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Spherical cows are important because they let us abstract away all the complications of the real world and think about underlying principles. But what about when the complications are the point? Then we enter the realm of complex systems — which, interestingly, has its own spherical cows. One such is the idea of a “critical” … The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 23. Criticality and Complexity Read More » Related Posts: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 16. Gravity The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 5. Time The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 8. Entanglement
over a year ago

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More from Sean Carroll

George B. Field, 1929-2024

George Field, brilliant theoretical astrophysicist and truly great human being, passed away on the morning of July 31. He was my Ph.D. thesis advisor and one of my favorite people in the world. I often tell my own students that the two most important people in your life who you will (consensually) choose are your […]

7 months ago 61 votes
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 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. This is a series of 24 half-hour lectures, given by … New Course: The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics Read More » Related Posts: New Course: The Higgs Boson and Beyond Mysteries of Time: New Teaching Company Course Prof in a Box

a year ago 13 votes
Thanksgiving

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 symmetry, Landauer’s Principle, the Fourier Transform, Riemannian Geometry, the speed of light, the Jarzynski equality, the moons of Jupiter, space, black hole entropy, electromagnetism, and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem.) Of course quantum mechanics … Thanksgiving Read More » Related Posts: Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

a year ago 31 votes
Proposed Closure of the Dianoia Institute at Australian Catholic University

Just a few years ago, Australian Catholic University (ACU) established a new Dianoia Institute of Philosophy. They recruited a number of researchers and made something of a splash, leading to a noticeable leap in ACU’s rankings in philosophy — all the way to second among Catholic universities in the English-speaking world, behind only Notre Dame. … Proposed Closure of the Dianoia Institute at Australian Catholic University Read More » Related Posts: Full disclosure Summer Institute in Philosophy of Cosmology, Santa Cruz The Cosmologist vs. The Cardinal

a year ago 40 votes
Thanksgiving

This year we give thanks for Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem. (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 symmetry, Landauer’s Principle, the Fourier Transform, Riemannian Geometry, the speed of light, the Jarzynski equality, the moons of Jupiter, space, black hole … Thanksgiving Read More » Related Posts: Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

over a year ago 34 votes

More in science

The Debate: Should Medical Aid in Death Be Legal? | Out-Of-Pocket

Oh boy, I’m nervous to wade into this conversation

17 hours ago 3 votes
New Conversations, Deep Questions, Bold Ideas in Season Four of ‘The Joy of Why’

Steven Strogatz and Janna Levin return for a new season on major scientific and mathematical questions of our time, with 12 all-new episodes and a new format. The post New Conversations, Deep Questions, Bold Ideas in Season Four of ‘The Joy of Why’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine

13 hours ago 1 votes
Issue 18: Urbanism with Chinese characteristics

Plus: Reducing the motherhood penalty by extending fertility, the steam networks of New York City, and the rise and fall of the Hanseatic league.

14 hours ago 1 votes
Hybrid Bionic Hand

If you think about the human hand as a work of engineering, it is absolutely incredible. The level of fine motor control is extreme. It is responsive and precise. It has robust sensory feedback. It combines both rigid and soft components, so that it is able to grip and lift heavy objects and also cradle […] The post Hybrid Bionic Hand first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.

16 hours ago 1 votes
How To Get Cheap Ozempic

Or other, more effective GLP-1 drugs

2 days ago 4 votes