In 1969, the British mathematician John Conway devised a beguilingly simple set of rules for creating complex behavior. His Game of Life, often referred to simply as Life, unfolds on an infinite square grid of cells. Each cell can be either “alive” or “dead.” The grid evolves over a series of turns (or “generations”), with… Continue reading Math’s ‘Game of Life’ Reveals Long-Sought Repeating Patterns
Igniting an Appreciation for Abraham Lincoln in Children
Historians and the general public regularly rank Abraham Lincoln as America’s greatest president. There is little doubt that he is widely admired for the work he did to end slavery and preserve the Union. But beyond these two important points, most Americans know little else about Lincoln’s life. A 2013 poll by Participant found that… Continue reading Igniting an Appreciation for Abraham Lincoln in Children
Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe
What might they be? Perhaps a new fundamental force field, Hill said, or interactions among dark matter particles that we don’t yet understand, or new ingredients that aren’t yet part of our description of the universe. Some new physics models tweak dark energy, adding a surge of cosmic acceleration in the early moments of the… Continue reading Clashing Cosmic Numbers Challenge Our Best Theory of the Universe
Tiny Fossils Reveal Dinosaurs’ Lost Worlds
Enter the fossil gallery of a natural history museum, and you’re likely to encounter spectacular skeletons of some of the most manifestly awesome creatures ever to have walked our planet: dinosaurs. From towering sauropods and fearsome tyrannosaurs to tanklike ankylosaurs and horned ceratopsians, dinosaurs dominate our conceptions of the past. But to understand these animals… Continue reading Tiny Fossils Reveal Dinosaurs’ Lost Worlds
The Beltway Judge Hearing Trump Cases and Her Anti-Trump, Anti-Kavanaugh Husband
Shown: a study in Trump-related conflicts? Judge Florence Pan in 2022, sworn in as her husband, Democrat insider and Brett Kavanaugh accuser Max Stier, right, looks on. By Julie Kelly, RealClearInvestigationsJanuary 30, 2024 Washington glitterati assembled at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in October to celebrate federal employees making a difference… Continue reading The Beltway Judge Hearing Trump Cases and Her Anti-Trump, Anti-Kavanaugh Husband
New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text
Artificial intelligence seems more powerful than ever, with chatbots like Bard and ChatGPT capable of producing uncannily humanlike text. But for all their talents, these bots still leave researchers wondering: Do such models actually understand what they are saying? “Clearly, some people believe they do,” said the AI pioneer Geoff Hinton in a recent conversation… Continue reading New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text
New ‘Chicken from Hell’ Discovered
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Were dinosaurs already on their way out when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous, the geologic period that started about 145 million years ago? It’s a question that has vexed paleontologists like us for more than 40… Continue reading New ‘Chicken from Hell’ Discovered
Logically.AI of Britain and the Expanding Global Reach of Censorship
Be Lee Fang, RealClearInvestigations & LeeFang.comJanuary 25, 2024 Brian Murphy, a former FBI agent who once led the intelligence wing of the Department of Homeland Security, reflected last summer on the failures of the Disinformation Governance Board – the panel formed to actively police misinformation. The board, which was proposed in April 2022 after he… Continue reading Logically.AI of Britain and the Expanding Global Reach of Censorship
Syphilislike Diseases Have Plagued Humans for 14,000 Years
January 26, 2024 3 min read Ancient DNA recovered from Brazilian remains shows that syphilis and other treponemal diseases originated some 10,000 years earlier than previously thought By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine The spiral-shaped bacterium Treponema pallidum (artificially coloured) causes not only venereal syphilis but also the infectious diseases yaws and bejel. Remains of… Continue reading Syphilislike Diseases Have Plagued Humans for 14,000 Years
Sanders’ Subpoena Brinksmanship | RealClearPolicy
Recent polls have shown that few Americans, regardless of political party are satisfied with the cost, complexity or choices offered by America’s healthcare system. One would think it might be an opportunity for sound bipartisan policy, as it once was when liberals like Ted Kennedy and Henry Waxman were able to work with conservative stalwarts… Continue reading Sanders’ Subpoena Brinksmanship | RealClearPolicy