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My very busy week I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their...
22nd May 2025
53

My very busy week

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

22nd May 2025
I’m not sure who scheduled ODSC and PyConUS during the same week, but I am unhappy with their decisions. Last Tuesday I presented a talk and co-presented a workshop at ODSC, and on Thursday I presented a tutorial at PyCon. If you would like to follow along with my very busy week,...
Alaska Wolf Found With Record Amount of Mercury, a Sign of Growing Contamination When Alaska’s wolves began eating sea otters, it looked like a story of adaptation. Then they...
2nd Jan 2026
1
2nd Jan 2026
When Alaska’s wolves began eating sea otters, it looked like a story of adaptation. Then they started getting sick. Read more on E360 →
Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post...
6th Dec 2018
1

Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity

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

6th Dec 2018
A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
On the Nature of Time The Computational View of Time Time is a central feature of human experience. But what actually is...
8th Oct 2024
145

On the Nature of Time

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

8th Oct 2024
The Computational View of Time Time is a central feature of human experience. But what actually is it? In traditional scientific accounts it’s often represented as some kind of coordinate much like space (though a coordinate that for some reason is always systematically...
The Ruin of Mumbai Mumbai’s land use regulations are designed to keep population density low. Instead, they force...
1st Mar 2024
41

The Ruin of Mumbai

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Mar 2024
Mumbai’s land use regulations are designed to keep population density low. Instead, they force Mumbaikars into slums, while all of India pays the price.
AI Filters Will Always Have Holes Ask ChatGPT how to build a bomb, and it will flatly respond that it “can’t help with that.” But...
6th Jan 2026
2

AI Filters Will Always Have Holes

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

6th Jan 2026
Ask ChatGPT how to build a bomb, and it will flatly respond that it “can’t help with that.” But users have long played a cat-and-mouse game to try to trick language models into providing forbidden information. Just as quickly as these “jailbreaks” appear, AI companies patch them...
The Frog Puzzle Here’s a probability puzzle from a TED-Ed video called Can you solve the frog riddle? by Derek...
4th Jun 2026
1

The Frog Puzzle

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

4th Jun 2026
Here’s a probability puzzle from a TED-Ed video called Can you solve the frog riddle? by Derek Abbott. It came up recently in this Reddit thread: You’re stranded in a rainforest after accidentally eating a poisonous mushroom. To survive the poison, you need to lick a certain...
How TV learned to sell itself Sports solved a problem that nearly killed television.
11th Mar 2026
1

How TV learned to sell itself

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

11th Mar 2026
Sports solved a problem that nearly killed television.
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...
A Fully Renewable Grid? My long-stated position (although certainly modifiable in the face of any new evidence,...
2nd Feb 2026
0

A Fully Renewable Grid?

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

2nd Feb 2026
My long-stated position (although certainly modifiable in the face of any new evidence, technological advance, or good arguments) is that the optimal pathway to most rapidly decarbonize our electrical infrastructure is to pursue all low-carbon options. I have not heard anything...
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 →
Steam networks New York’s skyscrapers soar above a century-old steam network that still warms the city. While the...
13th Mar 2025
1

Steam networks

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

13th Mar 2025
New York’s skyscrapers soar above a century-old steam network that still warms the city. While the rest of the world moved to hot water, Manhattanites still buy steam by the megapound.
After Work, We’ll Have Each Other Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
1st Sep 2026
1

After Work, We’ll Have Each Other

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

1st Sep 2026
Once you realize what that means, you’ll be giving two cheers for the American work ethic.
How mind bootstraps itself Daniel Dennett, who recently passed away, is an inspiration for people like me who love grand ideas...
1st Jun 2026
1

How mind bootstraps itself

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

1st Jun 2026
Daniel Dennett, who recently passed away, is an inspiration for people like me who love grand ideas that connect many different fields at a deep level (and be rigorous about that; well as rigorous as grand theories can be). His thinking is difficult to categorize: part...
How a Human Smell Receptor Works Is Finally Revealed After decades of frustration, researchers have finally determined how an airborne scent molecule...
1st May 2023
158

How a Human Smell Receptor Works Is Finally Revealed

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

1st May 2023
After decades of frustration, researchers have finally determined how an airborne scent molecule links to a human smell receptor. The post How a Human Smell Receptor Works Is Finally Revealed first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Race between Waymo, Cybercab, and Uber One of the big tech transformations of 2026 will be robotaxis.
1st Jan 2026
1

The Race between Waymo, Cybercab, and Uber

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

1st Jan 2026
One of the big tech transformations of 2026 will be robotaxis.
When Does Life Begin? What *actually* makes conception special?
15th Jul 2022
31

When Does Life Begin?

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

15th Jul 2022
What *actually* makes conception special?
A Course on Aliens in Science & Science Fiction for People Over 50 I am teaching a fun, 6-week, non-credit course on the search for intelligent life among the stars,...
3 weeks ago
1

A Course on Aliens in Science & Science Fiction for People Over 50

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

3 weeks ago
I am teaching a fun, 6-week, non-credit course on the search for intelligent life among the stars, offered (by zoom or in person) through the San Francisco State University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, starting Sept. 30.  It’s part of a program of courses for retired...
The beauty of concrete Why are buildings today simple and austere, while buildings of the past were ornate and elaborately...
17th May 2024
1

The beauty of concrete

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

17th May 2024
Why are buildings today simple and austere, while buildings of the past were ornate and elaborately ornamented? The answer is not the cost of labor.
Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in...
14th Jan 2016
1

Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse

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

14th Jan 2016
Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in the field. The post Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse 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 […]
Let patients control their prescriptions | Out-Of-Pocket A walkthrough of how a digital prescription works and what Photon does to let patients control...
1st Sep 2026
1

Let patients control their prescriptions | Out-Of-Pocket

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

1st Sep 2026
A walkthrough of how a digital prescription works and what Photon does to let patients control prescriptions themselves
Which countries eat the most seafood per person? The top 10 seafood-consuming nations in the world, plus trends among the world’s richest countries....
11th Dec 2021
70

Which countries eat the most seafood per person?

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

11th Dec 2021
The top 10 seafood-consuming nations in the world, plus trends among the world’s richest countries. Seafood is a vital food group and form of income for millions of people around the world. The seafood industry has more than quadrupled in the last 50 years and is estimated to be...
Marine Ecology or Marine Biology….what’s the difference!?!?!? A few of you may be wondering why the blog is called ‘Confessions of a Marine Ecologist” and not...
22nd Jan 2013
60

Marine Ecology or Marine Biology….what’s the difference!?!?!?

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

22nd Jan 2013
A few of you may be wondering why the blog is called ‘Confessions of a Marine Ecologist” and not ‘Confessions of a Marine Biologist”.  After all, if you ask a group of school kids what they want to be when they grow up, more than a handful would happily answer “marine biologist”,...
FAA Aviation Maps Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a...
29th Jan 2024
203

FAA Aviation Maps

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

29th Jan 2024
Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s aviation maps.
See it with your lying ears This blog has a history of answering questions that no one should be asking. Today, we continue that...
10th Jan 2026
2

See it with your lying ears

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

10th Jan 2026
This blog has a history of answering questions that no one should be asking. Today, we continue that proud legacy.
Recollections of NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This...
20th Jul 2024
99

Recollections of NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission

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

20th Jul 2024
Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This interest started honestly enough back around […]
The New History of the Milky Way Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy. The post...
4th Mar 2021
1

The New History of the Milky Way

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

4th Mar 2021
Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy. The post The New History of the Milky Way first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Graduate Student's Side Project Proves Prime Number Conjecture Jared Duker Lichtman, 26, has proved a longstanding conjecture relating prime numbers to a broad...
14th Sep 2022
1

Graduate Student's Side Project Proves Prime Number Conjecture

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

14th Sep 2022
Jared Duker Lichtman, 26, has proved a longstanding conjecture relating prime numbers to a broad class of “primitive” sets. To his adviser, it came as a “complete shock.” Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Thought Bot” by Audionautix.
Why count shorebirds? A tale from Portugal The Sado Estuary is one of Portugal’s most important wetlands – a key link in the chain of sites...
14th Feb 2023
56

Why count shorebirds? A tale from Portugal

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

14th Feb 2023
The Sado Estuary is one of Portugal’s most important wetlands – a key link in the chain of sites connecting Africa and the Arctic, on the East Atlantic Flyway. In a paper in Waterbirds, João Belo and colleagues analyse changes in numbers of waders wintering in this estuary over...
Think outside the screen Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build...
10th Nov 2018
26

Think outside the screen

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

10th Nov 2018
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build distributed interfaces that work.
Benjamin Bratton: A Philosophy of Planetary Computation We find ourselves in a pre-paradigmatic moment in which our technology has outpaced our theories of...
20th Mar 2025
1

Benjamin Bratton: A Philosophy of Planetary Computation

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

20th Mar 2025
We find ourselves in a pre-paradigmatic moment in which our technology has outpaced our theories of what to do with it. The task of philosophy today is to catch up. In his Long Now Talk, Philosopher of Technology Benjamin Bratton took us on a whirlwind philosophical journey...
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...
Redeployment Part One Emerging from winter and preparing for our first flight!
10th Jan 2024
59

Redeployment Part One

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

10th Jan 2024
Emerging from winter and preparing for our first flight!
High-Temperature Superconductivity Understood at Last A new atomic-scale experiment all but settles the origin of the strong form of superconductivity...
1st Feb 2023
1

High-Temperature Superconductivity Understood at Last

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

1st Feb 2023
A new atomic-scale experiment all but settles the origin of the strong form of superconductivity seen in cuprate crystals, confirming a 35-year-old theory. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod.
Progress for progressives I was invited to speak at the Festival of Progressive Abundance, a conference to rally around...
2nd Feb 2026
0

Progress for progressives

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

2nd Feb 2026
I was invited to speak at the Festival of Progressive Abundance, a conference to rally around “abundance” as a new direction for the political left. This is a writeup of what I said: my message to the left. Thank you for having me—it’s great to be here. I’m the founder and...
Advancing antivenom Snakebites kill between 80,000 and 140,000 people every year. Better antivenom should be a high...
8th Dec 2022
1

Advancing antivenom

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

8th Dec 2022
Snakebites kill between 80,000 and 140,000 people every year. Better antivenom should be a high priority – thankfully new technology can help.
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 15: More From Explorama Lodge (February 20 - 21, 2024) February 20, 2024 A Great Potoo was the first bird I heard this morning shortly after my alarm went...
1st Feb 2025
49

A Month In Northern Peru, Part 15: More From Explorama Lodge (February 20 - 21, 2024)

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

1st Feb 2025
February 20, 2024 A Great Potoo was the first bird I heard this morning shortly after my alarm went off at 5:00 AM. It was going to be a good day.  At dinner the previous night Luis, Laura and I had come up with a plan for our full day at Explorama Lodge. We would begin by taking...
Learn to write well BEFORE you have something worth saying Lessons learned from trip reports and journal articles.
29th Dec 2024
116

Learn to write well BEFORE you have something worth saying

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

29th Dec 2024
Lessons learned from trip reports and journal articles.
Announcing the quantum-steampunk creative-writing course! Why not run a quantum-steampunk creative-writing course? Quantum steampunk, as Quantum Frontiers...
19th Sep 2024
97

Announcing the quantum-steampunk creative-writing course!

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

19th Sep 2024
Why not run a quantum-steampunk creative-writing course? Quantum steampunk, as Quantum Frontiers regulars know, is the aesthetic and spirit of a growing scientific field. Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction. In it, futuristic technologies invade Victorian-era settings:...
Fish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too? The discovery that other vertebrates have healthy, microbial brains is fueling the still...
2nd Dec 2024
67

Fish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too?

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

2nd Dec 2024
The discovery that other vertebrates have healthy, microbial brains is fueling the still controversial possibility that we might have them as well. The post Fish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Estimating a Difference of Products Wow, it’s been a long time! Both since my last blog post, and since my last quick analysis trick....
28th Aug 2023
30

Estimating a Difference of Products

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

28th Aug 2023
Wow, it’s been a long time! Both since my last blog post, and since my last quick analysis trick. But I’ve been itching to write more blog posts lately, and I thought that something quick and easy like this would be a good way to get back into it without the kind of effort...
How Randomness Improves Algorithms Unpredictability can help computer scientists solve otherwise intractable problems. The...
3rd Apr 2023
74

How Randomness Improves Algorithms

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

3rd Apr 2023
Unpredictability can help computer scientists solve otherwise intractable problems. The post How Randomness Improves Algorithms first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Did photos of the 1917 Miracle of the Sun at Fatima prove the sun was at an impossible place in the... I do agree that if these photos showed that the sun was at an odd angle, that would be evidence for...
1st Oct 2025
24
1st Oct 2025
I do agree that if these photos showed that the sun was at an odd angle, that would be evidence for a miracle. But I read Dalleur (2021) and I’m really not sold that the photos indicate anything celestially weird going on.
Coming Up: Einstein without Tears; Religion and Extraterrestrial Life Two upcoming events that may be of interest to you (please pass on to others who may like them): The...
29th Sep 2024
78

Coming Up: Einstein without Tears; Religion and Extraterrestrial Life

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

29th Sep 2024
Two upcoming events that may be of interest to you (please pass on to others who may like them): The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State Presents: A non-technical, 6-week class with Professor Andrew Fraknoi Einstein without Tears Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30...
Habitable Planet Reality Check: TOI-700e Discovered by NASA’s TESS Mission During a press conference held on January 6, 2020 at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical...
23rd Jan 2023
48

Habitable Planet Reality Check: TOI-700e Discovered by NASA’s TESS Mission

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

23rd Jan 2023
During a press conference held on January 6, 2020 at the 235th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Honolulu, Emily Gilbert (then a graduate […]
Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish...
3rd Mar 2022
1

Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution

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

3rd Mar 2022
New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish fins and tetrapod limbs. The post Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Juvenile settlement in Black-tailed Godwits Adult waders tend to be exceptionally consistent in their use of time and space, with marked...
12th Sep 2024
103

Juvenile settlement in Black-tailed Godwits

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

12th Sep 2024
Adult waders tend to be exceptionally consistent in their use of time and space, with marked individuals turning up on the same estuaries at the same time year after year, as discussed in the Whimbrel blog ‘Whimbrel: time to leave’. How do these patterns become established? Do...
Lawrence Lessig: How Money Corrupts Congress and a Plan to Stop It ### Public Funding for Public Elections Larry Lessig gave a rousing performance for the 100th...
18th Jan 2012
1

Lawrence Lessig: How Money Corrupts Congress and a Plan to Stop It

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

18th Jan 2012
### Public Funding for Public Elections Larry Lessig gave a rousing performance for the 100th Seminar About Long-Term Thinking. In a lawyerly fashion he laid out evidence of a new type of corruption that is disrupting the American republic, and he offered a remedy for that...
Euclid Space Telescope Delivers Great Images The first images are coming in from the new Euclid Space Telescope and they are spectacular. The...
8th Nov 2023
42

Euclid Space Telescope Delivers Great Images

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

8th Nov 2023
The first images are coming in from the new Euclid Space Telescope and they are spectacular. The post Euclid Space Telescope Delivers Great Images appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for...
3rd Nov 2024
31

Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding

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

3rd Nov 2024
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for Quest Nature Tours. I've always said that Borneo is one of my favourite tours that I run and even after three previous trips I was looking forward to returning. One of the main...
Will AI Make Work Redundant? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming for your job. This, at least, is increasingly conventional...
6th Nov 2023
33

Will AI Make Work Redundant?

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

6th Nov 2023
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming for your job. This, at least, is increasingly conventional wisdom, but I’m not so sure. In a recent interview, Elon Musk predicted that AI would “make paid work redundant.” I encountered the same opinion watching the latest season of...
What did Henry George think about cities? Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
9th May 2024
109

What did Henry George think about cities?

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

9th May 2024
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
The Unlimited Horizon, part 1 Previously: The Problem-Solving Animal, part 1, part 2 and part 3. The acceleration that we saw...
15th Jul 2025
1

The Unlimited Horizon, part 1

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

15th Jul 2025
Previously: The Problem-Solving Animal, part 1, part 2 and part 3. The acceleration that we saw in Chapter 6 is driven by a feedback process in which growth itself improves the mechanisms of growth. When we zoom out to look at thousands of years, this process looks smooth and...
Timothy Ferriss: Accelerated Learning in Accelerated Times ### Learning to learn fast To acquire "the meta-skill of acquiring skills," Ferriss recommends...
15th Sep 2011
1

Timothy Ferriss: Accelerated Learning in Accelerated Times

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

15th Sep 2011
### Learning to learn fast To acquire "the meta-skill of acquiring skills," Ferriss recommends approaching any subject with some contrarian analysis: "What if I try the opposite of best practices?" Some conventional wisdom---"children learn languages faster than adults" (no they...
Dmitry Orlov: Social Collapse Best Practices ### Managing social collapse With vintage Russian black humor, Orlov described the social collapse...
14th Feb 2009
1

Dmitry Orlov: Social Collapse Best Practices

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

14th Feb 2009
### Managing social collapse With vintage Russian black humor, Orlov described the social collapse he witnessed in Russia in the 1990s and spelled out its practical lessons for the American social collapse he sees as inevitable. The American economy in the 1990s described itself...
Riding Sunbeams with Solar Sails Reset your expectations of solar sails. They are a fast and free way to travel to any point in the...
26th May 2023
1

Riding Sunbeams with Solar Sails

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

26th May 2023
Reset your expectations of solar sails. They are a fast and free way to travel to any point in the Solar System, as many times as you want, any time of the year. Solar sails can carry passengers and they have a nearly unlimited number of uses. You just have to... think...
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...
Can AI Predict the Quantum Universe? AI promises to revolutionize the way we do science, which raises a central technological question of...
11th Dec 2025
1

Can AI Predict the Quantum Universe?

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

11th Dec 2025
AI promises to revolutionize the way we do science, which raises a central technological question of our time: Can classical AI understand all natural phenomena, or are some fundamentally beyond its reach? Many proponents of artificial intelligence argue that any … Continue...
The San Diego infinite housing glitch How a bonus ADU program allows 'granny towers' in gardens
2nd Oct 2024
77

The San Diego infinite housing glitch

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

2nd Oct 2024
How a bonus ADU program allows 'granny towers' in gardens
Why horses have stopped becoming faster The limits of breeding for speed
6th Aug 2026
2

Why horses have stopped becoming faster

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

6th Aug 2026
The limits of breeding for speed
A Cute Application of the Yoneda Lemma Every few weeks recently I’ve been putting a new fun problem on one of the whiteboards in the first...
17th Mar 2025
60

A Cute Application of the Yoneda Lemma

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

17th Mar 2025
Every few weeks recently I’ve been putting a new fun problem on one of the whiteboards in the first year office. These are often inspired by something I saw on MSE, and I’m usually choosing problems that force you to understand something fundamental really well. Then I usually...
Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit...
6th Apr 2017
1

Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View

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

6th Apr 2017
The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit that comes from seeing through air. The post Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Liberté, égalité, radioactivité France built 40 nuclear reactors in a decade. Here’s how they did it, and how the world can follow...
4th Sep 2025
1

Liberté, égalité, radioactivité

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

4th Sep 2025
France built 40 nuclear reactors in a decade. Here’s how they did it, and how the world can follow their lead today.
The First Ever Real-Time Video from Another Planet When you watch this video, if you find yourself thinking of the Apollo moon landings— here is why:...
5th Mar 2021
45

The First Ever Real-Time Video from Another Planet

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Mar 2021
When you watch this video, if you find yourself thinking of the Apollo moon landings— here is why: this is the first real-time video taken from another world since 1972, and this is the first ever taken on another planet. Most “video” you see from other planetary missions are...
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...
Conservation beyond boundaries When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be...
7th Apr 2023
57

Conservation beyond boundaries

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Apr 2023
When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be affected by a new airport, because relatively small flocks are counted during field surveys, is there an assumption that the birds encountered are always the same individuals? What if...
Steven Pinker: The Decline of Violence ### The Long Peace “Nothing can be more gentle than man in his primitive state,” declared Rousseau...
9th Oct 2012
1

Steven Pinker: The Decline of Violence

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

9th Oct 2012
### The Long Peace “Nothing can be more gentle than man in his primitive state,” declared Rousseau in the 18th century. A century earlier, Thomas Hobbes wrote, “In the state of nature the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” The evidence shows that Rousseau...
The Hurricane Hunter Satellites: A Weather Nanosatellite Constellation As part of ongoing outreach efforts by Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) to the meteorological...
17th Apr 2025
57

The Hurricane Hunter Satellites: A Weather Nanosatellite Constellation

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

17th Apr 2025
As part of ongoing outreach efforts by Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) to the meteorological community, TWA’s Chief Scientist, Andrew LePage, attended the National Tropical Weather Conference […]
Externalizing Some Simple Topos Statements Hey all! It’s been a minute. I’ve been super busy with the UC strike and honestly I haven’t done...
13th Dec 2022
32

Externalizing Some Simple Topos Statements

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

13th Dec 2022
Hey all! It’s been a minute. I’ve been super busy with the UC strike and honestly I haven’t done math in any serious capacity for almost the past month. It’s been a lot of hard work trying to get fair contracts out of the UC, but I had a lot of travel plans this December to...
What to Make of Havana Syndrome I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any...
1st Apr 2024
97

What to Make of Havana Syndrome

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

1st Apr 2024
I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any strong conclusions about it. In 2016 there was a cluster of strange neurological symptoms among people working at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. They would suddenly experience...
Getting To Know Rogue Planets In our Earthling minds, planets exist in solar systems with a Sun in the middle and objects large...
11th Aug 2023
47

Getting To Know Rogue Planets

from Many Worlds [alt+shift+b] in science

11th Aug 2023
In our Earthling minds, planets exist in solar systems with a Sun in the middle and objects large and small orbiting around it.   This is hardly surprising since planets are pretty much exclusively illustrated in solar systems and, until the onset of the 21st century, no other...
Don’t compete The Internet is full of people winning all the time. Someone is traveling to exotic locations,...
22nd Mar 2025
80

Don’t compete

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

22nd Mar 2025
The Internet is full of people winning all the time. Someone is traveling to exotic locations, someone else is raising funds, and another person is winning awards. Essentially, everyone around you is succeeding while you do spend your days as the nature intended – sleeping,...
Units: the forgotten half of the statistic From the millihelen to the microcentury, via jerk, pirate-ninjas and the Mongolian vowel separator.
2nd Feb 2021
29

Units: the forgotten half of the statistic

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

2nd Feb 2021
From the millihelen to the microcentury, via jerk, pirate-ninjas and the Mongolian vowel separator.
City Planning and CO2 Emissions In Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steel he imagines a future in which most of humanity lives in...
1st Jun 2026
1

City Planning and CO2 Emissions

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

1st Jun 2026
In Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steel he imagines a future in which most of humanity lives in gigantic cities, extending many levels underground. This leaves the majority of the Earth’s surface for industrial farming, necessary to feed all those densely populated cities. If you...
The call of the Whimbrel The seven-note whistle of the Whimbrel is a classic sound, welcomed by Icelanders at the end of a...
6th Feb 2025
71

The call of the Whimbrel

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

6th Feb 2025
The seven-note whistle of the Whimbrel is a classic sound, welcomed by Icelanders at the end of a long, dark winter. These wonderful waders are responding badly to recent changes to Iceland’s landscape, such as the ever-expanding areas of non-native forestry and power...
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...
Julia Galef: Soldiers and Scouts: Why our minds weren't built for truth, and how we can change that An expert on rationality, judgement, and strategy, Julia Galef notes that "our capacity for reason...
19th Sep 2018
1
19th Sep 2018
An expert on rationality, judgement, and strategy, Julia Galef notes that "our capacity for reason evolved to serve two very different purposes that are often at odds with each other. On the one hand, reason helps us figure out what’s true; on the other hand, it also helps us...
Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21 Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. We explain what this means and how the seasons come about. The post...
19th Dec 2025
1

Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21

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

19th Dec 2025
Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. We explain what this means and how the seasons come about. The post Winter Solstice Arrives on Sunday Dec 21 appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Fakes: Not an Internet Thing, a Human Thing Every day, as the Internet becomes more indispensable to modern life, the drawbacks of deep...
15th Dec 2023
38

Fakes: Not an Internet Thing, a Human Thing

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

15th Dec 2023
Every day, as the Internet becomes more indispensable to modern life, the drawbacks of deep engagement with the virtual realm capture as much attention as the wide-ranging benefits. On the Internet, of course, anyone can in all too many forums pretty much say anything—regardless...
A Domesticated Dingo? No, but Some Are Getting Less Wild Near an Australian desert mining camp, wild dingoes are losing their fear of humans. Their genetic...
9th Aug 2018
1

A Domesticated Dingo? No, but Some Are Getting Less Wild

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

9th Aug 2018
Near an Australian desert mining camp, wild dingoes are losing their fear of humans. Their genetic and behavioral changes may echo those from the domestication of dogs. The post A Domesticated Dingo? No, but Some Are Getting Less Wild first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mathematical Simplicity May Drive Evolution’s Speed Some researchers are using a complexity framework thought to be purely theoretical to understand...
31st Oct 2019
1

Mathematical Simplicity May Drive Evolution’s Speed

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

31st Oct 2019
Some researchers are using a complexity framework thought to be purely theoretical to understand evolutionary dynamics in biological and computational systems. The post Mathematical Simplicity May Drive Evolution’s Speed first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Simpson’s What? I like Simpson’s paradox so much I wrote three chapters about it in Probably Overthinking It. In...
16th Oct 2025
23

Simpson’s What?

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

16th Oct 2025
I like Simpson’s paradox so much I wrote three chapters about it in Probably Overthinking It. In fact, I like it so much I have a Google alert that notifies me when someone publishes a new example (or when the horse named Simpson’s Paradox wins a race). So I was initially excited...
Is a Random Perfect Group Nontrivial? So it’s finals season, and earlier today some of the younger grad students were asking me for...
20th Mar 2026
1

Is a Random Perfect Group Nontrivial?

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

20th Mar 2026
So it’s finals season, and earlier today some of the younger grad students were asking me for help studying for their topology finals. One of their practice problems was to build a cell complex with one 0-cell, two 1-cells, and two 2-cells which has nontrivial $\pi_1$ but...
An Empty Product of Nonempty Sets A few days ago I saw a cute question on mse asking about a particularly non-intuitive failing of...
4th Jun 2025
43

An Empty Product of Nonempty Sets

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

4th Jun 2025
A few days ago I saw a cute question on mse asking about a particularly non-intuitive failing of the axiom of choice. I remember when I was an undergrad talking to a friend of mine about various statements equivalent to choice, and being particularly hung up on the same...
Melody Jue: Ocean Memory The ocean is not empty. It is a vast storage facility of memory agents. Ocean bodies use the...
9th Apr 2026
1

Melody Jue: Ocean Memory

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

9th Apr 2026
The ocean is not empty. It is a vast storage facility of memory agents. Ocean bodies use the chemical signatures of seawater for memory and intelligence in ways we can barely imagine. In her Talk, Melody Jue said our struggle to understand ocean memory comes from our terrestrial...
Carl Sagan, nuking the moon, and not nuking the moon Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the...
13th Apr 2024
123

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

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

13th Apr 2024
Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the moon.” The truth is that given a lot of power, a nuclear weapon, and a lot of extremely specific circumstances, we too might find ourselves thinking “I should nuke the moon.”
Lessons in frustration Assa Auerbach’s course was the most maddening course I’ve ever taken.  I was a master’s student in...
17th Feb 2025
64

Lessons in frustration

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

17th Feb 2025
Assa Auerbach’s course was the most maddening course I’ve ever taken.  I was a master’s student in the Perimeter Scholars International program at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Perimeter trotted in world experts to lecture about modern physics. Many … Continue...
Scientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems After years of false starts, a team of computer scientists has found a way to efficiently deduce the...
1st May 2024
76

Scientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems

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

1st May 2024
After years of false starts, a team of computer scientists has found a way to efficiently deduce the Hamiltonian of a physical system at any constant temperature. The post Scientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
Andrew McAfee: More From Less Andrew McAfee draws on a wide range of evidence to show that the world is already on the right track...
2nd Dec 2019
1

Andrew McAfee: More From Less

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

2nd Dec 2019
Andrew McAfee draws on a wide range of evidence to show that the world is already on the right track toward long-term health when it combines 1) technological progress, 2) capitalism, 3) responsive government, and 4) public awareness. That blend demonstrably gets humanity “more...
Will Making Your Kids Tall Shorten Their Lives? Bonus: How to get human growth hormone (HGH) for cheap
1st Jul 2026
1

Will Making Your Kids Tall Shorten Their Lives?

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

1st Jul 2026
Bonus: How to get human growth hormone (HGH) for cheap
Aerial Glacier Photographs A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40...
18th Jun 2024
132

Aerial Glacier Photographs

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

18th Jun 2024
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40 years with a 63-pound WW II surveillance camera.
23 lessons you will learn living in a very snowy place 6. Snow is heavier than you think. You might think physical strength is useful for lots of things,...
22nd Jan 2026
5

23 lessons you will learn living in a very snowy place

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

22nd Jan 2026
6. Snow is heavier than you think. You might think physical strength is useful for lots of things, like overall health or familiar household tasks or picking up dudes (literally or metaphorically.) But actually, the main thing physical strength is useful for is letting you...
Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal...
18th Jan 2018
1

Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution

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

18th Jan 2018
Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal species. Now conservationists are trying to reconcile that truth with policies. The post Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution first appeared on Quanta...
Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously...
7th Jan 2021
1

Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record

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

7th Jan 2021
After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem. The post Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Think Java, but interactive The online version of Think Java now features interactive widgets that run the code examples in the...
22nd Aug 2026
1

Think Java, but interactive

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

22nd Aug 2026
The online version of Think Java now features interactive widgets that run the code examples in the browser. For readers, it means you can try out the examples, modify them, and test your code. And for us it means we can publish an interactive version of the book without...
What Will Happen to Indian IT? The past and future of the “world’s back office.”
a week ago
1

What Will Happen to Indian IT?

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

a week ago
The past and future of the “world’s back office.”
Moon In the vastness of empty space surrounding Earth, the Moon is our closest celestial...
17th Dec 2024
95

Moon

from Bartosz Ciechanowski [alt+shift+b] in science

17th Dec 2024
In the vastness of empty space surrounding Earth, the Moon is our closest celestial neighbor. Its face, periodically filled with light and devoured by darkness, has an ever-changing, but dependable presence in our skies. In this article, we’ll learn about the Moon and its path...
The United States Frequency Allocation Chart This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s...
6th Feb 2023
99

The United States Frequency Allocation Chart

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

6th Feb 2023
This crazy, beautiful chart illustrates the incredible complexity of managing one of our nation’s most crucial – and invisible – national assets: the radio spectrum.
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?
How one Kiwi tamed inflation Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a...
12th Jun 2025
1

How one Kiwi tamed inflation

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

12th Jun 2025
Inflation targeting is now standard in central banking. But it began with an offhand comment and a political gamble in New Zealand – long before economists took it seriously.
What is Worth Replicating? - SIPS 2020 Unconference session Given that most research is original and we have limited resources available for replication, we...
30th Jun 2020
1

What is Worth Replicating? - SIPS 2020 Unconference session

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

30th Jun 2020
Given that most research is original and we have limited resources available for replication, we need guidelines for study selection in replication research. But what makes a study worth replicating? In our unconference session at SIPS this year, we had the pleasure of discussing...
$F_2 \times F_2$ is Incoherent -- A Polite Spectral Sequence Computation Yesterday I watched my friend Jialin Wang defend her thesis, and as part of her background section...
3rd Sep 2025
39

$F_2 \times F_2$ is Incoherent -- A Polite Spectral Sequence Computation

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

3rd Sep 2025
Yesterday I watched my friend Jialin Wang defend her thesis, and as part of her background section she mentioned that the group $F_2 \times F_2$ is incoherent in the sense that it has a subgroup that’s finitely generated and not finitely presented. I was curious how one might...
Priyamvada Natarajan: Solving Dark Matter and Dark Energy ## The darkness of dark matter and dark energy ALL THAT WE KNOW of the universe we get from...
12th Apr 2016
1

Priyamvada Natarajan: Solving Dark Matter and Dark Energy

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

12th Apr 2016
## The darkness of dark matter and dark energy ALL THAT WE KNOW of the universe we get from observing photons, Natarajan pointed out. But dark matter, which makes up 90 percent of the total mass in the universe, is called dark because it neither emits nor reflects photons — and...
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
Hydrogen Tech I often get questions like the one below: “I live part time in Japan. Everyone sees hydrogen powered...
3rd Jul 2026
1

Hydrogen Tech

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

3rd Jul 2026
I often get questions like the one below: “I live part time in Japan. Everyone sees hydrogen powered generators, trains, trucks, etc regularly. High density population means it’s easy to get enough synergy to justify the infrastructure. So sad we aren’t doing more to utilize this...
Should You Be Able to Experiment on Your Own Cancer? A researcher in virology and immunotherapy got bad news: Her cancer was back with a vengeance; the...
26th Sep 2024
33

Should You Be Able to Experiment on Your Own Cancer?

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

26th Sep 2024
A researcher in virology and immunotherapy got bad news: Her cancer was back with a vengeance; the treatments weren’t working. She decided to treat it herself.
Brief items - Static electricity, quantum geometry, Hubbard model, + news It's been a busy time that has cut into my blogging, but I wanted to point out some links from the...
8th Aug 2025
1

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

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

8th Aug 2025
It's been a busy time that has cut into my blogging, but I wanted to point out some links from the past couple of weeks. Physics Today has a cover article this past issue about what is colloquially known as static electricity, but what is more technically described as...
Saving the Big Bang (Antenna) The antenna that discovered a cosmic microwave background coming from all directions in...
10th Feb 2023
37

Saving the Big Bang (Antenna)

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

10th Feb 2023
The antenna that discovered a cosmic microwave background coming from all directions in space—cementing the theory that the universe was created in a big bang—now stares down its own topsy-turvy future. Its owner says the hardware will be preserved, but the fate of the historical...
To Conquer the Primary Energy Consumption Layer of Our Entire Civilization [Originally posted on the Terraform blog April 3, 2025.] Three years ago we set out to make cheap...
8th Apr 2025
81

To Conquer the Primary Energy Consumption Layer of Our Entire Civilization

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

8th Apr 2025
[Originally posted on the Terraform blog April 3, 2025.] Three years ago we set out to make cheap synthetic natural gas from sunlight and air. At the time I didn’t fully appreciate that we had kicked off the process of recompiling the foundation layer of our entire industrial...
Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial...
12th Nov 2015
1

Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life

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

12th Nov 2015
A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial mysteries in evolution — how simple microbes transformed into the complex cells that produced animals, plants and fungi. The post Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex...
ISS Looks Like a Toy These animated gifs of The International Space Station look just like metal toys — but they are...
4th Jul 2021
62

ISS Looks Like a Toy

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Jul 2021
These animated gifs of The International Space Station look just like metal toys — but they are real. Each frame is taken with ground based amateur telescopes and then pieced together with common image software like Adobe Photoshop. It is incredible to me that there are people...
Defending against hypothetical moon life during Apollo 11 This is how a completely abstract argument about alien germs was taken seriously and mitigated at...
7th Jan 2024
113

Defending against hypothetical moon life during Apollo 11

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

7th Jan 2024
This is how a completely abstract argument about alien germs was taken seriously and mitigated at great effort and expense during the 1969 Apollo landing.
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...
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...
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...
UK waders: “Into the Red” If you ask British birdwatchers to name the eleven wader species that are causing the most...
4th Oct 2022
55

UK waders: “Into the Red”

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Oct 2022
If you ask British birdwatchers to name the eleven wader species that are causing the most conservation concern in the UK, they would probably not include Dunlin. Curlew may well be top of their lists, even though the most recent population estimate is 58,500 breeding pairs, but...
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...
Government Comic Books Government comics have taught Americans how to prevent forest fires, survive a nuclear blast, and...
27th Nov 2023
66

Government Comic Books

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

27th Nov 2023
Government comics have taught Americans how to prevent forest fires, survive a nuclear blast, and how soldiers should handle homosexuality in the military.
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...
The spirit of relativity One of the most immersive steampunk novels I’ve read winks at an experiment performed in a...
14th Nov 2022
49

The spirit of relativity

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

14th Nov 2022
One of the most immersive steampunk novels I’ve read winks at an experiment performed in a university I visited this month. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, by Natasha Pulley, features a budding scientist named Grace Carrow. Grace attends Oxford as … Continue reading →
Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are...
1st Apr 2024
110

Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem

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

1st Apr 2024
Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are all whole numbers. The post Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
5th Feb 2026
1

How do we increase competition for hospitals? | Out-Of-Pocket

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

5th Feb 2026
Otherwise prices will keep going up?
Kevin Kelly: Technium Unbound ## Holos Rising When Kevin Kelly looked up the definition of “superorganism” on Wikipedia, he found...
13th Nov 2014
1

Kevin Kelly: Technium Unbound

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

13th Nov 2014
## Holos Rising When Kevin Kelly looked up the definition of “superorganism” on Wikipedia, he found this: “A collection of agents which can act in concert to produce phenomena governed by the collective.” The source cited was Kevin Kelly, in his 01994 book, Out of Control. His...
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...
George P. Shultz: Perspective Perspective? No one has a longer or better-informed view of world affairs and America's role than...
2nd Aug 2018
1

George P. Shultz: Perspective

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

2nd Aug 2018
Perspective? No one has a longer or better-informed view of world affairs and America's role than George Shultz, now 97. (Henry Kissinger is only 95.) Secretary Shultz was a US Marine Captain in World War II. After becoming an economics professor at MIT and the University of...
If you wish to make an apple pie, you must first become dictator of the universe The word “robot” is derived from the Czech robota, which means “serfdom.” It was introduced over a...
5th Jul 2023
53

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

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

5th Jul 2023
The word “robot” is derived from the Czech robota, which means “serfdom.” It was introduced over a century ago by the Czech play R.U.R., for “Rossum’s Universal Robots.” In the play, the smartest and best-educated of the robots leads a slave revolt that wipes out most of...
Happy 200th birthday, Carnot’s theorem! In Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, a Mole meets a Water Rat who lives on a...
28th Nov 2024
103

Happy 200th birthday, Carnot’s theorem!

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

28th Nov 2024
In Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows, a Mole meets a Water Rat who lives on a River. The Rat explains how the River permeates his life: “It’s brother and sister to me, and aunts, and company, … Continue reading →
Jonathan Rose: The Well Tempered City ### Coherent cities What holds a city together? Rose noted that the earliest cities were built...
21st Sep 2016
1

Jonathan Rose: The Well Tempered City

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

21st Sep 2016
### Coherent cities What holds a city together? Rose noted that the earliest cities were built around a temple and the spirituality it embodied. As the early communities became larger and more diverse and complex, their economic activity intensified. To be effective in trade...
Who’s afraid of artificial flavors? ‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
8th May 2026
1

Who’s afraid of artificial flavors?

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

8th May 2026
‘Artificial’ didn’t scare Americans in the 19th century. Why does it scare them now?
Do AI Models Agree On How They Encode Reality? In the allegory of Plato’s cave, prisoners see the world only through shadows. Extending this...
3rd Feb 2026
1

Do AI Models Agree On How They Encode Reality?

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

3rd Feb 2026
In the allegory of Plato’s cave, prisoners see the world only through shadows. Extending this metaphor to AI, AI models are the prisoners and the shadows are streams of data. Are all models converging on a singular representation of reality? On this week’s episode of The Quanta...
Sara Seager: Other Earths. Other Life. ## To find living exoplanets Thanks to recent exoplanet research, Seager began, we now know that...
11th Aug 2015
1

Sara Seager: Other Earths. Other Life.

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

11th Aug 2015
## To find living exoplanets Thanks to recent exoplanet research, Seager began, we now know that nearly all of our galaxy’s 300 billion stars are accompanied by planets, and a unexpectedly high number of them are rocky like Earth, and many of those orbit in a “habitable”...
What does it mean to create a topological qubit? I’ve worked on topological quantum computation, one of Alexei Kitaev’s brilliant innovations, for...
6th Mar 2025
71

What does it mean to create a topological qubit?

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

6th Mar 2025
I’ve worked on topological quantum computation, one of Alexei Kitaev’s brilliant innovations, for around 15 years now.  It’s hard to find a more beautiful physics problem, combining spectacular quantum phenomena (non-Abelian anyons) with the promise of transformative...
NASA Ames Research Center Archives In the heart of Silicon Valley, NASA Ames Research Center has the world's largest wind tunnel, and a...
22nd May 2025
50

NASA Ames Research Center Archives

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

22nd May 2025
In the heart of Silicon Valley, NASA Ames Research Center has the world's largest wind tunnel, and a rich history of space and aeronautics innovation captured in a fascinating visual archive.
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
Reality has a surprising amount of detail I. My dad emigrated from Colombia to North America when he was 18 looking looking for a better life....
13th May 2017
1

Reality has a surprising amount of detail

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

13th May 2017
I. My dad emigrated from Colombia to North America when he was 18 looking looking for a better life. For my brother and I that meant a lot of standing outside in the cold. My dad’s preferred method of improving his lot was improving lots, and my brother and I were “voluntarily”...
I guess we’re doing Moon factories now A quick note collating a list of blogs I’ve written on the topic. I’ll update it with good third...
10th Feb 2026
2

I guess we’re doing Moon factories now

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

10th Feb 2026
A quick note collating a list of blogs I’ve written on the topic. I’ll update it with good third party write ups as I become aware of them. Context: SpaceX announced a refocus on lunar development. My best explanation for this is that SpaceX wants to accelerate human occupation...
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
What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023 A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish...
7th Aug 2023
32

What I’ve been reading, July–August 2023

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

7th Aug 2023
A quasi-monthly feature (I skipped it last month, so this is a double portion). This is a longish post covering many topics; feel free to skim and skip around. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them in my links digests. These updates are less...
When mates behave differently Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an...
7th Aug 2022
65

When mates behave differently

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

7th Aug 2022
Iceland’s 40,000 Oystercatchers are an interesting mix of resident birds and migrants, providing an ideal system in which to study the costs and benefits of the two options, and to try to work out what influences whether an individual becomes a ‘resident’ or a ‘migrant’. I’ve...
How Loneliness Reshapes the Brain Feelings of loneliness prompt changes in the brain that further isolate people from social contact....
2nd Aug 2023
1

How Loneliness Reshapes the Brain

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

2nd Aug 2023
Feelings of loneliness prompt changes in the brain that further isolate people from social contact. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Slow Burn” by Kevin MacLeod.
A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope) Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope. The post A Movie...
19th Jul 2023
27

A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope)

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

19th Jul 2023
Explains a new movie of distant galaxies and remote time from the Webb Telescope. The post A Movie about a Galaxy Far, Far Away & Long, Long Ago (from Webb Telescope) appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
We Can, Must, and Will Simulate Nematode Brains Scientists have spent over 25 years trying — and failing — to build computer simulations of the...
5th Mar 2025
29

We Can, Must, and Will Simulate Nematode Brains

from Asterisk [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Mar 2025
Scientists have spent over 25 years trying — and failing — to build computer simulations of the smallest brain we know. Today, we finally have the tools to pull it off.
Showering at the South Pole Potable water, and not much of it.
4th Feb 2023
56

Showering at the South Pole

from brr [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Feb 2023
Potable water, and not much of it.
Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career...
10th Jul 2024
123

Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution

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

10th Jul 2024
Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career at General Electric in 1922, she was determined to develop stable, more reliable power grids. During her first years at GE she invented what came to be known as the Clarke...
Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate New algorithms show how swarms of very simple robots can be made to work together as a group. ...
27th Sep 2018
1

Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate

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

27th Sep 2018
New algorithms show how swarms of very simple robots can be made to work together as a group. The post Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Infinite Heist - Part 1 In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some...
3rd Mar 2026
1

The Infinite Heist - Part 1

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

3rd Mar 2026
In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, the first of a two-parter, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the hard-fought journey...
Issue 16: I dream of genes Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and...
3rd Sep 2024
84

Issue 16: I dream of genes

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

3rd Sep 2024
Plus: how humans are outdoing nature's shiniest creations; the history of measuring price rises; and how America's favourite type of coffee got really, really good.
Will the growing deer prion epidemic spread to humans? Why not? If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected...
25th Jun 2023
97

Will the growing deer prion epidemic spread to humans? Why not?

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

25th Jun 2023
If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected meat, my default assumption would be “we're in danger.” But a prion isn’t a virus. Why does that matter?
Mars Express is Still Making Great Images 20 Years Later Mars Express was launched by the European Space Agency in 2003, and is ESA’s first Mars mission. In...
4th Sep 2024
96

Mars Express is Still Making Great Images 20 Years Later

from Wanderingspace [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Sep 2024
Mars Express was launched by the European Space Agency in 2003, and is ESA’s first Mars mission. In one shot, you can see Mars as a half-lit disk, with Phobos, its tiny moon, hovering above. Right below Phobos is Olympus Mons, the solar system's largest volcano, towering 22 km...
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 →
Don’t Bet on the Super Bowl If you have studied probability, you might be familiar with fractional odds, which represent the...
8th Feb 2026
2

Don’t Bet on the Super Bowl

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

8th Feb 2026
If you have studied probability, you might be familiar with fractional odds, which represent the ratio of the probability something happens to the probability it doesn’t. For example, if the Seahawks have a 75% chance of winning the Super Bowl, they have a 25% chance of losing,...
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
Paul Saffo: Embracing Uncertainty: the secret to effective forecasting ### Rules of Forecasting Reflecting on his 25 years as a forecaster, Paul Saffo pointed out that a...
12th Jan 2008
1
12th Jan 2008
### Rules of Forecasting Reflecting on his 25 years as a forecaster, Paul Saffo pointed out that a forecaster's job is not to predict outcomes, but to map the "cone of uncertainty" on a subject. Where are the edges of what might happen? (Uncertainty is cone-shaped because it...
Peak Oil Is Coming In early markets, hybrids always prevail because there’s not enough electric infrastructure. As it...
3rd Feb 2026
1

Peak Oil Is Coming

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

3rd Feb 2026
In early markets, hybrids always prevail because there’s not enough electric infrastructure. As it develops and people can charge their cars more easily, the share of EVs increases.
Sierras Projects A short post where I collate some info related to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, various...
15th Aug 2025
1

Sierras Projects

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

15th Aug 2025
A short post where I collate some info related to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, various aspirational objectives and questions. Table Mountain Traverse Table Mountain is at the north west edge of the Kern River basin. It has numerous third and fourth class routes. I...
Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem A new paper shows how to create longer disordered strings than mathematicians had thought possible,...
3rd Feb 2022
1

Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem

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

3rd Feb 2022
A new paper shows how to create longer disordered strings than mathematicians had thought possible, proving that a well-known recent conjecture is “spectacularly wrong.” The post Mathematician Hurls Structure and Disorder Into Century-Old Problem first appeared on...
Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, 5 ### Lives of San Francisco "You are the soundtrack," Prelinger told the capacity audience at the...
17th Dec 2010
1

Rick Prelinger: Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, 5

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

17th Dec 2010
### Lives of San Francisco "You are the soundtrack," Prelinger told the capacity audience at the Herbst Theater, and they responded to his mostly silent archival films by calling out locations, questions, comments, and jokes. They saw footage of a 1941 Market Street parade of...
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
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 Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have...
2nd Jun 2025
51

The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered

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

2nd Jun 2025
By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a “grand unified theory” of math. The post The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The first non-opioid painkiller For nearly two centuries, pain relief meant effective but addictive opioids. Scientists have finally...
6th Oct 2025
1

The first non-opioid painkiller

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

6th Oct 2025
For nearly two centuries, pain relief meant effective but addictive opioids. Scientists have finally made something better.
Evolution Isn't Always For The Best Evolution is not, I repeat, NOT natural selection
17th Mar 2022
19

Evolution Isn't Always For The Best

from SubAnima [alt+shift+b] in science

17th Mar 2022
Evolution is not, I repeat, NOT natural selection
Reflections of a postgrad lecturer-in-training: Part 1 In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA,...
9th Mar 2013
55

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

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

9th Mar 2013
In a previous post, I mentioned that I was beginning a stint as postgraduate teaching intern at UWA, and that part of the internship involved keeping a reflective journal.  So I’ve decided that instead of merely writing down my thoughts (and possibly becoming lazy about it as the...
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
How can objects interact without touching?  Rethinking the electric field Have you ever wondered what an electric field actually is?  The...
6th Sep 2026
1

How can objects interact without touching? 

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

6th Sep 2026
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 →
In a ‘Dark Dimension,’ Physicists Search for the Universe’s Missing Matter An idea derived from string theory suggests that dark matter is hiding in a (relatively) large extra...
1st Feb 2024
141
1st Feb 2024
An idea derived from string theory suggests that dark matter is hiding in a (relatively) large extra dimension. The theory makes testable predictions that physicists are investigating now. The post In a ‘Dark Dimension,’ Physicists Search for the Universe’s Missing...
Why I refrain from infosec punditry If you know about my professional background, the most puzzling aspect of this Substack must be that...
16th Apr 2026
1

Why I refrain from infosec punditry

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

16th Apr 2026
If you know about my professional background, the most puzzling aspect of this Substack must be that I don’t use it to talk about my primary field of expertise: information security.
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...
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,...
From MANUALS to YOUTUBE A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
14th Aug 2023
62

From MANUALS to YOUTUBE

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

14th Aug 2023
A new section from Stewart Brand's Maintenance on Books in Progress
Interview: Ted Nordhaus on ecomodernism Are technology and the environment friends or foes? In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss...
20th May 2021
1

Interview: Ted Nordhaus on ecomodernism

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

20th May 2021
Are technology and the environment friends or foes? In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss climate policy, activism and ecomodernism with Ted Nordhaus.
Brewster Kahle: Universal Access to All Knowledge ### All knowledge, to all people, for all time, for free Universal access to all knowledge, Kahle...
1st Dec 2011
1

Brewster Kahle: Universal Access to All Knowledge

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

1st Dec 2011
### All knowledge, to all people, for all time, for free Universal access to all knowledge, Kahle declared, will be one of humanity's greatest achievements. We are already well on the way. "We're building the Library of Alexandria, version 2. We can one-up the Greeks!" Start...
Joline Blais & Jon Ippolito: At the Edge of Art ### Artibodies Art, like the antibodies in our immune system, creates alien forces in service of...
15th Dec 2007
1

Joline Blais & Jon Ippolito: At the Edge of Art

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

15th Dec 2007
### Artibodies Art, like the antibodies in our immune system, creates alien forces in service of the whole. It anticipates threats and models them. It is a diversity agent. Two forms of that process were explained and shown by Ippolito and Blais: perversion, and execution. One...
Moto-Orion: Mechanized Nuclear Pulse Propulsion The Orion nuclear pulse propulsion concept has been around for over six decades now. It is powerful...
4th Jan 2021
1

Moto-Orion: Mechanized Nuclear Pulse Propulsion

from ToughSF [alt+shift+b] in science

4th Jan 2021
The Orion nuclear pulse propulsion concept has been around for over six decades now. It is powerful and robust, but lacks the flexibility and features we expect from many more modern designs. Can we give it those additional capabilities? That cutaway is one of Matthew Paul...
Michael Tubbs: Upsetting the Setup: Creating a California for All Governance moves slow. The work of the politician and the public servant ought to inherently be...
16th Aug 2022
1

Michael Tubbs: Upsetting the Setup: Creating a California for All

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

16th Aug 2022
Governance moves slow. The work of the politician and the public servant ought to inherently be one of long-term thinking — of taking in concerns both urgent and longstanding and crafting solutions to them that will live on beyond any official’s term of office. As Mayor of...
Emergent, Fringe Behaviors in Healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket tweeting out your labs, induced mental states, and more
2nd May 2025
29

Emergent, Fringe Behaviors in Healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket

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

2nd May 2025
tweeting out your labs, induced mental states, and more
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 …...
The road from serfdom Unwinding Russian serfdom took half a century. To eventually do it in the face of powerful...
16th Feb 2024
1

The road from serfdom

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

16th Feb 2024
Unwinding Russian serfdom took half a century. To eventually do it in the face of powerful opposition took a remarkable approach that let peasants vote themselves into freedom.
How to coach someone This essay is part of the series in which I talk about my learnings and insights building a habit...
5th Apr 2026
1

How to coach someone

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

5th Apr 2026
This essay is part of the series in which I talk about my learnings and insights building a habit coaching app (Nintee) in 2024. It didn’t ultimately work out because an app has marginal influence in a human’s life (v/s that of friends, family, culture and immediate environment)....
Learning from their elders A 2026 paper in Animal Behaviour examines how quickly juvenile Black-tailed Godwits(right, with...
5th Feb 2026
1

Learning from their elders

from wadertales [alt+shift+b] in science

5th Feb 2026
A 2026 paper in Animal Behaviour examines how quickly juvenile Black-tailed Godwits(right, with juvenile Redshanks) acquire the feeding skills they will need to get them through their first winter. Josh Nightingale followed the same migration route taken by young birds, as they...
Event, Feb 29: “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” in Boston and on Zoom On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New...
21st Feb 2024
109

Event, Feb 29: “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” in Boston and on Zoom

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

21st Feb 2024
On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New England Legal Foundation, for their Economic Liberty Speaker Series. The talk will be held over breakfast at NELF’s offices in Boston, and will also be livestreamed over Zoom. See...
Notes on Progress: An environmentalist gets lunch Why being an effective environmentalist can often feel like being a bad one
5th Sep 2022
49

Notes on Progress: An environmentalist gets lunch

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

5th Sep 2022
Why being an effective environmentalist can often feel like being a bad one
What Can We Learn about Engineering and Innovation from Half a Century of the Game of Life Cellular... Metaengineering and Laws of Innovation Things are invented. Things are discovered. And somehow...
18th Mar 2025
89
18th Mar 2025
Metaengineering and Laws of Innovation Things are invented. Things are discovered. And somehow there’s an arc of progress that’s formed. But are there what amount to “laws of innovation” that govern that arc of progress? There are some exponential and other laws that purport to...
A Quick Application of Model Categories Almost exactly a year ago (time flies!) I was thinking really hard about model categories in...
22nd Mar 2023
38

A Quick Application of Model Categories

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

22nd Mar 2023
Almost exactly a year ago (time flies!) I was thinking really hard about model categories in preparation for the HoTTEST summer school. I learned a TON doing this, but I’ve just today seen a really nice (and somewhat concrete) reason to care about the whole endeavor! I’d love...
Transforming Healthcare Data with Tuva Health | Out-Of-Pocket The nitty, gritty, and shitty of working with health data
1st Nov 2023
96

Transforming Healthcare Data with Tuva Health | Out-Of-Pocket

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

1st Nov 2023
The nitty, gritty, and shitty of working with health data
Microbes Gained Photosynthesis Superpowers From a ‘Proton Pump’ New research reveals how marine microbes use an extra membrane that once had digestive functions to...
5th Jul 2023
37

Microbes Gained Photosynthesis Superpowers From a ‘Proton Pump’

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

5th Jul 2023
New research reveals how marine microbes use an extra membrane that once had digestive functions to boost their yield from photosynthesis. The post Microbes Gained Photosynthesis Superpowers From a ‘Proton Pump’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Ruthless Liquidity of Modern Love Sex & Relationship Updates, H1 2026
6th May 2026
2

The Ruthless Liquidity of Modern Love

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

6th May 2026
Sex & Relationship Updates, H1 2026
James Nestor: Humanity and the Deep Ocean In _[DEEP: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells us about...
1st Feb 2018
1

James Nestor: Humanity and the Deep Ocean

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

1st Feb 2018
In _[DEEP: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells us about Ourselves](https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Freediving-Renegade-Science-Ourselves/dp/0547985525)_ James Nestor follows extreme athletes, adventurers, and scientists as they plumb the limits of the ocean's...
Eric Cline: 1177 B.C.: When Civilization Collapsed ### When chaos overwhelmed civilization Archaeologist Cline began by declaring that the time he...
12th Jan 2016
1

Eric Cline: 1177 B.C.: When Civilization Collapsed

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

12th Jan 2016
### When chaos overwhelmed civilization Archaeologist Cline began by declaring that the time he would most like to be transported to is the Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean—the five centuries between 1700 and 1200 B.C. In those centuries eight advanced societies were densely...
Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Win Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023 Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine...
2nd Oct 2023
23

Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Win Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023

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

2nd Oct 2023
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to mRNA vaccines, such as those that protect against COVID-19. The post Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Win Nobel Prize for Medicine 2023 first appeared on...
Australia will run an overt command economy by 2040 Australia’s Fiscal Point of No Return Last September I wrote about Australian economic stagnation —...
16th Apr 2026
1

Australia will run an overt command economy by 2040

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

16th Apr 2026
Australia’s Fiscal Point of No Return Last September I wrote about Australian economic stagnation — how taxation past the Laffer curve’s point of peak growth, zero public sector productivity improvement since 2001, and the systematic eradication of manufacturing and ICT from the...
Rip Anderson & Gwyneth Cravens: Power to Save the World ### Nuclear Footprint In the early 1980s Gwyneth Cravens was one of the protesters against the...
15th Sep 2007
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Rip Anderson & Gwyneth Cravens: Power to Save the World

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

15th Sep 2007
### Nuclear Footprint In the early 1980s Gwyneth Cravens was one of the protesters against the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant on Long Island, and also participated in ban-the-bomb rallies. After 15 years of deepening familiarity with nuclear power, she says she still would ban the...
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