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Brewster Kahle: Universal Access to All Knowledge ### All knowledge, to all people, for all time, for free Universal access to all knowledge, Kahle...
1st Dec 2011
1

Brewster Kahle: Universal Access to All Knowledge

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

1st Dec 2011
### All knowledge, to all people, for all time, for free Universal access to all knowledge, Kahle declared, will be one of humanity's greatest achievements. We are already well on the way. "We're building the Library of Alexandria, version 2. We can one-up the Greeks!" Start...
Nearly Half of Wolves in Italy Are Now Part Dog Italy has seen a growing number of wolf-dog hybrids, raising concerns about the future of its...
1st May 2026
1

Nearly Half of Wolves in Italy Are Now Part Dog

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

1st May 2026
Italy has seen a growing number of wolf-dog hybrids, raising concerns about the future of its wolves. Read more on E360 →
Mixed model equivalence test using R and PANGEA How to calculate an equivalence test, and power for an equivalence test, for a fixed effect in a...
25th Nov 2019
1

Mixed model equivalence test using R and PANGEA

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

25th Nov 2019
How to calculate an equivalence test, and power for an equivalence test, for a fixed effect in a mixed effects model using R and PANGEA.
When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field The study of natural language processing, or NLP, dates back to the 1940s. It gave Stephen Hawking a...
29th Jul 2025
1

When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field

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

29th Jul 2025
The study of natural language processing, or NLP, dates back to the 1940s. It gave Stephen Hawking a voice, Siri a brain and social media companies another way to target us with ads. In less than five years, large language models broke NLP and made it anew. The Quanta Podcast,...
Nestedly Recursive Functions Yet Another Ruliological Surprise Integers. Addition. Subtraction. Maybe multiplication. Surely...
27th Sep 2024
121

Nestedly Recursive Functions

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

27th Sep 2024
Yet Another Ruliological Surprise Integers. Addition. Subtraction. Maybe multiplication. Surely that’s not enough to be able to generate any serious complexity. In the early 1980s I had made the very surprising discovery that very simple programs based on cellular automata could...
Can Biology Be Reduced To Physics? "Physics is the most fundamental and all-inclusive of the sciences." Or is it?
11th Nov 2022
41

Can Biology Be Reduced To Physics?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Nov 2022
"Physics is the most fundamental and all-inclusive of the sciences." Or is it?
Clickbait and Misinformation Which is worse – clickbaity headlines for news articles that are factually correct, but may be...
3rd Jun 2024
96

Clickbait and Misinformation

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

3rd Jun 2024
Which is worse – clickbaity headlines for news articles that are factually correct, but may be playing up a sensational angle, or straight-up misinformation? It depends on what you mean by “worse”. A new study tries to address this information, with some interesting findings....
Louis Hyman: The New Deal You Don't Know Historian Louis Hyman's work focuses on the history of American capitalism. In his book _[Borrow:...
2nd Jan 2018
1

Louis Hyman: The New Deal You Don't Know

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

2nd Jan 2018
Historian Louis Hyman's work focuses on the history of American capitalism. In his book _[Borrow: The American Way of Debt](https://www.amazon.com/Borrow-American-Debt-Vintage-Original/dp/0307741680/)_ , he examines in detail how the evolution of personal debt has not only...
Every grain of rice As climate change threatens crop yields, we need a second Green Revolution – one that, this time, is...
22nd May 2023
1

Every grain of rice

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

22nd May 2023
As climate change threatens crop yields, we need a second Green Revolution – one that, this time, is driven by genetic engineering.
Frans Lanting: Life's Journey Through Time ### The deep past in the remote present It began on a New Jersey beach. Frans Lanting was...
28th Apr 2007
1

Frans Lanting: Life's Journey Through Time

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

28th Apr 2007
### The deep past in the remote present It began on a New Jersey beach. Frans Lanting was photographing horseshoe crabs for a story about how they are being ground up for eel bait and at the same time their blood is used for drug testing--a $100 million industry. The crabs have...
What If We Had Bigger Brains? Imagining Minds beyond Ours Cats Don’t Talk We humans have perhaps 100 billion neurons in our brains. But what if we had many...
21st May 2025
1

What If We Had Bigger Brains? Imagining Minds beyond Ours

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

21st May 2025
Cats Don’t Talk We humans have perhaps 100 billion neurons in our brains. But what if we had many more? Or what if the AIs we built effectively had many more? What kinds of things might then become possible? At 100 billion neurons, we know, for example, that compositional...
Who regulates the regulators? IRBs Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review...
4th May 2023
97

Who regulates the regulators?

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

4th May 2023
IRBs Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review the ethics of medical trials: From Oversight to Overkill, by Dr. Simon Whitney. From the title alone, you can see where this is going. IRBs are supposed to (among other things)...
Taking stock: some federal science news Some general science news:  The New York Times ran an interactive article this week that shows what...
6th Dec 2025
2

Taking stock: some federal science news

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

6th Dec 2025
Some general science news:  The New York Times ran an interactive article this week that shows what we all know.  This past year was a very bizarre funding environment.  The article focuses on NIH and NSF, but the major points are generalizable.  The combination of circumstances...
Solar Is Booming Solar power as a source of electricity has been on a meteoric rise, and has crossed some encouraging...
1st Sep 2026
1

Solar Is Booming

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

1st Sep 2026
Solar power as a source of electricity has been on a meteoric rise, and has crossed some encouraging milestone recently. Every way you look at it, solar is booming. This is driven primarily by the decrease in the cost of adding solar power, so let’s start there. The Berkley Lab...
[2025 review] Life is a holiday! Ok, this was a phenomenal year for me. The vibe of the year is cleanly captured by what I had...
31st Dec 2025
1

[2025 review] Life is a holiday!

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

31st Dec 2025
Ok, this was a phenomenal year for me. The vibe of the year is cleanly captured by what I had scribbled on a whiteboard on Jan 3rd, 2025. To my amazement and giddiness, the feeling still holds up as the year wraps up. Let’s see what all kept this spirit alive. Brief interlude:...
Saturn Vortex “This is a view of a ~2,000-km-wide vortex of swirling clouds above Saturn's north pole, imaged in...
1st Dec 2024
88

Saturn Vortex

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Dec 2024
“This is a view of a ~2,000-km-wide vortex of swirling clouds above Saturn's north pole, imaged in polarized light with Cassini's narrow-angle camera on November 27, 2012. I've processed the original monochrome image to approximate the color of the area at the time.” — Jason...
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...
2nd May 2023
109

Here’s All the Rocks We Hauled Back From the Moon

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

2nd May 2023
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.
NAS "State of Science" 2026 address I watched the webcast of the NAS State of Science address by outgoing NAS president Dr. Marcia...
2nd Jun 2026
1

NAS "State of Science" 2026 address

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

2nd Jun 2026
I watched the webcast of the NAS State of Science address by outgoing NAS president Dr. Marcia McNutt.  (I did not watch the panel discussion afterward, so sorry if I missed critical pieces.)  A few thoughts on this: The intro music was a very classy baroque string quartet. ...
Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that...
2nd Feb 2017
1

Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay

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

2nd Feb 2017
Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that the forces of nature were unified at the beginning of time. The post Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Modelling my brain A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of...
29th Mar 2021
31

Modelling my brain

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

29th Mar 2021
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of it.
Lessons in frustration Assa Auerbach’s course was the most maddening course I’ve ever taken.  I was a master’s student in...
17th Feb 2025
64

Lessons in frustration

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

17th Feb 2025
Assa Auerbach’s course was the most maddening course I’ve ever taken.  I was a master’s student in the Perimeter Scholars International program at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Perimeter trotted in world experts to lecture about modern physics. Many … Continue...
Kevin Kelly: The Next 100 Years of Science: Long-term Trends in the Scientific Method. ### Recursion drives science The co-founding editor of “Wired” magazine and author of _Out of...
11th Mar 2006
1
11th Mar 2006
### Recursion drives science The co-founding editor of “Wired” magazine and author of _Out of Control_ is working on a new book on “what technology wants.” His research led to the first-ever history of scientific methodology. Starting from this long-term view of science’s past...
Weekend trivia: your process' memory is a file The underappreciated gem of /proc/ /mem
1st Jun 2026
1

Weekend trivia: your process' memory is a file

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

1st Jun 2026
The underappreciated gem of /proc/ /mem
What I’ve been reading, September 2023 A quasi-monthly feature. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them...
6th Sep 2023
313

What I’ve been reading, September 2023

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

6th Sep 2023
A quasi-monthly feature. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them in my links digests. I’ve been busy helping to choose the first cohort of our blogging fellowship, so my reading has been relatively light. All emphasis in bold in the quotes...
The road from serfdom Unwinding Russian serfdom took half a century. To eventually do it in the face of powerful...
16th Feb 2024
1

The road from serfdom

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

16th Feb 2024
Unwinding Russian serfdom took half a century. To eventually do it in the face of powerful opposition took a remarkable approach that let peasants vote themselves into freedom.
Will Making Your Kids Tall Shorten Their Lives? Bonus: How to get human growth hormone (HGH) for cheap
1st Jul 2026
1

Will Making Your Kids Tall Shorten Their Lives?

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

1st Jul 2026
Bonus: How to get human growth hormone (HGH) for cheap
1
14th Mar 2017
## Doing Good Better [![](https://media.longnow.org/files/2/lomborghaiti520w.jpg)](https://media.longnow.org/files/2/lomborghaiti.jpg) **Lomborg opened with a photo from Haiti** , showing a young girl dressed for school wading through the muck and garbage of a slum, with pigs...
A.I., Wine, and Beer There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in...
10th Jun 2024
26

A.I., Wine, and Beer

from Tikalon Blog by Dev Gualtieri [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Jun 2024
There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in attempts to find what distinguishes a superb wine from an inexpensive house wine. A typical wine can contain more than 800 different aroma compounds. One study examined two Australian...
Cryptography That Is Provably Secure Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of...
6th Feb 2020
1

Cryptography That Is Provably Secure

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

6th Feb 2020
Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of invincibility as a mathematical proof. The post Cryptography That Is Provably Secure first appeared on Quanta Magazine
getting started with bayesian inference In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the...
27th Jun 2020
23

getting started with bayesian inference

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

27th Jun 2020
In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the method that is commonly taught in STAT101 classes. But for many decades, some statisticians have argued for another approach to conduct statistical analysis based on bayes...
This is Dang Interesting Happy New Year! This has nothing to do with the new year. We at this website know, reluctantly, that...
2nd Jan 2023
42

This is Dang Interesting

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

2nd Jan 2023
Happy New Year! This has nothing to do with the new year. We at this website know, reluctantly, that “d*mn” is not always a welcome word. Additionally, we are aware that we have a few articles sporting even saltier vocabularies (settle down, Colonel Sanders!). Countless school...
David Rooney: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks As with all Long Now Talks, David Rooney’s talk on Thursday, September 9, 02021 began with a few...
23rd Dec 2021
1

David Rooney: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks

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

23rd Dec 2021
As with all Long Now Talks, David Rooney’s talk on Thursday, September 9, 02021 began with a few tones from Brian Eno’s January 07003: Bell Studies for The Clock of the Long Now, based on the original algorithm for the Clock’s ever-changing chimes designed by Danny Hillis. These...
Heads Up: Total Eclipse of the Moon Coming March 3 Information on the total eclipse of the Moon coming the morning of March 3 The post Heads Up: Total...
25th Feb 2026
1

Heads Up: Total Eclipse of the Moon Coming March 3

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

25th Feb 2026
Information on the total eclipse of the Moon coming the morning of March 3 The post Heads Up: Total Eclipse of the Moon Coming March 3 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21 Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. We explain what this means and how the seasons come about. The post...
19th Dec 2025
1

Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21

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

19th Dec 2025
Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. We explain what this means and how the seasons come about. The post Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Mike Kuniavsky: Our Future in Algorithm Farming Everything will be connected to the network, even things that shouldn’t be. From automobiles to egg...
1st Mar 2018
1

Mike Kuniavsky: Our Future in Algorithm Farming

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

1st Mar 2018
Everything will be connected to the network, even things that shouldn’t be. From automobiles to egg timers, Kuniavsky explains all these devices will try to get our attention and prove their value. They’ll also attempt to predict the future—at least the immediate future of our...
John Rendon: Long-term Policy to Make the War on Terror Short ### Only connect John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, is a senior communications consultant to...
15th Jul 2006
1

John Rendon: Long-term Policy to Make the War on Terror Short

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

15th Jul 2006
### Only connect John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, is a senior communications consultant to the White Houses and Departments of Defense. His subject in this talk is how to replace tactical, reactive response to terror with long-term strategic initative. I think that people...
Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, 5 ### Lives of San Francisco "You are the soundtrack," Prelinger told the capacity audience at the...
17th Dec 2010
1

Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, 5

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

17th Dec 2010
### Lives of San Francisco "You are the soundtrack," Prelinger told the capacity audience at the Herbst Theater, and they responded to his mostly silent archival films by calling out locations, questions, comments, and jokes. They saw footage of a 1941 Market Street parade of...
SLS is still a national disgrace Four years ago, unable to find a comprehensive summary of the ongoing abject failure known as the...
2nd Oct 2024
51

SLS is still a national disgrace

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

2nd Oct 2024
Four years ago, unable to find a comprehensive summary of the ongoing abject failure known as the NASA SLS (Space Launch System), I wrote one. If you’re unfamiliar with the topic, you should read it first.  It is hard to …
Government Comic Books Government comics have taught Americans how to prevent forest fires, survive a nuclear blast, and...
27th Nov 2023
66

Government Comic Books

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

27th Nov 2023
Government comics have taught Americans how to prevent forest fires, survive a nuclear blast, and how soldiers should handle homosexuality in the military.
Octopus, solar & e-paper energy dashboards I built a custom energy dashboard for my house using this beautiful, 2-bit colour, e-paper display....
19th May 2025
1

Octopus, solar & e-paper energy dashboards

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

19th May 2025
I built a custom energy dashboard for my house using this beautiful, 2-bit colour, e-paper display. Hardware, software, data and design.
What Is Orbitronics You have definitely heard of electronics. You may (if you are a tech nerd like me) have heard of...
1st Oct 2024
81

What Is Orbitronics

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

1st Oct 2024
You have definitely heard of electronics. You may (if you are a tech nerd like me) have heard of spintronics and photonics. Now there is also the possibility of orbitronics. What do these cool-sounding words mean? Electronic technology is one of those core technologies that has...
Geoffrey B West: The Universal Laws of Growth and Pace ## Why cities live forever **West focussed on cities** in his discussion of the newly discovered...
24th May 2017
1

Geoffrey B West: The Universal Laws of Growth and Pace

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

24th May 2017
## Why cities live forever **West focussed on cities** in his discussion of the newly discovered exponential scaling laws that govern everything alive. “We live,” he said, “in an exponentially expanding socio-economic universe.” Global urbanization has reached the point that...
If you wish to make an apple pie, you must first become dictator of the universe The word “robot” is derived from the Czech robota, which means “serfdom.” It was introduced over a...
5th Jul 2023
53

If you wish to make an apple pie, you must first become dictator of the universe

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

5th Jul 2023
The word “robot” is derived from the Czech robota, which means “serfdom.” It was introduced over a century ago by the Czech play R.U.R., for “Rossum’s Universal Robots.” In the play, the smartest and best-educated of the robots leads a slave revolt that wipes out most of...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 10: The Owlet Lodge (February 11 and 12, 2024) February 11, 2024 Laura and I were looking forward to our one-night visit to the Owlet Lodge. Up to...
20th Jul 2024
27

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

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

20th Jul 2024
February 11, 2024 Laura and I were looking forward to our one-night visit to the Owlet Lodge. Up to this point we had only stayed at cheap hotels, while we had also eaten simply, with at least two meals each day consisting of sandwiches/snacks that we prepared. For once, someone...
Yet More New Ideas and New Functions: Launching Version 14.1 of Wolfram Language & Mathematica For the 36th Time… the Latest from Our R&D Pipeline There’s Now a Unified Wolfram App Vector...
31st Jul 2024
99
31st Jul 2024
For the 36th Time… the Latest from Our R&D Pipeline There’s Now a Unified Wolfram App Vector Databases and Semantic Search RAGs and Dynamic Prompting for LLMs Connect to Your Favorite LLM Symbolic Arrays and Their Calculus Binomials and Pitchforks: Navigating Mathematical...
NSF, spending, and the end of the fiscal year We are less than one month away from the end of the federal fiscal year, and traditionally there are...
5th Sep 2026
0

NSF, spending, and the end of the fiscal year

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

5th Sep 2026
We are less than one month away from the end of the federal fiscal year, and traditionally there are internal deadlines for agencies to allocate their final spending by around September 9. Right now, the NSF is on track to issue about 4000 fewer (!!) awards in FY26 than it did...
The Elephant in the Brain It's finally here! The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life — my first book,...
3rd Jan 2018
47

The Elephant in the Brain

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

3rd Jan 2018
It's finally here! The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life — my first book, coauthored with Robin Hanson — is now widely available. You can find the ebook version on Kindle, Google Play, and iBooks. It's also… Read more ›
Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and...
7th Nov 2022
60

Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data

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

7th Nov 2022
Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and floodplains.
In Mexico’s ‘Avocado Belt,’ Villagers Stand Up to Protect Their Lands A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug...
2nd May 2025
4
2nd May 2025
A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug cartels dominating the lucrative trade. But Indigenous communities have fought back against the gangs and turned to traditional practices to grow avocados and save their forests.  Read...
The prehistoric psychopath Life in the state of nature was less violent than you might think. But this made them vulnerable to...
1st Apr 2025
44

The prehistoric psychopath

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

1st Apr 2025
Life in the state of nature was less violent than you might think. But this made them vulnerable to a few psychopaths.
DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go...
5th Aug 2021
1

DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists

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

5th Aug 2021
The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA. The post DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Webb’s Jupiter So this is “false color” becuase it is infrared (like all Webb images) and made from only two...
23rd Aug 2022
45

Webb’s Jupiter

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

23rd Aug 2022
So this is “false color” becuase it is infrared (like all Webb images) and made from only two filters orange and cyan. However, the detail is incredible. That dot is tiny Amalthea at the left and— yes… that is Jupiter’s elusive ring. According to researcher Thierry Fouchet, “This...
Announcing…DATA CAMP 2026!!! | Out-Of-Pocket It’s back…with a vengeance. Or just back normally.
3rd Apr 2026
1

Announcing…DATA CAMP 2026!!! | Out-Of-Pocket

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

3rd Apr 2026
It’s back…with a vengeance. Or just back normally.
Challenging the Acceleration of the Universe South Korean astronomers are challenging the notion that the universe’s expansion is accelerating,...
5th Jan 2026
1

Challenging the Acceleration of the Universe

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

5th Jan 2026
South Korean astronomers are challenging the notion that the universe’s expansion is accelerating, an observation in the 1990s that lead to the theory of dark energy. This is currently very controversial, and may simply fizzle away or change our understanding of the fate of the...
Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush Roots Silicon Valley, purveyor of disruptive technologies, likes to think of itself as sui generis. But...
1st Apr 2024
25

Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush Roots

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Apr 2024
Silicon Valley, purveyor of disruptive technologies, likes to think of itself as sui generis. But there’s a clear line from tech’s knowledge economy to the Bay Area’s first economy: gold mining.
The ultra-selfish gene We now have the power to genetically modify entire species by inserting certain genes into them with...
3rd Sep 2024
1

The ultra-selfish gene

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

3rd Sep 2024
We now have the power to genetically modify entire species by inserting certain genes into them with brute force. Doing this to malaria-carrying mosquitoes could allow us to wipe out humanity’s most deadly killer.
In Decade Since Paris Agreement, Climate Outlook Has Improved Dramatically A new report finds that the world is headed for around 2.8 degrees C of warming by the end of this...
3rd Nov 2025
13
3rd Nov 2025
A new report finds that the world is headed for around 2.8 degrees C of warming by the end of this century, far less than was forecast before the Paris Climate Agreement. Still, countries remain far off track from the international target of 2 degrees C. Read more on E360 →
What Do Hospitals Care About? | Out-Of-Pocket Let’s look at three big priorities and a real hospital
11th Feb 2025
58

What Do Hospitals Care About? | Out-Of-Pocket

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

11th Feb 2025
Let’s look at three big priorities and a real hospital
The Highway to NIMBYism San Francisco’s history of collective decision-making helped prevent the city from being carved up...
1st May 2024
28

The Highway to NIMBYism

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st May 2024
San Francisco’s history of collective decision-making helped prevent the city from being carved up by highways. Today, that same legacy prevents the city from building what it desperately needs: more housing.
Neal Stephenson: ANATHEM Book Launch Event ### _Anathem_ book launch Neal Stephenson's nearly thousand page tome...
9th Sep 2008
1

Neal Stephenson: ANATHEM Book Launch Event

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

9th Sep 2008
### _Anathem_ book launch Neal Stephenson's nearly thousand page tome [_Anathem_](https://longnow.org/anathem/) was inspired in part by Long Now's [10,000 Year Clock](https://longnow.org/projects/clock/) project, and so a collaboration on the launch event was a natural fit. With...
AC vs DC and other Power Questions I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9...
4th Nov 2024
75

AC vs DC and other Power Questions

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

4th Nov 2024
I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9 hour seminar on scientific skepticism for the Dubai Future Foundation. That sounds like a lot of time, but it isn’t. It was a good reminder of the vast body of knowledge that is...
Geoffrey B West: Why Cities Keep on Growing, Corporations Always Die, and Life Gets Faster ### Superlinear Cities "It's hard to kill a city," West began, "but easy to kill a company." The...
26th Jul 2011
1
26th Jul 2011
### Superlinear Cities "It's hard to kill a city," West began, "but easy to kill a company." The mean life of companies is 10 years. Cities routinely survive even nuclear bombs. And "cities are the crucible of civilization." They are the major source of innovation and wealth...
How to write for Works in Progress We’re looking for new authors and article pitches.
4th Apr 2025
1

How to write for Works in Progress

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

4th Apr 2025
We’re looking for new authors and article pitches.
New Map of Meaning in the Brain Changes Ideas About Memory Researchers have mapped hundreds of semantic categories to the tiny bits of the cortex that...
11th May 2022
1

New Map of Meaning in the Brain Changes Ideas About Memory

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

11th May 2022
Researchers have mapped hundreds of semantic categories to the tiny bits of the cortex that represent them in our thoughts and perceptions. What they discovered might change our view of memory. The post New Map of Meaning in the Brain Changes Ideas About Memory first...
Daniel Janzen: Third World Conservation: It's ALL Gardening ### Mega gardening Big as life and twice as opinionated, the renowned preservation biologist Daniel...
10th Apr 2004
1

Daniel Janzen: Third World Conservation: It's ALL Gardening

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

10th Apr 2004
### Mega gardening Big as life and twice as opinionated, the renowned preservation biologist Daniel Janzen spoke for The Long Now on Friday, April 9, 2005. His perspective on preservation may be jarring to some: "It's ALL Gardening". Dan Janzen is most widely known for his...
Paul Ehrlich: The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment ### Becoming a Benign Dominant To track how humans became Earth's dominant animal, Ehrlich began...
28th Jun 2008
1
28th Jun 2008
### Becoming a Benign Dominant To track how humans became Earth's dominant animal, Ehrlich began with a photo of a tarsier in a tree. The little primate had a predator's binocular vision and an insect-grabber's fingers. When (possibly) climate change drove some primates out of...
Eclipse of the Sun Coming in One Week Saturday Oct. 14 North America will be treated to an eclipse of the Sun. The post Eclipse of the Sun...
8th Oct 2023
35

Eclipse of the Sun Coming in One Week

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

8th Oct 2023
Saturday Oct. 14 North America will be treated to an eclipse of the Sun. The post Eclipse of the Sun Coming in One Week appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
How TV learned to sell itself Sports solved a problem that nearly killed television.
11th Mar 2026
1

How TV learned to sell itself

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

11th Mar 2026
Sports solved a problem that nearly killed television.
Critical Forecasts from Space: “Tech & Space Leaders Show” with Lisa Dreher While my Gentle Readers are well aware of my decades of writing on space-related topics, I also have...
8th Aug 2026
1
8th Aug 2026
While my Gentle Readers are well aware of my decades of writing on space-related topics, I also have a day job as the Chief Scientist of […]
A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface Deep in the mantle, a branching plume of intensely hot material appears to be the engine powering...
9th Dec 2021
1

A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface

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

9th Dec 2021
Deep in the mantle, a branching plume of intensely hot material appears to be the engine powering vast volcanic activity. The post A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the...
2nd Apr 2025
56

Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex

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

2nd Apr 2025
A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution. The post Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex first appeared on Quanta Magazine
What I’ve been reading, March 2023 A new monthly feature, let me know what you think. Books Matt Ridley, How Innovation Works (2020)....
9th Mar 2023
61

What I’ve been reading, March 2023

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

9th Mar 2023
A new monthly feature, let me know what you think. Books Matt Ridley, How Innovation Works (2020). About halfway through, lots of interesting case studies, very readable. Vaclav Smil, Creating the Twentieth Century (2005). I read the first chapter; saving the rest of it for when...
Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What is Intelligence? Blaise Agüera y Arcas’s talk took us on a journey through What is Intelligence?, his groundbreaking...
9th Oct 2025
1

Blaise Agüera y Arcas: What is Intelligence?

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

9th Oct 2025
Blaise Agüera y Arcas’s talk took us on a journey through What is Intelligence?, his groundbreaking new work connecting the evolutionary dots between life, computation, and symbiogenesis. He explores how, in our symbiotic world, things combine to make larger things all the...
Risk-Adjusted Return What are we afraid of?
15th Apr 2026
1

Risk-Adjusted Return

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Apr 2026
What are we afraid of?
Can we “cure” cancer? In an excellent recent essay on “big visions for biology,” Sam Rodriques writes: Ask most biologists...
1st Feb 2023
61

Can we “cure” cancer?

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

1st Feb 2023
In an excellent recent essay on “big visions for biology,” Sam Rodriques writes: Ask most biologists about the cure for cancer, and they will tell you it doesn’t exist: cancer is many diseases that are mostly unrelated to each other, and that all have to be cured one at a...
Reflections of a postgrad lecturer-in-training: Part 1 In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA,...
9th Mar 2013
55

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

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

9th Mar 2013
In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA, and that part of the internship involved keeping a reflective journal.  So I’ve decided that instead of merely writing down my thoughts (and possibly becoming lazy about it as the...
Libraries of matter Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene...
29th Aug 2024
1

Libraries of matter

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

29th Aug 2024
Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene aerogel. And in some materials libraries you can cut, cast, drill, sand, scrape, and sculpt too.
Space Tethers: Stringing up the Solar System All the methods we have used to reach space so far have been subject to the Tsiolkovsky rocket...
15th Sep 2020
1

Space Tethers: Stringing up the Solar System

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Sep 2020
All the methods we have used to reach space so far have been subject to the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation - propellant must be ejected and more and more of it is needed to go further. What if we could break that equation with rotating orbital tethers? The tether I have worked...
Monoidal Monoidoidoids So I was on the nlab the other day, and I saw a fantastic joke: A 2-category is “just” a monoidal...
21st Aug 2022
33

Monoidal Monoidoidoids

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

21st Aug 2022
So I was on the nlab the other day, and I saw a fantastic joke: A 2-category is “just” a monoidal monoidoidoid! Here’s a screenshot in case the nlab page for 2-categories changes someday: There’s a thing called the Category Theorist’s “Just”, which describes the joy that many...
Accelerating science through evolvable institutions This is the written version of a talk presented to the Santa Fe Institute at a working group on...
4th Dec 2023
54

Accelerating science through evolvable institutions

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

4th Dec 2023
This is the written version of a talk presented to the Santa Fe Institute at a working group on “Accelerating Science.” We’re here to discuss “accelerating science.” I like to start on topics like this by taking the historical view: When (if ever) has science accelerated in the...
Brief items - Static electricity, quantum geometry, Hubbard model, + news It's been a busy time that has cut into my blogging, but I wanted to point out some links from the...
8th Aug 2025
1

Brief items - Static electricity, quantum geometry, Hubbard model, + news

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

8th Aug 2025
It's been a busy time that has cut into my blogging, but I wanted to point out some links from the past couple of weeks. Physics Today has a cover article this past issue about what is colloquially known as static electricity, but what is more technically described as...
Mars Express is Still Making Great Images 20 Years Later Mars Express was launched by the European Space Agency in 2003, and is ESA’s first Mars mission. In...
4th Sep 2024
96

Mars Express is Still Making Great Images 20 Years Later

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Sep 2024
Mars Express was launched by the European Space Agency in 2003, and is ESA’s first Mars mission. In one shot, you can see Mars as a half-lit disk, with Phobos, its tiny moon, hovering above. Right below Phobos is Olympus Mons, the solar system's largest volcano, towering 22 km...
2024 (Part 2 of 2) June and July I always sound like a broken record each year when discussing June and July. I was...
1st Jan 2025
37

2024 (Part 2 of 2)

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

1st Jan 2025
June and July I always sound like a broken record each year when discussing June and July. I was fortunate to have a lot of field work in 2024 which kept me occupied for most of these two months. But it's one of the best jobs in the world as I spend each and every day outside,...
Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong. The post Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’...
1st Nov 2024
124

Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked

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

1st Nov 2024
It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong. The post Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Interaction20 Round-up Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20...
13th Feb 2020
22

Interaction20 Round-up

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

13th Feb 2020
Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20 conference.
Things I Learned at the 2025 Progress Conference Neural Implants with Actual Neurons, Drone Delivery, Freedom of Speech and AI, Fact-Checking...
3rd Dec 2025
1

Things I Learned at the 2025 Progress Conference

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

3rd Dec 2025
Neural Implants with Actual Neurons, Drone Delivery, Freedom of Speech and AI, Fact-Checking Tech, When AI Will Manage Entire Companies, Ecoterrorists Could Stop Global Warming, and more
Brittany Cox: Horological Heritage: Generating bird song, magic, and music through mechanism From kings and philosophers to craftsmen and inventors, horology has been prized as an extraordinary...
6th Nov 2019
1
6th Nov 2019
From kings and philosophers to craftsmen and inventors, horology has been prized as an extraordinary marriage between art and science. Antiquarian Horologist Brittany Nicole Cox shared her unique experience with objects born from this lineage. We traced their origins to discover...
Stephen Pyne: Fire Slow, Fire Fast, Fire Deep ### Ecological wildfire “We are uniquely fire creatures,” Pyne began, “on a uniquely fire planet.”...
10th Feb 2016
1

Stephen Pyne: Fire Slow, Fire Fast, Fire Deep

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

10th Feb 2016
### Ecological wildfire “We are uniquely fire creatures,” Pyne began, “on a uniquely fire planet.” Life itself is a form of slow metabolic combustion—which eventually created oxygen and burnable vegetation that allowed fast combustion, ignited by lightning. Humans came along and...
The forgotten formula for lovable cities Camillo Sitte’s blueprint for making beautiful cities seized the imagination of the world before...
a week ago
1

The forgotten formula for lovable cities

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

a week ago
Camillo Sitte’s blueprint for making beautiful cities seized the imagination of the world before falling into obscurity in the twentieth century. Here is his forgotten formula.
Make your PR process resilient to AI slop One concern I have heard from AI naysayers is that AI slop will make code reviews nearly impossible....
24th Dec 2025
1

Make your PR process resilient to AI slop

from pcloadletter [alt+shift+b] in science

24th Dec 2025
One concern I have heard from AI naysayers is that AI slop will make code reviews nearly impossible. AI churns out so much code, documentation, etc. that it's just impossible for any reviewer to keep up with it... right? Wrong! If you have good PR review processes, then reviewing...
Deep Learning Poised to 'Blow Up' Famed Fluid Equations For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce...
3rd Aug 2022
1

Deep Learning Poised to 'Blow Up' Famed Fluid Equations

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

3rd Aug 2022
For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is near. Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Pulse” by Geographer.
AI hype is excessive, but its productivity gains are real I'm kind of writing this to "past" me, who I assume is "current" you for a number of folks out...
19th Oct 2025
31

AI hype is excessive, but its productivity gains are real

from pcloadletter [alt+shift+b] in science

19th Oct 2025
I'm kind of writing this to "past" me, who I assume is "current" you for a number of folks out there. For the rest of you, this might just sound like ramblings of an old fogey super late to the party. Yes, AI is over-hyped. LLMs will not solve every problem under the sun but,...
Multiple Regression with StatsModels This is the third is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from...
4th Dec 2024
24

Multiple Regression with StatsModels

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

4th Dec 2024
This is the third is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. It’s from Chapter 10, which is about multiple regression. You can read the complete chapter here, or run the Jupyter notebook on Colab. In the previous...
Windows Are Absurd [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Have you ever thought about...
a week ago
1

Windows Are Absurd

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

a week ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Have you ever thought about windows? Like really considered the idea? If we hadn’t been exposed to them our entire lives, it might seem like kind of a bizarre concept. On the face of it, windows are about...
How mind bootstraps itself Daniel Dennett, who recently passed away, is an inspiration for people like me who love grand ideas...
1st Jun 2026
1

How mind bootstraps itself

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

1st Jun 2026
Daniel Dennett, who recently passed away, is an inspiration for people like me who love grand ideas that connect many different fields at a deep level (and be rigorous about that; well as rigorous as grand theories can be). His thinking is difficult to categorize: part...
There’s no such thing as a tree (phylogenetically) Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From...
3rd May 2021
64

There’s no such thing as a tree (phylogenetically)

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

3rd May 2021
Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From 'dendro', the ancient Greek root for tree.
Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were...
5th Jul 2023
1

Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics

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

5th Jul 2023
A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were human. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod.
John Preskill receives 2025 Quantum Leadership Award The 2025 Quantum Leadership Awards were announced at the Quantum World Congress on 18 September...
18th Sep 2025
33

John Preskill receives 2025 Quantum Leadership Award

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

18th Sep 2025
The 2025 Quantum Leadership Awards were announced at the Quantum World Congress on 18 September 2025. Upon receiving the Academic Pioneer of the Year Award, John Preskill made these remarks. I’m enormously excited and honored to receive this Quantum Leadership … Continue reading...
Life beyond the screen Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches,...
15th Jul 2021
25

Life beyond the screen

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

15th Jul 2021
Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches, light, gesture, motion, sound, haptics: this is all about exploring life beyond the screen.
Chips Need to Chill Out Diamonds, lasers, and oil aren’t the first things you may think of when considering ways to keep...
1st Nov 2025
1

Chips Need to Chill Out

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

1st Nov 2025
Diamonds, lasers, and oil aren’t the first things you may think of when considering ways to keep chips and computers cool. But as modern chip designs pack and stack more transistors into ever smaller spaces, heat has emerged as a critical problem. To solve it, the semiconductor...
Ed Lu: Anthropocene Astronomy: Thwarting Dangerous Asteroids Begins with Finding Them ### The last killer asteroid Kevin Kelly wrote the following about Ed Lu’s Seminar About Long-term...
19th Jun 2013
1
19th Jun 2013
### The last killer asteroid Kevin Kelly wrote the following about Ed Lu’s Seminar About Long-term Thinking (SALT) titled “Anthropocene Astronomy: Thwarting Dangerous Asteroids Begins with Finding Them”... Last night's SALT talk was one of the most important ones we ever...
Bruce Sterling: The Singularity: Your Future as a Black Hole One reason lots of people don't want to think long term these days is because technology keeps...
12th Jun 2004
1

Bruce Sterling: The Singularity: Your Future as a Black Hole

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

12th Jun 2004
One reason lots of people don't want to think long term these days is because technology keeps accelerating so rapidly, we assume the world will become unrecognizable in a few years and then move on to unimaginable. Long-term thinking must be either impossible or irrelevant. The...
Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science. ...
11th Oct 2018
1

Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks

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

11th Oct 2018
A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science. The post Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Confidence In the Press This is the fifth in a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science, now available from Lulu.com...
4th Jan 2025
28

Confidence In the Press

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

4th Jan 2025
This is the fifth in a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science, now available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. It’s based on Chapter 16, which is part of the political alignment case study. You can read the complete example here, or run the Jupyter notebook on...
The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices Driving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and...
9th Jan 2023
61
9th Jan 2023
Driving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. That is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat...
Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous...
8th Oct 2020
1

Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math

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

8th Oct 2020
Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous objects in math. The post Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Interview: Ted Nordhaus on ecomodernism Are technology and the environment friends or foes? In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss...
20th May 2021
1

Interview: Ted Nordhaus on ecomodernism

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

20th May 2021
Are technology and the environment friends or foes? In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss climate policy, activism and ecomodernism with Ted Nordhaus.
The Great Permitting Downturn and Your Rent Renting a home is more expensive because we stopped letting people build homes
1st Sep 2026
1

The Great Permitting Downturn and Your Rent

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

1st Sep 2026
Renting a home is more expensive because we stopped letting people build homes
Star Way of Humanity: American Space Art During the COVID-19 shutdown three years ago, I spent a lot of my time at home digging through my...
20th Aug 2023
37

Star Way of Humanity: American Space Art

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

20th Aug 2023
During the COVID-19 shutdown three years ago, I spent a lot of my time at home digging through my archives discovering all sorts of items I […]
How Amsterdam invented the fire department In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was likely the wealthiest city in the world. Global trade and...
1st Jul 2026
1

How Amsterdam invented the fire department

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

1st Jul 2026
In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was likely the wealthiest city in the world. Global trade and local industry financed its artistic masterpieces and furnished the abundant foods and household goods that Dutch painters immortalized in still lifes and domestic scenes. But...
Is inbreeding a problem for England’s Black-tailed Godwits? The current English breeding population of limosa Black-tailed Godwits is relatively new, arising...
29th Apr 2025
34

Is inbreeding a problem for England’s Black-tailed Godwits?

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

29th Apr 2025
The current English breeding population of limosa Black-tailed Godwits is relatively new, arising from a recolonisation in the 1950s that is presumed to have involved Dutch-hatched individuals. Given that the number of breeding birds is small and that there has been a...
Congratulations, class of 2025! Words from a new graduate Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first...
10th Jun 2025
36

Congratulations, class of 2025! Words from a new graduate

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

10th Jun 2025
Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first undergraduate, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland this spring. Kermit the Frog presented the valedictory address, but Jade gave the following speech at the...
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...
8th Jun 2024
23

A Month In Northern Peru, Part 8: Pale-billed Antpittas In The Elfin Forest (February 10, 2024)

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

8th Jun 2024
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...
Plant Sounds My early adulthood coincided with the New Age movement and its belief in many discredited past...
5th Aug 2024
26

Plant Sounds

from Tikalon Blog by Dev Gualtieri [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Aug 2024
My early adulthood coincided with the New Age movement and its belief in many discredited past ideas, such as astrology. One New Age idea that seemed strange at the time was that talking to plants helped them to grow. What could be more New Age than a hippie chick talking to a...
At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by...
6th Aug 2015
1

At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life

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

6th Aug 2015
A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by almost 50 percent, revealing a hidden world all around us. The post At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The San Diego infinite housing glitch How a bonus ADU program allows 'granny towers' in gardens
2nd Oct 2024
77

The San Diego infinite housing glitch

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

2nd Oct 2024
How a bonus ADU program allows 'granny towers' in gardens
Escape to the country What makes a successful New Town?
1st Aug 2024
79

Escape to the country

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

1st Aug 2024
What makes a successful New Town?
Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career...
10th Jul 2024
123

Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution

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

10th Jul 2024
Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career at General Electric in 1922, she was determined to develop stable, more reliable power grids. During her first years at GE she invented what came to be known as the Clarke...
2024 wrapped This year’s review is going to be shorter than 2023 (and previous years) because I’m in Goa right...
31st Dec 2024
121

2024 wrapped

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

31st Dec 2024
This year’s review is going to be shorter than 2023 (and previous years) because I’m in Goa right now for a holiday and I don’t feel like being in front of a screen for long. I mean, just look at this view and tell me that you’d rather be in front of a screen writing… Read...
The Promise of MIDAS: The First Experimental Early Warning Satellites Today in the United States we almost take for granted the military’s ability to detect missile...
19th Jul 2023
63

The Promise of MIDAS: The First Experimental Early Warning Satellites

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

19th Jul 2023
Today in the United States we almost take for granted the military’s ability to detect missile launches anywhere on the planet and quickly determine whether it […]
Tracing the Hidden Hand of Magnetism in the Galaxy Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a...
1st Jul 2024
102

Tracing the Hidden Hand of Magnetism in the Galaxy

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

1st Jul 2024
Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a critical missing piece of the galactic puzzle. The post Tracing the Hidden Hand of Magnetism in the Galaxy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
California’s path to redemption California is by far the richest and most powerful polity led by Progressive ideals, and it has...
2nd Mar 2025
57

California’s path to redemption

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

2nd Mar 2025
California is by far the richest and most powerful polity led by Progressive ideals, and it has taken a beating of late. In this post, I discuss a practical roadmap by which California must reclaim its mantle as the shining city on the hill, an embodiment of the positive...
OMB proposed rule changes - act now For non-US folks, feel free to skip.  For US folks:  The Office of Management and Budget, which for...
6th Jul 2026
1

OMB proposed rule changes - act now

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

6th Jul 2026
For non-US folks, feel free to skip.  For US folks:  The Office of Management and Budget, which for much of its history has been a comparatively uncontroversial element of the executive branch, has set rules and guidelines for how many executive-branch agencies conduct business...
Beth Noveck: Transparent Government ### Dot.Gov Noveck began with the example of patents, first devised in Renaissance Florence and...
5th Mar 2010
1

Beth Noveck: Transparent Government

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

5th Mar 2010
### Dot.Gov Noveck began with the example of patents, first devised in Renaissance Florence and Venice to protect techniques such as glass manufacture. In England, conferring a monopoly on a tool or technique became a prerogative of the king. In contemporary America, the process...
Approximation game The number 22/7 and the pigeon flock of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet.
28th Feb 2026
1

Approximation game

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

28th Feb 2026
The number 22/7 and the pigeon flock of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet.
Daniel Kahneman: Thinking Fast and Slow ### On taking thought Before a packed house, Kahneman began with the distinction between what he...
14th Aug 2013
1

Daniel Kahneman: Thinking Fast and Slow

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

14th Aug 2013
### On taking thought Before a packed house, Kahneman began with the distinction between what he calls mental “System 1”---fast thinking, intuition---and “System 2”---slow thinking, careful consideration and calculation. System 1 operates on the illusory principle: _What you see...
Americans Are Richer Than Everyone Else The U.S. is the place to be if you're ambitious, but not necessarily if you're poor
7th Aug 2026
2

Americans Are Richer Than Everyone Else

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

7th Aug 2026
The U.S. is the place to be if you're ambitious, but not necessarily if you're poor
Meta: 7,000 Although I try to keep navel-gazing to a minimum, I’m happy to report that this publication has...
4th Aug 2026
1

Meta: 7,000

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

4th Aug 2026
Although I try to keep navel-gazing to a minimum, I’m happy to report that this publication has crossed 7,000 email subscribers (plus an unknown number of RSS weirdos).
Spencer Beebe: Very Long-term Very Large-scale Biomimicry ### The rainforests of home Spencer Beebe is founder and head of Ecotrust, the Portland-based...
12th Mar 2005
1

Spencer Beebe: Very Long-term Very Large-scale Biomimicry

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

12th Mar 2005
### The rainforests of home Spencer Beebe is founder and head of Ecotrust, the Portland-based organization that is setting in motion a permanently prosperous conservation economy for the entire Pacific Coast from San Francisco north to Alaska-- the temperate rain forest also...
Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit...
6th Apr 2017
1

Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View

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

6th Apr 2017
The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit that comes from seeing through air. The post Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View first appeared on Quanta Magazine
How the Physics of Nothing Underlies Everything The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of...
7th Dec 2022
1

How the Physics of Nothing Underlies Everything

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

7th Dec 2022
The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of the vacuum. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Pulse” by Geographer.
The Data Reveals Top Patent Portfolios Eight years is a long time in the world of patents. When we last published what we then called the...
1st Jun 2025
26

The Data Reveals Top Patent Portfolios

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

1st Jun 2025
Eight years is a long time in the world of patents. When we last published what we then called the Patent Power Scorecard, in 2017, it was a different technological and social landscape—Google had just filed a patent application on the transformer architecture, a momentous...
Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal...
18th Jan 2018
1

Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution

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

18th Jan 2018
Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal species. Now conservationists are trying to reconcile that truth with policies. The post Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution first appeared on Quanta...
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...
26th Sep 2024
33

Should You Be Able to Experiment on Your Own Cancer?

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

26th Sep 2024
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.
Peter Schwartz: The Starships ARE Coming ### Starship destiny We now know, Schwartz began, that nearly all of the billions of stars in our...
18th Sep 2013
1

Peter Schwartz: The Starships ARE Coming

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

18th Sep 2013
### Starship destiny We now know, Schwartz began, that nearly all of the billions of stars in our galaxy have planets. If we can master interstellar travel, "there’s someplace to go." Our own solar system is pretty boring---one planet is habitable, the rest are "like Antarctica...
Your Allergies Are Probably Fake You might be avoiding medications that don't do anything to you
4th Feb 2026
2

Your Allergies Are Probably Fake

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

4th Feb 2026
You might be avoiding medications that don't do anything to you
Failure to Launch: The First Moon Race 1958-60 While it has been a few months since I have published a new post on the Drew Ex Machina website,...
2nd Jun 2023
51

Failure to Launch: The First Moon Race 1958-60

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

2nd Jun 2023
While it has been a few months since I have published a new post on the Drew Ex Machina website, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t […]
How Much Do Couples Share Traits? Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms,...
5th Sep 2023
170

How Much Do Couples Share Traits?

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

5th Sep 2023
Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms, which means that they are commonly offered as generally accepted truths, but also that they may by wrong. People like pithy phrases, so they spread prolifically, but that does not mean...
Clay Shirky: Making Digital Durable: What Time Does to Categories ### Categories go nova It is fortunate that the leading thinker in "social software" is one of the...
15th Nov 2005
1

Clay Shirky: Making Digital Durable: What Time Does to Categories

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

15th Nov 2005
### Categories go nova It is fortunate that the leading thinker in "social software" is one of the best speakers in the high-tech world, a hot ticket at any conference that can get him. Clay Shirky gave one of his dazzling presentations Monday, Nov. 14, examining a new dimension...
After Work, We’ll Have Each Other Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
1st Sep 2026
1

After Work, We’ll Have Each Other

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2026
Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
How NOT To Think About Cells Are we all just running on molecular clockwork?
14th Oct 2022
22

How NOT To Think About Cells

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Oct 2022
Are we all just running on molecular clockwork?
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...
7th Jun 2023
38
7th Jun 2023
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...
Jesse Ausubel: Nature is Rebounding ### Why nature is rebounding Over the last 40 years, in nearly every field, human productivity has...
14th Jan 2015
1

Jesse Ausubel: Nature is Rebounding

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

14th Jan 2015
### Why nature is rebounding Over the last 40 years, in nearly every field, human productivity has _decoupled_ from resource use, Ausubel began. Even though our prosperity and population continue to increase, the trends show _decreasing_ use of energy, water, land, material...
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...
3rd Nov 2024
31

Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding

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

3rd Nov 2024
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...
Mo’ heights mo’ challenges – Climbing mount grad school My wife’s love of mountain hiking and my interest in quantum thermodynamics collided in Telluride,...
4th Oct 2022
56

Mo’ heights mo’ challenges – Climbing mount grad school

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

4th Oct 2022
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...
We’re All One Crisis Away From Taking Unlicensed Research Peptides For health hackers, the risk is not experimenting.
3rd Jun 2026
1
3rd Jun 2026
For health hackers, the risk is not experimenting.
The Transition to Agriculture It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the...
3rd Apr 2025
38

The Transition to Agriculture

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

3rd Apr 2025
It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the single most important event in human history, ultimately giving rise to all of civilization. The transition started to take place around 12,000 years ago in the Middle East,...
A 1-Day Virtual Symposium on Future of Astronomy For those of you with a deeper interest in astronomy and how we learn about the universe, this may...
8th Aug 2025
19

A 1-Day Virtual Symposium on Future of Astronomy

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

8th Aug 2025
For those of you with a deeper interest in astronomy and how we learn about the universe, this may be of interest.  There is a good discount if you register before Aug. 10. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific Presents: Eyes on the Cosmos: Cutting Edge Instruments and Ideas in...
Home Assistant-compatible air quality sensor I recently moved and our new home is equipped with a ventilation system that distributes fresh...
13th Dec 2021
45

Home Assistant-compatible air quality sensor

from Willem Pennings [alt+shift+b] in science

13th Dec 2021
I recently moved and our new home is equipped with a ventilation system that distributes fresh (outside) air through the house and recoups heat from the air that is exhausted. There is a problem with this system, though. Sometimes, for example when a neighbour lights their wood...
Nuclear Conversion for Starship There has been much discussion about converting the SpaceX Starship to use nuclear propulsion. It...
14th Oct 2021
1

Nuclear Conversion for Starship

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Oct 2021
There has been much discussion about converting the SpaceX Starship to use nuclear propulsion. It would allow for a great increase in specific impulse and a massive extension of mission capabilities. But is it actually worthwhile? The image above is modified from...
What did Henry George think about cities? Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
9th May 2024
109

What did Henry George think about cities?

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

9th May 2024
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
Liberté, égalité, radioactivité France built 40 nuclear reactors in a decade. Here’s how they did it, and how the world can follow...
4th Sep 2025
1

Liberté, égalité, radioactivité

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

4th Sep 2025
France built 40 nuclear reactors in a decade. Here’s how they did it, and how the world can follow their lead today.
Why we duel Duels can be brutal and even lethal. But duels emerged in societies around the world for an...
21st Apr 2022
1

Why we duel

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

21st Apr 2022
Duels can be brutal and even lethal. But duels emerged in societies around the world for an important reason: to control and manage violence, not just to celebrate it.
New Features Everywhere: Launching Version 14.3 of Wolfram Language & Mathematica #blog a.bottomstripe { max-width: 100%; } #blog .post_content .inline-table-of-contents {...
5th Aug 2025
1

New Features Everywhere: Launching Version 14.3 of Wolfram Language & Mathematica

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

5th Aug 2025
#blog a.bottomstripe { max-width: 100%; } #blog .post_content .inline-table-of-contents { background-color: #f6fcff; border: solid 1px #bbdbe8; padding: 24px 20px 10px 20px; } #blog .post_content .inline-table-of-contents div a { color: #19749a; font-size: 14px; line-height:...
New Clues to How the Brain Maps Time The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research...
4th Feb 2016
1

New Clues to How the Brain Maps Time

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

4th Feb 2016
The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research suggests that our thoughts may take place on a mental space-time canvas. The post New Clues to How the Brain Maps Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Julia Galef: Soldiers and Scouts: Why our minds weren't built for truth, and how we can change that An expert on rationality, judgement, and strategy, Julia Galef notes that "our capacity for reason...
19th Sep 2018
1
19th Sep 2018
An expert on rationality, judgement, and strategy, Julia Galef notes that "our capacity for reason evolved to serve two very different purposes that are often at odds with each other. On the one hand, reason helps us figure out what’s true; on the other hand, it also helps us...
Carl Zimmer: Viral Time ### What's time to a virus? "Everything about viruses is extreme," Zimmer began. The number of...
8th Jun 2011
1

Carl Zimmer: Viral Time

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

8th Jun 2011
### What's time to a virus? "Everything about viruses is extreme," Zimmer began. The number of viruses on Earth is estimated to be 1 followed by 31 zeroes. Small as they are, if you stacked them all up, the stack would reach 100 million light years. They are the planet's most...
Giving waders time to nest In the UK, many waders nest on farmed grassland, with species such as Lapwing (alongside) and...
a week ago
1

Giving waders time to nest

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

a week ago
In the UK, many waders nest on farmed grassland, with species such as Lapwing (alongside) and Oystercatcher enjoying the security of an all-round view, often on a flat field. By the time that chicks are a few days old, the grass will have grown and it’s probably time to either...
Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem A new paper shows how to create longer disordered strings than mathematicians had thought possible,...
3rd Feb 2022
1

Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem

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

3rd Feb 2022
A new paper shows how to create longer disordered strings than mathematicians had thought possible, proving that a well-known recent conjecture is “spectacularly wrong.” The post Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem first appeared on...
Larry Brilliant, Richard Rockefeller, & Katherine Fulton: The Deeper News About the New... ### Philanthropic stamina 10,000 families in the US, Katherine Fulton reported, have assets of $100...
4th Nov 2006
1
4th Nov 2006
### Philanthropic stamina 10,000 families in the US, Katherine Fulton reported, have assets of $100 million or more. That's up from 7,000 just a couple years ago. Most of that money is "on the sidelines." The poor and the middle class are far more generous in their philanthropy,...
Flexible School Start Time A recent study shows pretty clearly that highschoolers benefit from a little extra sleep. We will...
2nd Mar 2026
1

Flexible School Start Time

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

2nd Mar 2026
A recent study shows pretty clearly that highschoolers benefit from a little extra sleep. We will get to the study in a bit, but first I want to note that this information is not new. Teenagers tend to stay up late, and yet we make them get up super early to be at class, often by...
The New TIGR-Tas Gene Editing System Remember CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) – that new gene-editing...
3rd Mar 2025
52

The New TIGR-Tas Gene Editing System

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

3rd Mar 2025
Remember CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) – that new gene-editing system which is faster and cheaper than anything that came before it? CRISPR is derived from bacterial systems which uses guide RNA to target a specific sequence on a DNA strand....
Getting things done by not trying I recently finished a very short book with an intriguing title: Why Greatness Cannot be Planned....
20th Oct 2024
133

Getting things done by not trying

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

20th Oct 2024
I recently finished a very short book with an intriguing title: Why Greatness Cannot be Planned. It’s an unconventional self-help book disguised as a computer science research exposition (that’s why the publisher is Springer). I strongly recommend reading it. Here is a taste of...
Phillip Longman: The Depopulation Problem ### The depopulation problem Full PDF of the talk...
14th Aug 2004
1

Phillip Longman: The Depopulation Problem

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

14th Aug 2004
### The depopulation problem Full PDF of the talk [here](http://static.longnow.org/seminars/020040813-longman/salt-020040813-longman.pdf "PDF"), slideshow [here](https://media.longnow.org/salt-slides/Longman.html "The Depopulation Problem"). No need to summarize this time....
Telepathy Tapes Promotes Pseudoscience I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact,...
2nd Jun 2025
31

Telepathy Tapes Promotes Pseudoscience

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

2nd Jun 2025
I was away on vacation the last week, hence no posts, but am now back to my usual schedule. In fact, I hope to be a little more consistent starting this summer because (if you follow me on the SGU you already know this) I am retiring from my day job at Yale at the […] The post...
Memories of things past My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her...
6th Mar 2023
67

Memories of things past

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

6th Mar 2023
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 →
Who’s afraid of artificial flavors? ‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
8th May 2026
1

Who’s afraid of artificial flavors?

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

8th May 2026
‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
Powering the Mars base This post is part of the series on space topics. This post is not the last word on this topic. The...
5th Nov 2024
68

Powering the Mars base

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

5th Nov 2024
This post is part of the series on space topics. This post is not the last word on this topic. The usual caveats apply. I’m curious if you have strong opinions on different fuel mixes. A growing Mars base has a prodigious need for power. I’ve previously written two posts on...
Internet Harvest (2020, 1) Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently...
1st Feb 2020
67

Internet Harvest (2020, 1)

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

1st Feb 2020
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently plucked from its fruitful boughs.
My friend Mark Wise Mark Wise, the John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, passed away on July 10 at...
18th Jul 2026
1

My friend Mark Wise

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

18th Jul 2026
Mark Wise, the John A. McCone Professor of High Energy Physics at Caltech, passed away on July 10 at age 72. At a recent memorial service, John Preskill made these remarks. I’m John Preskill, Mark’s colleague on the Caltech physics … Continue reading →
The UX of LEGO Interface Panels LEGO interface panels are beautiful, iconic, and great for learning interface design basics. I...
2nd Aug 2020
28

The UX of LEGO Interface Panels

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

2nd Aug 2020
LEGO interface panels are beautiful, iconic, and great for learning interface design basics. I bought 52 of them from BrickLink to explore the design, layout and organisation of complex interfaces.
Could There Be Laws Of Biology? Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles...
10th Mar 2023
40

Could There Be Laws Of Biology?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Mar 2023
Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles or axioms for biology?
How one Kiwi tamed inflation Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a...
12th Jun 2025
1

How one Kiwi tamed inflation

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

12th Jun 2025
Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a political gamble in New Zealand – long before economists took it seriously.
How much of HN is AI? TL;DR: As of June 2026, ~50% of daily top stories are about AI or generated by AI.
12th Mar 2026
1

How much of HN is AI?

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

12th Mar 2026
TL;DR: As of June 2026, ~50% of daily top stories are about AI or generated by AI.
John Baez: Zooming Out in Time ### Welcome to the Anthropocene The graphs we see these days, John Baez began, all look vertical--...
14th Oct 2006
1

John Baez: Zooming Out in Time

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

14th Oct 2006
### Welcome to the Anthropocene The graphs we see these days, John Baez began, all look vertical-- carbon burning shooting up, CO2 in the air shooting up, global temperature shooting up, and population still shooting up. How can we understand what really going on? "It's like...
What Are My Politics? And my unrefined thoughts on US politics
1st Apr 2025
44

What Are My Politics?

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

1st Apr 2025
And my unrefined thoughts on US politics
1st Apr 2025
What is Worth Replicating? - SIPS 2020 Unconference session Given that most research is original and we have limited resources available for replication, we...
30th Jun 2020
1

What is Worth Replicating? - SIPS 2020 Unconference session

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

30th Jun 2020
Given that most research is original and we have limited resources available for replication, we need guidelines for study selection in replication research. But what makes a study worth replicating? In our unconference session at SIPS this year, we had the pleasure of discussing...
Quantum Algorithms: A Call To Action Quantum computing finds itself in a peculiar situation. The number one question asked about quantum...
21st Apr 2025
67

Quantum Algorithms: A Call To Action

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

21st Apr 2025
Quantum computing finds itself in a peculiar situation. The number one question asked about quantum computers by outsiders is very common sensical: What are they good for? The honest answer reveals an elephant in the room: We don’t fully know yet. For theorists like me, it’s an...
Carl Sagan, nuking the moon, and not nuking the moon Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the...
13th Apr 2024
123

Carl Sagan, nuking the moon, and not nuking the moon

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

13th Apr 2024
Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the moon.” The truth is that given a lot of power, a nuclear weapon, and a lot of extremely specific circumstances, we too might find ourselves thinking “I should nuke the moon.”
Answers: How Much Info Should A Patient Get? | Out-Of-Pocket do we need our physicians to be interpreters?
9th Aug 2023
35

Answers: How Much Info Should A Patient Get? | Out-Of-Pocket

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

9th Aug 2023
do we need our physicians to be interpreters?
Heat waves Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
12th Jul 2024
110

Heat waves

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

12th Jul 2024
Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
New Theory Cracks Open the Black Box of Deep Learning A new idea is helping to explain the puzzling success of today’s artificial-intelligence algorithms...
1st Mar 2018
1

New Theory Cracks Open the Black Box of Deep Learning

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

1st Mar 2018
A new idea is helping to explain the puzzling success of today’s artificial-intelligence algorithms — and might also explain how human brains learn. The post New Theory Cracks Open the Black Box of Deep Learning first appeared on Quanta Magazine
What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023 A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish...
7th Aug 2023
32

What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023

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

7th Aug 2023
A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish post covering many topics; feel free to skim and skip around. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them in my links digests. These updates are less...
How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any...
10th Nov 2016
1

How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too

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

10th Nov 2016
Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people. The post How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Visions of Future Physics Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as...
1st Oct 2015
1

Visions of Future Physics

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

1st Oct 2015
Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as he pursues a new vision of the laws of nature. The post Visions of Future Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Dominican Republic, October 2025: Mountain Endemics At Zapotén Zapotén is a legendary birding area in southwestern Dominican Republic quite close to the Haiti...
1st Nov 2025
10

Dominican Republic, October 2025: Mountain Endemics At Zapotén

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

1st Nov 2025
Zapotén is a legendary birding area in southwestern Dominican Republic quite close to the Haiti border, and it is a must-visit site for any birder on Hispaniola. This rough track climbs high into the Sierra de Bahoruco, a beautiful mountain range cloaked in pine and broadleaf...
Ed Moses: Clean Fusion Power This Decade ### Imminent fusion power All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion...
17th Jun 2010
1

Ed Moses: Clean Fusion Power This Decade

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

17th Jun 2010
### Imminent fusion power All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion power burning hydrogen, the commonest element in the universe---3/4 of all mass. A byproduct of the cosmic fusion is the star-stuff that we and the Earth are made of. On Earth, 4...
Fertility on demand Technology could allow women to have it all
1st May 2025
19

Fertility on demand

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

1st May 2025
Technology could allow women to have it all
Michael West: The Prospects of Human Life Extension ### Ever longer life Our germline cells (eggs and sperm) are already immortal. What if the rest of...
13th Nov 2004
1

Michael West: The Prospects of Human Life Extension

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

13th Nov 2004
### Ever longer life Our germline cells (eggs and sperm) are already immortal. What if the rest of the cells of our body could acquire the same ability? Tissue by tissue, one degenerative disease after another, it could gradually happen in the course of one or two human...
Organisms Are Not Made Of Atoms Individuality is a process.
12th Feb 2022
23

Organisms Are Not Made Of Atoms

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Feb 2022
Individuality is a process.
Jonathan Rose: The Well Tempered City ### Coherent cities What holds a city together? Rose noted that the earliest cities were built...
21st Sep 2016
1

Jonathan Rose: The Well Tempered City

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

21st Sep 2016
### Coherent cities What holds a city together? Rose noted that the earliest cities were built around a temple and the spirituality it embodied. As the early communities became larger and more diverse and complex, their economic activity intensified. To be effective in trade...
Patient Messaging Conundrum pt. 2 | Out-Of-Pocket Some thoughts from an academic, a behavioral scientist, a patient, and more
3rd Oct 2023
51

Patient Messaging Conundrum pt. 2 | Out-Of-Pocket

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

3rd Oct 2023
Some thoughts from an academic, a behavioral scientist, a patient, and more
Flipping the switch on far-UVC We’ve known about far-UVC’s promise for a decade. Why isn't it everywhere?
10th Mar 2025
47

Flipping the switch on far-UVC

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

10th Mar 2025
We’ve known about far-UVC’s promise for a decade. Why isn't it everywhere?
Libraries of matter Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene...
29th Aug 2024
1

Libraries of matter

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

29th Aug 2024
Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene aerogel. And in some materials libraries you can cut, cast, drill, sand, scrape, and sculpt too.
Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: ...
12th Feb 2024
34

Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar

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

12th Feb 2024
This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
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