Science, philosophy, and controversy
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Weekly Problem: Knitting Patterns
Knitting Patterns: Turing Completeness and Computational Textiles Knitting Patterns as Computational Systems: Turing Completeness in Textile Production An exploration of the formal computational properties of knitting pattern languages The relationship between knitting patterns and computational systems extends beyond superficial analogy. Recent work in theoretical computer science has demonstrated that certain classes of knitting patterns constitute…
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Hitler’s philosophy of Evil
In Nazi ideology, antisemitism drew heavily on disgust-based imagery. Jews were depicted as vermin, parasites, or infectious agents. Hitler himself, in Mein Kampf, referred to Jews as “parasites” and “bacilli” that “infect the body of nations.” This rhetoric reframed genocide as an act of purification rather than aggression. Once a group is perceived as a…
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Weekly Problem: The Grid
Consider a 4×4 grid where each cell can be either selected or not selected. Two cells cannot both be selected if they share an edge (top, right, bottom, or left).
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Weekly Problem- Let’s get complex
Consider this sequence: 1, 3, 7, 15, … Each number seems to follow a simple rule, but there’s something magical happening when we look at their binary representations. This sequence demonstrates how simple patterns create complex constraints – a fundamental concept in complex systems.
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When Pain Shapes Politics: On Discrimination, Protest, and the Risk of Misplaced Anger
It’s about how personal and collective pain—often valid and justified—sometimes spills over into debates where it clouds our ability to judge clearly. I see this pattern in feminist debates, in discussions about universities or the military, and very strikingly in the infamous O.J. Simpson trial.
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Weekly Problem: Balls into Bins
Probability theory: Throwing balls into bins Imagine you’re at a carnival game where you’re blindfolded and asked to throw balls into bins. Simple enough, right? But here’s where it gets interesting: this simple game is actually a powerful model for understanding everything from how websites handle traffic to how computers store data. What’s Really Going…
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Emergent Structures in AI and how body becomes mind
How does mindfulness emerge from mindless matter? How do billions of neurons firing in patterns, or millions of artificial parameters in a neural network, give rise to understanding, consciousness, and meaning? This transition from body to mind, from physical substrate to mental experience, represents one of the most fascinating frontiers in both philosophy and artificial…
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Weekly Problem: Traffic
You’re managing a busy intersection where cars arrive from the north and east. Each direction gets a 30-second green light. Your goal is to decide which direction should get the green light next to minimize the total waiting time
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A true man: The Truman Show
For me, The Truman Show speaks to a fundamental paradox within us: the desire for truth, the fear of it, and the strange comfort we find in illusions. It explores not just deception, but what it means to live a life that feels empty—until something real pierces through.
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Weekly Problem: Latin Squares
Weekly Problem: Latin Squares and Experimental Design The Mystery of Latin Squares A Latin square is a grid where each symbol appears exactly once in each row and column. Simple to describe, yet they hold deep mathematical mysteries and practical applications! A B C B C A C A B Part 1: The Basic Challenge…
Got any book recommendations?