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Nootropics
Notes on nootropics I tried, and my experiments
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Science & Space
The most popular blog posts about science & space on Hacker News. 4,454 posts.
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Hennessy and Patterson win Turing Award
Hennessy and Patterson pioneered a systematic, quantitative approach to the design and evaluation of computer architectures that has had enduring impact on the microprocessor industry. Their reduced instruction set computer (RISC) approach has led to lasting and repeatable principles that generations of architects…
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20 Years Later
Almost exactly twenty years ago I started writing a short article about the problems with string theory. I had been thinking about doing this for quite a while, and the timing of entering the twent…
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Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death
The Mosquito Bucket of Death is a safe and environmentally sound way to rid your yard of mosquitoes. Here's how you make them.
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Chinese Tokamak reaches over 100M degrees
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), nicknamed Chinese artificial sun, has achieved over 100 million degrees electron temperature in the core plasma in its 2018 four-month-long experiment campaign.
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Some insects I found inside dried Turkish figs from Trader Joe’s
During an online wasp identification course I participated in several weeks ago, there was a fun discussion about whether commercially-produced figs contained fig wasps (Agaonidae, in the Chalcidoidea). Opinions varied, plus some asserted, as do many internet pages, that even if wasps were once insi
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But good sir, what is electricity?
A quick look at the physics of conductors, insulators, and electric charges.
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The Mathocalypse
More Updates (Oct. 12): Jeffrey Ketchersid has used Claude Code agents to show that BusyBeaver(10) exceeds Graham’s number, beating the previous best result that BB(13) does so. In response t…
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Experiments on a $50 DIY air purifier (2020)
You can make a DIY air purifier in 30s. To test if it works, I generated smoke, and measured how well it removes tiny particles.
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Scientists regenerate hair cells that enable hearing
Researchers move closer to gene therapy solution for hearing loss
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The effects on cognition of sleeping 4 hours per night for 12-14 days
Discuss this study on my forum or see discussion on Hacker News (>400 points, >350 comments). Abstract I slept 4 hours a night for 14 days and didn’t find any effects on cognition (assessed via Psychomotor Vigilance Task, a custom first-person shooter scenario, and SAT). I’m a 22-year-old male and normally I sleep 7-8…
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Pollution from tire wear is worse than exhaust emissions?
Pollution from tyre wear can be 1,000 times worse than what comes out of a car’s exhaust, Emissions Analytics has found.
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How The Chronicle is trying to malign Sci-Hub
A new article was published in The Chronicle about me running Sci-Hub, a project dedicated to providing free access to academic journals all over the world. Their goal is to present Sci-Hub and its…
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Things you can do with diodes
Paying homage to the component we usually don't think about.
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A new method to reprogram human cells to better mimic embryonic stem cells
In a groundbreaking study published today in Nature, Australian scientists have resolved a long-standing problem in regenerative medicine.
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Old Soviet Venus descent craft nearing Earth reentry
That soon-to-reenter Cosmos 482 is getting increased attention by satellite trackers – and new imagery provides some interesting details.
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Another scientific body has debunked bitemark analysis
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, the criminal legal system is incapable of admitting its mistakes
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How a Car Engine Works
Check out Animagraffs on youtube > .
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The Alpha Myth: How captive wolves led us astray
A wolf paces in captivity, teaching us all the wrong lessons about power
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Invisible Electrostatic Wall at 3M plant (1996)
SESSION 7: SPECIAL SESSION, 17th Annual EOS/ESD Symposium THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1995, 8:00 am SESSION 7: SPECIAL SESSION: ELECTROSTATIC CONSIDERATIONS IN INDUSTRY MODERATOR: D. Swenson, 3M 7.7 CASE STUDY - LARGE PLASTIC WEB ELECTROSTATIC PROBLEMS, RESULTS, AND CURE, D. Swenson, 3M Company Tremendous static charge…
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What can a technologist do about climate change?
Frustrated by a sense of global mispriorities , I blurted out some snarky and mildly regrettable tweets on the lack of attention to climate change in the tech industry (Twitter being a sublime medium for the snarky and regrettable). Climate change is the problem of our time, it’s everyone’s problem, and most of our…
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Electric vehicle battery costs rapidly declining, Tesla cited as leading
As Tesla Motors {NASDAQ: TSLA] overarching mission witnessed a milestone via the International Energy Agency's (IEA) report we wrote about yesterday, it turns out there's more great news. Expanding on this further, according to the IEA,
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Can solar costs keep shrinking?
The costs of some parts of solar farms will drop to near zero. But some obstacles remain to make this energy cheaply available everywhere. As a result, the entire energy industry will change. What are those obstacles? How will the industry change?
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A new class of materials that can passively harvest water from air
Researchers from Penn Engineering have discovered nanostructured materials that can passively harvest water from the air without energy input, enabling water-harvesting systems for arid regions.