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In this excerpt from "The Shortest History of AI," Toby Walsh explores the history of the Logic Theorist, the first AI to prove mathematical theorems.
13mins
“Over the last 10 or 15 years, scientists have really started to understand the fundamental underlying biology of the aging process. And they broke this down into 12 hallmarks of aging.”
Stellar streams are faint trails of stars that appear to "stream" out of galaxies. A new one, escaping galaxy M61, may point to many others.
How did Jobs revolutionize tech, not once but continually? Aspiring innovators — and today's Apple — should look to The Bard and seek out singularity.
When dying, Sun-like stars have binary companions, spectacular sights arise from the ionization. JWST spots the Red Spider Nebula in action!
1hr 18mins
“Everyone's image of [Ancient Rome] is based on modern movies. In some ways, I think those were rather impressive, but they got some things terribly wrong.”
There's some, but not overwhelming, evidence that dark energy is evolving. What would it take for a "Big Crunch" to be our cosmic fate?
A preview of the latest novel by the National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Scientists are notoriously resistant to new ideas. Are they falling prey to groupthink? Or are our current theories just that successful?
14mins
If you’ve gotten goosebumps when hearing a story about a stranger’s selfless heroism, or you’ve felt your chest swell at a concert, when the audience’s voice and the musician’s instruments align, you have felt awe. And, according to professor Dacher Keltner, who has spent his life studying it, it’s one of humankind’s most unifying traits:
The plan — conquer China and push west to attack the Ottomans — was peak imperial hubris, as the Spanish themselves eventually realized.
Maybe — just don't expect a carbon copy.
Andrew Markell — philosopher, martial artist, and CEO advisor — argues that true endurance comes from desire, ritual, and learning to evolve through chaos.
9mins
“There would be something very, very empty and meaningless about [a] sort of life with no problems.”
3mins
From neuroscience to philosophy, experts reveal why compassion may be the most important human skill we have.
Unlikely Collaborators
Physicist Daniel Whiteson challenges the notion that all intelligent species would eventually uncover the same laws of nature. Do you agree?
Reading classic books can teach you as much about the present as the past.
Members
Everywhere we turn, we’re surrounded by polished images of how life should look, and even though we know perfection isn’t real, this can leave us feeling stuck. In this class, Oliver Burkeman invites us to see through that illusion and embrace our limitations, revealing a more grounded path to productivity that actually works for real, imperfect people.
21mins
“The idea is that we move from a place of wanting the world to conform to what we like [towards] not needing other people to be different from who they are.”