Ahead of construction of a luxury hotel, archaeologists working at a site near the Vatican unearthed the ruins of a private theater where the notoriously cruel Roman emperor Nero once prepared for his public appearances. The whereabouts of the first-century-C.E. theater, which is described in Roman writings, were unknown until now. The researchers who made… Continue reading Ruins of Emperor Nero’s Theater Discovered near Vatican
China Ponders Russia’s Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War
A saying attributed to General Omar Bradley notes that “amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.” Any attempt by China to use military force to seize Taiwan would be an immense logistical undertaking requiring moving large quantities of troops and materiel across the Taiwan Strait. What then, are Chinese observers learning from the logistical realm of… Continue reading China Ponders Russia’s Logistical Challenges in the Ukraine War
Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
Algorithms have become ubiquitous. They optimize our commutes, process payments and coordinate the flow of internet traffic. It seems that for every problem that can be articulated in precise mathematical terms, there’s an algorithm that can solve it, at least in principle. But that’s not the case — some seemingly simple problems can never be… Continue reading Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in August held a trailblazing trilateral summit. The summit’s particular focus was on countering military threats in East Asia, and it hailed “a new era of trilateral partnership” in which the three countries “are determined to align our collective efforts… Continue reading A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry
Some event or series of events early in the history of life must have “broken the mirror,” as biochemists put it, throwing life into molecular asymmetry. Scientists have debated why life became homochiral, and whether it needed to happen or if it was purely a fluke. Were chiral preferences impressed on early life by biased… Continue reading Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry
A Potential Alternative for Regulating Internet-Based Platform Services
Centralized policy may help soften deceptively predatory aspects of Internet-platform services. The use of internet-based platform services like Amazon, DoorDash, and Uber Eats is increasing and can be helpful. But the companies that offer these services may be engaging in predatory practices that can harm users and local businesses. State and local governments have tried… Continue reading A Potential Alternative for Regulating Internet-Based Platform Services
The AI Tools Making Images Look Better
It’s one of the biggest cliches in crime and science fiction: An investigator pulls up a blurry photo on a computer screen and asks for it to be enhanced, and boom, the image comes into focus, revealing some essential clue. It’s a wonderful storytelling convenience, but it’s been a frustrating fiction for decades — blow… Continue reading The AI Tools Making Images Look Better
A Four-Day School Week? Here Are the Costs and Benefits
For a town of barely 13,000 people, Athens, Texas, is not shy about putting itself on the map. It calls itself the black-eyed pea capital of the world. It claims the hamburger was born in a little café on its courthouse square. And its school district proudly proclaims itself the “Home of the 4-Day Instructional… Continue reading A Four-Day School Week? Here Are the Costs and Benefits
What Caused Maui’s Devastating Wildfires?
Editor’s Note (8/21/23): This article was updated after posting to include new details of the situation on the ground, including the death toll from the fires. At least 114 people have been confirmed to be killed by wildfires that raged uncontrolled on the famously beautiful Hawaiian island last week. People were left with little time to escape from… Continue reading What Caused Maui’s Devastating Wildfires?
Money, Markets, and Machine Learning: Unpacking the Risks of Adversarial AI
It is impossible to ignore the critical role that artificial intelligence (AI) and its subset, machine learning, play in the stock market today. While AI refers to machines that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, machine learning (ML) involves learning patterns from data, which enhances the machines’ ability to make predictions and… Continue reading Money, Markets, and Machine Learning: Unpacking the Risks of Adversarial AI