This Scientific American video, shared by Aeon, is pretty good if you're looking for a quick basic primer on quantum computing. It's short, less than nine minutes. Although I do have a beef which I'll discuss below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLnGp1WTNFQ Decoded: How Does a Quantum Computer Work? The beef, which is pretty common with popular explanations of … Continue reading Decoded: How does a quantum computer work?
Tag: Aeon
How life transformed the planet – Robert Hazen – Aeon
In my post on how similar or dissimilar life might be if evolution started over, I observed that much of the environment that life operates within is itself generated by other life. It turns out that goes deeper than I imagined. I knew that things like oxygenated atmosphere and soil were products of life, but it turns … Continue reading How life transformed the planet – Robert Hazen – Aeon
It’s time to look for life in Europa’s ocean
Lee Billings has a fascinating article up at Aeon asking why we continue to send missions to Mars when the best chance of life existing today is in Europa's underground ocean. If Europa is alive, if some biology dwells within those dark waters, the implications would be even more staggering than finding life on Mars. … Continue reading It’s time to look for life in Europa’s ocean
What is mathematics about? – James Franklin – Aeon
James Franklin has an interesting piece today at Aeon, asking what exactly mathematics is. He looks at Nominalism and Platonism, but discounts both in favor of Aristotelian Realism, which is something I'd not heard of before but seems equivalent to the idea that mathematics is empirical. What is mathematics about? We know what biology is about; … Continue reading What is mathematics about? – James Franklin – Aeon
Deep history, and deep future?
John Schellenberg has an article up on Aeon noting that, while we seem to have no problem accepting deep time in the past, there isn't much discussion of deep future, that is, the future millions or billions of years in the future. It's an interesting article (aside from an unfortunate plea for us to take Thomas … Continue reading Deep history, and deep future?
Is our tech making the world too complex? – Samuel Arbesman – Aeon
For centuries, humans have been creating ever-more complicated systems, from the machines we live with to the informational systems and laws that keep our global civilisation stitched together. Technology continues its fantastic pace of accelerating complexity — offering efficiencies and benefits that previous generations could not have imagined — but with this increasing sophistication and … Continue reading Is our tech making the world too complex? – Samuel Arbesman – Aeon
Virtual afterlives will transform humanity – Michael Graziano – Aeon
Imagine a future in which your mind never dies. When your body begins to fail, a machine scans your brain in enough detail to capture its unique wiring. A computer system uses that data to simulate your brain. It won’t need to replicate every last detail. Like the phonograph, it will strip away the irrelevant … Continue reading Virtual afterlives will transform humanity – Michael Graziano – Aeon
David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True
David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True. The second part of Jerry Coyne's response to David Dobb's Aeon piece on the problems with the selfish gene metaphor. Be sure to read Dobb's extended response in the comment section. Maybe I'm misreading, but Dobb's appears to be backpedaling significantly from the … Continue reading David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part II « Why Evolution Is True
David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part I « Why Evolution Is True
At any rate, Dobb’s goal is several fold. First, he wants to claim that the metaphor of the selfish gene is wrong. Second, he wants to show that it’s wrong because new understanding of gene regulation—how genes turn on and off during development—render the selfish gene metaphor passé. Finally, he claims that a new theory, … Continue reading David Dobbs mucks up evolution, part I « Why Evolution Is True
Why it’s time to lay the selfish gene to rest – David Dobbs – Aeon
The grasshopper, he noted, sports long legs and wings, walks low and slow, and dines discreetly in solitude. The locust scurries hurriedly and hoggishly on short, crooked legs and joins hungrily with others to form swarms that darken the sky and descend to chew the farmer’s fields bare. Related, yes, just as grasshoppers and crickets … Continue reading Why it’s time to lay the selfish gene to rest – David Dobbs – Aeon
SelfAwarePatterns 