Space
A lottery has gears. Quantum chance has none
A lottery drum has gears behind every draw. Quantum randomness has none, and physicist Alexey Semikhatov says that is hard to wrap your head around.
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Technology & AI
Teach an AI physics only up to 1925. Will it invent quantum theory?
A physicist proposes a test: train an AI on physics only up to 1925 and see whether it invents quantum mechanics. If it can, it might find theories we can't guess.
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Mind & Society
Why fairy-tale princes go home and princesses never do
In fairy tales the hero finds his bride and brings her home; the heroine walks to her husband and stays. A folklorist reads the pattern as an old marriage custom.
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Life & Evolution
The 10-Metre Squid No Human Saw, Until Cameras Went Down
Giant squid beaks turned up in whale stomachs long before anyone filmed the animal. An oceanologist explains why people are missing from the deep sea.
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History & Archaeology
The Vikings Couldn't Conquer the Forest, So They Built a Road
Raiding the Slavic forest got you nothing but arrows. So the Scandinavians built a road with hundreds of stops, tolls and boat repairs, and a state grew from it.
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