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First Shape Found That Can’t Pass Through Itself | Quanta Magazine
After more than three centuries, a geometry problem that originated with a royal bet has been solved. Imagine you’re holding two equal-size dice. Is it possible to bore a tunnel through one die that’s big enough for the other to slide through? Perhaps your instinct is to say “Surely not!” If so, you’re not alone. In the late 1600s, an unidentified person placed a bet to that effect with Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Rupert — a nephew of Charles I of England who commanded the Royalist forces in the English Civil War — spent his sunset years studying metallurgy and glassmaking in his laboratory at Windsor Castle. Rupert won the bet. The mathematician John Wallis, recounting the story in 1693, didn’t say whether Rupert wrote a proof or bored a hole through an actual cube. But Wallis himself proved mathematically that, if you drill a straight tunnel in the direction of one of the cube’s inner diagonals, it can be made wide enough to allow another cube through. It’s a tight squeeze: If you make the second cube just 4% larger, it will no longer fit.
Inside the Data Centers That Train A.I. and Drain the Electrical Grid
A data center, which can use as much electricity as Philadelphia, is the new American factory, creating the future and propping up the economy. How long can this last?
When staying quiet backfired: how we rebuilt trust in Mozambique | GiveDirectly
In late 2024, misinformation spread online accusing GiveDirectly of being part of a political plot in Mozambique, forcing them to suspend activities and evacuate staff. The crisis revealed a major blind spot: their strategy of staying low-profile had created an information vacuum that bad actors could exploit. GiveDirectly recovered by proactively opening up to journalists, government leaders, and the public — building greater understanding and stronger support.
Should the bus be free? Transit advocates are divided
This article explores the debate around making public buses free, focusing on New York City where mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani champions the idea. Proponents argue free transit improves mobility and speed, while critics suggest reliability and frequency are more crucial. The piece uses Kansas City's experience with fare elimination—which faced funding and security challenges leading to reintroduction of fares—as a cautionary example, highlighting the complexities and mixed outcomes of such policies.
Functional options for friendly APIs
This article, based on a presentation by Dave Cheney at dotGo, discusses various API design patterns for creating configurable functions in Go. Cheney critiques common approaches like deeply nested parameters and configuration structs with ambiguous zero values, highlighting their limitations. He then introduces and advocates for the “functional options” pattern, where variadic functions accept other functions to configure an object. This method ensures sensible defaults, high configurability, extensibility, self-documentation, and improved safety by avoiding `nil` parameters. The author demonstrates the practical application of functional options by refactoring his `term` package, illustrating how this pattern leads to cleaner and more expressive APIs.
Diff Algorithms
This article details the journey of creating a new Go diff library, addressing the shortcomings of existing libraries. It covers the challenges in diff algorithm implementation, including complexity and readability, and explains the design of the new API for arbitrary slices and text. The implementation section delves into preprocessing, heuristics like Anchoring, and post-processing techniques used to improve performance and diff readability, highlighting that different implementations of the same algorithm can yield vastly different results.
Crime in Chicago Is a Choice
This article explores Chicago's persistent violent crime problem, highlighted by the murder of police officer Aréanah Preston. It critically examines political responses, including those of President Trump and local Democratic leaders, for minimizing the issue. The piece delves into systemic causes such as urban disinvestment, the Chicago Police Department's ineffectiveness, and endemic gang violence. It also showcases the efforts of community-led initiatives and violence interrupters, contrasting their on-the-ground work with official rhetoric and emphasizing the profound impact of violence on residents.
Why Safety on the Subway Matters
Mass transit in the United States lacks mass appeal due to various factors, with American governments prioritizing roads over rail and high construction costs leading to lower service quality. An underappreciated but significant factor in low ridership is crime and the fear of crime on public transportation, with about 40 percent of Americans describing public transit as unsafe. Ignoring these safety concerns can lead to a decline in ridership and make public spaces less functional.
These voters want to overturn Missouri's new gerrymandered congressional map
A group called 'People Not Politicians Missouri' is actively working to overturn the state's new gerrymandered congressional map, which they believe unfairly targets a Democratic seat and dilutes voter power in Kansas City. Volunteers like Leann Villaluz are gathering signatures for a referendum to let Missourians decide the map's fate in 2026, despite legal challenges and misinformation campaigns from state officials. This effort follows a nationwide redistricting battle initiated by former President Donald Trump to maintain Republican control of the U.S. House.
Ireland Is Making Basic Income for Artists Program Permanent
Ireland has decided to make its basic income for artists program permanent starting in 2026, offering approximately $1,500 monthly to selected artists. The pilot program, launched in 2022 to support the arts sector post-pandemic, cost €72 million but generated nearly €80 million in benefits, increasing artists' incomes and reducing their reliance on social programs. An overwhelming 97% of public survey respondents supported the initiative. Advocates of Universal Basic Income (UBI) cite Ireland's success as evidence for the model's effectiveness.
Can the Golden Age of Costco Last?
With its standout deals and generous employment practices, the warehouse chain became a feel-good American institution. In a fraught time, it can be hard to remain beloved.
What Zohran Mamdani Knows About Power
This article profiles Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old socialist, as he prepares to potentially become the Mayor of New York City. It chronicles his surprising political rise, driven by a platform focusing on freezing rents, providing free public transportation, and universal childcare. The piece delves into his upbringing, influenced by his filmmaker mother Mira Nair and academic father Mahmood Mamdani, and his journey through diverse educational and cultural experiences. It highlights his strategic campaigning, his unwavering support for Palestinian rights, and his ability to resonate with working-class immigrant communities, navigating both skepticism from the political establishment and support from progressive allies. The article also touches upon the challenges he faces, including scrutiny of his past statements on the NYPD and his views on Israel, as well as the inherent complexities of governing a major global city.
The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here
Authoritarians must control intelligence agencies, the justice system, and the military to capture a democratic nation. President Donald Trump and his circle have made rapid progress toward seizing the intelligence community and justice system, purging top lawyers and cops for loyalist hacks. Only the military remains outside Trump’s grip, led by generals and admirals whose oath is to the Constitution, not the commander in chief. Trump and Secretary of Physical Training Pete Hegseth are now attempting to turn the armed forces into a partisan army, challenging the sacred American tradition of military political neutrality. The article warns of an impending crisis in American civil-military relations.
Why Signal’s post-quantum makeover is an amazing engineering achievement
Signal has achieved a significant engineering feat by making its communication protocol quantum-resistant, addressing the threat posed by future quantum computers. The article details the complex integration of larger quantum-safe algorithms like ML-KEM-768 into Signal's existing "double ratchet" system, which constantly evolves encryption keys. To handle increased key sizes and maintain asynchronous messaging, developers implemented "erasure codes" and a novel "Sparse Post Quantum Ratchet" (SPQR), effectively adding a third, parallel ratchet. This ensures the protocol's forward secrecy and post-compromise security are protected against future quantum attacks, setting a high standard for post-quantum readiness in end-to-end encrypted messaging.
Origami Patterns Solve a Major Physics Riddle | Quanta Magazine
A geometric shape known as the amplituhedron, crucial for calculating how particles interact, has been found to be deeply connected to origami. Mathematician Pavel Galashin discovered that patterns in paper folding can be translated into points forming the amplituhedron. This unexpected link not only provides a new way to understand the shape but also helped resolve a decade-old conjecture about the amplituhedron's internal structure, confirming it can be cleanly subdivided into building blocks corresponding to physics calculations. The finding bridges seemingly disparate fields and opens new avenues for research in particle physics and other areas.
The wild plots of Iranian dissident hunters
The article "The wild plots of Iranian dissident hunters" by Fariba Nawa details the complex and often amateurish kidnapping attempts by the Iranian regime against its defectors in Turkey, exemplified by the case of Mohammad Rezaie. Rezaie, a former Iranian naval officer, was targeted by a ring of Turkish criminals, including brothers and cousins known as the Saglams, and a corrupt prosecutor, Davut Yilmaz, who were hired by Iranian intelligence. These attempts were poorly executed, sometimes involving competing kidnapping teams and an American woman named Katherine, whose role remains ambiguous and inconsistent. The article also touches upon the broader context of Iran's transnational repression, its use of "honeytraps," and the infiltration of Turkish governmental systems, leading to a high-profile trial and convictions in Turkey. It reveals the dangerous reality for Iranian dissidents seeking refuge abroad.
The Sad Dads of the National
The article explores the enduring melancholy and 'sad dad' persona of the band The National, detailing their two-decade journey through quotidian losses and existential angst. It delves into their songwriting process, the collaborative input of Matt Berninger's wife, Carin Besser, and Berninger's recent battle with depression and writer's block that nearly led to the band's dissolution. The piece highlights the band's eventual resurgence with their ninth album, 'First Two Pages of Frankenstein,' and the therapeutic power of their music for both the artists and their audience. It also touches on individual members' side projects, including Aaron Dessner's collaborations with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, underscoring the band's continued relevance and unique ability to articulate profound sadness and offer catharsis.
The Mastermind Box Cover: What the Hell Were They Thinking?
A satirical meeting transcript of INVICTA GAMES, LTD.'s packaging team discussing the controversial design choices for the Mastermind board game cover. The team debates themes of 'smugness,' 'deduction as power,' and adult tension, aiming for a design that conveys intellectual superiority rather than a child-friendly family game.
Opinion | I Teach Creative Writing. This Is What A.I. Is Doing to Students.
This article by Meghan O’Rourke explores the profound impact of artificial intelligence, particularly ChatGPT, on creative writing education and human expression. The author, a creative writing teacher, details her initial positive experiences using AI for productivity, but raises concerns about the technology's long-term effects on original thought, cognitive debt, and the fundamental human act of writing. O'Rourke argues that widespread AI adoption risks a "flatlining of thought" and the erosion of genuine human creativity, attention, and the pleasure of invention, especially for students growing up with AI as an intrinsic part of their learning environment.
The Weird Portland Protest That Trump Wants to Crush
The article by Isaac Stanley-Becker for The Atlantic details the unique protests occurring outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, which former President Trump vowed to crush. Despite Trump's rhetoric of a "war zone" and "domestic terrorists," the author describes the atmosphere as more "carnival than combat," with protesters employing absurdity and social media. The piece explores Portland's history of dissent, the dynamics between protesters and federal agents, and the local sentiment regarding the potential deployment of the National Guard, highlighting the blend of serious activism and performative elements within the movement.
Pan-African Dreams, Post-Colonial Realities
Two new books, on Kwame Nkrumah’s promise and Idi Amin’s tyranny, capture the soaring hopes and bitter aftermath of Africa’s age of independence.
Jane Goodall’s Second-Greatest Talent
This article explores Jane Goodall's remarkable ability to use her global fame to advance chimpanzee conservation and broader environmental activism. It details her journey from a groundbreaking primatologist in Gombe, whose discoveries of tool use challenged scientific norms, to a dedicated advocate traveling the world. Despite initial discomfort with publicity, Goodall strategically embraced her public image to champion the protection of chimpanzees and their habitats through the Jane Goodall Institute and programs like Roots and Shoots, expanding her focus to include human and environmental well-being.
In Praise of RSS and Controlled Feeds of Information
This article extols the virtues of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) as a user-controlled alternative to the algorithmic feeds of social media. The author shares personal frustrations with social platforms' content distribution and details their current RSS workflow, emphasizing the ability to curate information, categorize interests, and enjoy a distraction-free reading experience. It concludes with practical tips for finding feeds, using aggregators, and managing a personalized information stream.
How has mathematics gotten so abstract?
Today, mathematics is regarded as a supremely abstract science. On forums such as Stack Exchange, trained mathematicians may sneer at newcomers who ask for intuitive explanations of mathematical constructs. Indeed, persistently trying to relate the foundations of math to reality has become the calling card of online cranks. The article delves into the historical evolution of mathematical abstraction, from the intuitive understanding of numbers to the formal axiomatic systems of Peano arithmetic and set theory. It explains how these abstract frameworks, especially in dealing with concepts like infinity and cardinality, lead to counter-intuitive but logically consistent results, such as non-commutative addition with infinite ordinals and the existence of different sizes of infinity demonstrated by Cantor's diagonalization argument. The author explores the philosophical implications of these abstractions and their role in modern mathematics.
A brief history of the User-Agent string
This article delves into the convoluted history of the User-Agent string, explaining how various web browsers have historically misrepresented their identities due to backward compatibility issues. It traces this practice from the early days of Netscape Navigator and Mosaic, through Microsoft Internet Explorer, and up to modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. The author highlights how these 'lies' are often attempts to circumvent unsophisticated browser sniffing methods used by web developers, leading to a continuous cycle of deception and adaptation in web development.
The Prime Minister Who Tried to Have a Life Outside the Office
This article profiles Sanna Marin, former Prime Minister of Finland, focusing on her experiences with intense media scrutiny regarding her personal life while she pursued an ambitious political agenda. It delves into her new memoir, "Hope in Action," exploring the challenges of maintaining work-life balance in public office, her working-class background, her political journey, and her current role at the Tony Blair Institute. The piece examines the cultural and political expectations placed on leaders in Finland, particularly women, and Marin's continuous efforts to balance her public responsibilities with her desire for a normal personal life.
Zip Code Map of the United States
This zip code map of the United States visualizes over 42,000 zip codes across the 50 states, showing five-digit postal codes used for mail delivery. The interactive visualization allows users to type in a zip code to see its location on the map, with progressive highlighting as more digits are entered. Users can also explore how zip codes are distributed by typing in 1 or 2 digit numbers or show/hide state outlines. The zip code data was sourced from opendatasoft.com, and the visualization was built using javascript and the open source leaflet mapping library.
Personal data storage is an idea whose time has come
This article explores the evolution and importance of personal data storage, advocating for user-sovereign data control over corporate-siloed data. It traces the ideas from Tim Berners-Lee's "Socially Aware Cloud Storage" and the Solid Protocol to the AT Protocol championed by Bluesky. The author emphasizes the need for data to reside primarily with people-governed institutions, like "data-banking coops" or community-oriented data banks, rather than corporations. The piece argues that this shift enables users to truly own and manage their digital presence, fostering a more open and resilient social web where platforms request data from user-controlled servers.
Legal experts condemn Apple bowing to White House's request to remove ICE tracking app
Legal experts are condemning Apple and Google for removing an app called ICEBlock from their app stores, which allowed users to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The tech giants acted following pressure from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration. Critics argue this move constitutes 'jawboning,' where government officials censor speech through intimidation, and highlights the administration's influence over Silicon Valley companies like Apple, which has been seeking tariff exemptions and favorable treatment.
How the U.S. Postal Service Gave Us John Prine
This article explores how John Prine's experience as a mailman for the U.S. Postal Service significantly influenced his songwriting, providing him with the time and unique observations to craft his classic debut album. It highlights his reflections on ordinary characters, deep loneliness, and political themes during his time as a postal carrier. The piece also contrasts Prine's positive experience with recent political attacks on the USPS, emphasizing its crucial role and the dignity it provided to workers like Prine.
Thoughts on Mechanical Keyboards and the ZSA Moonlander
The article provides an in-depth review and personal thoughts on the ZSA Moonlander mechanical keyboard, highlighting its advantages such as programmable firmware (QMK), ergonomic design, and customization options. The author, who has used the Moonlander for several years, praises its utility as a tool for minimizing strain and injury, and the flexibility it offers. While acknowledging some design flaws like wobbly hand rests and challenging tenting mechanisms, the author concludes that mechanical keyboards, especially those with QMK firmware like the Moonlander, significantly improve the user's interface with their computer and are a worthwhile investment despite the cost.
THE WEIRD CONCEPT OF BRANCHLESS PROGRAMMING
Branchless programming is a technique that rewrites conditional logic (like if/else statements) into arithmetic and bit operations to avoid CPU branches. Modern CPUs rely on branch prediction for performance, but mispredictions in unpredictable scenarios (e.g., user input, shuffled arrays) can significantly slow down execution. By eliminating branches, this method can lead to smoother, faster, and more deterministic code, especially beneficial for hot loops, cryptographic operations, and SIMD/vectorization. While improving performance, it can make code less readable and turn logic into 'incomprehensible bit spaghetti' if misused.
Why Isn't Online Age Verification Just Like Showing Your ID In Person?
This article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that online age verification is not comparable to in-person ID checks. It details how online systems pose significant privacy and security risks due to the collection and potential misuse of sensitive personal data, leading to data breaches and extensive tracking. The author also emphasizes that these systems create substantial barriers to access, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and impinging on First Amendment-protected speech, thereby compromising user rights and safety rather than effectively protecting children.
Why Is Las Vegas Tourism Declining? It's a Perfect Storm.
This New York Times article investigates the reasons behind a decline in Las Vegas tourism, describing it as "a perfect storm." The piece highlights several contributing factors, including skyrocketing prices for hotels, events, and other amenities, which have eroded the city's long-standing reputation for affordability. It also points to a significant drop in international visitors, particularly from Canada, influenced by economic uncertainty and geopolitical factors. The article details the impact on local businesses and tourist attractions, noting reduced foot traffic and occupancy rates. Despite efforts by the Convention and Visitors Authority to revive tourism, the city faces challenges in balancing increased demand post-pandemic with maintaining value for visitors.
Vanilla CSS is all you need
This article from zolkos.com explores how 37signals builds complex web applications using only vanilla CSS, avoiding preprocessors and build tools. It delves into the evolution of their CSS architecture across products like Campfire, Writebook, and Fizzy, showcasing their adoption of modern CSS features such as custom properties, native nesting, container queries, the :has() selector, and CSS Layers. The author argues that modern CSS is powerful enough to simplify front-end development, challenging the common reliance on utility-first frameworks like Tailwind for certain projects.
The Checkerboard - 99% Invisible
This article details the unique land ownership pattern known as 'the checkerboard' in the American West, created during the post-Civil War era by the U.S. government granting alternating square-mile parcels of public and private land to railroad companies. It focuses on a legal battle involving hunters Brad Cape and Phil Yeomans, who attempted 'corner crossing' to access public land on Elk Mountain in Wyoming, which was surrounded by private property owned by a billionaire executive. Despite being charged with criminal trespass, the hunters fought the case, eventually leading to a U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in their favor, affirming the public's right to access checkerboarded public land. The decision, though not universally applicable across all states, highlights the ongoing debate over public land access.
Rising Prices Are Bad, but Plummeting Prices Are Worse
The article discusses how plummeting prices and deflation in China, a result of excess supply and low demand, pose a significant threat to its economy. While Americans might envy cheaper goods, this deflation discourages consumption and growth. Chinese leaders are attempting to manage the problem through market interference rather than fundamental economic reforms, leading to a potential long-term deflationary spiral similar to Japan's 'lost decades.' Despite the challenges for China, its export of lower prices could benefit other countries, though tariffs might offset these savings for nations like the US.
Glowworms
The article by Ann Patchett recounts a period of personal grief following the deaths of her mother-in-law, a close friend, and her dog, Sparky. Amidst this loss, she embarks on a book tour in Australia and and New Zealand with her husband, Karl, and friends Meg and Andrew Mason. The journey is fraught with travel mishaps and leads to profound existential reflections. A visit to a glowworm cave in Te Anau triggers a personal crisis about death, intensified by learning the "glowworms" are actually predatory maggots. Later, a descent into the unlit Homer Tunnel at Milford Sound prompts a similar, shared moment of anxiety with Meg, underscoring the universal encounter with one's own mortality amidst life's challenges and beautiful distractions.
America's Zombie Democracy
This article discusses the erosion of American democracy, portraying it as a 'zombie democracy' where traditional institutions persist but lack true power. It highlights the rise of 21st-century authoritarianism, characterized by political polarization, the hollowing out of civil society, the spread of disinformation, and increasing political violence. The author examines how public passivity, distraction, and division contribute to this decline, alongside the role of AI in further diminishing human agency. The piece concludes by questioning the purpose of education in a free society and the means of resisting these authoritarian tendencies.
Why a reachable position can have at most 218 playable moves
This article by Tobs40 on Lichess.org investigates the maximum number of legal moves possible from a single chess position. It aims to mathematically prove that 218 is the absolute upper bound, building upon the 1964 record composition by grandmaster Nenad Petrović. The author details their computational approach using integer programming with Gurobi, including various optimization strategies and challenges encountered. The work successfully confirms 218 as the limit for reachable positions and also confirms 144 moves for positions without promotions, referencing Jenő Bán's 1960 discovery.
The endangered cactus behind Mexico's sweet secret
In Mexico, September means chiles en nogada season. But one key ingredient, a candied barrel cactus called biznaga, is now illegal because it's vanishing in the wild.
Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It
This article profiles Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, detailing his ongoing efforts to safeguard its original vision against contemporary challenges. Berners-Lee is actively involved in initiatives such as the Solid Protocol and his company, Inrupt, which aim to decentralize the internet, empower users with control over their data, and counter issues like misinformation, addictive algorithms, and the monopolistic tendencies of large tech platforms. The piece traces his history from the web's inception to his current battle to preserve an open and equitable digital future amidst phenomena like 'enshittification' and the rise of AI.
That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus
This article debunks the Secret Service's claim that a recently discovered SIM farm represents a major national security or espionage threat. The author, Robert Graham, argues it is merely a normal criminal enterprise involved in sending spam and masking call origins. He criticizes major news outlets like the New York Times for uncritically repeating the government's narrative and quoting "experts" who he claims are part of government propaganda, rather than providing an accurate assessment of the situation. Graham explains that SIM farms are common and can be operated by individuals, not just state actors, and while they can sometimes overload cell towers, they do not pose the sophisticated threat suggested by official statements.
Palo Alto approves dark sky ordinance, sets earlier curfew
The Palo Alto City Council has approved a new dark sky ordinance, implementing stricter measures to reduce light pollution. Key provisions include an earlier curfew for outdoor lighting, shifting from midnight to 11 p.m., and a broader application of new lighting standards to both new and replacement fixtures. The ordinance mandates specific light brightness levels (0.1-foot candle), a maximum light temperature (2700 K), and requires lights not to cross property lines, with some exemptions for emergency services and certain low-voltage or motion sensor lights. Environmental advocates supported the stricter version, citing benefits for sleep, energy use, and wildlife, while some residents expressed concerns about enforcement, noncompliance, and potential impacts on safety, leading to neighborhood exemptions that caused dissent among council members.
Bortle scale
The Bortle dark-sky scale is a nine-level numeric scale developed by amateur astronomer John E. Bortle to measure the night sky's brightness and the observability of celestial objects. Published in Sky & Telescope magazine in February 2001, it helps skywatchers evaluate sites by characterizing the interference from light pollution, ranging from Class 1 (darkest skies) to Class 9 (inner-city skies). The scale describes visibility of celestial objects and light sources, corresponding to naked-eye limiting magnitude and sky quality meter measurements.
How Germany outfitted half a million balconies with solar panels
Germany has successfully implemented "balkonkraftwerk" (balcony solar) with over half a million installations, allowing apartment dwellers to easily generate their own electricity. This initiative is driven by simple plug-in technology, supportive government policies including simplified permitting and renter protections, and local subsidies. While providing modest energy and cost savings, these systems foster a sense of climate action and encourage greater awareness of energy consumption among users, contributing to Germany's clean energy goals.
The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers
WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.
The Problem with Trump Accounts
This article critiques the 'Trump Account' savings program, which provides a $1,000 federal deposit for every newborn. While seemingly beneficial, it argues that the tax-advantaged structure disproportionately favors wealthier families who can make larger contributions, thereby exacerbating wealth inequality. The authors contrast it with 'Baby Bonds' as a more equitable alternative and advocate for better-targeted support to truly help low-income families build assets.