Quanta MagazineThe Mandelbrot set is a special shape, with a fractal outline. Use a computer to zoom in on the set’s jagged boundary and no matter how deep you explore, you’ll always see near-copies of the original set — an infinite, dizzying cascade of self-similarity and novel features. The Mandelbrot set is a perfect example of how a simple mathematical rule can produce incredible complexity.
This video covers how the Mandelbrot set is constructed by iterating a quadratic function on the complex plane. It also delves into the connections between Mandelbrot and Julia sets while explaining the mechanics of how they both work. We also retrace the history of the discovery and exploration of these important sets, including current research on solving the key Mandelbrot Locally Connected conjecture (MLC).
Decoding The Mandelbrot Set: Math’s Famed FractalQuanta Magazine2024-01-27 | The Mandelbrot set is a special shape, with a fractal outline. Use a computer to zoom in on the set’s jagged boundary and no matter how deep you explore, you’ll always see near-copies of the original set — an infinite, dizzying cascade of self-similarity and novel features. The Mandelbrot set is a perfect example of how a simple mathematical rule can produce incredible complexity.
This video covers how the Mandelbrot set is constructed by iterating a quadratic function on the complex plane. It also delves into the connections between Mandelbrot and Julia sets while explaining the mechanics of how they both work. We also retrace the history of the discovery and exploration of these important sets, including current research on solving the key Mandelbrot Locally Connected conjecture (MLC).
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgThe Mathematical Structure That Describes Our UniverseQuanta Magazine2024-10-04 | Albert Einstein discovered that our universe -- space-time -- is a manifold.
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Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgSpace-Time: The Biggest Problem in PhysicsQuanta Magazine2024-09-25 | What is the deepest level of reality? In this Quanta explainer, Vijay Balasubramanian, a physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, takes us on a journey through space-time to investigate what it’s made of, why it’s failing us, and where physics can go next.
00:00 - The Planck length, an intro to space-time 1:23 - Descartes and Newton investigate space and time 2:04 - Einstein's special relativity 2:32 - The geometry of space-time and the manifold 3:16 - Einstein's general relativity: space-time in four dimensions 3:35 - The mathematical curvature of space-time 4:57 - Einstein's field equation 6:04 - Singularities: where general relativity fails 6:50 - Quantum mechanics (amplitudes, entanglement, Schrödinger equation) 8:32 - The problem of quantum gravity 9:38 - Applying quantum mechanics to our manifold 10:36 - Why particle accelerators can't test quantum gravity 11:28 - Is there something deeper than space-time? 11:45 - Hawking and Bekenstein discover black holes have entropy 13:54 - The holographic principle 14:49 - AdS/CFT duality 16:06 - Space-time may emerge from entanglement 17:44 - The path to quantum gravity
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Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgIs this particle the key to dark matter?Quanta Magazine2024-09-19 | The physicist Alex Sushkov explains why the hypothetical axion particle is a good candidate for dark matter.
In his lab, Sushkov uses atoms as miniature compass needles to search for dark matter. Researchers have long leveraged magnetic resonance to spy inside bodies and identify chemicals, but Sushkov has been pushing the technology to its limits. In his lab at Boston University, Sushkov has developed one of the most targeted magnetic resonance experiments to date, aiming to detect a hypothetical dark matter particle called the axion.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgCan you solve this coin toss probability puzzle?Quanta Magazine2024-08-29 | Only about 10% of the people who recently tried this probability problem answered it correctly. What's your guess?
Daniel Litt, a mathematician at the University of Toronto, delights in posing probability brainteasers like this one to his followers on 𝕏. You can find more of these problems and detailed explanations of their solutions in his interview on our website: quantamagazine.org/perplexing-the-web-one-probability-puzzle-at-a-time-20240829
#math #maths #mathematics #probability #puzzle #problemsolving #mathproblem #brainteaser #mathpuzzlesWhat Your Brain Is Really Doing When Youre Doing NothingQuanta Magazine2024-08-13 | When your mind is wandering, your brain’s “default mode” network (DMN) is active. Its discovery 20 years ago inspired a raft of research into networks of brain regions and how they interact with each other. New research, including a recent study of the brain on psilocybin, is revealing the default mode networks's role in memory, social awareness and sense of self.
--------- Chapters: 00:00 What is the default mode network? 00:43 Hans Berger and the discovery of the network 02:36 Functional brain networks 03:24 The network's role in episodic, prospective, and semantic memory 04:14 Connection to self-awareness, social cognition, and theory of mind 04:39 Mind wandering and self-reflection 05:06 Interaction with other networks and brain dysfunction 06:24 What psilocybin reveals about the network 07:46 How the network creates a sense of self
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Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhy do we need dark matter?Quanta Magazine2024-07-24 | The physicist Alex Sushkov explains why scientists believe dark matter must exist.
In his lab, Sushkov uses atoms as miniature compass needles to search for dark matter. Researchers have long leveraged magnetic resonance to spy inside bodies and identify chemicals, but Sushkov has been pushing the technology to its limits. In his lab at Boston University, Sushkov has developed one of the most targeted magnetic resonance experiments to date, aiming to detect a hypothetical dark matter particle called the axion.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhat Is the Nature of Consciousness? | Podcast: The Joy of WhyQuanta Magazine2024-07-03 | Neuroscience has made progress in deciphering how our brains think and perceive our surroundings, but a central feature of cognition is still deeply mysterious: namely, that many of our perceptions and thoughts are accompanied by the subjective experience of having them. Consciousness, the name we give to that experience, can’t yet be explained — but science is at least beginning to understand it. In this episode, the consciousness researcher Anil Seth and host Steven Strogatz discuss why our perceptions can be described as a “controlled hallucination,” how consciousness played into the internet sensation known as “the dress,” and how people at home can help researchers catalog the full range of ways that we experience the world.
--------- “The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the astrophysicist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgThe Insane Ackermann FunctionQuanta Magazine2024-06-21 | Researchers proved that navigating certain systems of vectors is among the most complex computational problems and involves a function called the Ackermann function. Find out how an easy-sounding problem yields numbers too big for our universe.
#math #computerscienceA Shot in the Dark for Dark MatterQuanta Magazine2024-05-31 | The physicist Alex Sushkov uses atoms as miniature compass needles to search for dark matter. Researchers have long leveraged magnetic resonance to spy inside bodies and identify chemicals, but Sushkov has been pushing the technology to its limits. In his lab at Boston University, Sushkov has developed one of the most targeted magnetic resonance experiments to date, aiming to detect a hypothetical dark matter particle called the axion.
Read the full article at Quanta Magazine: quantamagazine.org/he-seeks-mystery-magnetic-fields-with-his-quantum-compass-20240517 --------- Chapters: 00:00 The search for dark matter 01:17 What is dark matter? 02:15 The hypothetical axion particle 03:29 Using magnetic resonance to search for axions --------- - VISIT our website: quantamagazine.org - LIKE us on Facebook: / quantanews - FOLLOW us Twitter: / quantamagazine
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhat Is Quantum Teleportation? | Podcast: The Joy of WhyQuanta Magazine2024-05-17 | Quantum teleportation isn’t just science fiction; it’s entirely real and happening in laboratories today. But teleporting quantum particles and information is a far cry from beaming people through space. In some ways, it’s even more astonishing.
John Preskill, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, is one of the leading theoreticians of quantum computing and information. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin interviews him about entanglement, teleporting bits from coast to coast, and the revolutionary promise of quantum technology. Season 3, Episode 4
- Find more information about this episode here: quantamagazine.org/what-is-quantum-teleportation-20240314 ---------- “The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the astrophysicist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. The Joy of Why is produced by PRX Productions
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhy supermassive black holes shine so brightQuanta Magazine2024-05-03 | Astrophysicist Erin Kara explores black holes by carefully tracking the gas and plasma swirling near their event horizons. To reconstruct the immediate environment, Kara turns to the X-ray light given off by the accretion disk, measuring the timing of photons using a telescope mounted on the International Space Station. This technique — called reverberation mapping — works in a manner similar to how bats ‘see’ using sound echolocation, allowing researchers to infer the structure of the gas and plasma with remarkable resolution. ---------- Read the full article: quantamagazine.org/to-see-black-holes-in-detail-she-uses-echoes-like-a-bat-20240212
#science #blackhole #space #physics #telescopeCan Large Language Models Understand Meaning?Quanta Magazine2024-04-29 | Brown University computer scientist Ellie Pavlick is translating philosophical concepts such as “understanding” and “meaning” into concrete ideas that are testable on LLMs.
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Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhat Makes for ‘Good’ Math? | Podcast: The Joy of WhyQuanta Magazine2024-04-16 | Terence Tao, who has been called the “Mozart of Mathematics,” wrote an essay in 2007 about the common ingredients in “good” mathematical research. In this episode, the Fields Medalist joins Steven Strogatz to revisit the topic. S3EP01 Originally Published February 1, 2024
- Find more information about this episode here: quantamagazine.org/what-makes-for-good-mathematics-20240201 ---------- “The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the astrophysicist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. The Joy of Why is produced by PRX Productions
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgThe Longest-Running Science Experiment in HistoryQuanta Magazine2024-04-05 | Nearly 3,000 years ago, ancient Babylonians began one of the longest-running science experiments in history. The goal: to predict eclipses. This singular aim has driven innovation across the history of science and mathematics, from the Saros cycle to Greek geometry to Newton’s calculus to the three-body problem. Today, eclipse prediction is a precise science; NASA scientists predict eclipses hundreds of years into the future. Featuring Stephen Wolfram.
---------- Read the Quanta article "How the Ancient Art of Eclipse Prediction Became an Exact Science": quantamagazine.org/how-the-ancient-art-of-eclipse-prediction-became-an-exact-science-20240405 ---------- Chapters: 00:00 Solving the three-body problem is key to predicting eclipses 00:52 Importance of eclipses to ancient civilizations 01:20 The lunar phase cycles, plane of ecliptic, draconic month, anomalistic month 02:18 Discovery of the Saros cycle by the Babylonians 03:34 The Antikythera mechanism encodes the Saros cycle 04:22 Newton's discoveries lead to new calculations of the eclipse 00:48 How to solve the three-body problem 05:24 NASA's solution to the three-body problem, location of the Earth, moon and sun 06:51 JPL Development Ephemeris 07:25 Predicting future eclipses 08:14 The end of the current Saros series
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgCryptographys Mathematical Worlds: Which One Do We Live In?Quanta Magazine2024-03-27 | For forty years, Russell Impagliazzo has worked at the forefront of computational complexity theory, the study of the intrinsic difficulty of different problems. The most famous open question in this field, called the P versus NP problem, asks whether many seemingly hard computational problems are actually easy, with the right algorithm. An answer would have far-reaching implications for science and the security of modern cryptography. In 1995, Impagliazzo wrote a seminal paper where he reformulated possible solutions to P versus NP in the language of five hypothetical worlds we might inhabit, whimsically dubbed Algorithmica, Heuristica, Pessiland, Minicrypt and Cryptomania. Impagliazzo’s five worlds have inspired a generation of researchers, and they continue to guide research in the flourishing subfield of meta-complexity
---------- Chapters: 00:00 Cryptography is the killer app of Computational Complexity 01:31 Impagliazzo's Five Worlds 02:03 World 1 - Algorithmica 02:27 World 2 - Heuristica 02:53 World 3 - Pessiland 03:15 World 4 - Minicrypt 03:52 World 5 - Cryptomania - cryptography as we know it ---------- - VISIT our website: quantamagazine.org - LIKE us on Facebook: facebook.com/QuantaNews - FOLLOW us Twitter: twitter.com/QuantaMagazine
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhy is this computer science problem so hard to solve?Quanta Magazine2024-03-15 | Researchers use a process called formal verification to ensure critical computer programs are free of bugs. Inside this process is a math problem call the reachability problem for vector addition systems. Find out how this problem was solved by computer scientists.
#math #computerscience #scienceThe Easy-Sounding Problem That Yields Numbers Too Big for Our UniverseQuanta Magazine2024-03-08 | How can a programmer ensure a critical piece of software is bug-free? Theoretical computer scientists use a fundamental question called the reachability problem, which determines whether a computer will reach or avoid various dangerous states when running a program. To better understand the complexity of the problem, researchers turned to a mathematical tool called vector addition systems. In a series of recent breakthroughs, computer scientists have now determined that the complexity of the reachability problem for vector addition systems is defined by a famous function called the Ackermann function, which becomes extremely complex even with small inputs. ---------- Read the full article for links to papers: quantamagazine.org/an-easy-sounding-problem-yields-numbers-too-big-for-our-universe-20231204
CORRECTION: March 13, 2024 Around the same time as Czerwiński and Orlikowski's 2021 paper that raised the lower bound to Leroux and Schmitz’s Ackermann upper bound, Leroux obtained an equivalent result, working independently. Both papers proved the same lower bound and the teams coordinated to publish the papers at the same time. Links to their work can be found here: - The Reachability Problem for Petri Nets is Not Primitive Recursive, Leroux ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9719763 - Reachability in Vector Addition Systems is Ackermann-complete, Czerwiński and Orlikowski ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9719806
---------- Chapters: 00:00 How formal verification finds programming bugs 00:59 The Reachability Problem 01:41 Origins of concurrent computing and resultant challenges 02:40 Vector addition systems (vass) and the reachability problem 04:16 Searching for the complexity of the problem, what's the fastest algorithm? 04:38 Identification of lower and upper bounds of the reachability problem 06:18 The Ackermann function explained 07:32 A final solution to the vasa reachability problem is found
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgHow to hear black holes with X-raysQuanta Magazine2024-02-16 | Astrophysicist Erin Kara explores black holes by mapping echos of X-ray light given off by their accretion disks. To better understand what happens at the event horizon, she turned light echoes into simulated sound in order to 'hear' how they work at the most fundamental levels.
#space #blackholes #scienceThe Physicist Who Sees Into Black HolesQuanta Magazine2024-02-12 | How do supermassive black holes shape the evolution of galaxies? What does an event horizon really look like? Why do black holes emit bursts of energy called ‘relativistic jets’?
In search of answers to these questions, astrophysicist Erin Kara explores black holes by carefully tracking the gas and plasma swirling near their event horizons. To reconstruct the immediate environment, Kara turns to the X-ray light given off by the accretion disk, measuring the timing of photons using a telescope mounted on the International Space Station. This technique — called reverberation mapping — works in a manner similar to how bats ‘see’ using sound echolocation, allowing researchers to infer the structure of the gas and plasma with remarkable resolution. ---------- Read the full article: quantamagazine.org/to-see-black-holes-in-detail-she-uses-echoes-like-a-bat-20240212 ---------- Chapters: 00:00 How do supermassive black holes shape our galaxy? 00:59 Blackholes release X-rays as matter falls in 02:00 Using the NICER telescope to capture photons from black holes 02:30 Reverberation mapping technique is like echolocation 04:10 Imaging stellar-mass black holes 04:34 Formation of relativistic jets ---------- - VISIT our website: quantamagazine.org - LIKE us on Facebook: facebook.com/QuantaNews - FOLLOW us Twitter: twitter.com/QuantaMagazine
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWho Discovered the Mandelbrot Set?Quanta Magazine2024-02-01 | The Mandelbrot set has inspired music, fiction, paintings and countless psychedelic hallucinations. Its tangled wilderness also bears witness to incredible feats of mathematical imagination.
#math #fractal #science #explainervideoWhat is the Mandelbrot Set?Quanta Magazine2024-01-30 | The Mandelbrot set has inspired music, fiction, paintings and countless psychedelic hallucinations. Its tangled wilderness also bears witness to incredible feats of mathematical imagination. #math #fractal
Watch our full video explainer: youtube.com/watch?v=u9GAnW8xFJYThe math of musicQuanta Magazine2024-01-12 | Wherever she looks, Sarah Hart discovers hidden patterns and symmetries, mathematical connections between math, nature and the arts, which appeal to our innate appreciation of order and beauty in the universe, Hart is the first woman to be the professor of geometry at Gresham College in London, a 428-year-old position that was once also held by Roger Penrose. @QuantaScienceChannel
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#science #math #stem #music #mathematics #maths #fibonacci #goldenratio #art #mathandartThe Math Hiding in Plain SightQuanta Magazine2024-01-12 | Group theorist Sarah Hart explores connections between math, nature and the arts including architecture, music, design and literature. Wherever she looks, Hart discovers hidden patterns and symmetries which appeal to our innate appreciation of order and beauty in the universe. Hart is the professor of geometry at Gresham College in London, where she delivers several public lectures per year.
00:00 Humans are detectors of hidden math 00:41 Group theory, the study of symmetry 01:00 Math in nature: Fibonacci sequences and the golden ratio 01:49 Symmetries in design, 17 patterns of wallpapers, and crystal structures 03:35 Connections between music and math
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgBiggest Breakthroughs in Math: 2023Quanta Magazine2023-12-23 | Quanta Magazine’s mathematics coverage in 2023 included landmark results in Ramsey theory and a remarkably simple aperiodic tile capped a year of mathematical delight and discovery.
00:05 Ramsey Numbers One of the biggest mathematical discoveries of the past year was in graph theory where the proof of a new, tighter upper bound to Ramsey numbers. These numbers measure the size that graphs must reach before inevitably containing structures called cliques. The discovery, announced in March, was the first advance of its type since 1935. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/after-nearly-a-century-a-new-limit-for-patterns-in-graphs-20230502
06:21 Aperiodic Monotile The most attention-getting result of the year was the discovery of a new kind of tile that covers the plane but only in a pattern that never repeats. A two-tile combination that does this has been known since the 1970s, but the single tile, discovered by a hobbyist named David Smith and announced in March, has been a sensation. CORRECTION: In the video, the image presented as the 'turtle' tile is in fact a rotated 'spectre' tile. To see the correct version of the turtle tile, you can visit Dave Smith's webpage: hedraweb.wordpress.com/2023/03/23/its-a-shape-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-einstein-tile-20230404 - Build your own aperiodic tiling patterns with Kaplan's online tool: cs.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/hat/h7h8.html
14:20 Three Arithmetic Progressions Two computer scientists, Zander Kelley and Raghu Meka, stunned mathematicians with news of an out-of-left-field breakthrough on an old combinatorics question: How many integers can you throw into a bucket while making sure that no three of them form an evenly spaced progression? Kelley and Meka smashed a long-standing upper bound on the number of integers smaller than some cap N that could be put in the bucket without creating such a pattern. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/surprise-computer-science-proof-stuns-mathematicians-20230321
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgBiggest Breakthroughs in Physics: 2023Quanta Magazine2023-12-21 | In 2023, physicists found the gravitational wave background that’s made by supermassive black hole collisions, teleported quantum energy in the lab, and puzzled over JWST’s potentially cosmology-breaking discoveries.
00:05 Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves When galaxies collide, their supermassive central black holes merge — a smashup so violent that it shakes the very fabric of space-time itself. In June, multiple international collaborations announced that they had found the resulting gravitational waves that alter the apparent rhythm of pulsars. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/an-enormous-gravity-hum-moves-through-the-universe-20230628
04:23 Quantum Energy Teleportation A quantum energy teleportation protocol was proposed in 2008 and largely ignored. Now two independent experiments have shown that it works, effectively borrowing energy from a distant location and thus violating no sacred physical principles. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/physicists-use-quantum-mechanics-to-pull-energy-out-of-nothing-20230222
08:46 Discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope The first round of big results from observations made by the James Webb Telescope were released this year, including observations of light from galaxies that glowed some 300 million years after the Big Bang and an abundance of supermassive black holes. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/jwst-spots-giant-black-holes-all-over-the-early-universe-20230814
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgBiggest Breakthroughs in Computer Science: 2023Quanta Magazine2023-12-20 | Quanta Magazine’s computer science coverage in 2023 included progress on new approaches to artificial intelligence, a fundamental advance on a seminal quantum computing algorithm, and emergent behavior in large language models.
00:05 Vector-Driven AI As powerful as AI has become, the artificial neural networks that underpin most modern systems share two flaws: They require tremendous resources to train and operate, and it’s too easy for them to become inscrutable black boxes. Researchers have developed a new approach called hyperdimensional computing which is more versatile, making its computations far more efficient while also giving researchers greater insight into the model’s reasoning. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/a-new-approach-to-computation-reimagines-artificial-intelligence-20230413
04:01 Improving the Quantum Standard For decades, Shor’s algorithm has been the paragon of the power of quantum computers. This set of instructions allows a machine that can exploit the quirks of quantum physics to break large numbers into their prime factors much faster than a regular, classical computer — potentially laying waste to much of the internet’s security systems. In August, a computer scientist developed an even faster variation of Shor’s algorithm, the first significant improvement since its invention. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/thirty-years-later-a-speed-boost-for-quantum-factoring-20231017
07:14 The Powers of Large Language Models Get enough stuff together, and you might be surprised by what can happen. This year, scientists found so-called “emergent behaviors,” in large language models — AI programs trained on enormous collections of text to produce humanlike writing. After these models reach a certain size, they can suddenly do unexpected things that smaller models can’t, such as solving certain math problems. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/the-unpredictable-abilities-emerging-from-large-ai-models-20230316
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgBiggest Breakthroughs in Biology and Neuroscience: 2023Quanta Magazine2023-12-19 | Quanta Magazine's coverage of biology in 2023, including important research progress into the nature of consciousness, the origins of our microbiomes and the timekeeping mechanisms that govern our lives and development.
00:05 The Investigation of Consciousness Our minds are constantly taking in new external information while also creating their own internal imagery and narratives. How do we distinguish reality from fantasy? This year, researchers discovered that the brain has a “reality threshold” against which it constantly evaluates processed signals. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/is-it-real-or-imagined-how-your-brain-tells-the-difference-20230524
04:30 Microbiomes Evolve With Us This year, scientists provided clear evidence that the organisms in our microbiome —the collection of bacteria and other cells that live in our guts and elsewhere on our body — spread between people, especially those with whom we spend the most time. This raises the intriguing possibility that some illnesses that aren’t usually considered communicable might be. -- Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/global-microbiome-study-gives-new-view-of-shared-health-risks-20230314
08:43 How Life Keeps Time The rate at which an embryo develops and the timing of when its tissues mature vary dramatically between species. What controls the ticking of this developmental clock that determines an animal’s final form? This year, a series of careful experiments suggest that mitochondria may very well serve dual roles as both the timekeeper and power source for complex cells. - Original story with links to research papers can be found here: quantamagazine.org/what-makes-life-tick-mitochondria-may-keep-time-for-cells-20230918
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgP vs. NP: The Biggest Puzzle in Computer ScienceQuanta Magazine2023-12-01 | Are there limits to what computers can do? How complex is too complex for computation? The question of how hard a problem is to solve lies at the heart of an important field of computer science called Computational Complexity. Computational complexity theorists want to know which problems are practically solvable using clever algorithms and which problems are truly difficult, maybe even virtually impossible, for computers to crack. This hardness is central to what’s called the P versus NP problem, one of the most difficult and important questions in all of math and science.
This video covers a wide range of topics including: the history of computer science, how transistor-based electronic computers solve problems using Boolean logical operations and algorithms, what is a Turing Machine, the different classes of problems, circuit complexity, and the emerging field of meta-complexity, where researchers study the self-referential nature of complexity questions.
Featuring computer scientist Scott Aaronson (full disclosure, he is also member of the Quanta Magazine Board). Check out his blog: https://scottaaronson.blog/
00:00 Introduction to the P vs NP problem 02:16 Intro to Computational Complexity 02:30 How do computers solve problems? 03:02 Alan Turing and Turing Machines 04:05 George Boole and Boolean Algebra 05:21 Claude Shannon and the invention of transistors 06:22 John Von Neumann and the invention of the Universal Electronic Computer 07:05 Algorithms and their limits 08:22 Discovery of different classes of computational problems 08:56 Polynomial P problems explained 09:56 Exponential NP Problems explained 11:36 Implications if P = NP 12:48 Discovery of NP Complete problems 13:45 Knapsack Problem and Traveling Salesman problem 14:24 Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) defined 15:32 Circuit Complexity Theory 16:55 Natural Proofs Barrier 17:36 Meta-complexity 18:12 Minimum Circuit Size Problem (MCSP)
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgWhy Computer Vision Is a Hard Problem for AIQuanta Magazine2023-10-24 | Computer scientist Alexei Efros suffers from poor eyesight, but this has hardly been a professional setback. It's helped him understand how computers can learn to see. At the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab (BAIR), Efros combines massive online data sets with machine learning algorithms to understand, model and re-create the visual world. His work is used in iPhones, Adobe Photoshop, self-driving car technology, and robotics. In 2016, the Association for Computing Machinery awarded him its Prize in Computing for his work creating realistic synthetic images, calling him an “image alchemist.” In this video, Efros talks about the challenges and changing paradigms of computer vision for AI.
00:00 Why vision is a hard problem 1:18 History of computer vision 2:01 Alexei's scientific superpower 3:14 The role of large-scale data 3:37 Computer vision in the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Lab 4:15 The drawbacks of supervised learning 4:57 Self-supervised learning 5:33 Test-time training 7:08 The future of computer vision
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.orgUnlocking the Secrets of Our Circadian RhythmsQuanta Magazine2023-10-10 | The trailblazing chronobiologist Carrie Partch has a deep fascination with the biochemical mechanisms that living cells use to track time. Utilizing state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology and crystallography, her laboratory delves into the intricate workings of pivotal clock molecules such as CLOCK, BMAL1, and the PER and CRY proteins in our cells, investigating their roles in the regulation of circadian rhythms that control the human sleep-wake cycle. Despite the challenges of an ALS diagnosis, Partch is undeterred in her quest to unravel the mysteries of how the human body synchronizes itself with the natural cycles of planet Earth.
00:00 Biological clocks and chronobiology 01:21 The history of the study of biological clocks 02:30 Circadian rhythms govern more than just sleep-wake cycle 03:10 How modern life negatively impacts biological clock 03:50 Using Nuclear Magnetic Spectroscopy to study the proteins involved in the clock 05:30 How clock proteins regulate the 24-hour body clock 06:40 Fixing broken biological clocks
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#biology #circadianrhythm #biologicalclockHow To Explore The Early UniverseQuanta Magazine2023-09-20 | Cynthia Chiang, a cosmologist, builds telescopes and takes them to some of the most remote (and rugged) places on Earth, in search of radio-quiet spots where she can detect whispers from the very early cosmos. Her experiments use faint signals from hydrogen atoms to reveal what the universe was like when the first stars were born, and to study the era of cosmic dark before that first dawn.
00:00 Cosmologist are search to answers to these mysteries. 00:38 How to look back in time using a radio telescope 01:45 What is a radio telescope 02:56 Traveling to rugged and remote locations in search of radio quiet zones 03:03 The search for Cosmic Dawn with the PRIZM experiment 04:42 Listening for the Dark Ages and the CMB with the ALBATROS experiment
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#physics #cosmology #space #telescopeWhen Computers Write Proofs, Whats the Point of Mathematicians?Quanta Magazine2023-08-31 | Andrew Granville knows that artificial intelligence will profoundly change math. The programming language Lean already plays a role in theorem proving. That's why the University of Montreal number theorist has started talking to philosophers about the nature of mathematical proof — and how the discipline of mathematics might evolve in the age of AI.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#math #proof #computerscienceMaths Map Coloring Problem - The First Proof Solved By A ComputerQuanta Magazine2023-08-08 | Can you fill in any map with just four colors? The so-called Four-Color theorem says that you can always do so in a way that neighboring regions never share the same color. But a proof eluded mathematicians for more than a century before Wolfgang Haken and Kenneth Appel controversially used a computer to show it must be true. This breakthrough forever changed mathematics.
Featuring David S. Richeson, Professor of Mathematics and the John J. & Ann Curley Faculty Chair in the Liberal Arts, Dickinson College
00:00 What is the to the Four Color Problem 01:12 Historical origins of the map coloring theorem 01:49 Kempe's first proof techniques using planar graphs and unavoidable sets 04:49 Heawood finds a flaw in Kempe's proof 05:49 How Appel and Haken used a computer to verify their proof 08:15 Applications of the proof in the study of network theory
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#math #proof #computerscienceImproving Cryptography to Protect the InternetQuanta Magazine2023-07-27 | Theoretical computer scientist Yael Kalai has devised breakthrough interactive proofs which have had a major impact on cryptography. These protocols can be found in use in a wide range of digital applications including smart phone communication, cloud computing, and securing the blockchain. She and her collaborators are updating their cryptographic schemes for a future in which quantum computers could threaten the security of today’s most commonly used cryptographic methods.
00:00 What is cryptography and where is it used? 00:54 History of modern cryptography, securing communications 01:40 Securing computations with weak devices by delegating to strong devices 02:55 Interactive proofs: a method to prove computational correctness 4:07 Creating SNARG certificates using Fiat-Shamir Paradigm 05:30 SNARGS on the blockchain and Etherium 05:45 Quantum computers and the future of cryptography
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#cryptography #computerscience #blockchain #quantumcomputerA Bet Against Quantum GravityQuanta Magazine2023-07-10 | Is gravity quantum in nature, just like all the other particles and forces? Or is it fundamentally different? For nearly a century, physicists have attempted to define gravity using the framework of quantum mechanics. But it turns out that “quantizing” gravity leads to some thorny dead ends.
To chart a path forward, the physicist Jonathan Oppenheim and his students have proposed a different idea: What if gravity simply can’t be quantized? Building on work from the 1990s, Oppenheim’s theory keeps gravity classical and then searches for a way to couple the quantum and classical realms.
Such hybrid theories could solve long-standing problems in physics. But they also lead to a conclusion that many physicists may find unsettling: the universe is deeply random. To make his point, Oppenheim made a bet with two quantum gravity researchers that he’s right. Upcoming experiments could determine the winner of the bet.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#quantum #blackhole #physics #gravity #spacetimeCan a New Law of Physics Explain a Black Hole Paradox?Quanta Magazine2023-06-06 | When the theoretical physicist Leonard Susskind encountered a head-scratching paradox about black holes, he turned to an unexpected place: computer science. In nature, most self-contained systems eventually reach thermodynamic equilibrium ... but not black holes. The interior volume of a black hole appears to forever expand without limit. But why? Susskind had a suspicion that a concept called computational complexity, which underpins everything from cryptography to quantum computing to the blockchain and AI, might provide an explanation.
He and his colleagues believe that the complexity of quantum entanglement continues to evolve inside a black hole long past the point of what’s called “heat death.” Now Susskind and his collaborator, Adam Brown, have used this insight to propose a new law of physics: the second law of quantum complexity, a quantum analogue of the second law of thermodynamics.
Also appearing in the video: Xie Chen of CalTech, Adam Bouland of Stanford and Umesh Vazirani of UC Berkeley.
00:00 Intro to a second law of quantum complexity 01:16 Entropy drives most closed systems to thermal equilibrium. Why are black holes different? 03:34 History of the concept of "entropy" and "heat death" 05:01 Quantum complexity and entanglement might explain black holes 07:32 A turn to computational circuit complexity to describe black holes 08:47 Using a block cipher and cryptography to test the theory 10:16 A new law of physics is proposed 11:23 Embracing a quantum universe leads to new insights 12:20 When quantum complexity reaches an end...the universe begins again
Thumbnail / title card image designed by Olena Shmahalo
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#quantum #blackhole #physics #entanglement #computerscience #cryptographyThe Digital Quest for Quantum GravityQuanta Magazine2023-05-25 | Could the key to understanding quantum gravity, one of the most sought-after theories in physics, be much more elementary than many physicists believe? Theoretical physicist Renate Loll has developed an elegant theory called Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) that has produced surprising findings while simulating quantum gravity inside a computer. Her research may one day lead to new insights into how the fabric of space-time formed.
00:00 Is string theory and loop quantum gravity theory wrong? 01:40 What is quantum gravity and how do you develop a theory of it? 02:05 Causal Dynamical Triangulations theory (CDT) 03:27 Computer-simulated quantum gravity revealed a 4D universe 04:28 The future of quantum gravity research
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#Quantum #Gravity #physics #generalrelativityHow AI Discovered a Faster Matrix Multiplication AlgorithmQuanta Magazine2023-05-22 | Researchers at Google research lab DeepMind trained an AI system called AlphaTensor to find new, faster algorithms to tackle an age-old math problem: matrix multiplication. Advances in matrix multiplication could lead to breakthroughs in physics, engineering and computer science.
AlphaTensor quickly rediscovered - and surpassed, for some cases - the reigning algorithm discovered by German mathematician Volker Strassen in 1969. However, mathematicians soon took inspiration from the results of the game-playing neural network to make advances of their own.
Correction: At 2:53 in the video, the text previously read "67% less" but has been changed to "67%" for accuracy.
00:00 What is matrix multiplication? 01:06 The standard algorithm for multiplying matrices 02:06 Strassen's faster algorithm for faster matrix multiplication methods 03:55 DeepMind AlphaGo beats a human 04:28 DeepMind uses AI system AlphaTensor to search for new algorithms 05:18 A computer helps prove the four color theorem 06:17 What is a tensor? 07:16 Tensor decomposition explained 08:48 AlphaTensor discovers new and faster faster matrix multiplication algorithms 11:09 Mathematician Manuel Kauers improves on AlphaTensor's results
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation: simonsfoundation.org
#math #AlphaTensor #matricesHunting For Signs of Life at the Top of the WorldQuanta Magazine2023-04-17 | As the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Tracie Seimon develops cutting-edge techniques for the detection of pathogens that infect wild animals. She is also pushing the boundaries of conservation biology, employing eDNA (environmental DNA) collection and analysis to search for endangered species and assess biodiversity in some of the most remote ecosystems on Earth. In 2019, her team’s work on Mount Everest revealed surprising results about the wide diversity of species, which range across the tree of life, that call this hostile, high-elevation mountain environment home.
The Wildlife Conservation Society runs four zoos and the aquarium in New York City and supports conservation and research projects in more than 60 countries around the world.
00:00 Why protecting biodiversity important and the role of science 00:20 The Wildlife Conservation Society's Molecular Lab 00:50 How Dr. Tracie Simon ending up studying amphibians in the high Andes 01:39 How climate change is impacting high mountain environments 02:49 Researching environmental DNA (eDNA) in wild environments 03:27 Biodiversity eDNA analysis of life on Mt. Everest 04:16 Surprising results from the survey of the tree of life on Everest 05:45 Pushing boundaries of eDNA analysis to save the Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.org
#wildlife #biology #conservation #dnaBattling Big Tech: Truth, Lies and AIQuanta Magazine2023-03-10 | Arvind Narayanan has built a career deflating the hype around claims made by Big Tech. He took on Netflix on user privacy and is now setting his sights on the latest neural networks and generative artificial intelligence. Can AI algorithms really predict our future behavior? Should programmers decide what invasive technologies are implemented, or should the public? How do so called "objective" machine learning algorithms actually reflect the biases and prejudices of society at large?
Narayanan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University, affiliated with the Center for Information Technology Policy. He studies the societal impact of digital technologies.
0:00 Who is Dr. Arvind Narayanan? 0:27 Taking on Netflix and privacy 1:17 Your apps are tracking you everywhere 1:58 An unexpected defender of digital privacy 2:10 Do AI technologies predicting behavior actually work? 3:40 Does tech amply the best and and worst of society?
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.org
#artificialintelligence #technology #privacyCould One Physics Theory Unlock the Mysteries of the Brain?Quanta Magazine2023-01-31 | The ability of the phenomenon of criticality to explain the sudden emergence of new properties in complex systems has fascinated scientists in recent decades. When systems are balanced at their “critical point,” small changes in individual units can trigger outsized events, just as falling pebbles can start an avalanche. That abrupt shift in behavior describes the phase changes of water from ice to liquid to gas, but it’s also relevant to many other situations, from flocks of starlings on the wing to stock market crashes. In the 1990s, the physicist Per Bak and other scientists suggested that the brain might be operating near its own critical point. Ever since then, neuroscientists have been searching for evidence of fractal patterns and power laws at work in the brain’s networks of neurons. What was once a fringe theory has begun to attract more mainstream attention, with researchers now hunting for mechanisms capable of tuning brains toward criticality.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.org2022s Biggest Breakthroughs in MathQuanta Magazine2022-12-23 | Mathematicians made major progress in 2022, solving a centuries-old geometry question called the interpolation problem, proving the best way to minimize the surface area of clusters of three, four and five bubbles, and proving a sweeping statement about how structure emerges in random sets and graphs. Read more about these and other mathematical advances at Quanta Magazine: quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-math-20221222
You can read also about the biggest breakthroughs of 2022 in physics, biology, and computer science on our magazine website: quantamagazine.org/tag/2022-in-review
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.org
Correction: An earlier version of this video incorrectly suggested that Vogt and Larson solved the Brill-Noether theorem and has been deleted. Instead, the couple solved the interpolation problem. This video more accurately reflects what they proved. We regret the error.How Physicists Created a Holographic Wormhole in a Quantum ComputerQuanta Magazine2022-11-30 | UPDATE: In February 2023, an independent team of physicists presented evidence that the research described in this video did not create any wormholes, holographic or otherwise. Read our coverage of these developments at Quanta Magazine: quantamagazine.org/wormhole-experiment-called-into-question-20230323
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Almost a century ago, Albert Einstein realized that the equations of general relativity could produce wormholes. But it would take a number of theoretical leaps and a “crazy” team of experimentalists to build one on Google's quantum computer. Read the full article at Quanta Magazine: quantamagazine.org/physicists-create-a-wormhole-using-a-quantum-computer-20221130
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgThe High Schooler Who Solved a Prime Number TheoremQuanta Magazine2022-10-13 | In his senior year of high school, Daniel Larsen proved a key theorem about Carmichael numbers — strange entities that mimic the primes. “It would be a paper that any mathematician would be really proud to have written,” said one mathematician.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgOne Mans Mission to Unveil Maths BeautyQuanta Magazine2022-09-13 | "Students haven't been taught that math is discovery," says Richard Rusczyk, founder of Art of Problem Solving. "Math is a creative discipline—you're creating castles in the sky." Rusczyk has a vision for bringing “joyous, beautiful math” — and problem-solving — to classrooms everywhere.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgHow Two Physicists Unlocked the Secrets of Two DimensionsQuanta Magazine2022-08-16 | Condensed matter physics is the most active field of contemporary physics and has yielded some of the biggest breakthroughs of the past century. But as rapidly as technology has advanced, scientists have only scratched the surface. Now for the first time, Jie Shan and Fai Mak, a married couple of physicists at Cornell University, have figured out a way to create artificial atoms in the lab, opening the door to a new era in research.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgExploring the Deep Mystery of Lifes OriginsQuanta Magazine2022-08-08 | As an evolutionary biochemist at University College London, Nick Lane explores the deep mystery of how life evolved on Earth. His hypothesis that life arose through primitive metabolic reactions in deep-sea hydrothermal vents illuminates the outsized role that energy may have played in shaping evolution.
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgThe Biggest Project in Modern MathematicsQuanta Magazine2022-06-01 | In a 1967 letter to the number theorist André Weil, a 30-year-old mathematician named Robert Langlands outlined striking conjectures that predicted a correspondence between two objects from completely different fields of math. The Langlands program was born. Today, it's one of the most ambitious mathematical feats ever attempted. Its symmetries imply deep, powerful and beautiful connections between the most important branches of mathematics. Many mathematicians agree that it has the potential to solve some of math's most intractable problems, in time, becoming a kind of “grand unified theory of mathematics," as the mathematician Edward Frenkel has described it. In a new video explainer, Rutgers University mathematician Alex Kontorovich takes us on a journey through the continents of mathematics to learn about the awe-inspiring symmetries at the heart of the Langlands program, including how Andrew Wiles solved Fermat's Last Theorem.
00:00 A map of the mathematical world 00:25 The land of Number Theory" 00:39 The continent of Harmonic Analysis 01:20 A bridge: the Langlands Program 01:46 Robert Langlands' conjectures link the two worlds 02:40 Ramanujan Discriminant Function 03:00 Modular Forms 04:36 Pierre Deligne's proof of Ramanujan's conjecture 04:47 Functoriality 05:03 Pierre De Fermat's Last Theorem 06:13 Andrew Wiles builds a bridge 06:30 Elliptic curves 07:07 Modular arithmetic 08:56 Infinite power series 09:20 Taniyama - Shimura - Weil conjecture 10:40 Frey's counterexample to Frey's last theorem 11:30 Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation simonsfoundation.orgFinally, a Picture of the Milky Ways Supermassive Black HoleQuanta Magazine2022-05-18 | More than three years after the release of the first-ever image of a black hole, scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) shared an image of Sagittarius A* (pronounced A-star) — the supermassive specimen sitting at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. In this video, EHT's astronomers, astrophysicists and data scientists explain the science behind the big discovery.