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What an unprocessed photo looks like
The image isn't even black-and-white , it's gray-and-gray: While the sensor's ADC can theoretically output values from 0 to 16382, the data doesn't cover that whole range.
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CDC: Unpublished manuscripts mentioning certain topics must be pulled or revised
Any unpublished manuscript mentioning certain topics, including gender and "LGBT," must be pulled or revised.
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My 16-month theanine self-experiment
randomized and blinded, N=1
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Square Theory
The story starts in Crosscord, the crossword Discord server. Over 5,000 users strong, the server has emerged as a central hub for the online crossword community, a buzzing, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes delightful town square where total noobs, veteran constructors, and champion solvers alike come together to talk…
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No science, no startups: The innovation engine we're switching off
Tons of words have been written about the Trump Administrations war on Science in Universities. But few people have asked what, exactly, is science? How does it work? Who are the scientists? What d…
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The scientific “unit” we call the decibel
Celebrating a rare dumpster fire in the kingdom of science.
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I tried making artificial sunlight at home
Some time ago, I saw this video by DIY Perks where they make artificial sunlight at home with a 500W LED and a gigantic (1.2m) parabolic reflector. I've been...
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Homemade polarimetric synthetic aperture radar drone
Designing a cheap synthetic aperture radar mounted on FPV drone.
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How fast the days are getting longer (2023)
Here in the northern hemisphere the vernal equinox just passed and the days arequickly getting longer. One of my col...
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Deep learning gets the glory, deep fact checking gets ignored
AI, science, education, & ethics
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How does a screen work?
From electron guns to tiny electric crystals - digital displays have always been the unsung hero of computing.
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That fractal that's been up on my wall for years
Warning: Math, Handwaving I spent a lot of time doodling in middle school instead of whatever middle schoolers are supposed to do. Somewhere between the Cool S’s and Penrose triangles I found a neat way to fill up graph paper by combining and copying squares.
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Live Stream from the Namib Desert
https://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en - check these as well (not so exotic, but still a lot of fun)
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New colors without shooting lasers into your eyes
Can optical illusions take you outside the human color gamut?
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A new Google model is nearly perfect on automated handwriting recognition
A mysterious new model currently in testing on Google’s AI Studio is nearly perfect on automated handwriting recognition but it is also showing signs of spontaneous, abstract, symbolic reasoning.
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Datacenters in space aren't going to work
There is a rush for AI companies to team up with space launch/satellite companies to build datacenters in space. TL;DR: It's not going to work.
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There are no new ideas in AI, only new datasets
LLMs were invented in four major developments... all of which were datasets
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Visualizing all books of the world in ISBN-Space
Libraries have been trying to collect humanity’s knowledge almost since the invention of writing. In the digital age, it might actually be possible to create a comprehensive collection of all human writing that meets certain criteria. That’s what shadow libraries do - collect and share as many
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How the cochlea computes (2024)
Sensory coding 2: electric boogaloo
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How the U.S. became a science superpower
Prior to WWII the U.S was a distant second in science and engineering. By the time the war was over, U.S. science and engineering had blown past the British, and led the world for 85 years. It happ…
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Line scan camera image processing for train photography
I use my line scan camera to take cool pictures of trains and other stuff.
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Why it's so hard to build a jet engine
Civilization's toughest technical challenges are those that require extraordinary (and constantly improving) performance to be delivered at a low cost.
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So Much Blood
but how much exactly?
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BPS is a GPS alternative that nobody's heard of
I came to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show this year with my Dad to learn more about time in broadcast and live production. I was expecting to learn more about grandmaster clocks, AV sync, timing in protocols like Dante, Livewire, AES67, and more—and I have. But then on the first day here I found…
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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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Things you can do with diodes
Paying homage to the component we usually don't think about.
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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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The Alpha Myth: How captive wolves led us astray
A wolf paces in captivity, teaching us all the wrong lessons about power