Asterisk
Better Living Through Group Chemistry
Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
5 months ago
Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
IEEE Spectrum
Ethernet is Still Going Strong After 50 Years
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies...
a year ago
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies including the Alto—the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface—and the first laser printer.
The PARC facility also is known for the invention of Ethernet, a...
Explorations of an...
Parque Provincial Caá Yarí
Our swing through Misiones province of northeastern Argentina was coming to a close with just a...
a year ago
Our swing through Misiones province of northeastern Argentina was coming to a close with just a couple of days remaining. When researching this part of Argentina, I kept noticing one particular area that had a number of interesting eBird reports, but very little information on...
Blog - Practical...
How Would a Nuclear EMP Affect the Power Grid?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Late in the morning of April...
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Late in the morning of April 28, 1958, the USS Boxer aircraft carrier ship was about 70 miles off the coast of the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The crew of the Boxer was preparing to launch a...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New Wave of Concierge Medicine | Out-Of-Pocket
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
5 months ago
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
NeuroLogica Blog
Using AI To Create Virtual Environments
Generative AI applications seem to be on the steep part of the development curve – not only is the...
8 months ago
Generative AI applications seem to be on the steep part of the development curve – not only is the technology getting better, but people are finding more and more uses for it. It’s a new powerful tool with broad applicability, and so there are countless startups and researchers...
Eukaryote Writes...
Web-surfing tips for strange times
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
6 months ago
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
More 2022 predictions | Out-Of-Pocket
A curation of your 2022 predictions
a year ago
A curation of your 2022 predictions
Probably...
How Many Books?
If you like this article, you can read more about this kind of Bayesian analysis in Think Bayes....
11 months ago
If you like this article, you can read more about this kind of Bayesian analysis in Think Bayes. Recently I found a copy of Probably Overthinking It at a local bookstore and posted a picture on Twitter. Aubrey Clayton replied with this question: It’s a great question with what...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Adornment
"Form follows function" is a maxim that an object's shape and appearance should be defined only by...
3 months ago
"Form follows function" is a maxim that an object's shape and appearance should be defined only by its purpose or function. A quick perusal of any antique shop will show that this maxim is generally ignored. Humans (Homo sapiens) have been called "naked apes," but we and our...
IEEE Spectrum
Why the Art of Invention Is Always Being Reinvented
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might...
a month ago
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might just see unchangeable reality. For one 5-year-old, the problem was simple: She liked to have her tummy rubbed as she fell asleep. But her mom, exhausted from working two jobs, often...
IEEE Spectrum
Inside the Three-Way Race to Create the Most Widely Used Laser
The semiconductor laser, invented more than 60 years ago, is the foundation of many of today’s...
5 months ago
The semiconductor laser, invented more than 60 years ago, is the foundation of many of today’s technologies including barcode scanners, fiber-optic communications, medical imaging, and remote controls. The tiny, versatile device is now an IEEE Milestone.
The possibilities of...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Physicians and Pharma Marketing | Out-Of-Pocket
oh we getting that drug money
a year ago
oh we getting that drug money
nanoscale views
What is a glass?
I want to write about a recently published paper, but to do so on an accessible level, I should...
a year ago
I want to write about a recently published paper, but to do so on an accessible level, I should really lay some ground work first.
At the primary school level, typically people are taught that there are three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. (Plasma may be introduced...
Math Is Still...
Deep Beneath Earth’s Surface, Clues to Life’s Origins
Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a...
11 months ago
Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a bounty that could help write the first chapter of life's story on Earth.
The post Deep Beneath Earth’s Surface, Clues to Life’s Origins first appeared on Quanta...
Math Is Still...
Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan
Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that...
2 months ago
Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that continue to shape the field today.
The post Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Amazon + One Medical Post | Out-Of-Pocket
I guess I should say something?
9 months ago
I guess I should say something?
nanoscale views
APS March Meeting 2024, Day 2
A decent part of today was spent in conversation with friends and colleagues, but here are some high...
9 months ago
A decent part of today was spent in conversation with friends and colleagues, but here are some high points of scientific talks:
The DMP prize session was excellent. The first talk was by Harold Hwang, this year's awardee of the McGroddy Prize. He gave a very compelling...
The Works in...
Should you infect yourself with Zika?
What life is like in a challenge trial
8 months ago
What life is like in a challenge trial
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scaling Organizations, Patient Payments, and Collections with Lora Rosenblum | Out-Of-Pocket
Why am I getting bills 6 months later, Lora pls help
a year ago
Why am I getting bills 6 months later, Lora pls help
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare, but funny | Out-Of-Pocket
US healthcare is a joke. Let's make it funny.
a year ago
US healthcare is a joke. Let's make it funny.
Math Is Still...
Two Students Shoot Down a Widely Believed Math Conjecture
Mathematicians thought they were on the cusp of proving a conjecture about the ancient structures...
a year ago
Mathematicians thought they were on the cusp of proving a conjecture about the ancient structures known as Apollonian circles. But a summer project would lead to its downfall.
The post Two Students Shoot Down a Widely Believed Math Conjecture first appeared on Quanta...
NeuroLogica Blog
What Happened to the Atmosphere on Mars
Of every world known to humans outside the Earth, Mars is likely the most habitable. We have not...
2 months ago
Of every world known to humans outside the Earth, Mars is likely the most habitable. We have not found any genuinely Earth-like exoplanets. They are almost sure to exist, but we just haven’t found any yet. The closest so far is Kepler 452-b, which is a super Earth, specifically...
Wanderingspace
Space-X Looking Like 2001 Space Odyssey
Amazing shot. Looks like a movie.
a year ago
Amazing shot. Looks like a movie.
Chris Grossack's...
Finiteness in Sheaf Topoi
The notion of “finiteness” is constructively subtle in ways that can be
tricky for people new to...
4 months ago
The notion of “finiteness” is constructively subtle in ways that can be
tricky for people new to the subject to understand. For a while now I’ve
wanted to figure out what’s going on with the different versions of “finite”
in a way that felt concrete and obvious (I mentioned...
NeuroLogica Blog
Biofrequency Gadgets are a Total Scam
I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes...
10 months ago
I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes this claim: AO Scan Technology by Solex is an elegant, yet simple-to-use frequency technology based on Tesla, Einstein, and other prominent scientists’ discoveries. It uses delicate...
Cremieux Recueil
Did Unions End Long Work Hours?
Is it growth or organized labor that's more responsible for giving us shorter workdays?
3 months ago
Is it growth or organized labor that's more responsible for giving us shorter workdays?
NeuroLogica Blog
The Speed of Gravity
I recently received an e-mail question from an SGU listener about the speed of gravity. They were...
a year ago
I recently received an e-mail question from an SGU listener about the speed of gravity. They were questioning a statement they heard by Neil DeGrasse Tyson that if the sun were magically plucked from existence, the Earth would not feel the effects for 8 minutes and 20 seconds –...
Probably...
What’s a Chartist?
Recently I heard the word “chartist” for the first time in my life (that I recall). And then later...
a month ago
Recently I heard the word “chartist” for the first time in my life (that I recall). And then later the same day, I heard it again. So that raises two questions: To answer the second question first, it’s someone who supported chartism, which was “a working-class movement for...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Next Step in Space Travel
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced they are developing their own commercial space...
a year ago
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced they are developing their own commercial space capsule. This will be used initially for cargo, but then eventually for crew as well. They anticipate a maiden voyage in 2028. I think this is a positive development. It seems we are...
Uncharted...
The Players of the Syrian Chessboard
What will Israel, Russia, Turkey, the Kurds, Europe, and Lebanon do?
a week ago
What will Israel, Russia, Turkey, the Kurds, Europe, and Lebanon do?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Value-Based Care Contracting Works with Accorded | Out-Of-Pocket
With calculators and contracts you can see yourself
a year ago
With calculators and contracts you can see yourself
Explorations of an...
Birds And Herps In The Summer Heat
January 31, 2023
Our success with the Chaco Owl and Black-bodied Woodpecker afforded us the luxury...
a year ago
January 31, 2023
Our success with the Chaco Owl and Black-bodied Woodpecker afforded us the luxury of a sleep-in this morning. With the exception of the rare Chaco Eagle, as well as several species that were heard but not seen (Black-legged Seriema, Olive-crowned Crescentchest,...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
23andMe, a healthcare fund idea, and the NHS | Out-Of-Pocket
Some random musings coming from London
2 months ago
Some random musings coming from London
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Healthcare Payments Work with Candid Health | Out-Of-Pocket
A walkthrough of how money flows between payers and providers
a year ago
A walkthrough of how money flows between payers and providers
brr
Polar Night
Surreal and otherworldly.
a year ago
Surreal and otherworldly.
Math Is Still...
The AI Tools Making Images Look Better
Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in...
a year ago
Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in digital images.
The post The AI Tools Making Images Look Better first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
Frost
Everyday objects, but cold.
a year ago
Everyday objects, but cold.
Eukaryote Writes...
Fiber arts, mysterious dodecahedrons, and waiting on “Eureka!”
Why didn't we invent knitting before 1000 CE?
over a year ago
Why didn't we invent knitting before 1000 CE?
Asterisk
Animal Welfare in the Anthropocene
Wild animals outnumber farmed animals by orders of magnitude. Are we obligated to help them? And...
a year ago
Wild animals outnumber farmed animals by orders of magnitude. Are we obligated to help them? And even if we wanted to, do we know how?
Blog - Practical...
When Infrastructure Gets Hacked
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is a water tower, or as...
3 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is a water tower, or as the pros would say, an elevated storage tank. Pretty common here in the US, especially in flatter areas where there’s no nearby hillside to build a ground-level tank. I have a whole...
Damn Interesting
The Traveler and His Baggage
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people...
over a year ago
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people of Nazi-occupied Paris. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proudly announced to the world that the German capital of Berlin was officially judenfrei–free of all Jews. As this...
Math Is Still...
The Mathematician Who Finds the Poetry in Math and the Math in Poetry
The links between math, music and art have been explored for thousands of years. Sarah Hart is now...
11 months ago
The links between math, music and art have been explored for thousands of years. Sarah Hart is now turning a mathematical eye to literature.
The post The Mathematician Who Finds the Poetry in Math and the Math in Poetry first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Using CRISPR To Treat HIV
CRISPR has been big scientific news since it was introduced in 2012. The science actually goes back...
9 months ago
CRISPR has been big scientific news since it was introduced in 2012. The science actually goes back to 1987, but the CRISPR/Cas9 system was patented in 2012, and the developers won the Noble Prize in Chemistry in 2020. The system gives researchers the ability to quickly and...
The Works in...
Gentrification as a housing problem
The root cause of displacement is inflexible supply
5 months ago
The root cause of displacement is inflexible supply
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2020, 1)
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently...
over a year ago
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently plucked from its fruitful boughs.
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
Math Is Still...
Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits
Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning...
8 months ago
Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning missions to far-off moons and planets.
The post Geometers Engineer New Tools to Wrangle Spacecraft Orbits first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Probably...
Think Python Goes to Production
Think Python has moved into production, on schedule for the official publication date in July — but...
9 months ago
Think Python has moved into production, on schedule for the official publication date in July — but maybe earlier if things go well. To celebrate, I have posted the next batch of chapters on the new site, up through Chapter 12, which is about Markov text analysis and generation,...
NeuroLogica Blog
AI As Legal Entities
Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the...
a year ago
Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the question discussed in a new paper by legal scholars. They recognize that this question is a bit ahead of the technology, but argue that we should work out the legal ramifications before...
symmetry magazine
Applications of quantum mechanics at the beach
How does sunscreen work on the atomic level?
a year ago
How does sunscreen work on the atomic level?
Eukaryote Writes...
Who invented knitting? The plot thickens
Last time on Eukaryote Writes Blog: You learned about knitting history. You thought you were done...
a year ago
Last time on Eukaryote Writes Blog: You learned about knitting history. You thought you were done learning about knitting history? You fool. You buffoon. I wanted to double check some things in the last post and found out that the origins of knitting are even weirder than I...
Math Is Still...
She Studies How Addiction Hijacks Learning in the Brain
Erin Calipari works to understand how drugs like opioids and cocaine alter learning circuits and...
a year ago
Erin Calipari works to understand how drugs like opioids and cocaine alter learning circuits and neurochemistry in one of the country's epicenters of substance use disorder and addiction.
The post She Studies How Addiction Hijacks Learning in the Brain first appeared...
Asterisk
My Primal Scream of Rage: The Big Alcohol Study That Didn't Happen
Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever...
a year ago
Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever planned. Here’s why — and why you should be mad too.
pcloadletter
Surely dark UX doesn't work in the long run
I was just feeling pretty good—I published my article about RSS and it's being pretty...
10 months ago
I was just feeling pretty good—I published my article about RSS and it's being pretty well-received.
I decided a fitting way to celebrate was to head on over to Feedly and catch up on some reading! I clicked on an engineers blog feed to check out here latest couple posts. I...
Quantum Frontiers
Noncommuting charges are much like Batman
Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take...
9 months ago
Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take Batman as an example: without knowing his backstory, he appears merely as a billionaire who might achieve more by donating his wealth rather than masquerading as a bat … Continue...
Cremieux Recueil
The Worst Argument Against Ozempic
Unfortunately, being skinny might require effort
3 months ago
Unfortunately, being skinny might require effort
NeuroLogica Blog
Converting CO2 to Carbon Nanofibers
One of the dreams of a green economy where the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is stable, and not...
11 months ago
One of the dreams of a green economy where the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is stable, and not slowly increasing, is the ability to draw CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to a solid form. Often referred to as carbon capture, some form of this is going to be necessary...
nanoscale views
What is turbulence? (And why are helicopters never quiet?)
Fluid mechanics is very often left out of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This is a shame, as...
6 months ago
Fluid mechanics is very often left out of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This is a shame, as it's very interesting and directly relevant to many broad topics (atmospheric science, climate, plasma physics, parts of astrophysics). Fluid mechanics is a great example of how...
Math Is Still...
In the ‘Wild West’ of Geometry, Mathematicians Redefine the Sphere
High-dimensional spheres can have a much wider variety of structures than mathematicians thought...
a year ago
High-dimensional spheres can have a much wider variety of structures than mathematicians thought possible.
The post In the ‘Wild West’ of Geometry, Mathematicians Redefine the Sphere first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Wanderingspace
Morning and Night on Mars
Yeah. Um… Wow. Nice Job NASA. I’ll just copy/paste how The Planetary Society explained it:
“NASA's...
over a year ago
Yeah. Um… Wow. Nice Job NASA. I’ll just copy/paste how The Planetary Society explained it:
“NASA's Curiosity team made this artistic interpretation of the rover's view from high up Mt. Sharp by combining pictures taken at different times of day and adding colors to bring out the...
Damn Interesting
The Anticipated Future of the Moon
When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day...
over a year ago
When the Earth was young, shortly after the moon formed, our planet was spinning so fast that a day was approximately five hours long. During the intervening billions of years, the dragging effect of the moon’s gravity slowed the Earth’s spin to the 24-hour day we now observe....
Apoorva Srinivasan
an experiment in navigating the knowledge frontier beyond search
Lately, I've been experimenting with interfaces for large language models (LLMs) in my free time....
a year ago
Lately, I've been experimenting with interfaces for large language models (LLMs) in my free time. The fruit of this labor is something I'm calling "curie," an exploratory and sense-making tool designed to navigate complex topics.
0:00
...
symmetry magazine
A call to cite Black women and gender minorities
Theoretical astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein recently unveiled the Cite Black Women+ in...
a year ago
Theoretical astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein recently unveiled the Cite Black Women+ in Physics and Astronomy Bibliography.
Beautiful Public...
The Mirror Fusion Test Facility
A decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to...
a year ago
A decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to budget constraints and competing science, and was shut down the day it was dedicated. It was never turned on.
Blog - Practical...
When Natural Gas Had No Smell
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Excitement and hope permeated...
5 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Excitement and hope permeated the crowds gathered in a dusty farm carved from the piney woods in east Texas. The rumor was that Columbus Joiner had struck oil. At 70 years old, Joiner had already won and lost...
Asterisk
Rat Traps
Does the rationalist blogosphere need to update?
a month ago
Does the rationalist blogosphere need to update?
Math Is Still...
Why Mathematicians Re-Prove What They Already Know
It’s been known for thousands of years that the primes go on forever, but new proofs give fresh...
a year ago
It’s been known for thousands of years that the primes go on forever, but new proofs give fresh insights into how theorems depend on one another.
The post Why Mathematicians Re-Prove What They Already Know first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Cultural Blindness
One of the core tenets of scientific skepticism is what I call neuropsychological humility – the...
a year ago
One of the core tenets of scientific skepticism is what I call neuropsychological humility – the recognition that while the human brain is a powerful information processing machine, it also has many frailties. One of those frailties is perception – we do not perceive the world in...
Math Is Still...
Swirling Forces, Crushing Pressures Measured in the Proton
Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of...
9 months ago
Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces and pressures inside a subatomic particle for the first time.
The post Swirling Forces, Crushing Pressures Measured in the Proton first appeared on Quanta...
Math Is Still...
To Pack Spheres Tightly, Mathematicians Throw Them at Random
Four mathematicians broke a 75-year-old record by finding a denser way to pack high-dimensional...
7 months ago
Four mathematicians broke a 75-year-old record by finding a denser way to pack high-dimensional spheres.
The post To Pack Spheres Tightly, Mathematicians Throw Them at Random first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Beautiful Public...
Here’s All the Rocks We Hauled Back From the Moon
The 12 human beings who walked on the Moon collected, catalogued and returned 842 pounds of lunar...
a year ago
The 12 human beings who walked on the Moon collected, catalogued and returned 842 pounds of lunar rock and soil. Each sample has been meticulously documented in NASA's Lunar Sample Catalog.
Beautiful Public...
Utah Highway LiDAR Scans
Utah's Department of Transportation uses state-of-the-art 3-D laser scanners to capture the surfaces...
over a year ago
Utah's Department of Transportation uses state-of-the-art 3-D laser scanners to capture the surfaces and area surrounding 15,000 miles of its roads.
Chris Grossack's...
Building Objects with Category Theory
Typically category theory is useful for showing the uniqueness
of certain objects by checking that...
a year ago
Typically category theory is useful for showing the uniqueness
of certain objects by checking that they satisfy some
universal property. This makes them unique up to unique isomorphism.
However, category theory can also be used in order to show that objects
exist at all, usually...
wadertales
Inland feeding by coastal godwits
Species such as Dunlin and Knot are well-served by conservation measures that aim to protect...
over a year ago
Species such as Dunlin and Knot are well-served by conservation measures that aim to protect estuaries but the same is not necessarily true for Black-tailed Godwits. In a 2022 paper in the journal Wader Study, Clément Jourdan and colleagues describe the movements of ten tagged...
Many Worlds
A Real ET Discovery With Promise, Amid Some Other Quite Questionable Claims
Beware easy answers to the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. Be they “alien” skeletons...
a year ago
Beware easy answers to the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. Be they “alien” skeletons in Mexico City, interstellar probes that briefly pass through our solar system, UFOs of all sorts and claims to have found “biosignature” chemical byproducts of life around planets...
The Roots of...
Event, Feb 29: “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” in Boston and on Zoom
On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New...
10 months ago
On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New England Legal Foundation, for their Economic Liberty Speaker Series. The talk will be held over breakfast at NELF’s offices in Boston, and will also be livestreamed over Zoom. See...
Math Is Still...
It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone...
a month ago
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone imagined. Now physicists are debating what it would really prove.
The post It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Faculty positions at Rice - follow-up
I had mentioned about 6 weeks ago that my department at Rice is searching in the quantum/AMO space...
a year ago
I had mentioned about 6 weeks ago that my department at Rice is searching in the quantum/AMO space for experiment and theory. Now I want to put the larger context of this out there - Rice has four quantum-related searches going on right now:
Quantum theory (PHYA):...
NeuroLogica Blog
How Much Carbon do Living Things Store?
Since we are in a “all hands on deck” situation when it comes to climate change, we need to take a...
a year ago
Since we are in a “all hands on deck” situation when it comes to climate change, we need to take a look at all potential strategies for delaying and blunting global warming. The game at this point is all about peak warming – how much will the Earth warm before temperatures peak...
Marine Madness
Culture Club: Time to let the cetaceans in?
Up until recently, culture has been thought of as a primarily human characteristic. However, recent...
over a year ago
Up until recently, culture has been thought of as a primarily human characteristic. However, recent studies shine a light on the fact that non-human animals including Cetaceans (dolphins and whales), may also possess it. They live in tightly-knit social communities, exhibit...
Probably...
Extremes, outliers, and GOATS
The video from my PyData Global 2023 talk, Extremes, outliers, and GOATS, is available now: The...
10 months ago
The video from my PyData Global 2023 talk, Extremes, outliers, and GOATS, is available now: The slides are here. There are two Jupyter notebooks that contain the analysis I presented: Here’s the abstract: The fastest runners are much faster than we expect from a Gaussian...
Math Is Still...
New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks Assemble
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of...
7 months ago
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of interacting complexes of protein, DNA, RNA and other molecules, better capturing cells’ biological landscapes.
The post New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks...
Apoorva Srinivasan
on edward jenner and creativity
One common question that’s on everyone’s minds as we fiercely scrub our hands, pool our resources,...
over a year ago
One common question that’s on everyone’s minds as we fiercely scrub our hands, pool our resources, conserve our consumption, stock up (but not hoard), invent calculus or write King Lear is: when will this end? Nobody knows what the answer to that question is but we
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Christian Health Insurance | Out-Of-Pocket
Love thy neighbor, pay for thy neighbor
a year ago
Love thy neighbor, pay for thy neighbor
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Tikalon Blog Archive
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved...
3 months ago
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved articles. If you're willing to wait a while for the download, a zip file of all the blog articles can be found at the link below. Note, however, that these articles are copyrighted and...
symmetry magazine
From inventor to entrepreneur
Creating a startup to commercialize technology developed during research is a risky road for...
a year ago
Creating a startup to commercialize technology developed during research is a risky road for physicists and engineers, but the help of experts can improve their chances.
Probably...
Where’s My Train?
Yesterday I presented a webinar for PyMC Labs where I solved one of the exercises from Think Bayes,...
4 months ago
Yesterday I presented a webinar for PyMC Labs where I solved one of the exercises from Think Bayes, called “The Red Line Problem”. Here’s the scenario: The Red Line is a subway that connects Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts. When I was working in Cambridge I took the Red Line...
Math Is Still...
The Quest to Quantify Quantumness
What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle...
a year ago
What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle question that physicists are still grappling with, decades into the quantum age.
The post The Quest to Quantify Quantumness first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
Redeployment Part One
Emerging from winter and preparing for our first flight!
11 months ago
Emerging from winter and preparing for our first flight!
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
6 months ago
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy
Early in the fourth year of my PhD, I received a most John-ish email from John Preskill, my PhD...
a year ago
Early in the fourth year of my PhD, I received a most John-ish email from John Preskill, my PhD advisor. The title read, “thermodynamics of complexity,” and the message was concise the way that the Amazon River is damp: “Might … Continue reading →
Cremieux Recueil
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?
3 months ago
What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
Sean Carroll
What I Look for in Podcast Guests
People often suggest guests to appear on Mindscape — which I very much appreciate! Several of my...
over a year ago
People often suggest guests to appear on Mindscape — which I very much appreciate! Several of my best conversations were with people I had never heard of before they were effectively suggested by someone. Suggestions could be made here (in comments below), or on the subreddit, or...
Uncharted...
Should You Be Able to Experiment on Your Own Cancer?
A researcher in virology and immunotherapy got bad news: Her cancer was back with a vengeance; the...
2 months ago
A researcher in virology and immunotherapy got bad news: Her cancer was back with a vengeance; the treatments weren’t working. She decided to treat it herself.
Asterisk
How to Prevent the Next Pandemic
Modern technology makes bioterrorism seem increasingly likely. If we can get our act together, there...
over a year ago
Modern technology makes bioterrorism seem increasingly likely. If we can get our act together, there are smart ways to prevent it.
Math Is Still...
The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics
By treating molecules as geometric tessellations, scientists devised a new way to forecast how 2D...
a year ago
By treating molecules as geometric tessellations, scientists devised a new way to forecast how 2D materials might self-assemble.
The post The Simple Geometry That Predicts Molecular Mosaics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Math Is Still...
Most Life on Earth is Dormant, After Pulling an ‘Emergency Brake’
Many microbes and cells are in deep sleep, waiting for the right moment to activate. Biologists...
6 months ago
Many microbes and cells are in deep sleep, waiting for the right moment to activate. Biologists discovered a widespread protein that abruptly shuts down a cell’s activity — and turns it back on just as fast.
The post Most Life on Earth is Dormant, After Pulling an...
Blog - Practical...
HEAVY CONSTRUCTION of a Sewage Pump Station - Ep 4
This is the fourth episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's...
a year ago
This is the fourth episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's Made"-esque heavy construction videos. Drop a comment or send me an email to let me know what you think! Watch on YouTube above or ad-free on Nebula here.
Math Is Still...
The S-Matrix Is the Oracle Physicists Turn To in Times of Crisis
Particle physicists in search of the next theory of reality are consulting a mathematical structure...
7 months ago
Particle physicists in search of the next theory of reality are consulting a mathematical structure that they know will never fail: a table of possibilities known as the S-matrix.
The post The S-Matrix Is the Oracle Physicists Turn To in Times of Crisis first appeared...
Explorations of an...
Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for...
a month ago
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for Quest Nature Tours. I've always said that Borneo is one of my favourite tours that I run and even after three previous trips I was looking forward to returning. One of the main...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare in Jail | Out-Of-Pocket
How does it work?
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Is Music Getting Simpler
I don’t think I know anyone personally who doesn’t have strong opinions about music – which genres...
8 months ago
I don’t think I know anyone personally who doesn’t have strong opinions about music – which genres they like, and how the quality of music may have changed over time. My own sense is that music as a cultural phenomenon is incredibly complex, no one (in my social group) really...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare should NOT be local | Out-Of-Pocket
Let's think bigger
a year ago
Stephen Wolfram...
Why Does Biological Evolution Work? A Minimal Model for Biological Evolution and Other Adaptive...
The Model Why does biological evolution work? And, for that matter, why does machine learning work?...
7 months ago
The Model Why does biological evolution work? And, for that matter, why does machine learning work? Both are examples of adaptive processes that surprise us with what they manage to achieve. So what’s the essence of what’s going on? I’m going to concentrate here on biological...
Interaction Magic -...
Modelling my brain
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of...
over a year ago
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of it.
Light from Space
Bubble Nebula and Neighborhood
The constellation of Cassiopeia is full of rich gas clouds and a myriad of different Nebulas and...
over a year ago
The constellation of Cassiopeia is full of rich gas clouds and a myriad of different Nebulas and Star Clusters.
Click or tap to enlarge/double-tap to zoom
Total exposure time: 37h 20m (134,400s)
Image resolution: 4,784 × 6,840px (1.919″/px)
Shot from my driveway near
Math Is Still...
In a ‘Dark Dimension,’ Physicists Search for the Universe’s Missing Matter
An idea derived from string theory suggests that dark matter is hiding in a (relatively) large extra...
10 months ago
An idea derived from string theory suggests that dark matter is hiding in a (relatively) large extra dimension. The theory makes testable predictions that physicists are investigating now.
The post In a ‘Dark Dimension,’ Physicists Search for the Universe’s Missing...
NeuroLogica Blog
Magnetohydrodynamic Drive – Silent Water Propulsion
DARPA, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is now working on developing a...
a year ago
DARPA, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is now working on developing a magnet-driven silent water propulsion system – the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drive. The primary reason is to develop silent military naval craft. Imagine a nuclear submarine with an MHD drive,...
Math Is Still...
‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work.
What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century,...
3 months ago
What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.
The post ‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
Araucaria Forests near San Pedro
February 9 - 11, 2023
The Brazilian Araucaria is a tree that seems more suited to the pages of a Dr....
a year ago
February 9 - 11, 2023
The Brazilian Araucaria is a tree that seems more suited to the pages of a Dr. Seuss book than the rolling hills of the Atlantic forests of southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Stands of Araucaria angustifolia are peculiar looking, with massive trunks...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
An Eclipse of the Sun Coming to N. America April 8th
A rare eclipse of the Sun will be visible all over North America on April 8th.
The post An Eclipse...
9 months ago
A rare eclipse of the Sun will be visible all over North America on April 8th.
The post An Eclipse of the Sun Coming to N. America April 8th appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
nanoscale views
The problems and opportunities of data
We live in a world of "big data", and this presents a number of challenges for how we handle this at...
a year ago
We live in a world of "big data", and this presents a number of challenges for how we handle this at research universities. Until relatively recently, the domain of huge volume/huge throughput scientific data was chiefly that of the nuclear/particle physics community and then...
Many Worlds
The Makeup of Red Dwarf Solar Systems May Seriously Limit the Formation of Habitable Planets
Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation...
a year ago
Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation and evolution of Earth possible. In the early days of the solar system, massive Jupiter helped the planet grow rapidly while serving as a gravity well that shielded the planet from...
Asterisk
The Wrong Kind of City?
How much can the way cities grow tell us about the economic trajectory of their countries? According...
3 months ago
How much can the way cities grow tell us about the economic trajectory of their countries? According to the father of modern sociology, quite a lot.
Math Is Still...
Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates
Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without...
6 months ago
Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without a magnetic field coaxing them into it.
The post Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Roleplaying Games May Help Autistic People
Gotta love the title of this paper: “A critical hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a buff for autistic...
3 months ago
Gotta love the title of this paper: “A critical hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a buff for autistic people“. Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game where a small group of people each play characters adventuring in an imaginary world run by the dungeon master (DM)....
NeuroLogica Blog
Marmosets Call Each Other By Name
Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has...
3 months ago
Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has only been identified in a few other species, dolphins, elephants, and some parrots. Interestingly, it has never been documented in our closest relatives, non-human primates – that...
Explorations of an...
Birding Near The Bolivia Border
January 22, 2023 (continued)
Laura and I left the humid east slope of the Andes behind and worked...
a year ago
January 22, 2023 (continued)
Laura and I left the humid east slope of the Andes behind and worked our way north along the paved highway through the incredible Quebrada de Humahuaca. This valley is famous for its scenery and it was easy to see why. The contrasts, textures and...
NeuroLogica Blog
Woman with Catatonia for Years Wakes After Treatment
The story of a woman, in a severe state of catatonia for years and “waking up” after being treated...
a year ago
The story of a woman, in a severe state of catatonia for years and “waking up” after being treated for an autoimmune disease, is making the rounds and deserves a little bit of context. April Burrell was diagnosed with a severe form of schizophrenia resulting in catatonia, and has...
Asterisk
Emotional Intelligence Amplification
Love in the time of chatbots.
a year ago
Love in the time of chatbots.
Blog - Practical...
Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common attributes folks imagine when they think of trains is the clickety-clack sound they make as they roll down the tracks. The thing is, most trains don’t make that sound anymore. Or really,...
Probably...
Why are you so slow?
Recently a shoe store in France ran a promotion called “Rob It to Get It”, which invited customers...
a year ago
Recently a shoe store in France ran a promotion called “Rob It to Get It”, which invited customers to try to steal something by grabbing it and running out of the store. But there was a catch — the “security guard” was a professional sprinter, Méba Mickael Zeze. As you would...
Blog - Practical...
Why Engineers Can't Control Rivers
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Old River Control...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Old River Control Structure, a relatively innocuous complex of floodgates and levees off the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It was built in the 1950s to solve a serious problem. Typically...
Math Is Still...
These Moons Are Dark and Frozen. So How Can They Have Oceans?
The moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn appear to have subsurface oceans — tantalizing targets in the...
a year ago
The moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn appear to have subsurface oceans — tantalizing targets in the search for life beyond Earth. But it’s not clear why these seas exist at all.
The post These Moons Are Dark and Frozen. So How Can They Have Oceans? first appeared on...
nanoscale views
What are "quantum oscillations"?
For the first time in a couple of decades, I was visiting the Aspen Center for Physics, which is...
a year ago
For the first time in a couple of decades, I was visiting the Aspen Center for Physics, which is always a fun, intellectually stimulating experience. (Side note: I sure hope that the rapidly escalating costs of everything in the Aspen area don't make this venue untenable in the...
Damn Interesting
Journey to the Invisible Planet
In the late 17th century, natural philosopher Isaac Newton was deeply uneasy with a new scientific...
a year ago
In the late 17th century, natural philosopher Isaac Newton was deeply uneasy with a new scientific theory that was gaining currency in Europe: universal gravitation. In correspondence with a scientific contemporary, Newton complained that it was “an absurdity” to suppose that...
Asterisk
Crash Testing GPT-4
Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to...
a year ago
Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to figure out how.
Asterisk
AI Isn’t Coming for Tech Jobs—Yet
LLMs can make a developer’s job easier and faster. When might they make them obsolete?
a year ago
LLMs can make a developer’s job easier and faster. When might they make them obsolete?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Things I’m watching in healthcare 2023 | Out-Of-Pocket
it's been a weird year
9 months ago
Quantum Frontiers
To thermalize, or not to thermalize, that is the question.
If Hamlet had been a system of noncommuting charges, his famous soliloquy may have gone like this…...
8 months ago
If Hamlet had been a system of noncommuting charges, his famous soliloquy may have gone like this… To thermalize, or not to thermalize, that is the question:Whether ’tis more natural for the system to sufferThe large entanglement of thermalizing dynamics,Or … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
What Policies Affect Climate Change?
What is the potential for climate change policy to affect climate change? I often discuss, here and...
a year ago
What is the potential for climate change policy to affect climate change? I often discuss, here and on the SGU, the science of climate change, and specifically focus on what we can do about it, mostly by reducing our CO2 emissions. Often I get push back explicitly promoting the...
ToughSF
Actively Cooled Armor: from Helium to Liquid Tin.
We have seen designs for long ranged particle beams
and powerful lasers. Could they be the end-all,...
over a year ago
We have seen designs for long ranged particle beams
and powerful lasers. Could they be the end-all, be-all of space warfare? Not if we fend off their destructive
power with actively cooled armor.
Let's have a look at the different cooling
solutions, from high pressure gas to...
Beautiful Public...
A Rover's First 590 Days* on Mars
I downloaded 60,000 images to experience what NASA's Perseverance rover has been seeing since...
over a year ago
I downloaded 60,000 images to experience what NASA's Perseverance rover has been seeing since landing there in Feb. 2021.
nanoscale views
Electronic structure and a couple of fun links
Real life has been very busy recently. Posting will hopefully pick up soon.
One brief item. ...
8 months ago
Real life has been very busy recently. Posting will hopefully pick up soon.
One brief item. Earlier this week, Rice hosted Gabi Kotliar for a distinguished lecture, and he gave a very nice, pedagogical talk about different approaches to electronic structure calculations. ...
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy: Part deux
I didn’t fancy the research suggestion emailed by my PhD advisor. A 2016 email from John Preskill...
a year ago
I didn’t fancy the research suggestion emailed by my PhD advisor. A 2016 email from John Preskill led to my publishing a paper about quantum complexity in 2022, as I explained in last month’s blog post. But I didn’t explain … Continue reading →
Beautiful Public...
Pilot Manual for a 1940's U.S. Navy Blimp
This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to...
a year ago
This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to pilot this sleek, silver, 250 foot long, weaponized anti-submarine dirigible.
Probably...
Bertrand’s Boxes
An early draft of Probably Overthinking It included two chapters about probability. I still think...
7 months ago
An early draft of Probably Overthinking It included two chapters about probability. I still think they are interesting, but the other chapters are really about data, and the examples in these chapters are more like brain teasers — so I’ve saved them for another book. Here’s an...
Math Is Still...
Grad Students Find Inevitable Patterns in Big Sets of Numbers
A new proof marks the first progress in decades on a problem about how order emerges from disorder. ...
4 months ago
A new proof marks the first progress in decades on a problem about how order emerges from disorder.
The post Grad Students Find Inevitable Patterns in Big Sets of Numbers first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 8: Pale-billed Antpittas In The Elfin Forest (February 10, 2024)
February 10, 2024
The Pale-billed Antpitta is a large, fancy-looking Grallaria antpitta only found...
6 months ago
February 10, 2024
The Pale-billed Antpitta is a large, fancy-looking Grallaria antpitta only found in the high Andes of northern Peru. Because of its proclivity towards dense forest with an abundance of bamboo, there are few places where this species can be easily found. These...
NeuroLogica Blog
GMOs and Butterflies
Are attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our agriculture softening? Back in...
a year ago
Are attitudes towards genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our agriculture softening? Back in 2015 a Pew survey found that the gap between public opinion and that of scientists was greatest on acceptance of GMOs (more than any other topic surveyed), with a 51% gap. But more...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Why don’t healthcare companies say what they do? | Out-Of-Pocket
And some tips to figure out what a company does
a year ago
And some tips to figure out what a company does
Probably...
Testing Percentiles
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
7 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. test_percentile Testing percentiles¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I have two different samples (about 100...
Math Is Still...
What Is Analog Computing?
You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them. ...
4 months ago
You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them.
The post What Is Analog Computing? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
Memories of things past
My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her...
a year ago
My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her childhood memories. I recall which toys we played with, the first time I visited her house,1 and which beverages our classmates drank during snack … Continue reading →
Math Is Still...
What Is Machine Learning?
Neural networks and other forms of machine learning ultimately learn by trial and error, one...
5 months ago
Neural networks and other forms of machine learning ultimately learn by trial and error, one improvement at a time.
The post What Is Machine Learning? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
Why Construction Projects Always Go Over Budget
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Boston, Massachusetts is one...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Boston, Massachusetts is one of the oldest cities in America, founded in 1630, more than a few years before the advent of modern motor vehicles. In the 1980s, traffic in downtown Boston was nearly unbearable...
NeuroLogica Blog
Subjective Neurological Experience
On the SGU we recently talked about aphantasia, the condition in which some people have a decreased...
3 months ago
On the SGU we recently talked about aphantasia, the condition in which some people have a decreased or entirely absent ability to imagine things. The term was coined recently, in 2015, by neurologist Adam Zeman, who described the condition of “congenital aphantasia,” that he...
Math Is Still...
Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information
Two researchers have proved that Penrose tilings, famous patterns that never repeat, are...
10 months ago
Two researchers have proved that Penrose tilings, famous patterns that never repeat, are mathematically equivalent to a kind of quantum error correction.
The post Never-Repeating Tiles Can Safeguard Quantum Information first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Decentralizing Journals and Peer Review DAOs | Out-Of-Pocket
the evolution of legitimacy in scientific publishing
a year ago
the evolution of legitimacy in scientific publishing
symmetry magazine
Do hidden influences give neutrinos their tiny mass?
The quest to understand the small mass of neutrinos is also a quest to discover new particles.
...
a year ago
The quest to understand the small mass of neutrinos is also a quest to discover new particles.
Neutrinos are the byproducts of astronomical events that give us life.
They shoot out from the nuclear fusion reaction within the sun and radiate from supernovas....
NeuroLogica Blog
The Science of Gift Giving
There is a lot of social psychology out there providing information that can inform our everyday...
a year ago
There is a lot of social psychology out there providing information that can inform our everyday lives, and most people are completely unaware of the research. Richard Wiseman makes this point in his book, 59 Seconds – we actually have useful scientific information, and yet we...
The Works in...
Lost Science
When discoveries are forgotten and then found
11 months ago
When discoveries are forgotten and then found
Asterisk
Half A Million Kinksters Can’t Be Wrong
The story of how one independent researcher conducted the largest-ever survey on fetishes, and what...
a year ago
The story of how one independent researcher conducted the largest-ever survey on fetishes, and what it has to teach us about sex, pleasure, and social science methodology.
Asterisk
Development Finance Done Right
A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency...
5 months ago
A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency process, and bring electricity to 200 million people.
NeuroLogica Blog
Framing and Global Warming
When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global...
4 months ago
When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global warming”, “climate change”, the “climate crisis” or to “climate justice”? Perhaps we should also be more technical and say specifically, “anthropogenic climate change”. This kind...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Provider Directories, Physician data, and Ribbon Health | Out-Of-Pocket
why can't I find any important info about my doctor lol
a year ago
why can't I find any important info about my doctor lol
Math Is Still...
How Do Machines ‘Grok’ Data?
By apparently overtraining them, researchers have seen neural networks discover novel solutions to...
8 months ago
By apparently overtraining them, researchers have seen neural networks discover novel solutions to problems.
The post How Do Machines ‘Grok’ Data? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
The Next Step in Space Travel
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced they are developing their own commercial space...
a year ago
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced they are developing their own commercial space capsule. This will be used initially for cargo, but then eventually for crew as well. They anticipate a maiden voyage in 2028. I think this is a positive development. It seems we are...
nanoscale views
Artificial intelligence, extrapolation, and physical constraints
Disclaimer and disclosure: The "arrogant physicist declaims about some topic far outside their...
6 months ago
Disclaimer and disclosure: The "arrogant physicist declaims about some topic far outside their domain expertise (like climate change or epidemiology or economics or geopolitics or....) like everyone actually in the field is clueless" trope is very overplayed at this point, and...
The Roots of...
Highlights from The Industrial Revolution, by T. S. Ashton
The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830, by Thomas S. Ashton, is classic in the field, published in...
a year ago
The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830, by Thomas S. Ashton, is classic in the field, published in 1948. Here are some of my highlights from it. (Emphasis in bold added by me.)
The role of chance
What was the role of chance in the inventions of the Industrial Revolution?
It is true...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Lunar Cycle and Suicide
Does the lunar cycle affect human behavior? This seems to be a question that refuses to die, no...
a year ago
Does the lunar cycle affect human behavior? This seems to be a question that refuses to die, no matter how hard it is to confirm any actual effect. It’s now a cultural idea, deeply embedded and not going anywhere. A recent study, however, seems to show a correlation between...
wadertales
Learning lessons from Slender-billed Curlews
The 2024 Ibis paper, recommending that the Slender-billed Curlew should be classified as Extinct,...
a week ago
The 2024 Ibis paper, recommending that the Slender-billed Curlew should be classified as Extinct, tells a sad tale. We now know that, by the time that the Slender-billed Curlew Action Plan was published in 1996, it was already too late to save the species. Resources expended...
Beautiful Public...
Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data
Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and...
over a year ago
Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and floodplains.
ToughSF
Cold, Laser-Coupled Particle Beams
This is a follow-up to the Particle Beams in Space post.
This time, we look at two concepts that...
over a year ago
This is a follow-up to the Particle Beams in Space post.
This time, we look at two concepts that can massively increase the effective range of particle beam: one is being applied every day in modern accelerators, and the other is an outgrowth of a tool used in...
NeuroLogica Blog
Fossil Fuels – Reduce Demand or Supply?
This is a bit of a false choice – we can do both, or neither – but it is an important question and a...
a year ago
This is a bit of a false choice – we can do both, or neither – but it is an important question and a somewhat of a dilemma. Is the optimal path to reductions and eventual elimination of fossil fuel burning through reduced demand or supply? There are some interesting tradeoffs...
NeuroLogica Blog
Hybrid Biopolymer Transistors – Implications for Brain Machine Interface
There are several technologies which seem likely to be transformative in the coming decades. Genetic...
a year ago
There are several technologies which seem likely to be transformative in the coming decades. Genetic bioengineering gives us the ability to control the basic machinery of life, including ourselves. Artificial intelligence is a suite of active, learning, information tools....
The Roots of...
Why consumerism is good actually
“Consumerism” came up in my recent interview with Elle Griffin of The Post. Here’s what I had to say...
a year ago
“Consumerism” came up in my recent interview with Elle Griffin of The Post. Here’s what I had to say (off the cuff):
I have to admit, I’ve never 100% understood what “consumerism” is, or what it’s supposed to be. I have the general sense of what people are gesturing at, but it...
nanoscale views
Items for discussion, including google's latest quantum computing result
As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items:
Google published a new result in...
a week ago
As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items:
Google published a new result in Nature a few days ago. This made a big news splash, including this accompanying press piece from google themselves, this nice article in Quanta, and the always thoughtful blog post by...
Math Is Still...
Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture
In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound...
5 months ago
In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound mathematical vision called the Langlands program.
The post Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Brief items
With the end of the semester approaching and various grant deadlines, it's been a very busy time. ...
a year ago
With the end of the semester approaching and various grant deadlines, it's been a very busy time. Here are some items I spotted this week (some new, some old):
This article from Quanta about the "Einstein tile" is great - I particularly like the animated illustration. This...
The Works in...
Issue 16: I dream of genes
Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and...
3 months ago
Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and how America's favourite type of coffee got really, really good.
Quantum Frontiers
A classical foreshadow of John Preskill’s Bell Prize
Editor’s Note: This post was co-authored by Hsin-Yuan Huang (Robert) and Richard Kueng. John...
10 months ago
Editor’s Note: This post was co-authored by Hsin-Yuan Huang (Robert) and Richard Kueng. John Preskill, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, has been named the 2024 John Stewart Bell Prize recipient. The prize honors John’s contributions in … Continue...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
GTFO Employers | Out-Of-Pocket
Back To The Future
a year ago
IEEE Spectrum
How the Computer Graphics Industry Got Started at the University of Utah
Animation has come a long way since 1900, when J. Stuart Blackton created The Enchanted Drawing, the...
a year ago
Animation has come a long way since 1900, when J. Stuart Blackton created The Enchanted Drawing, the earliest known animated film. The 90-second movie was created using stop-motion techniques, as flat characters, props, and backgrounds were drawn on an easel or made from...
symmetry magazine
Celebrating Dark Matter Day in Latin America
Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial...
a year ago
Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial holiday devoted to dark matter.
Wanderingspace
The Green Light of Day
Image of tire tracks on Mars with an unusual green tone. . Taken by Perseverance on February 4th.
over a year ago
Image of tire tracks on Mars with an unusual green tone. . Taken by Perseverance on February 4th.
Explorations of an...
Los Amigos Biological Station - Part 3
My final post from Peru....
September 22, 2022
Much like the previous morning, Laura and I...
a year ago
My final post from Peru....
September 22, 2022
Much like the previous morning, Laura and I arranged a packed breakfast and we hit the trails around dawn. While birds were obviously on my mind, there were still a few mammals that I was really keen to search for, too. And luck...
Math Is Still...
A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force...
a year ago
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons.
The post A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Math Is Still...
Computer Scientists Establish the Best Way to Traverse a Graph
Dijkstra’s algorithm was long thought to be the most efficient way to find a graph’s best routes....
a month ago
Dijkstra’s algorithm was long thought to be the most efficient way to find a graph’s best routes. Researchers have now proved that it’s “universally optimal.”
The post Computer Scientists Establish the Best Way to Traverse a Graph first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
2022 Part 5: October, November, December (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand)
October
I was only home from Peru for a week when it was time to leave on the next adventure. While...
a year ago
October
I was only home from Peru for a week when it was time to leave on the next adventure. While Laura jetted off to Scotland to attend a friend's wedding, I flew to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, located on the island of Borneo to lead a tour for Worldwide Quest. I really enjoyed...
nanoscale views
What is the thermal Hall effect?
One thing that physics and mechanical engineering students learn early on is that there are often...
a year ago
One thing that physics and mechanical engineering students learn early on is that there are often analogies between charge flow and heat flow, and this is reflected in the mathematical models we use to describe charge and heat transport. We use Ohm's law,...
Math Is Still...
Quanta Relaunches Hyperjumps Math Game
Explore a universe of numbers and arithmetic in our new and improved interactive math game,...
10 months ago
Explore a universe of numbers and arithmetic in our new and improved interactive math game, Hyperjumps!
The post Quanta Relaunches Hyperjumps Math Game first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Antimatter falls down
Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar...
a year ago
Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar way.
Math Is Still...
The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory
Quadratic reciprocity lurks around many corners in mathematics. By proving it, number theorists...
a year ago
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
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
US Independence Day
Tikalon is on a short holiday in celebration of US Independence Day, July 4, 2024. Our next article...
5 months ago
Tikalon is on a short holiday in celebration of US Independence Day, July 4, 2024. Our next article will be posted on Monday, July 15, 2024. View my version of the iconic image of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in which he encounters some unusually large...
Math Is Still...
The Lawlessness of Large Numbers
Mathematicians can often figure out what happens as quantities grow infinitely large. What about...
a year ago
Mathematicians can often figure out what happens as quantities grow infinitely large. What about when they are just a little big?
The post The Lawlessness of Large Numbers first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Medical Tourism: A Tarpit Idea | Out-Of-Pocket
trust me, you're not the first to look into this
8 months ago
trust me, you're not the first to look into this
Blog - Practical...
Why Locomotives Don't Have Tires
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Formula 1 is, by many...
10 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Formula 1 is, by many accounts, the pinnacle of car racing. F1 cars are among the fastest in the world, particularly around the tight corners of the various paved tracks across the globe. Drivers can experience...
Asterisk
Rarely is the Question Asked: Is Our Children Learning?
Across the world, more students than ever are in school. But it’s not clear that they're learning...
3 weeks ago
Across the world, more students than ever are in school. But it’s not clear that they're learning more while there — or if that’s even the goal.
Blog - Practical...
Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On June 4, 2022, a small piece...
8 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On June 4, 2022, a small piece of equipment (called a lightning arrestor) at a power plant in Odessa, Texas failed, causing part of the plant to trip offline. It was a fairly typical fault that happens from...
Math Is Still...
How ‘Embeddings’ Encode What Words Mean — Sort Of
Machines work with words by embedding their relationships with other words in a string of numbers. ...
3 months ago
Machines work with words by embedding their relationships with other words in a string of numbers.
The post How ‘Embeddings’ Encode What Words Mean — Sort Of first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Molecular electronics in 2023
This past week I was fortunate to attend this meeting, the most recent in an every-few-years series...
a year ago
This past week I was fortunate to attend this meeting, the most recent in an every-few-years series that brings together a group of researchers interested in electronic transport in molecular systems. This brings together physicists and chemists, and this was the first one I've...
Math Is Still...
Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize
The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame...
a year ago
The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame movement of electrons.
The post Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
AI Companions – Good or Bad?
Often times the answer to a binary question is “yes”. Is artificial intelligence (AI) a powerful and...
5 months ago
Often times the answer to a binary question is “yes”. Is artificial intelligence (AI) a powerful and quickly advancing tool or is it overhyped? Yes. Are opiates useful medicines or dangerous drugs? Yes. Is Elon Musk a technological visionary or an eccentric opportunist? This is...
nanoscale views
The fusion story of the day
There is a press conference going on right now announcing a breakthrough at the National Ignition...
over a year ago
There is a press conference going on right now announcing a breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility at Livermore. The NIF is an inertial confinement fusion facility that uses 192 laser beams to compress a fuel pellet containing deuterium and tritium. The pellet is...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Change Healthcare Debacle | Out-Of-Pocket
what are clearinghouses and do we still need them?
9 months ago
what are clearinghouses and do we still need them?
Wanderingspace
China's Zhurong Mars Rover
How adorable is this. The Zhurong rover placed a camera on the ground, backed up and took a selfie...
over a year ago
How adorable is this. The Zhurong rover placed a camera on the ground, backed up and took a selfie next to the landing platform it emerged from last month.
The Works in...
How pour-over coffee got good
While popular with enthusiasts, pour-over coffee frustrated shops because it takes so long to make,...
a week ago
While popular with enthusiasts, pour-over coffee frustrated shops because it takes so long to make, but that's changing.
Probably...
Destructive Testing
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
7 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. sample_size Sample Size Selection¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Hi Redditors, I am a civil engineer trying...
pcloadletter
My articles don't belong on certain social networks
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me...
6 months ago
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me feel really great!
Recently, I took down a post and stopped writing for a few months because I didn't love the reaction I was getting on social media sites like Reddit and Hacker...
Eukaryote Writes...
Eukaryote in Asterisk Magazine + New Patreon Per-post setup
Eukaryote elsewhere I have an article in the latest issue of Asterisk Magazine. After you get really...
a year ago
Eukaryote elsewhere I have an article in the latest issue of Asterisk Magazine. After you get really deep into the weeds of invertebrate sentience and fish welfare and the scale of factory farming, what do you do with that information vis-a-vis what you feel comfortable eating?...
NeuroLogica Blog
Hunger Circuitry
One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature...
a year ago
One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature of being alive – maintaining homeostatic equilibrium both internally and externally. Homeostatic systems usually involve multiple feedback loops that maintain some physiological...
Asterisk
Is Wine Fake?
Wine commands wealth, prestige, and attention from aficionados. How much of what they admire is in...
over a year ago
Wine commands wealth, prestige, and attention from aficionados. How much of what they admire is in their heads?
Math Is Still...
The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms
In the search for the most scalable hardware to use for quantum computers, qubits made of individual...
9 months ago
In the search for the most scalable hardware to use for quantum computers, qubits made of individual atoms are having a breakout moment.
The post The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
My investing theses | Out-Of-Pocket
Hit up ya boi
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Have Current AI Reached Their Limit?
We are still very much in the hype phase of the latest crop of artificial intelligence applications,...
a year ago
We are still very much in the hype phase of the latest crop of artificial intelligence applications, specifically the large language models and so-called “transformers” like Chat GPT. Transformers are a deep learning model that use self-attention to differentially weight the...
Explorations of an...
Los Amigos Biological Station: Part 2
September 21, 2022
Laura and I had arranged with the cook to have a packed breakfast this morning....
a year ago
September 21, 2022
Laura and I had arranged with the cook to have a packed breakfast this morning. This turned out to be a great idea. The day was another scorcher, reaching a high of 36 degrees Celsius, and we appreciated having the freedom to explore the trails early in the...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Answers: How should physicians get paid? | Out-Of-Pocket
What is a "fair amount" for a physician to get paid?
a year ago
What is a "fair amount" for a physician to get paid?
Explorations of an...
A Tour Of The Western Galápagos Archipelago
The Galápagos archipelago is one of those must-visit destinations for anyone with an interest in...
a year ago
The Galápagos archipelago is one of those must-visit destinations for anyone with an interest in ecology, evolution, or biogeography. The islands are located in the eastern Pacific where a “hotspot” deep within the earth has been spewing magma for millions of years. The oldest...
Math Is Still...
In the Milky Way’s Stars, a History of Violence
Our galaxy's stars keep a record of its past. By reading those stories, astronomers are learning...
a year ago
Our galaxy's stars keep a record of its past. By reading those stories, astronomers are learning more about how the Milky Way came to be — and about the galaxy we live in today.
The post In the Milky Way’s Stars, a History of Violence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Good Meteor Shower This Week
Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Dec. 13-14) is the peak time for one of the best meteor...
a year ago
Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Dec. 13-14) is the peak time for one of the best meteor showers of the year – the Geminids.
The post Good Meteor Shower This Week appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
The Works in...
Does higher density cause lower birth rates?
Assessing one recent claim that it does
7 months ago
Assessing one recent claim that it does
Confessions of a...
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,...
over a year ago
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...
Blog - Practical...
East Palestine Train Derailment Explained
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On the evening of Friday,...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On the evening of Friday, February 3, 2023, 38 of 149 cars of a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Five of the derailed cars were carrying vinyl chloride, a hazardous...
Math Is Still...
The Colorful Problem That Has Long Frustrated Mathematicians
The four-color problem is simple to explain, but its complex proof continues to be both celebrated...
a year ago
The four-color problem is simple to explain, but its complex proof continues to be both celebrated and despised.
The post The Colorful Problem That Has Long Frustrated Mathematicians first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
Artificial Wombs When?
What to expect when you’re expecting in 2050.
5 months ago
What to expect when you’re expecting in 2050.
Beautiful Public...
The GOES-16 Weather Satellite
Satellites used to observe weather are so ubiquitous it is easy to take them for granted. GOES-16 is...
over a year ago
Satellites used to observe weather are so ubiquitous it is easy to take them for granted. GOES-16 is worthy of your attention.
Math Is Still...
The Year in Math
Landmark results in Ramsey theory and a remarkably simple aperiodic tile capped a year of...
a year ago
Landmark results in Ramsey theory and a remarkably simple aperiodic tile capped a year of mathematical delight and discovery.
The post The Year in Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Math Is Still...
Animal Mutation Rates Reveal Traits That Speed Evolution
The first large-scale comparison of mutation rates gives insights into how quickly species can...
a year ago
The first large-scale comparison of mutation rates gives insights into how quickly species can evolve.
The post Animal Mutation Rates Reveal Traits That Speed Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Drew Ex Machina
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...
12 months ago
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 […]
Math Is Still...
The Computer Scientist Peering Inside AI’s Black Boxes
Cynthia Rudin wants machine learning models, responsible for increasingly important decisions, to...
a year ago
Cynthia Rudin wants machine learning models, responsible for increasingly important decisions, to show their work.
The post The Computer Scientist Peering Inside AI’s Black Boxes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
China’s Policy Failures
China’s experimental policy regime catalyzed the country’s economic ascent. Today, the system seems...
10 months ago
China’s experimental policy regime catalyzed the country’s economic ascent. Today, the system seems incapable of providing effective governance.
NeuroLogica Blog
Nuclear Microreactors
The first nuclear powered vessel was completed in 1959. Since then there have been nuclear powered...
a year ago
The first nuclear powered vessel was completed in 1959. Since then there have been nuclear powered vessels in the oceans, including many nuclear submarines. The obvious advantage is that is such vessels can stay at see for long periods of time without refueling. These ships use...
Quantum Frontiers
Happy 200th birthday, Carnot’s theorem!
In Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, a Mole meets a Water Rat who lives on a...
3 weeks ago
In Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, a Mole meets a Water Rat who lives on a River. The Rat explains how the River permeates his life: “It’s brother and sister to me, and aunts, and company, … Continue reading →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Secret Research Techniques | Out-Of-Pocket
A magician always reveals his tricks for the purposes of engagement
a year ago
A magician always reveals his tricks for the purposes of engagement
nanoscale views
ARPA-E Roadshow
Today, Rice hosted the ARPA-E Roadshow, a series of presentations by ARPA-E program officers, MC-ed...
a year ago
Today, Rice hosted the ARPA-E Roadshow, a series of presentations by ARPA-E program officers, MC-ed by the director, Prof. Evelyn Wang. It was all about the energy transition, and it was pretty fascinating, particularly hearing from leaders of startups who were making...
Math Is Still...
How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec?
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists...
2 months ago
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists suggest that an unusual form of dark matter may be the solution.
The post How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Two Eclipses of the Sun Coming to North America 2023-24
Two eclipses of the Sun will be visible in North America during the 2023-24 school year.
The post...
a year ago
Two eclipses of the Sun will be visible in North America during the 2023-24 school year.
The post Two Eclipses of the Sun Coming to North America 2023-24 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Math Is Still...
The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing. ...
a year ago
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing.
The post The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Math Is Still...
Fossilized Molecules Reveal a Lost World of Ancient Life
A new analysis of ancient sediments fills a gap in the fossil record — revealing a massive dynasty...
a year ago
A new analysis of ancient sediments fills a gap in the fossil record — revealing a massive dynasty of ancient eukaryotes, which may have reigned for 800 million years and shaped the history of life of Earth.
The post Fossilized Molecules Reveal a Lost World of Ancient...
NeuroLogica Blog
Pentagon Report – No UFOs
In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is...
9 months ago
In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is hiding what it knows about extraterrestrials, the Pentagon established a committee to investigate the question – the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). They have recently...
The Works in...
Whatever happened to the industrial R&D lab?
From the Works in Progress archives.
a year ago
From the Works in Progress archives.
Math Is Still...
Game Theory Can Make AI More Correct and Efficient
Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them...
7 months ago
Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them more consistent.
The post Game Theory Can Make AI More Correct and Efficient first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
How I didn’t become a philosopher (but wound up presenting a named philosophy lecture anyway)
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I...
8 months ago
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I thought, for years, I’d left behind in college. My formal relationship with philosophy originated with Mr. Bohrer. My high school classified him as a religion … Continue reading →
nanoscale views
The wormhole kerfuffle, ER=EPR, and all that
I was busy trying to finish off a grant proposal and paper revisions this week and didn't have the...
over a year ago
I was busy trying to finish off a grant proposal and paper revisions this week and didn't have the time to react in realtime to the PR onslaught surrounding the recent Nature paper by a team from Harvard, MIT, Fermilab, and Google. There are many places to get caught up on this,...
nanoscale views
Experimental techniques: bridge measurements
When we teach undergraduates about materials and measuring electrical resistance, we tend to gloss...
4 months ago
When we teach undergraduates about materials and measuring electrical resistance, we tend to gloss over the fact that there are specialized techniques for this - it's more than just hooking up a battery and an ammeter. If you want to get high precision results, such as measuring...
NeuroLogica Blog
Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Ready for Testing
It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed...
a year ago
It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed Martin. Now the plane has finally been built and is ready for testing. At the time it was reported that NASA “had a design” for a quiet supersonic jet, one that would not create a...
pcloadletter
Quality is a hard sell in big tech
I have noticed a trend in a handful of products I've worked on at big tech companies. I have friends...
10 months ago
I have noticed a trend in a handful of products I've worked on at big tech companies. I have friends at other big tech companies that have noticed a similar trend: The products are kind of crummy.
Here are some experiences that I have often encountered:
the UI is flakey and/or...
Confessions of a...
Let’s argue against the Shark Cull with science
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the...
over a year ago
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the Government put it, the “shark protection measures”) here in Western Australia. Just as I am not a climate scientist, I am not a shark biologist, and cannot claim to be a shark expert....
nanoscale views
Recent papers to distract....
Time for blogging has continued to be scarce, but here are a few papers to distract (and for readers...
a month ago
Time for blogging has continued to be scarce, but here are a few papers to distract (and for readers who are US citizens: vote if you have not already done so!).
Reaching back, this preprint by Aharonov, Collins, Popescu talks about a thought experiment in which angular...
Chris Grossack's...
Life in Johnstone's Topological Topos 1 -- Fundamentals
I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I
want to have more examples...
5 months ago
I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I
want to have more examples of topoi that I understand well enough to
externalize some statements. There’s more to life than just a localic
$\mathsf{Sh}(B)$, and since I’m starting to feel like I understand...
IEEE Spectrum
Franklin’s Franklins Were Freakishly Un-Fakeable
To make something hard to fake, you can use exotic materials or clever tricks. Benjamin Franklin, a...
a year ago
To make something hard to fake, you can use exotic materials or clever tricks. Benjamin Franklin, a printer by vocation, a scientist by avocation, leaned on cleverness, developing measures that are still in use.
Those black arts have now yielded to the latest analytical...
NeuroLogica Blog
Building A Robotic Hand
Roboticists are often engaged in a process of reinventing the wheel – duplicating the function of...
a year ago
Roboticists are often engaged in a process of reinventing the wheel – duplicating the function of biological bodies in rubber, metal, and plastic. This is a difficult task because biological organisms are often wondrous machines. The human hand, in particular, is a feat of...
The Works in...
Issue 17: No great stagnation in cruise ships
Plus: animals as chemical factories, how progress lost its glamour, and how Madrid built 120 miles...
2 weeks ago
Plus: animals as chemical factories, how progress lost its glamour, and how Madrid built 120 miles of metro in twelve years.
symmetry magazine
Will AI make MC the MVP of particle physics?
Particle physicists are building innovative machine-learning algorithms to enhance Monte Carlo...
a year ago
Particle physicists are building innovative machine-learning algorithms to enhance Monte Carlo simulations with the power of AI.
IEEE Spectrum
The First Virtual Meeting Was in 1916
At 8:30 p.m. on 16 May 1916, John J. Carty banged his gavel at the Engineering Societies Building in...
a month ago
At 8:30 p.m. on 16 May 1916, John J. Carty banged his gavel at the Engineering Societies Building in New York City to call to order a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. This was no ordinary gathering. The AIEE had decided to conduct a live national meeting...
Drew Ex Machina
NASA’s Explorer 18: The First Interplanetary Monitoring Platform
Among the greatest scientific achievements of the opening years of the Space Age was the...
a year ago
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 […]
brr
Pressure Altitude
Day-to-day variability at the South Pole.
a year ago
Day-to-day variability at the South Pole.
Asterisk
How Not To Predict The Future
Good forecasting thrives on a delicate balance of math, expertise, and…vibes.
9 months ago
Good forecasting thrives on a delicate balance of math, expertise, and…vibes.
nanoscale views
Noise in a strange metal - pushing techniques into new systems
Over the holiday weekend, we had a paper come out in which we report the results of measuring charge...
a year ago
Over the holiday weekend, we had a paper come out in which we report the results of measuring charge shot noise (see here also) in a strange metal. Other write-ups of the work (here and especially this nice article in Quanta here) do a good job of explaining what we saw, but I...
Quantum Frontiers
Mo’ heights mo’ challenges – Climbing mount grad school
My wife’s love of mountain hiking and my interest in quantum thermodynamics collided in Telluride,...
over a year ago
My wife’s love of mountain hiking and my interest in quantum thermodynamics collided in Telluride, Colorado. We spent ten days in Telluride, where I spoke at the Information Engines at the Frontiers of Nanoscale Thermodynamics workshop. Telluride is a gorgeous … Continue reading...
symmetry magazine
What is neutral naturalness?
Indirectly testing this theory, motivated by the mysterious mass of the Higgs boson, could be within...
a year ago
Indirectly testing this theory, motivated by the mysterious mass of the Higgs boson, could be within reach for experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.
Math Is Still...
Biophysicists Uncover Powerful Symmetries in Living Tissue
After identifying interlocking symmetries in mammalian cells, scientists can describe some tissues...
a year ago
After identifying interlocking symmetries in mammalian cells, scientists can describe some tissues as liquid crystals — an observation that lays the groundwork for a fluid-dynamic theory of how tissues move.
The post Biophysicists Uncover Powerful Symmetries in Living...
Casey Handmer's blog
Part 6 Guns Under The Table
Part of the Mars Trilogy Technical Commentary Series. Contains spoilers for this chapter and earlier...
a week ago
Part of the Mars Trilogy Technical Commentary Series. Contains spoilers for this chapter and earlier chapters. Google Mars .kml. Literary commentary podcast. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the last update of this – in that time I read my children all of Green Mars...
Probably...
Download the World in Data
Our World in Data recently announced that they are providing APIs to access their data....
3 weeks ago
Our World in Data recently announced that they are providing APIs to access their data. Coincidentally, I am using one of their datasets in my workshop on time series analysis at PyData Global 2024. So I took this opportunity to update my example using the new API – this notebook...
NeuroLogica Blog
Electronic Noses
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything...
2 months ago
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything that I think is currently flying under the radar of public awareness but has the potential to transform our world in some way. I think electronic nose technology fits into this...
NeuroLogica Blog
Using Cement for Energy Storage
Imagine if every house, every building, came with 1-2 days (or possibly more) of energy storage....
a year ago
Imagine if every house, every building, came with 1-2 days (or possibly more) of energy storage. What if every wind turbine could store a day’s worth of the energy it produces on average? How beneficial would it be if the most common building material the world could be used to...
Probably...
Ears Are Weird
In a previous article, I looked at 93 measurements from the ANSUR-II dataset and found that ear...
3 months ago
In a previous article, I looked at 93 measurements from the ANSUR-II dataset and found that ear protrusion is not correlated with any other measurement. In a followup article, I used principle component analysis to explore the correlation structure of the measurements, and found...
Uncharted...
The Earth Is Better with More People
A world with 2 billion people would be decaying, poor, brutal, violent, hopeless. With 100B, it...
3 weeks ago
A world with 2 billion people would be decaying, poor, brutal, violent, hopeless. With 100B, it would be rich, beautiful, vibrant, peaceful, hopeful.
Math Is Still...
Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’
More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been...
8 months ago
More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been pronounced “keystones” in their ecosystems. Has the powerful metaphor lost its mathematical meaning?
The post Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’ first...
Math Is Still...
Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion
Altering a protein in the neurons that coordinate a rattlesnake’s movement made a slow slither...
9 months ago
Altering a protein in the neurons that coordinate a rattlesnake’s movement made a slow slither neuron more like a speedy rattle neuron, showing one way evolution can generate new ways of moving.
The post Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion first appeared...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Citizen fraud detection, self-experimentation, and OOP Updates | Out-Of-Pocket
Some random musings and OOP announcements before the holiday
3 weeks ago
Some random musings and OOP announcements before the holiday
Cremieux Recueil
American Elections Are Unfair
Unfortunately, unfairness is baked in
a month ago
Unfortunately, unfairness is baked in
Blog - Practical...
How The Channel Tunnel Works
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
2024 marks thirty years since...
11 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
2024 marks thirty years since the opening of the channel tunnel, or chunnel, or as they say in Calais, Le tunnel sous la Manche. This underground/undersea railroad tunnel connects England with France, crossing...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: A tale of two particles
Not all radioactivity is risky or harmful
over a year ago
Not all radioactivity is risky or harmful
Probably...
What size is that correlation?
This article is related to Chapter 6 of Probably Overthinking It, which is available for preorder...
a year ago
This article is related to Chapter 6 of Probably Overthinking It, which is available for preorder now. It is also related to a new course at Brilliant.org, Explaining Variation. Suppose you find a correlation of 0.36. How would you characterize it? I posed this question to the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Washington Post on Past Lives
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of...
7 months ago
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of pseudoscience or the paranormal. The Washington Post’s recent article on children who apparently remember their past lives is no exception. Journalists generally don’t have the...
symmetry magazine
Collaboration builds fantastical stories from nuggets of truth
What happens when you pair CERN scientists with science fiction writers to create short stories...
a year ago
What happens when you pair CERN scientists with science fiction writers to create short stories inspired by particle physics?
The Roots of...
Cellular reprogramming, pneumatic launch systems, and terraforming Mars
In December, I went to the Foresight Institute’s Vision Weekend 2023 in San Francisco. I had a lot...
11 months ago
In December, I went to the Foresight Institute’s Vision Weekend 2023 in San Francisco. I had a lot of fun talking to a bunch of weird and ambitious geeks about the glorious abundant technological future. Here are few things I learned about (with the caveat that this is mostly...
Marine Madness
Book Club: ‘How To Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea’
In this absolute must-have for all walkers, sailors, swimmers, divers, photographers, and nature...
over a year ago
In this absolute must-have for all walkers, sailors, swimmers, divers, photographers, and nature lovers, Natural Navigator Tristan Gooley shares his knowledge and skills to help you navigate and interpret the water around you. Combining elements of natural navigation history,...
IEEE Spectrum
50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World
I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows...
a year ago
I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows on a high-resolution screen. I interact with the computer by pointing and clicking with a mouse and typing on a keyboard. I’m using a word processor with the core features and...
nanoscale views
Large magnetic fields as a scientific tool
When I was at Berkeley at the beginning of the week to give a seminar, I was fortunate enough to...
10 months ago
When I was at Berkeley at the beginning of the week to give a seminar, I was fortunate enough to overlap with their departmental physics colloquium by Greg Boebinger, an accomplished scientist who is also an extremely engaging and funny speaker. Since 2004 he has been the...
Math Is Still...
What Is the Nature of Consciousness?
Consciousness, our experience of being in the world, is one of the mind’s greatest mysteries, but as...
a year ago
Consciousness, our experience of being in the world, is one of the mind’s greatest mysteries, but as the neuroscientist Anil Seth explains to Steven Strogatz, research is making progress in understanding this elusive phenomenon.
The post What Is the Nature of...
NeuroLogica Blog
A Climate Rebuttal
The climate change discussion would benefit most from good-faith evidence and science-based...
a year ago
The climate change discussion would benefit most from good-faith evidence and science-based discussion. Unfortunately, humans tend to prefer emotion, ideology, motivated reasoning, and confirmation bias. As an example, I was sent an excerpt from a climate change podcast as a...
symmetry magazine
Vera C. Rubin Observatory brings the universe to everyone
The Rubin Observatory is making education and outreach a top priority.
a year ago
The Rubin Observatory is making education and outreach a top priority.
Many Worlds
Preparing For The Habitable Worlds Observatory, Our Best Shot at Finding ET Life
In a solar system far, far away, life of some sort is just waiting to be found. Or so the world of...
a year ago
In a solar system far, far away, life of some sort is just waiting to be found. Or so the world of astrobiology sure hopes it is. The new player in the astrobiology world, now called the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), is planned to launch in the 2040s if all goes well. ...
nanoscale views
Condensed matter’s rough start
I’m teaching undergrad solid-state for the first time, and it has served as a reminder of how...
a year ago
I’m teaching undergrad solid-state for the first time, and it has served as a reminder of how condensed matter physics got off the ground. I suspect that one reason CM historically had not received a lot of respect in the early years (e.g. Pauli declaring that solid-state...
Quantum Frontiers
Sculpting quantum steampunk
In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and...
a month ago
In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and got married outside the Harvard Faculty Club (because nobody was around to shoo us away). Equally unexpectedly, I received an invitation to collaborate … Continue reading →
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: In pursuit of decent coffee
No great stagnation in home espresso
a year ago
No great stagnation in home espresso
brr
South Pole Arrival
Flying to the bottom of the world!
over a year ago
Flying to the bottom of the world!
Asterisk
The Ruin of Mumbai
Mumbai’s land use regulations are designed to keep population density low. Instead, they force...
9 months ago
Mumbai’s land use regulations are designed to keep population density low. Instead, they force Mumbaikars into slums, while all of India pays the price.
wadertales
When mates behave differently
Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an...
over a year ago
Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an ideal system in which to study the costs and benefits of the two options, and to try to work out what influences whether an individual becomes a ‘resident’ or a ‘migrant’. I’ve...
Math Is Still...
The New Quest to Control Evolution
Modern scientists aren’t content with predicting how life evolves. They want to shape it. ...
a year ago
Modern scientists aren’t content with predicting how life evolves. They want to shape it.
The post The New Quest to Control Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Roots of...
Why no Roman Industrial Revolution?
Why didn’t the Roman Empire have an industrial revolution?
Bret Devereaux has an essay addressing...
a year ago
Why didn’t the Roman Empire have an industrial revolution?
Bret Devereaux has an essay addressing that question, which multiple people have pointed me to at various times. In brief, Devereaux says that Britain industrialized through a very specific path, involving coal mines,...
NeuroLogica Blog
Dog Soundboards
I am a lifelong dog owner, and like many dog owners am often impressed with how smart my dogs have...
3 months ago
I am a lifelong dog owner, and like many dog owners am often impressed with how smart my dogs have been. They pick up on subtle body language and non-verbal cues, they seem to understand specific words, and they are capable of successfully communicating their wants and desires....
NeuroLogica Blog
Concrete Battery
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about...
6 months ago
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about concrete, or potential version of concrete that is able to function as a battery. If we can get the technology to work this could an extremely useful item for a future of green...
nanoscale views
Neutrality and experimental detective work
One of the remarkable aspects of condensed matter physics is the idea of emergent quasiparticles,...
a year ago
One of the remarkable aspects of condensed matter physics is the idea of emergent quasiparticles, where through the interactions of many underlying degrees of freedom, new excitations emerge that are long-lived and often can propagate around in ways very different than their...
Math Is Still...
New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text
Far from being “stochastic parrots,” the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills...
11 months ago
Far from being “stochastic parrots,” the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills to understand the words they’re processing.
The post New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Roots of...
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...
a year ago
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...
Beautiful Public...
The United States Frequency Allocation Chart
This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s...
a year ago
This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.
Wanderingspace
Hope for Mars
Nothing really. Just a gorgeous image of Mars from the UAE Hope mission.
over a year ago
Nothing really. Just a gorgeous image of Mars from the UAE Hope mission.
The Works in...
Communities of Practice: The Soul of Maintaining a New Machine
The first section of Ch. 3 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
4 months ago
The first section of Ch. 3 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
brr
The Beer Can
Connecting old and new.
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Retail and community pharmacies are changing | Out-Of-Pocket
COVID tailwinds are changing the role of the pharmacy and pharmacist
a year ago
COVID tailwinds are changing the role of the pharmacy and pharmacist
NeuroLogica Blog
ChatGPT Performs At University Level
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence...
a year ago
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the poster-child of which is ChatGPT. This is a so-called large language model application using a “generative pre-trained transformer”. Essentially these types of...
Sean Carroll
Proposed Closure of the Dianoia Institute at Australian Catholic University
Just a few years ago, Australian Catholic University (ACU) established a new Dianoia Institute of...
a year ago
Just a few years ago, Australian Catholic University (ACU) established a new Dianoia Institute of Philosophy. They recruited a number of researchers and made something of a splash, leading to a noticeable leap in ACU’s rankings in philosophy — all the way to second among Catholic...
The Works in...
Upzoning New Zealand
How a small country started building a lot of homes
10 months ago
How a small country started building a lot of homes
The Roots of...
Do we get better or worse at adapting to change?
Verner Vinge, in a classic 1993 essay, described “the Singularity” as an era where progress becomes...
a year ago
Verner Vinge, in a classic 1993 essay, described “the Singularity” as an era where progress becomes “an exponential runaway beyond any hope of control.”
The idea that technological change might accelerate to a pace faster than we can keep up with is a common concern. Almost three...
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