NIPS IN LONG BEACH, LRB REPORTS
LONG BEACH, California, about 20 miles up the 405 from where I live, had an international conference this past December on NIPS, Neural Information Processing Systems. The London Review of … Continue reading
ACCESS + ABILITY AT THE COOPER HEWITT
THE COOPER HEWITT, Smithsonian Design Museum has a thoughtful exhibit focusing on accessibility and inclusive designs developed for and by people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. The Cooper Hewitt, … Continue reading
THE 50TH MERSENNE PRIME IS FOUND!
TO PUT IT succinctly, 277,232,917 – 1 = Mersenne50! On the other hand, this might be a bit too succinct for non-math types, so let’s talk about prime numbers, Father … Continue reading
A SKATEBOARD FOR THE SPACE ENTHUSIAST
CARBON FIBER is high tech in aerospace, Formula One, and other specialized applications. Compared with traditional materials, it can be engineered to be incredibly strong and lightweight—yet, at $10/lb., it’s … Continue reading
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS AAAS
MY FAVORITE Frankenstein tale is Mel Brooks’ hysterical Young Frankenstein, though I also admit to reading Mary Wollstonecraft’s Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus in Leonard Wolf’s annotated edition. What’s more, … Continue reading
A TECH TRIO OF MERIT
SAE INTERNATIONAL publishes Tech Briefs, a monthly magazine of “Engineering Solutions for Design & Manufacturing.” Three articles in its January 2018 issue show the range of its editorial coverage extending … Continue reading
BORRONI-BIRD’S AFREECAR
CHRIS BORRONI-BIRD has proposed an innovative means of personal mobility and mobile power particularly optimized for sub-Sahara Africa. The Afreecar, a play on “Africa Car,” is an advanced bike-trailer system. … Continue reading
THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT, ME, AND JOHN CLEESE
IT SOUNDS like a Grade-B sci-fi theme, but the Dunning-Kruger Effect is, alas, as timely as today’s headlines, rings true with my own intellectual life, and, what’s more, has an … Continue reading
GOTCHA, CAPTCHA!
CAPTCHAs are Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart. We all encounter these visual puzzles used as website defenses against robo intrusion. Our solving the puzzle … Continue reading
TRAVELIN’ THE RAILS WITH CHARLEY F. MURPHY
WHAT FOLLOWS is a multi-part exposition of science (you’ll excuse the word) based on charge, force, and magnetic field, better known among students of physics as Charley F. Murphy. My … Continue reading
