I often speak with students about careers in math and computing and the most common question I hear is “what should I study?". My answer often surprises them.
Have you heard of Zipf’s Law? It’s a surprisingly simple and accurate equation governing the frequency of word use in written prose. It’s been verified across numerous languages, which suggests that it captures something intrinsic and universal about human language.
Check out this list of fascinating questions, along with some pointers to partial answers, from @patrickc. Warning: this is catnip for curious minds.
I’m gonna make Sundays music day. Today’s post features an American electronic pop duo from Durham, North Carolina called Sylvan Esso.
Buster Keaton was one of the biggest stars in the early days of Hollywood. His fame was eclipsed by Charlie Chaplin, his comic rival of the silent film era. But his knack for physical comedy and performing his own (often dangerous) stunts was unparalleled in cinema history.
Check out this amazing optical illusion. Believe it or not, these circles are NOT changing shape.
Check out this amazing short video (in full screen) to experience what it’s like driving through the middle of a wildfire in California.
It should surprise no one that the pandemic has had a devastating effect on our collective mental health. A new study conducted by the CDC during one week in June 2020 summarizes the cost in stark terms.
Check out this excellent visualization from Reuters on the Beirut blast, relative to other major explosions in history.
Saw this on the always fascinating kottke.org. The British Museum hosts some of the world’s foremost cultural and historical artifacts. Unfortunately, many of them are stolen.
If you can vote in the US, please try to do so as early as possible. We need to end this long national nightmare.
From the New York Times, the fascinating story of the search for the inspiration of Van Gogh’s final work during his last days.
This baby picture of my daughter Maya and her cousin Jordan, who were born two months apart, was reenacted twenty years later.
Rob Bliss held up a Black Lives Matter sign on the side of a road in Harrison, Arkansas, home of the KKK and a city Bliss claims to be the most racist in the country, while he secretly recorded his experience.
How quickly can you find out what is unusual about this paragraph?
“We must go out and vote like we never, ever voted before.” - John Lewis
Watch this trailer for an upcoming documentary about John Lewis, a hero of the American civil rights movement and US congressman, who died a few days.
Back in November of 2018 Dave Matthews recorded a solo performance at NPR’s legendary Tiny Desk.
Want to know what’s really going on in Portland? Watch this revealing and shocking video from the NYTimes (contains graphic scenes of violence).
This is your America in 2020.
Dear Smartphone,
We’ve had a great relationship over the years. You bring the world right to my fingertips. And you’re always there for me. Unfortunately, I’m a little too into you.
If you haven’t already seen this, I’d highly recommend taking a few moments out of your day to watch this video. It’s one of the most powerful and eloquent speeches I’ve ever seen. This is what leadership looks like. We could use more of this.
Here’s an insightful take on the debate over reopening public schools in America, from Dave Grohl, who was raised by a single mother and a dedicated teacher. The guy who pledged to “drain the swamp”, is playing politics once again. This time it’s with, as Grohl calls them, our national treasure.
Fascinating interview with Charlie Jones, a former prison warden and executioner from Alabama.
This new course provides a practical, supportive, and fun environment for learning Python. Tuition is free for underrepresented groups.
Here are a dozen words with oddly specific meanings. I stopped at twelve because I’m a bit triskaidekaphobic.
Ron Graham died last week, on July 6, 2020. He may not have been a household name but he was a giant in the mathematics community.
This is a beautiful letter from Richard Feynman to a former student on what constitutes “important problems”. I’ve always felt that important problems are those that advance your own knowledge, and ideally, the knowledge of others. But there’s an even simpler definition: any problem that brings joy in its solving is worth your time.
Very well executed analysis of the data on trending YouTube videos:
A man in Maryland got misidentified by twitter users as the perpetrator of a deplorable attack and he published an article about what the experience was like for him. The accusation was retreeted half a million times. This part jumped out at me:
I’m often asked to recommend a book to help students get started learning Python. There are many good ones, but depending on your style of learning, I have two specific recommendations.
I used to say “repetition is the basis of all learning”. Now so sure about that…
