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Category Archives: Sci-Tech

MPC AIDING STEMMERS 

STEM STUDENTS (THOSE STRIVING FOR degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) have Calculus 1 as a first hurdle. And for many it’s a formidable one. According to AAAS Science, … Continue reading →

September 13, 2023 · 2 Comments

CITATIONS RAINING CAT AND DOG

“ARE YOU THE ‘SIMANAITIS, D’ referenced in a recent article?” the email asks. Well, what with a few math papers, scads of R&T articles, and now thousands of SimanaitisSays items, … Continue reading →

September 2, 2023 · 1 Comment

SNOW WHITE AND THE BARIUM SULFATE DWARFS

“SCIENTISTS AT PURDUE,” reports Cara Buckley in The New York Times, July 12, 2023, “have created a white paint that, when applied, can reduce the surface temperature on a roof … Continue reading →

September 1, 2023 · 3 Comments

GROUND-SOURCE HEAT PUMPS

ISABELLA O’MALLEY’S ARTICLE describes “Little-known but efficient, a different way to heat and cool your house,” AP News, July 13, 2023. It’s about ground-source heat pumps, their function related to, … Continue reading →

August 14, 2023 · 4 Comments

“FAIR USE” AND A.I. PART 2

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL POPPING UP in generative A.I. is causing legal complications of the Fair Use Doctrine. Here in Part 2, more tidbits are gleaned from Paula Samuelson’s “Generative AI Meets … Continue reading →

August 1, 2023 · Leave a comment

“FAIR USE” AND A.I. PART 1

THE USE OF LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS scooping up copyrighted material has become a complex legal issue. Paula Samuelson’s article “Generative AI Meets Copyright” addresses fascinating aspects of this in AAAS … Continue reading →

July 31, 2023 · Leave a comment

IF A.I. IS SO DAMNED SMART, HOW COME IT CAN’T INCLUDE E.A.?

“EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM,” E.A., for short, is a term coined in 2011 by philosophers Peter Singer, Toby Ord, and William MacAskill. Lately, it has become a buzz word among developers and doomsayers (some, the … Continue reading →

July 22, 2023 · 1 Comment

TANDEM SOLAR CELLS OPTIMIZE THE SUN’S PHOTONS

A NEW GENERATION OF SOLAR-CELL ELECTRICITY can profit from more of the sun’s energy spectrum, as described in “Tandems Have The Power,” by Stefaan Wolf and Erkan Aydin in AAAS … Continue reading →

July 20, 2023 · 2 Comments

BABY TALK—DOLPHIN STYLE

WE’VE ALL HAD GENTLE LITTLE CONVERSATIONS with infants, this “baby talk” helping them to learn how to speak. What’s more, Beki Hooper Ph.D. reports in Psychology Today, July 3, 2023, … Continue reading →

July 9, 2023 · 3 Comments

DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS THEORY, ANOSOV FLOWS, AND ARNOLD’S CAT PART 2

A FINE ARTICLE IN QUANTA MAGAZINE, Jordana Cepelewicz’s “Flow Proof Helps Mathematicians Find Stability in Chaos,” introduces the concept of Anasov flows in dynamical systems. And, following up with some … Continue reading →

July 2, 2023 · Leave a comment