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Category: Misc

Solving Labyrinth's Goblin Riddle with Boolean Algebra

2025-03-06

This article demonstrates solving the classic Knights and Knaves logic puzzle from the movie *Labyrinth* using Boolean algebra. The author models the problem, using A for the answer, Q for the correct answer to the question, and G for whether the goblin is lying, deriving A = G⊕Q. By cleverly crafting the question to incorporate the other goblin's lying status, the equation simplifies, revealing the solution. The author argues that the formalized approach clarifies the steps and highlights the usefulness of formal systems as reasoning tools.

(the-nerve-blog.ghost.io)
Misc Boolean algebra logic puzzle

Anonymous 4chan User Cracks a Math Problem: The Shortest Superpermutation

2025-03-06
Anonymous 4chan User Cracks a Math Problem: The Shortest Superpermutation

In 2011, an anonymous 4chan user, while discussing *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya*, posed a mathematical puzzle concerning the shortest superpermutation. This problem, similar to the traveling salesman problem, remains unsolved. However, this user proposed a previously unknown method to estimate the minimum number of episodes needed to view all possible orderings, with the formula n!+(n-1)!+(n-2)!+n-3. Years later, mathematicians discovered and verified this result on an anime fan page, publishing it in the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences under the authorship "Anonymous 4chan Poster." This event highlights the unexpected potential of online communities and the surprising contributions of non-professionals to the field of mathematics.

(www.scientificamerican.com)
Misc Superpermutation

Apollo Mission: An Astronaut's Urgent Bathroom Break Before Launch

2025-03-06

During a countdown for an Apollo mission, a rocket malfunction required repairs, leading astronaut Shepard to request a quick bathroom break. After some discussion, ground control allowed Shepard to relieve himself after shutting down relevant circuits, preventing a launch delay. This anecdote led to Shepard being jokingly referred to as the "world's first wetback in space," adding a humorous footnote to space exploration history.

(idlewords.com)
Misc Apollo Mission Space Anecdote Astronaut Story

Ancient Babylonian Estate Settlement: A Game Theory Masterpiece

2025-03-06

1800 years ago, Babylonians devised a method for settling estates where debts exceeded assets, a solution surprisingly aligned with modern game theory's optimal outcome. An accompanying video explains their ingenious system, resembling 'hydraulic rationing', to fairly distribute assets between creditors and heirs. This highlights the remarkable ingenuity of ancient civilizations and sparks reflection on the interplay of ancient wisdom and modern technology.

(politicalcalculations.blogspot.com)
Misc Game Theory Babylonian Estate Settlement

The AI Cheating Crisis: A Professor's Lament

2025-03-06
The AI Cheating Crisis: A Professor's Lament

The proliferation of AI tools like ChatGPT has led to a surge in student cheating. A California philosophy professor recounts the devastating impact on his teaching, as students use AI to generate essays, circumventing the learning process. While he explores various countermeasures, all prove limited. He argues that education transcends job training; it cultivates critical thinking and life understanding. AI cheating deprives students of this invaluable experience, ultimately harming both the students themselves and the fairness of the education system.

(thewalrus.ca)
Misc AI cheating educational ethics

Website Cookie Policy Explained

2025-03-06
Website Cookie Policy Explained

This website uses cookies to enhance your experience. Necessary cookies are stored in your browser as they are essential for the website's basic functionality. We also use third-party cookies to analyze and understand how you use this website; these are only stored with your consent. You can opt out of these cookies, but this may affect your browsing experience.

(driesdepoorter.be)
Misc Cookie Policy

Finland's Housing First: A Radical Approach to Ending Homelessness

2025-03-06
Finland's Housing First: A Radical Approach to Ending Homelessness

Finland has dramatically reduced homelessness by implementing a 'Housing First' approach. This involves providing small apartments and counseling to those affected, without preconditions. Remarkably, 80% successfully reintegrate into stable lives, at a lower cost than the societal burden of homelessness. The success is attributed to a collaborative effort involving the government, NGOs like the Y-Foundation, and social workers, who provide ongoing support. This model offers a compelling solution for tackling homelessness globally.

(thebetter.news)
Misc Homelessness

1888's Oracle: Astonishing Predictions of the Future

2025-03-06
1888's Oracle: Astonishing Predictions of the Future

A book published in 1888, structured as a dialogue between a diverse group including a statesman, journalist, voter, clergyman, social reformer, and others, offers striking predictions about the future. These range across politics (wealth concentration, shrinking middle class, rising land prices), foreign policy (the US becoming a global power, Panama Canal opening), technology (air travel), and social issues (women's liberation, journalistic monopolies). Concerns are raised about evolving social mores, including changing attitudes towards sexuality and the potential impact of new narcotics. Some of these predictions are eerily prescient.

(publicdomainreview.org)
Misc future predictions social change 19th-century prophecy

Ditch Twitter Threads; Blog Instead!

2025-03-06
Ditch Twitter Threads; Blog Instead!

This post argues against the trend of lengthy Twitter threads, citing their lack of context, poor readability, and unsuitability for long-form content. The author, a long-time blogger, prefers the blog format for its better organization and ease of consumption. He suggests that creators should migrate their long threads to blogs, promoting better content ownership and audience reach. The post concludes with a call for understanding and a discussion on the reasons behind Twitter thread popularity.

(kevquirk.com)
Misc twitter long-form content

Post-Conference Retrospective: Lessons Learned from Running an Online Event

2025-03-06

This post details the author's experience running an online conference, highlighting improvements made since the previous event. Speaker recruitment, marketing, ticketing (using Stripe's pay-what-you-want feature), and video management were all addressed. While ticket sales were slightly lower than last year, attendee engagement and feedback were positive. Areas for improvement include refining speaker communication, optimizing marketing efforts, and enhancing video/audio quality. The author questions the overall efficiency of the process, suggesting future iterations might be structured differently.

(www.scattered-thoughts.net)
Misc event organization retrospective

Lottery Odds: A Rare Positive Expected Value?

2025-03-05
Lottery Odds: A Rare Positive Expected Value?

The Texas Lotto example shows that buying every possible lottery ticket isn't always a negative expected value play. With 25.8 million possible number combinations and often only a million tickets sold, weeks regularly go by with no jackpot winners. In 2024, only two jackpot winners emerged from 157 drawings, winning $17.5 million and $29 million respectively, leaving a $59.5 million jackpot by year's end. Someone finally won in February 2025, after the prize swelled to $83.5 million. While the odds remain extremely long, the accumulating jackpot can, theoretically, create a positive expected value – albeit a highly unlikely one.

(www.bloomberg.com)
Misc lottery probability expected value

Ebenezer Clifford: Revolutionary War Veteran, Master Joiner, and Underwater Explorer

2025-03-05
Ebenezer Clifford: Revolutionary War Veteran, Master Joiner, and Underwater Explorer

Ebenezer Clifford, a remarkable 18th-century figure, was an architect, master joiner, bell diver, cabinetmaker, and quartermaster sergeant in the Revolutionary War. His exceptional woodworking skills are evident in surviving planes and buildings he designed or helped construct that still stand today. In his later years, he took up underwater salvage, using a diving bell to recover treasures from shipwrecks, adding another layer of adventure to his already extraordinary life.

(workingwoodenplanes.com)
Misc historical figure woodworking

The Pareto Principle in Action: Why Doing Things Matters

2025-03-05
The Pareto Principle in Action: Why Doing Things Matters

This article explores the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) across various domains, highlighting how most people passively participate while active agents rise to the top. Using examples from competitive gaming, career advancement, and social interactions, the author demonstrates that even minimal effort can yield significant advantages. The key takeaway is that proactive engagement and intentional learning, rather than passive observation, are crucial for seizing opportunities and achieving self-improvement.

(arealsociety.substack.com)
Misc action

Website Cookie Policy Explained

2025-03-05
Website Cookie Policy Explained

This website uses cookies to optimize the website and its service. Technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Some cookies store preferences not requested by the user, some are for statistical purposes (anonymous statistics), and some are used to create user profiles for advertising or tracking users across websites.

(9to5linux.com)
Misc Website Optimization

Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan's Forgotten Film Collaboration

2025-03-05

In 1936, to solidify the Anti-Comintern Pact and demonstrate the 'brother nations' bond between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, an ambitious film collaboration was launched. A German film crew arrived in Yokohama to create a movie showcasing the political and cultural alignment of the two nations. This little-known historical event sheds light on the complex political and cultural interactions between the Axis powers before World War II.

(www.historytoday.com)
Misc Imperial Japan

DiscMaster 2: A Massive Upgrade to the CD-ROM Archive

2025-03-04

DiscMaster 2 is live! This project reprocesses millions of files from the old DiscMaster 1, adding support for over 3000 file formats and a vastly improved search engine. The new search boasts fuzzy matching, regular expressions, file hash searching, and dramatically increased speed. DiscMaster 2 also features improvements to file browsing, downloading, and display, resulting in a much more user-friendly experience.

(discmaster.textfiles.com)
Misc data archive file format conversion

The Insane Genius: Karl Hans Janke's Fantastic Inventions

2025-03-04
The Insane Genius: Karl Hans Janke's Fantastic Inventions

Karl Hans Janke, a patient at an East German psychiatric hospital, spent his life creating over 4,500 drawings and hundreds of models of technological inventions, mostly fantastical flying machines. He claimed to have invented a fuel-less energy system using the magnetic energy of the universe, his so-called 'German atom,' constantly seeking contact with the scientific community while fearing plagiarism. His archive, rediscovered a decade after his death, reveals a brilliant mind overshadowed by mental illness, leaving a poignant legacy.

(www.cabinetmagazine.org)
Misc mental illness inventor

Tom Wolfe: Did He Kill Democracy?

2025-03-04
Tom Wolfe: Did He Kill Democracy?

This article reflects on the legacy of Tom Wolfe, exploring his profound impact on journalism and the decline of his distinctive style. The author recounts a personal interview with Wolfe and analyzes his insightful portrayals of class, status, and social observation. The piece examines the rise and fall of New Journalism and questions how to recapture Wolfe's sharp, engaging, and objective reporting style in today's fragmented and highly polarized media landscape. While acknowledging the near impossibility of replicating Wolfe's approach in the current climate, the author suggests his keen social observation and unique writing style remain invaluable.

(commonreader.wustl.edu)
Misc New Journalism Tom Wolfe Media Criticism

Farallon Islands: A Crucial Wildlife Refuge

2025-03-04
Farallon Islands: A Crucial Wildlife Refuge

Located nearly 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds and thousands of seals and sea lions. Since 1968, Point Blue Conservation Science has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct research and train the next generation of scientists on the islands, working to conserve and restore this complex ecosystem in the face of climate change and other threats. Due to the sensitive seabird and mammal breeding grounds, the islands are closed to the public, accessible only to a small number of wildlife biologists and resource managers.

(www.calacademy.org)
Misc ecosystem

The Meter: A 4500-Year-Old Secret Hidden in the Great Pyramid?

2025-03-04

This article challenges the conventional understanding of the meter's origin, suggesting it might predate the French revolution by millennia. It explores the mathematical relationships within the Great Pyramid of Giza, revealing astonishing connections between its dimensions and the constants π and the Golden Ratio, ultimately linking these to the modern-day meter. The author proposes that ancient Egyptians possessed knowledge of the meter and derived units like the cubit from it, raising questions about the technological sophistication of ancient civilizations.

(www.iforgeiron.com)
Misc Units of Measurement

Dune vs. Lawrence of Arabia: A Comparative Analysis

2025-03-04
Dune vs. Lawrence of Arabia: A Comparative Analysis

This article explores the similarities and differences between Frank Herbert's *Dune* and T.E. Lawrence's *Seven Pillars of Wisdom*. Both Paul Atreides and Lawrence function as outsiders who immerse themselves in desert cultures to lead indigenous populations against their oppressors. However, significant contrasts emerge in their portrayals of the Arabs and Fremen, their treatment of women and religion, and their emotional responses. Lawrence reveals profound self-doubt and guilt over his actions, while Paul displays excessive confidence and a ruthless pursuit of power. Furthermore, *Dune* features prominent female characters and a rich tapestry of religious themes, absent in Lawrence's largely male-centric and religiously understated narrative. While *Dune* draws inspiration from *Seven Pillars*, it ultimately forges a unique and compelling world of its own.

(reactormag.com)
Misc literary comparison Lawrence of Arabia

Saudi Arabia's Transformation: From Forbidden Sites to Tourist Destinations

2025-03-03

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Once viewed as a bastion of Islamic puritanism, the kingdom is aggressively promoting tourism and re-evaluating its pre-Islamic history. Sites like Madain Saleh, once considered cursed, are now being marketed as tourist attractions, part of the ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil. However, this shift is controversial, with some religious scholars expressing concern about the integration of Western cultural elements.

(www.historytoday.com)
Misc Saudi Arabia Tourism Cultural Transformation

Grumpy German Bread Celebrates 25 Years of Unintentional Adult Appeal

2025-03-03
Grumpy German Bread Celebrates 25 Years of Unintentional Adult Appeal

Bernd das Brot, a perpetually pessimistic bread puppet from a German children's show, is celebrating his 25th anniversary. Initially a sketch on a napkin, Bernd's grumpy demeanor and signature exclamation, "Mist!" resonated unexpectedly with adult viewers, making him a cult classic. His journey includes winning a German Emmy equivalent, a kidnapping incident, and now, an attempt at becoming a bread influencer. This year's celebrations include new episodes and online activities.

(apnews.com)
Misc German Culture Children's Television Cult Classic

Mitsubishi: Three Stories Behind Three Diamonds

2025-03-03
Mitsubishi: Three Stories Behind Three Diamonds

The name Mitsubishi might bring cars to mind first, but it hides three distinct companies. The first is the Mitsubishi Group, a massive conglomerate spanning finance, nuclear technology, automobiles, and more, whose iconic three-diamond logo dates back to 1913. Second is Mitsubishi Pencil Co., founded in 1887, focused on writing instruments and also using the three-diamond logo, but unrelated to the Mitsubishi Group. Third is Konyusha, a Kumamoto-based company producing Mitsubishi cider, also using the three-diamond logo, founded in 1883. These three companies sharing a name and logo caused trademark confusion, necessitating the creation of the Mitsubishi Corporate Name and Trademark Committee for oversight.

(estilofilos.blogspot.com)
Misc

The 15th-Century Google Maps? The Astonishing Piri Reis Map

2025-03-03
The 15th-Century Google Maps? The Astonishing Piri Reis Map

In 1929, a German theologian stumbled upon a gazelle skin parchment map in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace – the Piri Reis map, created by a 14th-century Ottoman admiral. This map depicts the coastlines of South America and Africa with remarkable accuracy, even hinting at Antarctica, defying the technology of its time. Compiled from at least 20 sources, possibly including a map by Columbus, the Piri Reis map wasn't mere art; it utilized sophisticated portolan charting with compass roses and navigational lines, baffling modern scientists with its precision. It showcases the peak of medieval navigation and exemplifies the power of cultural exchange and human ingenuity.

(www.thetravel.com)
Misc

The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils: A Century-Long Rivalry

2025-03-03
The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils: A Century-Long Rivalry

In 1952, Tombow Pencil revolutionized the Japanese pencil industry with its HOMO pencil, featuring a homogenous core and high-quality incense cedar. Its significantly higher price point sparked a fierce competition with Mitsubishi Pencil, leading to a 'Golden Age' of innovation. Both companies released iconic pencils like Mitsubishi's Uni and Tombow's MONO, pushing the boundaries of pencil technology and design. This rivalry exemplifies the dedication to quality and innovation that defined Japanese manufacturing.

(notes.stlartsupply.com)
Misc Japanese Pencils Mitsubishi

My Number-Color-Sound Associations: A Programmer's Mnemonic System

2025-03-03

The author shares his unique system of associating numbers, colors, and sounds, stemming from childhood experiences learning about computers and mnemonic systems. He maps numbers 0-9 to specific colors and IPA phonetic symbols, explaining the origins in IBM CGA color codes and a phonetic mnemonic system. The author demonstrates how these associations help remember bus routes and flight numbers, noting the system, while not essential daily, makes arbitrary numbers and words more vivid and engaging.

(susam.net)
Misc Mnemonic System Color Association

The Inevitable Loss of Youth and the Pursuit of Writing

2025-03-03
The Inevitable Loss of Youth and the Pursuit of Writing

A young writer dreams of becoming a prodigious young author like Amis or Updike, setting a timeline for publishing success in his twenties. However, he fails to meet his ambitious goal, only publishing his first novel at 37. The essay explores the passage of youth and the writer's confrontation with the gap between dreams and reality. He ultimately understands that the desire for success isn't unique to youth but a persistent force throughout life.

(tolstoyan.substack.com)
Misc dreams

The Science of Binge-Watching: How Many Episodes Before You Give Up?

2025-03-03
The Science of Binge-Watching: How Many Episodes Before You Give Up?

This article explores the optimal strategy for binge-watching: when to abandon a show. By analyzing IMDb ratings data, the author finds most shows require 6-7 episodes to reach their long-term average quality. However, long-running series typically decline in quality around seasons five or six. The author also analyzes the psychological biases involved in sticking with bad shows, using his own experience with *How I Met Your Mother* as a cautionary tale about the importance of cutting losses and avoiding disappointing finales.

(www.statsignificant.com)
Misc binge-watching television
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