The critical productivity skill nobody teaches you No one is teaching us how to be online. That’s a problem. ▸ 4 min — with Tiago Forte
Hard Science Without this genius optical trick, those gigantic telescopes aren’t any better than the one in your backyard Size matters, but it’s not the only thing.
Hard Science “Muon g-2” experiment hints that a mystery is bubbling inside the quantum foam There may be unknown particles lurking inside the quantum foam.
Pessimists Archive Why Steven Spielberg shouldn’t fear AI AI helped create films like “Jurassic Park” and “A.I.”, so Steven Spielberg and other artists shouldn’t worry about losing their jobs.
Thinking Turing and Wittgenstein: An entanglement of math and philosophy In pre-War Cambridge, students had to ace an interview with Ludwig Wittgenstein to attend his lectures — Alan Turing passed that test, and went on to create one of his own.
Is science about to end? Is science close to explaining everything about our Universe? Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder reacts. ▸ 5 min — with Sabine Hossenfelder
Neuropsych The first modern brain scan happened thanks to an eccentric engineer at the Beatles’ record company Godfrey Hounsfield’s early life did not suggest that he would accomplish much at all.
High Culture Have chess computers destroyed the game? What was once an art form has been drained of color and personality by ruthless algorithms. Can we make chess human again?
The Future Does AI need a “body” to become truly intelligent? Meta researchers think so We may be on the brink of finally seeing human-level intelligence in an AI — thanks to robots.
Business Why the CEO of Quantcast is betting on “personalized AI” Big Think talks to Konrad Feldman — founder of advertising tech innovator Quantcast.
Health Psychedelics open a new window on the mechanisms of perception Psychedelics mess with our prior beliefs, and could help us see what forms these beliefs in the first place.
Starts With A Bang Starts With A Bang podcast #103 – Active galaxies and the universe Galaxies don’t simply feed their central supermassive black holes, but the activity generated inside affects the entire galaxy and more.
Hard Science Brain experiment suggests that consciousness relies on quantum entanglement Maybe the brain isn’t “classical” after all.
High Culture Could letting social media users rank accuracy help stop misinformation? People naturally judge fact from fiction in offline social settings, so why is it so hard online?
The Future 3D-printed “superalloy” could make power plants more efficient The material is both stronger and lighter than those used to make conventional power plant turbines.
The Future The Turing test: AI still hasn’t passed the “imitation game” A computer that could decidedly pass Alan Turing’s test would represent a major step toward artificial general intelligence.
The Future Five amazing new discoveries about light Invisible cloaks. Ghost imaging. Scientists are manipulating light in ways that were once only science fiction.
Hard Science How antimatter helps doctors fight cancer Positron emission tomography (PET) scans use positrons — the antimatter equivalent of an electron — to locate cancer in the body.
Business How the “challenger brand” mindset can change the world When leaders connect enterprise ambition with the driving spirit of activism, everyone wins.
13.8 Quantum Steampunk: A new frontier in quantum physics How efficiently could quantum engines operate?
Neuropsych Ketamine paired with looking at smiling faces shows promise as depression treatment A key question is how to keep that relief going without relying solely on repeated ketamine infusions.
The Present Deepfake audio has a tell Researchers use fluid dynamics to spot artificial imposter voices.
The Future Gallium: The liquid metal that could transform soft electronics Bend it. Stretch it. Use it to conduct electricity.
Hard Science Augmented reality headset enables users to see hidden objects “It can truly allow you to see the physical world in ways that were not possible before.”
Health How AI played an instrumental role in making mRNA vaccines AI was key to making Moderna’s COVID mRNA vaccine. Its role in mRNA therapeutics will rapidly grow in the coming years.
Life The weird plan to hide a “backup copy” of life in lava tubes on the Moon Unfortunately, the Lunar Ark project is an idea more at home in science fiction than science fact.
The Future Making microbots smart What would it take to create a truly intelligent microbot, one that can operate independently?
The Future Transhumanists want to upload their minds to a computer. They really won’t like the result Uploading your mind is not a pathway to immortality. Instead, it will create a possibly hostile digital doppelgänger.