symmetry magazine
The theoretical work of preparing for DUNE
To evaluate the data produced by the DUNE experiment, phenomenologists must make precise predictions...
over a year from now
To evaluate the data produced by the DUNE experiment, phenomenologists must make precise predictions for what they expect that data to look like.
symmetry magazine
From life experience to research experience
A former retail worker finds the confidence to pursue a career in STEM thanks to an internship...
over a year from now
A former retail worker finds the confidence to pursue a career in STEM thanks to an internship program designed for students at small colleges.
Probably...
Think Stats 3rd Edition
I am excited to announce that I have started work on a third edition of Think Stats, to be published...
4 weeks ago
I am excited to announce that I have started work on a third edition of Think Stats, to be published by O’Reilly Media in 2025. At this point the content is mostly settled, and I am revising chapters to get them ready for technical review. If you want to start reading now, the...
symmetry magazine
LHC physicists can’t save them all
As upgrades enable the LHC to produce more and more particle collisions, physicists are using...
over a year from now
As upgrades enable the LHC to produce more and more particle collisions, physicists are using machine learning to keep up with the growing task of sorting through everything.
symmetry magazine
From the LHC to the search for exoplanets
A scientist tried using machine-learning techniques from particle physics to analyze data from...
over a year from now
A scientist tried using machine-learning techniques from particle physics to analyze data from astronomy—and in the process discovered a new exoplanet.
symmetry magazine
A collaborative ecosystem
Physicists work with computer scientists in academia and industry to advance machine learning.
over a year from now
Physicists work with computer scientists in academia and industry to advance machine learning.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
What does longevity medicine actually mean? | Out-Of-Pocket
An interview with a practicing longevity medicine doctor
3 weeks ago
An interview with a practicing longevity medicine doctor
symmetry magazine
Scientists design program for the future of US particle physics research
In the culmination of a US community planning process that began in late 2020, the High Energy...
over a year from now
In the culmination of a US community planning process that began in late 2020, the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel has approved the recommendations of the P5 Report.
symmetry magazine
Preventing magnet meltdowns before they can start
Berkeley Lab researchers are developing an approach to avoid sudden, potentially destructive energy...
over a year from now
Berkeley Lab researchers are developing an approach to avoid sudden, potentially destructive energy releases in a new generation of superconducting magnets.
NeuroLogica Blog
Electronic Noses
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything...
4 weeks ago
I am always sniffing around (pun intended) for new and interesting technology, especially anything that I think is currently flying under the radar of public awareness but has the potential to transform our world in some way. I think electronic nose technology fits into this...
symmetry magazine
Excavation of colossal caverns for Fermilab’s DUNE experiment completed
The excavation of the caverns that will house the gigantic particle detectors of the Deep...
over a year from now
The excavation of the caverns that will house the gigantic particle detectors of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in Lead, South Dakota, is complete.
symmetry magazine
LIGO comes to India
In India, scientists are building a new LIGO detector, enhancing the capabilities of the observatory...
over a year from now
In India, scientists are building a new LIGO detector, enhancing the capabilities of the observatory that reported the first observation of gravitational waves.
symmetry magazine
First results from DESI make the most precise measurement of our expanding universe
With just its first year of data, DESI has surpassed all previous 3D spectroscopic maps combined and...
over a year from now
With just its first year of data, DESI has surpassed all previous 3D spectroscopic maps combined and confirmed the basics of our best model of the universe.
symmetry magazine
Machine learning and experiment
For more than 20 years in experimental particle physics and astrophysics, machine learning has been...
over a year from now
For more than 20 years in experimental particle physics and astrophysics, machine learning has been accelerating the pace of science, helping scientists tackle problems of greater and greater complexity.
symmetry magazine
Final supernova results from Dark Energy Survey offer unique insights
into the expansion of the...
In the culmination of a decade’s worth of effort, the DES collaboration of scientists analyzed an...
over a year from now
In the culmination of a decade’s worth of effort, the DES collaboration of scientists analyzed an unprecedented sample of more than 1,500 supernovae classified using machine learning.
symmetry magazine
What’s so hard about measuring the strong force?
The ATLAS collaboration recently measured the strength of the strong force to a record level of...
over a year from now
The ATLAS collaboration recently measured the strength of the strong force to a record level of precision, but there’s still long way to go toward understanding this fundamental force.
symmetry magazine
A trio of paths toward the discovery machine of the future
An advisory committee recommends the US work to advance three key areas of emerging accelerator...
over a year from now
An advisory committee recommends the US work to advance three key areas of emerging accelerator technology.
symmetry magazine
A physicists’ guide to the ethics of artificial intelligence
Physics may seem like its own world, but different sectors using machine learning are all part of...
over a year from now
Physics may seem like its own world, but different sectors using machine learning are all part of the same universe.
symmetry magazine
A day in the life of a mountaintop telescope builder
Margaux Lopez is one of a team of engineers preparing the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile for the...
over a year from now
Margaux Lopez is one of a team of engineers preparing the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile for the arrival of the largest digital camera ever built for astrophysics and cosmology.
symmetry magazine
PIP-II team transports first cryomodule between UK and Fermilab
The United Kingdom will eventually contribute three assembled cryomodules—known as HB650 for the...
over a year from now
The United Kingdom will eventually contribute three assembled cryomodules—known as HB650 for the radio frequency they use to operate—to Fermilab’s new particle accelerator.
symmetry magazine
LSST Camera arrives at Rubin Observatory in Chile
The largest camera ever built for astrophysics has completed the long journey from SLAC National...
over a year from now
The largest camera ever built for astrophysics has completed the long journey from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California to the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile.
IEEE Spectrum
This Engineer Became a Star in Technology Publishing
Donald Christiansen, who transformed IEEE Spectrum from a promising but erratic technology magazine...
4 weeks ago
Donald Christiansen, who transformed IEEE Spectrum from a promising but erratic technology magazine into a repeat National Magazine Award winner, died on 2 October 2024, at the age of 97, in Huntington, N.Y.
served aboard the aircraft carrier San Jacinto, an experience that led...
symmetry magazine
Bringing eclipsed women of astronomy and physics into the light
In , physicist Shohini Ghose elucidates the stories of women scientists who contributed to and led...
over a year from now
In , physicist Shohini Ghose elucidates the stories of women scientists who contributed to and led some of the biggest breakthroughs in astronomy and physics.Her Space, Her Time
symmetry magazine
Scientists measure entanglement at the LHC
Scientists on the ATLAS collaboration performed the highest-energy measurement of quantum...
over a year from now
Scientists on the ATLAS collaboration performed the highest-energy measurement of quantum entanglement.
symmetry magazine
The physicist gamer
Raphael Granier De Cassagnac recently put his scientific skills to use creating a physics-themed...
over a year from now
Raphael Granier De Cassagnac recently put his scientific skills to use creating a physics-themed video game.
symmetry magazine
Can we fit the universe in a box?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a computer answer all of the biggest questions in the universe?
over a year from now
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a computer answer all of the biggest questions in the universe?
symmetry magazine
Tomorrow’s physics test: machine learning
Machine learning is becoming an essential part of a physicist’s toolkit. How should new students...
over a year from now
Machine learning is becoming an essential part of a physicist’s toolkit. How should new students learn to use it?
symmetry magazine
Symmetry’s guide to AI in particle physics and astrophysics
In the coming weeks, will explore the ways scientists are using artificial intelligence to advance...
over a year from now
In the coming weeks, will explore the ways scientists are using artificial intelligence to advance particle physics and astrophysics—in a series of articles written and illustrated entirely by humans.Symmetry
symmetry magazine
Physics vocabulary: AI edition
Don’t know your convolutional neural networks from your boosted decision trees? is here to...
over a year from now
Don’t know your convolutional neural networks from your boosted decision trees? is here to help.Symmetry
Quanta Magazine
How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec?
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists...
4 weeks ago
The giant holes in galaxies’ centers shouldn’t be able to merge, yet merge they do. Scientists suggest that an unusual form of dark matter may be the solution.
The post How Do Merging Supermassive Black Holes Pass the Final Parsec? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
John Bahcall: Godfather of solar neutrinos
Bahcall’s scientific legacy is visible across the field of astrophysics
over a year from now
Bahcall’s scientific legacy is visible across the field of astrophysics
symmetry magazine
Scaling up the dark matter search
Physicists are preparing for the next generation of dark-matter experiments.
over a year from now
Physicists are preparing for the next generation of dark-matter experiments.
Quantum Frontiers
Sculpting quantum steampunk
In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and...
3 weeks ago
In 2020, many of us logged experiences that we’d never anticipated. I wrote a nonfiction book and got married outside the Harvard Faculty Club (because nobody was around to shoo us away). Equally unexpectedly, I received an invitation to collaborate … Continue reading →
IEEE Spectrum
The Unlikely Inventor of the Automatic Rice Cooker
How the automatic rice cooker was invented
It isn’t often that housewives get credit in the annals...
3 weeks ago
How the automatic rice cooker was invented
It isn’t often that housewives get credit in the annals of invention, but in the story of the automatic rice cooker, a woman takes center stage. That happened only after the first attempts at electrifying rice cooking, starting in the...
NeuroLogica Blog
AC vs DC and other Power Questions
I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9...
2 weeks ago
I was away last week, first at CSICON and then at a conference in Dubai. I was invited to give a 9 hour seminar on scientific skepticism for the Dubai Future Foundation. That sounds like a lot of time, but it isn’t. It was a good reminder of the vast body of knowledge that is...
symmetry magazine
The boson that physics almost rejected
Nobel Laureate Peter Higgs died earlier this year. Twelve years ago this week, physicists discovered...
over a year from now
Nobel Laureate Peter Higgs died earlier this year. Twelve years ago this week, physicists discovered the particle that bears his name.
Blog - Practical...
Why Are Cooling Towers Shaped Like That?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is not smoke. And this...
2 weeks ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is not smoke. And this isn’t a smoke stack (at least not the kind we normally think of). It serves a totally different purpose at a power plant than smoke stacks whose job is moving combustion products...
Quanta Magazine
He’s Gleaning the Design Rules of Life to Re-Create It
Yizhi “Patrick” Cai is coordinating a global effort to write a complete synthetic yeast genome. If...
2 weeks ago
Yizhi “Patrick” Cai is coordinating a global effort to write a complete synthetic yeast genome. If he succeeds, the resulting cell will be the artificial life most closely related to humans to date.
The post He’s Gleaning the Design Rules of Life to Re-Create It first...
nanoscale views
Recent papers to distract....
Time for blogging has continued to be scarce, but here are a few papers to distract (and for readers...
2 weeks ago
Time for blogging has continued to be scarce, but here are a few papers to distract (and for readers who are US citizens: vote if you have not already done so!).
Reaching back, this preprint by Aharonov, Collins, Popescu talks about a thought experiment in which angular...
IEEE Spectrum
Why the Art of Invention Is Always Being Reinvented
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might...
2 weeks ago
Every invention begins with a problem—and the creative act of seeing a problem where others might just see unchangeable reality. For one 5-year-old, the problem was simple: She liked to have her tummy rubbed as she fell asleep. But her mom, exhausted from working two jobs, often...
Quanta Magazine
Meet the Eukaryote, the First Cell to Get Organized
All modern multicellular life — all life that any of us regularly see — is made of cells with a...
3 weeks ago
All modern multicellular life — all life that any of us regularly see — is made of cells with a knack for compartmentalization. Recent discoveries are revealing how the first eukaryote got its start.
The post Meet the Eukaryote, the First Cell to Get Organized first...
Quanta Magazine
Computer Scientists Establish the Best Way to Traverse a Graph
Dijkstra’s algorithm was long thought to be the most efficient way to find a graph’s best routes....
3 weeks ago
Dijkstra’s algorithm was long thought to be the most efficient way to find a graph’s best routes. Researchers have now proved that it’s “universally optimal.”
The post Computer Scientists Establish the Best Way to Traverse a Graph first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
CMS scientists expand search for new particles at the Large Hadron Collider
CMS scientists are analyzing the first dataset gathered through a new tool designed to search for...
over a year from now
CMS scientists are analyzing the first dataset gathered through a new tool designed to search for long-lived particles.
symmetry magazine
SLAC completes construction of the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy
Once set in place atop a telescope in Chile, the 3,200-megapixel LSST Camera will help researchers...
over a year from now
Once set in place atop a telescope in Chile, the 3,200-megapixel LSST Camera will help researchers better understand dark matter, dark energy and other mysteries of our universe.
symmetry magazine
‘This is our Muon Shot’
The US physics community dreams of building a muon collider.
over a year from now
The US physics community dreams of building a muon collider.
symmetry magazine
Machine learning and theory
Theoretical physicists use machine-learning algorithms to speed up difficult calculations and...
over a year from now
Theoretical physicists use machine-learning algorithms to speed up difficult calculations and eliminate untenable theories—but could they transform what it means to make discoveries?
symmetry magazine
AI for control rooms
Scientists inside and outside of particle physics and astrophysics are leaning on AI for assistance...
over a year from now
Scientists inside and outside of particle physics and astrophysics are leaning on AI for assistance with complex tasks.
symmetry magazine
The view from Neutrino Day 2024
About 2,200 people took part in hands-on science activities, performances, lectures and exhibits at...
over a year from now
About 2,200 people took part in hands-on science activities, performances, lectures and exhibits at Sanford Underground Research Facility's Neutrino Day celebration this year.
The Works in...
Links in Progress: Expanding the Mediterranean's busiest port
Plus: New tunnels, monorails, canals, small modular reactors, and horseless carriages
2 weeks ago
Plus: New tunnels, monorails, canals, small modular reactors, and horseless carriages
nanoscale views
Really doing mechanics at the quantum level
A helpful ad from Science Made Stupid.
Since before the development of micro- and...
4 days ago
A helpful ad from Science Made Stupid.
Since before the development of micro- and nanoelectromechanical techniques, there has been an interest in making actual mechanical widgets that show quantum behavior. There is no reason that we should not be able to make a mechanical...
symmetry magazine
A day in the life of a human-in-the-loop engineer
Wan-Lin Hu’s job is to improve the way people and artificial intelligence collaborate to run SLAC’s...
over a year from now
Wan-Lin Hu’s job is to improve the way people and artificial intelligence collaborate to run SLAC’s complex machines.
Quanta Magazine
How Is AI Changing the Science of Prediction?
With lots of data, a strong model and statistical thinking, scientists can make predictions about...
a week ago
With lots of data, a strong model and statistical thinking, scientists can make predictions about all sorts of complex phenomena. Today, this practice is evolving to harness the power of machine learning and massive datasets. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with...
Probably...
Comparing Distributions
This is the second is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from...
4 days ago
This is the second is a series of excerpts from Elements of Data Science which available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. It’s from Chapter 8, which is about representing distribution using PMFs and CDFs. This section explains why I think CDFs are often better for plotting...
symmetry magazine
What is the electroweak force?
Electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force are two distinct fundamental forces. That wasn’t always...
over a year from now
Electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force are two distinct fundamental forces. That wasn’t always the case.
symmetry magazine
Explain it in 60 Seconds: Lattice QCD
Lattice gauge theory, or lattice QCD, is a calculation method that helps scientists make predictions...
over a year from now
Lattice gauge theory, or lattice QCD, is a calculation method that helps scientists make predictions about the behavior of quarks at low energies.
symmetry magazine
Science fiction inspires a new astrophysics university class
A professor at the University of Tennessee reimagines the way we teach STEM with a science-fiction...
over a year from now
A professor at the University of Tennessee reimagines the way we teach STEM with a science-fiction story-based class.
symmetry magazine
A harsh environment for life, an ideal environment for research
The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel recently recommended, among their top priorities...
over a year from now
The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel recently recommended, among their top priorities for the next decade, moving forward with two experiments based at the South Pole.
symmetry magazine
The adaptable physicist
Edgar Marrufo Villalpando went from Mexico to the United States and from computational physics to...
over a year from now
Edgar Marrufo Villalpando went from Mexico to the United States and from computational physics to astronomical instrumentation to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a physicist.
NeuroLogica Blog
911 Conspiracy Theories Persist
On September 11, 2001, as part of a planned terrorist attack, commercial planes were hijacked and...
a week ago
On September 11, 2001, as part of a planned terrorist attack, commercial planes were hijacked and flown into each of the two towers at the World Trade Center in New York. A third plane was flown into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed after the passengers fought back. This, of...
IEEE Spectrum
The First Virtual Meeting Was in 1916
At 8:30 p.m. on 16 May 1916, John J. Carty banged his gavel at the Engineering Societies Building in...
a week ago
At 8:30 p.m. on 16 May 1916, John J. Carty banged his gavel at the Engineering Societies Building in New York City to call to order a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. This was no ordinary gathering. The AIEE had decided to conduct a live national meeting...
NeuroLogica Blog
The Social Media Dilemma
Australia is planning a total ban on social media for children under 16 years old. Prime Minister...
a week ago
Australia is planning a total ban on social media for children under 16 years old. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argues that it is the only way to protect vulnerable children from the demonstrable harm that social media can do. This has sparked another round of debates about...
Quanta Magazine
Why Is It So Hard to Define a Species?
The idea of a species is fundamental to the way that many people understand the structure of life on...
3 weeks ago
The idea of a species is fundamental to the way that many people understand the structure of life on Earth. But ask 10 specialists how they define the concept and you might get 10 answers. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with evolutionary biologist Kevin de Queiroz...
symmetry magazine
Ears around the world are on The Coldest Case
, a podcast released by the Interactions Collaboration, illuminates the international search for...
over a year from now
, a podcast released by the Interactions Collaboration, illuminates the international search for dark matter through conversations with its inquirers.Particle Mysteries
symmetry magazine
DUNE scientists observe first neutrinos with prototype detector at Fermilab
The prototype of a novel particle detection system for the international Deep Underground Neutrino...
over a year from now
The prototype of a novel particle detection system for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment successfully recorded its first accelerator neutrinos.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Weird health insurance concepts | Out-Of-Pocket
Intercompany eliminations, copay shenanigans, and reference-based pricing
2 weeks ago
Intercompany eliminations, copay shenanigans, and reference-based pricing
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 week 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
Quanta Magazine
Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked
It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong.
The post Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’...
2 weeks ago
It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong.
The post Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
A Discussion about Biological Sex
At CSICON this year I gave talk about topics over which skeptics have and continue to disagree with...
2 weeks ago
At CSICON this year I gave talk about topics over which skeptics have and continue to disagree with each other. My core theme was that these are the topics we absolutely should be discussing with each other, especially at skeptical conferences. Nothing should be taboo or too...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Licensing and Credentialing Nonsense with Assured | Out-Of-Pocket
a week ago
symmetry magazine
LZ experiment sets new record in search for dark matter
New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector put the best-ever limits on...
over a year from now
New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector put the best-ever limits on particles called WIMPs, a leading candidate for what makes up our universe’s invisible mass.
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 week 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
Probably...
Zipf’s Law
Elements of Data Science is in print now, available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. To...
a week ago
Elements of Data Science is in print now, available from Lulu.com and online booksellers. To celebrate, I’ll post some excerpts here, starting with one of my favorite examples, Zipf’s Law. You can read the complete chapter here, or run the Jupyter notebook on Colab. In almost any...
The Works in...
Links in Progress: What are children for?
And how the UN’s birth rate forecasts keep getting it wrong
3 days ago
And how the UN’s birth rate forecasts keep getting it wrong
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...
2 days 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
Managing Plastic Waste
The world produces 350-400 million metric tons of plastic waste. Less than 10% of this waste is...
6 days ago
The world produces 350-400 million metric tons of plastic waste. Less than 10% of this waste is recycled, while 25% is mismanaged or littered. About 1.7 million tons ends up in the ocean. This is not sustainable, but whose responsibility is it to deal with this issue? The debate...
symmetry magazine
Physics beyond the imaginable
The CMS experiment is developing a new type of trigger that looks for anomalies.
over a year from now
The CMS experiment is developing a new type of trigger that looks for anomalies.
symmetry magazine
Explain it in 60 seconds: W boson
Meet the short-lived particle that helps the sun shine.
over a year from now
Meet the short-lived particle that helps the sun shine.
The Works in...
The ultra-selfish gene
Genetically modifying malaria-carrying mosquitoes could allow us to wipe out humanity’s most deadly...
a week ago
Genetically modifying malaria-carrying mosquitoes could allow us to wipe out humanity’s most deadly killer.
NeuroLogica Blog
Robots and a Sense of Self
Humans (assuming you all experience roughly what I experience, which is a reasonable assumption)...
2 days 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,...
symmetry magazine
New results from the CMS experiment put W boson mass mystery to rest
Physicists on the CMS experiment announce the most elaborate mass measurement of a particle that has...
over a year from now
Physicists on the CMS experiment announce the most elaborate mass measurement of a particle that has captivated the physics community for decades.
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Spot Quantum Tornadoes Twirling in a ‘Supersolid’
New observations of microscopic vortices confirm the existence of a paradoxical phase of matter that...
2 weeks ago
New observations of microscopic vortices confirm the existence of a paradoxical phase of matter that may also arise inside neutron stars.
The post Physicists Spot Quantum Tornadoes Twirling in a ‘Supersolid’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Mathematical Thinking Isn’t What You Think It Is
The mathematician David Bessis claims that everyone is capable of, and can benefit greatly from,...
3 days ago
The mathematician David Bessis claims that everyone is capable of, and can benefit greatly from, mathematical thinking.
The post Mathematical Thinking Isn’t What You Think It Is first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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...
18 hours ago
An incredible archive of 14,000 photos of Army uniforms, military gear and rations from the 70s and 80s.
symmetry magazine
Explain it in 60 Seconds: Quantum entanglement
The CMS and ATLAS experiments recently detected quantum entanglement between top quarks in...
over a year from now
The CMS and ATLAS experiments recently detected quantum entanglement between top quarks in high-energy collisions at the LHC. What does that mean?
IEEE Spectrum
Touchscreens Are Out, and Tactile Controls Are Back
Tactile controls are back in vogue. Apple added two new buttons to the iPhone 16, home appliances...
2 weeks ago
Tactile controls are back in vogue. Apple added two new buttons to the iPhone 16, home appliances like stoves and washing machines are returning to knobs, and several car manufacturers are reintroducing buttons and dials to dashboards and steering wheels.
With this...
symmetry magazine
Students become scientists on International Cosmic Day
Every November, students, teachers and scientists worldwide gather virtually to learn about Earth’s...
over a year from now
Every November, students, teachers and scientists worldwide gather virtually to learn about Earth’s cosmic visitors.
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...
3 weeks 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
The Works in...
Where inflation comes from
How we calculate inflation has always been contested with small changes leading to large differences...
a week ago
How we calculate inflation has always been contested with small changes leading to large differences in how well-off we think we are.
symmetry magazine
US physicists prioritize closer study of the Higgs
Physicists in the United States support the development of an off-shore Higgs Factory.
over a year from now
Physicists in the United States support the development of an off-shore Higgs Factory.
Quanta Magazine
How Public Key Cryptography Really Works, Using Only Simple Math
The security system that underlies the internet makes use of a curious fact: You can broadcast part...
6 days ago
The security system that underlies the internet makes use of a curious fact: You can broadcast part of your encryption to make your information much more secure.
The post How Public Key Cryptography Really Works, Using Only Simple Math first appeared on Quanta...
NeuroLogica Blog
Pledge to Triple Nuclear by 2050
It’s interesting that there isn’t much discussion about this in the mainstream media, but the Biden...
3 days ago
It’s interesting that there isn’t much discussion about this in the mainstream media, but the Biden administration recently pledged to triple US nuclear power capacity by 2050. At COP28 last year the US was among 25 signatories who also pledged to triple world nuclear power...
Quanta Magazine
The Cosmos Teems with Complex Organic Molecules
Wherever astronomers look, they see life’s raw materials.
The post The Cosmos Teems with...
a week ago
Wherever astronomers look, they see life’s raw materials.
The post The Cosmos Teems with Complex Organic Molecules first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Probably...
What’s a Chartist?
Recently I heard the word “chartist” for the first time in my life (that I recall). And then later...
2 days ago
Recently I heard the word “chartist” for the first time in my life (that I recall). And then later the same day, I heard it again. So that raises two questions: To answer the second question first, it’s someone who supported chartism, which was “a working-class movement for...
symmetry magazine
A first-person view of physics history
Michael Riordan has spent decades ruminating on the history of physics, including events he...
over a year from now
Michael Riordan has spent decades ruminating on the history of physics, including events he participated in himself.
symmetry magazine
From sea to scientific sea
Take a tour of the 17 national laboratories across the United States.
over a year from now
Take a tour of the 17 national laboratories across the United States.
Explorations of an...
Borneo 2024: Introduction And Pre-Tour Birding
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for...
2 weeks ago
About a month ago, I returned to Sabah in east Malaysia for my fourth tour of duty as a guide for Quest Nature Tours. I've always said that Borneo is one of my favourite tours that I run and even after three previous trips I was looking forward to returning. One of the main...
symmetry magazine
Dark Matter Day Q&A: Olivia Valentino
Student scientist Olivia Valentino shares what it’s like to work on a dark matter detector thousands...
over a year from now
Student scientist Olivia Valentino shares what it’s like to work on a dark matter detector thousands of feet underground.
symmetry magazine
Recognizing Rosemary Fowler
A physicist reflects on learning about a hidden figure whose research helped inspire her own.
over a year from now
A physicist reflects on learning about a hidden figure whose research helped inspire her own.
Quanta Magazine
All Life on Earth Today Descended From a Single Cell. Meet LUCA.
The clearest picture yet of our “last universal common ancestor” suggests it was a relatively...
18 hours ago
The clearest picture yet of our “last universal common ancestor” suggests it was a relatively complex organism living 4.2 billion years ago, a time long considered too harsh for life to flourish.
The post All Life on Earth Today Descended From a Single Cell. Meet...
symmetry magazine
New DESI results weigh in on gravity
Researchers used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to map how nearly 6 million galaxies...
over a year from now
Researchers used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to map how nearly 6 million galaxies cluster across 11 billion years of cosmic history.
The Roots of...
What I’ve been reading, September 2023
A quasi-monthly feature. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them...
a year ago
A quasi-monthly feature. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find them in my links digests. I’ve been busy helping to choose the first cohort of our blogging fellowship, so my reading has been relatively light. All emphasis in bold in the quotes...
Quanta Magazine
Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference.
New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by...
a year ago
New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.”
The post Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
How Much Do Couples Share Traits?
Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms,...
a year ago
Do birds of a feather flock together, or do opposites attract? These are both common aphorisms, which means that they are commonly offered as generally accepted truths, but also that they may by wrong. People like pithy phrases, so they spread prolifically, but that does not mean...
The Roots of...
What I’ve been reading, June 2023
A monthly feature. As usual, recent blog posts and news stories are omitted from this; you can find...
a year ago
A monthly feature. As usual, recent blog posts and news stories are omitted from this; you can find them in my links digests. In all quotes below, any emphasis in bold was added by me.
Books
Thomas S. Ashton, The Industrial Revolution, 1760–1830 (1948). A classic in the field,...
brr
Polar Night
Surreal and otherworldly.
a year ago
Surreal and otherworldly.
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
Quanta Magazine
How to Tame the Endless Infinities Hiding in the Heart of Particle Physics
In the math of particle physics, every calculation should result in infinity. The set of techniques...
a year ago
In the math of particle physics, every calculation should result in infinity. The set of techniques known as “resurgence” points toward an escape.
The post How to Tame the Endless Infinities Hiding in the Heart of Particle Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Chatbots Don’t Know What Stuff Isn’t
Today’s language models are more sophisticated than ever, but they still struggle with the concept...
a year ago
Today’s language models are more sophisticated than ever, but they still struggle with the concept of negation. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
The post Chatbots Don’t Know What Stuff Isn’t first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Eukaryote Writes...
Internet Harvest (2024, 1)
Free covid treatment for everyone in the US, a novel orthopox virus, a really big machine, cameras...
8 months ago
Free covid treatment for everyone in the US, a novel orthopox virus, a really big machine, cameras used for good and evil, ant heaven now, and more.
symmetry magazine
A different way of thinking
Neurodivergent physicists face barriers in STEM, but there are also benefits to being who they are.
a year ago
Neurodivergent physicists face barriers in STEM, but there are also benefits to being who they are.
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...
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
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...
7 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 →
Quantum Frontiers
The quantum gold rush
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you probably recognize the saguaro cactus. It’s the archetype...
8 months ago
Even if you don’t recognize the name, you probably recognize the saguaro cactus. It’s the archetype of the cactus, a column from which protrude arms bent at right angles like elbows. As my husband pointed out, the cactus emoji is … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
A New Approach to Computation Reimagines Artificial Intelligence
By imbuing enormous vectors with semantic meaning, we can get machines to reason more abstractly —...
a year ago
By imbuing enormous vectors with semantic meaning, we can get machines to reason more abstractly — and efficiently — than before.
The post A New Approach to Computation Reimagines Artificial Intelligence first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Have Current AI Reached Their Limit?
We are still very much in the hype phase of the latest crop of artificial intelligence applications,...
a year ago
We are still very much in the hype phase of the latest crop of artificial intelligence applications, specifically the large language models and so-called “transformers” like Chat GPT. Transformers are a deep learning model that use self-attention to differentially weight the...
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
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...
nanoscale views
Anyons, simulation, and "real" systems
Quanta magazine this week published an article about two very recent papers, in which different...
a year ago
Quanta magazine this week published an article about two very recent papers, in which different groups performed quantum simulations of anyons, objects that do not follow Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac statistics when they are exchanged. For so-called Abelian anyons (which I wrote...
Quantum Frontiers
Let gravity do its work
One day, early this spring, I found myself in a hotel elevator with three other people. The cohort...
6 months ago
One day, early this spring, I found myself in a hotel elevator with three other people. The cohort consisted of two theoretical physicists, one computer scientist, and what appeared to be a normal person. I pressed the elevator’s 4 button, … Continue reading →
Blog - Practical...
Do Droughts Make Floods Worse?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Do you remember the summer of 2022 when a record drought had gripped not only a large part of the United States, but most of Europe too? Reservoirs were empty, wildfires spread, crop yields dropped, and rivers...
The Works in...
Degrowth and the monkey's paw
Fifteen years ago, when I worked in the “social innovation” field, there was a world-view that was...
a year ago
Fifteen years ago, when I worked in the “social innovation” field, there was a world-view that was very popular among my colleagues about what was wrong with society and how to fix it. The idea was that people and governments needed to stop seeing economic growth as a good thing,...
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...
IEEE Spectrum
The Cheesy Charm of the Clapper
“Clap on! Clap off! Clap on! Clap off! The Clapper!” This 1980s earworm of a jingle touted a gadget...
10 months ago
“Clap on! Clap off! Clap on! Clap off! The Clapper!” This 1980s earworm of a jingle touted a gadget to turn your lights, your TV, or any other electrical device on or off with the clap of your hands. If you watched any amount of American television back then, you probably saw the...
nanoscale views
What is a glass?
I want to write about a recently published paper, but to do so on an accessible level, I should...
a year ago
I want to write about a recently published paper, but to do so on an accessible level, I should really lay some ground work first.
At the primary school level, typically people are taught that there are three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. (Plasma may be introduced...
IEEE Spectrum
The Sneaky Standard
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the...
6 months ago
A version of this post originally appeared on Tedium, Ernie Smith’s newsletter, which hunts for the end of the long tail.
Personal computing has changed a lot in the past four decades, and one of the biggest changes, perhaps the most unheralded, comes down to compatibility. These...
Quanta Magazine
Strangely Curved Shapes Break 50-Year-Old Geometry Conjecture
Mathematicians have disproved a major conjecture about the relationship between curvature and shape....
6 months ago
Mathematicians have disproved a major conjecture about the relationship between curvature and shape.
The post Strangely Curved Shapes Break 50-Year-Old Geometry Conjecture first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Invisible College applications close on Friday
Applications to our new residential seminar close this coming Friday, 31st May
5 months ago
Applications to our new residential seminar close this coming Friday, 31st May
Out-of-Pocket Blog
AI in healthcare - defensibility, capabilities, and cost reduction | Out-Of-Pocket
fine fine I'll write about AI
6 months ago
fine fine I'll write about AI
Blog - Practical...
Every Kind of Bridge Explained in 15 Minutes
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The Earth is pretty cool and...
6 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The Earth is pretty cool and all, but many of its most magnificent features make it tough for us to get around. When the topography is too wet, steep, treacherous, or prone to disaster, sometimes the only way...
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...
The Roots of...
What if they gave an Industrial Revolution and nobody came?
Imagine you could go back in time to the ancient world to jump-start the Industrial Revolution. You...
a year ago
Imagine you could go back in time to the ancient world to jump-start the Industrial Revolution. You carry with you plans for a steam engine, and you present them to the emperor, explaining how the machine could be used to drain water out of mines, pump bellows for blast furnaces,...
pcloadletter
The ChatGPT wrapper product boom is an uncanny valley hellscape
Here we go again: I'm so tired of crypto web3 LLMs.
I'm positive there are wonderful applications...
6 months ago
Here we go again: I'm so tired of crypto web3 LLMs.
I'm positive there are wonderful applications for LLMs. The ChatGPT web UI seems great for summarizing information from various online sources (as long as you're willing to verify the things that you learn).
But a lot fo the "AI...
NeuroLogica Blog
Predicting Outcome in Severe Brain Injury
One of the most difficult situations that a person can face is to have a loved-one in a critical...
6 months ago
One of the most difficult situations that a person can face is to have a loved-one in a critical medical condition and have to make life-or-death medical decisions for them. I have been in this situation many times as the consulting neurologist, and I have seen how weighty this...
NeuroLogica Blog
Antarctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low
For decades scientists were confused by Antarctic sea ice. Climate models predict that it should be...
6 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...
Probably...
Bertrand’s Boxes
An early draft of Probably Overthinking It included two chapters about probability. I still think...
6 months ago
An early draft of Probably Overthinking It included two chapters about probability. I still think they are interesting, but the other chapters are really about data, and the examples in these chapters are more like brain teasers — so I’ve saved them for another book. Here’s an...
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...
6 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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Spotting Misinformation
There is an interesting disconnect in our culture recently. About 90% of people claim that they...
6 months ago
There is an interesting disconnect in our culture recently. About 90% of people claim that they verify information they encounter in the news and on social media, and 96% of Americans say that we need to limit the spread of misinformation online. And yet, the spread of...
Quantum Frontiers
Film noir and quantum thermo
In four months, I’ll embark on the adventure of a lifetime—fatherhood. To prepare, I’ve been honing...
6 months ago
In four months, I’ll embark on the adventure of a lifetime—fatherhood. To prepare, I’ve been honing a quintessential father skill—storytelling. If my son inherits even a fraction of my tastes, he’ll soon develop a passion for film noir detective stories. … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks Assemble
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of...
6 months ago
Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of interacting complexes of protein, DNA, RNA and other molecules, better capturing cells’ biological landscapes.
The post New AI Tools Predict How Life’s Building Blocks...
NeuroLogica Blog
Indigenous Knowledge
I recently received the following question to the SGU e-mail: “I have had several conversations with...
7 months ago
I recently received the following question to the SGU e-mail: “I have had several conversations with friends/colleagues lately regarding indigenous beliefs/stories. They assert that not believing these based on oral histories alone is morally wrong and ignoring a different...
nanoscale views
Generative AI and scientific images/diagrams
Generative AI for image generation is a controversial topic for many reasons. Still, as someone who...
9 months ago
Generative AI for image generation is a controversial topic for many reasons. Still, as someone who doesn't have a staff of graphic artists on hand to help make scientific illustrations, it has certainly been tempting to see whether it might be a useful tool. My brief...
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...
6 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.
nanoscale views
Wind-up nanotechnology
When I was a kid, I used to take allowance money and occasionally buy rubber-band-powered balsa wood...
6 months ago
When I was a kid, I used to take allowance money and occasionally buy rubber-band-powered balsa wood airplanes at a local store. Maybe you've seen these. You wind up the rubber band, which stretches the elastomer and stores energy in the elastic strain of the polymer, as in...
Blog - Practical...
How Do Fish Ladders Work?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Building a dam imparts a...
7 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Building a dam imparts a stupendous change to the environment, and as with any change, there are winners and losers. The winners are usually us, people, through hydropower generation, protection from flooding,...
Beautiful Public...
Mapping Volcano Eruptions With Drones
Drones have become an essential tool to map, measure and observe the extremely dangerous...
a year ago
Drones have become an essential tool to map, measure and observe the extremely dangerous environments surrounding volcanic eruptions.
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates
Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without...
5 months ago
Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without a magnetic field coaxing them into it.
The post Physicists Puzzle Over Emergence of Strange Electron Aggregates first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Power and computing
The Wall Street Journal last week had an article (sorry about the paywall) titled "There’s Not...
6 months ago
The Wall Street Journal last week had an article (sorry about the paywall) titled "There’s Not Enough Power for America’s High-Tech Ambitions", about how there is enormous demand for more data centers (think Amazon Web Services and the like), and electricity production can't...
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...
7 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...
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...
5 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...
Eukaryote Writes...
Carl Sagan, nuking the moon, and not nuking the moon
Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the...
7 months ago
Most of us go about our lives comforted by the thought “I would never drop a nuclear weapon on the moon.” The truth is that given a lot of power, a nuclear weapon, and a lot of extremely specific circumstances, we too might find ourselves thinking “I should nuke the moon.”
Quanta Magazine
A Very Big Small Leap Forward in Graph Theory
Four mathematicians have found a new upper limit to the “Ramsey number,” a crucial property...
a year ago
Four mathematicians have found a new upper limit to the “Ramsey number,” a crucial property describing unavoidable structure in graphs.
The post A Very Big Small Leap Forward in Graph Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
My experimental adventures in quantum thermodynamics
Imagine a billiard ball bouncing around on a pool table. High-school level physics enables us to...
8 months ago
Imagine a billiard ball bouncing around on a pool table. High-school level physics enables us to predict its motion until the end of time using simple equations for energy and momentum conservation, as long as you know the initial conditions … Continue reading →
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...
5 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.
nanoscale views
Items of interest
The time since the APS meeting has been very busy, hence the lack of posting. A few items of...
8 months ago
The time since the APS meeting has been very busy, hence the lack of posting. A few items of interest:
The present issue of Nature Physics has several articles about physics education that I really want to read.
This past week we hosted N. Peter Armitage for a really fun...
Quanta Magazine
Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact
Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite...
a year ago
Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.
The post Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact first appeared on Quanta Magazine
brr
South Pole Water Infrastructure
Fresh water from snow, at 70 below!
5 months ago
Fresh water from snow, at 70 below!
Quanta Magazine
Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage
New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about...
6 months ago
New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.
The post Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage first appeared on Quanta Magazine
nanoscale views
Electronic structure and a couple of fun links
Real life has been very busy recently. Posting will hopefully pick up soon.
One brief item. ...
7 months ago
Real life has been very busy recently. Posting will hopefully pick up soon.
One brief item. Earlier this week, Rice hosted Gabi Kotliar for a distinguished lecture, and he gave a very nice, pedagogical talk about different approaches to electronic structure calculations. ...
Probably...
Estimation with Small Samples
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. gauss_bayes Estimation with Small Samples¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Hey, so imagine I only have 6...
Blog - Practical...
The Most Confusing Part of the Power Grid
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In March of 1989, Earth...
5 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In March of 1989, Earth experienced one of its strongest geomagnetic storms in modern history. It all started when scientists observed a cluster of sunspots—active, magnetic areas on the sun's surface—emerging...
Eukaryote Writes...
Web-surfing tips for strange times
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
5 months ago
Meditations on what's bad about the internet lately and how to use it anyhow.
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
Quantum Frontiers
Watch out for geese! My summer in Waterloo
It’s the beginning of another summer, and I’m looking forward to outdoor barbecues, swimming in...
5 months ago
It’s the beginning of another summer, and I’m looking forward to outdoor barbecues, swimming in lakes and pools, and sharing my home-made ice cream with friends and family. One thing that I won’t encounter this summer, but I did last … Continue reading →
Probably...
What does “strength” mean?
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. corr_trend What does “strength” mean?¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I am currently doing a uni assignment...
Beautiful Public...
Wild Horses
The Bureau of Land Management wants to pay you $1,000 to adopt a wild horse. But the program has...
a year ago
The Bureau of Land Management wants to pay you $1,000 to adopt a wild horse. But the program has been criticized by animal rights advocates and subject to scrutiny by Congress.
The Works in...
Should you infect yourself with Zika?
What life is like in a challenge trial
7 months ago
What life is like in a challenge trial
NeuroLogica Blog
Neuralink Implants Chip in Human
Elon Musk has announced that his company, Neuralink, has implanted their first wireless computer...
9 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...
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...
7 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
Quantum Frontiers
Winners of the Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest
During the past seven months, I’ve steamed across the Atlantic, sailed in a flying castle,...
a year ago
During the past seven months, I’ve steamed across the Atlantic, sailed in a flying castle, teleported across the globe, and shuttled forward and backward in time. Literarily, not literally—the Quantum-Steampunk Short-Story Contest began welcoming submissions in October 2022. We...
Quantum Frontiers
The rain in Portugal
My husband taught me how to pronounce the name of the city where I’d be presenting a talk late last...
9 months ago
My husband taught me how to pronounce the name of the city where I’d be presenting a talk late last July: Aveiro, Portugal. Having studied Spanish, I pronounced the name as Ah-VEH-roh, with a v partway to a hard b. … Continue reading →
Beautiful Public...
Aerial Glacier Photographs
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40...
5 months ago
A collection of 100,000 striking high-resolution aerial photos of glaciers, photographed over 40 years with a 63-pound WW II surveillance camera.
IEEE Spectrum
The Forgotten History of Chinese Keyboards
Today, typing in Chinese works by converting QWERTY keystrokes into Chinese characters via a...
5 months ago
Today, typing in Chinese works by converting QWERTY keystrokes into Chinese characters via a software interface, known as an input method editor. But this was not always the case. Thomas S. Mullaney’s new book, The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age,...
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Marvel at ‘Crazy’ Cuts Through Four Dimensions
Topologists prove two new results that bring some order to the confoundingly difficult study of...
7 months ago
Topologists prove two new results that bring some order to the confoundingly difficult study of four-dimensional shapes.
The post Mathematicians Marvel at ‘Crazy’ Cuts Through Four Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Number of Distances Separating Points Has a New Bound
Mathematicians have struggled to prove Falconer’s Conjecture, a simple, but far-reaching, hypothesis...
7 months ago
Mathematicians have struggled to prove Falconer’s Conjecture, a simple, but far-reaching, hypothesis about the distances between points. They’re finally getting close.
The post Number of Distances Separating Points Has a New Bound first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Beautiful Public...
Trademark Design Codes
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a system of 1,400 descriptive "design codes"...
7 months ago
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a system of 1,400 descriptive "design codes" allowing you to search for trademarks with “Rickshaws”, “Centaurs” or “Mechanical women”.
IEEE Spectrum
Robert Kahn: The Great Interconnector
In the mid-1960s, Robert Kahn began thinking about how computers with different operating systems...
7 months ago
In the mid-1960s, Robert Kahn began thinking about how computers with different operating systems could talk to each other across a network. He didn’t think much about what they would say to one another, though. He was a theoretical guy, on leave from the faculty of the...
Quanta Magazine
Simple Equation Predicts the Shapes of Carbon-Capturing Wetlands
To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of...
5 months ago
To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of “bog physics” applicable around the world.
The post Simple Equation Predicts the Shapes of Carbon-Capturing Wetlands first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Roots of...
What is progress?
In one sense, the concept of progress is simple, straightforward, and uncontroversial. In another...
8 months ago
In one sense, the concept of progress is simple, straightforward, and uncontroversial. In another sense, it contains an entire worldview.
The most basic meaning of “progress” is simply advancement along a path, or more generally from one state to another that is considered more...
Probably...
Which Standard Deviation?
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
5 months ago
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. standard_dev Which Standard Deviation¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. When do we use N and when N-1 for...
IEEE Spectrum
Lord Kelvin and His Analog Computer
William Thomson, mourning the death of his wife and flush with cash from various patents related to...
5 months ago
William Thomson, mourning the death of his wife and flush with cash from various patents related to the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, decided to buy a yacht. His schooner, the Lalla Rookh, became Thomson’s summer home and his base for hosting scientific...
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...
5 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...
Probably...
Destructive Testing
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. sample_size Sample Size Selection¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Hi Redditors, I am a civil engineer trying...
Eukaryote Writes...
Book Review: Cuisine and Empire
Things people nigh-universally like to eat: salt, fat, sugar, starch, sauces, meat, drugs...
10 months ago
Things people nigh-universally like to eat: salt, fat, sugar, starch, sauces, meat, drugs...
Blog - Practical...
Connecting Solar to the Grid is Harder Than You Think
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On June 4, 2022, a small piece...
7 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On June 4, 2022, a small piece of equipment (called a lightning arrestor) at a power plant in Odessa, Texas failed, causing part of the plant to trip offline. It was a fairly typical fault that happens from...
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang
By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s...
5 months ago
By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s first moments.
The post Mathematicians Attempt to Glimpse Past the Big Bang first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
50 Years Later, This Apollo-Era Antenna Still Talks to Voyager 2
For more than 50 years, Deep Space Station 43 has been an invaluable tool for space probes as they...
7 months ago
For more than 50 years, Deep Space Station 43 has been an invaluable tool for space probes as they explore our solar system and push into the beyond. The DSS-43 radio antenna, located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, near Canberra, Australia, keeps open the line...
symmetry magazine
Spacetime: All the universe’s a stage
In the 1900s, Albert Einstein unified the concepts of space and time, giving us a useful new way to...
a year ago
In the 1900s, Albert Einstein unified the concepts of space and time, giving us a useful new way to picture the universe.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Silly little rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
5 months ago
The industry is chock full of ‘em, here's 3
NeuroLogica Blog
Rats!
What killed off the dodo? Humans first arrived at Mauritius island in the late 1500s. They found on...
5 months ago
What killed off the dodo? Humans first arrived at Mauritius island in the late 1500s. They found on this island fat flightless birds who nested on the ground and were a convenient way to restock their ship’s food supply. Within 80 years the dodo went extinct. But hunting was not...
The Works in...
How to start an advance market commitment
A practical guide from the founders of Frontier
5 months ago
A practical guide from the founders of Frontier
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...
7 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...
Drew Ex Machina
Drew Ex Machina 10th Anniversary: Top Ten Posts
I find it difficult to believe but, it was ten years ago today that I posted the first article on my...
7 months ago
I find it difficult to believe but, it was ten years ago today that I posted the first article on my then-new website, Drew Ex Machina. […]
Quanta Magazine
Astronomers Dig Up the Stars That Birthed the Milky Way
There once was a cosmic seed that sprouted the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have discovered its...
a year ago
There once was a cosmic seed that sprouted the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have discovered its last surviving remnants.
The post Astronomers Dig Up the Stars That Birthed the Milky Way first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
How the Hawaiian Power Grid Works
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In January of 2024, right on...
8 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
In January of 2024, right on the heels of a serious drought across the state, a major storm slammed into the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai. Severe winds caused damage to buildings, and heavy rain flooded...
NeuroLogica Blog
Will Hydrogen BEV Hybrids Be A Thing?
I recently recorded a YouTube video on the notion of hydrogen fuel cell cars (it will be posted...
a year ago
I recently recorded a YouTube video on the notion of hydrogen fuel cell cars (it will be posted soon, and I will add the link when it’s up). One question I did not get into in the video, but which is an interesting thought experiment, is hydrogen – plug-in battery hybrid...
Blog - Practical...
Why Bridges Don't Sink
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The essence of a bridge is not...
4 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
The essence of a bridge is not just that it goes over something, but that there’s clear space underneath for a river, railway, or road. Maybe this is already obvious to you, but bridges present a unique...
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...
6 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
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...
7 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...
nanoscale views
Materials families: Halide perovskites
Looking back, I realized that I haven't written much about halide perovskites, which is quite an...
5 months ago
Looking back, I realized that I haven't written much about halide perovskites, which is quite an oversight given how much research impact they're having. I'm not an expert, and there are multiple extensive review articles out there (e.g. here, here, here, here, here), so this...
Beautiful Public...
1,000 Photos of Dolphin Fins
Scars, scratches and wounds abound in these photos as encounters with unknown creatures and boat...
a year ago
Scars, scratches and wounds abound in these photos as encounters with unknown creatures and boat propellers leave their marks, imprinting a story of close escapes and cheating death.
The Works in...
Issue 11: Nuclear sandboxes
Plus: Why Britain can’t seem to fix its housing market, gene-edited super-rice, and one weird trick...
a year ago
Plus: Why Britain can’t seem to fix its housing market, gene-edited super-rice, and one weird trick to reverse climate change.
brr
Engineering for Slow Internet
How to minimize user frustration in Antarctica.
5 months ago
How to minimize user frustration in Antarctica.
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...
6 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
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...
6 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...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
The New Wave of Concierge Medicine | Out-Of-Pocket
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
4 months ago
This episode of Out-Of-Pocket is brought to you by…
Out-of-Pocket Blog
AI in healthcare - defensibility, capabilities, and cost reduction | Out-Of-Pocket
6 months ago
nanoscale views
Moiré and making superlattices
One of the biggest condensed matter trends in recent years has been the stacking of 2D materials and...
6 months ago
One of the biggest condensed matter trends in recent years has been the stacking of 2D materials and the development of moiré lattices. The idea is, take a layer of 2D material and stack it either (1) on itself but with a twist angle, or (2) on another material with a slightly...
Quanta Magazine
Can Information Escape a Black Hole?
Black holes are inescapable traps for most of what falls into them — but there can be exceptions....
7 months ago
Black holes are inescapable traps for most of what falls into them — but there can be exceptions. The theoretical physicist Leonard Susskind speaks with co-host Janna Levin about the black hole information paradox and how it has propelled modern physics.
The post Can...
IEEE Spectrum
The Battle for Better, Broader, More Inclusive AI
AI’s inclusivity problem is no secret. According to the ACLU, AI systems can perpetuate housing...
9 months ago
AI’s inclusivity problem is no secret. According to the ACLU, AI systems can perpetuate housing discrimination and bias in the justice system, among other harms. Bias in the data an AI model relies on is reproduced in its results.
Large Language Models (LLMs) share this problem;...
NeuroLogica Blog
A Greener Li-Ion Battery
It is increasingly obvious that battery technology is one of the keys to transitioning our...
5 months ago
It is increasingly obvious that battery technology is one of the keys to transitioning our civilization away from burning fossil fuels. Batteries facilitate the use of cheap, green, but intermittent energy sources. They also allow for the electrification of technology sectors...
Quanta Magazine
Will Better Superconductors Transform the World?
Scientists are pursuing materials that can conduct electricity with perfect efficiency under ambient...
6 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...
Beautiful Public...
FAA Aviation Maps
Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a...
9 months ago
Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s aviation maps.
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...
IEEE Spectrum
Why L. Ron Hubbard Patented His E-Meter
zombie mysteries, historical fiction, pirate adventure tales, and westerns.
science fiction. The...
7 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...
Blog - Practical...
How Railroad Crossings Work
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
If you’ve ever ridden a bike,...
10 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
If you’ve ever ridden a bike, driven a car, or operated pretty much any other vehicle on earth, there’s a fact you’ve probably taken for granted: you can see farther than it takes to stop. Within the span...
pcloadletter
Write code that you can understand when you get paged at 2am
The older I get, the more I dislike clever code. This is not a controversial take; it is pretty-well...
6 months ago
The older I get, the more I dislike clever code. This is not a controversial take; it is pretty-well agreed upon that clever code is bad.
But I particularly like the on-call responsiblity framing: write code that you can understand when you get paged at 2am.
If you have never...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How do hospitals spend money? | Out-Of-Pocket
it's time to look at a financial statement
5 months ago
it's time to look at a financial statement
Quanta Magazine
Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy
Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems....
5 months ago
Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems.
The post Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
Does higher density cause lower birth rates?
Assessing one recent claim that it does
6 months ago
Assessing one recent claim that it does
Quanta Magazine
Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide.
The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely...
7 months ago
The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely how much pleasure and pain animals experience during different forms of touch.
The post Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide. first appeared on...
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...
The Works in...
The road from serfdom
Using opt-ins to reform Russia's backwards tsarist agricultural sector
8 months ago
Using opt-ins to reform Russia's backwards tsarist agricultural sector
IEEE Spectrum
This Wearable Computer Made a Fashion Statement
Google Glass debuted, the artist Lisa Krohn designed a prototype wearable computer that looked like...
4 months ago
Google Glass debuted, the artist Lisa Krohn designed a prototype wearable computer that looked like no other. The Cyberdesk was an experiment in augmented reality. At a time when computers were mostly beige and boxy, Krohn envisioned a pliable, high-tech garment that fused...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
More weird rules in healthcare | Out-Of-Pocket
3 liters of blood, sequential billing, COBRA, and more
5 months ago
3 liters of blood, sequential billing, COBRA, and more
The Works in...
To change a norm
How the war on drunk driving was won
5 months ago
How the war on drunk driving was won
IEEE Spectrum
A Brief History of the World’s First Planetarium
In 1912, Oskar von Miller, an electrical engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, had an idea:...
6 months ago
In 1912, Oskar von Miller, an electrical engineer and founder of the Deutsches Museum, had an idea: Could you project an artificial starry sky onto a dome, as a way of demonstrating astronomical principles to the public?
It was such a novel concept that when von Miller approached...
Probably...
Testing Percentiles
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. test_percentile Testing percentiles¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I have two different samples (about 100...
brr
Mud Murdo
The beautiful ambiance of a McMurdo summer.
a year ago
The beautiful ambiance of a McMurdo summer.
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
Blog - Practical...
Why There's a Legal Price for a Human Life
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the very first...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
One of the very first documented engineering disasters happened in 27 AD in the early days of the Roman Empire. A freed slave named Atilius built a wooden amphitheater in a town called Fidenae outside of Rome....
NeuroLogica Blog
Moon Spacesuit Prototype Unveiled
Good spacesuits are deceptively difficult to design, even with today’s technology. NASA is planning...
a year ago
Good spacesuits are deceptively difficult to design, even with today’s technology. NASA is planning to return to the moon in 2025 (if all goes well) but the spacesuit the astronauts will wear is one piece to the puzzle they have not completed yet (the other being the lunar...
Quanta Magazine
Why Is This Shape So Terrible to Pack?
Two mathematicians have proved a long-standing conjecture that is a step on the way toward finding...
4 months ago
Two mathematicians have proved a long-standing conjecture that is a step on the way toward finding the worst shape for packing the plane.
The post Why Is This Shape So Terrible to Pack? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
The Enduring Mystery of How Water Freezes
Making ice requires more than subzero temperatures. The unpredictable process takes microscopic...
5 months ago
Making ice requires more than subzero temperatures. The unpredictable process takes microscopic scaffolding, random jiggling and often a little bit of bacteria.
The post The Enduring Mystery of How Water Freezes first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
Why Bridges Need Sensors (and other structures too)
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Almost immediately after I...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Almost immediately after I started making videos about engineering, people started asking me to play video games on the channel. Apparently there’s roughly a billion people who watch online gaming these days,...
Quanta Magazine
Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare
A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic...
7 months ago
A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.
The post Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness,...
nanoscale views
APS March Meeting 2024 - coming soon
This week I'm going to be at the APS March Meeting in Minneapolis. As I've done in past years, I...
8 months ago
This week I'm going to be at the APS March Meeting in Minneapolis. As I've done in past years, I will try to write up some highlights of talks that I am able to see, though it may be hit-or-miss. If readers have suggestions for sessions or talks that they think will be...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
OOP Slack final reminder | Out-Of-Pocket
it's the final countdownnnnn
8 months ago
it's the final countdownnnnn
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Things I’m watching in healthcare 2023 | Out-Of-Pocket
it's been a weird year
8 months ago
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...
5 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...
NeuroLogica Blog
Some Battery News
I have been following battery technology pretty closely, as this is a key technology for the...
a year ago
I have been following battery technology pretty closely, as this is a key technology for the transition to green energy. The most obvious application is in battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The second most obvious application is in grid storage. But also there are all the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Unifying Cognitive Biases
Are you familiar with the “lumper vs splitter” debate? This refers to any situation in which there...
a year ago
Are you familiar with the “lumper vs splitter” debate? This refers to any situation in which there is some controversy over exactly how to categorize complex phenomena, specifically whether or not to favor the fewest categories based on similarities, or the greatest number of...
Bartosz Ciechanowski
Airfoil
The dream of soaring in the sky like a bird has captivated the human mind for ages. Although many...
8 months ago
The dream of soaring in the sky like a bird has captivated the human mind for ages. Although many failed, some eventually succeeded in achieving that goal. These days we take air transportation for granted, but the physics of flight can still be puzzling.
In this article we’ll...
The Roots of...
What I’ve been reading, October 2023
A ~monthly feature. Last month was busy for me with a lot of travel and a lot of focus on The Roots...
a year ago
A ~monthly feature. Last month was busy for me with a lot of travel and a lot of focus on The Roots of Progress as a nonprofit organization, so I haven’t had as much time as I prefer for research and writing. Recent blog posts and news stories are generally omitted; you can find...
Wanderingspace
Eclipse 2024 from Space
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
7 months ago
https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy
Probably...
Logarithms and Heteroskedasticity
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
5 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. log_heterosked Logarithms and heteroskedasticity¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Is it correct to use...
Probably...
Combining Risks
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. combine_risk Combining Risks¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. Bit of a weird one but I’m hoping you’re the...
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...
8 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...
Quanta Magazine
He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum Compass
Alex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic...
6 months ago
Alex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic influence of dark matter.
The post He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum Compass first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Is the AI Singularity Coming?
Like it or not, we are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Recent advances in large...
8 months ago
Like it or not, we are living in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Recent advances in large language models, like ChatGPT, have helped put advanced AI in the hands of the average person, who now has a much better sense of how powerful these AI applications can be (and...
Blog - Practical...
This Bridge Should Have Been Closed Years Before It Collapsed
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On January 28, 2022, about an...
5 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On January 28, 2022, about an hour before dawn, the four-lane Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collapsed without warning. Five vehicles, including an articulating bus, fell with the bridge, and...
Explorations of an...
A Quest Nature Tour Of Jamaica
The Caribbean island of Jamaica is a naturalist’s paradise. Situated south of eastern Cuba, east of...
7 months ago
The Caribbean island of Jamaica is a naturalist’s paradise. Situated south of eastern Cuba, east of Honduras and north of Colombia, Jamaica has an interesting assemblage of species with different origins. Jamaica was never connected to the mainland throughout its long geological...
NeuroLogica Blog
New Generation of Electric Robots
Boston Dynamics (now owned by Hyundai) has revealed its electric version of its Atlas robot. These...
7 months ago
Boston Dynamics (now owned by Hyundai) has revealed its electric version of its Atlas robot. These robot videos always look impressive, but at the very least we know that we are seeing the best take. We don’t know how many times the robot failed to get the one great video. There...
Probably...
Regrets and Regression
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
4 months ago
It’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. standardize Standardization and Normalization¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I want to write a research...
nanoscale views
What is turbulence? (And why are helicopters never quiet?)
Fluid mechanics is very often left out of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This is a shame, as...
5 months ago
Fluid mechanics is very often left out of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This is a shame, as it's very interesting and directly relevant to many broad topics (atmospheric science, climate, plasma physics, parts of astrophysics). Fluid mechanics is a great example of how...
Quanta Magazine
The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges
The puzzle of emergence asks how regularities emerge on macro scales out of uncountable constituent...
5 months ago
The puzzle of emergence asks how regularities emerge on macro scales out of uncountable constituent parts. A new framework has researchers hopeful that a solution is near.
The post The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quantum Frontiers
Colliding the familiar and the anti-familiar at CERN
toise me at CERN was a box of chocolates. CERN is a multinational particle-physics collaboration....
10 months ago
toise me at CERN was a box of chocolates. CERN is a multinational particle-physics collaboration. Based in Geneva, CERN is famous for having “the world’s largest and most powerful accelerator,” according to its website. So a physicist will take for … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
New Platform for Timed Drug Release
This is one of those technologies that most people probably never think about, but could potentially...
a year ago
This is one of those technologies that most people probably never think about, but could potentially have a significant impact on our lives – timed drug release. The concept is nothing new, but there is a lot of room for improvement on current technologies. We already have...
Probably...
Think Python Goes to Production
Think Python has moved into production, on schedule for the official publication date in July — but...
8 months ago
Think Python has moved into production, on schedule for the official publication date in July — but maybe earlier if things go well. To celebrate, I have posted the next batch of chapters on the new site, up through Chapter 12, which is about Markov text analysis and generation,...
NeuroLogica Blog
Man Gets Pig Kidney Transplant
On March 16 surgeons transplanted a kidney taken from a pig into a human recipient, Rick Slayman. So...
8 months ago
On March 16 surgeons transplanted a kidney taken from a pig into a human recipient, Rick Slayman. So far the transplant is a success, but of course the real test will be how well the kidney functions and for how long. This is the first time such a transplant has been done into a...
nanoscale views
Artificial intelligence, extrapolation, and physical constraints
Disclaimer and disclosure: The "arrogant physicist declaims about some topic far outside their...
5 months ago
Disclaimer and disclosure: The "arrogant physicist declaims about some topic far outside their domain expertise (like climate change or epidemiology or economics or geopolitics or....) like everyone actually in the field is clueless" trope is very overplayed at this point, and...
NeuroLogica Blog
Boeing Starliner Launches Soon
If all goes well, Boeing’s Starliner capsule will launch on Monday May 6th with two crew members...
6 months ago
If all goes well, Boeing’s Starliner capsule will launch on Monday May 6th with two crew members aboard, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will be spending a week aboard the ISS. This is the last (hopefully) test of the new capsule, and if successful it will become officially...
nanoscale views
The future of the semiconductor industry, + The Mechanical Universe
Three items of interest:
This article is a nice review of present semiconductor memory...
7 months ago
Three items of interest:
This article is a nice review of present semiconductor memory technology. The electron micrographs in Fig. 1 and the scaling history in Fig. 3 are impressive.
This article in IEEE Spectrum is a very interesting look at how some people think we will get...
Articles - Chris...
Moved to tears
20 years ago, on January 15 2004, a little before 2 AM Pacific time, was
the payoff.
It was...
9 months ago
20 years ago, on January 15 2004, a little before 2 AM Pacific time, was
the payoff.
It was cause for celebration. But first, I wept.
Blog - Practical...
Was Starship’s Stage Zero a Bad Pad?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On April 20, 2023, SpaceX...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On April 20, 2023, SpaceX launched it’s first orbital test flight of its Starship spacecraft from Boca Chica on the gulf coast of Texas. You probably saw this, if not live, at least in the stunning videos that...
nanoscale views
What is a Wigner crystal?
Last week I was at the every-2-years Gordon Research Conference on Correlated Electron Systems at...
4 months ago
Last week I was at the every-2-years Gordon Research Conference on Correlated Electron Systems at lovely Mt. Holyoke. It was very fun, but one key aspect of the culture of the GRCs is that attendees are not supposed to post about them on social media, thus encouraging presenters...
nanoscale views
Chemical potential and banana waffles
The concept of chemical potential is one that seems almost deliberately obscure to many. I’ve...
a year ago
The concept of chemical potential is one that seems almost deliberately obscure to many. I’ve written about this here, and referenced this article. What you may not realize is that the chemical potential, of water in particular, plays a crucial role in why my banana waffle...
The Works in...
Getting people to donate their organs
Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier?
7 months ago
Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier?
Beautiful Public...
Design for the People: The US Web Design System and the Public Sans Typeface
The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface that belongs to the...
4 months ago
The United States has an official web design system and a custom typeface that belongs to the people. This thoughtful public design system aims to make government websites not only look good, but to make them accessible and functional for all.
Probably...
Have the Nones Leveled Off?
Last month Ryan Burge published “The Nones Have Hit a Ceiling“, using data from the 2023 Cooperative...
4 months ago
Last month Ryan Burge published “The Nones Have Hit a Ceiling“, using data from the 2023 Cooperative Election Study to show that the increase in the number of Americans with no religious affiliation has hit a plateau. Comparing the number of Atheists, Agnostics, and “Nothing in...
NeuroLogica Blog
Bill Gates Backs Nuclear
No one ever said that nuclear power is simple or easy. It’s a tricky and expensive technology. But...
5 months ago
No one ever said that nuclear power is simple or easy. It’s a tricky and expensive technology. But it also has tremendous potential to create large amounts of reliable green low carbon energy, and many believe that we cannot ignore this potential if we are going to tackle climate...
Probably...
What is a percentile rank?
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
5 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. percentile_rank What is a Percentile Rank?¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. What’s the difference between...
NeuroLogica Blog
Washington Post on Past Lives
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of...
6 months ago
Generally speaking the mainstream media does a terrible job of reporting anything in the realm of pseudoscience or the paranormal. The Washington Post’s recent article on children who apparently remember their past lives is no exception. Journalists generally don’t have the...
NeuroLogica Blog
Making Fuel from Sunshine
When it comes to big problems it’s generally a good idea to remember some basic principles. One is...
a year ago
When it comes to big problems it’s generally a good idea to remember some basic principles. One is that there is no free lunch. This is a cliche because it’s true. Another way to put this is – there are no solutions, only trade offs. Sometimes there is a genuine advance that does...
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…...
7 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 →
The Works in...
Fixing retail with land value capture
How to create beautiful shopping streets everywhere
5 months ago
How to create beautiful shopping streets everywhere
Blog - Practical...
How To Install a Pipeline Under a Railroad
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Union Pacific...
9 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Union Pacific Railroad’s Austin Subdivision in central Texas. It’s a busy corridor that moves both freight and passengers north and south between Austin and San Antonio… But it’s mostly freight....
Blog - Practical...
When Natural Gas Had No Smell
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Excitement and hope permeated...
4 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Excitement and hope permeated the crowds gathered in a dusty farm carved from the piney woods in east Texas. The rumor was that Columbus Joiner had struck oil. At 70 years old, Joiner had already won and lost...
NeuroLogica Blog
BBC Gets Into UFOs
Paranormal phenomena tend to wax and wane in the public interest. Typically a generation will become...
4 months ago
Paranormal phenomena tend to wax and wane in the public interest. Typically a generation will become fascinated with a topic, but eventually the novelty will wear thin and interest will fade. But the flame will be kept alive by the hardcore believers. Wait long enough, and...
The Works in...
What did Henry George think about cities?
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
6 months ago
Solving the terrible urban conditions of the 1800s by abolishing cities
NeuroLogica Blog
Havana Syndrome Revisited
Last month I wrote about Havana Syndrome, the claim that a number of American and Canadian diplomats...
6 months ago
Last month I wrote about Havana Syndrome, the claim that a number of American and Canadian diplomats and military personnel were the targets of some sort of directed energy weapon attack causing symptoms of headache, disorientation, nausea, and sometimes associated with an...
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...
10 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 →
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
Quanta Magazine
Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize
The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame...
a year ago
The development of attosecond pulses of light allowed researchers to explore the frame-by-frame movement of electrons.
The post Physicists Who Explored Tiny Glimpses of Time Win Nobel Prize first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Weaponized Pedantry and Reverse Gish Gallop
Have you ever been in a discussion where the person with whom you disagree dismisses your position...
9 months ago
Have you ever been in a discussion where the person with whom you disagree dismisses your position because you got some tiny detail wrong or didn’t know the tiny detail? This is a common debating technique. For example, opponents of gun safety regulations will often use the...
Blog - Practical...
How Fish Survive Hydro Turbines
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Most of the largest dams in...
8 months ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
Most of the largest dams in the US were built before we really understood the impacts they would have on river ecosystems. Or at least they were built before we were conscientious enough to weigh those impacts...
Blog - Practical...
Why Engineers Can't Control Rivers
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Old River Control...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is the Old River Control Structure, a relatively innocuous complex of floodgates and levees off the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It was built in the 1950s to solve a serious problem. Typically...
Eukaryote Writes...
Will the growing deer prion epidemic spread to humans? Why not?
If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected...
a year ago
If a fatal neurological virus were spreading across deer in the US, and showed up in cooked infected meat, my default assumption would be “we're in danger.” But a prion isn’t a virus. Why does that matter?
Quanta Magazine
How Do Machines ‘Grok’ Data?
By apparently overtraining them, researchers have seen neural networks discover novel solutions to...
7 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
Quanta Magazine
How Is Science Even Possible?
How are scientists able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? How does math make the...
5 months ago
How are scientists able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? How does math make the complex cosmos understandable? In this episode, the physicist Nigel Goldenfeld and co-host Steven Strogatz explore the deep foundations of the scientific process.
The...
Probably...
Should divorce be more difficult?
“The Christian right is coming for divorce next,” according to this recent Vox article, and “Some...
5 months ago
“The Christian right is coming for divorce next,” according to this recent Vox article, and “Some conservatives want to make it a lot harder to dissolve a marriage.” As always when I read an article like this, I want to see data — and the General Social Survey has just the data I...
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....
6 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
IEEE Spectrum
100 Years Ago, IBM Was Born
Happy birthday, IBM! You’re 100 years old! Or are you?
It’s true that the businesses that formed IBM...
9 months ago
Happy birthday, IBM! You’re 100 years old! Or are you?
It’s true that the businesses that formed IBM began in the late 1800s. But it’s also true that a birth occurred in February 1924, with the renaming of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. as the International Business...
NeuroLogica Blog
Intuitive and Analytical Thinking
Here is a relatively simple math problem: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 combined. The bat costs $1...
a year ago
Here is a relatively simple math problem: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 combined. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? (I will provide the answer below the fold.) This problem is the basis of a large psychological literature on thinking systems in the...
Drew Ex Machina
Accurate Characterization of 3D Winds Using Stereographic Observations from the Hurricane Hunter...
The teams at Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) and Canada Weather Analytics (CWA), where this author...
9 months ago
The teams at Tropical Weather Analytics (TWA) and Canada Weather Analytics (CWA), where this author is the Chief Scientist, had the honor of having our abstract […]
NeuroLogica Blog
Eclipse 2024
I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would...
7 months ago
I am currently in Dallas Texas waiting to see, hopefully, the 2024 total solar eclipse. This would be my first total eclipse, and everything I have heard indicates that it is an incredible experience. Unfortunately, the weather calls for some clouds, although forecasts have been...
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...
NeuroLogica Blog
New Type of Black Hole Discovered
ESA’s Gaia orbital telescope has recently discovered two new black holes. This, in itself, is not...
a year ago
ESA’s Gaia orbital telescope has recently discovered two new black holes. This, in itself, is not surprising, as that is Gaia’s mission – to precisely map the three-dimensional position of two billion objects in our galaxy, using three separate instruments. The process is called...
Quanta Magazine
Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem
Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are...
7 months ago
Mathematicians have illuminated what sets of points can look like if the distances between them are all whole numbers.
The post Merging Fields, Mathematicians Go the Distance On Old Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force...
a year ago
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons.
The post A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus first appeared on Quanta Magazine
IEEE Spectrum
How Vannevar Bush Engineered the 20th Century
In the summer of 1945, Robert J. Oppenheimer and other key members of the Manhattan Project gathered...
5 months ago
In the summer of 1945, Robert J. Oppenheimer and other key members of the Manhattan Project gathered in New Mexico to witness the first atomic bomb test. Among the observers was Vannevar Bush, who had overseen the Manhattan Project and served as the sole liaison to U.S. President...
Eukaryote Writes...
Eukaryote in Asterisk Magazine + New Patreon Per-post setup
Eukaryote elsewhere I have an article in the latest issue of Asterisk Magazine. After you get really...
a year ago
Eukaryote elsewhere I have an article in the latest issue of Asterisk Magazine. After you get really deep into the weeds of invertebrate sentience and fish welfare and the scale of factory farming, what do you do with that information vis-a-vis what you feel comfortable eating?...
The Works in...
Issue 14: A peasant surprise
Plus: Giving yourself the Zika virus, cut-and-cover railway tunnels, and more reasons to donate your...
9 months ago
Plus: Giving yourself the Zika virus, cut-and-cover railway tunnels, and more reasons to donate your organs.
Damn Interesting
A Trail Gone Cold
Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught...
8 months ago
Iceland is known to the rest of the world as the land of Vikings and volcanos, an island caught between continents at the extremities of the map. Remote and comparatively inhospitable, it was settled only as long ago as the 9th century, and has seen little additional in-migration...
Quantum Frontiers
My favorite rocket scientist
Whenever someone protests, “I’m not a rocket scientist,” I think of my friend Jamie Rankin. Jamie is...
4 months ago
Whenever someone protests, “I’m not a rocket scientist,” I think of my friend Jamie Rankin. Jamie is a researcher at Princeton University, and she showed me her lab this June. When I first met Jamie, she was testing instruments to … Continue reading →
NeuroLogica Blog
Concrete Battery
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about...
4 months ago
I know it’s only been a couple of weeks since I wrote about cement, but now I need to write about concrete, or potential version of concrete that is able to function as a battery. If we can get the technology to work this could an extremely useful item for a future of green...
NeuroLogica Blog
Non-Invasive Deep Brain Stimulation
We are rapidly entering the era of neuromodulation – using electrical and magnetic fields in order...
5 months ago
We are rapidly entering the era of neuromodulation – using electrical and magnetic fields in order to increase or decrease the activity of specific regions and circuits in the brain. Such treatments are already shown to be effective in treating some Parkinson’s symptoms,...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Healthcare Ideas That Look Good But Are Bad | Out-Of-Pocket
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
7 months ago
clinical trial matching, "find a specialist", and more
Damn Interesting
Breaking a Bit
It’s been a busy summer, and the large shortfall in donations last month has been demoralizing, so...
a year ago
It’s been a busy summer, and the large shortfall in donations last month has been demoralizing, so we’re taking a week off to rest and recuperate. The curated links section will be (mostly) silent, and behind the scenes we’ll be taking a brief break from our usual researching,...
The Works in...
Britain’s interwar apartment boom
A decade of Art Deco densification
8 months ago
A decade of Art Deco densification
The Roots of...
Quote quiz: “drifting into dependence”
Quote quiz: who said this? (No fair looking it up). I have modified the original quotation slightly,...
a year ago
Quote quiz: who said this? (No fair looking it up). I have modified the original quotation slightly, by making a handful of word substitutions to bring it up to date:
It might be argued that the human race would never be foolish enough to hand over all power to AI. But we are...
Quanta Magazine
Math That Goes On Forever but Never Repeats
Simple math can help explain the complexities of the newly discovered aperiodic monotile. ...
a year ago
Simple math can help explain the complexities of the newly discovered aperiodic monotile.
The post Math That Goes On Forever but Never Repeats first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Being Trans Is Not A Mental Illness
On the current episode of the SGU, because it is pride month, we expressed our general support for...
a year ago
On the current episode of the SGU, because it is pride month, we expressed our general support for the LGBTQ community. I also opined about how important it is to respect individual liberty, the freedom to simply live your authentic life as you choose, and how ironic it is that...
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...
The Roots of...
Event, Feb 29: “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” in Boston and on Zoom
On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New...
9 months ago
On Thursday, February 29, I’ll be giving my talk “Towards a New Philosophy of Progress” to the New England Legal Foundation, for their Economic Liberty Speaker Series. The talk will be held over breakfast at NELF’s offices in Boston, and will also be livestreamed over Zoom. See...
symmetry magazine
From inventor to entrepreneur
Creating a startup to commercialize technology developed during research is a risky road for...
a year ago
Creating a startup to commercialize technology developed during research is a risky road for physicists and engineers, but the help of experts can improve their chances.
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Angels | Out-Of-Pocket
With some real decks and emails!
9 months ago
With some real decks and emails!
NeuroLogica Blog
Everything Will Evaporate
What will be the ultimate fate of our universe? There are a number of theories and possibilities,...
a year ago
What will be the ultimate fate of our universe? There are a number of theories and possibilities, but at present the most likely scenario seems to be that the universe will continue to expand, most mass will eventually find its way into a black hole, and those black holes will...
The Roots of...
Video: Intro to progress studies at Learning Night Boston
I got invited to speak at Learning Night Boston and give an intro to progress studies: why study...
a year ago
I got invited to speak at Learning Night Boston and give an intro to progress studies: why study progress, and why do we need a new philosophy of progress? There are then a few minutes of Q&A. (It was in a bar and the audio quality is poor, sorry.)
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...
11 months 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...
nanoscale views
2024 version: Advice on choosing a graduate school
It's been four years since I posted the previous version of this, so it feels like the time is right...
8 months ago
It's been four years since I posted the previous version of this, so it feels like the time is right for an update.
This is written on the assumption that you have already decided, after careful consideration, that you want to get an advanced degree (in physics, though much of...
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Why don’t healthcare companies say what they do? | Out-Of-Pocket
And some tips to figure out what a company does
a year ago
And some tips to figure out what a company does
NeuroLogica Blog
UFOs and SGU on John Oliver
The most recent episode of John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, featured a discussion of the UFO...
7 months ago
The most recent episode of John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, featured a discussion of the UFO phenomenon. I’m always interested, and often disappointed, in how the mainstream media portrays skeptical topics. One interesting addition here is that Oliver actually referenced an SGU...
nanoscale views
The problems and opportunities of data
We live in a world of "big data", and this presents a number of challenges for how we handle this at...
a year ago
We live in a world of "big data", and this presents a number of challenges for how we handle this at research universities. Until relatively recently, the domain of huge volume/huge throughput scientific data was chiefly that of the nuclear/particle physics community and then...
Probably...
Where’s My Train?
Yesterday I presented a webinar for PyMC Labs where I solved one of the exercises from Think Bayes,...
3 months ago
Yesterday I presented a webinar for PyMC Labs where I solved one of the exercises from Think Bayes, called “The Red Line Problem”. Here’s the scenario: The Red Line is a subway that connects Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts. When I was working in Cambridge I took the Red Line...
Beautiful Public...
The Mirror Fusion Test Facility
A decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to...
a year ago
A decade-long effort to build a machine to unlock the promise of nuclear fusion fell victim to budget constraints and competing science, and was shut down the day it was dedicated. It was never turned on.
The Works in...
How Israel turned homeowners into YIMBYs
A housing success story
7 months ago
NeuroLogica Blog
Evolution and Copy-Paste Errors
Evolution deniers (I know there is a spectrum, but generally speaking) are terrible scientists and...
7 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...
ToughSF
The Lofstrom Loop: A Bridge to Space
Imagine you could take a train ride to space. Tracks that slope up into the sky, higher and higher,...
11 months ago
Imagine you could take a train ride to space. Tracks that slope up into the sky, higher and higher, until you reach a plateau above the planet where it’s a straight line up to orbital velocity.
That’s what’s possible with a Lofstrom Loop. But sending you into orbit is just one...
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...
10 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.
The Works in...
How to write for Works in Progress
We're looking for new authors and article pitches.
4 months ago
We're looking for new authors and article pitches.
Quantum Frontiers
Quantum Frontiers salutes an English teacher
If I ever mention a crazy high-school English teacher to you, I might be referring to Mr. Lukacs....
5 months ago
If I ever mention a crazy high-school English teacher to you, I might be referring to Mr. Lukacs. One morning, before the first bell rang, I found him wandering among the lockers, wearing a white beard and a mischievous grin. … Continue reading →
Quanta Magazine
New Proof Finds the ‘Ultimate Instability’ in a Solar System Model
For the first time, mathematicians have proved that planetary orbits in a solar system will always...
a year ago
For the first time, mathematicians have proved that planetary orbits in a solar system will always be unstable.
The post New Proof Finds the ‘Ultimate Instability’ in a Solar System Model first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The Works in...
The Power of the Earth
On the future of geothermal energy
9 months ago
On the future of geothermal energy
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...
symmetry magazine
Whatever happened to the theory of everything?
A theory of everything was all the rage in the 1980s. So where did it go?
It is...
a year ago
A theory of everything was all the rage in the 1980s. So where did it go?
It is only the optimists who achieve anything in this world—theorist John Ellis once read this adage on a candy wrapper. It stuck with him, so much so that in 1986 he referenced this...
Quanta Magazine
Tracing the Hidden Hand of Magnetism in the Galaxy
Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a...
4 months ago
Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a critical missing piece of the galactic puzzle.
The post Tracing the Hidden Hand of Magnetism in the Galaxy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Clinical Pharmacists, Generative AI, and InpharmD | Out-Of-Pocket
Going under the hood of a generative AI product
10 months ago
Going under the hood of a generative AI product
Beautiful Public...
Here’s All the Rocks We Hauled Back From the Moon
The 12 human beings who walked on the Moon collected, catalogued and returned 842 pounds of lunar...
a year ago
The 12 human beings who walked on the Moon collected, catalogued and returned 842 pounds of lunar rock and soil. Each sample has been meticulously documented in NASA's Lunar Sample Catalog.
Quanta Magazine
Mathematicians Find Hidden Structure in a Common Type of Space
In 50 years of searching, mathematicians found only one example of a “subspace design” in a vector...
a year ago
In 50 years of searching, mathematicians found only one example of a “subspace design” in a vector space. A new proof reveals that there are infinitely more out there.
The post Mathematicians Find Hidden Structure in a Common Type of Space first appeared on Quanta...
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...
8 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...
IEEE Spectrum
Edith Clarke: Architect of Modern Power Distribution
Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career...
4 months ago
Edith Clarke was a powerhouse in practically every sense of the word. From the start of her career at General Electric in 1922, she was determined to develop stable, more reliable power grids.
During her first years at GE she invented what came to be known as the Clarke...
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...
Quanta Magazine
A New Agenda for Low-Dimensional Topology
This past October, dozens of mathematicians gathered in Pasadena to create the third version of...
9 months ago
This past October, dozens of mathematicians gathered in Pasadena to create the third version of “Kirby’s list” — a compendium of the most important unsolved problems in the field.
The post A New Agenda for Low-Dimensional Topology first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Should You Get a Heat Pump?
Starting around 1550 and lasting through the 1600s, England had an energy crisis. They were running...
a year ago
Starting around 1550 and lasting through the 1600s, England had an energy crisis. They were running out of wood, which was the main source of fuel for residential and commercial heating. England also needed a lot of wood for their massive navy – it took about 2,000 trees to build...
brr
Last Flight Out
Good-byes, and the beginning of winter isolation.
a year ago
Good-byes, and the beginning of winter isolation.
NeuroLogica Blog
A Climate Debate Regarding Health Effects – Part IV
Part 4 This will be the final installment of this mini-debate about climate change and health...
a year ago
Part 4 This will be the final installment of this mini-debate about climate change and health effects, following a typical format of each person getting to make a statement and a response. Scott makes a lot of complaints about tone, format and fairness while simultaneously trying...
Blog - Practical...
Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions: What Really Happened?
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On September 13, 2018, a...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
On September 13, 2018, a pipeline crew in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts was hard at work replacing an aging cast iron natural gas line with a new polyethylene pipe. Located just north of Boston, the...
nanoscale views
Large magnetic fields as a scientific tool
When I was at Berkeley at the beginning of the week to give a seminar, I was fortunate enough to...
9 months ago
When I was at Berkeley at the beginning of the week to give a seminar, I was fortunate enough to overlap with their departmental physics colloquium by Greg Boebinger, an accomplished scientist who is also an extremely engaging and funny speaker. Since 2004 he has been the...
Wanderingspace
New View of IO from JUNO!
From processor Ted Styrk, “The Juno Jupiter orbiter flew by Io, Jupiter's super-volcanic moon, on...
a year ago
From processor Ted Styrk, “The Juno Jupiter orbiter flew by Io, Jupiter's super-volcanic moon, on May 16, returning arguably the best imagery of the moon since the Galileo Orbiter around the beginning of this century. Definitely the best since New Horizons in 2006.”
Probably...
Migration and Population Growth
On a recent run I was talking with a friend from Spain about immigration in Europe. We speculated...
5 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...
The Roots of...
Who regulates the regulators?
IRBs
Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review...
a year ago
IRBs
Scott Alexander reviews a book about institutional review boards (IRBs), the panels that review the ethics of medical trials: From Oversight to Overkill, by Dr. Simon Whitney. From the title alone, you can see where this is going.
IRBs are supposed to (among other things)...
The Works in...
Lost Science
When discoveries are forgotten and then found
10 months ago
When discoveries are forgotten and then found
NeuroLogica Blog
T-rex Had Lips
One of the challenges of paleontology is that we are trying to infer and entire animal just from the...
a year ago
One of the challenges of paleontology is that we are trying to infer and entire animal just from the hard parts that fossilize, mostly bones and teeth (and sometimes just teeth). But if we look at animals today there are a lot of details we could not guess from their bones alone...
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
nanoscale views
Reading material - orders of magnitude and difficult times
Over the past couple of weeks (and more) I have found a number of things to read that I wanted to...
a year ago
Over the past couple of weeks (and more) I have found a number of things to read that I wanted to pass on. First, if you'd like a break from the seemingly continual stream of bad news in the world and enjoy good "think like a physicist"/dimensional analysis/order of magnitude...
NeuroLogica Blog
Clickbait and Misinformation
Which is worse – clickbaity headlines for news articles that are factually correct, but may be...
5 months ago
Which is worse – clickbaity headlines for news articles that are factually correct, but may be playing up a sensational angle, or straight-up misinformation? It depends on what you mean by “worse”. A new study tries to address this information, with some interesting findings....
Quanta Magazine
Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans
Researchers uncover striking parallels in the ways that humans and machine learning models acquire...
a year ago
Researchers uncover striking parallels in the ways that humans and machine learning models acquire language skills.
The post Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans first appeared on Quanta Magazine
symmetry magazine
Searching for the matter that hides its shine
Just because matter is visible doesn’t mean it’s easy to see.
a year ago
Just because matter is visible doesn’t mean it’s easy to see.
Probably...
Data Q&A
Today I’m starting a new project with the working title Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with...
7 months ago
Today I’m starting a new project with the working title Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. In each installment, I’ll take a question from Reddit’s statistics forum and answer it, using Python code to demonstrate. The first installment is a question about the...
The Works in...
Growing Forests
As countries develop, deforestation drops
a year ago
As countries develop, deforestation drops
Quanta Magazine
The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing. ...
a year ago
When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing.
The post The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Should Tech Companies Be Liable for Content
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing a case that will have profound effects on social media – is...
a year ago
The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing a case that will have profound effects on social media – is Google liable for a terrorist killing? The family of Nohemi Gonzalez is suing Google, because she was shot by an Islamic terrorist in 2015 and the family alleges this act was abetted...
IEEE Spectrum
A Brief History of the Office Cubicle
Robert Propst, a designer at the Herman Miller furniture company. Four years earlier, he had...
a year ago
Robert Propst, a designer at the Herman Miller furniture company. Four years earlier, he had proposed a radical alternative to the office bullpen: the Action Office. He envisioned it as a holistic and integrated system designed to increase worker efficiency while providing an...
Quanta Magazine
Thirty Years Later, a Speed Boost for Quantum Factoring
Shor’s algorithm will enable future quantum computers to factor large numbers quickly, undermining...
a year ago
Shor’s algorithm will enable future quantum computers to factor large numbers quickly, undermining many online security protocols. Now a researcher has shown how to do it even faster.
The post Thirty Years Later, a Speed Boost for Quantum Factoring first appeared on...
Quanta Magazine
With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits
After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated...
4 months ago
After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated simple computer programs can get.
The post With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Light and Distance in an Expanding Universe
Commenter Lal asks in the topic suggestions: “Media reports that light has been travelling from that...
5 months ago
Commenter Lal asks in the topic suggestions: “Media reports that light has been travelling from that distant galaxy for 13 and a half billion years, which I assume is true, but this neither represents the original nor the current distance to that galaxy in terms of light years. I...
NeuroLogica Blog
Understanding Jumbo Phage Viruses
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant form of life on Earth. And yet...
6 months ago
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant form of life on Earth. And yet we know comparatively little about them. But in recent years phage research has taken off with renewed interest. This is partly driven by the availability of CRISPR-based tools for...
symmetry magazine
Physics on tour
A group called the Big Bang Collective sets up physics discovery stations at rather unexpected...
a year ago
A group called the Big Bang Collective sets up physics discovery stations at rather unexpected venues: music festivals.
The Roots of...
Developing a technology with safety in mind
If a technology may introduce catastrophic risks, how do you develop it?
It occurred to me that the...
a year ago
If a technology may introduce catastrophic risks, how do you develop it?
It occurred to me that the Wright Brothers’ approach to inventing the airplane might make a good case study.
The catastrophic risk for them, of course, was dying in a crash. This is exactly what happened...
symmetry magazine
Physics fashion and collider couture
Symmetry is back with more physics-themed Halloween costumes.
a year ago
Symmetry is back with more physics-themed Halloween costumes.
Blog - Practical...
Why Rivers Move
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is a map of the...
a year ago
[Note that this article is a transcript of the video embedded above.]
This is a map of the Mississippi River drafted by legendary geologist Harold Fisk. It’s part of a fairly unassuming geological report that he wrote in 1944 for Army Corps of Engineers, but the maps he produced...
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
Out-of-Pocket Blog
How Data Transformed Small Group Underwriting | Out-Of-Pocket
Paper forms be gone, now we anonymize and risk it all (literally).
4 months ago
Paper forms be gone, now we anonymize and risk it all (literally).
NeuroLogica Blog
The Moon Race is On
Back in the 1960 there was a race to land people on the Moon between the US and the Soviet Union....
5 months ago
Back in the 1960 there was a race to land people on the Moon between the US and the Soviet Union. This was very much a part of the cold war, with each country interested in showing off its technical prowess to the world with a technology closely related to that needed to deliver...
Quantum Frontiers
Identical twins and quantum entanglement
“If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties,...
a year ago
“If I had a nickel for every unsolicited and very personal health question I’ve gotten at parties, I’d have paid off my medical school loans by now,” my doctor friend complained. As a physicist, I can somewhat relate. I occasionally … Continue reading →
Probably...
The mean of a Likert scale?
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous...
6 months ago
Here’s another installment in Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. Previous installments are available from the Data Q&A landing page. likert_mean Likert scale analysis¶ Here’s a question from the Reddit statistics forum. I have collected data regarding how...
Quanta Magazine
A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation
A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly...
a year ago
A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly and potentially split species.
The post A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
UFOs – Has the Narrative Shifted
In an interview for Newsweek, Michio Kaku was asked about UFOs. Here’s his response: Well, first of...
a year ago
In an interview for Newsweek, Michio Kaku was asked about UFOs. Here’s his response: Well, first of all, I think that there’s been a game changer. In the old days, the burden of proof was on the true believers to prove that what they saw last night was a flying saucer of some...
Chris Grossack's...
Talk -- What is Factorization Homology?
I was recently invited to speak at the AMS Sectional in
Tallahassee, Florida. In particular, at the...
7 months ago
I was recently invited to speak at the AMS Sectional in
Tallahassee, Florida. In particular, at the special session on
Homotopy Theory and Category Theory in Interaction. The
conference was this weekend, and I’m typing this up on my
plane ride home. I had a great time, and...
The Works in...
Heat waves
Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
4 months ago
Why a hotter world might be a more dangerous, violent, and less productive one
Out-of-Pocket Blog
Musings on CVS, two-way negotiation, and venture studios | Out-Of-Pocket
+ we're hosting another dinner! and courses ending!
7 months ago
+ we're hosting another dinner! and courses ending!
NeuroLogica Blog
The Role of Plausibility in Science
I have been writing blog posts and engaging in science communication long enough that I have a...
a year ago
I have been writing blog posts and engaging in science communication long enough that I have a pretty good sense how much engagement I am going to get from a particular topic. Some topics are simply more divisive than others (although there is an unpredictable element from social...
NeuroLogica Blog
What to Make of Havana Syndrome
I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any...
7 months ago
I have not written before about Havana Syndrome, mostly because I have not been able to come to any strong conclusions about it. In 2016 there was a cluster of strange neurological symptoms among people working at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba. They would suddenly experience...
Confessions of a...
Let’s argue against the Shark Cull with science
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the...
over a year ago
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the implementation of the Shark Cull (or, as the Government put it, the “shark protection measures”) here in Western Australia. Just as I am not a climate scientist, I am not a shark biologist, and cannot claim to be a shark expert....
NeuroLogica Blog
Reconductoring our Electrical Grid
Over the weekend when I was in Dallas for the eclipse, I ran into a local businessman who works in...
7 months ago
Over the weekend when I was in Dallas for the eclipse, I ran into a local businessman who works in the energy sector, mainly involved in new solar projects. This is not surprising as Texas is second only to California in solar installation. I asked him if he is experiencing a...
IEEE Spectrum
What Is an Electronic Sackbut?
If you, like me, think of musical synthesizers as an artifact of 1970s rock and disco, then you,...
9 months ago
If you, like me, think of musical synthesizers as an artifact of 1970s rock and disco, then you, like me, will be surprised to learn that the first electronic synthesizer predates those genres by several decades
In 1945, Hugh Le Caine, a physicist at Canada’s National Research...
brr
The Last Egg
Five more months until freshies...
a year ago
Five more months until freshies...
Probably...
Standard deviation of a count
This post is part of a new project with the working title Data Q&A: Answering the real questions...
7 months ago
This post is part of a new project with the working title Data Q&A: Answering the real questions with Python. In each installment, I’ll take a question from Reddit’s statistics forum and answer it, using Python code to demonstrate. My answer is in a Jupyter notebook — see the...
NeuroLogica Blog
England Allows Gene-Edited Crops
This has been somewhat of a quiet revolution, but a new law in England may bring it to the...
a year ago
This has been somewhat of a quiet revolution, but a new law in England may bring it to the foreground. The Precision Breeding Act will now allow gene-edited plants to be developed and marketed in England (not Northern Ireland, Wales, or Scotland). The innovation is that the law...
Beautiful Public...
A Rover's First 590 Days* on Mars
I downloaded 60,000 images to experience what NASA's Perseverance rover has been seeing since...
over a year ago
I downloaded 60,000 images to experience what NASA's Perseverance rover has been seeing since landing there in Feb. 2021.
NeuroLogica Blog
Scammers on the Rise
Good rule of thumb – assume it’s a scam. Anyone who contacts you, or any unusual encounter, assume...
9 months ago
Good rule of thumb – assume it’s a scam. Anyone who contacts you, or any unusual encounter, assume it’s a scam and you will probably be right. Recently I was called on my cell phone by someone claiming to be from Venmo. They asked me to confirm if I had just made two fund...
Quanta Magazine
In New Paradox, Black Holes Appear to Evade Heat Death
The puzzling behavior of black hole interiors has led researchers to propose a new physical law: the...
a year ago
The puzzling behavior of black hole interiors has led researchers to propose a new physical law: the second law of quantum complexity.
The post In New Paradox, Black Holes Appear to Evade Heat Death first appeared on Quanta Magazine
NeuroLogica Blog
Trust in New Technology
In an optimally rational person, what should govern their perception of risk? Of course, people are...
4 months ago
In an optimally rational person, what should govern their perception of risk? Of course, people are generally not “optimally rational”. It’s therefore an interesting thought experiment – what would be optimal, and how does that differ from how people actually assess risk? Risk is...
NeuroLogica Blog
Some Thoughts on Aging
If either of the two presumptive nominees for the major political parties in the US are elected in...
4 months ago
If either of the two presumptive nominees for the major political parties in the US are elected in November they will be the oldest person ever to be inaugerated as president. What implications does this have? As a neurologist who sees patients every workday of various ages,...
NeuroLogica Blog
Frozen Embryos Are Not People
Amid much controversy, the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children. They...
8 months ago
Amid much controversy, the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children. They did not support their decision with compelling logic, with cited precedence (their decision is literally unprecedented), with practical considerations, or with sound ethical...
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...
9 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...
Quanta Magazine
Emmy Murphy Is a Mathematician Who Finds Beauty in Flexibility
The prize-winning geometer feels most fulfilled when exploring the fertile ground where constraint...
a year ago
The prize-winning geometer feels most fulfilled when exploring the fertile ground where constraint meets creation.
The post Emmy Murphy Is a Mathematician Who Finds Beauty in Flexibility first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Blog - Practical...
HEAVY CONSTRUCTION of a Sewage Pump Station - Ep 3
This is the third episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's...
a year ago
This is the third episode of a five-part pilot series to gauge your interest in "How It's Made"-esque heavy construction videos. Drop a comment or send me an email to let me know what you think! Watch on YouTube above or ad-free on Nebula here.
Quanta Magazine
Vacuum of Space to Decay Sooner Than Expected (but Still Not Soon)
One of the quantum fields that fills the universe is special because its default value seems poised...
4 months ago
One of the quantum fields that fills the universe is special because its default value seems poised to eventually change, changing everything.
The post Vacuum of Space to Decay Sooner Than Expected (but Still Not Soon) first appeared on Quanta Magazine
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