SLEEP ON IT
ALDOUS HUXLEY’S Brave New World describes a chilling example of childhood indoctrination through sleep-learning. This novel takes place in a London of 2540 (referred to as 632 A.F., After Ford, … Continue reading
A BEWILDERING SWIRL OF LIFE
THERE’S AN ecosystem at least as significant as the Earth’s rainforests in its richness, diversity, sustenance and epochal importance to mankind. Because of the miniscule character of its constituents, though, … Continue reading
PHYSICS FOR GEARHEADS
MY HIGH-SCHOOL physics teacher liked cameras. Following his whims, and not any school board guidelines, I came away with a deep appreciation for optics. He evidently hated levers. And, to … Continue reading
ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS GET EVEN SMARTER
ROBOTS ARE getting closer to achieving human-like dexterity. Computers are improving in recognition of speech and writing. Many of these advances are attributable to artificial neural networks, ANN, for short. … Continue reading
WHAT A MESMERIZING BITCH!
“LOOK INTO my eyes, Lassie.” Or maybe it’s Lassie communicating this wish to her human pal. Between humans, a prolonged gaze into each other’s eyes promotes an emotional bond. There’s … Continue reading
SARAH BRIGHTMAN—COSMONAUT
THE WOMAN loved by the Phantom of the Opera has fallen in love with space tourism. And not just the concept, but the actual thing. Classical crossover/musicial theater soprano Sarah … Continue reading
AND THAT MEANS….
LATELY, RESEARCHING one thing and another, I’ve been enjoying Google Translate. This online tool supports 90 languages as either input source or translated target. Google Translate says that during 2013 … Continue reading
HAPPY 100TH—GENERAL RELATIVITY!
THIS YEAR is the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, so what better time than to describe its intricacies here in 600 words. Now you tell one. … Continue reading
HAPPY Π-DAY!
TODAY, MARCH 14th, at 53 seconds past 9:26 a.m., can be represented 3/14/15 9:26:53, which displays the first ten digits of the mathematical constant π, 3.14159265358979323846… Also, given that I … Continue reading
BROMINE—PRODUCT OF A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD
BROMINE, FROM the Greek, βρῶμος, brómos, as in “strong-smelling,” is a fuming liquid at room temperature. It’s toxic and corrosive. But it isn’t all bad. It just comes from a … Continue reading
