on the blockchain
How did the feds recover the ransomware Bitcoin payment?
“On June 7, the United States Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the “recovery” of 63.70 bitcoin from the funds Colonial Pipeline sent to the hackers. The official story has a number of inconsistencies and federal […]
big ideas
Founding vs inheriting institutions
Inside this post Balaji describes a concept of read-only culture: “the ability to repeat what an ancestor has handed down – but not recreate it from first principles.” It reminds me of cargo cults a bit. | learn more
big ideas
The best science isn’t peer-reviewed yet
There’s a unique problem that comes with a formal peer-review publication process. “We’re going to kill ourselves because of stupidity.” | learn more
teaching the kids
The history of homework
“Homework is long-standing education staple, one that many students hate with a fiery passion. We can’t really blame them, especially if it’s a primary source of stress that can result in headaches, exhaustion, and lack of sleep. … It makes […]
teaching the kids
Bill Maher and Mike Rowe share a view on higher ed.
Maher recently included a segment on his show that overlaps with many of Rowe’s ideas. “I want people to radically rethink higher education. Toward that end, I’ve always maintained that making a four-year degree “less expensive” is a great symptom, but a […]
under the microscope
Scientists develop ‘cheap and easy’ method to extract lithium from seawater.
We need a lot of lithium because we need a lot of batteries. More battery manufacturing facilities are being funded than lithium extraction facilities. | learn more
under the microscope
3D printing of sensors directly on expanding organs
“The new technique allows for even more sophisticated tracking to 3D print sensors on organs like the lungs or heart that change shape or distort due to expanding and contracting.” | learn more
under the microscope
Using DNA to predict intelligence
A short and intriguing research paper. “Thousands of DNA variants have been identified that – aggregated into genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) – account for more than 10% of the variance in phenotypic intelligence. The intelligence GPS is now one of […]
to your health
The first new Alzheimer’s drug since 2003 approved by FDA.
The approval came despite the advisory committee’s near-unanimous vote against it. “The approval, however, will do little to quell criticisms from the swath of Alzheimer’s researchers, biostatisticians, and clinicians who have argued that Biogen cherry-picked data and failed to show […]