Stunning.
Category Archives: Science
Art Science Politics Rants SciencePerspective is Everything
March 21, 2014 – 10:48 am
One of the great mistakes, I think, of economics is it fails to understand that what something is, whether it’s retirement, unemployment, cost, is a function, not only of its amount, but also its meaning.
So where economists make the fundamental mistake is they think that money is money. Actually my pain experienced in paying five pounds is not just proportionate to the amount, but where I think that money is going. And I think understanding that could revolutionize tax policy. It could revolutionize the public services. It could really change things quite significantly.
Rory Sutherland, via TED
Sierpinski Triangle
March 20, 2014 – 5:13 pm
If you are going to read one essay about the Sierpinski Triangle, it really ought to be this one.
From what I can tell, one of the settings used to deal with division by 0 is the so-called Riemann sphere, which is where we take a space shuttle and use it to fly over and drop a cow on top of a biodome, and then have the cow indiscriminately fire laser beams at the grass inside and around the biodome. That’s my intuitive understanding of it anyway.
Yeah, you know you wanna get all up in this gasket.
Via:Hacker News
Embrace the Chaos
December 31, 2013 – 6:28 pm
I am a staunch believer in leading with the bad news, so let me get straight to the point. Earth, our anchor and our solitary haven in a hostile universe, is in a precarious situation. The solar system around us is rife with instability.
The Madness of the Planets
The enlightenment idea of the divine clockwork of the cosmos is largely a lie. Our solar system was born out of chaos and despite our relatively predictable recent past, to chaos it will eventually return.
In addition, an excellent youtube video explaining the idea of orbits with marbles and spandex:
This Video is Going to Hurt
December 24, 2013 – 4:09 pm
A fascinating video all about a deeply important field of study.
Finding Waldo With Science
November 20, 2013 – 1:59 pm
Ben Blatt brought some serious science to bear on one of the most altering and illuminating questions of our time: Where is Waldo? His findings have revolutionized the search for our furtive little friend.
It may not be immediately clear from looking at this map, but my hunch that there’s a better way to hunt was right. There isn’t one corner of the page where Waldo is always hiding; readers would have already noticed if his patterns were so obvious. What we do see, as highlighted in the map below, is that 53 percent of the time Waldo is hiding within one of two 1.5-inch tall bands, one starting three inches from the bottom of the page and another one starting seven inches from the bottom, stretching across the spread.
More Printed Circuits
November 11, 2013 – 11:11 am
The Internet of things revolution is starting to really pickup speed:
The EX¹ printer is not designed to create any 3D object like normal 3D printers. It’s been crafted and designed for one key purpose, to allow you to 3D print circuit boards, layering silver nano particles onto paper or any suitable surface to rapidly create a circuit board.
Getting your own kit will set you back a grand and a half, but printing your own prototype circuit boards at home? Priceless.
inkjet-print circuits at home
November 8, 2013 – 11:22 am
Using an plain old injet printer and an ink catridge filled with silver nitrate ink, you can print your own circuits at home at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
How to inkjet-print circuits at fraction of time and cost.
Maps Showing the Origin of Common Words
November 7, 2013 – 11:57 am
Billions of habitable planets in the galaxy
November 5, 2013 – 2:56 pm
Astronomers reported that there could be as many as 40 billion habitable Earth-size planets in the galaxy, based on a new analysis of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft.
The odds that we are alone just got infinitesimally small. This discovery emphasizes how much we need a replacement for the Kepler space telescope.
Media for Thinking the Unthinkable
November 5, 2013 – 11:45 am
Brett Victor explains how tools to expressing information change how and more importantly, what we can think. Our expressive tools enable us to think explicitly about ideas, systems and domains that were hitherto literally unthinkable. What is so special about Brett is that he walks the walk: this is the clearest, most informative “presentation” I’ve ever seen, precisely because he uses technology to make the presentation substantially more understandable.
Media For Thinking the Unthinkable
Additionally, here is an excellent post script about Brett’s project: An Ill-Advised Personal Note about “Media for Thinking the Unthinkable”
I cannot recommend enough taking a look at everything on http://worrydream.com.
Nasa Habitat For Your Truck
November 2, 2013 – 12:43 pm
Designed and built by a former Nasa habitat engineer, the Firefly is a lightweight (600lbs) habitat that fits on the back of your truck, or on a trailer.
My God, They’re Made Out Of Meat
October 31, 2013 – 6:53 pm
Based on the original short story by Terry Bisson.
Chalcopyrite – Fossilized Unicorn Poop
October 30, 2013 – 4:46 pm
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