Quanta Magazine
A Plan to Address the World’s Challenges With Math
Minhyong Kim is leading a new initiative called Mathematics for Humanity that encourages...
a year ago
Minhyong Kim is leading a new initiative called Mathematics for Humanity that encourages mathematicians to apply their skills to solving social problems.
The post A Plan to Address the World’s Challenges With Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Many Worlds
Getting To Know Rogue Planets
In our Earthling minds, planets exist in solar systems with a Sun in the middle and objects large...
a year ago
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Nadir Crater – A Double Tap for Dinosaurs?
It is now generally accepted that 66 million years ago a large asteroid smacked into the Earth,...
2 months ago
It is now generally accepted that 66 million years ago a large asteroid smacked into the Earth, causing the large Chicxulub crater off the coast of Mexico. This was a catastrophic event, affecting the entire globe. Fire rained down causing forest fires across much of the globe,...
Quanta Magazine
Elliptic Curves Yield Their Secrets in a New Number System
Ana Caraiani and James Newton have extended an important result in number theory to the imaginary...
a year ago
Ana Caraiani and James Newton have extended an important result in number theory to the imaginary realm.
The post Elliptic Curves Yield Their Secrets in a New Number System first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Gradient Nanostructured Steel
Science fiction writers, who have to think deeply about the possible nature of future technology,...
a year ago
Science fiction writers, who have to think deeply about the possible nature of future technology, often invent new sci-fi materials in order to make their future technology seem plausible. They seem to understand the critical role that material science plays in advancing...
nanoscale views
Desirable properties for a superconductor
Given the present interest, let's talk about what kind of properties one wants in a superconductor,...
a year ago
Given the present interest, let's talk about what kind of properties one wants in a superconductor, as some people on social media seem ready to jump straight on the "what does superconductivity mean for bitcoin?" train.
First, the preliminaries. Superconductivity is a state of...
NeuroLogica Blog
Meteostat-12 Meets Flat Earthers
I know this wasn’t the purpose of sending up a €4.3bn satellite into geostationary orbit, but...
a year ago
I know this wasn’t the purpose of sending up a €4.3bn satellite into geostationary orbit, but tweaking flat earthers is a fun side effect. European countries have collaborated on this project, having weather satellites in orbit since 1977. The latest iteration is Meteostat-12,...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Angels | Out-Of-Pocket
With some real decks and emails!
10 months ago
With some real decks and emails!
Confessions of a...
Cottesloe Fish Habitat Protection Area
Today I am teaching my first tutorial in the second year unit ‘Marine Systems‘, which will introduce...
over a year ago
Today I am teaching my first tutorial in the second year unit ‘Marine Systems‘, which will introduce students to their major project, which is centred around a field trip to the Cottelsoe Fish Habitat Protection Area (CFHPA). I’m pretty excited to introduce a few of my new ideas...
nanoscale views
Items for discussion, including google's latest quantum computing result
As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items:
Google published a new result in...
a week ago
As we head toward the end of the calendar year, a few items:
Google published a new result in Nature a few days ago. This made a big news splash, including this accompanying press piece from google themselves, this nice article in Quanta, and the always thoughtful blog post by...
The Works in...
Issue 15: To change a norm
Plus: bland buildings can't be blamed on labor costs, reasons to be sceptical about prediction...
7 months ago
Plus: bland buildings can't be blamed on labor costs, reasons to be sceptical about prediction markets, and gentrification policies that actually help.
Quanta Magazine
Fish Have a Brain Microbiome. Could Humans Have One Too?
The discovery that other vertebrates have healthy, microbial brains is fueling the still...
2 weeks ago
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
Eukaryote Writes...
Defending against hypothetical moon life during Apollo 11
This is how a completely abstract argument about alien germs was taken seriously and mitigated at...
11 months ago
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.
Quanta Magazine
Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem
Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now...
10 months ago
Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now researchers have found a much faster way to do it.
The post Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Transforming Healthcare Data with Tuva Health | Out-Of-Pocket
The nitty, gritty, and shitty of working with health data
a year ago
The nitty, gritty, and shitty of working with health data
brr
South Pole Water Infrastructure
Fresh water from snow, at 70 below!
6 months ago
Fresh water from snow, at 70 below!
Explorations of an...
A Rare Hummingbird Twitch In Ecuador
October 22, 2023
I recently returned from Ecuador where I had spent the previous couple of weeks....
a year ago
October 22, 2023
I recently returned from Ecuador where I had spent the previous couple of weeks. The main purpose of the trip was to lead a tour for Worldwide Quest to the Galápagos archipelago, but I made some time for a little extra-curricular birding as well. If I was going...
The Works in...
Getting people to donate their organs
Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier?
8 months ago
Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier?
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Cool Ideas For Dentistry + Medicine With Nisarg Patel | Out-Of-Pocket
plus what actually happens in the operating room?
a year ago
plus what actually happens in the operating room?
NeuroLogica Blog
First Mission To Remove Space Debris
I know you don’t need one more thing to worry about, but I have already written about the growing...
a year ago
I know you don’t need one more thing to worry about, but I have already written about the growing problem of space debris. At least this update is about a mission to help clear some of that debris – ClearSpace-1. This is an ESA mission which they contracted out to a Swiss...
Quanta Magazine
How a Human Smell Receptor Works Is Finally Revealed
After decades of frustration, researchers have finally determined how an airborne scent molecule...
a year ago
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
Quantum Frontiers
Explorations in Quantum TiqTaqToe
Several years ago, while scrolling through YouTube, I came across a video of Paul Rudd playing...
a year ago
Several years ago, while scrolling through YouTube, I came across a video of Paul Rudd playing something called “Quantum Chess.” I had no idea what it was, nor did I know that it would become one of the most gloriously … Continue reading →
nanoscale views
Intriguing papers - exquisite thermal measurements + automated materials discovery/synthesis
It's a busy time, but I wanted to point out a couple of papers from this past week.
First, I want...
a year ago
It's a busy time, but I wanted to point out a couple of papers from this past week.
First, I want to point to this preprint on the arxiv, where the Weizmann folks do an incredibly technically impressive thing. I'd written recently about the thermal Hall effect, when a...
Uncharted...
Wind and Solar, a Perfect Match
Also, why solar will beat wind, why they are so complementary, the nuclear renaissance, the poor...
a month ago
Also, why solar will beat wind, why they are so complementary, the nuclear renaissance, the poor state of German energy, and more.
Many Worlds
The Makeup of Red Dwarf Solar Systems May Seriously Limit the Formation of Habitable Planets
Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation...
a year ago
Jupiter is often described as the “big brother” planet of our solar system that made the formation and evolution of Earth possible. In the early days of the solar system, massive Jupiter helped the planet grow rapidly while serving as a gravity well that shielded the planet from...
nanoscale views
Condensed matter’s rough start
I’m teaching undergrad solid-state for the first time, and it has served as a reminder of how...
a year ago
I’m teaching undergrad solid-state for the first time, and it has served as a reminder of how condensed matter physics got off the ground. I suspect that one reason CM historically had not received a lot of respect in the early years (e.g. Pauli declaring that solid-state...
Eukaryote Writes...
There’s no such thing as a tree (phylogenetically)
Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From...
over a year ago
Dendronization – Evolving into a tree-like morphology. (In the style of “carcinization".) From 'dendro', the ancient Greek root for tree.
Quanta Magazine
Underground Cells Make ‘Dark Oxygen’ Without Light
In some deep subterranean aquifers, cells have a chemical trick for making oxygen that could sustain...
a year ago
In some deep subterranean aquifers, cells have a chemical trick for making oxygen that could sustain whole underground ecosystems.
The post Underground Cells Make ‘Dark Oxygen’ Without Light first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Health Data Gets Sold: Moving From Third-Party to First-Party | Out-Of-Pocket
The shift from third-party to first-party data consent, and how far should it go?
a year ago
The shift from third-party to first-party data consent, and how far should it go?
Marine Madness
Cownose rays at Bristol Aquarium (video)
Watch Bristol Aquarium’s newest residents in action. Bristol Aquarium reopened its doors on May 18...
over a year ago
Watch Bristol Aquarium’s newest residents in action. Bristol Aquarium reopened its doors on May 18 after being closed for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning visitors were finally allowed to return and see their favourite ocean creatures up close. But during the...
Explorations of an...
Day Two At Río Bigal - Brilliant Birding and Magnificent Mothing
The Pink-throated Brilliant.
There are, of course, many other weird and wonderful species that call...
a year ago
The Pink-throated Brilliant.
There are, of course, many other weird and wonderful species that call Río Bigal home, but I was first drawn to the idea of visiting this reserve while reading about the enigmatic Pink-throated Brilliant. This rare hummingbird lives only in forest in...
Chris Grossack's...
Life in Johnstone's Topological Topos 1 -- Fundamentals
I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I
want to have more examples...
5 months ago
I’ve been thinking a lot about the internal logic of topoi again, and I
want to have more examples of topoi that I understand well enough to
externalize some statements. There’s more to life than just a localic
$\mathsf{Sh}(B)$, and since I’m starting to feel like I understand...
Asterisk
Half A Million Kinksters Can’t Be Wrong
The story of how one independent researcher conducted the largest-ever survey on fetishes, and what...
a year ago
The story of how one independent researcher conducted the largest-ever survey on fetishes, and what it has to teach us about sex, pleasure, and social science methodology.
Quanta Magazine
Two Students Shoot Down a Widely Believed Math Conjecture
Mathematicians thought they were on the cusp of proving a conjecture about the ancient structures...
a year ago
Mathematicians thought they were on the cusp of proving a conjecture about the ancient structures known as Apollonian circles. But a summer project would lead to its downfall.
The post Two Students Shoot Down a Widely Believed Math Conjecture first appeared on Quanta...
Quantum Frontiers
How I didn’t become a philosopher (but wound up presenting a named philosophy lecture anyway)
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I...
8 months ago
Many people ask why I became a theoretical physicist. The answer runs through philosophy—which I thought, for years, I’d left behind in college. My formal relationship with philosophy originated with Mr. Bohrer. My high school classified him as a religion … Continue reading →
Damn Interesting
The Rube’s Dilemma
It all started with a hat. A straw boater, to be precise, with a flat, round brim and brightly...
over a year ago
It all started with a hat. A straw boater, to be precise, with a flat, round brim and brightly colored ribbon tied around the crown. Originally popularized by gondoliers in Venice, this jaunty accessory had reached the height of American couture by the turn of the 20th century....
nanoscale views
Cavities and tuning physics
I've written before about cavity quantum electrodynamics. An electromagnetic cavity - a resonator...
a year ago
I've written before about cavity quantum electrodynamics. An electromagnetic cavity - a resonator of some kind, like your microwave oven chamber is for microwaves, or like an optical cavity made using nearly perfect mirrors - picks out what electromagnetic modes are allowed...
Eukaryote Writes...
Book Review: Cuisine and Empire
Things people nigh-universally like to eat: salt, fat, sugar, starch, sauces, meat, drugs...
11 months ago
Things people nigh-universally like to eat: salt, fat, sugar, starch, sauces, meat, drugs...
Quantum Frontiers
Eight highlights from publishing a science book for the general public
What’s it like to publish a book? I’ve faced the question again and again this year, as my book...
over a year ago
What’s it like to publish a book? I’ve faced the question again and again this year, as my book Quantum Steampunk hit bookshelves in April. Two responses suggest themselves. On the one hand, I channel the Beatles: It’s a hard … Continue reading →
The Works in...
Heat waves
Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
5 months ago
Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
NeuroLogica Blog
Nuclear Microreactors
The first nuclear powered vessel was completed in 1959. Since then there have been nuclear powered...
a year ago
The first nuclear powered vessel was completed in 1959. Since then there have been nuclear powered vessels in the oceans, including many nuclear submarines. The obvious advantage is that is such vessels can stay at see for long periods of time without refueling. These ships use...
The Works in...
The value of family
Traditional values don't deliver babies
a year ago
Traditional values don't deliver babies
NeuroLogica Blog
Science Communication About Controversial Issues
The world of science communication has changed dramatically over the last two decades, and it’s...
3 weeks ago
The world of science communication has changed dramatically over the last two decades, and it’s useful to think about those changes, both for people who generate and consume science communication. The big change, of course, is social media, which has disrupted journalism and...
NeuroLogica Blog
How Humans Can Adapt to Space
My recent article on settling Mars has generated a lot of discussion, some of it around the basic...
11 months ago
My recent article on settling Mars has generated a lot of discussion, some of it around the basic concept of how difficult it is for humans to live anywhere but a thin envelope of air hugging the surface of the Earth. This is undoubtedly true, as I have discussed before – we...
Asterisk
China’s Silicon Future
China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts...
over a year ago
China dreams of competing with global superpowers in the semiconductor industry. Whether its efforts will succeed is far from clear.
NeuroLogica Blog
Immune Cells to Fight Cancer
There is a recent medical advance that you may not have heard about unless you are a healthcare...
a year ago
There is a recent medical advance that you may not have heard about unless you are a healthcare professional or encountered it from the patient side – CAR-T cell therapy. A recent study shows the potential for continued incremental advance of this technology, but already it is a...
Uncharted...
What Is the Earth’s Carrying Capacity?
Most "experts" don't understand technology or economics
a month ago
Most "experts" don't understand technology or economics
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Citizen fraud detection, self-experimentation, and OOP Updates | Out-Of-Pocket
Some random musings and OOP announcements before the holiday
3 weeks ago
Some random musings and OOP announcements before the holiday
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Provider Directories, Physician data, and Ribbon Health | Out-Of-Pocket
why can't I find any important info about my doctor lol
a year ago
why can't I find any important info about my doctor lol
Quanta Magazine
Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth
How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help...
a month ago
How do we know if a large language model is lying? Letting AI systems argue with each other may help expose the truth.
The post Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Spiderweb Microphone
Microphones convert sound into an electrical signal for subsequent amplification, as in auditorium...
3 months ago
Microphones convert sound into an electrical signal for subsequent amplification, as in auditorium public address systems; or transmission, as in landline and mobile phones. The most common types of microphones are carbon, used in early telephones, condenser, electret, dynamic,...
Eukaryote Writes...
A love letter to civilian OSINT
What is civilian OSINT, and could it be used altruistically?
over a year ago
What is civilian OSINT, and could it be used altruistically?
Drew Ex Machina
Epsilon Indi’s Super Jovian Exoplanet – Background & New Observations by JWST
On July 24, 2024, an international team of scientists, headed by Dr. Elisabeth Matthews of the Max...
4 months ago
On July 24, 2024, an international team of scientists, headed by Dr. Elisabeth Matthews of the Max Plank Institute for Astronomy, announced that they had used […]
symmetry magazine
SAGE Journey program ignites interest in STEM
Three SAGE alumni talk about their experiences with a program meant to broaden gender diversity in...
a year ago
Three SAGE alumni talk about their experiences with a program meant to broaden gender diversity in STEM.
Cremieux Recueil
2024 SAT Data Drop
The College Board has just released the latest SAT data. Here's a review.
2 months ago
The College Board has just released the latest SAT data. Here's a review.
Andrew Fraknoi –...
Injecting Caution Into Media Reports of Northern Lights as far South as California
Friday, May 10, there was a lot of discussion on the news, on social media, and on different web...
7 months ago
Friday, May 10, there was a lot of discussion on the news, on social media, and on different web sites about storms on the Sun that are unleashing great outbursts of radiation and particles, some of them toward Earth. The fact that we are seeing such “space weather” now certainly...
symmetry magazine
India’s gem at CERN: Archana Sharma
The first Indian scientist to join CERN was recently recognized with the highest honor of India for...
a year ago
The first Indian scientist to join CERN was recently recognized with the highest honor of India for overseas citizens.
Explorations of an...
Potrero de Yala - Dippers, Red-faced Guans And More
Laura and I were up early to make the most of our morning at Potrero de Yala. As dawn broke, we...
a year ago
Laura and I were up early to make the most of our morning at Potrero de Yala. As dawn broke, we slowly drove in along the entrance road, keeping an eye out for guans.
We found quite a few guans on and around the road but none were our hoped-for Red-faced Guans; they were all...
IEEE Spectrum
The Story Behind Pixar’s RenderMan CGI Software
Watching movies and TV series that use digital visual effects to create fantastical worlds lets...
9 months ago
Watching movies and TV series that use digital visual effects to create fantastical worlds lets people escape reality for a few hours. Thanks to advancements in computer-generated technology used to produce films and shows, those worlds are highly realistic. In many cases, it can...
Asterisk
Salt, Sugar, Water, Zinc: How Scientists Learned to Treat the 20th Century’s Biggest Killer of...
Oral rehydration therapy is now the standard treatment for dehydration. It’s saved millions of...
a year ago
Oral rehydration therapy is now the standard treatment for dehydration. It’s saved millions of lives, and can be prepared at home in minutes. So why did it take so long to discover?
Light from Space
Iris Nebula and the Ghost of Cepheus
The Iris Nebula is a reflection nebula in Cepheus. A popular target with amateur astronomers, the...
over a year ago
The Iris Nebula is a reflection nebula in Cepheus. A popular target with amateur astronomers, the sourrounding flux nebulas are harder to photograph and require long integration times.
Also visible in this wide-field image, near the bottom left, is the Ghost Nebula.
Click or...
Quanta Magazine
How ‘Idle’ Egg Cells Defend Their DNA From Damage
How do immature egg cells maintain genetic quality for decades before they mature? Scientists find...
7 months ago
How do immature egg cells maintain genetic quality for decades before they mature? Scientists find unusual safeguards in this quiescent cell that may inform research into fertility.
The post How ‘Idle’ Egg Cells Defend Their DNA From Damage first appeared on Quanta...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
An Eclipse of the Sun Coming to N. America April 8th
A rare eclipse of the Sun will be visible all over North America on April 8th.
The post An Eclipse...
9 months ago
A rare eclipse of the Sun will be visible all over North America on April 8th.
The post An Eclipse of the Sun Coming to N. America April 8th appeared first on Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources.
Quanta Magazine
The Electron Is So Round That It’s Ruling Out Potential New Particles
If the electron’s charge wasn’t perfectly round, it could reveal the existence of hidden particles....
a year ago
If the electron’s charge wasn’t perfectly round, it could reveal the existence of hidden particles. A new measurement approaches perfection.
The post The Electron Is So Round That It’s Ruling Out Potential New Particles first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 6: A Long, Sketchy Drive To Find Atuen Antpittas (February 8, 2024)
One of the fun aspects of birding during this particular period of history is that our understanding...
8 months ago
One of the fun aspects of birding during this particular period of history is that our understanding of how birds are related to each other is changing rapidly. Back in the "old days", our collective knowledge of these topics was a bit more rudimentary. Species were grouped...
IEEE Spectrum
Why L. Ron Hubbard Patented His E-Meter
zombie mysteries, historical fiction, pirate adventure tales, and westerns.
science fiction. The...
8 months ago
zombie mysteries, historical fiction, pirate adventure tales, and westerns.
science fiction. The publishers of Astounding Science Fiction approached Hubbard to write stories that focused on people, rather than robots and machines. His first story, “The Dangerous Dimension,” was...
Wanderingspace
Hope for Mars
Nothing really. Just a gorgeous image of Mars from the UAE Hope mission.
over a year ago
Nothing really. Just a gorgeous image of Mars from the UAE Hope mission.
Quanta Magazine
Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’
More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been...
8 months ago
More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with starfish, hundreds of species have been pronounced “keystones” in their ecosystems. Has the powerful metaphor lost its mathematical meaning?
The post Ecologists Struggle to Get a Grip on ‘Keystone Species’ first...
Blog - Practical...
What Happens When a Reservoir Goes Dry?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2022, the level in...
over a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2022, the level in Lake Mead, the largest water reservoir in the United States formed by the Hoover Dam, reached yet another all-time low of 175 feet or 53 meters below full, a level that hasn’t been...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Lunar Cycle and Suicide
Does the lunar cycle affect human behavior? This seems to be a question that refuses to die, no...
a year ago
Does the lunar cycle affect human behavior? This seems to be a question that refuses to die, no matter how hard it is to confirm any actual effect. It’s now a cultural idea, deeply embedded and not going anywhere. A recent study, however, seems to show a correlation between...
Willem Pennings
Fixing my heating system
The heating system in my apartment building consists of a group of heat pumps that deliver warm...
7 months ago
The heating system in my apartment building consists of a group of heat pumps that deliver warm water to the underfloor heating system of about a dozen apartments, including mine. During the warm summer months, the system supplies cool water instead. The heat pumps figure out...
symmetry magazine
Antimatter falls down
Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar...
a year ago
Results from the ALPHA experiment confirm that matter and antimatter react to gravity in a similar way.
The Works in...
Unending World
A foretaste of Ch. 11 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
2 months ago
A foretaste of Ch. 11 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
NeuroLogica Blog
ChatGPT Performs At University Level
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence...
a year ago
We are still sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of the new crop of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the poster-child of which is ChatGPT. This is a so-called large language model application using a “generative pre-trained transformer”. Essentially these types of...
symmetry magazine
Life along the future DUNE beamline
Unseen neutrinos, visible lives: A photographer journeys through the Midwest.
a year ago
Unseen neutrinos, visible lives: A photographer journeys through the Midwest.
Wanderingspace
Eclipse 2024 from Space
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
8 months ago
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
IEEE Spectrum
What If the Worst AI Fear Is AI Fear Itself?
It’s been just about a year now—a nonprofit called the Future of Life Institute posted an open...
9 months ago
It’s been just about a year now—a nonprofit called the Future of Life Institute posted an open letter reflecting people’s darkest fears about artificial intelligence.
“Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks,” it said. It called for a pause in...
NeuroLogica Blog
GMOs – Ask a Farmer
The topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a great target for science communication...
4 months ago
The topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a great target for science communication because public attitudes have largely been shaped by deliberate misinformation, and the research suggests that those attitudes can change in response to more accurate information. It is...
NeuroLogica Blog
Will AI Make Work Redundant?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming for your job. This, at least, is increasingly conventional...
a year ago
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...
Drew Ex Machina
First Pictures: Views of Mars from NASA’s Mars Observer – July 27, 1993
Having enthusiastically followed NASA’s Viking mission to Mars as a teenager during the late-1970s,...
a year ago
Having enthusiastically followed NASA’s Viking mission to Mars as a teenager during the late-1970s, the lack of any new NASA missions to Mars during the 1980s […]
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Out-Of-Pocket 2021 Predictions | Out-Of-Pocket
the future is easy to predict right
a year ago
the future is easy to predict right
Quanta Magazine
The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard
Computational complexity theorists have discovered a surprising new way to understand what makes...
6 months ago
Computational complexity theorists have discovered a surprising new way to understand what makes certain problems hard.
The post The Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record
Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most...
a month ago
Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most important equations.
The post New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
Quantum computing vs. Grubhub
pon receiving my speaking assignments for the Tucson Festival of Books, I mentally raised my...
a year ago
pon receiving my speaking assignments for the Tucson Festival of Books, I mentally raised my eyebrows. I’d be participating in a panel discussion with Mike Evans, the founder of Grubhub? But I hadn’t created an app that’s a household name. I … Continue reading →
Cremieux Recueil
Why America’s Racial Poverty Statistics Are a Lesson for Researchers
What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
3 months ago
What if a single government employee could tell you an entire literature was wrong?
Quanta Magazine
Will AI Ever Have Common Sense?
Common sense has been viewed as one of the hardest challenges in AI. That said, ChatGPT4 has...
5 months ago
Common sense has been viewed as one of the hardest challenges in AI. That said, ChatGPT4 has acquired what some believe is an impressive sense of humanity. How is this possible? Listen to this week’s “The Joy of Why” with co-host Steven Strogatz.
The post Will AI Ever...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
“Mission-driven” should be more specific | Out-Of-Pocket
everything is a set of tradeoffs, let's be honest about that
8 months ago
everything is a set of tradeoffs, let's be honest about that
The Works in...
Does higher density cause lower birth rates?
Assessing one recent claim that it does
7 months ago
Assessing one recent claim that it does
NeuroLogica Blog
Neuralink Implants Chip in Human
Elon Musk has announced that his company, Neuralink, has implanted their first wireless computer...
10 months ago
Elon Musk has announced that his company, Neuralink, has implanted their first wireless computer chip into a human. The chip, which they plan on calling Telepathy (not sure how I feel about that) connects with 64 thin hair-like electrodes, is battery powered and can be recharged...
Explorations of an...
The End Of An Era - Reflections On Our Travels
(Written on April 23, 2023)
In just a few days time, Laura and I will board a jet bound for another...
a year ago
(Written on April 23, 2023)
In just a few days time, Laura and I will board a jet bound for another international destination. Our flight home to Toronto isn't that unique of a scenario, as we have flown on plenty of planes headed home since we began our international travels...
Quanta Magazine
The Mathematician Who Sculpted the Shape of Space
Eugenio Calabi, who died on September 25, conceived of novel geometric objects that later became...
a year ago
Eugenio Calabi, who died on September 25, conceived of novel geometric objects that later became fundamental to string theory.
The post The Mathematician Who Sculpted the Shape of Space first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Many Worlds
A Real ET Discovery With Promise, Amid Some Other Quite Questionable Claims
Beware easy answers to the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. Be they “alien” skeletons...
a year ago
Beware easy answers to the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. Be they “alien” skeletons in Mexico City, interstellar probes that briefly pass through our solar system, UFOs of all sorts and claims to have found “biosignature” chemical byproducts of life around planets...
NeuroLogica Blog
What Is a Grand Conspiracy?
Ah, the categorization question again. This is an endless, but much needed, endeavor within human...
9 months ago
Ah, the categorization question again. This is an endless, but much needed, endeavor within human intellectual activity. We have the need to categorize things, if for no other reason than we need to communicate with each other about them. Often skeptics, like myself, talk about...
The Roots of...
Cellular reprogramming, pneumatic launch systems, and terraforming Mars
In December, I went to the Foresight Institute’s Vision Weekend 2023 in San Francisco. I had a lot...
11 months ago
In December, I went to the Foresight Institute’s Vision Weekend 2023 in San Francisco. I had a lot of fun talking to a bunch of weird and ambitious geeks about the glorious abundant technological future. Here are few things I learned about (with the caveat that this is mostly...
Probably...
Extremes, outliers, and GOATS
The video from my PyData Global 2023 talk, Extremes, outliers, and GOATS, is available now: The...
10 months ago
The video from my PyData Global 2023 talk, Extremes, outliers, and GOATS, is available now: The slides are here. There are two Jupyter notebooks that contain the analysis I presented: Here’s the abstract: The fastest runners are much faster than we expect from a Gaussian...
Quanta Magazine
When Data Is Missing, Scientists Guess. Then Guess Again.
Across the social and biological sciences, statisticians use a technique that leverages randomness...
2 months ago
Across the social and biological sciences, statisticians use a technique that leverages randomness to deal with the unknown.
The post When Data Is Missing, Scientists Guess. Then Guess Again. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
AI in healthcare - defensibility, capabilities, and cost reduction | Out-Of-Pocket
7 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Making Computers More Efficient
An analysis in 2021 found that 10% of the world’s electricity production is used by computers,...
a year ago
An analysis in 2021 found that 10% of the world’s electricity production is used by computers, including personal use, data centers, the internet and communication centers. The same analysis projected that this was likely to increase to 20% by 2025. This may have been an...
NeuroLogica Blog
Apologizing for Uri Geller
A recent New York Times article tries to rehabilitate the reputation of Uri Geller, famed...
a year ago
A recent New York Times article tries to rehabilitate the reputation of Uri Geller, famed spoon-bending magician, by simply telling a one-sided narrative. From my perspective as a skeptic, this was a terrible article that missed the real issue, glossed over glaring defects in...
IEEE Spectrum
Granville T. Woods: Smartest Guy in the Room
Any home baker will confirm that, even if you have all the right ingredients and follow the recipe,...
a year ago
Any home baker will confirm that, even if you have all the right ingredients and follow the recipe, things don’t always turn out the way you envisioned. Such was the life of inventor extraordinaire Granville T. Woods.
Who was Granville T. Woods?
Woods was endowed with...
Confessions of a...
My Teaching Philosophy
As mentioned previously, I need to complete a teaching portfolio over my year as a lecturing intern...
over a year ago
As mentioned previously, I need to complete a teaching portfolio over my year as a lecturing intern as part of the PTIS scheme. Central to this portfolio is a personal teaching philosophy, detailing why teaching is important to me, what my objectives are as a teacher, what...
Quanta Magazine
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...
10 months ago
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...
Blog - Practical...
How Flood Tunnels Work
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is Waterloo Park in...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is Waterloo Park in downtown Austin, Texas, just a couple of blocks away from the state capitol building. It’s got walking trails, an ampitheater, Waller Creek runs right through the center, and it has...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Malpractice, Expert Witnesses, and Lawsuits with Dr. Eric Funk | Out-Of-Pocket
Suits and White Coats
a year ago
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Create Elusive Particles That Remember Their Pasts
In two landmark experiments, researchers used quantum processors to engineer exotic particles that...
a year ago
In two landmark experiments, researchers used quantum processors to engineer exotic particles that have captivated physicists for decades. The work is a step toward crash-proof quantum computers.
The post Physicists Create Elusive Particles That Remember Their Pasts...
NeuroLogica Blog
Flooding is Increasing
Last month my flight home from Chicago was canceled because of an intense rainstorm. In CT the storm...
3 months ago
Last month my flight home from Chicago was canceled because of an intense rainstorm. In CT the storm was intense enough to cause flash flooding, which washed out roads and bridges and shut down traffic in many areas. The epicenter of the rainfall was in Oxford, CT (where my...
Interaction Magic -...
Modelling my brain
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of...
over a year ago
A 22 hour medical experiment breathing 12% oxygen, and the 7000 images of my brain that came out of it.
Quanta Magazine
Nobel Prize Honors Inventors of ‘Quantum Dot’ Nanoparticles
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to three researchers who harnessed the quantum...
a year ago
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to three researchers who harnessed the quantum behaviors of semiconductor nanocrystals.
The post Nobel Prize Honors Inventors of ‘Quantum Dot’ Nanoparticles first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
US Independence Day
Tikalon is on a short holiday in celebration of US Independence Day, July 4, 2024. Our next article...
5 months ago
Tikalon is on a short holiday in celebration of US Independence Day, July 4, 2024. Our next article will be posted on Monday, July 15, 2024. View my version of the iconic image of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in which he encounters some unusually large...
Quanta Magazine
Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox.
Why does natural selection appear to happen slowly on long timescales and quickly on short ones? A...
11 months ago
Why does natural selection appear to happen slowly on long timescales and quickly on short ones? A multigenerational study of four lizard species addresses biology’s “paradox of stasis.”
The post Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox. first appeared...
Quanta Magazine
What Is Analog Computing?
You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them. ...
4 months ago
You don’t need 0s and 1s to perform computations, and in some cases it’s better to avoid them.
The post What Is Analog Computing? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 8: Pale-billed Antpittas In The Elfin Forest (February 10, 2024)
February 10, 2024
The Pale-billed Antpitta is a large, fancy-looking Grallaria antpitta only found...
6 months ago
February 10, 2024
The Pale-billed Antpitta is a large, fancy-looking Grallaria antpitta only found in the high Andes of northern Peru. Because of its proclivity towards dense forest with an abundance of bamboo, there are few places where this species can be easily found. These...
nanoscale views
What is a metal-insulator transition?
The recent excitement about the alleged high temperature superconductor "LK99" has introduced some...
a year ago
The recent excitement about the alleged high temperature superconductor "LK99" has introduced some in the public to the idea of a metal-insulator or insulator-metal transition (MIT/IMT). For example, one strong candidate explanation for the sharp drop in resistance as a function...
Casey Handmer's blog
Entrepreneurship changed the way I think
A quick note with some self reflection on the eve of my 37th year and after nearly three years of...
3 months ago
A quick note with some self reflection on the eve of my 37th year and after nearly three years of running a hardware start up. I never saw myself as a founder. At some point a few years ago I realized nearly all my friends were founders or managers of their own business, but I...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Ice Formation
In today's bigger is better world, you don't order a large coffee, you order a 20 fluid ounce Venti...
4 months ago
In today's bigger is better world, you don't order a large coffee, you order a 20 fluid ounce Venti coffee. From 1987 through 2004, McDonald's restaurants had a supersize option for larger than large portions of its French fries and soft drinks. The prefix, super, has been used...
The Works in...
What did Henry George think about cities?
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
7 months ago
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
Interaction Magic -...
Podcast: Designed for life
A deep dive into my career and the future of experience prototyping with Tony Ryan, CEO of Design &...
over a year ago
A deep dive into my career and the future of experience prototyping with Tony Ryan, CEO of Design & Technology Association.
Quantum Frontiers
To thermalize, or not to thermalize, that is the question.
If Hamlet had been a system of noncommuting charges, his famous soliloquy may have gone like this…...
8 months ago
If Hamlet had been a system of noncommuting charges, his famous soliloquy may have gone like this… To thermalize, or not to thermalize, that is the question:Whether ’tis more natural for the system to sufferThe large entanglement of thermalizing dynamics,Or … Continue reading →
Drew Ex Machina
Rockets Falling from Orbit: The Saturn V That Launched NASA’s Skylab
In recent years, the uncontrolled reentries of the spent 22-metric ton core stages of China’s new...
over a year ago
In recent years, the uncontrolled reentries of the spent 22-metric ton core stages of China’s new Long March 5B heavy lift launch vehicle, used to orbit […]
nanoscale views
Fiber optics + a different approach to fab
Two very brief items of interest:
This article is a nice popular discussion of the history of...
3 months ago
Two very brief items of interest:
This article is a nice popular discussion of the history of fiber optics and the remarkable progress it's made for telecommunications. If you're interested in a more expansive but very accessible take on this, I highly recommend City of...
Quanta Magazine
The Unraveling of Space-Time
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the...
2 months ago
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the fundamental nature of reality.
The post The Unraveling of Space-Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
In a Monster Star’s Light, a Hint of Darkness
Astronomers are scouring the cosmos for fingerprints of the invisible — tiny clumps of pure dark...
a year ago
Astronomers are scouring the cosmos for fingerprints of the invisible — tiny clumps of pure dark matter that might solve a long-standing cosmic mystery.
The post In a Monster Star’s Light, a Hint of Darkness first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
The Cold War Arms Race Over Prosthetic Arms
In 1961, Norbert Wiener, the father of cybernetics, broke his hip and wound up in Massachusetts...
a year ago
In 1961, Norbert Wiener, the father of cybernetics, broke his hip and wound up in Massachusetts General Hospital. Wiener’s bad luck turned into fruitful conversations with his orthopedic surgeon, Melvin Glimcher. Those talks in turn led to a collaboration and an invention: the...
Quanta Magazine
Cryptography Tricks Make a Hard Problem a Little Easier
Researchers have shown how to find the simplest description of a data set faster than by simply ...
8 months ago
Researchers have shown how to find the simplest description of a data set faster than by simply checking every possibility.
The post Cryptography Tricks Make a Hard Problem a Little Easier first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Light from Space
Lagoon and the Hourglass
A view of the center region of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8, Sharpless 25). There's several other...
over a year ago
A view of the center region of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8, Sharpless 25). There's several other objects visible, notably the Hourglass Nebula and open star cluster NGC 6530, as well as numerous Bok globules (the small dark clouds, that will one day form new stars).
Click...
Asterisk
What We Get Wrong About AI & China
Everyone’s afraid of what China can and will do with AI. On the ground, the picture looks a lot more...
a year ago
Everyone’s afraid of what China can and will do with AI. On the ground, the picture looks a lot more complicated.
Wanderingspace
Phobos over mount Sharp
Taken by the Curiosity rover. This is one of Mars tiny moons as seen from the ground. Impressive as...
over a year ago
Taken by the Curiosity rover. This is one of Mars tiny moons as seen from the ground. Impressive as it is only 14 long and you can actually see its shape from the surface. See Phobos below for reference.
Blog - Practical...
Why Railroads Don't Need Expansion Joints
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the most common attributes folks imagine when they think of trains is the clickety-clack sound they make as they roll down the tracks. The thing is, most trains don’t make that sound anymore. Or really,...
nanoscale views
Condensed matter on the public stage, and not in a good way
This week, condensed matter physics has been getting far more broad public attention than usual, and...
a year ago
This week, condensed matter physics has been getting far more broad public attention than usual, and while in the abstract I like our discipline getting noticed, this is definitely not how I’d have preferred it to happen.
First, more fun re Ranga Dias. Fresh off renewed...
Beautiful Public...
The Naughty Words the FAA Removed From the Sky
New FOIA records from the FAA shed light on the frantic effort in 2015 to rename navigation...
6 months ago
New FOIA records from the FAA shed light on the frantic effort in 2015 to rename navigation waypoints related to Donald Trump and reveal the list of naughty waypoint names that were changed over the years.
Uncharted...
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...
2 months ago
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.
Quanta Magazine
The ‘Accidental Activist’ Who Changed the Face of Mathematics
Throughout her 60-year career, Lenore Blum has developed new perspectives on logic and computation...
11 months ago
Throughout her 60-year career, Lenore Blum has developed new perspectives on logic and computation while championing women in mathematics and computer science. Now consciousness is on her mind.
The post The ‘Accidental Activist’ Who Changed the Face of Mathematics...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Six (More) Healthcare Startup Ideas | Out-Of-Pocket
In collaboration with The Generalist, one of the few newsletters I read end-to-end every time
a year ago
In collaboration with The Generalist, one of the few newsletters I read end-to-end every time
Probably...
Destructive Testing
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
7 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. sample_size Sample Size Selection¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Hi Redditors, I am a civil engineer trying...
NeuroLogica Blog
Artificial Diamond Boom
The history of aluminum, and what is now happening in the artificial diamond market, may tell us...
a year ago
The history of aluminum, and what is now happening in the artificial diamond market, may tell us something about a post-scarcity world. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. However, it like to form with other elements and therefore it was very difficulty to...
nanoscale views
Interesting reading - resonators, quantum geometry w/ phonons, and fractional quantum anomalous Hall
Real life continues to be busy, but I wanted to point out three recent articles that I found...
6 months ago
Real life continues to be busy, but I wanted to point out three recent articles that I found interesting:
Mechanical resonators are a topic with a long history, going back to the first bells and the tuning fork. I've written about micromachined resonators before, and the quest...
Quanta Magazine
What Could Explain the Gallium Anomaly?
Physicists have ruled out a mundane explanation for the strange findings of an old Soviet...
5 months ago
Physicists have ruled out a mundane explanation for the strange findings of an old Soviet experiment, leaving open the possibility that the results point to a new fundamental particle.
The post What Could Explain the Gallium Anomaly? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Should you infect yourself with Zika?
What life is like in a challenge trial
8 months ago
What life is like in a challenge trial
Explorations of an...
Borneo: Tour Extension To Peninsular Malaysia
After the main Borneo tour had finished, eight of the travellers joined Laura and I on a tour...
a year ago
After the main Borneo tour had finished, eight of the travellers joined Laura and I on a tour extension to peninsular Malaysia. We split our time between two distinct regions: the foothill forests at Fraser’s Hill, and the steamy lowlands of Taman Negara.
Dusky Leaf Monkey -...
Explorations of an...
HWY 101 - Forest Birding Near Iguazú
Highway 101 is the main corridor that runs east-west along the top end of Misiones Province in...
a year ago
Highway 101 is the main corridor that runs east-west along the top end of Misiones Province in Argentina. Though this road looks like a major artery on Google Maps, in practice it is nothing more than a clay track that receives very little traffic - mainly, just a few locals...
Quanta Magazine
Will Better Superconductors Transform the World?
Scientists are pursuing materials that can conduct electricity with perfect efficiency under ambient...
7 months ago
Scientists are pursuing materials that can conduct electricity with perfect efficiency under ambient conditions. In this episode, the physicist Siddharth Shanker Saxena tells co-host Janna Levin about what makes this hunt so difficult and consequential.
The post Will...
Interaction Magic -...
Think outside the screen
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build...
over a year ago
Nobody likes stroking a pane of glass, so why do we love touchscreens so much? Let's build distributed interfaces that work.
Quanta Magazine
How Simple Math Moves the Needle
The spatial intuition behind a three-point turn offers an on-ramp to a century-old geometry problem....
a year ago
The spatial intuition behind a three-point turn offers an on-ramp to a century-old geometry problem.
The post How Simple Math Moves the Needle first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Asterisk
The Illogic of Nuclear Escalation
How much is enough? It’s the most basic question in the nuclear arms race. For over sixty years, few...
over a year ago
How much is enough? It’s the most basic question in the nuclear arms race. For over sixty years, few have asked it, and even fewer have received an answer.
NeuroLogica Blog
Using Genetic Engineering To Fight Malaria
Despite robust efforts to fight it, malaria remains one of the most significant infectious diseases...
a year ago
Despite robust efforts to fight it, malaria remains one of the most significant infectious diseases affecting humans. According to UNICEF – ” In 2021, there were 247 million malaria cases globally that led to 619,000 deaths in total. Of these deaths, 77 per cent were children...
pcloadletter
My articles don't belong on certain social networks
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me...
6 months ago
I write this blog because I enjoy writing. Some people enjoy reading what I write, which makes me feel really great!
Recently, I took down a post and stopped writing for a few months because I didn't love the reaction I was getting on social media sites like Reddit and Hacker...
Blog - Practical...
Why Locomotives Don't Have Tires
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Formula 1 is, by many...
10 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Formula 1 is, by many accounts, the pinnacle of car racing. F1 cars are among the fastest in the world, particularly around the tight corners of the various paved tracks across the globe. Drivers can experience...
IEEE Spectrum
From Punch Cards to Python
In today’s digital world, it’s easy for just about anyone to create a mobile app or write software,...
3 months ago
In today’s digital world, it’s easy for just about anyone to create a mobile app or write software, thanks to Java, JavaScript, Python, and other programming languages.
But that wasn’t always the case. Because the primary language of computers is binary code, early programmers...
Asterisk
A Field Guide to AI Safety
AI safety is starting to go mainstream, but the researchers who’ve been immersed in it for over a...
a year ago
AI safety is starting to go mainstream, but the researchers who’ve been immersed in it for over a decade still have strong disagreements.
Articles - Chris...
My $500M Mars Rover Mistake: A Failure Story
Some mistakes feel worse than death.
a year ago
Some mistakes feel worse than death.
Asterisk
Manufacturing Bliss
A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique...
8 months ago
A growing community centered on the Bay Area is rediscovering the jhanas, a meditation technique that practitioners claim could upend how we think about the brain — and transform our lives in the process.
Quanta Magazine
Math Proof Draws New Boundaries Around Black Hole Formation
For a half century, mathematicians have tried to define the exact circumstances under which a black...
a year ago
For a half century, mathematicians have tried to define the exact circumstances under which a black hole is destined to exist. A new proof shows how a cube can help answer the question.
The post Math Proof Draws New Boundaries Around Black Hole Formation first...
Probably...
The Political Gender Gap is Not Growing
In a previous article, I used data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to see if there is a growing...
10 months ago
In a previous article, I used data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to see if there is a growing gender gap among young people in political alignment, party affiliation, or political attitudes. So far, the answer is no. Ryan Burge has done a similar analysis with data from...
NeuroLogica Blog
Categorization and What’s In a Name
Categorization is critical in science, but it is also very tricky, often deceptively so. We need to...
11 months ago
Categorization is critical in science, but it is also very tricky, often deceptively so. We need to categorize things to help us organize our knowledge, to understand how things work and relate to each other, and to communicate efficiently and precisely. But categorization can...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Physics of Flocks
Most people have watched large flocks of birds. They are fascinating, and have interested scientists...
8 months ago
Most people have watched large flocks of birds. They are fascinating, and have interested scientists for a long time. How, exactly, do so many birds maintain their cohesion as a flock? It’s obviously a dynamic process, but what are the mechanisms? When I was young I was taught...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Science of Gift Giving
There is a lot of social psychology out there providing information that can inform our everyday...
a year ago
There is a lot of social psychology out there providing information that can inform our everyday lives, and most people are completely unaware of the research. Richard Wiseman makes this point in his book, 59 Seconds – we actually have useful scientific information, and yet we...
Explorations of an...
Araucaria Forests near San Pedro
February 9 - 11, 2023
The Brazilian Araucaria is a tree that seems more suited to the pages of a Dr....
a year ago
February 9 - 11, 2023
The Brazilian Araucaria is a tree that seems more suited to the pages of a Dr. Seuss book than the rolling hills of the Atlantic forests of southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Stands of Araucaria angustifolia are peculiar looking, with massive trunks...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
My Free Introductory Astronomy Textbook Hits a Milestone
This time I am posting something a bit personal. I am the lead author of a free book that is part of...
7 months ago
This time I am posting something a bit personal. I am the lead author of a free book that is part of a nonprofit experiment to help students with the costs of college. Here is the news from our publisher: OpenStax, the open textbook publisher based at Rice University, is pleased...
NeuroLogica Blog
Pentagon Report – No UFOs
In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is...
9 months ago
In response to a recent surge in interest in alien phenomena and claims that the US government is hiding what it knows about extraterrestrials, the Pentagon established a committee to investigate the question – the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). They have recently...
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Agglomeration benefits are here to stay
Building more homes in the most productive cities could massively boost productivity
over a year ago
Building more homes in the most productive cities could massively boost productivity
Beautiful Public...
14,000 Photos of Army Uniforms and Rations from the 70s and 80s
An incredible archive of 14,000 photos of Army uniforms, military gear and rations from the 70s and...
a month ago
An incredible archive of 14,000 photos of Army uniforms, military gear and rations from the 70s and 80s.
NeuroLogica Blog
Using AI To Create Virtual Environments
Generative AI applications seem to be on the steep part of the development curve – not only is the...
8 months ago
Generative AI applications seem to be on the steep part of the development curve – not only is the technology getting better, but people are finding more and more uses for it. It’s a new powerful tool with broad applicability, and so there are countless startups and researchers...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Dental Insurance, Value-Based Dental, and Beam Benefits | Out-Of-Pocket
Why doesn’t dental have value-based care?
a year ago
Why doesn’t dental have value-based care?
IEEE Spectrum
The Pioneer Behind Electromagnetism
Without an understanding of the fundamental relationship between electricity and magnetism, it would...
a year ago
Without an understanding of the fundamental relationship between electricity and magnetism, it would not have been possible to invent motors, telecommunications equipment, kitchen appliances and more.
A key part of our understanding of that relationship, known as classical...
NeuroLogica Blog
How To Prove Prevention Works
Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm. Lisa: That’s specious...
10 months ago
Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm. Lisa: That’s specious reasoning, Dad. Homer: Thank you, dear. Lisa: By your logic I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away. Homer: Oh, how does it work? Lisa: It doesn’t work. Homer: Uh-huh. Lisa:...
Quanta Magazine
How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger
The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to...
7 months ago
The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to learn from it.
The post How Failure Has Made Mathematics Stronger first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Framing and Global Warming
When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global...
4 months ago
When we talk publicly about the effects of human activity on the climate should we refer to “global warming”, “climate change”, the “climate crisis” or to “climate justice”? Perhaps we should also be more technical and say specifically, “anthropogenic climate change”. This kind...
Eukaryote Writes...
Web-surfing tips for strange times
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
6 months ago
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
Quanta Magazine
Computation Is All Around Us, and You Can See It if You Try
Computer scientist Lance Fortnow writes that by embracing the computations that surround us, we can...
6 months ago
Computer scientist Lance Fortnow writes that by embracing the computations that surround us, we can begin to understand and tame our seemingly random world.
The post Computation Is All Around Us, and You Can See It if You Try first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Deep Beneath Earth’s Surface, Clues to Life’s Origins
Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a...
11 months ago
Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a bounty that could help write the first chapter of life's story on Earth.
The post Deep Beneath Earth’s Surface, Clues to Life’s Origins first appeared on Quanta...
Quantum Frontiers
A (quantum) complex legacy: Part deux
I didn’t fancy the research suggestion emailed by my PhD advisor. A 2016 email from John Preskill...
a year ago
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 →
Quanta Magazine
AI Needs Enormous Computing Power. Could Light-Based Chips Help?
Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional...
7 months ago
Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional systems. They also face major obstacles.
The post AI Needs Enormous Computing Power. Could Light-Based Chips Help? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Uncharted...
100,000 Gifts
What happened in 2024 and what will happen in 2025
3 days ago
What happened in 2024 and what will happen in 2025
The Works in...
The asbestos times
How asbestos saved cities, before we realized its risks
11 months ago
How asbestos saved cities, before we realized its risks
NeuroLogica Blog
The Fight over Education
There is an ongoing culture war, and not just in the US, over the content of childhood education,...
a year ago
There is an ongoing culture war, and not just in the US, over the content of childhood education, both public and private. This seems to be flaring up recently, but is never truly gone. Republicans in the US have recently escalated this war by banning over 500 books in several...
Quanta Magazine
Memories Help Brains Recognize New Events Worth Remembering
Memories may affect how well the brain will learn about future events by shifting our perceptions of...
a year ago
Memories may affect how well the brain will learn about future events by shifting our perceptions of the world.
The post Memories Help Brains Recognize New Events Worth Remembering first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Symmetry That Makes Solving Math Equations Easy
Learn why the quadratic formula works and why quadratics are easier to solve than cubics. ...
a year ago
Learn why the quadratic formula works and why quadratics are easier to solve than cubics.
The post The Symmetry That Makes Solving Math Equations Easy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Recent RT superconductivity claim - summary page
In the interests of saving people from lots of googling or scrolling through 170+ comments, here is...
a year ago
In the interests of saving people from lots of googling or scrolling through 170+ comments, here is a bulleted summary of links relevant to the recent claim of room temperature superconductivity in a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride compound under pressure.
Dias's contributed...
The Works in...
Where inflation comes from
How we calculate inflation has always been contested with small changes leading to large differences...
a month ago
How we calculate inflation has always been contested with small changes leading to large differences in how well-off we think we are.
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: In pursuit of decent coffee
No great stagnation in home espresso
a year ago
No great stagnation in home espresso
Probably...
What does “strength” mean?
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
8 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. corr_trend What does “strength” mean?¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I am currently doing a uni assignment...
Probably...
What does a confidence interval mean?
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. In general, I will...
8 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. In general, I will try to focus on practical problems, but this one is a little more philosophical. confidence What does a confidence interval mean?¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics...
Sean Carroll
Thanksgiving
This year we give thanks for a feature of nature that is frequently misunderstood: quanta. (We’ve...
a year ago
This year we give thanks for a feature of nature that is frequently misunderstood: quanta. (We’ve previously given thanks for the Standard Model Lagrangian, Hubble’s Law, the Spin-Statistics Theorem, conservation of momentum, effective field theory, the error bar, gauge...
nanoscale views
New paper - plasmons, excitons, and steering energy
We have a new paper out in Nano Letters (arxiv version here), and I wanted to explain a bit about it...
a year ago
We have a new paper out in Nano Letters (arxiv version here), and I wanted to explain a bit about it and why I think it's a really cool result.
I've written before about the Purcell Effect. When we study quantum mechanics, we learn that the rates of processes, like the...
Asterisk
Democracy by Mistake
Most political scientists see democracy as the natural consequence of economic development or the...
10 months ago
Most political scientists see democracy as the natural consequence of economic development or the result of strategic and rational choice. A detailed look through history suggests democracy emerges as often as not by another path: human error.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Placebos Are Getting Stronger | Out-Of-Pocket
Should we incorporate them into clinical practice?
a year ago
Should we incorporate them into clinical practice?
Blog - Practical...
Why Are Rails Shaped Like That?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Maybe more than any other type...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Maybe more than any other type of infrastructure, railways have a contingent of devoted enthusiasts. “Railfans” as they call themselves; Or should say “ourselves”? Maybe it's the nostalgia of an earlier era or...
nanoscale views
APS March Meeting 2023, Day 2
I ended up spending more time catching up with people this afternoon than going to talks after my...
a year ago
I ended up spending more time catching up with people this afternoon than going to talks after my session ended, but here are a couple of highlights:
There was an invited session about the metal halide perovskites, and there were some interesting talks. My faculty colleague...
IEEE Spectrum
Meet Mr. Internet: Vint Cerf
It was June 1973. For the past three months, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn had been working together on a...
a year ago
It was June 1973. For the past three months, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn had been working together on a problem Kahn had been pondering for some time: how to connect ground-based military computers seamlessly to communications satellites and mobile radios.
The two had been...
Chris Grossack's...
Life in Johnstone's Topological Topos 2 -- Topological Algebras
In the first post, we introduced Johnstone’s topological topos $\mathcal{T}$
and talked about what...
5 months ago
In the first post, we introduced Johnstone’s topological topos $\mathcal{T}$
and talked about what its objects look like. We showed how the interpretation
of type theory in $\mathcal{T}$ gives us an “intrinsic topology” on any
type we construct. We also alluded to the fact...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare Ideas That Look Good But Are Bad | Out-Of-Pocket
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
8 months ago
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
Uncharted...
Interesting News & Game Theory of Sex | Q3 2024
Trans & bathrooms, the end of nation states, woke pendulum, trigger warnings, is breastfeeding...
2 months ago
Trans & bathrooms, the end of nation states, woke pendulum, trigger warnings, is breastfeeding actually good for IQ, are differences in household work justified, and more
Quanta Magazine
What Is the Nature of Time?
Time is all around us: in the language we use, in the memories we revisit and in our predictions of...
9 months ago
Time is all around us: in the language we use, in the memories we revisit and in our predictions of the future. But what exactly is it? The physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek joins Steve Strogatz to discuss the fundamental hallmarks of time.
The post What Is...
The Roots of...
The epistemic virtue of scope matching
Something a little bit different today. I’ll tie it in to progress, I promise.
I keep noticing a...
a year ago
Something a little bit different today. I’ll tie it in to progress, I promise.
I keep noticing a particular epistemic pitfall (not exactly a “fallacy”), and a corresponding epistemic virtue that avoids it. I want to call this out and give it a name.
The virtue is: identifying the...
wadertales
Curlew nest survival
The Eurasian Curlew is designated as ‘Near-Threatened’ by IUCN/BirdLife. It is Red-listed in the UK,...
a year ago
The Eurasian Curlew is designated as ‘Near-Threatened’ by IUCN/BirdLife. It is Red-listed in the UK, largely due to a rapid decline in breeding numbers. In this context, the fact that there are a few pink squares (indicating increased numbers) on the map showing breeding...
nanoscale views
Materials characterization techniques – a brief glossary
Suppose someone has synthesized or found what they think is a new material. How do people studying...
11 months ago
Suppose someone has synthesized or found what they think is a new material. How do people studying materials (condensed matter physicists, materials scientists, materials chemists) figure out what they have and understand its properties? That's the puzzle-solving aspect of...
NeuroLogica Blog
Accusation of Mental Illness as a Political Strategy
I am not the first to say this but it bears repeating – it is wrong to use the accusation of a...
3 months ago
I am not the first to say this but it bears repeating – it is wrong to use the accusation of a mental illness as a political strategy. It is unfair, stigmatizing, and dismissive. Thomas Szasz (let me say straight up – I am not a Szaszian) was a psychiatrist who made it his...
NeuroLogica Blog
2023 Hottest Year on Record
What everyone knew was coming is now official – 2023 was the warmest year on record. This means we...
11 months ago
What everyone knew was coming is now official – 2023 was the warmest year on record. This means we can also say that the last 10 years are the hottest decade on record. 2023 dethrones 2016 as the previous warmest year and bumps 2010 out of the top 10. Further, in the last half of...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The Engineering Behind Healthcare LLMs with Abridge | Out-Of-Pocket
What kinds of challenges come up with creating a speech-to-text gen AI product?
3 months ago
What kinds of challenges come up with creating a speech-to-text gen AI product?
Quanta Magazine
The Quest to Quantify Quantumness
What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle...
a year ago
What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle question that physicists are still grappling with, decades into the quantum age.
The post The Quest to Quantify Quantumness first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Evolution and Copy-Paste Errors
Evolution deniers (I know there is a spectrum, but generally speaking) are terrible scientists and...
8 months ago
Evolution deniers (I know there is a spectrum, but generally speaking) are terrible scientists and logicians. The obvious reason is because they are committing the primary mortal sin of pseudoscience – working backwards from a desired conclusion rather than following evidence and...
Blog - Practical...
How Engineers Straightened the Leaning Tower of Pisa
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Long ago, maybe upwards of 1-2...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Long ago, maybe upwards of 1-2 million years ago, a river in the central part of what’s now Italy, emptied into what’s now the Ligurian Sea. It still does, by the way, but it did back then too. As the sea rose...
IEEE Spectrum
50 Years Later, We’re Still Living in the Xerox Alto’s World
I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows...
a year ago
I’m sitting in front of a computer, looking at its graphical user interface with overlapping windows on a high-resolution screen. I interact with the computer by pointing and clicking with a mouse and typing on a keyboard. I’m using a word processor with the core features and...
Explorations of an...
A Month In Northern Peru, Part 7: The Marvelous Spatuletail (February 9, 2024)
There are several bird species that are near the top of the wish-list for any birdwatcher visiting...
8 months ago
There are several bird species that are near the top of the wish-list for any birdwatcher visiting Peru for the first time. The enigmatic Long-whiskered Owlet is one, as it is a recently described species of owl that is only known from the stunted cloud forests in a very small...
Blog - Practical...
Why Construction Projects Always Go Over Budget
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Boston, Massachusetts is one...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Boston, Massachusetts is one of the oldest cities in America, founded in 1630, more than a few years before the advent of modern motor vehicles. In the 1980s, traffic in downtown Boston was nearly unbearable...
Quanta Magazine
The Year in Physics
From the smallest scales to the largest, the physical world provided no shortage of surprises this...
a year ago
From the smallest scales to the largest, the physical world provided no shortage of surprises this year.
The post The Year in Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Are There Reasons to Believe in a Multiverse?
Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural...
a year ago
Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural laws could lie beyond ours. The theoretical physicist David Kaplan talks with Steven Strogatz about the mysteries that a multiverse would solve.
The post Are There...
Quanta Magazine
Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media
In steganography, an ordinary message masks the presence of a secret communication. Humans can never...
a year ago
In steganography, an ordinary message masks the presence of a secret communication. Humans can never do it perfectly, but a new study shows it’s possible for machines.
The post Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Some cool AI healthcare projects | Out-Of-Pocket
What was built at the OOP hackathon?
4 months ago
What was built at the OOP hackathon?
Quanta Magazine
Quaking Giants Might Solve the Mysteries of Stellar Magnetism
In their jiggles and shakes, red giant stars encode a record of the magnetic fields near their...
a year ago
In their jiggles and shakes, red giant stars encode a record of the magnetic fields near their cores.
The post Quaking Giants Might Solve the Mysteries of Stellar Magnetism first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Random Uncontrolled Trials/Tweets | Out-Of-Pocket
I need to deactivate my Twitter smh
a year ago
I need to deactivate my Twitter smh
Quantum Frontiers
What geckos have to do with quantum computing
When my brother and I were little, we sometimes played video games on weekend mornings, before our...
12 months ago
When my brother and I were little, we sometimes played video games on weekend mornings, before our parents woke up. We owned a 3DO console, which ran the game Gex. Gex is named after its main character, a gecko. Stepping … Continue reading →
Beautiful Public...
Pilot Manual for a 1940's U.S. Navy Blimp
This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to...
a year ago
This 122 page manual contains all of the operating instructions and technical details needed to pilot this sleek, silver, 250 foot long, weaponized anti-submarine dirigible.
Casey Handmer's blog
Why do we need a Department of Government Efficiency?
President Trump’s recent sweeping electoral victory is a clear mandate for change. There is some...
2 weeks ago
President Trump’s recent sweeping electoral victory is a clear mandate for change. There is some urgency, and Trump has assembled the early stages of a team and coalition that can deliver it. It’s not exactly a mystery what Elon and Vivek plan for The Department of Government...
Quantum Frontiers
The power of awe
Mid-afternoon, one Saturday late in September, I forgot where I was. I forgot that I was visiting...
a year ago
Mid-afternoon, one Saturday late in September, I forgot where I was. I forgot that I was visiting Seattle for the second time; I forgot that I’d just finished co-organizing a workshop partially about nuclear physics for the first time. I’d … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Uncover a New Way to Count Prime Numbers
To make progress on one of number theory’s most elementary questions, two mathematicians turned to...
a week ago
To make progress on one of number theory’s most elementary questions, two mathematicians turned to an unlikely source.
The post Mathematicians Uncover a New Way to Count Prime Numbers first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Adornment
"Form follows function" is a maxim that an object's shape and appearance should be defined only by...
3 months ago
"Form follows function" is a maxim that an object's shape and appearance should be defined only by its purpose or function. A quick perusal of any antique shop will show that this maxim is generally ignored. Humans (Homo sapiens) have been called "naked apes," but we and our...
Quanta Magazine
Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity
As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells...
a year ago
As researchers race to cultivate more of the intriguing cells from the deep seafloor, the few cells now growing in labs are giving us our best glimpses of the forerunners of all complex life.
The post Primitive Asgard Cells Show Life on the Brink of Complexity first...
Probably...
Migration and Population Growth
On a recent run I was talking with a friend from Spain about immigration in Europe. We speculated...
6 months ago
On a recent run I was talking with a friend from Spain about immigration in Europe. We speculated about whether the population of Spain would be growing or shrinking if there were no international migration. I thought it might be shrinking, but we were not sure. Fortunately, Our...
symmetry magazine
Vera C. Rubin Observatory brings the universe to everyone
The Rubin Observatory is making education and outreach a top priority.
a year ago
The Rubin Observatory is making education and outreach a top priority.
NeuroLogica Blog
3D Printed Rocket Launches
This is one of those technology news stories where the implications of the technology is greater...
a year ago
This is one of those technology news stories where the implications of the technology is greater than the thing itself. Relativity Space, a rocket company based in California, launched their first Terran-1 rocket. The launch ultimately failed when the second stage failed to...
NeuroLogica Blog
Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Ready for Testing
It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed...
a year ago
It was six years ago that I first wrote about NASA’s X-59 QueSST project, contracted to Lockheed Martin. Now the plane has finally been built and is ready for testing. At the time it was reported that NASA “had a design” for a quiet supersonic jet, one that would not create a...
Sean Carroll
Energy Conservation and Non-Conservation in Quantum Mechanics
Conservation of energy is a somewhat sacred principle in physics, though it can be tricky in certain...
over a year ago
Conservation of energy is a somewhat sacred principle in physics, though it can be tricky in certain circumstances, such as an expanding universe. Quantum mechanics is another context in which energy conservation is a subtle thing — so much so that it’s still worth writing papers...
Quanta Magazine
How a NASA Probe Solved a Scorching Solar Mystery
The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface....
7 months ago
The outer layers of the sun’s atmosphere are a blistering million degrees hotter than its surface. The hidden culprit? Magnetic activity.
The post How a NASA Probe Solved a Scorching Solar Mystery first appeared on Quanta Magazine
wadertales
Conservation beyond boundaries
When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be...
a year ago
When an environmental impact assessment concludes that only a small number of shorebirds will be affected by a new airport, because relatively small flocks are counted during field surveys, is there an assumption that the birds encountered are always the same individuals? What if...
Andrew Fraknoi –...
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...
2 months ago
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...
Quanta Magazine
An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated
The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that...
a year ago
The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that it has been disproved, the universe of shapes has exploded.
The post An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
The Beer Can
Connecting old and new.
a year ago
NeuroLogica Blog
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...
a year ago
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...
Quantum Frontiers
Caltech’s Ginsburg Center
Editor’s Note: On 10 August 2023, Caltech celebrated the groundbreaking for the Dr. Allen and...
a year ago
Editor’s Note: On 10 August 2023, Caltech celebrated the groundbreaking for the Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Center for Quantum Precision Measurement, which will open in 2025. At a lunch following the ceremony, John Preskill made these remarks. Hello everyone. … Continue...
Quanta Magazine
With ‘Digital Twins,’ The Doctor Will See You Now
By creating digital twins of patients, Amanda Randles wants to bring unprecedented precision to...
4 months ago
By creating digital twins of patients, Amanda Randles wants to bring unprecedented precision to medical forecasts.
The post With ‘Digital Twins,’ The Doctor Will See You Now first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
The need for energy-efficient computing
Computing is consuming a large and ever-growing
fraction of the world's energy capacity.
I've seen...
over a year ago
Computing is consuming a large and ever-growing
fraction of the world's energy capacity.
I've seen the essential data in this figure several times over the last few months, and it has convinced me that the need for energy-efficient computing hardware is genuinely pressing. This...
Quanta Magazine
To Defend the Genome, These Cells Destroy Their Own DNA
Under a microscope, cells in a worm embryo deliberately eliminated one-third of their genome — an...
a year ago
Under a microscope, cells in a worm embryo deliberately eliminated one-third of their genome — an uncompromising tactic that may combat harmful genetic parasites.
The post To Defend the Genome, These Cells Destroy Their Own DNA first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Chris Grossack's...
A truly incredible fact about the number 37
So I was on math stackexchange the other day, and I saw a cute post
looking for a book which lists,...
a year ago
So I was on math stackexchange the other day, and I saw a cute post
looking for a book which lists, for many many integers, facts that Ramanujan
could have told Hardy if he’d taken a cab other than 1729. A few days ago
OP answered their own question, saying that the book in...
The Works in...
How to start an advance market commitment
A practical guide from the founders of Frontier
6 months ago
A practical guide from the founders of Frontier
Quanta Magazine
How Do Machines ‘Grok’ Data?
By apparently overtraining them, researchers have seen neural networks discover novel solutions to...
8 months ago
By apparently overtraining them, researchers have seen neural networks discover novel solutions to problems.
The post How Do Machines ‘Grok’ Data? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Celebrating Dark Matter Day in Latin America
Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial...
a year ago
Scientists, artists, communicators and physics fans find creative ways to mark the unofficial holiday devoted to dark matter.
Quanta Magazine
Hopes of Big Bang Discoveries Ride on a Future Spacecraft
Physicists and cosmologists will have a new probe of primordial processes when Europe launches the...
8 months ago
Physicists and cosmologists will have a new probe of primordial processes when Europe launches the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) next decade.
The post Hopes of Big Bang Discoveries Ride on a Future Spacecraft first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
The Last Egg
Five more months until freshies...
a year ago
Five more months until freshies...
Quanta Magazine
Exotic New Superconductors Delight and Confound
Three new species of superconductivity were spotted this year, illustrating the myriad ways...
2 weeks ago
Three new species of superconductivity were spotted this year, illustrating the myriad ways electrons can join together to form a frictionless quantum soup.
The post Exotic New Superconductors Delight and Confound first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but...
a year ago
Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.
The post Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
Marsh Birding In Ceibas And Otamendi
February 18, 2023
Laura and I left Parque Nacional El Palmar and continued south towards Buenos...
a year ago
February 18, 2023
Laura and I left Parque Nacional El Palmar and continued south towards Buenos Aires and beyond. We had just five days remaining in our Argentina trip, with ferry tickets purchased that would take us to Uruguay on February 23. At this point in the trip, potential...
NeuroLogica Blog
Robots and a Sense of Self
Humans (assuming you all experience roughly what I experience, which is a reasonable assumption)...
a month ago
Humans (assuming you all experience roughly what I experience, which is a reasonable assumption) have a sense of self. This sense has several components – we feel as if we occupy our physical bodies, that our bodies are distinct entities separate from the rest of the universe,...
Bartosz Ciechanowski
Bicycle
There is something delightful about riding a bicycle. Once mastered, the simple action of pedaling...
a year ago
There is something delightful about riding a bicycle. Once mastered, the simple action of pedaling to move forward and turning the handlebars to steer makes bike riding an effortless activity. In the demonstration below, you can guide the rider with the slider, and you can also...
Cremieux Recueil
Food Deserts Are Not Real
They're more like bad habit neighborhoods
3 months ago
They're more like bad habit neighborhoods
IEEE Spectrum
Why Are We Still Doing What Simon Says?
In 1976, Ralph Baer and Howard Morrison, two game designers, happened to see a trade show...
a year ago
In 1976, Ralph Baer and Howard Morrison, two game designers, happened to see a trade show demonstration of an Atari arcade game called Touch Me. The game’s waist-high cabinet featured four large buttons on the top, which lit up in random sequence; the player had to push the...
Casey Handmer's blog
It Is Time To Build The Monster Scope
A shorter version of this post was published in Palladium on 10/18/24. This version incorporates...
3 weeks ago
A shorter version of this post was published in Palladium on 10/18/24. This version incorporates helpful feedback from a number of knowledgeable readers. With the recent SpaceX Starship orbital flight tests, it is time to commit to building the largest physically possible space...
nanoscale views
A busy and contentious week in condensed matter physics
There were a couple of interesting and controversial things afoot this week in the condensed matter...
a year ago
There were a couple of interesting and controversial things afoot this week in the condensed matter world.
There was a new preprint from the group of Prof. Hemley at the University of Illinois Chicago featuring electronic transport measurements in samples of the putative room...
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Discover ‘Unobservable’ Phase Transition in Quantum Entanglement
Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists are...
a year ago
Measurement and entanglement both have a “spooky” nonlocal flavor to them. Now physicists are harnessing that nonlocality to probe the spread of quantum information and control it.
The post Physicists Discover ‘Unobservable’ Phase Transition in Quantum Entanglement...
NeuroLogica Blog
Using Plants as Biofactories
When you think about it, plants are self-reproducing solar-powered biological factories. They are...
a year ago
When you think about it, plants are self-reproducing solar-powered biological factories. They are powered by the sun, extract raw material from the air and soil, and make all sorts of useful molecules. Mostly we use them to make edible molecules (food), but also to make textiles,...
Quanta Magazine
How Colorful Ribbon Diagrams Became the Face of Proteins
Proteins are often visualized as cascades of curled ribbons and twisted strings, which both reveal...
4 months ago
Proteins are often visualized as cascades of curled ribbons and twisted strings, which both reveal and conceal the mess of atoms that make up these impossibly complex molecules.
The post How Colorful Ribbon Diagrams Became the Face of Proteins first appeared on Quanta...
Asterisk
PEPFAR and the Costs of Cost-Benefit Analysis
In the early aughts, economists said it was a bad use of money to send antiretroviral drugs to treat...
10 months ago
In the early aughts, economists said it was a bad use of money to send antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV in low-income countries. Twenty years later, we can ask why they got it wrong.
Probably...
Political Alignment, Affiliation, and Attitudes
Is there a growing gender gap in the U.S? Alignment A recent article in the Financial Times suggests...
10 months ago
Is there a growing gender gap in the U.S? Alignment A recent article in the Financial Times suggests that among young people there is a growing gender gap in political alignment on a spectrum from liberal to conservative. In last week’s post, I tried to replicate this result...
Sean Carroll
New Course: The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics
In past years I’ve done several courses for The Great Courses/Wondrium (formerly The Teaching...
a year ago
In past years I’ve done several courses for The Great Courses/Wondrium (formerly The Teaching Company): Dark Matter and Dark Energy, Mysteries of Modern Physics:Time, and The Higgs Boson and Beyond. Now I’m happy to announce a new one, The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics....
IEEE Spectrum
Fakes: Not an Internet Thing, a Human Thing
Every day, as the Internet becomes more indispensable to modern life, the drawbacks of deep...
a year ago
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...
Quanta Magazine
Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory
A new magnum opus posits the existence of a hidden mathematical link akin to the connection between...
a year ago
A new magnum opus posits the existence of a hidden mathematical link akin to the connection between electricity and magnetism.
The post Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
How a DNA ‘Parasite’ May Have Fragmented Our Genes
A novel type of “jumping gene” may explain why the genomes of complex cells aren’t all equally...
a year ago
A novel type of “jumping gene” may explain why the genomes of complex cells aren’t all equally stuffed with noncoding sequences.
The post How a DNA ‘Parasite’ May Have Fragmented Our Genes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
Snowdrifts
4 days of blown snow into a doorway.
a year ago
4 days of blown snow into a doorway.
The Works in...
Notes on Progress: Doing science backwards
Preregistering research as a cure for scientific bias
over a year ago
Preregistering research as a cure for scientific bias
Quanta Magazine
Computer Scientists Invent an Efficient New Way to Count
By making use of randomness, a team has created a simple algorithm for estimating large numbers of...
7 months ago
By making use of randomness, a team has created a simple algorithm for estimating large numbers of distinct objects in a stream of data.
The post Computer Scientists Invent an Efficient New Way to Count first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Explorations of an...
Borneo, October 2022
Borneo, the third largest island in the world behind Greenland and New Guinea, is home to some of...
a year ago
Borneo, the third largest island in the world behind Greenland and New Guinea, is home to some of the planet’s oldest rainforests, containing a stunning array of biodiversity. The conditions in Borneo forests have stimulated the evolution of many different organisms that are...
Probably...
What are the odds?
Whenever something unlikely happens, it is tempting to ask, “What are the odds?” In some very...
a year ago
Whenever something unlikely happens, it is tempting to ask, “What are the odds?” In some very limited cases, we can answer that question. For example, if someone deals you five cards from a well-shuffled deck, and you want to know the odds of getting a royal flush, we can answer...
Asterisk
The Misery Bomb
Children across the Western world are getting less happy. If we can’t find a way to reverse the...
5 months ago
Children across the Western world are getting less happy. If we can’t find a way to reverse the trend, it might have an outsized impact on their future.
The Works in...
Links in Progress: All the single people
And how China will lose 51 million people in 10 years
5 days ago
And how China will lose 51 million people in 10 years
Asterisk
How We Can Regulate AI
The chips used to train the most advanced AIs are scarce, expensive, and trackable — giving...
a year ago
The chips used to train the most advanced AIs are scarce, expensive, and trackable — giving regulators a path forward.
ToughSF
Nuclear Reactor Lasers: from Fission to Photon
Nuclear reactor lasers are devices that can generate lasers from nuclear energy with little to no...
over a year ago
Nuclear reactor lasers are devices that can generate lasers from nuclear energy with little to no intermediate conversion steps.
We work out just how effective they can be, and how they stack up against conventional electrically-powered lasers. You might want to re-think your...
Quanta Magazine
The Best Neighborhoods for Starting a Life in the Galaxy
Some neighborhoods in the Milky Way may be better suited for making habitable planets than others. ...
11 months ago
Some neighborhoods in the Milky Way may be better suited for making habitable planets than others.
The post The Best Neighborhoods for Starting a Life in the Galaxy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Beautiful Public...
The Style Guide for America’s Highways: The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Driving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and...
a year ago
Driving across America, you will encounter a wide variety of cultures, landscapes, people and animals. But the one consistent thing that will stay the same from Maine to California are the signs you pass on the highway. That is because America’s roads and highways have a big, fat...
Asterisk
A Chinese Internet Phrasebook
The latest slang on Weibo reveals a world of cynicism, ennui — and concrete pasta.
a month ago
The latest slang on Weibo reveals a world of cynicism, ennui — and concrete pasta.
NeuroLogica Blog
SpaceX Tests Super Heavy Booster
Last Thursday SpaceX successfully conducted the most significant test firing of its Heavy Booster...
a year ago
Last Thursday SpaceX successfully conducted the most significant test firing of its Heavy Booster rocket to date. The rocket sports 33 Raptor 2 engines. During the test, 31 of them fired. One engine failed, and one was shut down. According to SpaceX, even with 31 engines the...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Exoplanet Radius Gap
As of this writing, there are 5,573 confirmed exoplanets in 4,146 planetary systems. That is enough...
10 months ago
As of this writing, there are 5,573 confirmed exoplanets in 4,146 planetary systems. That is enough exoplanets, planets around stars other than our own sun, that we can do some statistics to describe what’s out there. One curious pattern that has emerged is a relative gap in the...
Quanta Magazine
Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time
The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of...
3 months ago
The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of simple-seeming but counterintuitive probability puzzles.
The post Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Drew Ex Machina
Webb’s First Glimpse of Jupiter, Its Moons & Rings
A long time ago when I was a budding amateur astronomer, one of the first targets I would observe...
over a year ago
A long time ago when I was a budding amateur astronomer, one of the first targets I would observe each evening with my new telescope was […]
NeuroLogica Blog
A Circular CO2 Economy
Big picture time – as I have discussed before, we have just passed 8 billion people on this planet...
a year ago
Big picture time – as I have discussed before, we have just passed 8 billion people on this planet and will likely top 10 billion before populations stabilize (which is quite possible, but that’s another story). What this means is that anything we collectively do is big. It...
nanoscale views
Molecular electronics in 2023
This past week I was fortunate to attend this meeting, the most recent in an every-few-years series...
a year ago
This past week I was fortunate to attend this meeting, the most recent in an every-few-years series that brings together a group of researchers interested in electronic transport in molecular systems. This brings together physicists and chemists, and this was the first one I've...
Quanta Magazine
How Did Altruism Evolve?
If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, where did the impulse to help others come from?...
10 months ago
If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, where did the impulse to help others come from? Host Janna Levin speaks with Stephanie Preston, a neuropsychologist who studies the biology of altruism.
The post How Did Altruism Evolve? first appeared on Quanta...
NeuroLogica Blog
Antarctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low
For decades scientists were confused by Antarctic sea ice. Climate models predict that it should be...
7 months ago
For decades scientists were confused by Antarctic sea ice. Climate models predict that it should be decreasing, and yet it has been steadily and slowly increasing. It also made for a great talking point for climate change deniers – superficially it seems like counter evidence to...
Asterisk
Looking Back at the Future of Humanity Institute
The rise and fall of the influential, embattled Oxford research center that brought us the concept...
a month ago
The rise and fall of the influential, embattled Oxford research center that brought us the concept of existential risk.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
An update about Out-Of-Pocket | Out-Of-Pocket
lemme sell some of your attention plz
a year ago
lemme sell some of your attention plz
Drew Ex Machina
Recollections of NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission
Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This...
5 months ago
Like a lot of kids who grew up during the ‘60s and ‘70s, I had a fascination with spaceflight. This interest started honestly enough back around […]
Blog - Practical...
How Bridge Engineers Design Against Ship Collisions
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On March 26, 2024 (just a few...
7 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On March 26, 2024 (just a few weeks ago, if you're watching this as it comes out), a large container ship struck one of the main support piers of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsing...
Blog - Practical...
Where Does Grounded Electricity Actually Go?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Imagine this scenario: You...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Imagine this scenario: You have a diesel-powered generator on a stand that is electrically isolated from the ground. Run a wire from the energized slot of an outlet to an electrode driven into the ground. Don’t...
Damn Interesting
Lofty Ambitions
One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named...
over a year ago
One summer day in 1933, in a brief pocket of time between the two World Wars, a British man named Maurice Wilson clutched the stick of his tiny, open air biplane and watched his fuel gauge dwindle. He had only learned to fly two months earlier, but inexperience was not his...
Quanta Magazine
It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone...
a month ago
A new experimental proposal suggests detecting a particle of gravity is far easier than anyone imagined. Now physicists are debating what it would really prove.
The post It Might Be Possible to Detect Gravitons After All first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The AI Tools Making Images Look Better
Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in...
a year ago
Researchers have discovered ways around a fundamental trade-off between accuracy and beauty in digital images.
The post The AI Tools Making Images Look Better first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Roots of...
Making every researcher seek grants is a broken model
When Galileo wanted to study the heavens through his telescope, he got money from those legendary...
11 months ago
When Galileo wanted to study the heavens through his telescope, he got money from those legendary patrons of the Renaissance, the Medici. To win their favor, when he discovered the moons of Jupiter, he named them the Medicean Stars. Other scientists and inventors offered flashy...
Blog - Practical...
Which Power Plant Does My Electricity Come From?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2000, the power...
a month ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In June of 2000, the power shut off across much of the San Francisco Bay area. There simply wasn’t enough electricity to meet demands, so more than a million customers were disconnected in California's largest...
NeuroLogica Blog
Another UFO Whistleblower
How seriously should we take the claims of David Grusch? He is an airforce veteran and former member...
a year ago
How seriously should we take the claims of David Grusch? He is an airforce veteran and former member of the UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) task force, which is enough to at least hear him out. He gave an exclusive interview to journalist Ross Coulthart from NewsNation, part...
Quanta Magazine
How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles
In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler...
3 months ago
In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music.
The post How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles first appeared on...
Quanta Magazine
Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture
In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound...
5 months ago
In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound mathematical vision called the Langlands program.
The post Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
Taking the Measure of the Earthquake That Destroyed Tokyo
At 11:58 am on Saturday, 1 September 1923, the Kanto region of Japan started to shake. The...
a year ago
At 11:58 am on Saturday, 1 September 1923, the Kanto region of Japan started to shake. The earthquake began with a violent horizontal back-and-forth motion, followed by two vertical jolts, and then another horizontal shock even stronger than the first. The intensity of the tremor...
Quanta Magazine
Andreas Wagner Pursues the Secrets to Evolutionary Success
Why did mammals, grasses and some other groups of organisms explode in diversity only after millions...
a year ago
Why did mammals, grasses and some other groups of organisms explode in diversity only after millions of years? The evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner plumbs the secrets of those “sleeping beauties.”
The post Andreas Wagner Pursues the Secrets to Evolutionary...
Tikalon Blog by Dev...
Tikalon Blog Archive
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved...
3 months ago
Tikalon Blog is now in archive mode. Here's a directory of links to easily printed and saved articles. If you're willing to wait a while for the download, a zip file of all the blog articles can be found at the link below. Note, however, that these articles are copyrighted and...
Casey Handmer's blog
We can Terraform the American West
Why is there almost nothing on the left hand side of the USA? Water scarcity! We’re missing 300...
a month ago
Why is there almost nothing on the left hand side of the USA? Water scarcity! We’re missing 300 million Americans. We’re missing 30 global cities west of 100 degrees longitude. We should do something about it! The western US is a parched opportunity to create millions of acres...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Personalized Health Insurance and the Payer Stack | Out-Of-Pocket
Stacks on stacks on stacks
a year ago
Stacks on stacks on stacks
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
IEEE Spectrum
How Engineers at Digital Equipment Corp. Saved Ethernet
I’ve enjoyed reading magazine articles about Ethernet’s 50th anniversary, including one in the The...
8 months ago
I’ve enjoyed reading magazine articles about Ethernet’s 50th anniversary, including one in the The Institute. Invented by computer scientists Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs, Ethernet has been extraordinarily impactful. Metcalfe, an IEEE Fellow, received the 1996 IEEE Medal of...
Bartosz Ciechanowski
Sound
Invisible and relentless, sound is seemingly just there, traveling through our surroundings to carry...
over a year ago
Invisible and relentless, sound is seemingly just there, traveling through our surroundings to carry beautiful music or annoying noises. In this article I’ll explain what sound is, how it’s created and propagated.
Throughout this presentation you will be hearing different sounds,...
NeuroLogica Blog
Some Climate Change Trends and Thoughts
Climate change is a challenging issue on multiple levels – it’s challenging for scientists to...
2 weeks ago
Climate change is a challenging issue on multiple levels – it’s challenging for scientists to understand all of the complexities of a changing climate, it’s difficult to know how to optimally communicate to the public about climate change, and of course we face an enormous...
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