THE 35TH FIRST ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZES
HANNAH RICHTER REPORTS “The Ig Nobels Are Science’s Most Lighthearted Event. This Year Is ‘Not Typical,’ ” AAAS Science, September 19, 2025. Not typical, of course, because of Trump’s autocratically … Continue reading
A GREEN IDEA HOUSE
JEFF BRADY DESCRIBES “5 LESSONS FROM A HOUSE That Generates More Energy Than It Uses,” NPR, September 20, 2025. Brady recounts, “Robert Fortunato’s ‘Green Idea House‘ has been doing that … Continue reading
A.I. PRIMERS
HERE I MEAN “PRIMERS” in the short-i sense; Merriam-Webster: small books for teaching children to read. And, in the fast-developing world of artificial intelligence, we’re all children needing to learn … Continue reading
MARS—AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES, OR THOSE OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, OR THOSE OF MAR’S ORIGIN PART 2
YESTERDAY WE STARTED ANALYZING a cornucopia of things Martian appearing in AAAS Science. We continue today in Part 2 with assessment of Mars’ elemental structure—and, though lacking canals, any signs … Continue reading
MARS—AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES, OR THOSE OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, OR THOSE OF MAR’S ORIGIN PART 1
I PLANNED THIS AS A BOOK REVIEW of David Baron’s The Martians, with tidbits gleaned from Dov Greenbaum’s “Mars Mania and the Making of Scientific Authority,” AAAS Science, August 28, … Continue reading
HEY, DUDE—CATCH THAT WAVE!
DORANY PINEDA AND JENNIFER MCDERMOTT report that “In LA Port, Bobbing Blue Floats Are Turning Wave Power into Clean Energy,” AP News, September 8, 2025. Prototype floats react to wave … Continue reading
PHOTOPHORETIC FLIGHT IN THE IGNOSPHERE, THANKS TO CROOKE’S RADIOMETER, SORTA
THERE ARE SEVERAL NEAT WORDS ABOVE gleaned from Annika Inampudi’s article “Featherweight Flyers Could ‘Levitate’ Above Earth Indefinitely,” AAAS Science, August 13, 2025. Let’s consider each of these words, then … Continue reading
RETHINKING A.I. PART 2
YESTERDAY, Gary Marcus’ “The Fever Dream of Imminent ‘Superintelligence’ Is Finally Breaking,” a Guest Essay in The New York Times, described that today’s A.I. is failing to achieve Artificial General … Continue reading
RETHINKING A.I. PART 1
A.I. SPECIALIST GARY MARCUS WRITES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 3, 2025, “The Fever Dream of Imminent ‘Superintelligence’ Is Finally Breaking.” Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and … Continue reading
DEEPFAKE—AND OUR RESULTING LOSS OF ATTENTION AND CREDIBILITY
ZEYNEP TUFEKCI WRITES, “LAST WEEK THE TELEVISION HOST Chris Cuomo took to social media to share a video…” Prof. Tufekci is one of my most highly regarded thinkers/most valuable sources, … Continue reading
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