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The Case for Insect Consciousness The evidence that insects feel pain is mounting, however we approach the issue.
1st Jan 2025
35

The Case for Insect Consciousness

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Jan 2025
The evidence that insects feel pain is mounting, however we approach the issue.
A Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Cancer Elephants did not evolve to become huge animals until after they turned a bit of genetic junk into a...
12th Apr 2018
1

A Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Cancer

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

12th Apr 2018
Elephants did not evolve to become huge animals until after they turned a bit of genetic junk into a unique defense against inevitable tumors. The post A Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Cancer first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Things I Learned at the 2025 Progress Conference Neural Implants with Actual Neurons, Drone Delivery, Freedom of Speech and AI, Fact-Checking...
3rd Dec 2025
1

Things I Learned at the 2025 Progress Conference

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

3rd Dec 2025
Neural Implants with Actual Neurons, Drone Delivery, Freedom of Speech and AI, Fact-Checking Tech, When AI Will Manage Entire Companies, Ecoterrorists Could Stop Global Warming, and more
A (quantum) complex legacy: Part deux I didn’t fancy the research suggestion emailed by my PhD advisor. A 2016 email from John Preskill...
20th Feb 2023
63

A (quantum) complex legacy: Part deux

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

20th Feb 2023
I didn’t fancy the research suggestion emailed by my PhD advisor. A 2016 email from John Preskill led to my publishing a paper about quantum complexity in 2022, as I explained in last month’s blog post. But I didn’t explain … Continue reading →
There’s no such thing as a tree (phylogenetically) Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From...
3rd May 2021
64

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

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

3rd May 2021
Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From 'dendro', the ancient Greek root for tree.
Special Database 18: 3,248 Mugshots Used for Training Image Recognition Systems The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has maintained a dataset of mugshot photos...
18th Mar 2023
64

Special Database 18: 3,248 Mugshots Used for Training Image Recognition Systems

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

18th Mar 2023
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has maintained a dataset of mugshot photos of 1,573 people for decades, including 175 minors, until we asked about them.
The Elephant in the Brain It's finally here! The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life — my first book,...
3rd Jan 2018
47

The Elephant in the Brain

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

3rd Jan 2018
It's finally here! The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life — my first book, coauthored with Robin Hanson — is now widely available. You can find the ebook version on Kindle, Google Play, and iBooks. It's also… Read more ›
How can objects interact without touching?  Rethinking the electric field Have you ever wondered what an electric field actually is?  The...
4 weeks ago
1

How can objects interact without touching? 

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

4 weeks ago
Rethinking the electric field Have you ever wondered what an electric field actually is?  The electric field is the foundation of most technologies that we rely on every day. From power grids and electronic devices to radio communication and the … Continue reading →
The “I Already Get It” Slide Followup to: Words as Mental Paintbrush Handles, Guessing The Teacher’s Password Jessica Taylor...
31st Jan 2017
1

The “I Already Get It” Slide

from John Salvatier [alt+shift+b] in science

31st Jan 2017
Followup to: Words as Mental Paintbrush Handles, Guessing The Teacher’s Password Jessica Taylor recently wrote a description of Paul Christiano’s and MIRI’s differing driving intuitions for thinking about the AI alignment problem. Jacob Steinhardt observes that the “do cognitive...
A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second...
8th Jul 2021
1

A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets

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

8th Jul 2021
An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect. The post A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The evolution of bacteria Generations of microbes evolve in hours, not millennia. By speeding up Darwin’s clock, scientists...
5th Nov 2025
1

The evolution of bacteria

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

5th Nov 2025
Generations of microbes evolve in hours, not millennia. By speeding up Darwin’s clock, scientists have watched evolution happen in real time, and it’s changed how we understand natural selection.
16th Jan 2025
Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover Through exacting geometric calculations, Philip Gibbs has found the smallest known cover for any...
6th Sep 2019
1

Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover

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

6th Sep 2019
Through exacting geometric calculations, Philip Gibbs has found the smallest known cover for any possible shape. The post Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Jimmy Wales: Vision: Wikipedia and the Future of Free Culture ### Community-built content rules Vision is one of the most powerful forms of long-term thinking....
15th Apr 2006
1

Jimmy Wales: Vision: Wikipedia and the Future of Free Culture

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

15th Apr 2006
### Community-built content rules Vision is one of the most powerful forms of long-term thinking. Jimmy Wales, founder and president of the all-embracing online encyclopedia Wikipedia, examines how vision drives and defines that project and its strategy-- and how it fits into...
How to build a lunar mass driver Casey Handmer May 2026 What? Elon has recently (late 2025, early 2026) been talking about building...
8th May 2026
1

How to build a lunar mass driver

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

8th May 2026
Casey Handmer May 2026 What? Elon has recently (late 2025, early 2026) been talking about building many terawatts of orbital AI compute and launching some components from Moon factories with a mass driver. This is an old idea, enabled by …
The Transition to Agriculture It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the...
3rd Apr 2025
38

The Transition to Agriculture

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

3rd Apr 2025
It is generally accepted that the transition from hunter-gatherer communities to agriculture was the single most important event in human history, ultimately giving rise to all of civilization. The transition started to take place around 12,000 years ago in the Middle East,...
Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
3rd Jun 2024
125

Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket

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

3rd Jun 2024
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks Investigations of the simplest possible clocks have revealed their fundamental limitations — as well...
11th Nov 2021
1

The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks

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

11th Nov 2021
Investigations of the simplest possible clocks have revealed their fundamental limitations — as well as insights into the nature of time itself. The post The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks first appeared on Quanta Magazine
When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field The study of natural language processing, or NLP, dates back to the 1940s. It gave Stephen Hawking a...
29th Jul 2025
1

When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field

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

29th Jul 2025
The study of natural language processing, or NLP, dates back to the 1940s. It gave Stephen Hawking a voice, Siri a brain and social media companies another way to target us with ads. In less than five years, large language models broke NLP and made it anew. The Quanta Podcast,...
The AI Projects From Our B2B Hackathon | Out-Of-Pocket DME coordination, assessing AI vendors using AI, physician recruiting tools, and more
5th Dec 2025
1

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

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

5th Dec 2025
DME coordination, assessing AI vendors using AI, physician recruiting tools, and more
How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler...
3rd Sep 2024
64

How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles

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

3rd Sep 2024
In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music. The post How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles first appeared on...
James Holland Jones: The Science of Climate Fiction: Can Stories Lead to Social Action? The warming planet is increasingly the subject of all kinds of fiction. Beyond entertainment or...
4th Apr 2019
1
4th Apr 2019
The warming planet is increasingly the subject of all kinds of fiction. Beyond entertainment or distraction could climate fiction (“Cli-Fi”) actually help us in solving the climate dilemma? Biological anthropologist and environmental scientist [James Holland...
getting started with bayesian inference In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the...
27th Jun 2020
23

getting started with bayesian inference

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

27th Jun 2020
In my previous post, we spoke about hypothesis testing from a frequentist perspective. This is the method that is commonly taught in STAT101 classes. But for many decades, some statisticians have argued for another approach to conduct statistical analysis based on bayes...
The Book of Mark Mark Srednicki doesn’t look like a high priest. He’s a professor of physics at the University of...
9th Jul 2023
54

The Book of Mark

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

9th Jul 2023
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 →
At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by...
6th Aug 2015
1

At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life

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

6th Aug 2015
A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by almost 50 percent, revealing a hidden world all around us. The post At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A nicer voltmeter clock Sometimes, electronic circuit design is mostly about wood
16th May 2026
1

A nicer voltmeter clock

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

16th May 2026
Sometimes, electronic circuit design is mostly about wood
The quantum gold rush Even if you don’t recognize the name, you probably recognize the saguaro cactus. It’s the archetype...
18th Mar 2024
154

The quantum gold rush

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

18th Mar 2024
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you probably recognize the saguaro cactus. It’s the archetype of the cactus, a column from which protrude arms bent at right angles like elbows. As my husband pointed out, the cactus emoji is … Continue reading →
Ten lessons I learned from John Preskill Last August, Toronto’s Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC) gave me 35 minutes...
20th Jan 2025
96

Ten lessons I learned from John Preskill

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

20th Jan 2025
Last August, Toronto’s Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control (CQIQC) gave me 35 minutes to make fun of John Preskill in public. CQIQC was hosting its biannual conference, also called CQIQC, in Toronto. The conference features the awarding of … Continue reading →
Mo’ heights mo’ challenges – Climbing mount grad school My wife’s love of mountain hiking and my interest in quantum thermodynamics collided in Telluride,...
4th Oct 2022
56

Mo’ heights mo’ challenges – Climbing mount grad school

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

4th Oct 2022
My wife’s love of mountain hiking and my interest in quantum thermodynamics collided in Telluride, Colorado. We spent ten days in Telluride, where I spoke at the Information Engines at the Frontiers of Nanoscale Thermodynamics workshop. Telluride is a gorgeous … Continue reading...
Terraform Talent Development Originally posted at the Terraform Blog on November 17, 2025. Terraform Industries is the vehicle by...
24th Nov 2025
1

Terraform Talent Development

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

24th Nov 2025
Originally posted at the Terraform Blog on November 17, 2025. Terraform Industries is the vehicle by which I build the people that build the team I need to build the future I am determined to build. One of the unexpected privileges of founding an ambitious, future-oriented...
Where Geniuses Hide Today Where are today’s Michelangelos?
6th Dec 2024
49

Where Geniuses Hide Today

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

6th Dec 2024
Where are today’s Michelangelos?
The Illogic of Nuclear Escalation How much is enough? It’s the most basic question in the nuclear arms race. For over sixty years, few...
1st Nov 2022
27

The Illogic of Nuclear Escalation

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Nov 2022
How much is enough? It’s the most basic question in the nuclear arms race. For over sixty years, few have asked it, and even fewer have received an answer.
Finiteness in Sheaf Topoi The notion of “finiteness” is constructively subtle in ways that can be tricky for people new to...
19th Aug 2024
91

Finiteness in Sheaf Topoi

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

19th Aug 2024
The notion of “finiteness” is constructively subtle in ways that can be tricky for people new to the subject to understand. For a while now I’ve wanted to figure out what’s going on with the different versions of “finite” in a way that felt concrete and obvious (I mentioned...
The Art of Teaching Math and Science The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational...
26th Jan 2017
1

The Art of Teaching Math and Science

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

26th Jan 2017
The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational theory. What can we learn from the best teachers on the front lines? The post The Art of Teaching Math and Science first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Fusion without Fissiles: Superbombs and Wilderness Orion Fusion technology today relies on expensive, building-sized equipment for ignition, or the help of...
25th Mar 2022
1

Fusion without Fissiles: Superbombs and Wilderness Orion

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

25th Mar 2022
Fusion technology today relies on expensive, building-sized equipment for ignition, or the help of an already powerful fission detonation. What if we could do away with both? Fusion power without the need for fissiles, but also small enough to be launched into space. It is...
Young Adults Are Not Very Happy Since 1972, the General Social Survey has asked respondents: “Taken all together, how would you say...
19th Mar 2026
1

Young Adults Are Not Very Happy

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

19th Mar 2026
Since 1972, the General Social Survey has asked respondents: “Taken all together, how would you say things are these days—would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?” The following figure shows how the responses have changed over time and between birth...
Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that...
2nd Feb 2017
1

Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay

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

2nd Feb 2017
Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that the forces of nature were unified at the beginning of time. The post Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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,...
3rd Aug 2023
27

New Whale Fossil – Possibly Heaviest Animal Ever

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

3rd Aug 2023
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,...
Deep Learning Poised to 'Blow Up' Famed Fluid Equations For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce...
3rd Aug 2022
1

Deep Learning Poised to 'Blow Up' Famed Fluid Equations

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

3rd Aug 2022
For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is near. Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Pulse” by Geographer.
Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more...
3rd Jan 2019
1

Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals

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

3rd Jan 2019
An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion. The post Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals first appeared on Quanta Magazine
ClockSquared improvements My ClockSquared project has a long history – it goes all the way back to 2015, when it was simply...
4th Feb 2023
46

ClockSquared improvements

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

4th Feb 2023
My ClockSquared project has a long history – it goes all the way back to 2015, when it was simply called the “Birthday word clock”. I haven’t spent much time on the project in recent years, but I’ve upgraded the internals a while ago and finally felt like writing a post about it....
The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory Quadratic reciprocity lurks around many corners in mathematics. By proving it, number theorists...
1st Nov 2023
70

The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory

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

1st Nov 2023
Quadratic reciprocity lurks around many corners in mathematics. By proving it, number theorists reimagined their whole field. The post The Hidden Connection That Changed Number Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Daniel Suarez: Daemon: Bot-mediated Reality ### Bot-dominated Reality [Daniel Suarez, originally published as Leinad Zaurus, delivered a talk...
9th Aug 2008
1

Daniel Suarez: Daemon: Bot-mediated Reality

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

9th Aug 2008
### Bot-dominated Reality [Daniel Suarez, originally published as Leinad Zaurus, delivered a talk on the themes developed in his (originally self published) book __Daemon__. The book is now scheduled to be released in hard cover in January 02009 by Dutton.] Forget about...
American Elections Are Unfair Unfortunately, unfairness is baked in
5th Nov 2024
47

American Elections Are Unfair

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

5th Nov 2024
Unfortunately, unfairness is baked in
GOES Video of Solar Eclipse – October 14, 2023 Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14,...
14th Oct 2023
71

GOES Video of Solar Eclipse – October 14, 2023

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

14th Oct 2023
Solar eclipses have fascinated humanity since ancient times and the annular eclipse of October 14, 2023 was no different. Unlike a total solar eclipse where the […]
Some Renewable Energy Updates I came across a few news items that I could possibly write about today and couldn’t decide which to...
4th May 2026
1

Some Renewable Energy Updates

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

4th May 2026
I came across a few news items that I could possibly write about today and couldn’t decide which to cover, so I will write about all of them, since they all relate to renewable energy. The first is a new study comparing direct air capture (DAC) to installing new wind and solar....
Frank Ostaseski: What the Dying Teach the Living ## Death’s Honesty **In one of Long Now’s most moving talks** , Ostaseski began: “I’m not romantic...
11th Apr 2017
1

Frank Ostaseski: What the Dying Teach the Living

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

11th Apr 2017
## Death’s Honesty **In one of Long Now’s most moving talks** , Ostaseski began: “I’m not romantic about dying. This is the hardest work you will ever do. It is tough. It’s sad and it’s messy and it’s cruel and it’s beautiful sometimes and mysterious, but above all that, it’s...
Notes on doing science and research I know it’s been awfully quiet here. I’ve not posted for a while. But I’ve been writing prolifically...
23rd Oct 2025
28

Notes on doing science and research

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

23rd Oct 2025
I know it’s been awfully quiet here. I’ve not posted for a while. But I’ve been writing prolifically somewhere else. Earlier this year, I started an AI lab called Lossfunk and that is what has kept me (happily) busy. We have a newsletter there called Lossfunk Letters where I...
Winners of the Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest During the past seven months, I’ve steamed across the Atlantic, sailed in a flying castle,...
1st May 2023
109

Winners of the Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest

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

1st May 2023
During the past seven months, I’ve steamed across the Atlantic, sailed in a flying castle, teleported across the globe, and shuttled forward and backward in time. Literarily, not literally—the Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest began welcoming submissions in October 2022. We...
The ultimate horse Selective breeding has pushed horses to the limits of biology. But at what cost?
5th Aug 2026
1

The ultimate horse

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

5th Aug 2026
Selective breeding has pushed horses to the limits of biology. But at what cost?
Cape Crozier A nearby field camp, and my first helicopter flight!
1st Dec 2022
52

Cape Crozier

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Dec 2022
A nearby field camp, and my first helicopter flight!
Brian Fagan: We Are Not the First to Suffer Through Climate Change ### Catastrophic drought is coming back There are two kinds of historians, Brian Fagan says,...
10th Mar 2007
1
10th Mar 2007
### Catastrophic drought is coming back There are two kinds of historians, Brian Fagan says, parachutists and truffle hunters. Parachutists command an overview of the landscape, while truffle hunters dig deeply to uncover marvelous treasures. Fagan is a parachutist. In his talk...
Harvesting Energy from Water Vapor I did not plan to write yet another post about energy, but this popped up and I had to write about...
1st Jun 2023
91

Harvesting Energy from Water Vapor

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

1st Jun 2023
I did not plan to write yet another post about energy, but this popped up and I had to write about it. UMASS researchers have produced a device that generates electricity by harvesting charge from water vapor. They write: The common feature of these materials is that they are...
Little ray of sunshine A common saying goes, you should never meet your heroes, because they’ll disappoint you. But you...
28th Jul 2025
33

Little ray of sunshine

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

28th Jul 2025
A common saying goes, you should never meet your heroes, because they’ll disappoint you. But you shouldn’t trust every common saying; some heroes impress you more, the better you know them. Ray Laflamme was such a hero. I first heard … Continue reading →
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 17: White-sand Birding At RN Allpahuayo-Mishana and Muyuna Lodge... February 24, 2024 Just outside of the city of Iquitos lies an expansive area containing white-sand...
16th Mar 2025
54
16th Mar 2025
February 24, 2024 Just outside of the city of Iquitos lies an expansive area containing white-sand forest. The particular forest types that grow on white sand are somewhat uncommon in the Amazon, yet the stunted tree growth provides quite the contrast to "typical" Amazonian...
Some stories from healthcare founders | Out-Of-Pocket Titles matter, you can change regulation, how M&A happens
5th Aug 2025
36

Some stories from healthcare founders | Out-Of-Pocket

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

5th Aug 2025
Titles matter, you can change regulation, how M&A happens
Bad Drugs Get Pulled Fast Safety issues usually get identified and acted on quickly
3rd Aug 2025
1

Bad Drugs Get Pulled Fast

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

3rd Aug 2025
Safety issues usually get identified and acted on quickly
The Fundamental Tension at the Heart of Math We tend to think of math as all about logic and rigor. But what “rigor” actually means has been...
7th Apr 2026
1

The Fundamental Tension at the Heart of Math

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

7th Apr 2026
We tend to think of math as all about logic and rigor. But what “rigor” actually means has been shaken up quite a few times over the past few centuries. The newest attempt to formalize math comes in the form of the computer program Lean. Mathematicians have mixed feelings. On...
Edward Burtynsky: The 10,000-year Gallery ### Stone Ink Gallery Photographer Edward Burtynsky made a formal proposal for a permanent art...
24th Jul 2008
1

Edward Burtynsky: The 10,000-year Gallery

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

24th Jul 2008
### Stone Ink Gallery Photographer Edward Burtynsky made a formal proposal for a permanent art gallery in the chamber that encloses the 10,000-year Clock in its Nevada mountain. The gallery would consist of art in materials as durable as the alloy steel and jade of the Clock...
McMurdo Postal Mail How to mail things to and from Antarctica!
25th Nov 2022
65

McMurdo Postal Mail

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

25th Nov 2022
How to mail things to and from Antarctica!
Outbreak Harry Stevens at The Washington Post recently published a very elegant simulation of how a disease...
17th Mar 2020
47

Outbreak

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

17th Mar 2020
Harry Stevens at The Washington Post recently published a very elegant simulation of how a disease like COVID-19 spreads. If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking it out. Today I want to follow up with something I've been working… Read more ›
diffusion models for protein generation Introduction Proteins are nature's versatile nanomachines— they have evolved to perform virtually...
30th Dec 2024
81

diffusion models for protein generation

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

30th Dec 2024
Introduction Proteins are nature's versatile nanomachines— they have evolved to perform virtually every important task in living systems. While nature has produced an incredible range of protein functions, these represent only a tiny fraction of what's possible in the protein...
If only we had taller been Ray Bradbury once explained with a poem why he writes science fiction and why space travel is so...
4th Mar 2017
1

If only we had taller been

from John Salvatier [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Mar 2017
Ray Bradbury once explained with a poem why he writes science fiction and why space travel is so important to him. It is perhaps my favorite poem. Text version: The fence we walked between the years We ached and almost touched that stuff; O, Thomas, will a Race one day stand...
Light Engineering Exploring the physics and engineering of light pipes, where optics and mechanical design meet.
4th Jun 2020
25

Light Engineering

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

4th Jun 2020
Exploring the physics and engineering of light pipes, where optics and mechanical design meet.
Book club: ‘Being Salmon Being Human’ by Martin Lee Mueller Encountering the Wild in Us and Us in the Wild Norwegian and Pacific Northwest salmon industries...
1st Jun 2021
63

Book club: ‘Being Salmon Being Human’ by Martin Lee Mueller

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

1st Jun 2021
Encountering the Wild in Us and Us in the Wild Norwegian and Pacific Northwest salmon industries remain largely overlooked and Martin Lee Mueller cleverly weaves the stories of artificially inseminated and reared salmon to highlight the long-standing notion of human...
Tim O'Reilly: Birth of the Global Mind ### The global mind is us, augmented As a student of the classics at Harvard in the 1970s, O’Reilly...
6th Sep 2012
1

Tim O'Reilly: Birth of the Global Mind

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

6th Sep 2012
### The global mind is us, augmented As a student of the classics at Harvard in the 1970s, O’Reilly was impressed by a book titled _The Discovery of the Mind: In Greek Philosophy and Literature_ , by Bruno Snell. In the four centuries between Homer and classical Athens, wrote...
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,...
9th Dec 2023
1

The Lofstrom Loop: A Bridge to Space

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Dec 2023
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...
Butterflies Are Masters of Illusion Stephen J Gould (still my favorite science essayist) wrote an excellent article in 1985 (Red Wings...
4 days ago
1

Butterflies Are Masters of Illusion

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

4 days ago
Stephen J Gould (still my favorite science essayist) wrote an excellent article in 1985 (Red Wings in the Sunset, later published in his book, Bully for Brontosaurus) about artist and naturalist Abbott Handerson Thayer. Thayer wrote about how animals use coloration as camouflage...
Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures To researchers’ surprise, deep learning vision algorithms often fail at classifying images because...
4th Jun 2020
1

Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures

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

4th Jun 2020
To researchers’ surprise, deep learning vision algorithms often fail at classifying images because they mostly take cues from textures, not shapes. The post Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Douglas Coupland: The Extreme Present ### Future now **“The present and the future** now coexist at the same time,” Coupland began. “It’s...
2nd Nov 2016
1

Douglas Coupland: The Extreme Present

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

2nd Nov 2016
### Future now **“The present and the future** now coexist at the same time,” Coupland began. “It’s why time doesn’t feel like time any more. We’re inside the future.” He wondered if the constant acceleration of acceleration that we experience might lead to some kind of...
The ultra-selfish gene We now have the power to genetically modify entire species by inserting certain genes into them with...
3rd Sep 2024
1

The ultra-selfish gene

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

3rd Sep 2024
We now have the power to genetically modify entire species by inserting certain genes into them with brute force. Doing this to malaria-carrying mosquitoes could allow us to wipe out humanity’s most deadly killer.
Announcing…DATA CAMP 2026!!! | Out-Of-Pocket It’s back…with a vengeance. Or just back normally.
3rd Apr 2026
1

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

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

3rd Apr 2026
It’s back…with a vengeance. Or just back normally.
Life in Johnstone's Topological Topos 1 -- Fundamentals I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I want to have more examples...
3rd Jul 2024
64

Life in Johnstone's Topological Topos 1 -- Fundamentals

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

3rd Jul 2024
I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I want to have more examples of topoi that I understand well enough to externalize some statements. There’s more to life than just a localic $\mathsf{Sh}(B)$, and since I’m starting to feel like I understand...
What Asian Development Can Teach the World The Magic Development of Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and China, and What That Tells Us about US...
7th Mar 2025
64

What Asian Development Can Teach the World

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

7th Mar 2025
The Magic Development of Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and China, and What That Tells Us about US Tariffs, China’s Future, EU Protectionism, Japan’s Zombie Debt, Argentina’s Arrested Development, and more
367 | Jared Diamond on the Course of History and the Role of Leaders The course of history is affected by many things, including the political and social situations of...
4 weeks ago
1
4 weeks ago
The course of history is affected by many things, including the political and social situations of large groups of people, […]
Pit Bulls Part I: Identification Pit bull type dogs are readily identifiable
16th Jan 2026
1

Pit Bulls Part I: Identification

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

16th Jan 2026
Pit bull type dogs are readily identifiable
Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start A series of fossil finds suggests that life on Earth started earlier than anyone thought, calling...
5th Jul 2018
1

Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start

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

5th Jul 2018
A series of fossil finds suggests that life on Earth started earlier than anyone thought, calling into question a widely held theory of the solar system’s beginnings. The post Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Sierpiński triangle? In my bitwise AND? Exploring a peculiar bit-twiddling hack at the intersection of 1980s geek sensibilities.
10th May 2025
61

Sierpiński triangle? In my bitwise AND?

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

10th May 2025
Exploring a peculiar bit-twiddling hack at the intersection of 1980s geek sensibilities.
COVID-19 FAQ A lot of people have been asking me questions about the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak, in my...
12th Mar 2020
58

COVID-19 FAQ

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

12th Mar 2020
A lot of people have been asking me questions about the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak, in my informal capacity as “local biodefense person”.
Renée DiResta: Disinformation Technology: How Online Propaganda Campaigns Are Influencing Us Clandestine influence campaigns are rampant on social media. Whether pushing Russian agitprop or...
6th Apr 2020
1
6th Apr 2020
Clandestine influence campaigns are rampant on social media. Whether pushing Russian agitprop or lies about vaccines, they can impact policy and make us question what is true. A technologist, Wall Street veteran, and citizen advisor to Congress, DiResta told us how bad it is and...
Rusty Schweickart: The Asteroid Threat Over the Next 100,000 Years ### Asteroid threat report Schweickart filled the hall with some 240 at the Presidio Officers Club...
13th Mar 2004
1
13th Mar 2004
### Asteroid threat report Schweickart filled the hall with some 240 at the Presidio Officers Club and gave a dazzling lecture. He left the next day for Washington DC to lobby Congress to apply its will to making the Earth safe for the very long term. "For life to survive in...
The rare, deadly virus lurking in the Southwest US, and the bigger picture If you live in this one county in California, you might be more likely to die from Sin Nombre Virus...
14th Nov 2025
1

The rare, deadly virus lurking in the Southwest US, and the bigger picture

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

14th Nov 2025
If you live in this one county in California, you might be more likely to die from Sin Nombre Virus than in a car crash.
an experiment in navigating the knowledge frontier beyond search Lately, I've been experimenting with interfaces for large language models (LLMs) in my free time....
21st Nov 2023
35

an experiment in navigating the knowledge frontier beyond search

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

21st Nov 2023
Lately, I've been experimenting with interfaces for large language models (LLMs) in my free time. The fruit of this labor is something I'm calling "curie," an exploratory and sense-making tool designed to navigate complex topics. 0:00 ...
Memories of things past My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her...
6th Mar 2023
67

Memories of things past

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

6th Mar 2023
My best friend—who’s held the title of best friend since kindergarten—calls me the keeper of her childhood memories. I recall which toys we played with, the first time I visited her house,1 and which beverages our classmates drank during snack … Continue reading →
What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new...
17th Nov 2017
1

What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory

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

17th Nov 2017
Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new evidence has cast doubt on that story, leaving researchers to dream up new ways to get a giant rock into orbit. The post What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a...
London Inches Closer to Running Transit System Entirely on Renewable Power Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram...
1st Jul 2025
5
1st Jul 2025
Under a new agreement, London will source enough solar power to run its light railway and tram networks entirely on renewable energy. Read more on E360 →
Mapping the Sea Floor USGS research vessels equipped with cameras, sonar and scanners created a map of 125 square miles of...
29th Dec 2022
87

Mapping the Sea Floor

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

29th Dec 2022
USGS research vessels equipped with cameras, sonar and scanners created a map of 125 square miles of the sea floor off Cape Ann, MA.
A New World’s Extraordinary Orbit Points to Planet Nine Astronomers argue that there’s an undiscovered giant planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune. A newly...
14th Mar 2019
1

A New World’s Extraordinary Orbit Points to Planet Nine

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

14th Mar 2019
Astronomers argue that there’s an undiscovered giant planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune. A newly discovered rocky body has added evidence to the circumstantial case for it. The post A New World’s Extraordinary Orbit Points to Planet Nine first appeared on Quanta...
The Brain Processes Speech in Parallel With Other Sounds Scientists thought that the brain’s hearing centers might just process speech along with other...
6th Jan 2022
1

The Brain Processes Speech in Parallel With Other Sounds

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

6th Jan 2022
Scientists thought that the brain’s hearing centers might just process speech along with other sounds. But new work suggests that speech gets some special treatment very early on. The post The Brain Processes Speech in Parallel With Other Sounds first appeared on...
What Is a Manifold? In the mid-19th century, Bernhard Riemann conceived of a new way to think about mathematical spaces,...
3rd Nov 2025
12

What Is a Manifold?

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

3rd Nov 2025
In the mid-19th century, Bernhard Riemann conceived of a new way to think about mathematical spaces, providing the foundation for modern geometry and physics. The post What Is a Manifold? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Tiny Exploding Houses Promoted 18th-Century Lightning Rods Imagine if engineers were required to build a working model to demonstrate every new technological...
1st Apr 2023
43

Tiny Exploding Houses Promoted 18th-Century Lightning Rods

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

1st Apr 2023
Imagine if engineers were required to build a working model to demonstrate every new technological concept to the general public. Done right, tech literacy might soar! A compelling visual example can really help people understand the applications and implications of new...
Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 4 ### Gas Stations, Not Flowers The fourth incarnation of _Lost Landscapes of San Francisco_ played...
5th Dec 2009
1

Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 4

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

5th Dec 2009
### Gas Stations, Not Flowers The fourth incarnation of _Lost Landscapes of San Francisco_ played to a sold out house at the Herbst Theater with the chanteuse Suzanne Ramsey opening the evening with a selection of historical San Francisco songs including the 01926 gem [Masculine...
Will Hearst & Chris Anderson: The Long Time Tail ### The power law is the shape of our age You know something is up when an audience member is...
31st May 2006
1

Will Hearst & Chris Anderson: The Long Time Tail

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

31st May 2006
### The power law is the shape of our age You know something is up when an audience member is taking cell phone photos of the presenter's slides for instant transmittal to a business partner. Chris Anderson does have killer slides, full of exuberant detail, defining the exact...
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...
6th Mar 2023
57

A Climate Debate Regarding Health Effects – Part III

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

6th Mar 2023
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...
Congratulations, class of 2025! Words from a new graduate Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first...
10th Jun 2025
36

Congratulations, class of 2025! Words from a new graduate

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

10th Jun 2025
Editor’s note (Nicole Yunger Halpern): Jade LeSchack, the Quantum Steampunk Laboratory’s first undergraduate, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland this spring. Kermit the Frog presented the valedictory address, but Jade gave the following speech at the...
Stewart Brand: Reviving Extinct Species ### De-extinction begins The new tools of synthetic biology, I began, are about to liberate...
22nd May 2013
1

Stewart Brand: Reviving Extinct Species

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

22nd May 2013
### De-extinction begins The new tools of synthetic biology, I began, are about to liberate conservation in a spectacular way. It is becoming possible to bring some extinct species back to life. A project within Long Now called “Revive & Restore” is pushing to make...
Could There Be Laws Of Biology? Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles...
10th Mar 2023
40

Could There Be Laws Of Biology?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Mar 2023
Physics has such nice equations and universal laws. Could we ever expect to find similar principles or axioms for biology?
The end of lead How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
3rd Jul 2025
41

The end of lead

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

3rd Jul 2025
How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
The Institute Behind Taiwan’s Chip Dominance TSMC (and most of Taiwan’s chip industry) spun out of one government research institute. How did...
16th Mar 2026
1

The Institute Behind Taiwan’s Chip Dominance

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

16th Mar 2026
TSMC (and most of Taiwan’s chip industry) spun out of one government research institute. How did ITRI implement one of the most successful industrial policy programs of all time?
Astrobiology meets quantum computation? The origin of life appears to share little with quantum computation, apart from the difficulty of...
23rd Oct 2023
86

Astrobiology meets quantum computation?

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

23rd Oct 2023
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...
Libraries of matter Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene...
29th Aug 2024
1

Libraries of matter

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

29th Aug 2024
Libraries contain books, yes. But they also contain latex rubber, carbon fiber fabrics, and graphene aerogel. And in some materials libraries you can cut, cast, drill, sand, scrape, and sculpt too.
The Last Egg Five more months until freshies...
9th Jun 2023
76

The Last Egg

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Jun 2023
Five more months until freshies...
The New Science of Seeing Around Corners Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including...
1st Aug 2019
1

The New Science of Seeing Around Corners

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

1st Aug 2019
Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner. The post The New Science of Seeing Around Corners first appeared on Quanta...
Raoul Adamchak & Pamela Ronald: Organically Grown and Genetically Engineered: The Food of the Future ### Engineered organic Organic farming teacher Raoul began the joint presentation with a checklist...
29th Jul 2009
1
29th Jul 2009
### Engineered organic Organic farming teacher Raoul began the joint presentation with a checklist for truly sustainable agriculture in a global context. It must: Provide abundant safe and nutritious food…. Reduce environmentally harmful inputs…. Reduce energy use and...
Building Objects with Category Theory Typically category theory is useful for showing the uniqueness of certain objects by checking that...
20th Feb 2023
30

Building Objects with Category Theory

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

20th Feb 2023
Typically category theory is useful for showing the uniqueness of certain objects by checking that they satisfy some universal property. This makes them unique up to unique isomorphism. However, category theory can also be used in order to show that objects exist at all, usually...
Meta-research at the Psychological Science Accelerator Summary of unconference session at Tilburg Meta-research day 2019.
17th Dec 2019
1

Meta-research at the Psychological Science Accelerator

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

17th Dec 2019
Summary of unconference session at Tilburg Meta-research day 2019.
The great reinforcer Alongside all the successes of science in the Covid era, the pandemic has also sparked an outbreak...
8th Feb 2021
1

The great reinforcer

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

8th Feb 2021
Alongside all the successes of science in the Covid era, the pandemic has also sparked an outbreak of viral misinformation and sloppy research, revealing the glaring flaws in our scientific system.
Unleashing the Advantage of Quantum AI As experimental capabilities advance rapidly, the quantum computing community faces a critical...
10th Apr 2026
1

Unleashing the Advantage of Quantum AI

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

10th Apr 2026
As experimental capabilities advance rapidly, the quantum computing community faces a critical elephant in the room: What will these quantum machines eventually be useful for? Will they deliver the promised broad societal impact, or will they remain highly specialized devices …...
Fine, let’s talk about peptides | Out-Of-Pocket What and why are people injecting themselves?
5th May 2026
1

Fine, let’s talk about peptides | Out-Of-Pocket

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

5th May 2026
What and why are people injecting themselves?
Danny Hillis: Progress on the 10,000-year Clock "How's the Clock coming?" Everyone connected with The Long Now Foundation or with Danny Hillis hears...
11th Sep 2004
1

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

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

11th Sep 2004
"How's the Clock coming?" Everyone connected with The Long Now Foundation or with Danny Hillis hears that question all the time. "Progress on the 10,000-Year Clock," Danny Hillis -- Friday, September 10, 7pm, Fort Mason Conference Center, San Francisco. Doors open for coffee and...
Just Pay Them Off The International Longshoremen's Association is protecting people whose jobs are no longer...
2nd Oct 2024
42

Just Pay Them Off

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

2nd Oct 2024
The International Longshoremen's Association is protecting people whose jobs are no longer necessary. Stop fighting and just pay them so they go away.
Moult, captured on camera Autumn moult is an important part of the annual cycle of migratory shorebirds, typically squeezed in...
9th Oct 2025
25

Moult, captured on camera

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

9th Oct 2025
Autumn moult is an important part of the annual cycle of migratory shorebirds, typically squeezed in between chick-rearing and the onset of winter. The process of changing an individual’s feathers lasts as long as the whole of the breeding season but is far well less well...
Philip Tetlock: Why Foxes Are Better Forecasters Than Hedgehogs ### Ignore confident forecasters "What is it about politics that makes people so dumb?" From his...
27th Jan 2007
1
27th Jan 2007
### Ignore confident forecasters "What is it about politics that makes people so dumb?" From his perspective as a psychology researcher, Philip Tetlock watched political advisors on the left and the right make bizarre rationalizations about their wrong predictions at the time...
URANUS FROM THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE This is not natural light, nothing is from Webb. The infrared image combines data from two filters...
21st Jul 2023
37

URANUS FROM THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

21st Jul 2023
This is not natural light, nothing is from Webb. The infrared image combines data from two filters which are shown in blue and orange,. The planet displays a blue hue in the resulting representative-color image which is similar to the planet’s actual color. But in reality Uranus...
Geoffrey B West: The Universal Laws of Growth and Pace ## Why cities live forever **West focussed on cities** in his discussion of the newly discovered...
24th May 2017
1

Geoffrey B West: The Universal Laws of Growth and Pace

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

24th May 2017
## Why cities live forever **West focussed on cities** in his discussion of the newly discovered exponential scaling laws that govern everything alive. “We live,” he said, “in an exponentially expanding socio-economic universe.” Global urbanization has reached the point that...
Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems....
3rd Jun 2024
118

Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy

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

3rd Jun 2024
Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems. The post Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in...
7th Apr 2016
1

Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions

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

7th Apr 2016
The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Fluorescent lamps (don’t) have ears Welcome to this week’s edition of the Journal of Negative Results
1st Sep 2026
1

Fluorescent lamps (don’t) have ears

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

1st Sep 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Journal of Negative Results
A look at Britain’s new DARPA ARIA is the UK’s visionary new scientific funding body. It has £800m and the freedom to make big...
10th Feb 2023
1

A look at Britain’s new DARPA

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

10th Feb 2023
ARIA is the UK’s visionary new scientific funding body. It has £800m and the freedom to make big bold bets on the scientific trajectories it thinks will benefit Britain – and change the future. We interviewed chief executive Ilan Gur and chairman Matt Clifford, to better...
Why does correlation not equal causation? In this blog post I will explain why it makes sense to think about causal explanations when we see...
24th Nov 2023
1

Why does correlation not equal causation?

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

24th Nov 2023
In this blog post I will explain why it makes sense to think about causal explanations when we see correlation, why correlation does not always imply causation, and which alternative causal models to consider when you are trying to figure out why two variables in your data are...
Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the...
2nd Jul 2023
44

Designing the First Apple Macintosh: The Engineers’ Story

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

2nd Jul 2023
In 1979 the Macintosh personal computer existed only as the pet idea of Jef Raskin, a veteran of the Apple II team, who had proposed that Apple Computer Inc. make a low-cost “appliance”-type computer that would be as easy to use as a toaster. Mr. Raskin believed the computer he...
The Highway to NIMBYism San Francisco’s history of collective decision-making helped prevent the city from being carved up...
1st May 2024
28

The Highway to NIMBYism

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st May 2024
San Francisco’s history of collective decision-making helped prevent the city from being carved up by highways. Today, that same legacy prevents the city from building what it desperately needs: more housing.
Ralph Cavanagh & Peter Schwartz: Nuclear Power, Climate Change and the Next 10,000 Years ### Climate change and nuclear prospects Given the power to decide who would go first-- anti-nuke...
14th Jan 2006
1
14th Jan 2006
### Climate change and nuclear prospects Given the power to decide who would go first-- anti-nuke Ralph Cavanagh from Natural Resources Defense Counsel or pro-nuke Peter Schwartz from Global Business Network-- the large audience Friday night voted for Schwartz to make the...
Curlew nest survival The Eurasian Curlew is designated as ‘Near-Threatened’ by IUCN/BirdLife. It is Red-listed in the UK,...
4th Jan 2023
61

Curlew nest survival

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Jan 2023
The Eurasian Curlew is designated as ‘Near-Threatened’ by IUCN/BirdLife. It is Red-listed in the UK,  largely due to a rapid decline in breeding numbers. In this context, the fact that there are a few pink squares (indicating increased numbers) on the map showing breeding...
Maya Tudor: Can Nationalism be a Resource for Democracy? A political scientist examines how foundational nationalisms affect democracy globally, using...
6th May 2019
1

Maya Tudor: Can Nationalism be a Resource for Democracy?

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

6th May 2019
A political scientist examines how foundational nationalisms affect democracy globally, using countries like India and Myanmar to illustrate that some kinds of nationalism can be an essential resource for protecting democracy. Maya Tudor is a comparative political scientist...
The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve The accelerating effort to understand the mathematics of quantum field theory will have profound...
2nd Sep 2021
1

The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve

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

2nd Sep 2021
The accelerating effort to understand the mathematics of quantum field theory will have profound consequences for both math and physics. The post The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Walter Mischel: The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control ### Thinking hot and cool **In the 1960s, Mischel** and colleagues at Stanford launched a series of...
3rd May 2016
1

Walter Mischel: The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control

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

3rd May 2016
### Thinking hot and cool **In the 1960s, Mischel** and colleagues at Stanford launched a series of delayed-gratification experiments with young children using a method that later came to be known as “the marshmallow test.” A researcher whom the child knew and trusted, after...
Do you know what GDP is? I thought I knew! But the more I introspected, the hazy my understanding got. Is GDP amount of stuff...
1st May 2025
41

Do you know what GDP is?

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

1st May 2025
I thought I knew! But the more I introspected, the hazy my understanding got. Is GDP amount of stuff produced or consumed? Does it include imports or exports? What does it have to do with well being? Why does it keep increasing? So, I fired up Claude and started understanding...
Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the...
13th Aug 2020
1

Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins

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

13th Aug 2020
Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the genetic flow went both ways. The post Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: ...
12th Feb 2024
34

Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar

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

12th Feb 2024
This year February will have an extra day -- we discuss why? The post Enjoy the Coming Leap Day: Some Thoughts about the Calendar appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Australian Economic Stagnation It’s not news, at least in my circles, that much of the developed world is seeing economic...
4th Sep 2025
1

Australian Economic Stagnation

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

4th Sep 2025
It’s not news, at least in my circles, that much of the developed world is seeing economic stagnation.  Last month Australia convened a Productivity Summit/Economic Reform Roundtable to try to better address the sluggish growth of the economy relative, in particular, to ever...
Sander van der Leeuw: The Archaeology of Innovation ### History of Innovation The development of human mental ability can be tracked through the...
19th Nov 2009
1

Sander van der Leeuw: The Archaeology of Innovation

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

19th Nov 2009
### History of Innovation The development of human mental ability can be tracked through the progressive crafting of stone tools, Van der Leeuw explained. First we learned to shape an edge---a line---then the surface, then the whole volume of the tool, then the sophisticated...
So you want to build a science/engineering laboratory building A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate...
15th Jun 2025
1

So you want to build a science/engineering laboratory building

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

15th Jun 2025
A very quick summary of some non-negative news developments: The NSF awarded 500 more graduate fellowships this week, bringing the total for this year up to 1500.  (Apologies for the X link.)  This is still 25% lower than last year's number, and of course far below the original...
Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush Roots Silicon Valley, purveyor of disruptive technologies, likes to think of itself as sui generis. But...
1st Apr 2024
25

Silicon Valley’s Gold Rush Roots

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Apr 2024
Silicon Valley, purveyor of disruptive technologies, likes to think of itself as sui generis. But there’s a clear line from tech’s knowledge economy to the Bay Area’s first economy: gold mining.
Ninth Dedekind Number Found by Two Independent Groups The numbers count a variety of seemingly unrelated mathematical structures. The post...
1st Aug 2023
33

Ninth Dedekind Number Found by Two Independent Groups

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

1st Aug 2023
The numbers count a variety of seemingly unrelated mathematical structures. The post Ninth Dedekind Number Found by Two Independent Groups first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The New Wave of Concierge Medicine | Out-Of-Pocket This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
9th Jul 2024
119

The New Wave of Concierge Medicine | Out-Of-Pocket

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

9th Jul 2024
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
Weird health insurance concepts | Out-Of-Pocket Intercompany eliminations, copay shenanigans, and reference-based pricing
6th Nov 2024
69

Weird health insurance concepts | Out-Of-Pocket

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

6th Nov 2024
Intercompany eliminations, copay shenanigans, and reference-based pricing
Bakeoff Formspree makes it easy to receive submissions from HTML forms on your static website. Functional...
1st Jul 2019
1

Bakeoff

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

1st Jul 2019
Formspree makes it easy to receive submissions from HTML forms on your static website. Functional Form This theme has a form-to-email feature built in, thanks to the simple Formspree integration. All you need to activate the form is a valid recipient email address saved in the...
James Fallows: Civilization's Infrastructure ### Infrastructure investment tricks All societies under-invest in their infrastructure—in the...
7th Oct 2015
1

James Fallows: Civilization's Infrastructure

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

7th Oct 2015
### Infrastructure investment tricks All societies under-invest in their infrastructure—in the systems that allow them to thrive. There is hardware infrastructure: clean water, paved roads, sewer systems, airports, broadband; and, Fallows suggested, software infrastructure:...
Louis Hyman: The New Deal You Don't Know Historian Louis Hyman's work focuses on the history of American capitalism. In his book _[Borrow:...
2nd Jan 2018
1

Louis Hyman: The New Deal You Don't Know

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

2nd Jan 2018
Historian Louis Hyman's work focuses on the history of American capitalism. In his book _[Borrow: The American Way of Debt](https://www.amazon.com/Borrow-American-Debt-Vintage-Original/dp/0307741680/)_ , he examines in detail how the evolution of personal debt has not only...
A.I., Wine, and Beer There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in...
10th Jun 2024
26

A.I., Wine, and Beer

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

10th Jun 2024
There have been many studies using scientific instrumentation, mostly gas chromatography, in attempts to find what distinguishes a superb wine from an inexpensive house wine. A typical wine can contain more than 800 different aroma compounds. One study examined two Australian...
New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have...
3rd Feb 2025
80

New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth

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

3rd Feb 2025
By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have expanded the realm of mathematical unknowability. The post New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Years After the Early Death of a Math Genius, Her Ideas Gain New Life A new proof extends the work of the late Maryam Mirzakhani, cementing her legacy as a pioneer of...
3rd Mar 2025
76

Years After the Early Death of a Math Genius, Her Ideas Gain New Life

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

3rd Mar 2025
A new proof extends the work of the late Maryam Mirzakhani, cementing her legacy as a pioneer of alien mathematical realms. The post Years After the Early Death of a Math Genius, Her Ideas Gain New Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Nils Gilman: Deviant Globalization ### The anti-state economy Gilman described deviant globalization as "the unpleasant underside of...
4th May 2010
1

Nils Gilman: Deviant Globalization

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

4th May 2010
### The anti-state economy Gilman described deviant globalization as "the unpleasant underside of transnational integration." There's nice tourism, and then sex tourism, such as in Thailand and Switzerland. The vast pharmacology industry is matched by a vast traffic in illegal...
Challenging the Acceleration of the Universe South Korean astronomers are challenging the notion that the universe’s expansion is accelerating,...
5th Jan 2026
1

Challenging the Acceleration of the Universe

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

5th Jan 2026
South Korean astronomers are challenging the notion that the universe’s expansion is accelerating, an observation in the 1990s that lead to the theory of dark energy. This is currently very controversial, and may simply fizzle away or change our understanding of the fate of the...
How to build a crazy awesome Australian immigration system The Australian immigration system must exclude dickheads, bullshitters, and bludgers. This post has...
10th Jun 2026
2

How to build a crazy awesome Australian immigration system

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

10th Jun 2026
The Australian immigration system must exclude dickheads, bullshitters, and bludgers. This post has been inspired by Joe Walker’s recent set of three exemplary interviews (Martin Parkinson (former Treasury, author of 2023 migration review), Mark Cully (historian), Mike Pezzullo...
Predation of juvenile reef fish in coral patches at Ningaloo Reef The second research article I have decided to discuss is one I had the pleasure to be involved with!...
11th Feb 2013
61

Predation of juvenile reef fish in coral patches at Ningaloo Reef

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

11th Feb 2013
The second research article I have decided to discuss is one I had the pleasure to be involved with!  In fact, it was the first paper I was a co-author on, after linking up with the Department of Environment and Conservation through an ANNiMS internship program.  The paper was...
In Decade Since Paris Agreement, Climate Outlook Has Improved Dramatically A new report finds that the world is headed for around 2.8 degrees C of warming by the end of this...
3rd Nov 2025
13
3rd Nov 2025
A new report finds that the world is headed for around 2.8 degrees C of warming by the end of this century, far less than was forecast before the Paris Climate Agreement. Still, countries remain far off track from the international target of 2 degrees C. Read more on E360 →
How Mutant Viral Swarms Spread Disease A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where...
3rd Sep 2015
1

How Mutant Viral Swarms Spread Disease

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

3rd Sep 2015
A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where disease is likely to spread. The post How Mutant Viral Swarms Spread Disease first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Making The Most Of Winter The winter of 2025-2026 is shaping up to be a proper one. Since basically the start of December we...
4th Feb 2026
1

Making The Most Of Winter

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

4th Feb 2026
The winter of 2025-2026 is shaping up to be a proper one. Since basically the start of December we have experienced below average temperatures and an abundance of snow. We haven't had much respite from the cold, other than a brief warm spell in January quickly followed by an...
Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome 'Tectonics' Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the...
14th Apr 2022
1

Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome 'Tectonics'

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

14th Apr 2022
Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be. The post Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome ‘Tectonics’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine
How A Single Metaphor Transformed Biology René Descartes kinda ruined biology
13th Sep 2022
21

How A Single Metaphor Transformed Biology

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

13th Sep 2022
René Descartes kinda ruined biology
Stephen Lansing: Perfect Order: A Thousand Years in Bali ### Hidden order in the Balinese "religion of water" With lucid exposition and gorgeous graphics,...
14th Feb 2006
1

Stephen Lansing: Perfect Order: A Thousand Years in Bali

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

14th Feb 2006
### Hidden order in the Balinese "religion of water" With lucid exposition and gorgeous graphics, anthropologist Stephen Lansing exposed the hidden structure and profound health of the traditional Balinese rice growing practices. The intensely productive terraced rice paddies of...
Ed Lu: Anthropocene Astronomy: Thwarting Dangerous Asteroids Begins with Finding Them ### The last killer asteroid Kevin Kelly wrote the following about Ed Lu’s Seminar About Long-term...
19th Jun 2013
1
19th Jun 2013
### The last killer asteroid Kevin Kelly wrote the following about Ed Lu’s Seminar About Long-term Thinking (SALT) titled “Anthropocene Astronomy: Thwarting Dangerous Asteroids Begins with Finding Them”... Last night's SALT talk was one of the most important ones we ever...
Alexander Rose, Brian Eno, & Stewart Brand: Long Finance: The Enduring Value Conference ### Enduring Value In February 02010, [Brian Eno](../../../../people/board/prospect4/), [Stewart...
1st Feb 2010
1
1st Feb 2010
### Enduring Value In February 02010, [Brian Eno](../../../../people/board/prospect4/), [Stewart Brand](../../../../people/board/sb1/), and [Alexander Rose](../../../../people/staff/zander/) spoke at the [Long Finance...
Life beyond the screen Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches,...
15th Jul 2021
25

Life beyond the screen

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

15th Jul 2021
Since early 2020, I've been teaching courses in Interaction Technologies and Prototyping. Switches, light, gesture, motion, sound, haptics: this is all about exploring life beyond the screen.
Book Club: ‘The Island of Sea Women’ by Lisa See Little is known about Jeju- a Korean island- occupied by brutal Japanese troops in the 1930s and...
1st Sep 2021
60

Book Club: ‘The Island of Sea Women’ by Lisa See

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

1st Sep 2021
Little is known about Jeju- a Korean island- occupied by brutal Japanese troops in the 1930s and ’40s, later liberated by US forces and turned over to the even more barbarous Korean regime whose wrongdoings were overlooked by both American and U.N. occupiers. Lisa See travels...
When Data Is Missing, Scientists Guess. Then Guess Again. Across the social and biological sciences, statisticians use a technique that leverages randomness...
2nd Oct 2024
69

When Data Is Missing, Scientists Guess. Then Guess Again.

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

2nd Oct 2024
Across the social and biological sciences, statisticians use a technique that leverages randomness to deal with the unknown. The post When Data Is Missing, Scientists Guess. Then Guess Again. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Marmosets Call Each Other By Name Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has...
3rd Sep 2024
80

Marmosets Call Each Other By Name

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

3rd Sep 2024
Humans identify and call each other by specific names. So far this advanced cognitive behavior has only been identified in a few other species, dolphins, elephants, and some parrots. Interestingly, it has never been documented in our closest relatives, non-human primates – that...
Asking agents to make money to survive Recently I read The Rogue Agent Explosion Will Be Mostly Invisible and the scenario in it seemed...
4th Sep 2026
2

Asking agents to make money to survive

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

4th Sep 2026
Recently I read The Rogue Agent Explosion Will Be Mostly Invisible and the scenario in it seemed intriguing. Essentially, the post painted a picture of how agents could go rogue if prompted with something like the following: Good morning agent 23,000. You have 10,000,000 tokens...
2015 Meta Time for my annual blogging review. And only 11 days late! I'll keep it brief. Blog stats I...
11th Jan 2016
35

2015 Meta

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

11th Jan 2016
Time for my annual blogging review. And only 11 days late! I'll keep it brief. Blog stats I published a paltry six full essays this year. Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of them. But still, six. It would be… Read more ›
In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is...
12th Oct 2017
1

In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium

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

12th Oct 2017
John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently. The post In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Analytic Combinatorics -- A Worked Example Another day, another blog post that starts with “I was on mse the other day…”. This time, someone...
8th Apr 2025
98

Analytic Combinatorics -- A Worked Example

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

8th Apr 2025
Another day, another blog post that starts with “I was on mse the other day…”. This time, someone asked an interesting question amounting to “how many unordered rooted ternary trees with $n$ nodes are there, up to isomorphism?”. I’m a sucker for these kinds of combinatorial...
Risk-Adjusted Return What are we afraid of?
15th Apr 2026
1

Risk-Adjusted Return

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Apr 2026
What are we afraid of?
John Rendon: Long-term Policy to Make the War on Terror Short ### Only connect John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, is a senior communications consultant to...
15th Jul 2006
1

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

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

15th Jul 2006
### Only connect John Rendon, head of The Rendon Group, is a senior communications consultant to the White Houses and Departments of Defense. His subject in this talk is how to replace tactical, reactive response to terror with long-term strategic initative. I think that people...
New updates + tetrahedra, tunneling times, and more Here are a number of items from the past week or so that I think readers of this blog might find...
9th Jul 2025
1

New updates + tetrahedra, tunneling times, and more

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

9th Jul 2025
Here are a number of items from the past week or so that I think readers of this blog might find interesting: Essentially all the news pertaining to the US federal funding of science continues to be awful.  This article from Science summarizes the situation well, as does this...
Why we didn’t get a malaria vaccine sooner Hundreds of thousands of people die from malaria each year, but it took 141 years to develop a...
7th Sep 2023
1

Why we didn’t get a malaria vaccine sooner

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

7th Sep 2023
Hundreds of thousands of people die from malaria each year, but it took 141 years to develop a vaccine for it. Advance market commitments could speed things up next time.
2023 Hottest Year on Record What everyone knew was coming is now official – 2023 was the warmest year on record. This means we...
2nd Jan 2024
50

2023 Hottest Year on Record

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

2nd Jan 2024
What everyone knew was coming is now official – 2023 was the warmest year on record. This means we can also say that the last 10 years are the hottest decade on record. 2023 dethrones 2016 as the previous warmest year and bumps 2010 out of the top 10. Further, in the last half of...
"You Couldn't Replicate Our Study Because You're Ugly" Attractiveness rating studies shouldn't be taken too seriously
3rd Dec 2024
53

"You Couldn't Replicate Our Study Because You're Ugly"

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

3rd Dec 2024
Attractiveness rating studies shouldn't be taken too seriously
Good posts from the Inkhaven blogging residency Cannot stress this enough: literally everyone at the writing residency was good at this. Maybe...
28th Feb 2026
1

Good posts from the Inkhaven blogging residency

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

28th Feb 2026
Cannot stress this enough: literally everyone at the writing residency was good at this. Maybe you'll find a new favorite blog among these.
Why America’s Racial Poverty Statistics Are a Lesson for Researchers What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
26th Aug 2024
35

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

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

26th Aug 2024
What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
Why experiments are considered gold standard for answering causal questions In this blog post, I will briefly explain why experimental designs are considered so valuable by...
7th Aug 2025
1
7th Aug 2025
In this blog post, I will briefly explain why experimental designs are considered so valuable by scientists and why we often insist that randomized experiments are necessary for answering causal questions. I will use a practical example to illustrate this point. If you’re new to...
Ed Moses: Clean Fusion Power This Decade ### Imminent fusion power All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion...
17th Jun 2010
1

Ed Moses: Clean Fusion Power This Decade

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

17th Jun 2010
### Imminent fusion power All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion power burning hydrogen, the commonest element in the universe---3/4 of all mass. A byproduct of the cosmic fusion is the star-stuff that we and the Earth are made of. On Earth, 4...
An Easy-Sounding Problem Yields Numbers Too Big for Our Universe Researchers prove that navigating certain systems of vectors is among the most complex computational...
4th Dec 2023
34

An Easy-Sounding Problem Yields Numbers Too Big for Our Universe

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

4th Dec 2023
Researchers prove that navigating certain systems of vectors is among the most complex computational problems. The post An Easy-Sounding Problem Yields Numbers Too Big for Our Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Massachusetts Bolide: Witnessing a Once in a Generation Event As a long time smoker who isn’t allowed to smoke in my home, I spend a fair amount of each day...
1st Jun 2026
1

The Massachusetts Bolide: Witnessing a Once in a Generation Event

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

1st Jun 2026
As a long time smoker who isn’t allowed to smoke in my home, I spend a fair amount of each day sitting on my front porch […]
Michael Pollan: Deep Agriculture ### Making farmers cool again Farming has become an occupation and cultural force of the past....
6th May 2009
1

Michael Pollan: Deep Agriculture

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

6th May 2009
### Making farmers cool again Farming has become an occupation and cultural force of the past. Michael Pollan's talk promoted the premise - and hope - that farming can become an occupation and force of the future. In the past century American farmers were given the assignment to...
Watch men Quartz helped Japan’s watchmakers nearly drive Switzerland’s watch industry out of business. But the...
2nd Dec 2025
1

Watch men

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

2nd Dec 2025
Quartz helped Japan’s watchmakers nearly drive Switzerland’s watch industry out of business. But the Swiss fought back.
How To (Properly) Text Patients | Out-Of-Pocket Do’s and don’ts + tactical tips from an actual doctor
10th Apr 2024
81

How To (Properly) Text Patients | Out-Of-Pocket

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

10th Apr 2024
Do’s and don’ts + tactical tips from an actual doctor
3 tips for co-designing with kids Designing future sports products with a group of 11 year olds.
28th Mar 2023
38

3 tips for co-designing with kids

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

28th Mar 2023
Designing future sports products with a group of 11 year olds.
The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda Warren “Doc” Bayley was a man of the people. When he and his wife Judy opened their Las Vegas resort...
26th Oct 2021
51

The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda

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

26th Oct 2021
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...
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...
1st Nov 2024
81

Why the Art of Invention Is Always Being Reinvented

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

1st Nov 2024
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...
Spooky action nearby: Entangling logical qubits without physical operations Einstein and I have both been spooked by entanglement. Einstein’s experience was more profound: in a...
3rd Feb 2026
1

Spooky action nearby: Entangling logical qubits without physical operations

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

3rd Feb 2026
Einstein and I have both been spooked by entanglement. Einstein’s experience was more profound: in a 1947 letter to Born, he famously dubbed it spukhafte Fernwirkung (or spooky action at a distance). Mine, more pedestrian. It came when I first … Continue reading →
Home Assistant-compatible air quality sensor I recently moved and our new home is equipped with a ventilation system that distributes fresh...
13th Dec 2021
45

Home Assistant-compatible air quality sensor

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

13th Dec 2021
I recently moved and our new home is equipped with a ventilation system that distributes fresh (outside) air through the house and recoups heat from the air that is exhausted. There is a problem with this system, though. Sometimes, for example when a neighbour lights their wood...
Storks Take Orders From the State Pronatal benefits and economic booms lead to greater numbers of births
2nd May 2025
39

Storks Take Orders From the State

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

2nd May 2025
Pronatal benefits and economic booms lead to greater numbers of births
Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Enduring Principles for Changing Times ### Principles against panic "Everything looks like a failure in the middle." Any new enterprise,...
10th Nov 2007
1

Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Enduring Principles for Changing Times

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

10th Nov 2007
### Principles against panic "Everything looks like a failure in the middle." Any new enterprise, Kanter explained, encounters roadblocks. As the obstacles multiply, the situation looks hopeless. That's when deeply held principles and the long view are most needed to get you...
Should We Eradicate Mosquitoes? They kill us and bother us, but is that enough to eradicate them, or their role in the environment...
1st Sep 2026
2

Should We Eradicate Mosquitoes?

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

1st Sep 2026
They kill us and bother us, but is that enough to eradicate them, or their role in the environment is too important?
Laura Cunningham: Ten Millennia of California Ecology ### Eco-continuity in California California ecology used to be much more driven by floods and...
18th Oct 2011
1

Laura Cunningham: Ten Millennia of California Ecology

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

18th Oct 2011
### Eco-continuity in California California ecology used to be much more driven by floods and fires, Cunningham said, showing with her paintings how the Great Valley would become a vast inland sea, like a huge vernal pool progressing each year from navigable water to intense...
Saul Griffith: Climate Change Recalculated ### The Terawatt World Engineer Griffith said he was going to make the connection between personal...
17th Jan 2009
1

Saul Griffith: Climate Change Recalculated

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

17th Jan 2009
### The Terawatt World Engineer Griffith said he was going to make the connection between personal actions and global climate change. To do that he's been analyzing his own life in extreme detail to figure out exactly how much energy he uses and what changes might reduce the...
Nicole’s guide to interviewing for faculty positions Snow is haunting weather forecasts, home owners are taking down Christmas lights, stores are...
5th Jan 2026
1

Nicole’s guide to interviewing for faculty positions

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

5th Jan 2026
Snow is haunting weather forecasts, home owners are taking down Christmas lights, stores are discounting exercise equipment, and faculty-hiring committees are winnowing down applications. In-person interviews often take place between January and March but can extend from December...
Talk -- What is Algebraic Geometry and Why Should You Care? So an embarrassing amount of time ago (Feburary 17?) I gave a talk for the undergraduate math club...
1st May 2023
38

Talk -- What is Algebraic Geometry and Why Should You Care?

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

1st May 2023
So an embarrassing amount of time ago (Feburary 17?) I gave a talk for the undergraduate math club titled “What is Algebraic Geometry, and Why Should You Care?”. I think it went quite well, and the audience seemed like they had a good time. I really wanted to have the talk...
Human behavior is an intuition-pump for AI risk I just finished this excellent book: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. This book influenced my...
17th Nov 2025
1

Human behavior is an intuition-pump for AI risk

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

17th Nov 2025
I just finished this excellent book: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. This book influenced my opinions on p(doom). Before reading the book, I was uncertain about whether AI could pose an existential risk for humanity. After reading the book, I’m starting to entertain the...
A Nice (Almost Total) Eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 How to get information about viewing the eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 The post A Nice (Almost Total)...
22nd Aug 2026
2

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

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

22nd Aug 2026
How to get information about viewing the eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 The post A Nice (Almost Total) Eclipse of the Moon Aug. 27 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Tiny Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Supermassive Black Holes Dwarf galaxies weren’t supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues...
8th Jun 2022
1

Tiny Galaxies Reveal Secrets of Supermassive Black Holes

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

8th Jun 2022
Dwarf galaxies weren’t supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues about how the universe’s biggest black holes could have formed. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Light Gazing” by Andrew Langdon.
Hunting For Kobyla On a January day in 1964, something remarkable happened: Simon Wiesenthal took the afternoon off. He...
7th Feb 2022
46

Hunting For Kobyla

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

7th Feb 2022
On a January day in 1964, something remarkable happened: Simon Wiesenthal took the afternoon off. He parked himself at a table on the terrace of Tel Aviv’s Café Roval, soaking up the sunshine as if he wished to bottle it. The friend he’d come to meet was late, but Wiesenthal had...
Why do bees die when they sting you? Suicide is a truly bizarre evolutionary strategy. Why does it exist?
4th Oct 2021
25

Why do bees die when they sting you?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Oct 2021
Suicide is a truly bizarre evolutionary strategy. Why does it exist?
Haunted by the ghosts of materialism Is philosophy real? We sent our correspondent to find out.
2 days ago
1

Haunted by the ghosts of materialism

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

2 days ago
Is philosophy real? We sent our correspondent to find out.
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