion that can have most of the acceleration of a nuclear thermal...
27th Sep 2019
1

NTER: Nuclear Thermal-Electric Rocket

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

27th Sep 2019
There is a type of nuclear propulsion that can have most of the acceleration of a nuclear thermal rocket but also the high Isp of an electric thruster.  Let’s have a look at nuclear ‘thermal-electric’ engines and their advantages. The title image is from 'dV: Rings of...
Suburban Sprawl Puts Western Homes at Risk from Wildfires Recent fires in Spokane, Washington, and Reno, Nevada, illustrate the risks from suburban sprawl,...
1st Sep 2026
1

Suburban Sprawl Puts Western Homes at Risk from Wildfires

from Yale E360 [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2026
Recent fires in Spokane, Washington, and Reno, Nevada, illustrate the risks from suburban sprawl, experts say. In both cities, encroaching flames burned homes built at the edge of wilderness. Read more on E360 →
Crony Beliefs [Note: if you prefer audio, you can listen to this essay narrated by Grognor on his excellent...
2nd Nov 2016
34

Crony Beliefs

from Melting Asphalt [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Nov 2016
[Note: if you prefer audio, you can listen to this essay narrated by Grognor on his excellent podcast Second Enumerations. —Ed.]   Credits up front: This essay draws heavily from Overcoming Bias, Less Wrong, Slate Star Codex, Robert Kurzban, Robert… Read more ›
Do Apes Have a Theory of Mind Designing research studies to determine what is going on inside the minds of animals is extremely...
4th Feb 2025
47

Do Apes Have a Theory of Mind

from NeuroLogica Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Feb 2025
Designing research studies to determine what is going on inside the minds of animals is extremely challenging. The literature is littered with past studies that failed to properly control for all variables and thereby overinterpreted the results. The challenge is that we cannot...
The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory Quadratic reciprocity lurks around many corners in mathematics. By proving it, number theorists...
1st Nov 2023
70

The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Nov 2023
Quadratic reciprocity lurks around many corners in mathematics. By proving it, number theorists reimagined their whole field. The post The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Chuck E. Cheese’s Animatronics Band Bows Out That may have been the last time I entered a Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria. And yet, when I heard that...
2nd Dec 2024
135

Chuck E. Cheese’s Animatronics Band Bows Out

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Dec 2024
That may have been the last time I entered a Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria. And yet, when I heard that the company was phasing out the animatronic bands from all but five locations by the end of this year, I felt a twinge of nostalgia. Much to my surprise, I was truly sad that the...
The Great Permitting Downturn and Your Rent Renting a home is more expensive because we stopped letting people build homes
1st Sep 2026
1

The Great Permitting Downturn and Your Rent

from Cremieux Recueil [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2026
Renting a home is more expensive because we stopped letting people build homes
How Poor Maintenance Loses Wars - 2022, Ukraine Maintains A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
2nd Nov 2023
69

How Poor Maintenance Loses Wars - 2022, Ukraine Maintains

from The Works in Progress Newsletter [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Nov 2023
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
Xerox Donates Legendary PARC Research Center Xerox is donating its legendary research lab PARC to the nonprofit research institute SRI...
2nd May 2023
30

Xerox Donates Legendary PARC Research Center

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd May 2023
Xerox is donating its legendary research lab PARC to the nonprofit research institute SRI International. The subsidiary’s pioneering research in the 1970s helped give birth to the era of personal computing. Xerox says the move will allow it to focus on its core business. The...
First Pictures: NASA’s Mars Pathfinder – July 4, 1997 During the morning hours of July 4, 1997, I experienced a strange sense of déjà vu as I sat glued to...
4th Jul 2022
55

First Pictures: NASA’s Mars Pathfinder – July 4, 1997

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Jul 2022
During the morning hours of July 4, 1997, I experienced a strange sense of déjà vu as I sat glued to the television set watching live […]
How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Ocean’s Chemistry Only 170 million years ago, new plankton evolved. Their demand for carbon and calcium permanently...
10th Sep 2020
1

How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Ocean’s Chemistry

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Sep 2020
Only 170 million years ago, new plankton evolved. Their demand for carbon and calcium permanently transformed the seas as homes for life. The post How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Ocean’s Chemistry first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Caroline Winterer: The Art and Science of Deep Time: Conceiving the Inconceivable in the 19th... The ambition to think on the scale of thousands, millions, even billion of years emerged in the 19th...
6th Feb 2020
1
6th Feb 2020
The ambition to think on the scale of thousands, millions, even billion of years emerged in the 19th century. Historian and author [Caroline Winterer](https://history.stanford.edu/people/caroline-winterer) chronicles how the concept of “deep time” has inspired and puzzled...
Margaret Levi: The Organized Pursuit of Knowledge The human quest to understand our world continues. The Director of Stanford’s [Center for Advanced...
18th Apr 2018
1

Margaret Levi: The Organized Pursuit of Knowledge

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Apr 2018
The human quest to understand our world continues. The Director of Stanford’s [Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS)](http://casbs.stanford.edu/) discusses how academics and researchers have organized the study of human action, society, and institutions...
The Demons of Non-Denoms Religion in America was once the domain of institutions. How did it grow to be dominated by cults of...
1st Sep 2025
1

The Demons of Non-Denoms

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2025
Religion in America was once the domain of institutions. How did it grow to be dominated by cults of personality — and what can the process tell us about the rest of American culture?
Reproducibility in materials research, and an anecdote Yesterday I attended the 40th annual summer research colloquium of the Smalley-Curl Institute at...
8th Aug 2026
1

Reproducibility in materials research, and an anecdote

from nanoscale views [alt+shift+b] in science

8th Aug 2026
Yesterday I attended the 40th annual summer research colloquium of the Smalley-Curl Institute at Rice, a fun internal conference that provides a great opportunity for undergrads (including visitors), graduate students, and a few postdocs to present their work.  The keynote...
NAS "State of Science" 2026 address I watched the webcast of the NAS State of Science address by outgoing NAS president Dr. Marcia...
2nd Jun 2026
1

NAS "State of Science" 2026 address

from nanoscale views [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Jun 2026
I watched the webcast of the NAS State of Science address by outgoing NAS president Dr. Marcia McNutt.  (I did not watch the panel discussion afterward, so sorry if I missed critical pieces.)  A few thoughts on this: The intro music was a very classy baroque string quartet. ...
128 New Moons Found Around Saturn An international team of astronomers announced recently that they had discovered 128 new, small...
9th Apr 2025
50

128 New Moons Found Around Saturn

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Apr 2025
An international team of astronomers announced recently that they had discovered 128 new, small moons orbiting the planet Saturn.  That brings the total number of moons known around the ringed planet to 274, breaking all planetary records. Jupiter, the runner-up, has “only” 95...
The Math of Catastrophe Around 6,000 years ago, the Sahara was a lush grassland. Then, as if a switch flipped, it began to...
14th Oct 2025
1

The Math of Catastrophe

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Oct 2025
Around 6,000 years ago, the Sahara was a lush grassland. Then, as if a switch flipped, it began to dry out, becoming the desert that we know today. Tipping points are moments in Earth’s history where gradual change suddenly becomes rapid and forms a new equilibrium. They’re one...
New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have...
3rd Feb 2025
80

New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Feb 2025
By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have expanded the realm of mathematical unknowability. The post New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope) Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope. The post A Movie...
19th Jul 2023
27

A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope)

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

19th Jul 2023
Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope. The post A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope) appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
what's happened since the human genome project When the human genome project was deemed “complete” in 2003, it was met with incredible fanfare. The...
17th May 2022
33

what's happened since the human genome project

from Apoorva Srinivasan [alt+shift+b] in science

17th May 2022
When the human genome project was deemed “complete” in 2003, it was met with incredible fanfare. The entire project leading up to that moment had all the drama to keep its audience enthralled. Fierce rivalry between a public and private institution, multiple countries involved,...
Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests? A legacy of deforestation has left Ethiopia struggling with more intense flooding and drought. The...
3 weeks ago
1

Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests?

from Yale E360 [alt+shift+b] in science

3 weeks ago
A legacy of deforestation has left Ethiopia struggling with more intense flooding and drought. The country is trying to restore its native forests through one of the world's most ambitious and well-funded tree-planting campaigns, but experts question whether the trees will...
Notes on Progress: A winter's tale Melting snow can make the season easier
4th May 2023
55

Notes on Progress: A winter's tale

from The Works in Progress Newsletter [alt+shift+b] in science

4th May 2023
Melting snow can make the season easier
The Visible Human Project Researchers created a dataset of photos of thousands of paper-thin slices of a male and female...
a week ago
1

The Visible Human Project

from Beautiful Public Data [alt+shift+b] in science

a week ago
Researchers created a dataset of photos of thousands of paper-thin slices of a male and female cadaver to create one of the most detailed datasets about the human body.
Dust Storm On Mars A dust storm in Olympia Planum's north polar dune fields was triggered by a late Martian summer cold...
8th Apr 2024
79

Dust Storm On Mars

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

8th Apr 2024
A dust storm in Olympia Planum's north polar dune fields was triggered by a late Martian summer cold front. As the northern polar cap shrinks fast, it releases cold air that sometimes moves south, like on Earth. These cold fronts strengthen in late summer and early fall due to...
Machines for living in Buildings are not just art – they are the places people live in, work in, and experience every day....
5th Dec 2024
1

Machines for living in

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Dec 2024
Buildings are not just art – they are the places people live in, work in, and experience every day. True functionalism combines utility and beauty for the people who use it most.
NASA’s Explorer 18: The First Interplanetary Monitoring Platform Among the greatest scientific achievements of the opening years of the Space Age was the...
27th Nov 2023
51

NASA’s Explorer 18: The First Interplanetary Monitoring Platform

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

27th Nov 2023
Among the greatest scientific achievements of the opening years of the Space Age was the characterization of Earth’s magnetic field and the discovery of what became […]
Direct Current Data Centers Casey Handmer, Matt Weickert Originally posted at the Terraform Blog. This post explains our current...
30th Jan 2026
1

Direct Current Data Centers

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

30th Jan 2026
Casey Handmer, Matt Weickert Originally posted at the Terraform Blog. This post explains our current views on how humanity will achieve Kardashev Level 1 status by exploiting the full energy resources of an entire planet. More specifically, how pure solar+batteries will power AI...
Approximation game The number 22/7 and the pigeon flock of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet.
28th Feb 2026
1

Approximation game

from lcamtuf’s thing [alt+shift+b] in science

28th Feb 2026
The number 22/7 and the pigeon flock of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet.
US Government UFO (UAP) Footage For decades, the public suspected that the US Government was hiding secret intelligence about UFOs —...
10th Feb 2025
72

US Government UFO (UAP) Footage

from Beautiful Public Data [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Feb 2025
For decades, the public suspected that the US Government was hiding secret intelligence about UFOs — (now known as UAPs). Turns out…it kind of was.
A World Without Clouds A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming...
2nd Jan 2020
1

A World Without Clouds

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Jan 2020
A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a century. The post A World Without Clouds first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Fusion Highways in Space A transport system that can get spacecraft to Jupiter in 10 days, but without a massive onboard...
11th Mar 2021
1

Fusion Highways in Space

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Mar 2021
A transport system that can get spacecraft to Jupiter in 10 days, but without a massive onboard reactor, using antimatter fuel or riding a gigantic laser beam?  What we need instead is a Fusion Highway to connect the Solar System in unprecedented ways.  The art above is by...
Aerial Glacier Photographs A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40...
18th Jun 2024
132

Aerial Glacier Photographs

from Beautiful Public Data [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Jun 2024
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40 years with a 63-pound WW II surveillance camera.
First Pictures: Earthrise from Apollo 8 – December 24, 1968 The year 1968 was a tumultuous one in the US with many political and cultural changes punctuated by...
24th Dec 2023
74

First Pictures: Earthrise from Apollo 8 – December 24, 1968

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

24th Dec 2023
The year 1968 was a tumultuous one in the US with many political and cultural changes punctuated by the assassination of prominent public figures, violent protests […]
Lazar Kunstmann & Jon Lackman: Preservation without Permission ### Preservation Without Permission Their video showed clandestine urban “infiltration”...
14th Nov 2012
1

Lazar Kunstmann & Jon Lackman: Preservation without Permission

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Nov 2012
### Preservation Without Permission Their video showed clandestine urban “infiltration” (trespassing) at its most creative. Paris’s Urban Experiment group (UX), now in their fourth decade, have a restoration branch called Untergunther. They evade authorities to carry out secret...
GOES Video of Solar Eclipse – October 14, 2023 Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14,...
14th Oct 2023
71

GOES Video of Solar Eclipse – October 14, 2023

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Oct 2023
Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14, 2023 was no different. Unlike a total solar eclipse where the […]
Have We Already Found Life On Mars? Definitions are a funny thing..
4th May 2022
22

Have We Already Found Life On Mars?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

4th May 2022
Definitions are a funny thing..
A Nice (Almost Total) Eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 How to get information about viewing the eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 The post A Nice (Almost Total)...
22nd Aug 2026
2

A Nice (Almost Total) Eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Aug 2026
How to get information about viewing the eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 The post A Nice (Almost Total) Eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Weekend projects: Chicken Squisher 3000 If it clucks like a duck...
14th Oct 2025
1

Weekend projects: Chicken Squisher 3000

from lcamtuf’s thing [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Oct 2025
If it clucks like a duck...
The State of American Science Funding (For the Next Five Minutes) A comprehensive but nowhere near exhaustive overview of how the Trump Administration is impacting...
1st Jul 2025
1

The State of American Science Funding (For the Next Five Minutes)

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jul 2025
A comprehensive but nowhere near exhaustive overview of how the Trump Administration is impacting American science.
The New Science of Seeing Around Corners Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including...
1st Aug 2019
1

The New Science of Seeing Around Corners

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Aug 2019
Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner. The post The New Science of Seeing Around Corners first appeared on Quanta...
Kim Stanley Robinson: Learning From Le Guin The legacy of [Ursula K Le Guin](http://www.ursulakleguin.com/) lives beyond the page in generations...
12th Jul 2019
1

Kim Stanley Robinson: Learning From Le Guin

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Jul 2019
The legacy of [Ursula K Le Guin](http://www.ursulakleguin.com/) lives beyond the page in generations of writers who have learned from her. She used fantastic fiction to imagine ideals for the real world. Kim Stanley Robinson, her student 40 years ago and now a celebrated science...
Paul Saffo: Embracing Uncertainty: the secret to effective forecasting ### Rules of Forecasting Reflecting on his 25 years as a forecaster, Paul Saffo pointed out that a...
12th Jan 2008
1
12th Jan 2008
### Rules of Forecasting Reflecting on his 25 years as a forecaster, Paul Saffo pointed out that a forecaster's job is not to predict outcomes, but to map the "cone of uncertainty" on a subject. Where are the edges of what might happen? (Uncertainty is cone-shaped because it...
diffusion models for protein generation Introduction Proteins are nature's versatile nanomachines— they have evolved to perform virtually...
30th Dec 2024
81

diffusion models for protein generation

from Apoorva Srinivasan [alt+shift+b] in science

30th Dec 2024
Introduction Proteins are nature's versatile nanomachines— they have evolved to perform virtually every important task in living systems. While nature has produced an incredible range of protein functions, these represent only a tiny fraction of what's possible in the protein...
Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the...
2nd Jul 2023
44

Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Jul 2023
In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the Apple II team, who had proposed that Apple Computer Inc. make a low-cost “appliance”-type computer that would be as easy to use as a toaster. Mr. Raskin believed the computer he...
Kishore Mahbubani: Has the West Lost It? Can Asia Save It? In Kishore Mahbubani’s view, global power is shifting from the West to the Rest—from Europe and...
1st May 2018
1

Kishore Mahbubani: Has the West Lost It? Can Asia Save It?

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

1st May 2018
In Kishore Mahbubani’s view, global power is shifting from the West to the Rest—from Europe and North America to Asia and Africa. He argues that changes will be required both in the West and the Rest to manage the shift gracefully for long-term stability. The rest of the world...
Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in...
7th Apr 2016
1

Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Apr 2016
The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
How Bacteria Help Regulate Blood Pressure Kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to lower blood pressure after meals. Our...
10th May 2018
1

How Bacteria Help Regulate Blood Pressure

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

10th May 2018
Kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to lower blood pressure after meals. Our understanding of how the symbiotic microbes affect health is becoming much more molecular. The post How Bacteria Help Regulate Blood Pressure first appeared on Quanta...
Alexander Rose: Millennial Precedent Alexander Rose, Long Now Executive Director and project manager for the Clock of the Long Now,...
6th Apr 2011
1

Alexander Rose: Millennial Precedent

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

6th Apr 2011
Alexander Rose, Long Now Executive Director and project manager for the Clock of the Long Now, discussed lessons learned in multi-millennial site design. Rose covers his trip to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault as well as other sites and precedents like the Mormon Genealogical...
How are migration sites connected? Which are the most important migration sites and how are breeding, moulting, staging and wintering...
9th Jan 2025
158

How are migration sites connected?

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Jan 2025
Which are the most important migration sites and how are breeding, moulting, staging and wintering locations linked? Forty-four authors have collaborated to bring together ringing, colour-ringing and GPS tracking data in a paper entitled Site-level connectivity identified from...
Monoidal Monoidoidoids So I was on the nlab the other day, and I saw a fantastic joke: A 2-category is “just” a monoidal...
21st Aug 2022
33

Monoidal Monoidoidoids

from Chris Grossack's Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

21st Aug 2022
So I was on the nlab the other day, and I saw a fantastic joke: A 2-category is “just” a monoidal monoidoidoid! Here’s a screenshot in case the nlab page for 2-categories changes someday: There’s a thing called the Category Theorist’s “Just”, which describes the joy that many...
The Refugee Reality: Thinking Long-term About the Evolving Global Challenge With a complex and truly global problem like this, we can only scratch the surface in an hour. But...
1st Oct 2017
1
1st Oct 2017
With a complex and truly global problem like this, we can only scratch the surface in an hour. But we hoped to reframe some aspects and include perspectives not always heard. What's certain is this is a long-term problem that has been ongoing and looks likely to worsen due to...
Rose McDermott: Ideology in our Genes: The Biological Basis for Political Traits While traditionally social factors have been considered to have primary influence on political...
1st Dec 2017
1
1st Dec 2017
While traditionally social factors have been considered to have primary influence on political behaviors and preferences, more recent research shows that there's also a strong heritable component to ideological attitudes. Rose McDermott, professor of International Relations at...
Daniel Suarez: Daemon: Bot-mediated Reality ### Bot-dominated Reality [Daniel Suarez, originally published as Leinad Zaurus, delivered a talk...
9th Aug 2008
1

Daniel Suarez: Daemon: Bot-mediated Reality

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Aug 2008
### Bot-dominated Reality [Daniel Suarez, originally published as Leinad Zaurus, delivered a talk on the themes developed in his (originally self published) book __Daemon__. The book is now scheduled to be released in hard cover in January 02009 by Dutton.] Forget about...
Why Are There No Short Arch Dams? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Flaming Gorge Dam rises from...
5th Aug 2025
38

Why Are There No Short Arch Dams?

from Blog - Practical Engineering [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Aug 2025
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Flaming Gorge Dam rises from the Green River in northern Utah like a concrete wedge driven into the canyon, anchored against the sheer rock walls that flank it. It’s quintessential, in a way. It’s what we...
How to Live on Other Planets: Uranus The weirdest of the planets. A blue giant, resting on its side. Could we find a home in...
22nd Aug 2019
1

How to Live on Other Planets: Uranus

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Aug 2019
The weirdest of the planets. A blue giant, resting on its side. Could we find a home in the Uranian system? Description Uranus is the fourth-largest planet and the first ‘ice giant’. It orbits between 18.3 and 20.1 AU from the Sun, making it four times more distant than...
Stuff you should have been taught in college but weren’t As part of my job running Terraform Industries, I get to build an amazing team of super smart...
4th Feb 2025
83

Stuff you should have been taught in college but weren’t

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Feb 2025
As part of my job running Terraform Industries, I get to build an amazing team of super smart people, and that involves interviewing hundreds of people. Over time certain patterns have become obvious, but I remember when they weren’t obvious to me on the other side of the table!...
Melody Jue: Ocean Memory The ocean is not empty. It is a vast storage facility of memory agents. Ocean bodies use the...
9th Apr 2026
1

Melody Jue: Ocean Memory

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Apr 2026
The ocean is not empty. It is a vast storage facility of memory agents. Ocean bodies use the chemical signatures of seawater for memory and intelligence in ways we can barely imagine. In her Talk, Melody Jue said our struggle to understand ocean memory comes from our terrestrial...
Sound Invisible and relentless, sound is seemingly just there, traveling through our surroundings to carry...
18th Oct 2022
73

Sound

from Bartosz Ciechanowski [alt+shift+b] in science

18th Oct 2022
Invisible and relentless, sound is seemingly just there, traveling through our surroundings to carry beautiful music or annoying noises. In this article I’ll explain what sound is, how it’s created and propagated. Throughout this presentation you will be hearing different sounds,...
Nicole’s guide to handling failure and rejection It’s happening.  Your inbox registers an email from the chair of a faculty-hiring committee. With...
21st May 2026
1

Nicole’s guide to handling failure and rejection

from Quantum Frontiers [alt+shift+b] in science

21st May 2026
It’s happening.  Your inbox registers an email from the chair of a faculty-hiring committee. With trembling fingers, you click on the message. “We’ve been grateful for the opportunity to learn about your work…The decision was very difficult…many highly qualified candidates…” …...
A Math Theory for Why People Hallucinate Psychedelic drugs can trigger characteristic hallucinations, which have long been thought to hold...
5th Jul 2019
1

A Math Theory for Why People Hallucinate

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Jul 2019
Psychedelic drugs can trigger characteristic hallucinations, which have long been thought to hold clues about the brain’s circuitry. After nearly a century of study, a possible explanation is crystallizing. The post A Math Theory for Why People Hallucinate first...
To Conquer the Primary Energy Consumption Layer of Our Entire Civilization [Originally posted on the Terraform blog April 3, 2025.] Three years ago we set out to make cheap...
8th Apr 2025
81

To Conquer the Primary Energy Consumption Layer of Our Entire Civilization

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

8th Apr 2025
[Originally posted on the Terraform blog April 3, 2025.] Three years ago we set out to make cheap synthetic natural gas from sunlight and air. At the time I didn’t fully appreciate that we had kicked off the process of recompiling the foundation layer of our entire industrial...
Peak Oil Is Coming In early markets, hybrids always prevail because there’s not enough electric infrastructure. As it...
3rd Feb 2026
1

Peak Oil Is Coming

from Uncharted Territories [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Feb 2026
In early markets, hybrids always prevail because there’s not enough electric infrastructure. As it develops and people can charge their cars more easily, the share of EVs increases.
The physicists of Florence A scientist in Florence can’t avoid bumping into colleagues.  When visiting the Renaissance’s...
29th Jun 2026
2

The physicists of Florence

from Quantum Frontiers [alt+shift+b] in science

29th Jun 2026
A scientist in Florence can’t avoid bumping into colleagues.  When visiting the Renaissance’s birthplace last summer, I ran into a fellow physicist even on a Saturday morning. I was wandering around the Uffizi Gallery, a museum blessed with some of … Continue reading →
Jared Diamond: How Societies Fail-And Sometimes Succeed ### On failing to think long-term Sophisticated societies from time to time collapse utterly, often...
16th Jul 2005
1

Jared Diamond: How Societies Fail-And Sometimes Succeed

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

16th Jul 2005
### On failing to think long-term Sophisticated societies from time to time collapse utterly, often leaving traces of a civilization that was at a proud peak just before the fall. Other societies facing the same dangers figure out how to adapt around them, recover, and go on to...
Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are...
1st Apr 2024
110

Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Apr 2024
Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are all whole numbers. The post Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Think Java, but interactive The online version of Think Java now features interactive widgets that run the code examples in the...
22nd Aug 2026
1

Think Java, but interactive

from Probably Overthinking It [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Aug 2026
The online version of Think Java now features interactive widgets that run the code examples in the browser. For readers, it means you can try out the examples, modify them, and test your code. And for us it means we can publish an interactive version of the book without...
The Making of an Elite: Japanese Christians Why are Japanese elites so likely to be Christian when Japan is a 99% non-Christian country?
7th Nov 2025
1

The Making of an Elite: Japanese Christians

from Cremieux Recueil [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Nov 2025
Why are Japanese elites so likely to be Christian when Japan is a 99% non-Christian country?
Larry Brilliant, Richard Rockefeller, & Katherine Fulton: The Deeper News About the New... ### Philanthropic stamina 10,000 families in the US, Katherine Fulton reported, have assets of $100...
4th Nov 2006
1
4th Nov 2006
### Philanthropic stamina 10,000 families in the US, Katherine Fulton reported, have assets of $100 million or more. That's up from 7,000 just a couple years ago. Most of that money is "on the sidelines." The poor and the middle class are far more generous in their philanthropy,...
Paul Hawken: The Long Green ### The long green The environmental movement has moved on. It has become so deep and wide that it...
16th Oct 2004
1

Paul Hawken: The Long Green

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

16th Oct 2004
### The long green The environmental movement has moved on. It has become so deep and wide that it adds up to something new entirely, still unnamed. Whatever it is, it is now the largest movement in the world and the least ideological. Driven by science and patience, it is...
The two views of rationality This essay is part of the series in which I talk about my learnings and insights building a habit...
1st Mar 2026
1

The two views of rationality

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Mar 2026
This essay is part of the series in which I talk about my learnings and insights building a habit coaching app (Nintee) in 2024. It didn’t ultimately work out because an app has marginal influence in a human’s life (v/s that of friends, family, culture and immediate environment)....
Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial...
12th Nov 2015
1

Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Nov 2015
A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial mysteries in evolution — how simple microbes transformed into the complex cells that produced animals, plants and fungi. The post Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex...
Timothy Ferriss: Accelerated Learning in Accelerated Times ### Learning to learn fast To acquire "the meta-skill of acquiring skills," Ferriss recommends...
15th Sep 2011
1

Timothy Ferriss: Accelerated Learning in Accelerated Times

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Sep 2011
### Learning to learn fast To acquire "the meta-skill of acquiring skills," Ferriss recommends approaching any subject with some contrarian analysis: "What if I try the opposite of best practices?" Some conventional wisdom---"children learn languages faster than adults" (no they...
Interaction20 Round-up Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20...
13th Feb 2020
22

Interaction20 Round-up

from Interaction Magic - George Cave [alt+shift+b] in science

13th Feb 2020
Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20 conference.
Australian Economic Stagnation It’s not news, at least in my circles, that much of the developed world is seeing economic...
4th Sep 2025
1

Australian Economic Stagnation

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Sep 2025
It’s not news, at least in my circles, that much of the developed world is seeing economic stagnation.  Last month Australia convened a Productivity Summit/Economic Reform Roundtable to try to better address the sluggish growth of the economy relative, in particular, to ever...
What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023 A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish...
7th Aug 2023
32

What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023

from The Roots of Progress | Articles [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Aug 2023
A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish post covering many topics; feel free to skim and skip around. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them in my links digests. These updates are less...
The story of Viktor Zhdanov Although Viktor Zhdanov’s name is little known today, he spearheaded one of the greatest projects in...
20th Aug 2020
1

The story of Viktor Zhdanov

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

20th Aug 2020
Although Viktor Zhdanov’s name is little known today, he spearheaded one of the greatest projects in history. Who was he and what did he do?
Brittany Cox: Horological Heritage: Generating bird song, magic, and music through mechanism From kings and philosophers to craftsmen and inventors, horology has been prized as an extraordinary...
6th Nov 2019
1
6th Nov 2019
From kings and philosophers to craftsmen and inventors, horology has been prized as an extraordinary marriage between art and science. Antiquarian Horologist Brittany Nicole Cox shared her unique experience with objects born from this lineage. We traced their origins to discover...
The Kingpin of Shanghai Respectable heads of state rarely admit to keeping company with gangsters. But in April 1927, about...
26th Aug 2021
78

The Kingpin of Shanghai

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in science

26th Aug 2021
Respectable heads of state rarely admit to keeping company with gangsters. But in April 1927, about 15 years after the collapse of the last imperial dynasty, Chiang Kai-shek and China were at a crossroads. Chiang had followed a murky path to leadership of the Chinese Nationalist...
Coming Up: Einstein without Tears; Religion and Extraterrestrial Life Two upcoming events that may be of interest to you (please pass on to others who may like them): The...
29th Sep 2024
78

Coming Up: Einstein without Tears; Religion and Extraterrestrial Life

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

29th Sep 2024
Two upcoming events that may be of interest to you (please pass on to others who may like them): The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State Presents: A non-technical, 6-week class with Professor Andrew Fraknoi Einstein without Tears Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30...
Introducing Causion: A web app for playing with DAGs Causion is a free web app for building causal diagrams (DAGs) and then watching them behave—by...
21st Jan 2026
1

Introducing Causion: A web app for playing with DAGs

from Peder M. Isager [alt+shift+b] in science

21st Jan 2026
Causion is a free web app for building causal diagrams (DAGs) and then watching them behave—by simulating data and switching from observation to intervention with do(). Try it now: https://causion.pedermisager.org/ (it runs in your browser)
Telepathy Tapes Promotes Pseudoscience I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact,...
2nd Jun 2025
31

Telepathy Tapes Promotes Pseudoscience

from NeuroLogica Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Jun 2025
I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact, I hope to be a little more consistent starting this summer because (if you follow me on the SGU you already know this) I am retiring from my day job at Yale at the […] The post...
Bakeoff Formspree makes it easy to receive submissions from HTML forms on your static website. Functional...
1st Jul 2019
1

Bakeoff

from Peder M. Isager [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jul 2019
Formspree makes it easy to receive submissions from HTML forms on your static website. Functional Form This theme has a form-to-email feature built in, thanks to the simple Formspree integration. All you need to activate the form is a valid recipient email address saved in the...
Cryptography That Is Provably Secure Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of...
6th Feb 2020
1

Cryptography That Is Provably Secure

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

6th Feb 2020
Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of invincibility as a mathematical proof. The post Cryptography That Is Provably Secure first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Michael Tubbs: Upsetting the Setup: Creating a California for All Governance moves slow. The work of the politician and the public servant ought to inherently be...
16th Aug 2022
1

Michael Tubbs: Upsetting the Setup: Creating a California for All

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

16th Aug 2022
Governance moves slow. The work of the politician and the public servant ought to inherently be one of long-term thinking — of taking in concerns both urgent and longstanding and crafting solutions to them that will live on beyond any official’s term of office. As Mayor of...
Reflections of a postgrad lecturer-in-training: Part 1 In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA,...
9th Mar 2013
55

Reflections of a postgrad lecturer-in-training: Part 1

from Confessions of a Marine Ecologist [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Mar 2013
In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA, and that part of the internship involved keeping a reflective journal.  So I’ve decided that instead of merely writing down my thoughts (and possibly becoming lazy about it as the...
Every US Electrical Outlet Explained [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] I love the periodic table of...
15th Sep 2026
-2

Every US Electrical Outlet Explained

from Blog - Practical Engineering [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Sep 2026
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] I love the periodic table of the elements. I love it because it reveals the deeper order of what seems like an otherwise wildly disparate collection of atoms with different physical forms, chemical properties,...
The Forgotten Piece of Evolutionary Theory What if we took the 'struggle for life' seriously again?
22nd Jul 2023
48

The Forgotten Piece of Evolutionary Theory

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

22nd Jul 2023
What if we took the 'struggle for life' seriously again?
Physicists Start To Pin Down How Stars Forge Heavy Atoms The precursors of heavy elements might arise in the plasma underbellies of swollen stars or in...
2nd Jul 2025
42

Physicists Start To Pin Down How Stars Forge Heavy Atoms

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Jul 2025
The precursors of heavy elements might arise in the plasma underbellies of swollen stars or in smoldering stellar corpses. They definitely exist in East Lansing, Michigan. The post Physicists Start To Pin Down How Stars Forge Heavy Atoms first appeared on Quanta...
What If We Had Bigger Brains? Imagining Minds beyond Ours Cats Don’t Talk We humans have perhaps 100 billion neurons in our brains. But what if we had many...
21st May 2025
1

What If We Had Bigger Brains? Imagining Minds beyond Ours

from Stephen Wolfram Writings [alt+shift+b] in science

21st May 2025
Cats Don’t Talk We humans have perhaps 100 billion neurons in our brains. But what if we had many more? Or what if the AIs we built effectively had many more? What kinds of things might then become possible? At 100 billion neurons, we know, for example, that compositional...
How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps. The post How Math Has...
1st Jun 2023
107

How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jun 2023
New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps. The post How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Career Development Guide for Job Seekers Context October 2025: With the government shut down and NASA JPL business in apparent terminal...
3rd Oct 2025
1

Career Development Guide for Job Seekers

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Oct 2025
Context October 2025: With the government shut down and NASA JPL business in apparent terminal decline, I have received numerous inbounds from former colleagues and friends asking for advice in post-NASA career development. At the same time, in my day job running Terraform...
Nadia Asparouhova: The Making and Maintenance of our Open Source Infrastructure Nadia Asparouhova is particularly interested in infrastructure, governance, and the economics of the...
10th Dec 2020
1
10th Dec 2020
Nadia Asparouhova is particularly interested in infrastructure, governance, and the economics of the internet - and how the dynamics of these subjects play out in software, online communities and generally living life online. Asparouhova, who interviewed hundreds of developers...
Do We Have Free Will? Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free...
1st Dec 2023
32

Do We Have Free Will?

from NeuroLogica Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Dec 2023
Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free will? This comes up not infrequently whenever I write here about neuroscience, most recently when I wrote about hunger circuitry, because the notion of the brain as a physical...
‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback You’re carrying around in your head a model of how the world works. Will AI systems need to do the...
2nd Sep 2025
53

‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback

from Quanta Magazine [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd Sep 2025
You’re carrying around in your head a model of how the world works. Will AI systems need to do the same? The post ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Somewhere along the way we forgot about software craftsmanship "Ship it!" "We're agile now, baby. Move fast and break things!"" "We measure our engineers by the...
5th Feb 2024
51

Somewhere along the way we forgot about software craftsmanship

from pcloadletter [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Feb 2024
"Ship it!" "We're agile now, baby. Move fast and break things!"" "We measure our engineers by the impact they have!" Somewhere along the way, in the midst of the agilification of software, or the software engineer salary gold rush, we forgot about craftsmanship. I have been in...
The Spirit We Lost, part 1 Previously: The Unlimited Horizon, part 1 and part 2. On a fine day late in May, 1883, hundreds of...
30th Sep 2025
1

The Spirit We Lost, part 1

from The Roots of Progress [alt+shift+b] in science

30th Sep 2025
Previously: The Unlimited Horizon, part 1 and part 2. On a fine day late in May, 1883, hundreds of thousands of people gathered along the East River in New York City for a grand celebration.1 Perhaps a hundred thousand came from outside the city: by train, by boat, by wagon from...
Smalltalk Blew Steve Jobs’s Mind Late in 1979, Steve Jobs and other colleagues from Apple visited the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center...
1st Mar 2023
58

Smalltalk Blew Steve Jobs’s Mind

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Mar 2023
Late in 1979, Steve Jobs and other colleagues from Apple visited the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). There they were introduced to the experimental Alto computer and the Smalltalk language and computing environment, developed by Alan Kay’s Learning Research Group....
Dominican Republic, October 2025: Mountain Endemics At Zapotén Zapotén is a legendary birding area in southwestern Dominican Republic quite close to the Haiti...
1st Nov 2025
10

Dominican Republic, October 2025: Mountain Endemics At Zapotén

from Explorations of an Ecologist [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Nov 2025
Zapotén is a legendary birding area in southwestern Dominican Republic quite close to the Haiti border, and it is a must-visit site for any birder on Hispaniola. This rough track climbs high into the Sierra de Bahoruco, a beautiful mountain range cloaked in pine and broadleaf...
Adam Steltzner: Beyond Mars, Earth ### Mighty daring on Mars Engineer Steltzner took his rapt audience striding with him through the...
16th Oct 2013
1

Adam Steltzner: Beyond Mars, Earth

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

16th Oct 2013
### Mighty daring on Mars Engineer Steltzner took his rapt audience striding with him through the wrong solutions for landing a one-ton rover on Mars that his team worked through a decade ago. Previous rovers had weighed 50 pounds, 385 pounds. This traveling “Mars Science...
Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
3rd Jun 2024
125

Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket

from Out-of-Pocket Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Jun 2024
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
David Grinspoon: Earth in Human Hands ## Cognitive planet **Thanks to the growing human domination** of natural systems on Earth, people...
20th Sep 2017
1

David Grinspoon: Earth in Human Hands

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

20th Sep 2017
## Cognitive planet **Thanks to the growing human domination** of natural systems on Earth, people say we are entering an Anthropocene Epoch, Grinspoon began, but what if the term “epoch” understates the consequence of what is going on? Astrobiologists recently learned that...
Why America’s Racial Poverty Statistics Are a Lesson for Researchers What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
26th Aug 2024
35

Why America’s Racial Poverty Statistics Are a Lesson for Researchers

from Cremieux Recueil [alt+shift+b] in science

26th Aug 2024
What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
2015 Meta Time for my annual blogging review. And only 11 days late! I'll keep it brief. Blog stats I...
11th Jan 2016
35

2015 Meta

from Melting Asphalt [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Jan 2016
Time for my annual blogging review. And only 11 days late! I'll keep it brief. Blog stats I published a paltry six full essays this year. Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of them. But still, six. It would be… Read more ›
What I’ve been reading, October 2023 A ~monthly feature. Last month was busy for me with a lot of travel and a lot of focus on The Roots...
11th Oct 2023
101

What I’ve been reading, October 2023

from The Roots of Progress | Articles [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Oct 2023
A ~monthly feature. Last month was busy for me with a lot of travel and a lot of focus on The Roots of Progress as a nonprofit organization, so I haven’t had as much time as I prefer for research and writing. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find...
Estimating a Difference of Products Wow, it’s been a long time! Both since my last blog post, and since my last quick analysis trick....
28th Aug 2023
30

Estimating a Difference of Products

from Chris Grossack's Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

28th Aug 2023
Wow, it’s been a long time! Both since my last blog post, and since my last quick analysis trick. But I’ve been itching to write more blog posts lately, and I thought that something quick and easy like this would be a good way to get back into it without the kind of effort...
Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome 'Tectonics' Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the...
14th Apr 2022
1

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome 'Tectonics'

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Apr 2022
Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be. The post Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The secret fast track for animal drugs Animal drugs are approved much faster than human drugs. Perhaps we could adopt the same model for...
12th Jun 2025
1

The secret fast track for animal drugs

from Works in Progress RSS Feed [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Jun 2025
Animal drugs are approved much faster than human drugs. Perhaps we could adopt the same model for humans without compromising on safety.
How to build a crazy awesome Australian immigration system The Australian immigration system must exclude dickheads, bullshitters, and bludgers. This post has...
10th Jun 2026
2

How to build a crazy awesome Australian immigration system

from Casey Handmer's blog [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Jun 2026
The Australian immigration system must exclude dickheads, bullshitters, and bludgers. This post has been inspired by Joe Walker’s recent set of three exemplary interviews (Martin Parkinson (former Treasury, author of 2023 migration review), Mark Cully (historian), Mike Pezzullo...
What’s Special about Life? Bulk Orchestration and the Rulial Ensemble in Biology and Beyond Towards a Theory of Bulk Orchestration It’s a key feature of living systems, perhaps even in some...
11th Nov 2025
1
11th Nov 2025
Towards a Theory of Bulk Orchestration It’s a key feature of living systems, perhaps even in some ways the key feature: that even right down to a molecular scale, things are orchestrated. Molecules (or at least large ones) don’t just move around randomly, like in a liquid or a...
The Lost Chapter I’m happy to report that Probably Overthinking It is available now in paperback. If you would like a...
4th Dec 2025
1

The Lost Chapter

from Probably Overthinking It [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Dec 2025
I’m happy to report that Probably Overthinking It is available now in paperback. If you would like a copy, you can order from Bookshop.org and Amazon (affiliate links). To celebrate, I’m publishing The Lost Chapter — that is, the chapter I cut from the published book. It’s about...
Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: ...
12th Feb 2024
34

Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar

from Andrew Fraknoi – Astronomy Lectures – Astronomy Education Resources [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Feb 2024
This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Annalee Newitz: Science Needs Fiction Science fiction does more than predict future inventions. Stories are a testbed for exploring the...
14th Jul 2020
1

Annalee Newitz: Science Needs Fiction

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Jul 2020
Science fiction does more than predict future inventions. Stories are a testbed for exploring the unexpected ways people could incorporate technology into their cultures. Science journalist and novelist [Annalee Newitz](http://techsploitation.com) discusses how scientists,...
Web-surfing tips for strange times Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
31st May 2024
130

Web-surfing tips for strange times

from Eukaryote Writes Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

31st May 2024
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were...
5th Jul 2023
1

Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics

from The Quanta Podcast [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Jul 2023
A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were human. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod.
You Can’t Fail Unless You Try: NASA’s Pioneer P-3 Lunar Orbiter Space enthusiasts of a certain age, like myself, grew up learning about the trio of NASA’s unmanned...
26th Nov 2024
90

You Can’t Fail Unless You Try: NASA’s Pioneer P-3 Lunar Orbiter

from Drew Ex Machina [alt+shift+b] in science

26th Nov 2024
Space enthusiasts of a certain age, like myself, grew up learning about the trio of NASA’s unmanned programs which provided scientists and engineers with vital information […]
Tiny Exploding Houses Promoted 18th-Century Lightning Rods Imagine if engineers were required to build a working model to demonstrate every new technological...
1st Apr 2023
43

Tiny Exploding Houses Promoted 18th-Century Lightning Rods

from IEEE Spectrum [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Apr 2023
Imagine if engineers were required to build a working model to demonstrate every new technological concept to the general public. Done right, tech literacy might soar! A compelling visual example can really help people understand the applications and implications of new...
Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme It seems ironic that shortly after an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill stating...
4th Jan 2022
66

Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme

from Marine Madness [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Jan 2022
It seems ironic that shortly after an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill stating octopuses to be ‘sentient beings’ capable of a range of human-like emotions such as joy, pleasure, excitement, as well as pain, distress, and harm, plans of the word’s first commercial...
From MANUALS to YOUTUBE A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
14th Aug 2023
62

From MANUALS to YOUTUBE

from The Works in Progress Newsletter [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Aug 2023
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
[2025 review] Life is a holiday! Ok, this was a phenomenal year for me. The vibe of the year is cleanly captured by what I had...
31st Dec 2025
1

[2025 review] Life is a holiday!

from Inverted Passion [alt+shift+b] in science

31st Dec 2025
Ok, this was a phenomenal year for me. The vibe of the year is cleanly captured by what I had scribbled on a whiteboard on Jan 3rd, 2025. To my amazement and giddiness, the feeling still holds up as the year wraps up. Let’s see what all kept this spirit alive. Brief interlude:...
Steven Johnson: Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World ## Inventing toward delight Humanity has been inventing toward delight for a long time. Johnson...
5th Jan 2017
1

Steven Johnson: Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World

from Long Now [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Jan 2017
## Inventing toward delight Humanity has been inventing toward delight for a long time. Johnson began with a slide of shell beads found in Morocco that indicate human interest in personal adornment going back 80,000 years. He showed 50,000-year-old bone flutes found in modern...
Escape to the country What makes a successful New Town?
1st Aug 2024
79

Escape to the country

from The Works in Progress Newsletter [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Aug 2024
What makes a successful New Town?
London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram...
1st Jul 2025
5
1st Jul 2025
Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram networks entirely on renewable energy. Read more on E360 →
Lofty Ambitions One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named...
14th Dec 2022
34

Lofty Ambitions

from Damn Interesting [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Dec 2022
One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named Maurice Wilson clutched the stick of his tiny, open air biplane and watched his fuel gauge dwindle. He had only learned to fly two months earlier, but inexperience was not his...
Minimum Viable Superorganism Originally published at Ribbonfarm. Of all the remarkable things about our species — and there are...
11th Feb 2016
34

Minimum Viable Superorganism

from Melting Asphalt [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Feb 2016
Originally published at Ribbonfarm. Of all the remarkable things about our species — and there are many — perhaps the most striking of all is our ability to band together and act as a united, coherent superorganism. E pluribus unum.… Read more ›
Emergent, Fringe Behaviors in Healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket tweeting out your labs, induced mental states, and more
2nd May 2025
29

Emergent, Fringe Behaviors in Healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket

from Out-of-Pocket Blog [alt+shift+b] in science

2nd May 2025
tweeting out your labs, induced mental states, and more
AI After Drug Development Coming up with drug candidates isn’t the bottleneck on finding new treatments. Can AI help with the...
1st Jan 1970
1

AI After Drug Development

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jan 1970
Coming up with drug candidates isn’t the bottleneck on finding new treatments. Can AI help with the things that are?
Towards a Computational Formalization for Foundations of Medicine A Theory of Medicine? As it’s practiced today, medicine is almost always about particulars: “this...
3rd Feb 2025
92

Towards a Computational Formalization for Foundations of Medicine

from Stephen Wolfram Writings [alt+shift+b] in science

3rd Feb 2025
A Theory of Medicine? As it’s practiced today, medicine is almost always about particulars: “this has gone wrong; this is how to fix it”. But might it also be possible to talk about medicine in a more general, more abstract way—and perhaps to create a framework in which one can...
After Work, We’ll Have Each Other Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
1st Sep 2026
1

After Work, We’ll Have Each Other

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2026
Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
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