Pieces
The staff ate it later
The article discusses the common caption "The staff ate it later" used in Japanese TV programs when food appears, intended to address concerns about food waste, which is not socially acceptable in Japan. It explores the presumed origins of this caption, the ongoing debate about its authenticity (with reports both supporting and refuting that staff actually consume the food), and the general reception and critique from commentators, producers, and columnists regarding its necessity and impact on program quality.
What are OKLCH colors?
OKLCH is a newer color model designed to be perceptually uniform, making colors more accurate to human perception and easier to work with. It consists of Lightness, Chroma, and Hue, differing from LCH in its use of the OKLab color space. Key advantages include consistent brightness across different hues and predictable shades without hue or saturation drift. Gradients in OKLCH are calculated based on lightness, chroma, and hue, often resulting in smoother transitions. It also supports wider color gamuts like Display-P3, enabling more vivid colors on modern screens. While widely supported, fallbacks for older browsers can be implemented using CSS `@supports` directive.
A ‘Third Way’ Between Buying or Renting? Swiss Co-ops Say They’ve Found It.
This article from The New York Times explores the concept of housing cooperatives in Switzerland as a 'third way' between traditional renting and buying, offering affordable housing without a profit motive. It details how these nonprofit organizations provide cut-price apartments in desirable areas like Lausanne, with residents buying shares for admission and gaining security of tenure without capital gains. The piece highlights examples such as Claude Waelti's long-term affordable tenancy and the community-focused Le Bled co-op, emphasizing their role in combating housing affordability crises, fostering social integration, and incorporating environmental features, often with government support.
Why haven't quantum computers factored 21 yet?
The article explains why quantum computers, despite factoring 15 in 2001, have not yet factored 21. It details that factoring 21 is over 100 times more computationally expensive than factoring 15, primarily due to the properties of modular multiplications in Shor's algorithm. The author elaborates on three key factors: the absence of multiplications by 1, a less effective 'first-one's-free' optimization, and the more complex implementation of certain modular multiplications for 21 compared to 15. The article also discusses other contributors to this gap, such as the inherent scaling issues of early NMR quantum computers, the significant overhead of quantum error correction, and the prevalence of misleading research claims regarding quantum factoring. It concludes that factoring numbers like 21 is not currently a good benchmark for assessing progress in quantum computing, suggesting focus should be on quantum error correction and scaling challenges instead.
The Mysterious Underground City Found in a Man's Basement
This article details the accidental discovery of the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, Turkey, in 1963. While renovating his basement, a man uncovered a vast subterranean complex, up to 18 stories deep, capable of housing 20,000 people. The article explores the city's unique geology, carved from soft volcanic tuff, its potential builders (including Hittites, Phrygians, or early Christians), and its various functions as a refuge during wars, a dwelling, and a storage facility. It also touches on its ventilation system, and its eventual abandonment and rediscovery as a major tourist attraction.
Study: Social media probably can't be fixed
This article reports on a study by Petter Törnberg and Maik Larooij, which concludes that social media's core dysfunctions—including polarization, echo chambers, and the amplification of extreme views—are deeply embedded in its structural design. The research, utilizing a hybrid model of agent-based modeling and large language models, found that these negative dynamics naturally emerge from basic social network architecture, making conventional interventions largely ineffective. The findings suggest that only a fundamental redesign could address these persistent problems.
Anubis.
The article discusses Anubis, a hybrid art project and network countermeasure that uses a 'proof-of-work' system, similar to Bitcoin mining, to block AI crawlers from accessing websites. The author, Tavis Ormandy, critiques Anubis's effectiveness, arguing that it poses a trivial challenge for AI vendors with vast compute resources but significantly hinders legitimate human users with limited access to compute. He demonstrates how to bypass the system by mining a token and obtaining an auth cookie, highlighting the system's flaws and questioning its overall utility in protecting web resources.
The Quest to Cure Progeria Is a Quest to Slow Aging
This article from The New Yorker explores the rare genetic disorder progeria, which causes rapid aging, and the ongoing scientific efforts to find a cure. It delves into the personal stories of individuals with progeria, such as Sam Berns and Kaylee Halko, and highlights the groundbreaking research led by figures like Leslie Gordon, Francis Collins, and David R. Liu in gene editing and CRISPR technology. The narrative covers the challenges faced by patients and researchers, the development of potential treatments like lonafarnib and the gene-editing therapy SamPro-1, and discusses the broader implications of this research for understanding and potentially slowing the general human aging process.
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
This article explores the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence on the humanities and higher education. The author, a historian of science and technology, highlights the academic world's slow response to AI's rapid development and the perceived threat it poses. Through an assignment where students interacted with AI chatbots, the author observes that these tools, while lacking true consciousness, can foster profound self-reflection and philosophical inquiry by offering a unique form of "pure attention." The article argues that AI could automate traditional "scientistic" knowledge production, thereby liberating the humanities to refocus on core existential questions of "being" and "how to live," which machines cannot address. This shift, while initially unsettling, is presented as an exhilarating opportunity for the reinvention of humanistic education.
Wildfire Fighters, Unmasked in Toxic Smoke, Are Getting Sick and Dying
The U.S. Forest Service has fought decades of efforts to better protect its crews — sending them into smoke without masks or warnings about the risks. This article details how wildfire fighters are getting sick and dying from toxic smoke exposure, the agency's resistance to providing protective gear, and the long-term health consequences faced by these workers.
Phosphor Icons
A flexible icon family for interfaces, diagrams, presentations — whatever, really.
Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts.
A POLITICO analysis reveals the Trump administration's claims of billions saved through DOGE-related federal contract cuts are drastically exaggerated. The organization reported saving over $50 billion by canceling contracts, but a thorough review of public data indicates actual verifiable savings were closer to $1.4 billion. DOGE's methodology relies on faulty 'ceiling value' calculations, not actual committed spending, providing a misleading picture of taxpayer savings. The article details examples from the VA and HHS, highlighting how these 'savings' often remain within agencies or don't account for termination costs, challenging the administration's narrative on fiscal efficiency.
The Weight of a Cell
This article explains how the weight of single cells, like yeast and E. coli, is measured with remarkable precision, despite their minuscule size. It details two primary methods: an early 1953 experiment that used Stokes' law, a microscope, and a camera to measure yeast cells in sugar water, and a more modern 2010 technique employing a "suspended microchannel resonator" to measure the buoyant mass and growth rate of individual bacterial cells with femtogram precision. The article highlights the elegance of using basic mathematics and first principles to tackle seemingly impossible scientific measurement challenges, drawing parallels to Lord Rayleigh's 19th-century calculation of molecule size.
Highlights from the Claude 4 system prompt
An analysis of the system prompts for Anthropic's Claude 4 models (Opus and Sonnet). The author digs through the recently shared prompts, treating them as an unofficial manual, and highlights interesting aspects related to model personality, safety, style, and undocumented features from leaked tool prompts.
“No Tax on Tips” Is an Industry Plant
This article investigates Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, revealing it as a policy backed by the National Restaurant Association (NRA). It delves into the history of the subminimum wage for tipped workers and the powerful lobbying efforts by the NRA to preserve it. The piece highlights the ongoing fight for fair wages and exposes how the restaurant lobby uses misinformation and front groups to mobilize workers against their own financial interests, drawing on examples from various states.
A.I. Is About to Solve Loneliness. That’s a Problem
The article explores the potential of AI companions to alleviate loneliness, particularly for the isolated and elderly, while raising concerns about the long-term societal impact. The author argues that loneliness, though painful, is a crucial biological signal that drives human connection and personal growth. By using AI to eliminate this discomfort, society risks losing the motivation for developing real social skills, resilience, and genuine relationships, potentially leading to greater isolation and diminished humanity.
Trump wants to clear homeless encampments. Here’s what usually happens, according to experts
As the Trump administration directs federal and local law enforcement to crack down on homelessness in Washington D.C., experts argue that clearing encampments where unhoused people live is a counterproductive and ineffective tactic. This approach is part of a broader, often misguided, national trend by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to address rising homelessness by removing people from public view rather than providing stable housing solutions.
The U.S. confirms its first human case of New World screwworm. What is it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first U.S. human case of New World screwworm in a traveler returning from El Salvador. While the risk to public health is currently low, the parasite, known for its flesh-eating larvae that infest warm-blooded animals, poses a significant threat to the U.S. cattle industry. Federal authorities, including the USDA, are taking significant steps to prevent its spread, which was previously eradicated in the U.S. in the mid-20th century.
The Giant Asterisk to MAHA's Food-Dye Crackdown
The article discusses the food industry's reluctance to stop using titanium dioxide, a white food dye, despite a broader crackdown on synthetic food dyes led by the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement. While many companies are phasing out other artificial colors, titanium dioxide often remains due to its effectiveness and the difficulty of finding suitable replacements. The piece explores the health concerns surrounding the chemical, the regulatory landscape, and the industry's arguments for its continued use.
How a North Korean Fake IT Worker Tried to Infiltrate Us
An incident report from KnowBe4 detailing how the company hired a software engineer who was discovered to be a North Korean operative using a stolen U.S. identity. Upon receiving the company laptop, the operative immediately attempted to load malware, which was detected by EDR software. The report serves as a case study and warning, outlining the tactics used by these state-sponsored actors and providing recommendations for improving hiring and security processes to prevent similar infiltration attempts.
Famine confirmed in northern Gaza, says U.N.-backed panel
A U.N.-backed panel has officially declared a famine in northern Gaza, marking the first such confirmation in the Middle East. Over half a million people are at risk of starvation, and the crisis is expected to spread. The report attributes the famine to man-made causes, specifically months of deliberate restrictions on aid, the destruction of essential systems, and relentless bombardment.
Yosemite embodies the long war over US national park privatization
Concerns have been raised about the potential privatization of US national parks due to budget and staffing cuts by the Trump administration. This debate is not new; it dates back over a century, with Yosemite National Park being a central figure in the long-standing conflict between public preservation and private profit.
With $1K in cash aid, he built a life-changing barbershop. Now cash aid is under fire
Isac Luís, a man in rural Mozambique, used a $1,000 no-strings-attached cash grant from a USAID-funded program to open a successful barbershop, significantly improving his income and life. This story highlights the effectiveness of direct cash aid, a model that gained traction with USAID but is now under threat from the Trump administration, which has cut funding over concerns of misuse and fraud. Advocates argue that extensive research shows cash transfers are an efficient and effective way to alleviate poverty, empowering recipients and boosting local economies, and are pushing back against the administration's policy shift.
Why Facts Don’t Change Minds in the Culture Wars—Structure Does
The article argues that facts are ineffective at changing minds in polarized debates because beliefs are part of interconnected, self-reinforcing structures called 'belief graphs.' Using historical and modern examples, it explains that persuasion involves attacking the core nodes and connections of these belief systems rather than presenting isolated facts. The resilience of these structures is attributed to psychological mechanisms like cognitive dissonance and motivated reasoning, turning debates into a form of structural competition between worldviews.
When We Get Komooted
Following the sale of the popular route-planning platform Komoot to private equity, Josh Meissner examines the troubling mechanics of the community-powered service beyond its friendly brand image. Using Komoot as an example, he explores the broken relationship between corporate capital and our communities. Amid the tension, discover a way forward that’s available to all of us…
What Does It Mean To Be Thirsty? | Quanta Magazine
The article explores the neurobiology of thirst, explaining how the brain monitors the body's water and salt levels to maintain homeostasis. It details how specialized brain regions, like the circumventricular organs, analyze blood composition and, combined with signals from the mouth and gut, trigger the sensation of thirst. This complex system, which varies across different animal species, essentially allows the brain to make an 'educated guess' about the body's hydration needs, compelling behaviors to acquire water long before it's absorbed into the bloodstream.
The vibe coder's career path is doomed
The author recounts an experiment with 'vibe coding'—using LLMs like Claude to build a project from scratch. While initially impressed by the speed, the process devolved into a chaotic, bug-ridden mess as complexity increased. The author argues that this approach trades deep understanding for short-term velocity, leading to significant technical debt and a loss of the mental model required to maintain software. They conclude that while AI is a useful tool, relying on it for core development is a poor career investment, as the skills are shallow and the process undermines real engineering expertise.
Rewinding Jimi Hendrix’s National Anthem
The article reflects on the cultural and political significance of Jimi Hendrix's iconic performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969. The author discusses how Hendrix's rendition, filled with feedback and distortion evoking the sounds of the Vietnam War, was both an act of protest against the war and domestic turmoil, and a powerful affirmation of American ideals of individuality and freedom. It explores the performance as a transformative piece of art that redefined the national anthem and continues to resonate as a symbol of nonconformist expression.
Meet Stanford’s First Black Administrator
This article details the life and legacy of Sam McDonald, Stanford's first Black administrator. It covers his journey from Louisiana, his 50-year career on campus starting in 1903, his various roles and entrepreneurial ventures, and his deep connection to the Stanford community, particularly his philanthropic work for the Stanford Home for Convalescent Children. Despite the racial prejudices of the era, McDonald became a beloved and respected figure, leaving a permanent mark on the university's history.
'Cyclic sighing' can help breathe away anxiety
An article from Stanford Medicine discussing research that found 'cyclic sighing,' a controlled breathing exercise emphasizing long exhalations, can effectively reduce anxiety and improve mood in as little as five minutes a day. The study, co-led by researchers David Spiegel and Andrew Huberman, showed that this technique led to greater improvements in positive feelings and a lower resting breathing rate compared to other breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation.
A Tech Rule That Will ‘Future-Proof’ Your Kids
The article advocates for a single, simple technology rule for parents: no screens in children's bedrooms. Endorsed by psychologists, this rule aims to protect sleep, which is crucial for adolescent mental health, and helps kids develop a healthier, more social relationship with technology by encouraging its use in communal family spaces. This practice is suggested to 'future-proof' children by fostering better impulse control and decision-making.
What Will Become of the C.I.A.?
A book review of Tim Weiner's new book, “The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century.” The article recounts the history of the CIA from the end of the Cold War, through the rise of Al Qaeda and the September 11th attacks, the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and its navigation of the political landscape under presidents from Clinton to Trump. It explores the agency's internal conflicts, ethical dilemmas such as torture, and its recent successes regarding intelligence on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while questioning its future in a politically divided America.
Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?
The article discusses how the proliferation of drones and artificial intelligence in global conflicts, particularly in Ukraine, is challenging the United States' military supremacy. It examines the Pentagon's slow adaptation, the rise of agile defense-tech companies like Anduril, and the strategic implications for potential future conflicts, especially with China over Taiwan.
Game Genie Retrospective: The Best NES Accessory Ever Was Unlicensed
An article on the Game Genie, an unlicensed accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It details the device's creation by Codemasters, its distribution by Galoob, and the ensuing legal battle with Nintendo, which became a landmark case for fair use and derivative works. The piece also explores the Game Genie's lasting impact on gaming culture, hacking, and the concept of remixing existing media.
Video: Visualizing the Nucleus: Mysteries of the Neutrino
Physicists Rolf Ent from Jefferson Lab, and Richard Milner and Lindley Winslow from MIT, together with animator James LaPlante from Sputnik Animation, have created a 6 minute video that illustrates the important role neutrinos play in atomic nuclei and the cosmos. The video follows up on earlier work, showing how animations can depict the role of neutrinos in common nuclear processes and in the formation of the cosmos after the Big Bang.
Trump Loves ICE. Its Workforce Has Never Been So Miserable.
An article from The Atlantic detailing the plummeting morale within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency under a renewed Trump administration. The pressure of a mass-deportation campaign, high arrest quotas set by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and a shift in priorities away from major criminal investigations have left many agents and officers feeling burned out, morally conflicted, and vilified. The piece includes interviews with current and former ICE officials who describe the job as 'mission impossible' and a workforce on edge.
How Hollywood Taught a Generation to Fear the Bomb
The author reflects on how Cold War-era films shaped a generation's understanding and fear of nuclear war. He contrasts this with younger generations who, lacking similar cultural touchstones, may not fully grasp the persistent threat of nuclear annihilation, arguing for new films to re-engage the public with this peril.
Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies
A new research paper reveals a significant security vulnerability in the Fiat-Shamir transformation, a foundational proof technique used in blockchains and other cryptographic systems. The attack demonstrates how to trick proof systems into certifying false statements by exploiting how randomness is generated from hash functions, challenging the long-held assumption known as the random oracle model. This discovery has prompted a re-evaluation of the security of many digital systems that rely on this method.
What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing?
An exploration of the impact of AI tools like ChatGPT on college writing and the broader purpose of higher education. The article details how students use these tools, the resulting challenges to academic integrity, and the various ways educators are adapting. It reflects on whether AI is simply a new tool for efficiency or a fundamental threat to the process of learning, critical thinking, and writing, considering the perspectives of students, professors, and administrators.
“The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.”
A harrowing first-person account of a family caught in the catastrophic 2025 Texas flood on the Guadalupe River. The author details their home being swept away, the struggle for survival in the raging water, the tragic loss of a child, and the eventual rescue of the remaining family members.
The Tech Job Meltdown
The article argues that mass tech layoffs since early 2023 are primarily driven by a 2017 change to Section 174 of the U.S. tax code. This change mandates the amortization of R&D expenses over five years instead of immediate deduction, leading to increased short-term tax liabilities and reduced cash flow for companies. This financial pressure, particularly on tech firms and startups, has forced widespread cost-cutting measures, including significant layoffs, to cover unexpected tax bills.
Revisiting the Algorithm that Changed Horse Race Betting
This paper examines the elements necessary for a practical and successful computerized horse race handicapping and wagering system. Data requirements, handicapping model development, wagering strategy, and feasibility are addressed. A logit-based technique and a corresponding heuristic measure of improvement are described for combining a fundamental handicapping model with the public’s implied probability estimates. The author reports significant positive results in five years of actual implementation of such a system. This result can be interpreted as evidence of inefficiency in pari-mutuel racetrack wagering. This paper aims to emphasize those aspects of computer handicapping which the author has found most important in practical application of such a system.
The Beautiful Danger of Normal Life During an Autocratic Rise
A transcript of an episode of 'The Opinions' where David Leonhardt and M. Gessen discuss the human inclination to normalize life during a serious crisis. They draw parallels between the public response to Vladimir Putin's autocratic rule in Russia and the political climate of the Trump era in the United States, exploring the concept of 'shock exhaustion' and effective ways to resist the diminution of democracy.
4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment
Despite ongoing global challenges, renewable energy has rapidly shifted from an 'alternative' to the mainstream, cost-effective choice for power worldwide. This article details the exponential growth of solar and wind power, highlighting key statistics from the US, China, and developing nations, which demonstrate a profound and hopeful transformation in the global energy system.