The Roots of...
The origins of the steam engine
This is a guest post written by Anton Howes and animated by Matt Brown of Extraordinary Facility....
a year ago
This is a guest post written by Anton Howes and animated by Matt Brown of Extraordinary Facility. This project was sponsored by The Roots of Progress, with funding generously provided by The Institute.
Steam power did not begin with the steam engine. Long before...
Blog - Practical...
How Different Spillway Gates Work
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In the heart of Minneapolis,...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota on the Mississippi River is the picturesque Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, which originally made it possible to travel upstream on the river past the falls...
Asterisk
Why You’ve Never Been In A Plane Crash
The United States leads the world in airline safety. That’s because of the way we assign blame when...
10 months ago
The United States leads the world in airline safety. That’s because of the way we assign blame when accidents do happen.
Explorations of an...
Río Bigal Biological Reserve - Pristine Foothill Forest In Eastern Ecuador
"What has been your favourite country that you have visited?"
People often ask me various...
a year ago
"What has been your favourite country that you have visited?"
People often ask me various iterations of this question when they hear about the traveling that Laura and I have been fortunate to have done. Sometimes I say Colombia, sometimes I say Peru, but usually I don't name a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Choosing our Representatives
As we are in an election year in the US, there seems to be only one thing on which there is broad...
6 months ago
As we are in an election year in the US, there seems to be only one thing on which there is broad agreement – this upcoming election will be consequential. So allow me to share some of my musings about the process of electing our political representatives. Let me start by laying...
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
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.
Cremieux Recueil
The Ottoman Origins of Modernity
Would we have the modern world without Islamic incursion into Southeastern Europe?
3 months ago
Would we have the modern world without Islamic incursion into Southeastern Europe?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scaling Organizations, Patient Payments, and Collections with Lora Rosenblum | Out-Of-Pocket
Why am I getting bills 6 months later, Lora pls help
a year ago
Why am I getting bills 6 months later, Lora pls help
Light from Space
Elephant Trunk & IC 1396
A beautiful nebula in Cepheus. The middle bottom left of the image shows the “Elephant Trunk”, but...
over a year ago
A beautiful nebula in Cepheus. The middle bottom left of the image shows the “Elephant Trunk”, but the whole nebula IC 1396 shows much impressive detail. A whole layer of dark nebulas overlaps everything, looking like a giant explosion frozen in time.
Total exposure time: 18h...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Wiedemann-Franz Law
Science is most useful when it makes predictions. Predictions are based on theory, and one problem...
6 months ago
Science is most useful when it makes predictions. Predictions are based on theory, and one problem with most theories in materials science is that they are based on data that might not exist for all of the intended class of materials. Simple rules were developed to remedy this...
The Roots of...
What I’ve been reading, April 2023
A monthly feature. Note that I generally don’t include very recent writing here, such as the latest...
a year ago
A monthly feature. Note that I generally don’t include very recent writing here, such as the latest blog posts (for those, see my Twitter digests); this is for my deeper research.
AI
First, various historical perspectives on AI, many of which were quite prescient:
Alan Turing,...
Quanta Magazine
How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats
To buffer the brain against menaces in the blood, a dynamic, multi-tiered system of protection is...
a year ago
To buffer the brain against menaces in the blood, a dynamic, multi-tiered system of protection is built into the brain’s blood vessels.
The post How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
James Wimshurst’s Electrostatic Immortality
James Wimshurst did not invent the machine that bears his name. But thanks to his many refinements...
a year ago
James Wimshurst did not invent the machine that bears his name. But thanks to his many refinements to a distinctive type of electrostatic generator, we now have the Wimshurst influence machine.
What does a Wimshurst machine do?
Influence machines date back to the 18th century....
Wanderingspace
OSIRIS-REX Leaves Bennu
The OSIRIS-REX mission in on a two year trajectory back to Earth after capturing fragments of the...
over a year ago
The OSIRIS-REX mission in on a two year trajectory back to Earth after capturing fragments of the near Earth asteroid Bennu after successfully executing a sample touchdown last fall. [LINK]
The sampling of of the asteroid’s surface is shown above.
NeuroLogica Blog
Coaching with Empathy
The show Ted Lasso is about to wrap up its final season. I am one of the many people who really...
a year ago
The show Ted Lasso is about to wrap up its final season. I am one of the many people who really enjoy the show, which turns on a group of likable people helping each other through various life challenges with care and empathy. Lasso is an American college football coach who was...
Explorations of an...
The Quest For The Rufous-throated Dipper
The east slope of the Andes is one of my favourite places in the world to explore. As I've mentioned...
a year ago
The east slope of the Andes is one of my favourite places in the world to explore. As I've mentioned before on this blog, this is due to several factors, but prime among them is that this slope receives a high level of rainfall. Turn on the taps, and you turn on the biodiversity....
Probably...
Regrets and Regression
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
5 months ago
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. standardize Standardization and Normalization¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I want to write a research...
NeuroLogica Blog
Power-To-X and Climate Change Policy
What is Power-to-X (PtX)? It’s just a fancy marketing term for green hydrogen – using green energy,...
2 weeks ago
What is Power-to-X (PtX)? It’s just a fancy marketing term for green hydrogen – using green energy, like wind, solar, nuclear, or hydroelectric, to make hydrogen from water. This process does not release any CO2, just oxygen, and when the hydrogen is burned back with that oxygen...
Quanta Magazine
How Does Math Keep Secrets?
Cryptography is the thread that connects Julius Caesar, World War II and quantum computing, and it...
4 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. ...
NeuroLogica Blog
Being Trans Is Not A Mental Illness
On the current episode of the SGU, because it is pride month, we expressed our general support for...
a year ago
On the current episode of the SGU, because it is pride month, we expressed our general support for the LGBTQ community. I also opined about how important it is to respect individual liberty, the freedom to simply live your authentic life as you choose, and how ironic it is that...
IEEE Spectrum
Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia
end cap from one of Skylab’s oxygen tanks in the dirt. Cattle were drinking collected rainwater from...
a year ago
end cap from one of Skylab’s oxygen tanks in the dirt. Cattle were drinking collected rainwater from the remains of a US $2.2 billion NASA investment.
Skylab’s Failure and Recovery
Skylab’s fate was sealed moments after lift-off when the sun shield and main solar panel were...
Explorations of an...
A Tour Of The Western Galápagos Archipelago
The Galápagos archipelago is one of those must-visit destinations for anyone with an interest in...
a year ago
The Galápagos archipelago is one of those must-visit destinations for anyone with an interest in ecology, evolution, or biogeography. The islands are located in the eastern Pacific where a “hotspot” deep within the earth has been spewing magma for millions of years. The oldest...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Can patients be good healthcare shoppers? | Out-Of-Pocket
Should their be limits to patient agency?
4 months ago
Should their be limits to patient agency?
Quanta Magazine
Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion
Altering a protein in the neurons that coordinate a rattlesnake’s movement made a slow slither...
9 months ago
Altering a protein in the neurons that coordinate a rattlesnake’s movement made a slow slither neuron more like a speedy rattle neuron, showing one way evolution can generate new ways of moving.
The post Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion first appeared...
Explorations of an...
Borneo, October 2022
Borneo, the third largest island in the world behind Greenland and New Guinea, is home to some of...
a year ago
Borneo, the third largest island in the world behind Greenland and New Guinea, is home to some of the planet’s oldest rainforests, containing a stunning array of biodiversity. The conditions in Borneo forests have stimulated the evolution of many different organisms that are...
Probably...
Logarithms and Heteroskedasticity
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. log_heterosked Logarithms and heteroskedasticity¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Is it correct to use...
NeuroLogica Blog
RFK Jr., Joe Rogan, and Vaccines
RFK Jr., who is now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, is anti-vaccine. He will...
a year ago
RFK Jr., who is now running for the Democratic presidential nomination, is anti-vaccine. He will vehemently deny this, but I don’t buy it for a second. He is simply playing the, “I’m not anti-vaccine, I am pro-safe vaccine” gambit, which is disingenuous and always has been. We...
Quantum Frontiers
Let the great world spin
I first heard the song “Fireflies,” by Owl City, shortly after my junior year of college. During the...
a year ago
I first heard the song “Fireflies,” by Owl City, shortly after my junior year of college. During the refrain, singer Adam Young almost whispers, “I’d like to make myself believe / that planet Earth turns slowly.” Goosebumps prickled along my … Continue reading →
Andrew Fraknoi –...
A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope)
Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope.
The post A Movie...
a year ago
Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope.
The post A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope) appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
NeuroLogica Blog
The Exoplanet Radius Gap
As of this writing, there are 5,573 confirmed exoplanets in 4,146 planetary systems. That is enough...
10 months ago
As of this writing, there are 5,573 confirmed exoplanets in 4,146 planetary systems. That is enough exoplanets, planets around stars other than our own sun, that we can do some statistics to describe what’s out there. One curious pattern that has emerged is a relative gap in the...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Tikalon Blog Archive
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved...
3 months ago
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved articles. If you're willing to wait a while for the download, a zip file of all the blog articles can be found at the link below. Note, however, that these articles are copyrighted and...
Wanderingspace
Space-X Looking Like 2001 Space Odyssey
Amazing shot. Looks like a movie.
a year ago
Amazing shot. Looks like a movie.
NeuroLogica Blog
For Movies – Animals Don’t Sound Real Enough
What does a majestic eagle sound like, or the hoot of a spider monkey, or the roar of a bear? Unless...
a year ago
What does a majestic eagle sound like, or the hoot of a spider monkey, or the roar of a bear? Unless you have an interest in movie tropes, or listen regularly to the SGU, you may have a complete misconception about the sounds these and many other animals make. Eagles, for...
Asterisk
Better Living Through Group Chemistry
Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
5 months ago
Inside the San Francisco group house scene.
NeuroLogica Blog
A Climate Debate Regarding Health Effects – Part III
Part 3 Hi Steve, and thank you for your timely response, and for even considering hosting this...
a year ago
Part 3 Hi Steve, and thank you for your timely response, and for even considering hosting this debate. There has been, and continues to be a “blackout” on almost all discussion regarding the science behind climate change. If “The science” is truly “settled”, it is a pretty shaky...
Beautiful Public...
Visualizing Ship Movements with AIS Data
Explore the beautiful, intricate paths of ships over a year—tracked from America's busiest ports to...
3 months ago
Explore the beautiful, intricate paths of ships over a year—tracked from America's busiest ports to the open ocean via AIS marine tracking data.
Probably...
The Gender Gap in Political Beliefs Is Small
In previous articles (here, here, and here) I’ve looked at evidence of a gender gap in political...
10 months ago
In previous articles (here, here, and here) I’ve looked at evidence of a gender gap in political alignment (liberal or conservative), party affiliation (Democrat or Republican), and policy preferences. Using data from the GSS, I found that women are more likely to say they are...
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2020, 1)
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently...
over a year ago
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently plucked from its fruitful boughs.
The Works in...
Unending World
A foretaste of Ch. 11 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
2 months ago
A foretaste of Ch. 11 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2020, 2)
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently...
over a year ago
Internet Harvest is a selection of the most succulent links on the internet that I’ve recently plucked from its fruitful boughs. Feel free to discuss the links in the comments. Also, semi-intentionally, none of the links in this harvest are COVID-19-related. If you want some...
NeuroLogica Blog
Washington Post on Past Lives
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of...
7 months ago
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of pseudoscience or the paranormal. The Washington Post’s recent article on children who apparently remember their past lives is no exception. Journalists generally don’t have the...
Quanta Magazine
Most Life on Earth is Dormant, After Pulling an ‘Emergency Brake’
Many microbes and cells are in deep sleep, waiting for the right moment to activate. Biologists...
6 months ago
Many microbes and cells are in deep sleep, waiting for the right moment to activate. Biologists discovered a widespread protein that abruptly shuts down a cell’s activity — and turns it back on just as fast.
The post Most Life on Earth is Dormant, After Pulling an...
The Works in...
Growing Forests
As countries develop, deforestation drops
a year ago
As countries develop, deforestation drops
Melting Asphalt
A Natural History of Beauty
A mashup of ideas from David Deutsch, Geoffrey Miller, and Richard Prum, with a little César Hidalgo...
over a year ago
A mashup of ideas from David Deutsch, Geoffrey Miller, and Richard Prum, with a little César Hidalgo thrown in for good measure. —— Of all the problems that can plague a discussion of beauty — and there are several — perhaps…
Read more ›
Quanta Magazine
Novel Architecture Makes Neural Networks More Understandable
By tapping into a decades-old mathematical principle, researchers are hoping that Kolmogorov-Arnold...
3 months ago
By tapping into a decades-old mathematical principle, researchers are hoping that Kolmogorov-Arnold networks will facilitate scientific discovery.
The post Novel Architecture Makes Neural Networks More Understandable first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Experimental techniques: bridge measurements
When we teach undergraduates about materials and measuring electrical resistance, we tend to gloss...
4 months ago
When we teach undergraduates about materials and measuring electrical resistance, we tend to gloss over the fact that there are specialized techniques for this - it's more than just hooking up a battery and an ammeter. If you want to get high precision results, such as measuring...
NeuroLogica Blog
Mach Effect Thrusters Fail
When thinking about potential future technology, one way to divide possible future tech is into...
9 months ago
When thinking about potential future technology, one way to divide possible future tech is into probable and speculative. Probable future technology involves extrapolating existing technology into the future, such as imaging what advanced computers might be like. This category...
ToughSF
The Lofstrom Loop: A Bridge to Space
Imagine you could take a train ride to space. Tracks that slope up into the sky, higher and higher,...
a year ago
Imagine you could take a train ride to space. Tracks that slope up into the sky, higher and higher, until you reach a plateau above the planet where it’s a straight line up to orbital velocity.
That’s what’s possible with a Lofstrom Loop. But sending you into orbit is just one...
Blog - Practical...
Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common attributes folks imagine when they think of trains is the clickety-clack sound they make as they roll down the tracks. The thing is, most trains don’t make that sound anymore. Or really,...
Quanta Magazine
How Colorful Ribbon Diagrams Became the Face of Proteins
Proteins are often visualized as cascades of curled ribbons and twisted strings, which both reveal...
4 months ago
Proteins are often visualized as cascades of curled ribbons and twisted strings, which both reveal and conceal the mess of atoms that make up these impossibly complex molecules.
The post How Colorful Ribbon Diagrams Became the Face of Proteins first appeared on Quanta...
Blog - Practical...
What Happens When a Reservoir Goes Dry?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2022, the level in...
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2022, the level in Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States formed by the Hoover Dam, reached yet another all-time low of 175 feet or 53 meters below full, a level that hasn’t been...
Asterisk
Pew Problems
A conversation about religion, fertility, and the American family.
a year ago
A conversation about religion, fertility, and the American family.
Explorations of an...
Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for...
a month ago
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for Quest Nature Tours. I've always said that Borneo is one of my favourite tours that I run and even after three previous trips I was looking forward to returning. One of the main...
Quanta Magazine
New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record
Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most...
a month ago
Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most important equations.
The post New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
Frustrating Times at Parque Nacional El Palmar
Parque Nacional El Palmar is located near Argentina's eastern border, a few hours north of Buenos...
a year ago
Parque Nacional El Palmar is located near Argentina's eastern border, a few hours north of Buenos Aires. The main habitat found in this national park is palm savannah, a severely fragmented ecosystem found in northeastern Argentina, Uruguay and barely into southern Brazil. PN El...
Probably...
What does “strength” mean?
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
8 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. corr_trend What does “strength” mean?¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I am currently doing a uni assignment...
Quanta Magazine
‘The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity
The recipient of the 2024 Crafoord Prize in Mathematics discusses math as art, math as language, and...
9 months ago
The recipient of the 2024 Crafoord Prize in Mathematics discusses math as art, math as language, and math as abstract thought.
The post ‘The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Flow Batteries – Now With Nanofluids
Battery technology has been advancing nicely over the last few decades, with a fairly predictable...
10 months ago
Battery technology has been advancing nicely over the last few decades, with a fairly predictable incremental increase in energy density, charging time, stability, and lifecycle. We now have lithium-ion batteries with a specific energy of 296 Wh/kg – these are in use in existing...
brr
Doors of McMurdo
Doors, in a variety of shapes and styles.
over a year ago
Doors, in a variety of shapes and styles.
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: The world that has never been
Introducing Speculative Technologies
a year ago
Introducing Speculative Technologies
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
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,...
Asterisk
Rebuilding After the Replication Crisis
Over a decade has passed since scientists realized many of their studies were failing to replicate....
over a year ago
Over a decade has passed since scientists realized many of their studies were failing to replicate. How well have their attempts to fix the problem actually worked?
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.
6 months ago
We’re hoping Marc Andreessen doesn’t read this and polarize everyone again.
ToughSF
Actively Cooled Armor: from Helium to Liquid Tin.
We have seen designs for long ranged particle beams
and powerful lasers. Could they be the end-all,...
over a year ago
We have seen designs for long ranged particle beams
and powerful lasers. Could they be the end-all, be-all of space warfare? Not if we fend off their destructive
power with actively cooled armor.
Let's have a look at the different cooling
solutions, from high pressure gas to...
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...
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
Using AI and Social Media to Measure Climate Change Denial
A recent study finds that 14.8% of Americans do not believe in global climate change. This number is...
10 months ago
A recent study finds that 14.8% of Americans do not believe in global climate change. This number is roughly in line with what recent survey have found, such as this 2024 Yale study which put the figure at 16%. In 2009, by comparison, the figure was at 33% (although this was a...
Explorations of an...
Birding Near The Bolivia Border
January 22, 2023 (continued)
Laura and I left the humid east slope of the Andes behind and worked...
a year ago
January 22, 2023 (continued)
Laura and I left the humid east slope of the Andes behind and worked our way north along the paved highway through the incredible Quebrada de Humahuaca. This valley is famous for its scenery and it was easy to see why. The contrasts, textures and...
Interaction Magic -...
Units: the forgotten half of the statistic
From the millihelen to the microcentury, via jerk, pirate-ninjas and the Mongolian vowel separator.
over a year ago
From the millihelen to the microcentury, via jerk, pirate-ninjas and the Mongolian vowel separator.
Quanta Magazine
Quanta Relaunches Hyperjumps Math Game
Explore a universe of numbers and arithmetic in our new and improved interactive math game,...
10 months ago
Explore a universe of numbers and arithmetic in our new and improved interactive math game, Hyperjumps!
The post Quanta Relaunches Hyperjumps Math Game first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Articles - Chris...
Moved to tears
20 years ago, on January 15 2004, a little before 2 AM Pacific time, was
the payoff.
It was...
10 months ago
20 years ago, on January 15 2004, a little before 2 AM Pacific time, was
the payoff.
It was cause for celebration. But first, I wept.
NeuroLogica Blog
Wood Vaulting for Carbon Sequestration
I can’t resist a good science story involving technology that we can possibly use to stabilize our...
2 months ago
I can’t resist a good science story involving technology that we can possibly use to stabilize our climate in the face of anthropogenic global warming. This one is a fun story and an interesting, and potentially useful, idea. As we map out potential carbon pathways into the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Concrete Battery
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about...
6 months ago
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about concrete, or potential version of concrete that is able to function as a battery. If we can get the technology to work this could an extremely useful item for a future of green...
Quanta Magazine
The Year in Biology
In a year packed with fascinating discoveries, biologists pushed the limits of synthetic life,...
a year ago
In a year packed with fascinating discoveries, biologists pushed the limits of synthetic life, probed how organisms keep time, and refined theories about consciousness and emotional health.
The post The Year in Biology first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
Every Kind of Bridge Explained in 15 Minutes
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The Earth is pretty cool and...
7 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The Earth is pretty cool and all, but many of its most magnificent features make it tough for us to get around. When the topography is too wet, steep, treacherous, or prone to disaster, sometimes the only way...
Quanta Magazine
Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth
How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help...
a month ago
How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help expose the truth.
The post Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Retail and community pharmacies are changing | Out-Of-Pocket
COVID tailwinds are changing the role of the pharmacy and pharmacist
a year ago
COVID tailwinds are changing the role of the pharmacy and pharmacist
Explorations of an...
Day Four At Río Bigal - Birding The Interior Trails
November 5, 2023
Sunday began overcast, but unlike the previous day there did not seem to be the...
a year ago
November 5, 2023
Sunday began overcast, but unlike the previous day there did not seem to be the same threat of rain looming over everything. Therefore, yesterday's plan shifted to today. Natalia made me a packed lunch and I prepared for a day on my own on the long PNS trail. I...
Asterisk
What I Won’t Eat
A reflection on ethics, animal cognition, and chocolate cake.
a year ago
A reflection on ethics, animal cognition, and chocolate cake.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Newsletter One + Patient Zero | Out-Of-Pocket
Shall we begin?
a year ago
Probably...
Elements of Data Science
I’m excited to announce the launch of my newest book, Elements of Data Science. As the subtitle...
5 months ago
I’m excited to announce the launch of my newest book, Elements of Data Science. As the subtitle suggests, it is about “Getting started with Data Science and Python”. Order now from Lulu.com and get 20% off! I am publishing this book myself, which has one big advantage: I can...
NeuroLogica Blog
Big Ring Challenges Cosmological Principle
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) PhD student Alexia Lopez, who two years ago discovered a...
11 months ago
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) PhD student Alexia Lopez, who two years ago discovered a giant arc of galaxy clusters in the distant universe, has now discovered a Big Ring. This (if real) is one of the largest structures in the observable universe at 1.3 billion light...
Uncharted...
100 Billion Humans
The world can carry them!
a month ago
The world can carry them!
nanoscale views
Continuing Studies course, take 2
A year and a half ago, I mentioned that I was going to teach a course through Rice's Glasscock...
10 months ago
A year and a half ago, I mentioned that I was going to teach a course through Rice's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, trying to give a general audience introduction to some central ideas in condensed matter physics. Starting in mid-March, I'm doing this again. Here is a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Fake Fossils
In 1931 a fossil lizard was recovered from the Italian Alps, believed to be a 280 million year old...
10 months ago
In 1931 a fossil lizard was recovered from the Italian Alps, believed to be a 280 million year old specimen. The fossil was also rare in that it appeared to have some preserved soft tissue. It was given the species designation Tridentinosaurus antiquus and was thought to be part...
Probably...
Ears Are Weird
In a previous article, I looked at 93 measurements from the ANSUR-II dataset and found that ear...
3 months ago
In a previous article, I looked at 93 measurements from the ANSUR-II dataset and found that ear protrusion is not correlated with any other measurement. In a followup article, I used principle component analysis to explore the correlation structure of the measurements, and found...
Wanderingspace
Venus from Earth (with Stacking)
Image taken by @TheVastReaches. According to the photographer, “It takes just a few minutes to...
over a year ago
Image taken by @TheVastReaches. According to the photographer, “It takes just a few minutes to collect all the frames. This started as 6 video files, 45,000 frames total. Then they are stacked and combined.”
The Roots of...
Highlights from The Industrial Revolution, by T. S. Ashton
The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830, by Thomas S. Ashton, is classic in the field, published in...
a year ago
The Industrial Revolution, 1760-1830, by Thomas S. Ashton, is classic in the field, published in 1948. Here are some of my highlights from it. (Emphasis in bold added by me.)
The role of chance
What was the role of chance in the inventions of the Industrial Revolution?
It is true...
Blog - Practical...
How French Drains Work
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In February of 2017, one of...
4 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In February of 2017, one of the largest spillways in the world, the one at Oroville Dam in northern California, was severely damaged during releases from heavy rain. You might remember this. I made a video...
IEEE Spectrum
Ethernet is Still Going Strong After 50 Years
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies...
a year ago
The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies including the Alto—the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface—and the first laser printer.
The PARC facility also is known for the invention of Ethernet, a...
Blog - Practical...
How Do Fish Ladders Work?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Building a dam imparts a...
8 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Building a dam imparts a stupendous change to the environment, and as with any change, there are winners and losers. The winners are usually us, people, through hydropower generation, protection from flooding,...
Damn Interesting
The Traveler and His Baggage
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people...
over a year ago
On 19 May 1943, a news report from Berlin deepened the already dreary gloom that clung to the people of Nazi-occupied Paris. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proudly announced to the world that the German capital of Berlin was officially judenfrei–free of all Jews. As this...
Sean Carroll
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 24. Science
For the triumphant final video in the Biggest Ideas series, we look at a big idea indeed: Science....
over a year ago
For the triumphant final video in the Biggest Ideas series, we look at a big idea indeed: Science. What is science, and why is it so great? And I also take the opportunity to dip a toe into the current state of fundamental physics — are predictions that unobservable universes...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Thirty Madison and Condition-Specific Care | Out-Of-Pocket
I wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk a little bit about scalable telemedicine + specialist...
a year ago
I wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk a little bit about scalable telemedicine + specialist care.
Quanta Magazine
Michel Talagrand Wins Abel Prize for Work Wrangling Randomness
The French mathematician spent decades developing a set of tools now widely used for taming random...
9 months ago
The French mathematician spent decades developing a set of tools now widely used for taming random processes.
The post Michel Talagrand Wins Abel Prize for Work Wrangling Randomness first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
The Speed of Gravity
I recently received an e-mail question from an SGU listener about the speed of gravity. They were...
a year ago
I recently received an e-mail question from an SGU listener about the speed of gravity. They were questioning a statement they heard by Neil DeGrasse Tyson that if the sun were magically plucked from existence, the Earth would not feel the effects for 8 minutes and 20 seconds –...
Asterisk
The Next Revolution in Animal Agriculture
The technologies of precision livestock farming could reshape animal agriculture. How will that go...
5 months ago
The technologies of precision livestock farming could reshape animal agriculture. How will that go for the animals?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Change Healthcare Debacle | Out-Of-Pocket
what are clearinghouses and do we still need them?
9 months ago
what are clearinghouses and do we still need them?
Probably...
Too many bronze medals?
In a recent video, Hank Green nerd-sniped me by asking a question I couldn’t not answer. At one...
4 months ago
In a recent video, Hank Green nerd-sniped me by asking a question I couldn’t not answer. At one point in the video, he shows “a graph of the last 20 years of Olympic games showing the gold, silver, and bronze medals from continental Europe. And it “shows continental Europe having...
Quanta Magazine
A New Kind of Symmetry Shakes Up Physics
So-called “higher symmetries” are illuminating everything from particle decays to the behavior of...
a year ago
So-called “higher symmetries” are illuminating everything from particle decays to the behavior of complex quantum systems.
The post A New Kind of Symmetry Shakes Up Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Gentrification as a housing problem
The root cause of displacement is inflexible supply
5 months ago
The root cause of displacement is inflexible supply
Apoorva Srinivasan
a review on protein language models
Protein “language” is a lot like human language. Given the similarities, researchers have been...
7 months ago
Protein “language” is a lot like human language. Given the similarities, researchers have been building and training language models on protein sequence data, replicating the success seen in other domains, with profound implications. In this post, I will explore how transformer...
Drew Ex Machina
Drew Ex Machina 10th Anniversary: Top Ten Posts
I find it difficult to believe but, it was ten years ago today that I posted the first article on my...
9 months ago
I find it difficult to believe but, it was ten years ago today that I posted the first article on my then-new website, Drew Ex Machina. […]
Quantum Frontiers
The Book of Mark
Mark Srednicki doesn’t look like a high priest. He’s a professor of physics at the University of...
a year ago
Mark Srednicki doesn’t look like a high priest. He’s a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); and you’ll sooner find him in khakis than in sacred vestments. Humor suits his round face better than channeling … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
Flooding is Increasing
Last month my flight home from Chicago was canceled because of an intense rainstorm. In CT the storm...
3 months ago
Last month my flight home from Chicago was canceled because of an intense rainstorm. In CT the storm was intense enough to cause flash flooding, which washed out roads and bridges and shut down traffic in many areas. The epicenter of the rainfall was in Oxford, CT (where my...
The Works in...
Rust never sleeps
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
Quantum Frontiers
How I didn’t become a philosopher (but wound up presenting a named philosophy lecture anyway)
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I...
8 months ago
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I thought, for years, I’d left behind in college. My formal relationship with philosophy originated with Mr. Bohrer. My high school classified him as a religion … Continue reading →
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...
5 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
Food as medicine | Out-Of-Pocket
The most cost-effective intervention we have
a year ago
The most cost-effective intervention we have
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
6 months ago
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
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...
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...
Probably...
Superbolts
Probably Overthinking It is available to predorder now. You can get a 30% discount if you order from...
a year ago
Probably Overthinking It is available to predorder now. You can get a 30% discount if you order from the publisher and use the code UCPNEW. You can also order from Amazon or, if you want to support independent bookstores, from Bookshop.org. Recently I read a Scientific American...
The Roots of...
Who regulates the regulators?
IRBs
Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review...
a year ago
IRBs
Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review the ethics of medical trials: From Oversight to Overkill, by Dr. Simon Whitney. From the title alone, you can see where this is going.
IRBs are supposed to (among other things)...
Quanta Magazine
Big Advance on Simple-Sounding Math Problem Was a Century in the Making
A new proof about prime numbers illuminates the subtle relationship between addition and...
2 months ago
A new proof about prime numbers illuminates the subtle relationship between addition and multiplication — and raises hopes for progress on the famous abc conjecture.
The post Big Advance on Simple-Sounding Math Problem Was a Century in the Making first appeared on...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
My Free Introductory Astronomy Textbook Hits a Milestone
This time I am posting something a bit personal. I am the lead author of a free book that is part of...
7 months ago
This time I am posting something a bit personal. I am the lead author of a free book that is part of a nonprofit experiment to help students with the costs of college. Here is the news from our publisher: OpenStax, the open textbook publisher based at Rice University, is pleased...
Quantum Frontiers
Let gravity do its work
One day, early this spring, I found myself in a hotel elevator with three other people. The cohort...
7 months ago
One day, early this spring, I found myself in a hotel elevator with three other people. The cohort consisted of two theoretical physicists, one computer scientist, and what appeared to be a normal person. I pressed the elevator’s 4 button, … Continue reading →
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Cool Ideas For Dentistry + Medicine With Nisarg Patel | Out-Of-Pocket
plus what actually happens in the operating room?
a year ago
plus what actually happens in the operating room?
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Selective breeding and chicken welfare
We've bred larger and larger chickens. Now can we breed happier ones?
over a year ago
We've bred larger and larger chickens. Now can we breed happier ones?
Wanderingspace
Triton Image from Voyager Colored
Nice update to an old Voyager image with colors added based on actual colors captured in other...
over a year ago
Nice update to an old Voyager image with colors added based on actual colors captured in other images. See original post here by Jason Major.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Viz.ai and why workflow > tech | Out-Of-Pocket
Also ?? about AI business models
a year ago
Also ?? about AI business models
Wanderingspace
Colorized View of Perseverance Landing
An artificially colorized view of Jezero Crater, showing the bird’s eye view of Perseverance...
over a year ago
An artificially colorized view of Jezero Crater, showing the bird’s eye view of Perseverance screaming towards Mars’s surface. The above image was enhanced by Kevin Gill into full color, taking images captured by Perseverance’s Lander Vision System Camera just after the heat...
Quanta Magazine
The Astonishing Behavior of Recursive Sequences
Some strange mathematical sequences are always whole numbers — until they’re not. The puzzling...
a year ago
Some strange mathematical sequences are always whole numbers — until they’re not. The puzzling patterns have revealed ties to graph theory and prime numbers, awing mathematicians.
The post The Astonishing Behavior of Recursive Sequences first appeared on Quanta...
Quanta Magazine
How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger
The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to...
7 months ago
The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to learn from it.
The post How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Decentralizing Journals and Peer Review DAOs | Out-Of-Pocket
the evolution of legitimacy in scientific publishing
a year ago
the evolution of legitimacy in scientific publishing
brr
The Beer Can
Connecting old and new.
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
New Theory Unites Gravity and Quantum Mechanics
One of the greatest mysteries of modern science is how to unite the two overarching theories of...
a year ago
One of the greatest mysteries of modern science is how to unite the two overarching theories of physics – quantum mechanics and general relativity. If physicists could somehow unite these two theories, which currently do not play well together, then we might get to a deeper “one...
nanoscale views
Rice University Academy of Fellows postdoc opportunity, 2023
As I have posted in previous years, Rice has a university-wide endowed honorific postdoctoral...
over a year ago
As I have posted in previous years, Rice has a university-wide endowed honorific postdoctoral program called the Rice Academy of Fellows. Like all such things, it's very competitive. The new application listing has gone live here with a deadline of January 4, 2023. ...
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 1: Introduction
Ever since wrapping up our extensive traveling last spring, Laura and I have been itching to get...
9 months ago
Ever since wrapping up our extensive traveling last spring, Laura and I have been itching to get back on the road in Latin America. After returning to Ontario, finding a rental house and obtaining employment, our lives have been a little more grounded. I still have been on some...
pcloadletter
RSS is still pretty great
I think a lot about information and information consumption. The way the Internet made information...
10 months ago
I think a lot about information and information consumption. The way the Internet made information readily available is phenomenal. Sadly, the signal-to-noise ratio here is pretty low. For me, consuming RSS feeds[1] offers the best way to read the kind of high-quality information...
Probably...
Estimation with Small Samples
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
7 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. gauss_bayes Estimation with Small Samples¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Hey, so imagine I only have 6...
Quanta Magazine
New Cell Atlases Reveal Untold Variety in the Brain and Beyond
Recent efforts to map every cell in the human body have researchers floored by unfathomable...
a year ago
Recent efforts to map every cell in the human body have researchers floored by unfathomable diversity, with many thousands of subtly different types of cells in the human brain alone.
The post New Cell Atlases Reveal Untold Variety in the Brain and Beyond first...
Drew Ex Machina
The Promise of MIDAS: The First Experimental Early Warning Satellites
Today in the United States we almost take for granted the military’s ability to detect missile...
a year ago
Today in the United States we almost take for granted the military’s ability to detect missile launches anywhere on the planet and quickly determine whether it […]
Sean Carroll
The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 23. Criticality and Complexity
Spherical cows are important because they let us abstract away all the complications of the real...
over a year ago
Spherical cows are important because they let us abstract away all the complications of the real world and think about underlying principles. But what about when the complications are the point? Then we enter the realm of complex systems — which, interestingly, has its own...
NeuroLogica Blog
SpaceX Tests Super Heavy Booster
Last Thursday SpaceX successfully conducted the most significant test firing of its Heavy Booster...
a year ago
Last Thursday SpaceX successfully conducted the most significant test firing of its Heavy Booster rocket to date. The rocket sports 33 Raptor 2 engines. During the test, 31 of them fired. One engine failed, and one was shut down. According to SpaceX, even with 31 engines the...
Asterisk
Lies, Damned Lies, and Manometer Readings
America’s HVAC labor force is plagued by dishonesty and frequently incapable of meeting industry...
10 months ago
America’s HVAC labor force is plagued by dishonesty and frequently incapable of meeting industry standards. Interventions in indoor air quality are the next frontier in pandemic prevention — but are they up to the task?
brr
South Pole Arrival
Flying to the bottom of the world!
over a year ago
Flying to the bottom of the world!
Quanta Magazine
Cryptographers Solve Decades-Old Privacy Problem
Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly,...
a year ago
Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly, moving us closer to fully private internet searches.
The post Cryptographers Solve Decades-Old Privacy Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
A couple of links + a thought experiment about spin
A couple of interesting things to read:
As someone interested in lost ancient literature and also...
10 months ago
A couple of interesting things to read:
As someone interested in lost ancient literature and also science, I really liked this news article from Nature about progress in reading scrolls excavated from Herculaneum. The area around the Bay of Naples was a quite the spot for posh...
Asterisk
Making Sense of Moral Change
A conversation about abolitionism, moral progress, and the pitfalls of historical counterfactuals.
over a year ago
A conversation about abolitionism, moral progress, and the pitfalls of historical counterfactuals.
Interaction Magic -...
Interaction20 Round-up
Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20...
over a year ago
Summary of all the amazing, curious and challenging ideas from last week's IXDA Interaction 20 conference.
Uncharted...
The Players of the Syrian Chessboard
What will Israel, Russia, Turkey, the Kurds, Europe, and Lebanon do?
a week ago
What will Israel, Russia, Turkey, the Kurds, Europe, and Lebanon do?
Willem Pennings
Fixing my heating system
The heating system in my apartment building consists of a group of heat pumps that deliver warm...
7 months ago
The heating system in my apartment building consists of a group of heat pumps that deliver warm water to the underfloor heating system of about a dozen apartments, including mine. During the warm summer months, the system supplies cool water instead. The heat pumps figure out...
Quanta Magazine
Animal Mutation Rates Reveal Traits That Speed Evolution
The first large-scale comparison of mutation rates gives insights into how quickly species can...
a year ago
The first large-scale comparison of mutation rates gives insights into how quickly species can evolve.
The post Animal Mutation Rates Reveal Traits That Speed Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
How Randomness Improves Algorithms
Unpredictability can help computer scientists solve otherwise intractable problems.
The...
a year ago
Unpredictability can help computer scientists solve otherwise intractable problems.
The post How Randomness Improves Algorithms first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
The Works in...
Youtube Rules
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
Apoorva Srinivasan
getting started with bayesian inference
In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the...
over a year ago
In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the method that is commonly taught in STAT101 classes. But for many decades, some statisticians have argued for another approach to conduct statistical analysis based on bayes...
symmetry magazine
Muon g-2 doubles down with latest measurement, explores uncharted territory
Fermilab's Muon g-2 experiment brings particle physics closer to a showdown between theory and...
a year ago
Fermilab's Muon g-2 experiment brings particle physics closer to a showdown between theory and experiment.
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
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
Regret After Transitioning
In my last post I noted that even mentioning general vague support for the LGBTQ community was...
a year ago
In my last post I noted that even mentioning general vague support for the LGBTQ community was enough to trigger very specific feedback, often making erroneous scientific claims. Each claim requires a deep dive and article-length discussion. Even though the discussion that...
Interaction Magic -...
Modelling my brain
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of...
over a year ago
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of it.
Beautiful Public...
Visualizing Rivers and Floodplains with USGS Data
Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and...
over a year ago
Using USGS elevation data to visualize stunning views of the flow of water through rivers and floodplains.
NeuroLogica Blog
The Moon Race is On
Back in the 1960 there was a race to land people on the Moon between the US and the Soviet Union....
6 months ago
Back in the 1960 there was a race to land people on the Moon between the US and the Soviet Union. This was very much a part of the cold war, with each country interested in showing off its technical prowess to the world with a technology closely related to that needed to deliver...
IEEE Spectrum
Why the Art of Invention Is Always Being Reinvented
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might...
a month ago
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might just see unchangeable reality. For one 5-year-old, the problem was simple: She liked to have her tummy rubbed as she fell asleep. But her mom, exhausted from working two jobs, often...
Quanta Magazine
He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum Compass
Alex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic...
7 months ago
Alex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic influence of dark matter.
The post He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum Compass first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Let’s Talk About Obesity Drugs | Out-Of-Pocket
we're entering a new era for these treatments
a year ago
we're entering a new era for these treatments
wadertales
Inland feeding by coastal godwits
Species such as Dunlin and Knot are well-served by conservation measures that aim to protect...
over a year ago
Species such as Dunlin and Knot are well-served by conservation measures that aim to protect estuaries but the same is not necessarily true for Black-tailed Godwits. In a 2022 paper in the journal Wader Study, Clément Jourdan and colleagues describe the movements of ten tagged...
Melting Asphalt
A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
I've never been plagued by the big existential questions. You know, like What's my purpose? or What...
over a year ago
I've never been plagued by the big existential questions. You know, like What's my purpose? or What does it all mean? Growing up I was a very science-minded kid — still am — and from an early age I learned…
Read more ›
IEEE Spectrum
In 1926, TV Was Mechanical
John Logie Baird had a lot of ingenious ideas, not all of which caught on. His phonovision was an...
3 months ago
John Logie Baird had a lot of ingenious ideas, not all of which caught on. His phonovision was an early attempt at video recording, with the signals preserved on phonograph records. His noctovision used infrared light to see objects in the dark, which some experts claim was a...
brr
South Pole Topography
The relentless accumulation (and management) of snow.
a year ago
The relentless accumulation (and management) of snow.
NeuroLogica Blog
Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers as Fuel
The press release for a recent study declares: “New catalyst could provide liquid hydrogen fuel of...
a year ago
The press release for a recent study declares: “New catalyst could provide liquid hydrogen fuel of the future.” But don’t get excited – the optimism is more than a bit gratuitous. I have written about hydrogen fuel before, and the reasons I am not optimistic about hydrogen as a...
NeuroLogica Blog
Serial Dependence Bias
As I have discussed numerous times on this blog, our brains did not evolve to be optimal precise...
a year ago
As I have discussed numerous times on this blog, our brains did not evolve to be optimal precise perceivers and processors of information. Here is an infographic showing 188 documents cognitive biases. These biases are not all bad – they are tradeoffs. Evolutionary forces care...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Angels | Out-Of-Pocket
With some real decks and emails!
10 months ago
With some real decks and emails!
Wanderingspace
Cassini’s Final Look at Enceladus
Taken on August 28, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
This is from images...
over a year ago
Taken on August 28, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
This is from images obtained by Cassini shortly before plunging into the Saturnian atmosphere. The images were taken over 14 hours and compiled into this animation.
Quanta Magazine
What Happens in the Brain to Cause Depression?
Drugs that target the neurotransmitter serotonin have long been prescribed to treat depression. Now...
7 months ago
Drugs that target the neurotransmitter serotonin have long been prescribed to treat depression. Now the spotlight is turning to other aspects of brain chemistry. In this episode, the neuropharmacologist John Krystal shares findings that are overturning our understanding of...
Drew Ex Machina
Tropical Weather Analytics and Phantom Space Partner on Hurricane Hunter Satellite Constellation
Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc. (TWA), with a revolutionary 3D measurement capability for improved...
a year ago
Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc. (TWA), with a revolutionary 3D measurement capability for improved hurricane forecasting and weather intelligence, is announcing a strategic partnership with Phantom Space […]
Sean Carroll
What I Look for in Podcast Guests
People often suggest guests to appear on Mindscape — which I very much appreciate! Several of my...
over a year ago
People often suggest guests to appear on Mindscape — which I very much appreciate! Several of my best conversations were with people I had never heard of before they were effectively suggested by someone. Suggestions could be made here (in comments below), or on the subreddit, or...
NeuroLogica Blog
Virtual Walking
When I use my virtual reality gear I do practical zero virtual walking – meaning that I don’t have...
9 months ago
When I use my virtual reality gear I do practical zero virtual walking – meaning that I don’t have my avatar walk while I am not walking. I general play standing up which means I can move around the space in my office mapped by my VR software – so I am physically walking to...
Asterisk
Manufacturing Bliss
A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique...
8 months ago
A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique that practitioners claim could upend how we think about the brain — and transform our lives in the process.
The Roots of...
Links digest, 2023-10-12
I’ve been traveling for a while, so this is a long one, covering the last ~month. I tried to cut it...
a year ago
I’ve been traveling for a while, so this is a long one, covering the last ~month. I tried to cut it down, but there have been so many amazing announcements, opportunities, etc.! Feel free to skim and jump around:
From the Roots of Progress fellows
Connor O’Brien and Adam Ozimek...
The Works in...
Issue 17: No great stagnation in cruise ships
Plus: animals as chemical factories, how progress lost its glamour, and how Madrid built 120 miles...
2 weeks ago
Plus: animals as chemical factories, how progress lost its glamour, and how Madrid built 120 miles of metro in twelve years.
Explorations of an...
Monsoon Season In Arizona, Part 4: The Chiricahuas
September 3, 2024
It was another beautiful day in paradise, and all of us were up early to watch the...
2 months ago
September 3, 2024
It was another beautiful day in paradise, and all of us were up early to watch the sun rise over the desert. The active bird feeders gave us something to study while we drank our coffee and ate our egg sandwiches that Nikki had crafted for us.
Black-throated...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
An update about Out-Of-Pocket | Out-Of-Pocket
lemme sell some of your attention plz
a year ago
lemme sell some of your attention plz
Interaction Magic -...
Metaphors mold minds
Every good design is founded on a great metaphor. How to use metaphors to design more a inclusive...
over a year ago
Every good design is founded on a great metaphor. How to use metaphors to design more a inclusive future for our cities. My IXDA Interaction 22 conference talk.
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 12-13, 2023
We make suggestions for how best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower.
The post Perseid Meteor...
a year ago
We make suggestions for how best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower.
The post Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 12-13, 2023 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
IEEE Spectrum
What Is an Electronic Sackbut?
If you, like me, think of musical synthesizers as an artifact of 1970s rock and disco, then you,...
10 months ago
If you, like me, think of musical synthesizers as an artifact of 1970s rock and disco, then you, like me, will be surprised to learn that the first electronic synthesizer predates those genres by several decades
In 1945, Hugh Le Caine, a physicist at Canada’s National Research...
Blog - Practical...
What Really Happened During the Yellowstone Park Flood?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Every year, a deluge of...
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Every year, a deluge of tourists stream into Yellowstone National Park, America’s first and possibly most famous national park, and (I would argue) one of the most beautiful and geographically rich places on...
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
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 ›
Quanta Magazine
The Researcher Who Explores Computation by Conjuring New Worlds
Russell Impagliazzo studies hard problems, the limits of cryptography, the nature of randomness and...
9 months ago
Russell Impagliazzo studies hard problems, the limits of cryptography, the nature of randomness and more.
The post The Researcher Who Explores Computation by Conjuring New Worlds first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
What We Owe The Future
William MacAskill’s latest book presents itself as an introduction to the burgeoning longtermist...
over a year ago
William MacAskill’s latest book presents itself as an introduction to the burgeoning longtermist movement. But his views are eccentric – even within the movement he founded.
Interaction Magic -...
Think outside the screen
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build...
over a year ago
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build distributed interfaces that work.
Asterisk
Debugging Tech Journalism
A huge proportion of tech journalism is characterized by scandals, sensationalism, and shoddy...
8 months ago
A huge proportion of tech journalism is characterized by scandals, sensationalism, and shoddy research. Can we fix it?
Quantum Frontiers
Noncommuting charges are much like Batman
Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take...
9 months ago
Understanding a character’s origins enriches their narrative and motivates their actions. Take Batman as an example: without knowing his backstory, he appears merely as a billionaire who might achieve more by donating his wealth rather than masquerading as a bat … Continue...
Eukaryote Writes...
[UPDATE to most recent post]
I edited the post “A point of clarification on infohazard terminology” in response to a good point...
over a year ago
I edited the post “A point of clarification on infohazard terminology” in response to a good point of feedback, and changed a terminology proposal. I’m writing a separate update in case the old unedited version is still lodged in your RSS feed. Read the new one instead! It’s the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Elizabeth Holmes Going to Prison
I first wrote about the Theranos scandal in 2016, and I guess it should not be surprising that it...
a year ago
I first wrote about the Theranos scandal in 2016, and I guess it should not be surprising that it took 7 years to follow this story through to the end. Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the company Theranos, was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years in prison....
NeuroLogica Blog
The Threat of Technology
In my second book (shameless plug alert) – The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future – my coauthors and I...
a year ago
In my second book (shameless plug alert) – The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future – my coauthors and I try to imagine both the utopian and dystopian versions of the future, brought about by technology, either individually or collectively. This topic has come up multiple times recently...
The Roots of...
What I’ve been reading, May 2023
This is a monthly feature. As usual, I’ve omitted recent blog posts and such, which you can find in...
a year ago
This is a monthly feature. As usual, I’ve omitted recent blog posts and such, which you can find in my links digests.
John Gall, The Systems Bible (2012), aka Systemantics, 3rd ed. A concise, pithy collection of wisdom about “systems”, mostly human organizations, projects, and...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
“There Are Too Many Entrenched Interests” | Out-Of-Pocket
The Six Stages Of Health Tech Grief Part 3
a year ago
The Six Stages Of Health Tech Grief Part 3
NeuroLogica Blog
Categorization and What’s In a Name
Categorization is critical in science, but it is also very tricky, often deceptively so. We need to...
11 months ago
Categorization is critical in science, but it is also very tricky, often deceptively so. We need to categorize things to help us organize our knowledge, to understand how things work and relate to each other, and to communicate efficiently and precisely. But categorization can...
NeuroLogica Blog
Electronic Noses
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything...
2 months ago
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything that I think is currently flying under the radar of public awareness but has the potential to transform our world in some way. I think electronic nose technology fits into this...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Scams, Frauds, and Audits | Out-Of-Pocket
Lots of money to be...not lost
a year ago
Lots of money to be...not lost
Quantum Frontiers
Now published: Building Quantum Computers
Building Quantum Computers: A Practical Introduction by Shayan Majidy, Christopher Wilson, and...
2 months ago
Building Quantum Computers: A Practical Introduction by Shayan Majidy, Christopher Wilson, and Raymond Laflamme has been published by Cambridge University Press and will be released in the US on September 30. The authors invited me to write a Foreword for … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone...
a month ago
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone imagined. Now physicists are debating what it would really prove.
The post It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Spacetime: All the universe’s a stage
In the 1900s, Albert Einstein unified the concepts of space and time, giving us a useful new way to...
a year ago
In the 1900s, Albert Einstein unified the concepts of space and time, giving us a useful new way to picture the universe.
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
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Latest Starship Launch
SpaceX has conducted their most successful test launch of a Starship system to date. The system they...
2 months ago
SpaceX has conducted their most successful test launch of a Starship system to date. The system they tested has three basic components – the Super Heavy first stage rocket booster, the Starship second stage (which is the actual space ship that will go places), and the...
IEEE Spectrum
The Invention That Let Fiber Optics Span the Globe
Plenty of big stories from the year 1985 had their moment in the sun and are now all but forgotten:...
a year ago
Plenty of big stories from the year 1985 had their moment in the sun and are now all but forgotten: New Coke, “We Are the World,” the rise of desktop publishing. But one at-the-time obscure invention from that year has long eclipsed the frothy headlines of its time, because it...
NeuroLogica Blog
AI Copilots Are Coming
I’m going to do something I rarely do and make a straight-up prediction – I think we are close to...
2 months ago
I’m going to do something I rarely do and make a straight-up prediction – I think we are close to having AI apps that will function as our all-purpose digital assistants. That’s not really a tough call, we already have digital assistants and they are progressing rapidly. So I am...
NeuroLogica Blog
Hybrid Biopolymer Transistors – Implications for Brain Machine Interface
There are several technologies which seem likely to be transformative in the coming decades. Genetic...
a year ago
There are several technologies which seem likely to be transformative in the coming decades. Genetic bioengineering gives us the ability to control the basic machinery of life, including ourselves. Artificial intelligence is a suite of active, learning, information tools....
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Structuring the Unstructured and ScienceIO | Out-Of-Pocket
how to train your model, the animated movie
a year ago
how to train your model, the animated movie
Cremieux Recueil
Eliminating Distractions in Longevity Research
Longevity maximizers should invest in biotechnology, not modifiable lifestyle factors
2 months ago
Longevity maximizers should invest in biotechnology, not modifiable lifestyle factors
Damn Interesting
The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda
Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort...
over a year ago
Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort in 1956, Bayley had no plans to compete with the flashier, corporate casinos at the center of the Strip. Instead, the Hacienda Hotel catered to families, as well as to locals who...
NeuroLogica Blog
Confidently Wrong
How certain are you of anything that you believe? Do you even think about your confidence level, and...
2 months ago
How certain are you of anything that you believe? Do you even think about your confidence level, and do you have a process for determining what your confidence level should be or do you just follow your gut feelings? Thinking about confidence is a form of metacognition – thinking...
Asterisk
Behind Closed Doors
In 2020, we worried that COVID lockdowns might lead to an increase in domestic violence. Instead,...
a year ago
In 2020, we worried that COVID lockdowns might lead to an increase in domestic violence. Instead, the opposite occurred. Why did this happen — and why was it so hard to figure out?
Wanderingspace
Eclipse 2024 from Space
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
8 months ago
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
Melting Asphalt
Here Be Sermons
I've long turned up my nose at sermons and related forms of mass moralizing. One reason, quite...
over a year ago
I've long turned up my nose at sermons and related forms of mass moralizing. One reason, quite simply, is that they bore me. Honesty good. Violence bad. My eyes glaze over. Empathy, rah! Racism, boo! Please, don't we know this…
Read more ›
Quanta Magazine
How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering
New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps.
The post How Math Has...
a year ago
New tools make it possible to detect hidden manipulation of maps.
The post How Math Has Changed the Shape of Gerrymandering first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Good Meteor Shower Coming August 11-12
The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the best of the year for the untrained observer
The post Good...
4 months ago
The Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the best of the year for the untrained observer
The post Good Meteor Shower Coming August 11-12 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
symmetry magazine
Physics fashion and collider couture
Symmetry is back with more physics-themed Halloween costumes.
a year ago
Symmetry is back with more physics-themed Halloween costumes.
NeuroLogica Blog
ChatGPT Performs At University Level
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence...
a year ago
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the poster-child of which is ChatGPT. This is a so-called large language model application using a “generative pre-trained transformer”. Essentially these types of...
The Roots of...
The American Information Revolution in Global Perspective
In “What if they gave an Industrial Revolution and nobody came?” I reviewed The British Industrial...
a year ago
In “What if they gave an Industrial Revolution and nobody came?” I reviewed The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, by Robert Allen. In brief, Allen’s explanation for the Industrial Revolution is that Britain had high wages and cheap energy, which meant it was...
Probably...
How Does World Population Grow?
Recently I posed this question on Twitter: “Since 1960, has world population grown exponentially,...
a year ago
Recently I posed this question on Twitter: “Since 1960, has world population grown exponentially, quadratically, linearly, or logarithmically?” Here are the responses: By a narrow margin, the most popular answer is correct — since 1960 world population growth has been roughly...
NeuroLogica Blog
AC vs DC and other Power Questions
I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9...
a month ago
I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9 hour seminar on scientific skepticism for the Dubai Future Foundation. That sounds like a lot of time, but it isn’t. It was a good reminder of the vast body of knowledge that is...
NeuroLogica Blog
Problems with the Institute Of Noetic Sciences
I was interviewed recently for a Daily Beast article on recent research involving the Institute of...
a year ago
I was interviewed recently for a Daily Beast article on recent research involving the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Overall the article is very good, and author Maddie Bender was fair and reasonable in how I was quoted. I can’t always take that as a given. No matter how...
Wanderingspace
Kind of Cool Image of Io from Juno
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
The brightest spot is a radiation signature, but all the...
over a year ago
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
The brightest spot is a radiation signature, but all the rest are thought to be active volcanos on the Io surface. The moons are not a primary target of the Juno mission, but they do occasionally take a peek to try and monitor such...
NeuroLogica Blog
Scammers on the Rise
Good rule of thumb – assume it’s a scam. Anyone who contacts you, or any unusual encounter, assume...
10 months ago
Good rule of thumb – assume it’s a scam. Anyone who contacts you, or any unusual encounter, assume it’s a scam and you will probably be right. Recently I was called on my cell phone by someone claiming to be from Venmo. They asked me to confirm if I had just made two fund...
nanoscale views
Some interesting links - useful lecture notes, videos
Proposal writing, paper writing, and course prep are eating a lot of my bandwidth right now, but I...
a year ago
Proposal writing, paper writing, and course prep are eating a lot of my bandwidth right now, but I wanted to share a few things:
David Tong at Cambridge is a gifted educator and communicator who has written lecture notes that span a wide swath of the physics curriculum, from...
symmetry magazine
A collaboration pairs Fermilab with fashion students
Fashion students at the College of DuPage successfully designed gear to protect Fermilab’s SPOT...
a year ago
Fashion students at the College of DuPage successfully designed gear to protect Fermilab’s SPOT robot from radioactive dust.
In a recent demonstration for Engineers Week in Chicago, an engineering physicist took the stage accompanied by an unusual guest: a...
Many Worlds
The Familiar, Yet So Different, Hydrocarbon Rivers of Titan
There are three planets or moons in our solar system known to now have, or once had, surface rivers,...
a year ago
There are three planets or moons in our solar system known to now have, or once had, surface rivers, lakes, deltas and a hydrologic system. There’s Earth, of course, Mars long ago when it was warmer and wetter, and the so different yet so similar rivers of hydrocarbons on...
Light from Space
The Fossil Footprint Nebula
A rarely imaged target as it is very dim. This image took me over 50h of total exposure time.
Total...
11 months ago
A rarely imaged target as it is very dim. This image took me over 50h of total exposure time.
Total exposure time: 52h 40'
Image resolution: 4,490 × 4,552px (0.96″/px)
Shot from my driveway near Tucson, AZ in late 2023
Telescope: William Optics RedCat
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Radiology, Residency, and Physician Tools with Henry Li | Out-Of-Pocket
What's actually happening in the hospital?
a year ago
What's actually happening in the hospital?
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 5: The Marañón Valley (February 7, 2024)
February 7, 2024
The Marañón Valley is one of the most important biogeographical boundaries in the...
8 months ago
February 7, 2024
The Marañón Valley is one of the most important biogeographical boundaries in the Andes. Situated in northwestern Peru, the valley follows the Marañón River which flows northward across plateaus in the Andes. After cutting through a very deep, heavily eroded...
NeuroLogica Blog
Diamond Batteries Again
Why does news reporting of science and technology have to be so terrible at baseline? I know the...
a week 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...
pcloadletter
My articles don't belong on certain social networks
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me...
6 months ago
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me feel really great!
Recently, I took down a post and stopped writing for a few months because I didn't love the reaction I was getting on social media sites like Reddit and Hacker...
NeuroLogica Blog
Hunger Circuitry
One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature...
a year ago
One of the organizing principles that govern living organisms is homeostasis. This is a key feature of being alive – maintaining homeostatic equilibrium both internally and externally. Homeostatic systems usually involve multiple feedback loops that maintain some physiological...
ToughSF
Starship Lite: from rapid Interplanetary to Interstellar
Elon Musk
stated that a stripped-down SpaceX Starship could become an interplanetary
boost vehicle...
over a year ago
Elon Musk
stated that a stripped-down SpaceX Starship could become an interplanetary
boost vehicle able to push probes towards the farthest objects in our Solar
System.
What
other missions could the Starship ‘Lite’ do, and how quickly?
Near SSTO
Rockets performance
scales...
NeuroLogica Blog
What to Make of Havana Syndrome
I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any...
8 months ago
I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any strong conclusions about it. In 2016 there was a cluster of strange neurological symptoms among people working at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. They would suddenly experience...
IEEE Spectrum
Why Are We Still Doing What Simon Says?
In 1976, Ralph Baer and Howard Morrison, two game designers, happened to see a trade show...
a year ago
In 1976, Ralph Baer and Howard Morrison, two game designers, happened to see a trade show demonstration of an Atari arcade game called Touch Me. The game’s waist-high cabinet featured four large buttons on the top, which lit up in random sequence; the player had to push the...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Time Toxicity - A Real-World Example | Out-Of-Pocket
Being sick is already annoying, now I gotta spend time on the phone???
11 months ago
Being sick is already annoying, now I gotta spend time on the phone???
Explorations of an...
Tour Extension to Halmahera In The North Moluccas
Del and Marcie joined me for a four-day extension to the nearby island of Halmahera, located in the...
a year ago
Del and Marcie joined me for a four-day extension to the nearby island of Halmahera, located in the North Moluccas. We were now on the east side of the deep-water trench informally known as Weber’s Line and the avifauna was even more in line with New Guinea and Australia....
Wanderingspace
The Green Light of Day
Image of tire tracks on Mars with an unusual green tone. . Taken by Perseverance on February 4th.
over a year ago
Image of tire tracks on Mars with an unusual green tone. . Taken by Perseverance on February 4th.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Answers: Did The FDA Mess Up With Aduhelm? | Out-Of-Pocket
what if it incentivizes actually good drugs?
a year ago
what if it incentivizes actually good drugs?
NeuroLogica Blog
AI As Legal Entities
Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the...
a year ago
Should an artificial intelligence (AI) be treated like a legal “subject” or agent? That is the question discussed in a new paper by legal scholars. They recognize that this question is a bit ahead of the technology, but argue that we should work out the legal ramifications before...
NeuroLogica Blog
A Greener Li-Ion Battery
It is increasingly obvious that battery technology is one of the keys to transitioning our...
6 months 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...
IEEE Spectrum
How the Designer of the First Hydrogen Bomb Got the Gig
Richard Garwin is one of the most decorated and successful engineers of the 20th century. The IEEE...
3 months ago
Richard Garwin is one of the most decorated and successful engineers of the 20th century. The IEEE Life Fellow has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, France’s La Grande Médaille de l’Académie des Sciences, and is one of just a handful of people...
nanoscale views
Generative AI and scientific images/diagrams
Generative AI for image generation is a controversial topic for many reasons. Still, as someone who...
11 months ago
Generative AI for image generation is a controversial topic for many reasons. Still, as someone who doesn't have a staff of graphic artists on hand to help make scientific illustrations, it has certainly been tempting to see whether it might be a useful tool. My brief...
IEEE Spectrum
5 Questions for Robotics Legend Ruzena Bajcsy
Ruzena Bajcsy is one of the founders of the modern field of robotics. With an education in...
3 weeks ago
Ruzena Bajcsy is one of the founders of the modern field of robotics. With an education in electrical engineering in Slovakia, followed by a Ph.D. at Stanford, Bajcsy was the first woman to join the engineering faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. She was the first, she...
NeuroLogica Blog
Eclipse 2024
I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would...
8 months ago
I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would be my first total eclipse, and everything I have heard indicates that it is an incredible experience. Unfortunately, the weather calls for some clouds, although forecasts have been...
nanoscale views
What is a metal-insulator transition?
The recent excitement about the alleged high temperature superconductor "LK99" has introduced some...
a year ago
The recent excitement about the alleged high temperature superconductor "LK99" has introduced some in the public to the idea of a metal-insulator or insulator-metal transition (MIT/IMT). For example, one strong candidate explanation for the sharp drop in resistance as a function...
Blog - Practical...
This Bridge Should Have Been Closed Years Before It Collapsed
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On January 28, 2022, about an...
6 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On January 28, 2022, about an hour before dawn, the four-lane Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collapsed without warning. Five vehicles, including an articulating bus, fell with the bridge, and...
ToughSF
Hypervelocity Macron Accelerators
We
look at the various ways of accelerating micro-scale projectiles up to hypervelocity
(10-10,000...
over a year ago
We
look at the various ways of accelerating micro-scale projectiles up to hypervelocity
(10-10,000 km/s) and their use in space.
Going
small to go fast
Macrons
or macroscopic particles are tiny projectiles that sit on the border between
the complex structures we see under a...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Patient Communities Should Change | Out-Of-Pocket
Evolving from ads to outcomes
a year ago
Evolving from ads to outcomes
ToughSF
Hypervelocity Tether Rockets
Rotating tethers can reach incredible velocities when they are built out of high strength materials....
over a year ago
Rotating tethers can reach incredible velocities when they are built out of high strength materials. With some design features, they can greatly surpass the exhaust velocities of chemical or even nuclear rockets. They can become propulsion systems with impressive performance......
Blog - Practical...
What Really Happened with the Substation Attack in North Carolina?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
At around 7PM on the balmy...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
At around 7PM on the balmy evening of Saturday, December 3, 2022, nearly every electric customer in Moore County, North Carolina was simultaneously plunged into darkness. Amid the confusion, the power utility...
NeuroLogica Blog
How To Prove Prevention Works
Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm. Lisa: That’s specious...
10 months ago
Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm. Lisa: That’s specious reasoning, Dad. Homer: Thank you, dear. Lisa: By your logic I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away. Homer: Oh, how does it work? Lisa: It doesn’t work. Homer: Uh-huh. Lisa:...
Quanta Magazine
Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields
A controversial technique has produced detailed maps of the magnetic fields in colossal galaxy...
10 months ago
A controversial technique has produced detailed maps of the magnetic fields in colossal galaxy clusters. If confirmed, the approach could be used to reveal where cosmic magnetic fields come from.
The post Radio Maps May Reveal the Universe’s Biggest Magnetic Fields...
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...
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 […]
Explorations of an...
Cañadon de Profundidad and Iguazú Falls
February 4, 2023
For our second day in Misiones, Laura and I ventured over to a small park only a...
a year ago
February 4, 2023
For our second day in Misiones, Laura and I ventured over to a small park only a half-hour drive from our accommodations in Posadas. Our main reason for visiting Parque Provincial Cañadón de Profundidad was to search for Creamy-bellied Gnatcatcher, of which...
Wanderingspace
Goodbye Ingenuity
Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it...
10 months ago
Mission completed. Ingenuity is left alone on Mars after damage to one of its blades renders it inoperable..
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Patient Messaging Conundrum pt. 2 | Out-Of-Pocket
Some thoughts from an academic, a behavioral scientist, a patient, and more
a year ago
Some thoughts from an academic, a behavioral scientist, a patient, and more
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Out-Of-Pocket Game plan | Out-Of-Pocket
How to build the on-boarding system for healthcare
a year ago
How to build the on-boarding system for healthcare
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
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...
Quantum Frontiers
Astrobiology meets quantum computation?
The origin of life appears to share little with quantum computation, apart from the difficulty of...
a year ago
The origin of life appears to share little with quantum computation, apart from the difficulty of achieving it and its potential for clickbait. Yet similar notions of complexity have recently garnered attention in both fields. Each topic’s researchers expect only … Continue...
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
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...
Quanta Magazine
The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing. ...
a year ago
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing.
The post The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Interaction Magic -...
Designing bikes or bike lanes?
Which impacts the cycling experience more: the design of the bike or the bike lanes? Interview and...
over a year ago
Which impacts the cycling experience more: the design of the bike or the bike lanes? Interview and podcast with city transport planners Catherine Osborn and David Wills.
Quanta Magazine
The Webb Telescope Further Deepens the Biggest Controversy in Cosmology
A long-awaited study of the cosmic expansion rate suggests that when it comes to the Hubble tension,...
4 months ago
A long-awaited study of the cosmic expansion rate suggests that when it comes to the Hubble tension, cosmologists are still missing something.
The post The Webb Telescope Further Deepens the Biggest Controversy in Cosmology first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Fresh X-Rays Reveal a Universe as Clumpy as Cosmology Predicts
By mapping the largest structures in the universe in X-rays, cosmologists have found striking...
9 months ago
By mapping the largest structures in the universe in X-rays, cosmologists have found striking agreement with their standard theoretical model of how the universe evolves.
The post Fresh X-Rays Reveal a Universe as Clumpy as Cosmology Predicts first appeared on Quanta...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare Ideas That Look Good But Are Bad | Out-Of-Pocket
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
8 months ago
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
Quanta Magazine
Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference.
New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by...
a year ago
New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.”
The post Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
wadertales
Counting breeding shorebirds using listening devices
With more demands upon the space that is currently occupied by breeding waders, from developments...
2 weeks ago
With more demands upon the space that is currently occupied by breeding waders, from developments such as wind turbines and monoculture forestry, conservationists are often asked to assess the potential effects of landscape change. Do passive acoustic devices have a role to play...
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...
9 months 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
Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage
New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about...
7 months ago
New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.
The post Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Physicians and Pharma Marketing | Out-Of-Pocket
oh we getting that drug money
a year ago
oh we getting that drug money
Quantum Frontiers
Building a Visceral Understanding of Quantum Phenomena
A great childhood memory that I have comes from first playing “The Incredible Machine” on PC in the...
4 months ago
A great childhood memory that I have comes from first playing “The Incredible Machine” on PC in the early 90’s. For those not in the know, this is a physics-based puzzle game about building Rube Goldberg style contraptions to achieve … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
The Scientist Who Decodes the Songs of Undersea Volcanoes
In the rumbles and groans of underwater volcanoes, Jackie Caplan-Auerbach finds her favorite...
a year ago
In the rumbles and groans of underwater volcanoes, Jackie Caplan-Auerbach finds her favorite harmonies — and clues to the Earth’s interior.
The post The Scientist Who Decodes the Songs of Undersea Volcanoes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Air Quality, Breathing, and Health | Out-Of-Pocket
What we inhale is a public health issue
a year ago
What we inhale is a public health issue
NeuroLogica Blog
Update on AI Art
It’s been a while since I discussed artificial intelligence (AI) generated art here. What I have...
a month ago
It’s been a while since I discussed artificial intelligence (AI) generated art here. What I have said in the past is that AI art appears a bit soulless and there are details it has difficulty creating without bizarre distortions (hands are particularly difficult). But I also...
Quanta Magazine
What Is Machine Learning?
Neural networks and other forms of machine learning ultimately learn by trial and error, one...
5 months ago
Neural networks and other forms of machine learning ultimately learn by trial and error, one improvement at a time.
The post What Is Machine Learning? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Much Info Should A Patient Get? | Out-Of-Pocket
A discussion question
a year ago
wadertales
Conservation beyond boundaries
When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be...
a year ago
When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be affected by a new airport, because relatively small flocks are counted during field surveys, is there an assumption that the birds encountered are always the same individuals? What if...
nanoscale views
APS March Meeting 2023, Day 4 + wrapup
My last day at the March Meeting was a bit scattershot, but here are a few highlights:
In a...
a year ago
My last day at the March Meeting was a bit scattershot, but here are a few highlights:
In a session about spin transport, the opening invited talk by Jiaming He was a clear discussion of recent experimental results on spin Seebeck effects in the magnetic insulator LuFeO3. The...
Quanta Magazine
‘Metaphysical Experiments’ Probe Our Hidden Assumptions About Reality
Experiments that test physics and philosophy "as a single whole" may be our only route to surefire...
4 months ago
Experiments that test physics and philosophy "as a single whole" may be our only route to surefire knowledge about the universe.
The post ‘Metaphysical Experiments’ Probe Our Hidden Assumptions About Reality first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
4 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...
Casey Handmer's blog
Entrepreneurship changed the way I think
A quick note with some self reflection on the eve of my 37th year and after nearly three years of...
3 months ago
A quick note with some self reflection on the eve of my 37th year and after nearly three years of running a hardware start up. I never saw myself as a founder. At some point a few years ago I realized nearly all my friends were founders or managers of their own business, but I...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Doing science backwards
Preregistering research as a cure for scientific bias
over a year ago
Preregistering research as a cure for scientific bias
Quanta Magazine
In New Paradox, Black Holes Appear to Evade Heat Death
The puzzling behavior of black hole interiors has led researchers to propose a new physical law: the...
a year ago
The puzzling behavior of black hole interiors has led researchers to propose a new physical law: the second law of quantum complexity.
The post In New Paradox, Black Holes Appear to Evade Heat Death first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
How This Marine Worm Can Tell Moonglow From Sunbeams
For the first time, scientists have decoded the molecular structure of a protein that helps to sync...
a year ago
For the first time, scientists have decoded the molecular structure of a protein that helps to sync a biological clock to the phases of the moon.
The post How This Marine Worm Can Tell Moonglow From Sunbeams first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Eukaryote Writes...
A love letter to civilian OSINT
What is civilian OSINT, and could it be used altruistically?
over a year ago
What is civilian OSINT, and could it be used altruistically?
Quanta Magazine
The Hidden Brain Connections Between Our Hands and Tongues
Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary...
a year ago
Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary relationships.
The post The Hidden Brain Connections Between Our Hands and Tongues first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
Why Isn’t the Whole World Rich?
The question of why some countries join the developed world while others remain in poverty has vexed...
over a year ago
The question of why some countries join the developed world while others remain in poverty has vexed economists for decades. What makes it so hard to answer?
Probably...
Probably Overthinking It Notebooks
To celebrate one month since the launch of Probably Overthinking It, I’m releasing the Jupyter...
11 months ago
To celebrate one month since the launch of Probably Overthinking It, I’m releasing the Jupyter notebooks I used to create the book. There’s one per chapter, and they contain all of the code I used to do the analysis and generate the figures. So if you are curious about the...
nanoscale views
APS March Meeting 2023 - coming soon
I will be attending the 2023 APS March Meeting in Las Vegas this week. I will do my best to try to...
a year ago
I will be attending the 2023 APS March Meeting in Las Vegas this week. I will do my best to try to report on some highlights daily, though that may be more challenging than usual for me this time around (looming proposal deadline that I suspect all of my condensed matter faculty...
Quanta Magazine
With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits
After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated...
5 months ago
After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated simple computer programs can get.
The post With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Unraveling of Space-Time
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the...
2 months ago
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the fundamental nature of reality.
The post The Unraveling of Space-Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Electron Is So Round That It’s Ruling Out Potential New Particles
If the electron’s charge wasn’t perfectly round, it could reveal the existence of hidden particles....
a year ago
If the electron’s charge wasn’t perfectly round, it could reveal the existence of hidden particles. A new measurement approaches perfection.
The post The Electron Is So Round That It’s Ruling Out Potential New Particles first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation
A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly...
a year ago
A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly and potentially split species.
The post A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea
Cell membranes from comb jellies reveal a new kind of adaptation to the deep sea: curvy lipids that...
3 months ago
Cell membranes from comb jellies reveal a new kind of adaptation to the deep sea: curvy lipids that conform to an ideal shape under pressure.
The post The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Beautiful Public...
Aerial Glacier Photographs
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40...
6 months ago
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40 years with a 63-pound WW II surveillance camera.
Eukaryote Writes...
Will the growing deer prion epidemic spread to humans? Why not?
If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected...
a year ago
If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected meat, my default assumption would be “we're in danger.” But a prion isn’t a virus. Why does that matter?
brr
Brr Wants A Job
8 months post-ice, it's time for something new!
5 months ago
8 months post-ice, it's time for something new!
Blog - Practical...
Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions: What Really Happened?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On September 13, 2018, a...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On September 13, 2018, a pipeline crew in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts was hard at work replacing an aging cast iron natural gas line with a new polyethylene pipe. Located just north of Boston, the...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Musings on CVS, two-way negotiation, and venture studios | Out-Of-Pocket
+ we're hosting another dinner! and courses ending!
8 months ago
+ we're hosting another dinner! and courses ending!
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare in Jail | Out-Of-Pocket
How does it work?
a year ago
brr
Showering at the South Pole
Potable water, and not much of it.
a year ago
Potable water, and not much of it.
The Works in...
How America Made Machines Make Machines
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
a year ago
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
nanoscale views
Materials labs of the future + cost
The NSF Division of Materials Research has been soliciting input from the community about both the...
over a year ago
The NSF Division of Materials Research has been soliciting input from the community about both the biggest outstanding problems in condensed matter and materials science, and the future of materials labs - what kind of infrastructure, training, etc. will be needed to address...
brr
Engineering for Slow Internet
How to minimize user frustration in Antarctica.
6 months ago
How to minimize user frustration in Antarctica.
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