RETHINKING NEANDERTHALS PART 1
“OF ALL OUR human relatives,” John Lancaster wrote in the London Review of Books, December 17, 2020, “the closest in both time and genetics, the most compelling, and the best … Continue reading
“CAN YOU READ ME A FLOPPY, GRANDPA?” PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we found that scads of 1s and 0s weren’t amenable to human memory. Stacks of punched cards had critical ordering. And cassette loading of programs was … Continue reading
“CAN YOU READ ME A FLOPPY, GRANDPA?” PART 1
THE QUESTION ABOVE is grammatically correct: I intend “can,” not “will,” nor “may.” Those of a certain age may remember asking, “Mrs. Grimbly, can I open a window?” She’d say, … Continue reading
THUMBS UP! AND OVER
AN OPPOSABLE THUMB optimizes interaction with the other four digits of a hand (or foot—gorillas have opposable big toes too). Humans have opposable thumbs, as do most other primates. Cats, … Continue reading
CELEBRATING PASTA ENGINEERING
HERE’S A WIN-WIN for science, for the environment, and for cuisine: a pasta that changes shape from flat to fancy as it cooks. At first glance, this may seem like … Continue reading
SHIPPING TIDBITS
THE ARTICLE “Gargantuanisation,” by John Lancaster, in the London Review of Books, April 22, 2021, is a review of Laleh Khalili’s Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in … Continue reading
T. REX TALLY
DINOSAURS DOMINATED THE world’s land masses for 185 million years, from some 250 million years ago to around 65 million years ago. How many dinosaurs existed? Charles R. Marshall and … Continue reading
NEW COPTER REPELLED BY MARS TOO!
IT’S A HOARY old joke of fixed-wing aviators that helicopters don’t really fly; it’s just that the Earth repels them. With this in mind, it’s time to celebrate another rotary-wing … Continue reading
CELEBRATING SECONDHAND ROCKETRY
ONE-USE ROCKETRY IS so 20th Century. In the old days of space exploration, rockets and their boosters were one-use entities, discarded in the ocean as part of the space capsule … Continue reading
NEW THOUGHTS ON A.I. PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE SHARPENED our discussion of artificial intelligence by separating A.I. from some guy named Al. We also gleaned tidbits from James Fallows’ article in The New York Times Book … Continue reading
