Category Archives: sciences

Vishnu Integrating Analog Computer?

Mars has a crater named Vishniac. If you’re anything like me, you’re curious about the etymology of such a name: it doesn’t fit the spelling and morphology of any language that comes to mind. Ephraim Vishniac tells all.

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brave scientists

Beware the deadly vacuum pocket! (relayed by Nev Dull)

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not a butterfly’s wing

Voronoi cells of nodes of the golden sector spiral, colored according to three different cycles (one for each primary), all with irrational periods.

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crimes against astronomy

The Campaign for Dark Skies collects evidence that brighter lights do not deter crime. (Cited by Bruce Schneier; link updated 2006.)

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Great Hackers

quoth Paul Graham: But VCs are mistaken to look for the next Microsoft, because no startup can be the next Microsoft unless some other company is prepared to bend over at just the right moment and be the next IBM. … Continue reading

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can the disco ball be improved?

This site has a new page, comparing three algorithms for packing nodes on a sphere. Comments invited. It’s the first time I’ve used a table in HTML! 480 12.869074 14.172741 16.211562

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QotD

Jim Henley on Spider-Man 2: We are fortunate that genuine equality is impossible because it would be the social analog of entropy [ . . . ] ‘heat death’ of the social universe.

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