Beyond Euclid - #127
Welcome to Beyond Euclid #127, the newsletter for the best mathematics and science stuff of the week. I am Ali, and I curate cool math and science stuff every week to help you have a better week.
📰 Greetings! I've returned with another edition of my newsletter, albeit a bit more concise this time around. Despite an extensive search across the digital expanse, the number of noteworthy items to share has fallen short by 3-4 items. But still, it is a beautiful issue! Here's hoping the next edition will be brimming with more fascinating finds.
For this week, I recommend one of my favorite songs, "The Angry River from S.I. Istwa.”
For those who find value in our explorations and wish to support this venture, becoming a paid subscriber would be immensely appreciated. Your support is the backbone of our journey.
• Joanie Lemercier introduced an innovative installation featuring a series of rotating paddles that move in response to the wind. Together, they visually represent the movement of air currents in real time. They remind me of the concept of slope fields in calculus.
• Keith Enevoldsen made a beautiful diagram to visualize the set of numbers. It is utterly useful to teach the set of numbers! By the way, if you want to learn more about set theory, you should read Paul Halmos’ Naive Set Theory!
This week I learned that 12345678910987654321 is a prime number.
• The lines in this checkerboard pattern are straight. If you want to see more of these optical illustions, I have curated Akiyoshi Kitaoka’s 15 mind-blowing illusions on Abakcus.
• HarperCollins is a New York-based publishing house. The company is focused on sustainability and has made changes in book design to save trees. Designers at HarperCollins, led by Leah Carlson-Stanisic, carefully consider font and layout choices for each book. Alternative font options have been chosen to minimize the space needed for text, saving an average of 14-18 pages per hundred pages while maintaining the same visual experience for readers. Additionally, designers have worked to reduce the use of dead space on pages.
These efforts have already saved 245.6 million pages, equivalent to 5,618 trees.
• Michael Merrill edited "Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing," a book focusing on the significance of drawings in Louis Kahn's architecture. Kahn believed that drawings were the "architect's language."This book offers close readings of drawings by Kahn and his associates, providing insight into his creative imagination. It is the first in-depth study of drawings as primary sources for understanding Kahn's work. The book includes over 900 high-quality reproductions and is based on unprecedented archival research.
• Mount Etna, one of Europe's most active volcanoes, has been emitting smoke rings into the skies over Sicily for over a week. You may have seen this for the first time in your life, but this is not the first time Mount Etna has produced these circular puffs and nicknamed the "Gandalf of volcanoes."
They remind me of dolphins blowing bubble rings.
• Writing by hand positively affects learning and memory as it engages the fine motor system. Studies show that handwriting notes in class are still the best way to learn, especially for young children. Scientists have found that taking notes by hand leads to higher levels of brain activity across various regions responsible for movement, vision, sensory processing, and memory.
Handwriting also strengthens connections between actions and concepts, making staying engaged and grasping new information easier.
Handwriting helps reinforce memory and learning pathways by creating tangible representations of information.
• You can see the European energy prices during the 2020s. I don’t know when these ridiculous things will end, but life is getting pretty hard for many of us. Look at those prices! They are almost 300% higher than 2020’s prices! How many of us has tripled their salary in four years?
• Boston Dynamics' original hydraulic Atlas humanoid robot has been retired after more than ten years. It was first introduced in 2013 for search and rescue operations and funded by DARPA. They made a nice video to farewell Atlas.
The new fully electric version, a testament to the continuous advancement in robotics, is designed for real-world applications and will be tested by Hyundai, heralding a new era of possibilities.
• Do you want to see something interesting? In this Fish UK Son video, a common golden mollyfish gives birth to 73 fries. After the long birth process, the mother mollyfish returns to her main tank. Her babies must stay in a nursery tank until they are four months old.
• MyNoise is a free and cool website that offers realistic "soundscapes" from the outside world. It was designed by sound designer Stéphane Pigeon. The soundscapes are designed to be almost real without being distracting. For example, as I write this newsletter, my room has turned into a jungle. My favorite themes are coffee shops, walks in different seasons, and rain sounds.
This site has a truly remarkable sound library that you can manipulate to create endless different atmospheres. You can access the whole database here.
• Max Siedentopf has a super interesting project called Passport Photos, adding creativity to mundane passport photoshoots. Although he abides by official portrait rules, he is having fun off-camera when subjects are shown engaging in bizarre and often outrageous activities. He was inspired by his own experience renewing his passport.