Tag: science

The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge

In the early 1930s, the Indian-born physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-95), who was then studying at the University of Cambridge in the UK, proposed that not all stars become white dwarves at the end of their lifecycle. Instead, the brilliant young scientist argued, when stars were of a certain mass, they would form something denser than… Read More The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge

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Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study

Neurological conditions ranging from migraine to stroke, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, are now the leading cause of ill-health worldwide, causing 11.1 million deaths in 2021, research has revealed. The number of people living with or dying from disorders of the nervous system has risen dramatically over the past three decades, with 43% of the world’s… Read More Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study

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When It Comes to Critical Thinking, AI Flunks the Test

Real intelligence requires critical thinking and causal reasoning. LLMs cannot acquire these skills by finding statistical patterns in words they don’t understand. By Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk It has been almost 70 years since the term “artificial intelligence” was coined at a 1956 Dartmouth College summer workshop. The conference was convened by the mathematician… Read More When It Comes to Critical Thinking, AI Flunks the Test

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Scientists discover 100 potential new deep-sea species, including mystery creature

Marine researchers on a mission to record life hidden in the world’s oceans have reported they found about 100 potential new species — including one mystery starlike creature. The expedition team focused its investigation on the 500-mile (800-kilometer) long Bounty Trough, a little-explored part of the ocean off the coast of New Zealand, east of… Read More Scientists discover 100 potential new deep-sea species, including mystery creature

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Proposal on Anthropocene as new chapter in Earth’s history will go no further

Scientists have voted against a proposal to declare a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene to reflect how profoundly human activity has altered the planet. By Katie Hunt, CNN The proposal was rejected by members of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, which is part of the International Union of Geological Sciences, according to three voting members of the… Read More Proposal on Anthropocene as new chapter in Earth’s history will go no further

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‘Baba’ – A Personal Tribute to Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, by A. L. Basham

NB: D. D. Kosambi (1907-1966) was one of India’s most accomplished intellectuals. Hailing from Goa, he was a polyglot familiar with Konkani, Marathi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, English, French, Italian and German (I may have missed some languages). He was a mathematician, statistician, geneticist, philologist, physicist, numismatist, archaeologist, historian and public intellectual (find a biography here). He… Read More ‘Baba’ – A Personal Tribute to Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, by A. L. Basham

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Toys from Trash: Teaching kids science using everyday objects / Visit Arvind Gupta’s Archive

First posted January 24, 2014 The road to the offices inside Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics’ (IUCAA) Children Science Centre in Pune passes through a well-set, well-manicured lawn past the administrative buildings of the place. The tranquil atmosphere of the campus is broken only by the chaos in the room opposite his office. Noisy… Read More Toys from Trash: Teaching kids science using everyday objects / Visit Arvind Gupta’s Archive

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