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Yale E360
Turning Farmland Back to Peatland: Can It Slow CO2 Emissions? Farmers have long drained peatlands for agriculture, but the dried-out soils release vast quantities...
5 months ago
1
5 months ago
Farmers have long drained peatlands for agriculture, but the dried-out soils release vast quantities of CO2. To halt this process, new initiatives in Germany are not only rewetting peatlands but also creating markets for the native grasses, reeds, and sedges they support. Read...
The Works in...
The value of family Traditional values don't deliver babies
a year ago
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: A winter's tale Melting snow can make the season easier
over a year ago
The Works in...
Does higher density cause lower birth rates? Assessing one recent claim that it does
a year ago
The Works in...
The wonder of modern drywall How gypsum changed construction
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Finally Find a Problem That Only Quantum Computers Can Do Researchers have shown that a problem relating to the energy of a quantum system is easy for quantum...
a year ago
76
a year ago
Researchers have shown that a problem relating to the energy of a quantum system is easy for quantum computers but hard for classical ones. The post Physicists Finally Find a Problem That Only Quantum Computers Can Do first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Cheap ornament and status games Was modernism originally a way to signal taste instead of wealth?
9 months ago
ToughSF
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...
over a year ago
18
over a year ago
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...
Interaction Magic -...
Podcast: Designed for life A deep dive into my career and the future of experience prototyping with Tony Ryan, CEO of Design &...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
A deep dive into my career and the future of experience prototyping with Tony Ryan, CEO of Design & Technology Association.
Yale E360
Brazilian Judge Orders Seizure of Illegally Cleared Lands A justice on the Brazilian Supreme Court has directed the government to seize private lands where...
2 months ago
6
2 months ago
A justice on the Brazilian Supreme Court has directed the government to seize private lands where forests have been illegally razed.  Read more on E360 →
nanoscale views
March Meeting 2025, Day 2 I spent a portion of today catching up with old friends and colleagues, so fewer highlights, but...
4 months ago
28
4 months ago
I spent a portion of today catching up with old friends and colleagues, so fewer highlights, but here are a couple: Like a few hundred other people, I went to the invited talk by Chetan Nayak, leader of Microsoft's quantum computing effort. It was sufficiently crowded that the...
The Works in...
The first non-opioid painkiller Journavx was approved this year. Why did it take so long to develop?
3 weeks ago
NeuroLogica Blog
JET Fusion Experiment Sets New Record Don’t get excited. It’s always nice to see incremental progress being made with the various fusion...
a year ago
44
a year ago
Don’t get excited. It’s always nice to see incremental progress being made with the various fusion experiments happening around the world, but we are still a long way off from commercial fusion power, and this experiment doesn’t really bring us any close, despite the headlines....
Uncharted...
Ten New US Cities: 1. Guantanamo City Why we should turn Guantanamo Bay into Guantanamo City
6 months ago
Quanta Magazine
Dark Energy May Be Weakening, Major Astrophysics Study Finds A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the...
a year ago
64
a year ago
A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map of the cosmos to date hints that this mysterious energy has been changing over billions of years. The post Dark Energy May Be...
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 12: Cleaning Up The Remaining Marañón Endemics (February 14-15, 2024) February 14, 2024 (continued) It doesn't matter how much time we spend on the verdant, east slope of...
5 months ago
21
5 months ago
February 14, 2024 (continued) It doesn't matter how much time we spend on the verdant, east slope of the Andes. It is just never enough time. Our five days between the highland town of Pomacochas and the lower foothills near Pueblo Aguas Verdes were amazing, full of incredible...
Quanta Magazine
A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general...
3 days ago
8
3 days ago
A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general relativity. The post A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
DNA Directed Assembly of Nanomaterials Arguably the type of advance that has the greatest impact on technology is material science....
a year ago
39
a year ago
Arguably the type of advance that has the greatest impact on technology is material science. Technology can advance by doing more with the materials we have, but new materials can change the game entirely. It is no coincidence that we mark different technological ages by the...
Quanta Magazine
How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists...
8 months ago
79
8 months ago
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists suggest that an unusual form of dark matter may be the solution. The post How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
How Our Longest Nerve Orchestrates the Mind-Body Connection Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to...
10 months ago
129
10 months ago
Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of mind such as mood, pleasure and fear. The post How Our Longest Nerve Orchestrates the Mind-Body Connection first appeared on...
Yale E360
Facing High Tariffs in U.S., Chinese Solar Flows to Poorer Countries Facing high tariffs in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese solar and battery companies have been selling a...
2 months ago
7
2 months ago
Facing high tariffs in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese solar and battery companies have been selling a growing share of their products to poorer countries, a new analysis finds. Read more on E360 →
IEEE Spectrum
Chuck E. Cheese’s Animatronics Band Bows Out That may have been the last time I entered a Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria. And yet, when I heard that...
7 months ago
94
7 months ago
That may have been the last time I entered a Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria. And yet, when I heard that the company was phasing out the animatronic bands from all but five locations by the end of this year, I felt a twinge of nostalgia. Much to my surprise, I was truly sad that the...
Asterisk
Methods Section
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Is healthcare private equity that bad? | Out-Of-Pocket they're a product of their environment
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Update on Quantum Computers There has been a lot of quantum computer news since I last wrote about the topic. But this is still...
over a year ago
44
over a year ago
There has been a lot of quantum computer news since I last wrote about the topic. But this is still a technology that is slowly advancing in the background, while actual applications have been limited. There is a threshold effect at play – at some point, quantum computers will be...
NeuroLogica Blog
Making Fuel from Sunshine When it comes to big problems it’s generally a good idea to remember some basic principles. One is...
over a year ago
86
over a year ago
When it comes to big problems it’s generally a good idea to remember some basic principles. One is that there is no free lunch. This is a cliche because it’s true. Another way to put this is – there are no solutions, only trade offs. Sometimes there is a genuine advance that does...
Yale E360
In War-Torn Sudan, a Gold Mining Boom Takes a Human Toll As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring...
3 months ago
15
3 months ago
As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring factions. Most of the mining is done on a small scale by villagers who process the gold using mercury and cyanide, posing serious threats to their health and to the environment. Read...
Quanta Magazine
All Life on Earth Today Descended From a Single Cell. Meet LUCA. The clearest picture yet of our “last universal common ancestor” suggests it was a relatively...
8 months ago
89
8 months ago
The clearest picture yet of our “last universal common ancestor” suggests it was a relatively complex organism living 4.2 billion years ago, a time long considered too harsh for life to flourish. The post All Life on Earth Today Descended From a Single Cell. Meet...
Yale E360
Scientists Look to Changing Tree Color to Predict Volcanic Eruptions NASA scientists believe it may be possible to predict when a volcano will erupt by using satellites...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
NASA scientists believe it may be possible to predict when a volcano will erupt by using satellites to track changes in the color of surrounding trees. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
The Best Neighborhoods for Starting a Life in the Galaxy Some neighborhoods in the Milky Way may be better suited for making habitable planets than others. ...
a year ago
47
a year ago
Some neighborhoods in the Milky Way may be better suited for making habitable planets than others. The post The Best Neighborhoods for Starting a Life in the Galaxy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What's The Deal With Telemedicine? | Out-Of-Pocket we're in the weird in-between stage of adoption
a year ago
The Works in...
Womb for improvement Pregnancy can be painful and, for some women, impossible. New technology may allow more women to...
3 months ago
26
3 months ago
Pregnancy can be painful and, for some women, impossible. New technology may allow more women to have children and save the lives of prematurely born infants.
Sean Carroll
Proposed Closure of the Dianoia Institute at Australian Catholic University Just a few years ago, Australian Catholic University (ACU) established a new Dianoia Institute of...
a year ago
59
a year ago
Just a few years ago, Australian Catholic University (ACU) established a new Dianoia Institute of Philosophy. They recruited a number of researchers and made something of a splash, leading to a noticeable leap in ACU’s rankings in philosophy — all the way to second among Catholic...
NeuroLogica Blog
Is the AI Singularity Coming? Like it or not, we are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Recent advances in large...
a year ago
92
a year ago
Like it or not, we are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Recent advances in large language models, like ChatGPT, have helped put advanced AI in the hands of the average person, who now has a much better sense of how powerful these AI applications can be (and...
Quanta Magazine
Will We Ever Prove String Theory? Promise and controversy continues to surround string theory as a potential unified theory of...
a month ago
23
a month ago
Promise and controversy continues to surround string theory as a potential unified theory of everything. In the latest episode of The Joy of Why, Cumrun Vafa discusses his progress in trying to find good, testable models hidden among the ‘swampland’ of impossible universes. ...
IEEE Spectrum
The Rise of Groupware A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the...
11 months ago
71
11 months ago
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the end of the long tail. These days, computer users take collaboration software for granted. Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Salesforce, and so on, are such a big part of many...
Yale E360
Environmental Enforcement Slows Under Trump Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more...
2 months ago
18
2 months ago
Federal enforcement of environmental laws has slowed significantly under President Trump. Read more on E360 →
Wanderingspace
Ganymede Sets Behind Jupiter as Seen by Hubble An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope reminds us of how powerful this aging scope really is....
over a year ago
36
over a year ago
An image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope reminds us of how powerful this aging scope really is. Magnitudes sharper than the images originally sent by Pioneer as it passed by in the 1970s.
Quanta Magazine
A New Approach to Computation Reimagines Artificial Intelligence By imbuing enormous vectors with semantic meaning, we can get machines to reason more abstractly —...
over a year ago
136
over a year ago
By imbuing enormous vectors with semantic meaning, we can get machines to reason more abstractly — and efficiently — than before. The post A New Approach to Computation Reimagines Artificial Intelligence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Spread of Dark Algae Could Hasten Melt of Greenland Ice Sheet Dark algae are spreading across the Greenland ice sheet as snow retreats. Their dark color causes...
4 months ago
7
4 months ago
Dark algae are spreading across the Greenland ice sheet as snow retreats. Their dark color causes ice to absorb more heat from the sun, accelerating melting, and according to a new study, the harsh conditions atop the ice sheet will do little to slow their advance. Read more on...
Quantum Frontiers
Identical twins and quantum entanglement “If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties,...
over a year ago
106
over a year ago
“If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties, I’d have paid off my medical school loans by now,” my doctor friend complained. As a physicist, I can somewhat relate. I occasionally … Continue reading →
nanoscale views
Items for discussion, including google's latest quantum computing result As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items: Google published a new result in...
7 months ago
17
7 months ago
As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items: Google published a new result in Nature a few days ago.  This made a big news splash, including this accompanying press piece from google themselves, this nice article in Quanta, and the always thoughtful blog post by...
Breck's Blog
Movement
3 months ago
The Roots of...
A plea for solutionism on AI safety Will AI kill us all? This question has rapidly gone mainstream. A few months ago, it wasn’t...
over a year ago
52
over a year ago
Will AI kill us all? This question has rapidly gone mainstream. A few months ago, it wasn’t seriously debated very far outside the rationalist community of LessWrong; now it’s reported in major media outlets including the NY Times, The Guardian, the Times of London, BBC, WIRED,...
Asterisk
Shutting the California Prison System’s Revolving Door Between 2009 and 2014, California passed a series of laws to reduce the population in its prison...
a year ago
20
a year ago
Between 2009 and 2014, California passed a series of laws to reduce the population in its prison system, which for years had operated over capacity. Determining whether those laws worked was not a straightforward task.
nanoscale views
This week in the arXiv: quantum geometry, fluid momentum "tunneling", and pasta sauce Three papers caught my eye the other day on the arXiv at the start of the new year: arXiv:2501.00098...
6 months ago
20
6 months ago
Three papers caught my eye the other day on the arXiv at the start of the new year: arXiv:2501.00098 - J. Yu et al., "Quantum geometry in quantum materials" - I hope to write up something about quantum geometry soon, but I wanted to point out this nice review even if I haven't...
Yale E360
As Oceans Warm, Predators Are Falling Out of Sync with Their Prey In the sea as on land, climate change is driving shifts in the abundance and distribution of...
5 months ago
5
5 months ago
In the sea as on land, climate change is driving shifts in the abundance and distribution of species. Scientists are just beginning to focus on why some fish predators and prey — like striped bass and menhaden on the U.S. East Coast — are changing their behavior as waters warm....
The Works in...
Why we stopped building subways cheaply We used to dig up roads to put trains underneath
a month ago
Quanta Magazine
Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound...
12 months ago
76
12 months ago
In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound mathematical vision called the Langlands program. The post Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Wanderingspace
Space-X Looking Like 2001 Space Odyssey Amazing shot. Looks like a movie.
a year ago
Blog - Practical...
Why Are Rails Shaped Like That? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Maybe more than any other type...
a year ago
67
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Maybe more than any other type of infrastructure, railways have a contingent of devoted enthusiasts. “Railfans” as they call themselves; Or should say “ourselves”? Maybe it's the nostalgia of an earlier era or...
Blog - Practical...
What’s the Deal with Base Plates? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] A lot of engineering focuses...
7 months ago
113
7 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] A lot of engineering focuses on structural members. How wide is this beam? How tall is this column? But some of the most important engineering decisions are in how to connect those members together. Take a...
brr
Mud Murdo The beautiful ambiance of a McMurdo summer.
over a year ago
symmetry magazine
Vera C. Rubin Observatory brings the universe to everyone The Rubin Observatory is making education and outreach a top priority.
a year ago
Yale E360
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North? A warmer world is expected to bring more thunderstorms, especially at higher latitudes. Scientists...
a month ago
12
a month ago
A warmer world is expected to bring more thunderstorms, especially at higher latitudes. Scientists are now reporting a dramatic surge in lightning in the far north and are scrambling to parse how this could affect wildfires, the chemistry of the atmosphere, and Arctic...
Asterisk
My Primal Scream of Rage: The Big Alcohol Study That Didn't Happen Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever...
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health cancelled the largest study on alcohol ever planned. Here’s why — and why you should be mad too.
NeuroLogica Blog
AI As Legal Entities Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the...
a year ago
56
a year ago
Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the question discussed in a new paper by legal scholars. They recognize that this question is a bit ahead of the technology, but argue that we should work out the legal ramifications before...
Drew Ex Machina
Rockets Falling from Orbit: The Saturn V That Launched NASA’s Skylab In recent years, the uncontrolled reentries of the spent 22-metric ton core stages of China’s new...
over a year ago
43
over a year ago
In recent years, the uncontrolled reentries of the spent 22-metric ton core stages of China’s new Long March 5B heavy lift launch vehicle, used to orbit […]
Yale E360
As Bird Flu Spreads, Vaccine Shows Promise for Protecting Cattle Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than...
a month ago
3
a month ago
Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than 1,000 herds across the country. A new vaccine for cattle has performed well in early tests, raising hopes that it could protect livestock and help prevent an outbreak in humans. Read...
Blog - Practical...
Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] One of the most common...
a year ago
68
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] One of the most common attributes folks imagine when they think of trains is the clickety-clack sound they make as they roll down the tracks. The thing is, most trains don’t make that sound anymore. Or really,...
brr
McMurdo Postal Mail How to mail things to and from Antarctica!
over a year ago
Yale E360
Penguin Droppings May Be Seeding Clouds, Study Finds Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research...
a month ago
15
a month ago
Penguin droppings may play a role in the formation of clouds over Antarctica, new research finds. Read more on E360 →
symmetry magazine
Searching for the matter that hides its shine Just because matter is visible doesn’t mean it’s easy to see.
over a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New Wave of Concierge Medicine | Out-Of-Pocket This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
A New Idea for How to Assemble Life If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must...
over a year ago
71
over a year ago
If we want to understand complex constructions, such as ourselves, assembly theory says we must account for the entire history of how such entities came to be. The post A New Idea for How to Assemble Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: The world that has never been Introducing Speculative Technologies
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
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...
a year ago
90
a year ago
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
nanoscale views
US science funding - now time to push on the House appropriators Some not-actively-discouraging news out of Washington DC yesterday:  The Senate appropriations...
a week ago
10
a week ago
Some not-actively-discouraging news out of Washington DC yesterday:  The Senate appropriations committee is doing its markups of the various funding bills (which all technically originated in the House), and it appears that they have pushed to keep the funding for NASA and NSF...
Explorations of an...
2024 (Part 2 of 2) June and July I always sound like a broken record each year when discussing June and July. I was...
6 months ago
23
6 months ago
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,...
Quanta Magazine
The Jagged, Monstrous Function That Broke Calculus In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as...
5 months ago
81
5 months ago
In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics. The post The Jagged, Monstrous Function That Broke Calculus first...
Uncharted...
The Top 50 US Cities: Why Are They Where They Are? The geographic and historical reasons that have made some spots in the country the most populated...
6 months ago
Asterisk
Better Living Through Group Chemistry Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Getting Healthcare Data To Train An AI Model - with Protege | Out-Of-Pocket And all the different ways you can “train” a model
4 months ago
Beautiful Public...
Trademark Design Codes The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a system of 1,400 descriptive "design codes"...
a year ago
118
a year ago
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a system of 1,400 descriptive "design codes" allowing you to search for trademarks with “Rickshaws”, “Centaurs” or “Mechanical women”.
The Works in...
The beauty of concrete Why are buildings today austere, while buildings of the past were ornate and elaborately ornamented?
a month ago
The Works in...
Two Assault Rifles A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
brr
Showering at the South Pole Potable water, and not much of it.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of...
2 months ago
31
2 months ago
Slight changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats. The post ‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic Migratory Journeys first appeared on...
Quantum Frontiers
What is the logical gate speed of a photonic quantum computer? Terry Rudolph, PsiQuantum & Imperial College London During a recent visit to the wild western town...
over a year ago
59
over a year ago
Terry Rudolph, PsiQuantum & Imperial College London During a recent visit to the wild western town of Pasadena I got into a shootout at high-noon trying to explain the nuances of this question to a colleague. Here is a more … Continue reading →
The Works in...
The Spanish grid collapse Inertia and why we need it
2 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Accusation of Mental Illness as a Political Strategy I am not the first to say this but it bears repeating – it is wrong to use the accusation of a...
10 months ago
57
10 months ago
I am not the first to say this but it bears repeating – it is wrong to use the accusation of a mental illness as a political strategy. It is unfair, stigmatizing, and dismissive. Thomas Szasz (let me say straight up – I am not a Szaszian) was a psychiatrist who made it his...
Beautiful Public...
Pilot Manual for a 1940's U.S. Navy Blimp This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to...
over a year ago
50
over a year ago
This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to pilot this sleek, silver, 250 foot long, weaponized anti-submarine dirigible.
Quantum Frontiers
Colliding the familiar and the anti-familiar at CERN toise me at CERN was a box of chocolates. CERN is a multinational particle-physics collaboration....
a year ago
103
a year ago
toise me at CERN was a box of chocolates. CERN is a multinational particle-physics collaboration. Based in Geneva, CERN is famous for having “the world’s largest and most powerful accelerator,” according to its website. So a physicist will take for … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
How Does Math Keep Secrets? Cryptography is the thread that connects Julius Caesar, World War II and quantum computing, and it...
11 months ago
57
11 months ago
Cryptography is the thread that connects Julius Caesar, World War II and quantum computing, and it now lies under nearly every part of modern life. In this week’s episode, computer scientist Boaz Barak and co-host Janna Levin discuss the past and future of secrecy. ...
The Works in...
Apply to come to Invisible College Our new residential seminar for 18 to 22-year-olds, during August 2024
a year ago
Blog - Practical...
When Natural Gas Had No Smell [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Excitement and hope permeated...
a year ago
103
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Excitement and hope permeated the crowds gathered in a dusty farm carved from the piney woods in east Texas. The rumor was that Columbus Joiner had struck oil. At 70 years old, Joiner had already won and lost...
Quanta Magazine
How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same...
a month ago
21
a month ago
Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.” The post How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science first appeared on Quanta...
Asterisk
The Highway to NIMBYism San Francisco’s history of collective decision-making helped prevent the city from being carved up...
a year ago
20
a year ago
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.
Blog - Practical...
HEAVY CONSTRUCTION of a Sewage Pump Station - Ep 3 This is the third episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's...
a year ago
70
a year ago
This is the third episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's Made"-esque heavy construction videos. Drop a comment or send me an email to let me know what you think! Watch on YouTube above or ad-free on Nebula here.
wadertales
A Whimbrel’s year There’s a lot to fit into twelve months if you’re a Whimbrel. In the last paper from his PhD, Camilo...
over a year ago
50
over a year ago
There’s a lot to fit into twelve months if you’re a Whimbrel. In the last paper from his PhD, Camilo Carneiro assesses whether Icelandic Whimbrel can always manage to complete the annual cycle of migrate-breed-fatten-migrate-moult-fatten in just 365 days. What happens if a pair...
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse? [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
139
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
Breck's Blog
Does 3D exist?
2 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Eating Methane Methane is the forgotten greenhouse gas (sort of). Often, when discussing how best to reduce...
a year ago
19
a year ago
Methane is the forgotten greenhouse gas (sort of). Often, when discussing how best to reduce anthropogenic climate change, we talk about decarbonizing our electrical and transport sectors, and carbon removal. But methane is also a greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming,...
Yale E360
Reciprocity: Rethinking Our Relationship with the Natural World Robin Wall Kimmerer, the bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, recently published The...
5 months ago
2
5 months ago
Robin Wall Kimmerer, the bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, recently published The Serviceberry, which explores the economies of nature. In an e360 interview, the Native American ecologist discusses reciprocity, gratitude, and aligning human law with ecological law. Read...
Yale E360
A.I. Is Quietly Powering a Revolution in Weather Prediction Weather forecasts powered by artificial intelligence are usually more accurate — and require less...
3 months ago
6
3 months ago
Weather forecasts powered by artificial intelligence are usually more accurate — and require less computational energy and fewer human hours — than conventional predictions. But questions remain about A.I. systems’ reliability and their ability to forecast extreme weather...
Quanta Magazine
How Noether’s Theorem Revolutionized Physics Emmy Noether showed that fundamental physical laws are just a consequence of simple symmetries. A...
5 months ago
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5 months ago
Emmy Noether showed that fundamental physical laws are just a consequence of simple symmetries. A century later, her insights continue to shape physics. The post How Noether’s Theorem Revolutionized Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Clinical Pharmacists, Generative AI, and InpharmD | Out-Of-Pocket Going under the hood of a generative AI product
a year ago
Beautiful Public...
All of the 8,291 License Plates in America States now offer a vast menu of personalized plate options for a dizzying array of organizations,...
a year ago
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a year ago
States now offer a vast menu of personalized plate options for a dizzying array of organizations, professions, sports teams, causes and other groups.
IEEE Spectrum
The Tremendous VR and CG Systems—of the 1960s Ivan Sutherland has blazed a truly unique trail through computing over the past six decades. One of...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Ivan Sutherland has blazed a truly unique trail through computing over the past six decades. One of the most influential figures in the story of computing, he helped to open new pathways for others to explore and dramatically extend: interactive computer graphics, virtual...
NeuroLogica Blog
Multipurpose Superconducting Highway When it comes to technology (and also probably many things) there is a pyramid of ideas. At the very...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
When it comes to technology (and also probably many things) there is a pyramid of ideas. At the very bottom of the pyramid is pure speculation, just throwing out “what if” ideas to feed the conceptual pipeline. A subset of these ideas will pass the sniff test enough to justify...
The Works in...
A review of Charles Piller’s Doctored How fraud and bad research derailed years of Alzheimer's progress
4 months ago
Quanta Magazine
During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus Cells in the placenta have an unusual trick for activating gentle immune defenses and keeping them...
a year ago
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a year ago
Cells in the placenta have an unusual trick for activating gentle immune defenses and keeping them turned on when no infection is present. It involves crafting and deploying a fake virus. The post During Pregnancy, a Fake ‘Infection’ Protects the Fetus first appeared...
Quanta Magazine
The Molecular Bond That Helps Secure Your Memories How do memories last a lifetime when the molecules that form them turn over within days, weeks or...
2 months ago
25
2 months ago
How do memories last a lifetime when the molecules that form them turn over within days, weeks or months? An interaction between two proteins points to a molecular basis for memory. The post The Molecular Bond That Helps Secure Your Memories first appeared on Quanta...
Uncharted...
Free Speech in the US vs Europe: Who Is Right? "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."—Evelyn Beatrice...
4 months ago
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4 months ago
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."—Evelyn Beatrice Hall, conveying the ideas of Voltaire
Quanta Magazine
What Makes for ‘Good’ Mathematics? Terence Tao, who has been called the “Mozart of Mathematics,” wrote an essay in 2007 about the...
a year ago
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a year ago
Terence Tao, who has been called the “Mozart of Mathematics,” wrote an essay in 2007 about the common ingredients in “good” mathematical research. In this episode, the Fields Medalist joins Steven Strogatz to revisit the topic. The post What Makes for ‘Good’...
Damn Interesting
The Traveler and His Baggage On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people of Nazi-occupied Paris. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proudly announced to the world that the German capital of Berlin was officially judenfrei–free of all Jews. As this...
Yale E360
Taiwan to Ramp Up Gas Imports After Shuttering Last Nuclear Plant Having shut down its last remaining nuclear plant Saturday, Taiwan is working to secure new imports...
2 months ago
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2 months ago
Having shut down its last remaining nuclear plant Saturday, Taiwan is working to secure new imports of natural gas. Read more on E360 →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
More 2023 predictions | Out-Of-Pocket should just start 2024 predictions I guess
a year ago
Uncharted...
Robotaxis Are Here Within 1-5 years, our daily transportation will be upended, and cities will be reshaped.
4 months ago
The Works in...
Getting people to donate their organs Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier?
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Provider Directories, Physician data, and Ribbon Health | Out-Of-Pocket why can't I find any important info about my doctor lol
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
A Greener Li-Ion Battery It is increasingly obvious that battery technology is one of the keys to transitioning our...
a year ago
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a year ago
It is increasingly obvious that battery technology is one of the keys to transitioning our civilization away from burning fossil fuels. Batteries facilitate the use of cheap, green, but intermittent energy sources. They also allow for the electrification of technology sectors...
Casey Handmer's blog
Why am I searched every time I go to Australia? The Australian Border Force won’t stop searching me and my personal devices when I visit Australia....
2 months ago
14
2 months ago
The Australian Border Force won’t stop searching me and my personal devices when I visit Australia. Despite being an Australian citizen, under Australian law, I have zero recourse to this continued flagrant invasion of my privacy. After two years of harassment I am publicizing...
Yale E360
The Year in Energy in Four Charts The global energy sector defied expectations this year, in ways both good and bad for the climate....
6 months ago
2
6 months ago
The global energy sector defied expectations this year, in ways both good and bad for the climate. Four charts highlight key trends in the transition to clean energy. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
Saving U.S. Climate and Environmental Data Before It Goes Away Some 2,000 records went missing from government data sets after the Trump administration took office...
4 months ago
2
4 months ago
Some 2,000 records went missing from government data sets after the Trump administration took office in January. Canadian geographer Eric Nost talks about the work he and colleagues are doing to archive data related to climate and the environment while it is still...
The Works in...
The concept of sustainment A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Ins and Outs of Fundraising Today | Out-Of-Pocket Some stuff I’ve learned doing a little healthcare startup investing
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe As measurements of distant stars and galaxies become more precise, cosmologists are struggling to...
a year ago
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a year ago
As measurements of distant stars and galaxies become more precise, cosmologists are struggling to make sense of sparring values. The post Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Game Theory Can Make AI More Correct and Efficient Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them...
a year ago
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a year ago
Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them more consistent. The post Game Theory Can Make AI More Correct and Efficient first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Robots and a Sense of Self Humans (assuming you all experience roughly what I experience, which is a reasonable assumption)...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
Humans (assuming you all experience roughly what I experience, which is a reasonable assumption) have a sense of self. This sense has several components – we feel as if we occupy our physical bodies, that our bodies are distinct entities separate from the rest of the universe,...
The Works in...
Should you infect yourself with Zika? What life is like in a challenge trial
a year ago
Yale E360
How Climate Change Puts the Safety of Drinking Water at Risk Wildfires, floods, intense heat, droughts, and other extreme events fueled by climate change are...
4 months ago
2
4 months ago
Wildfires, floods, intense heat, droughts, and other extreme events fueled by climate change are threatening water systems in the U.S. and around the globe. Experts warn of the increasing threat of contamination and the need to improve infrastructure to keep drinking water...
Quanta Magazine
A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of Melting A powerful mathematical technique is used to model melting ice and other phenomena. But it has long...
3 months ago
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3 months ago
A powerful mathematical technique is used to model melting ice and other phenomena. But it has long been imperiled by certain “nightmare scenarios.” A new proof has removed that obstacle. The post A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of Melting first appeared on Quanta...
NeuroLogica Blog
Stem Cells for Parkinson’s Disease For my entire career as a neurologist, spanning three decades, I have been hearing about various...
4 months ago
31
4 months ago
For my entire career as a neurologist, spanning three decades, I have been hearing about various kinds of stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Now a Phase I clinical trial is under way studying the latest stem cell technology, autologous induced pluripotent stem cells,...
Casey Handmer's blog
Potentially undervalued companies I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies...
10 months ago
29
10 months ago
I am routinely solicited for my technical opinion on new and interesting technologies and companies developing them. 90% of the time, my answer is “I don’t know” but it continues to concern me that aspects of technical feasibility are evidently not legible to financial types (and...
Beautiful Public...
Highway Photologs Highway departments all around the country had "photolog" programs, some dating back as early as...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Highway departments all around the country had "photolog" programs, some dating back as early as 1961. Each year, specially tricked out vans would drive each mile of state road snapping photos to document the status of roadways.
Yale E360
Trees That Have Never Known Plentiful Rainfall Better Prepared for Drought A new study finds that trees that have lived through many wet years struggle to cope with dry...
6 months ago
Yale E360
Antarctic Ice Sheet May Be Less Vulnerable Than Previously Thought A new study reveals the massive West Antarctic ice sheet did not completely collapse during the last...
5 months ago
4
5 months ago
A new study reveals the massive West Antarctic ice sheet did not completely collapse during the last warm period, as prior modeling had suggested. The findings offer some hope for the future of the ice sheet as the planet heats up. Read more on E360 →
Beautiful Public...
Photologging Vans These sequences are from New York and Connecticut’s state photolog archives, which I obtained...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
These sequences are from New York and Connecticut’s state photolog archives, which I obtained through public records requests. Almost every state’s highway departments had highway photolog programs, some dating back as early as 1961. These sequences were captured by specially...
Quanta Magazine
Does AI Know What an Apple Is? She Aims to Find Out. The computer scientist Ellie Pavlick is translating philosophical concepts such as “meaning” into...
a year ago
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a year ago
The computer scientist Ellie Pavlick is translating philosophical concepts such as “meaning” into concrete, testable ideas. The post Does AI Know What an Apple Is? She Aims to Find Out. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Fruit Fly Connectome Completed Scientists have just published in Nature that they have completed the entire connectome of a fruit...
9 months ago
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9 months ago
Scientists have just published in Nature that they have completed the entire connectome of a fruit fly: Network statistics of the whole-brain connectome of Drosophila. The map includes 140,000 neurons and more than 50 million connections. This is an incredible achievement that...
Yale E360
Clearcutting Can Lead to Devastating Floods, But It Doesn’t Have To It has long been understood that clearcutting forests leads to more runoff, worsening flooding. But...
2 days ago
3
2 days ago
It has long been understood that clearcutting forests leads to more runoff, worsening flooding. But a new study finds that logging can reshape watersheds in surprising ways, leading to dramatically more flooding in some forests, while having little effect on others. Read more on...
pcloadletter
Quality is a hard sell in big tech I have noticed a trend in a handful of products I've worked on at big tech companies. I have friends...
a year ago
45
a year ago
I have noticed a trend in a handful of products I've worked on at big tech companies. I have friends at other big tech companies that have noticed a similar trend: The products are kind of crummy. Here are some experiences that I have often encountered: the UI is flakey and/or...
Yale E360
Warmer, Greener Arctic Becoming a Source of Heat-Trapping Gas As the northern latitudes warm, ice is melting and vegetation is spreading. But instead of absorbing...
5 months ago
4
5 months ago
As the northern latitudes warm, ice is melting and vegetation is spreading. But instead of absorbing more carbon, the region is becoming a source of heat-trapping gas, a new study shows. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
New Whale Fossil – Possibly Heaviest Animal Ever The largest and heaviest animal to ever live on the Earth, as far as we know, is the blue whale,...
a year ago
20
a year ago
The largest and heaviest animal to ever live on the Earth, as far as we know, is the blue whale, which is extant today. The blue whale is larger than any dinosaur, even the giant sauropods. The average weight of a blue whale is 160 tons, with the largest specimen being 190 tons,...
Quanta Magazine
Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity...
2 weeks ago
17
2 weeks ago
Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity come from? A recent study suggests that it’s an inevitable by-product of their architecture. The post Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity first...
Sean Carroll
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion Just in case there are any blog readers out there who haven’t heard from other channels: I have a...
over a year ago
39
over a year ago
Just in case there are any blog readers out there who haven’t heard from other channels: I have a new book out! The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion is Volume One of a planned three-volume series. It grew out of the videos that I did in 2020, trying to offer...
Blog - Practical...
Why Locomotives Don't Have Tires [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Formula 1 is, by many...
a year ago
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a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] Formula 1 is, by many accounts, the pinnacle of car racing. F1 cars are among the fastest in the world, particularly around the tight corners of the various paved tracks across the globe. Drivers can experience...
The Works in...
A writing fellowship on scientific progress Works in Progress and Asimov Press are launching a paid six-month fellowship.
5 months ago
Breck's Blog
Deceptive Intelligence verse Genuine Intelligence
2 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Should we charge for patient messaging? | Out-Of-Pocket guess I'm texting my resident friends
a year ago
IEEE Spectrum
Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the...
over a year ago
34
over a year ago
In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the Apple II team, who had proposed that Apple Computer Inc. make a low-cost “appliance”-type computer that would be as easy to use as a toaster. Mr. Raskin believed the computer he...
Quanta Magazine
Are Robots About to Level Up? Today’s AI largely lives in computers, but acting and reacting in the real world — that’s the realm...
11 months ago
47
11 months ago
Today’s AI largely lives in computers, but acting and reacting in the real world — that’s the realm of robots. In this week’s episode, co-host Steven Strogatz talks with pioneering roboticist Daniela Rus about creativity, collaboration, and the unusual forms robots of the future...
Uncharted...
The Birth of German(y) Goods, Gods, and Guns
4 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Out-Of-Pocket’s Healthcare Crash Course Launches!! | Out-Of-Pocket Learn the basics of healthcare in a fun, entertaining, and accessible way
a year ago
The Works in...
New podcasts: Hard Drugs and the Works in Progress Podcast The miracle drug that could end AIDS. Plus: the Great Downzoning, coming soon.
a month ago
Yale E360
As U.S. Scientists Look Abroad, China Aims to Lure Top Talent Chinese locales are looking to lure top scientific talent from overseas by offering lavish sums for...
a month ago
13
a month ago
Chinese locales are looking to lure top scientific talent from overseas by offering lavish sums for resettling, as well as housing, health care, and other perks. The moves come as the Trump administration cuts funding for science and works to expel Chinese students. Read more on...
wadertales
UK waders: “Into the Red” If you ask British birdwatchers to name the eleven wader species that are causing the most...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
If you ask British birdwatchers to name the eleven wader species that are causing the most conservation concern in the UK, they would probably not include Dunlin. Curlew may well be top of their lists, even though the most recent population estimate is 58,500 breeding pairs, but...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare in Jail | Out-Of-Pocket How does it work?
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
A Galaxy Without Dark Matter Dark matter is one of the greatest current scientific mysteries. It’s a fascinating story playing...
a year ago
26
a year ago
Dark matter is one of the greatest current scientific mysteries. It’s a fascinating story playing out in real time, although over years, so you have to be patient. Future generations might be able to binge the dark matter show, but not us. We have to wait for each episode to...
Quanta Magazine
Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide. The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely...
a year ago
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a year ago
The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely how much pleasure and pain animals experience during different forms of touch. The post Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide. first appeared on...
NeuroLogica Blog
A Discussion about Biological Sex At CSICON this year I gave talk about topics over which skeptics have and continue to disagree with...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
At CSICON this year I gave talk about topics over which skeptics have and continue to disagree with each other. My core theme was that these are the topics we absolutely should be discussing with each other, especially at skeptical conferences. Nothing should be taboo or too...
NeuroLogica Blog
H&M Will Use Digital Twins The fashion retailer, H&M, has announced that they will start using AI generated digital twins of...
3 months ago
26
3 months ago
The fashion retailer, H&M, has announced that they will start using AI generated digital twins of models in some of their advertising. This has sparked another round of discussion about the use of AI to replace artists of various kinds. Regarding the H&M announcement...
Blog - Practical...
HEAVY CONSTRUCTION of a Sewage Pump Station - Ep 5 This is the fifth and final episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is the fifth and final episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's Made"-esque heavy construction videos. Drop a comment or send me an email to let me know what you think! Watch on YouTube above or ad-free on Nebula here.
Many Worlds
Webb Telescope Finds No Signs of a Thick Atmosphere Around a Second TRAPPIST-1 Planet Among the most eagerly awaited results from the early observations of the James Webb Space Telescope...
over a year ago
27
over a year ago
Among the most eagerly awaited results from the early observations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is whether or not the seven rocky planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system have atmospheres. The TRAPPIST-1 planets are close to us (40 light-years away), are all solid rather than...
Asterisk
Aperitif
over a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Grief Tech In the awesome show, Black Mirror, one episode features a young woman who lost her husband. In her...
a year ago
70
a year ago
In the awesome show, Black Mirror, one episode features a young woman who lost her husband. In her grief she turns to a company that promises to give her at least a partial experience of her husband. They sift through every picture, video, comment, and other online trace of the...
Yale E360
U.S. Aid Cuts Are Hitting Global Conservation Projects Hard The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian...
2 months ago
9
2 months ago
The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance. It has also eliminated funding for environmental protection and conservation work in dozens of countries, with many programs now being forced to shut down. Read more on...
Yale E360
Microplastics Block Blood Flow in Brains of Mice A new study finds microplastics can block the flow of blood in the brains of mice. The study comes...
5 months ago
5
5 months ago
A new study finds microplastics can block the flow of blood in the brains of mice. The study comes on the heels of other research showing, for the first time, that microplastics can lodge in human brains. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
Trump’s Logging Push Thrusts a Dagger at the Heart of Wilderness Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump...
a week ago
7
a week ago
Alaska’s Tongass is the world’s largest temperate rainforest and a sanctuary for wildlife. The Trump administration’s plan to rescind a rule banning roads in wild areas of National Forests would open untouched parts of the Tongass and other forests to logging and...
NeuroLogica Blog
Weaponized Pedantry and Reverse Gish Gallop Have you ever been in a discussion where the person with whom you disagree dismisses your position...
a year ago
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a year ago
Have you ever been in a discussion where the person with whom you disagree dismisses your position because you got some tiny detail wrong or didn’t know the tiny detail? This is a common debating technique. For example, opponents of gun safety regulations will often use the...
The Roots of...
What is progress? In one sense, the concept of progress is simple, straightforward, and uncontroversial. In another...
a year ago
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a year ago
In one sense, the concept of progress is simple, straightforward, and uncontroversial. In another sense, it contains an entire worldview. The most basic meaning of “progress” is simply advancement along a path, or more generally from one state to another that is considered more...
Quanta Magazine
Math’s ‘Game of Life’ Reveals Long-Sought Repeating Patterns John Conway’s Game of Life, a famous cellular automaton, has been found to have periodic patterns of...
a year ago
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a year ago
John Conway’s Game of Life, a famous cellular automaton, has been found to have periodic patterns of every possible length. The post Math’s ‘Game of Life’ Reveals Long-Sought Repeating Patterns first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Damn Interesting
The Ancient Order of Bali In the 1970s, the Indonesian island of Bali went through a period of rapid change. Along the...
over a year ago
27
over a year ago
In the 1970s, the Indonesian island of Bali went through a period of rapid change. Along the stunning beaches on the southern side of the island, tourism boomed. Parking lots were put up, together with swinging hot spots and hotels of various colours. Hip young travellers from...
Yale E360
Cuts to U.S. Climate Aid Will Leave Large Gap in Global Funding The U.S. provides nearly a tenth of all climate finance globally, a well of funding that is at risk...
4 months ago
3
4 months ago
The U.S. provides nearly a tenth of all climate finance globally, a well of funding that is at risk of drying up as the Trump administration takes aim at overseas spending. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
The Growing Human Footprint on Earth, as Seen from Space Last year saw warming reach startling new highs, with record heat fueling extreme weather around the...
6 months ago
2
6 months ago
Last year saw warming reach startling new highs, with record heat fueling extreme weather around the world. As farms and cities grow, pollution is spreading and overheating the planet. The evidence of our impact is so profound that it can be seen from space. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Computer Scientists Invent an Efficient New Way to Count By making use of randomness, a team has created a simple algorithm for estimating large numbers of...
a year ago
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a year ago
By making use of randomness, a team has created a simple algorithm for estimating large numbers of distinct objects in a stream of data. The post Computer Scientists Invent an Efficient New Way to Count first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
Crash Testing GPT-4 Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
Can we tell if an AI model is safe before it’s released? The group that tested GPT–4 is trying to figure out how.
Damn Interesting
This is Dang Interesting Happy New Year! This has nothing to do with the new year. We at this website know, reluctantly, that...
over a year ago
32
over a year ago
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...
Asterisk
China’s Silicon Future China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts...
over a year ago
17
over a year ago
China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts will succeed is far from clear.
Quanta Magazine
How Is Cell Death Essential to Life? Cells in our bodies are constantly dying — and these countless tiny deaths are essential to human...
7 months ago
65
7 months ago
Cells in our bodies are constantly dying — and these countless tiny deaths are essential to human health and multicellular life itself. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with cellular biologist Shai Shaham about what makes a cell “alive” and the latest developments...
Casey Handmer's blog
The Los Angeles wildfires are self-inflicted I don’t ordinarily write about events “in the moment” but for this I will make an exception, as I...
6 months ago
62
6 months ago
I don’t ordinarily write about events “in the moment” but for this I will make an exception, as I was personally affected. Caveats aside, my family and I are safe, we evacuated for several days, and due to heroic efforts by professional firefighters and psychotically brave...
Quanta Magazine
The New Quest to Control Evolution Modern scientists aren’t content with predicting how life evolves. They want to shape it. ...
a year ago
42
a year ago
Modern scientists aren’t content with predicting how life evolves. They want to shape it. The post The New Quest to Control Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Cremieux Recueil
Focusing on Healthcare’s Administrative Costs Is Misguided Substantial thinking about healthcare reform starts with acknowledging that administrative bloat...
7 months ago
Quanta Magazine
The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators,...
9 months ago
51
9 months ago
Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon. The post The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology first appeared...
Yale E360
In War-Torn Sudan, a Gold Mining Boom Takes a Human Toll As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring...
3 months ago
2
3 months ago
As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring factions. Most of the mining is done on a small scale by villagers who process the gold using mercury and cyanide, posing serious threats to their health and to the environment. Read...
Eukaryote Writes...
I got dysentery so you don’t have to On turning 30 in a human challenge trial ward.
9 months ago
Melting Asphalt
The Elephant in the Brain It's finally here! The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life — my first book,...
over a year ago
34
over a year ago
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 ›
brr
South Pole Topography The relentless accumulation (and management) of snow.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Where Do Scientists Think This Is All Going? We asked some of the world’s foremost experts an impossible question. Amazingly, they answered. ...
2 months ago
10
2 months ago
We asked some of the world’s foremost experts an impossible question. Amazingly, they answered. The post Where Do Scientists Think This Is All Going? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
Meet Mr. Internet: Vint Cerf It was June 1973. For the past three months, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn had been working together on a...
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
It was June 1973. For the past three months, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn had been working together on a problem Kahn had been pondering for some time: how to connect ground-based military computers seamlessly to communications satellites and mobile radios. The two had been...
NeuroLogica Blog
Do We Have Free Will? Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free...
a year ago
24
a year ago
Let’s dive head first into one of the internet’s most contentious questions – do we have true free will? This comes up not infrequently whenever I write here about neuroscience, most recently when I wrote about hunger circuitry, because the notion of the brain as a physical...
Asterisk
Feeding the World Without Sunlight In 1815, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history led to harvest failures across the globe....
over a year ago
19
over a year ago
In 1815, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history led to harvest failures across the globe. Today, a nuclear winter could bring the global food system crashing down. Is it possible to feed the world in the aftermath of a catastrophe?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Breaking Down Electronic Data Interchange, X12, and Stedi | Out-Of-Pocket
a year ago
Yale E360
African Solar Installations Headed for Banner Year African solar installations are projected to grow by 42 percent this year, according to an industry...
4 months ago
5
4 months ago
African solar installations are projected to grow by 42 percent this year, according to an industry group. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
In a Warming World, Why Is the Southern Ocean Getting Cooler? Climate models predict that as the planet warms, so will the Southern Ocean. But for decades, the...
3 months ago
3
3 months ago
Climate models predict that as the planet warms, so will the Southern Ocean. But for decades, the waters around Antarctica have grown mysteriously cooler. A new study shows why. Read more on E360 →
Yale E360
As War Halts, the Environmental Devastation in Gaza Runs Deep The war in Gaza has taken a heavy toll on the environment, with water supplies contaminated, raw...
5 months ago
5
5 months ago
The war in Gaza has taken a heavy toll on the environment, with water supplies contaminated, raw sewage pouring into the Mediterranean, once-fertile soils ruined, and the land stripped of trees. Experts say the extent of the damage needs to be tallied to help plan for a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Spider-Man’s Web Shooter I have to admit that my favorite superhero as a kid, and still today, is Spider-Man (and yes, that’s...
9 months ago
54
9 months ago
I have to admit that my favorite superhero as a kid, and still today, is Spider-Man (and yes, that’s the correct spelling). There are a number of narrative reasons for this that I grew to appreciate more as I aged. First, Spider-Man is in the sweet spot of super abilities – he is...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Value-Based Care Contracting Works with Accorded | Out-Of-Pocket With calculators and contracts you can see yourself
a year ago
Yale E360
In a First, Chimps Found Sharing Fermented Fruit For the first time, wild chimpanzees have been caught on film sharing fermented fruit. The footage...
2 months ago
2
2 months ago
For the first time, wild chimpanzees have been caught on film sharing fermented fruit. The footage comes from Cantanhez National Park in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, where camera traps recorded chimps eating fermented breadfruit together on 10 separate...
Beautiful Public...
Vehicle Crash Test Films from the 1970's and 1980s Deep in the public archives of the NHTSA, there are thousands of films of some classic (and some...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Deep in the public archives of the NHTSA, there are thousands of films of some classic (and some ugly) 70’s and 80’s cars being smashed into smithereens.
Asterisk
Beyond Staple Grains The Green Revolution saved a billion lives, but it left a legacy of homogenous diets and distorted...
over a year ago
20
over a year ago
The Green Revolution saved a billion lives, but it left a legacy of homogenous diets and distorted agricultural markets. What impact has this had on global health — and how can we move forward?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Amazon + One Medical Post | Out-Of-Pocket I guess I should say something?
a year ago
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: The stats gap Students understand just enough statistics to get by
over a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scheduling, Medicaid Opportunities, and Health MBAs with Sandy Varatharajah | Out-Of-Pocket misconceptions, opportunities, and more
a year ago
nanoscale views
Updates, thoughts about industrial support of university research Lots of news in the last few days regarding federal funding of university research: NSF has now...
2 months ago
15
2 months ago
Lots of news in the last few days regarding federal funding of university research: NSF has now frozen all funding for new and continuing awards.  This is not good; just how bad it is depends on the definition of "until further notice".   Here is an open letter from the NSF...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The weird CPT code process you need to understand | Out-Of-Pocket “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words are billed CPT 99245”
a year ago
Yale E360
Will U.S. Push on Seabed Mining End Global Consensus on Oceans? President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international...
2 months ago
5
2 months ago
President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international agreements that protect oceans. By moving unilaterally, says the Ocean Conservancy’s Jeff Watters, the U.S. could endanger fragile marine ecosystems and set a troubling...
The Roots of...
What if they gave an Industrial Revolution and nobody came? Imagine you could go back in time to the ancient world to jump-start the Industrial Revolution. You...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Imagine you could go back in time to the ancient world to jump-start the Industrial Revolution. You carry with you plans for a steam engine, and you present them to the emperor, explaining how the machine could be used to drain water out of mines, pump bellows for blast furnaces,...
Quanta Magazine
A Rosetta Stone for Mathematics In 1940 André Weil wrote a letter to his sister, Simone, outlining his vision for translating...
a year ago
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a year ago
In 1940 André Weil wrote a letter to his sister, Simone, outlining his vision for translating between three distinct areas of mathematics. Eighty years later, it still animates many of the most exciting developments in the field. The post A Rosetta Stone for...
Yale E360
Will U.S. Push on Seabed Mining End Global Consensus on Oceans? President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
President Trump’s recent order to expedite permits to begin deep-sea mining bypasses international agreements that protect oceans. By moving unilaterally, says the Ocean Conservancy’s Jeff Watters, the U.S. could endanger fragile marine ecosystems and set a troubling...
Drew Ex Machina
Accurate Characterization of 3D Winds Using Stereographic Observations from the Hurricane Hunter... The teams at Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) and Canada Weather Analytics (CWA), where this author...
a year ago
85
a year ago
The teams at Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) and Canada Weather Analytics (CWA), where this author is the Chief Scientist, had the honor of having our abstract […]
The Works in...
NIMBYism and how to resolve it A diagnosis and a solution.
a month ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Giant Eels, Loch Ness, and Probability At this point it is pretty clear that the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie) does not exist. I know,...
a year ago
22
a year ago
At this point it is pretty clear that the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie) does not exist. I know, logically it is impossible to prove a negative, so if we want to be technical we can say that the probability of a large creature similar to that believed to be Nessie approaches zero....
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Actually good 2024 healthcare predictions | Out-Of-Pocket I know, enough predictions. But these are good!
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Particle Health And Pulling Patient Data | Out-Of-Pocket One API, one dream
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Physicians and Pharma Marketing | Out-Of-Pocket oh we getting that drug money
a year ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Structuring the Unstructured and ScienceIO | Out-Of-Pocket how to train your model, the animated movie
a year ago
Asterisk
Development Finance Done Right A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency...
a year ago
15
a year ago
A veteran diplomat explains how to navigate the U.S. development ecosystem, master the interagency process, and bring electricity to 200 million people.
NeuroLogica Blog
Will AI Bring Us Jurassic Park I think it’s increasingly difficult to argue that the recent boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is...
3 months ago
30
3 months ago
I think it’s increasingly difficult to argue that the recent boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is mostly hype. There is a lot of hype, but don’t let that distract you from the real progress. The best indication of this is applications in scientific research, because the...
Quanta Magazine
Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash...
5 months ago
54
5 months ago
A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash tables can be much faster than previously deemed possible. The post Undergraduate Upends a 40-Year-Old Data Science Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Confessions of a...
Let’s argue against the Shark Cull with science There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the...
over a year ago
87
over a year ago
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the Government put it, the “shark protection measures”) here in Western Australia.  Just as I am not a climate scientist, I am not a shark biologist, and cannot claim to be a shark expert....
Chris Grossack's...
A Proof that there's No Constructive Proof of the Intermediate Value Theorem The other day my friend Lucas Salim was asking me some questions about categorical logic and...
a month ago
16
a month ago
The other day my friend Lucas Salim was asking me some questions about categorical logic and constructive math, and he mentioned he’d never seen a proof that there’s no constructive proof of the intermediate value theorem before. I showed him the usual counterexample, and...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
OOP's 3 year anniversary | Out-Of-Pocket some thoughts/reflections
a year ago
Yale E360
A Third of Forests Lost This Century Will Likely Never Be Restored Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Of the forest lost so far this century, roughly a third was destroyed to make room for farms, a new analysis finds. Those woodlands, which spanned an area larger than Mongolia, will likely never be restored, authors say. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
The Physicist Decoding the Nonbinary Nature of the Subatomic World Inside the proton, quarks and gluons shift and morph their properties in ways that physicists are...
6 months ago
61
6 months ago
Inside the proton, quarks and gluons shift and morph their properties in ways that physicists are still struggling to understand. Rithya Kunnawalkam Elayavalli brings to the problem a perspective unlike many of their peers. The post The Physicist Decoding the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Tong Test for Artificial General Intelligence Most readers are probably familiar with the Turing Test – a concept proposed by early computing...
a year ago
22
a year ago
Most readers are probably familiar with the Turing Test – a concept proposed by early computing expert Alan Turing in 1950, and originally called “The Imitation Game”. The original paper is enlightening to read. Turing was not trying to answer the question “can machines think”....
Quantum Frontiers
The Book of Mark, Chapter 2 Late in the summer of 2021, I visited a physics paradise in a physical paradise: the Kavli Institute...
a year ago
31
a year ago
Late in the summer of 2021, I visited a physics paradise in a physical paradise: the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP). The KITP sits at the edge of the University of California, Santa Barbara like a bougainvillea bush at … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
Man Gets Pig Kidney Transplant On March 16 surgeons transplanted a kidney taken from a pig into a human recipient, Rick Slayman. So...
a year ago
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a year ago
On March 16 surgeons transplanted a kidney taken from a pig into a human recipient, Rick Slayman. So far the transplant is a success, but of course the real test will be how well the kidney functions and for how long. This is the first time such a transplant has been done into a...
The Works in...
Fermenting revolution The Victorian fight against bad bread and its role in women’s liberation
a year ago
Yale E360
Head of African Bank Warns of "Carbon Grabs" by Foreign Firms Akinwumi Adesina, outgoing president of the African Development Bank, is warning that foreign firms...
3 months ago
10
3 months ago
Akinwumi Adesina, outgoing president of the African Development Bank, is warning that foreign firms are underpaying for carbon credits from African forests. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Hopes of Big Bang Discoveries Ride on a Future Spacecraft Physicists and cosmologists will have a new probe of primordial processes when Europe launches the...
a year ago
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a year ago
Physicists and cosmologists will have a new probe of primordial processes when Europe launches the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) next decade. The post Hopes of Big Bang Discoveries Ride on a Future Spacecraft first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
The Do-or-Die Moments That Determined the Fate of the Internet CES) and the Game Developers Conference have become regular features of the digital world. ARPANET...
over a year ago
21
over a year ago
CES) and the Game Developers Conference have become regular features of the digital world. ARPANET in 1972, or the mid-1980s conferences now known as Interop, alerted experts to new technologies, and, in some cases, altered the balance between competing approaches. Packet...
Cremieux Recueil
Trump Should Finish What He Started A guestpost calling for Trump to finish radically reforming the tax system
7 months ago
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Food as medicine | Out-Of-Pocket The most cost-effective intervention we have
a year ago
Yale E360
Warming Linked to Rising Cancer Rates Among Women in the Middle East New research finds a link between increasingly extreme heat in the Middle East and rising rates of...
a month ago
4
a month ago
New research finds a link between increasingly extreme heat in the Middle East and rising rates of cancer in women. Read more on E360 →
Quanta Magazine
Scientists Find Optimal Balance of Data Storage and Time Seventy years after the invention of a data structure called a hash table, theoreticians have found...
a year ago
63
a year ago
Seventy years after the invention of a data structure called a hash table, theoreticians have found the most efficient possible configuration for it. The post Scientists Find Optimal Balance of Data Storage and Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Light from Space
Andromeda: Our Galactic Neighbor Many things have been said about the Andromeda Galaxy, arguably the most majestic galaxy that...
9 months ago
78
9 months ago
Many things have been said about the Andromeda Galaxy, arguably the most majestic galaxy that amateur astronomers can image due to it's sheer size in the sky—many times larger than the Moon appears to us, but also many times dimmer. With the naked eye, even in
Quanta Magazine
Grad Students Find Inevitable Patterns in Big Sets of Numbers A new proof marks the first progress in decades on a problem about how order emerges from disorder. ...
11 months ago
83
11 months ago
A new proof marks the first progress in decades on a problem about how order emerges from disorder. The post Grad Students Find Inevitable Patterns in Big Sets of Numbers first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant...
4 weeks ago
2
4 weeks ago
In conflict areas from Ukraine to Palestine, storage facilities holding seeds vital for future plant breeding are being lost. Scientists are rushing to send some remaining seeds to a “doomsday” vault in Norway so they can be available to provide food crops in a warming...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Common ROI mistakes in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket Plus some benchmark ROI numbers for you to think about
a week ago
Quanta Magazine
A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force...
over a year ago
89
over a year ago
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons. The post A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Stephen Wolfram...
Foundations of Biological Evolution: More Results & More Surprises This is a follow-on to Why Does Biological Evolution Work? A Minimal Model for Biological Evolution...
7 months ago
102
7 months ago
This is a follow-on to Why Does Biological Evolution Work? A Minimal Model for Biological Evolution and Other Adaptive Processes [May 3, 2024]. Even More from an Extremely Simple Model A few months ago I introduced an extremely simple “adaptive cellular automaton” model that...
Asterisk
We Can, Must, and Will Simulate Nematode Brains Scientists have spent over 25 years trying — and failing — to build computer simulations of the...
4 months ago
18
4 months ago
Scientists have spent over 25 years trying — and failing — to build computer simulations of the smallest brain we know. Today, we finally have the tools to pull it off.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What does longevity medicine actually mean? | Out-Of-Pocket An interview with a practicing longevity medicine doctor
8 months ago
Asterisk
The EA-Progress Studies War is Here, and It’s a Constructive Dialogue! We’re hoping Marc Andreessen doesn’t read this and polarize everyone again.
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Journalists Fail on UAP Story Nothing about the recent resurgence in interest in UFOs (now called UAPs for unidentified anomalous...
a year ago
28
a year ago
Nothing about the recent resurgence in interest in UFOs (now called UAPs for unidentified anomalous phenomena) is really new. It’s basically the same stories with the same level of completely unconvincing evidence. But what is somewhat new is the level of credulity and outright...
ToughSF
Fusion Highways in Space A transport system that can get spacecraft to Jupiter in 10 days, but without a massive onboard...
over a year ago
16
over a year ago
A transport system that can get spacecraft to Jupiter in 10 days, but without a massive onboard reactor, using antimatter fuel or riding a gigantic laser beam?  What we need instead is a Fusion Highway to connect the Solar System in unprecedented ways.  The art above is by...
Quanta Magazine
What Does Milk Do for Babies? Human nutrition begins with milk, but the wondrous biofluid does much more than feed babies. In this...
a year ago
62
a year ago
Human nutrition begins with milk, but the wondrous biofluid does much more than feed babies. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with molecular nutritionist Elizabeth Johnson about her research into the impact of human milk on a healthy microbiome. The...
Yale E360
To Help Growers and the Grid, Build Solar on Farmland, Research Says Two new studies suggest that devoting a small fraction of U.S. farmland to solar power would be a...
2 months ago
3
2 months ago
Two new studies suggest that devoting a small fraction of U.S. farmland to solar power would be a boon both for the energy system and for farmers themselves. Read more on E360 →
Drew Ex Machina
Top Ten Posts of 2022 Now that we are at the end of 2022, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on...
over a year ago
47
over a year ago
Now that we are at the end of 2022, it is time to look back at this year’s material published on Drew Ex Machina and see […]
IEEE Spectrum
How Tech Automated the January 6 Investigations Josh Coker’s Facebook page doesn’t show any MAGA memes or Trump quotes. He wasn’t live-streaming on...
a year ago
32
a year ago
Josh Coker’s Facebook page doesn’t show any MAGA memes or Trump quotes. He wasn’t live-streaming on 6 January 2021, and no one has ever stepped forward to identify him as one of the mob that stormed the US Capitol that day. Oregon, Ohio, with five counts connected to the failed...
nanoscale views
The National Science Foundation - this is not business as usual The National Science Foundation was created 75 years ago, at the behest of Vannevar Bush, who put...
4 months ago
23
4 months ago
The National Science Foundation was created 75 years ago, at the behest of Vannevar Bush, who put together the famed study, Science, The Endless Frontier, in 1945.  The NSF has played a critical role in a huge amount of science and engineering research since its inception,...
Quantum Frontiers
Ten lessons I learned from John Preskill Last August, Toronto’s Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC) gave me 35 minutes...
5 months ago
67
5 months ago
Last August, Toronto’s Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC) gave me 35 minutes to make fun of John Preskill in public. CQIQC was hosting its biannual conference, also called CQIQC, in Toronto. The conference features the awarding of … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
Sparse Networks Come to the Aid of Big Physics A novel type of neural network is helping physicists with the daunting challenge of data analysis. ...
over a year ago
54
over a year ago
A novel type of neural network is helping physicists with the daunting challenge of data analysis. The post Sparse Networks Come to the Aid of Big Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Encouraging a new community Physicists advocate for getting community college students involved in research.
over a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Topologists Tackle the Trouble With Poll Placement Mathematicians are using topological abstractions to find places where it’s hard to vote. ...
a year ago
56
a year ago
Mathematicians are using topological abstractions to find places where it’s hard to vote. The post Topologists Tackle the Trouble With Poll Placement first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
The Other End of the Autism Spectrum In my previous post I wrote about how we think about and talk about autism spectrum disorder (ASD),...
2 months ago
16
2 months ago
In my previous post I wrote about how we think about and talk about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and how RFK Jr misunderstands and exploits this complexity to weave his anti-vaccine crank narrative. There is also another challenge in the conversation about autism, which exists...
symmetry magazine
Physics fashion and collider couture Symmetry is back with more physics-themed Halloween costumes.
a year ago
pcloadletter
Impact-based performance evaluation in big tech is terrible My theory is that some performance consultants got paid a lot of money one day for a single word:...
a year ago
43
a year ago
My theory is that some performance consultants got paid a lot of money one day for a single word: "impact." If you have worked in big tech, you're probably all too familiar with this word because your annual performance evaluations are based on your impact. As an employee,...
NeuroLogica Blog
Managing Plastic Waste The world produces 350-400 million metric tons of plastic waste. Less than 10% of this waste is...
8 months ago
48
8 months ago
The world produces 350-400 million metric tons of plastic waste. Less than 10% of this waste is recycled, while 25% is mismanaged or littered. About 1.7 million tons ends up in the ocean. This is not sustainable, but whose responsibility is it to deal with this issue? The debate...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame...
a year ago
83
a year ago
The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame movement of electrons. The post Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
U.S. Aid Cuts Are Hitting Global Conservation Projects Hard The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian...
2 months ago
6
2 months ago
The Trump Administration’s dismantling of USAID has done more than cut off life-saving humanitarian assistance. It has also eliminated funding for environmental protection and conservation work in dozens of countries, with many programs now being forced to shut down. Read more on...
Drew Ex Machina
Recollections of NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This...
12 months ago
85
12 months ago
Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This interest started honestly enough back around […]
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Big Changes Coming | Out-Of-Pocket What's temporary vs. permanent?
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
What Causes Giant Rogue Waves? Once dismissed as myths, monstrous rogue waves that tower over ships and appear without warning are...
over a year ago
69
over a year ago
Once dismissed as myths, monstrous rogue waves that tower over ships and appear without warning are real. Wave-science researcher Ton van den Bremer and Steven Strogatz discuss how rogue waves can form in relatively calm seas and whether their threat can be predicted. ...
nanoscale views
NSF targeted with mass layoffs, acc to Politico; huge cuts in president’s budget request According to this article at politico, there was an all-hands meeting at NSF today (at least for the...
5 months ago
20
5 months ago
According to this article at politico, there was an all-hands meeting at NSF today (at least for the engineering directorate) where they were told that there will be staff layoffs of 25-50% over the next two months. This is an absolute catastrophe if it is accurately reported and...
Wanderingspace
Goodbye Ingenuity Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it...
a year ago
69
a year ago
Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it inoperable..
NeuroLogica Blog
Biofrequency Gadgets are a Total Scam I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes...
a year ago
64
a year ago
I was recently asked what I thought about the Solex AO Scan. The website for the product includes this claim: AO Scan Technology by Solex is an elegant, yet simple-to-use frequency technology based on Tesla, Einstein, and other prominent scientists’ discoveries. It uses delicate...
Blog - Practical...
The Bizarre Paths of Groundwater Around Structures [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In 2015, an unusual incident...
over a year ago
49
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] In 2015, an unusual incident happened on the construction site for a sewage lift station in British Columbia, Canada. WorksafeBC, the provincial health and safety agency, posted a summary of the event on...
Quanta Magazine
Will AI Ever Understand Language Like Humans? AI may sound like a human, but that doesn’t mean that AI learns like a human. In this episode, Ellie...
2 months ago
14
2 months ago
AI may sound like a human, but that doesn’t mean that AI learns like a human. In this episode, Ellie Pavlick explains why understanding how LLMs can process language could unlock deeper insights into both AI and the human mind. The post Will AI Ever Understand...
Cremieux Recueil
The Worst Argument Against Ozempic Unfortunately, being skinny might require effort
10 months ago
Light from Space
The Cat's Paw Located very close to the Lobster Nebula in the southern constellation of Scorpius, the Cat's Paw...
over a year ago
38
over a year ago
Located very close to the Lobster Nebula in the southern constellation of Scorpius, the Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) does indeed have a striking resemblance to a feline footprint. It's quite low in the sky here from Tucson (at a maximum of about 22º above
NeuroLogica Blog
Diamond Batteries Again Why does news reporting of science and technology have to be so terrible at baseline? I know the...
7 months ago
70
7 months ago
Why does news reporting of science and technology have to be so terrible at baseline? I know the answers to this question – lack of expertise, lack of a business model to support dedicated science news infrastructure, the desire for click-bait and sensationalism – but it is still...
Cremieux Recueil
High-Frequency Trading Is Good Sichuan Mala has written a guest post on one of the most unfairly maligned parts of the financial...
10 months ago
30
10 months ago
Sichuan Mala has written a guest post on one of the most unfairly maligned parts of the financial industry
Blog - Practical...
Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think [Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On June 4, 2022, a small piece...
a year ago
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a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.] On June 4, 2022, a small piece of equipment (called a lightning arrestor) at a power plant in Odessa, Texas failed, causing part of the plant to trip offline. It was a fairly typical fault that happens from...
IEEE Spectrum
Before the Undo Command, There Was the Electric Eraser hot combs—they all obviously benefited from the jolt of electrification. But the eraser? What was so...
3 months ago
34
3 months ago
hot combs—they all obviously benefited from the jolt of electrification. But the eraser? What was so problematic about the humble eraser that it needed electrifying? 1935 patent application for an apparatus for erasing, “Hand held rubbers are clumsy and cover a greater area than...
Yale E360
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise Scientists have found that atoll islands with healthy forests and coral reefs are more resilient...
2 months ago
14
2 months ago
Scientists have found that atoll islands with healthy forests and coral reefs are more resilient against rising seas. To shore up vulnerable islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans, experts are working to restore native trees and seabirds and boost the growth of protective...
The Works in...
A $50 million foundation model to predict earthquakes Achieving a 10-minute warning would save thousands of lives
3 days ago
Quanta Magazine
Avi Wigderson, Complexity Theory Pioneer, Wins Turing Award The prolific researcher found deep connections between randomness and computation and spent a career...
a year ago
71
a year ago
The prolific researcher found deep connections between randomness and computation and spent a career influencing cryptographers, complexity researchers and more. The post Avi Wigderson, Complexity Theory Pioneer, Wins Turing Award first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
What Is Distributed Computing? Our computers can get a lot more done when they share the load with other machines. The...
7 months ago
71
7 months ago
Our computers can get a lot more done when they share the load with other machines. The post What Is Distributed Computing? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
How to Guarantee the Safety of Autonomous Vehicles As computer-driven cars and planes become more common, the key to preventing accidents, researchers...
a year ago
74
a year ago
As computer-driven cars and planes become more common, the key to preventing accidents, researchers show, is to know what you don’t know. The post How to Guarantee the Safety of Autonomous Vehicles first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Data Compression Drives the Internet. Here’s How It Works. One student’s desire to get out of a final exam led to the ubiquitous algorithm that shrinks data...
over a year ago
56
over a year ago
One student’s desire to get out of a final exam led to the ubiquitous algorithm that shrinks data without sacrificing information. The post Data Compression Drives the Internet. Here’s How It Works. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
Sculpting quantum steampunk In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and...
8 months ago
67
8 months ago
In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and got married outside the Harvard Faculty Club (because nobody was around to shoo us away). Equally unexpectedly, I received an invitation to collaborate … Continue reading →
Confessions of a...
My Teaching Philosophy As mentioned previously, I need to complete a teaching portfolio over my year as a lecturing intern...
over a year ago
49
over a year ago
As mentioned previously, I need to complete a teaching portfolio over my year as a lecturing intern as part of the PTIS scheme.  Central to this portfolio is a personal teaching philosophy, detailing why teaching is important to me, what my objectives are as a teacher, what...
NeuroLogica Blog
Dwarf Planet Ring Mystery Scientists love mysteries, because that is where new discoveries lay. It is nice to find evidence...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Scientists love mysteries, because that is where new discoveries lay. It is nice to find evidence consistent with existing theories, providing further confirmation, but it’s exciting to find evidence that cannot be explained with existing theories. Astronomers may have found such...
The Works in...
How DC densified Washington, DC, has avoided the worst price rises that have plagued other American cities. Arlington...
3 months ago
30
3 months ago
Washington, DC, has avoided the worst price rises that have plagued other American cities. Arlington might be the reason.
Yale E360
As Bird Flu Spreads, Vaccine Shows Promise for Protecting Cattle Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than...
a month ago
14
a month ago
Since bird flu was first discovered in U.S. cattle last year, the virus has spread to more than 1,000 herds across the country. A new vaccine for cattle has performed well in early tests, raising hopes that it could protect livestock and help prevent an outbreak in humans. Read...
The Roots of...
Accelerating science through evolvable institutions This is the written version of a talk presented to the Santa Fe Institute at a working group on...
a year ago
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a year ago
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...
Yale E360
Heat and Fire Making Pollution Worse Across Much of the U.S. By several measures, air pollution is getting worse in the U.S., a trend due in large part to more...
2 months ago
6
2 months ago
By several measures, air pollution is getting worse in the U.S., a trend due in large part to more severe heat and wildfires, according to a new report. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
Ghosts Are Not Real It’s Halloween, so there are a lot of fluff pieces about ghosts and similar phenomena circulating in...
a year ago
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a year ago
It’s Halloween, so there are a lot of fluff pieces about ghosts and similar phenomena circulating in the media. There are some good skeptical pieces as well, which is always nice to see. For this piece I did not want to frame the headline as a question, which I think is...
Marine Madness
Cownose rays at Bristol Aquarium (video) Watch Bristol Aquarium’s newest residents in action. Bristol Aquarium reopened its doors on May 18...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
Watch Bristol Aquarium’s newest residents in action. Bristol Aquarium reopened its doors on May 18 after being closed for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning visitors were finally allowed to return and see their favourite ocean creatures up close. But during the...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Thinking like a dog How dog brains could save us from dementia
over a year ago
The Roots of...
Video: Intro to progress studies at Learning Night Boston I got invited to speak at Learning Night Boston and give an intro to progress studies: why study...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
I got invited to speak at Learning Night Boston and give an intro to progress studies: why study progress, and why do we need a new philosophy of progress? There are then a few minutes of Q&A. (It was in a bar and the audio quality is poor, sorry.)
IEEE Spectrum
Saving the Big Bang (Antenna) The antenna that discovered a cosmic microwave background coming from all directions in...
over a year ago
31
over a year ago
The antenna that discovered a cosmic microwave background coming from all directions in space—cementing the theory that the universe was created in a big bang—now stares down its own topsy-turvy future. Its owner says the hardware will be preserved, but the fate of the historical...
Yale E360
Dust from Car Brakes More Harmful than Exhaust, Study Finds In cars, pollution doesn't come from exhaust alone. It also comes from wear and tear on roads,...
5 months ago
3
5 months ago
In cars, pollution doesn't come from exhaust alone. It also comes from wear and tear on roads, tires, and brakes. According to new research, tiny bits of dust cast off by brake pads may inflict more harm than car exhaust. Read more on E360 →
Uncharted...
Ten New US Cities: The Salton Sea Salton City and Bombay Beach could flourish with industry and tourism
6 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Fossil Fuels – Reduce Demand or Supply? This is a bit of a false choice – we can do both, or neither – but it is an important question and a...
a year ago
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a year ago
This is a bit of a false choice – we can do both, or neither – but it is an important question and a somewhat of a dilemma. Is the optimal path to reductions and eventual elimination of fossil fuel burning through reduced demand or supply? There are some interesting tradeoffs...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Completely new healthcare markets and what to build for them | Out-Of-Pocket that new new
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Hunger Circuitry One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature...
a year ago
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a year ago
One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature of being alive – maintaining homeostatic equilibrium both internally and externally. Homeostatic systems usually involve multiple feedback loops that maintain some physiological...
IEEE Spectrum
The Unlikely Inventor of the Automatic Rice Cooker How the automatic rice cooker was invented It isn’t often that housewives get credit in the annals...
8 months ago
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8 months ago
How the automatic rice cooker was invented It isn’t often that housewives get credit in the annals of invention, but in the story of the automatic rice cooker, a woman takes center stage. That happened only after the first attempts at electrifying rice cooking, starting in the...
Stephen Wolfram...
Five Most Productive Years: What Happened and What’s Next So… What Happened? Today is my birthday—for the 65th time. Five years ago, on my 60th birthday, I...
10 months ago
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10 months ago
So… What Happened? Today is my birthday—for the 65th time. Five years ago, on my 60th birthday, I did a livestream where I talked about some of my plans. So… what happened? Well, what happened was great. And in fact I’ve just had the most productive five years of my life. Nine...
Quanta Magazine
The Deep Link Equating Math Proofs and Computer Programs Mathematical logic and the code of computer programs are, in an exact way, mirror images of each...
a year ago
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a year ago
Mathematical logic and the code of computer programs are, in an exact way, mirror images of each other. The post The Deep Link Equating Math Proofs and Computer Programs first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Interaction Magic -...
Hacking the terrorist timepiece The hardest part of building hardware interfaces is not having the right tools to prototype, test...
over a year ago
31
over a year ago
The hardest part of building hardware interfaces is not having the right tools to prototype, test and validate ideas. A behind the scenes look at my prototyping process, on a project to re-invent the famous Casio F-91W watch.
Quanta Magazine
An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that...
a year ago
40
a year ago
The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that it has been disproved, the universe of shapes has exploded. The post An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
She Tracks the DNA of Elusive Species That Hide in Harsh Places On Mount Everest and in the Peruvian Andes, Tracie Seimon uses DNA to study how species and...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
On Mount Everest and in the Peruvian Andes, Tracie Seimon uses DNA to study how species and ecosystems respond to climate change, pathogens and other influences. The post She Tracks the DNA of Elusive Species That Hide in Harsh Places first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Yale E360
Britain Sees Sunniest Spring on Record This spring was the warmest and sunniest on record in the U.K., a symptom of a rapidly warming...
a month ago
14
a month ago
This spring was the warmest and sunniest on record in the U.K., a symptom of a rapidly warming climate, weather officials say. Read more on E360 →
NeuroLogica Blog
Another UFO Whistleblower How seriously should we take the claims of David Grusch? He is an airforce veteran and former member...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
How seriously should we take the claims of David Grusch? He is an airforce veteran and former member of the UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) task force, which is enough to at least hear him out. He gave an exclusive interview to journalist Ross Coulthart from NewsNation, part...
NeuroLogica Blog
How Substance Abuse Affects the Brain I will acknowledge up front that I never drink, ever. The concept of deliberately consuming a known...
a year ago
23
a year ago
I will acknowledge up front that I never drink, ever. The concept of deliberately consuming a known poison to impair the functioning of your brain never appealed to me. Also, I am a bit of a supertaster, and the taste of alcohol to me is horrible – it overwhelms any other...
Quanta Magazine
Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells...
over a year ago
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over a year ago
As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells now growing in labs are giving us our best glimpses of the forerunners of all complex life. The post Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity first...