big ideas

The Wolfram Physics Project

One year in, Stephen Wolfram discusses the progress of his project to develop a new fundamental theory of physics. The level of abstraction here is beyond me so I couldn’t get all the way through this. “The way I see […]

big ideas

Aircraft carriers take to the air

“Like medieval castles in the age of the cannon, technological advance threatens to make [aircraft carriers] redundant. Satellites and over-the-horizon radars mean pinpointing their locations is easier. And a single well-aimed, well-armed missile may be enough to render a carrier […]

big ideas

What is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)?

“It’s produced from sustainable feedstocks and is very similar in its chemistry to traditional fossil jet fuel. Using SAF results in a reduction in carbon emissions compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces over the lifecycle of the fuel.” […]

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Not all early human societies were small-scale egalitarian bands

“A grand research project created our origin myth that early human societies were all egalitarian, mobile and small-scale…” In fact, “Sedentary and hierarchical hunter-gatherers are not unusual. If anything, it’s the profusion of mobile, egalitarian bands that might be the […]

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If aliens exist, here’s how we’ll find them

“Two esteemed astrophysicists peer into the future of space exploration.” This article gets wild somewhere in the middle. The more I encounter the frameworks that space theorists use, like the Kardashev scale, the more they start to seem normal. | learn more

big ideas

Peter Thiel: you are not a lottery ticket

Thiel lays out his 2×2 matrix: pessimist vs optimist, determinate vs indeterminate. It starts out a little obscure, but once he fills in examples it really drives his point home. I found his description of the circular investment flows in […]

big ideas

A theory of everything

I only made it about halfway through this interview of Eric Weinstein, but it was quite interesting up until he lost me. “Eric Weinstein is a mathematician with a bold and piercing intelligence, unafraid to explore the biggest questions in […]

big ideas

Pump-free geothermal loops

“[Requiring no power for pumping water down] makes this Eavor-Loop technology a bit of a unicorn. Essentially it’s a low-enthalpy geothermal station that sends fluid through a sealed loop in a way that self-perpetuates without adding any extra energy at […]