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Visions of Greenland
a year ago
- Greenland's size is often misrepresented on maps due to the Mercator projection, leading to misconceptions like those held by Donald Trump.
- Erik the Red named Greenland as a marketing strategy to attract settlers, despite its icy conditions.
- Viking settlements in Greenland disappeared around 1400 for reasons still debated, including climate change and economic shifts.
- European myths about Greenland included tales of valuable resources and mythical creatures like 'sea unicorns' (narwhals).
- Hans Egede, a Lutheran priest, played a key role in Danish colonization efforts and shaped outside perceptions of Greenland.
- Greenland has been depicted as both a harsh, exotic land and a place of natural beauty and ordinary life by its indigenous artists.
- The outside world has historically projected its desires onto Greenland, often ignoring the perspectives of its indigenous inhabitants.
When Jorge Luis Borges met one of the founders of AI
a year ago
- The author reflects on the joy of encountering historical moments that feel both foreign and familiar.
- Concerns are raised about the current attacks on academia in the US, including funding cuts and deportations.
- A notable conversation between Jorge Luis Borges and Herbert A. Simon in 1970 is highlighted, bridging science and humanities.
- The dialogue explores themes of free will, determinism, and the mechanical nature of human behavior compared to computers.
- The author contemplates the potential of using AI to simulate historical figures or moments by combining historical data with language models.
- Personal reflection on the author's mother's journals and the future possibility of creating an AI simulacrum of her thoughts and memories.
- Mentions of cultural and linguistic studies, including the Jahai people's abstract smell vocabulary and the revival of Lapham’s Quarterly.
- A historical dispute over aviation pioneers Santos Dumont and the Wright brothers is noted.
Mercantilism
a year ago
- Mercantilism is a nationalist economic policy aimed at maximizing exports and minimizing imports to accumulate resources.
- It promotes government regulation of the economy to enhance state power, often through high tariffs and trade restrictions.
- Mercantilism was dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 19th centuries, influencing colonial expansion and wars.
- Key mercantilist policies included high tariffs, export subsidies, and restrictions on gold and silver exports.
- Notable mercantilist thinkers include Thomas Mun, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and Antonio Serra.
- Mercantilism declined with the rise of classical economics, particularly Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations'.
- Modern critiques view mercantilism as a zero-sum game, though some argue it had positive impacts on national economies.
- Neo-mercantilist policies are still observed in some industrializing countries, emphasizing protectionism and state intervention.
Microsoft turns 50: A look back at everything from the Altair to the Zune
a year ago
- Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who were childhood friends obsessed with computing.
- The company started with the development of Microsoft BASIC for the Altair 8800, marking the beginning of the personal computing revolution.
- Microsoft's big idea was creating software that could work across multiple computer models, a novel concept at the time.
- The introduction of MS-DOS and Windows revolutionized personal computing, making Microsoft software ubiquitous.
- Microsoft faced challenges in hardware competition, notably with the Zune and Windows Phone, but found success with the Xbox.
- Today, Microsoft is focusing on cloud computing and AI, integrating technologies like ChatGPT and Copilot into its products.
Remembering MS-DOS 5.0
a year ago
- Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Micro-Soft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on this day in 1975.
- The company, later renamed Microsoft, would transform personal computing over the next five decades.
- The author recalls their first Microsoft product being MS-DOS 5.0, used on an outdated, generic PC clone.
- The PC had an Intel 8088, two 5.25-inch floppy drives, and no hard drive, relying on diskettes for storage.
Tariff: The well-travelled Arabic term that became a byword for isolationism
a year ago
- Donald Trump referred to 'tariff' as his favorite word, emphasizing its significance in his trade policies.
- The word 'tariff' originates from Arabic, with roots in the word 'ta’rif', meaning to notify or announce.
- There are competing theories on how 'tariff' was popularized in Europe, including through the Ottomans, Muslim rule in Spain, or the Spanish town Tarifa.
- The concept of tariffs may have been first formulated in Tarifa, Spain, where merchant ships were charged a levy.
- English and Spanish languages contain numerous words with Arabic origins, reflecting a long history of cultural and trade exchanges.
- Trump's tariff policies, while isolationist, contrast with the word's history of promoting international trade and shared ideas.
Photographs of 19th Century Japan
a year ago
- Cosmographia is a newsletter exploring the world and our place in it.
- The author, inspired by a conversation, explores 19th-century hand-colored photographs of Japan from the Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection.
- Photographs date between 1860-1900, capturing Japan just before the Meiji Restoration.
- The images evoke reflections on the transient nature of life and the unrecognizable changes in Japan since then.
- The collection includes works by notable photographers like Felice Beato and Baron Raimon von Stillfried, among others.
Men's Weird Collections Inspired the Modern Museum: Cabinets of Curiosities
a year ago
- The article discusses the origins of modern museums from 16th and 17th-century cabinets of curiosities.
- Thomas Shadwell, an English author, was mocked by John Dryden in satirical poems for his lack of talent.
- Shadwell's play 'The Virtuoso' features Nicholas Gimcrack, a character mocking obsessive collectors of oddities.
- Cabinets of curiosities were private collections of artifacts, natural specimens, and oddities, often displayed in entire rooms.
- These collections evolved into public museums, such as the Basel Kunstmuseum and the Ashmolean Museum.
- Some collectors charged fees to view their collections, leading to early forms of public exhibitions.
- The article highlights the transition from private hoarding to scholarly institutions open to the public.
The Secret History of the Manicule, the Little Hand That's Everywhere
a year ago
- The typographic symbol known as the manicule is a pointing hand used to draw attention to text.
- Manicules date back to the Middle Ages, with early examples found in the Domesday Book of 1086.
- Medieval readers used manicules as personalized highlights, with some becoming elaborate mini-artworks.
- The invention of the printing press in the 15th century led to manicules being cast in metal type.
- Manicules evolved from reader annotations to premeditated pointers printed by authors and publishers.
- By the 1800s, manicules were widely used in advertising, posters, and signs, including on a wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth.
- The manicule's overuse in the late 19th century led to its decline, replaced by simpler arrows.
- The symbol saw a resurgence in the digital age, becoming the cursor for hyperlinks and appearing in emoji sets.
- Today, manicules are used in vintage-style signage and design, evoking nostalgia and retro flair.
- The manicule's enduring appeal lies in its universal gesture of pointing out something worth noticing.
The Subjective Charms of Objective-C
a year ago
- Gottfried Leibniz dreamed of creating a 'characteristica universalis', a perfect language for scientific truths.
- Objective-C, a polarizing programming language, shaped the author's early career in software engineering.
- Objective-C's verbosity and unique syntax made it both loved and criticized by developers.
- The language's survival was due to its adoption by NeXT and later Apple, influencing major tech products.
- The author's initial love for Objective-C waned as its verbosity led to complex and bug-prone codebases.
- Apple introduced Swift in 2014, offering a more concise alternative to Objective-C, marking its decline.
- The author reflects on the cyclical nature of programming languages and the pursuit of the perfect language.
How a Forgotten Battle Created a More Peaceful World
a year ago
- The Battle of Solferino in 1859, though largely forgotten today, was a significant conflict that led to the establishment of an independent Italy.
- Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, witnessed the horrific aftermath of the battle and was moved by the lack of medical care for the wounded.
- Dunant organized local women and released Austrian doctors to help the wounded, emphasizing the Christian principle that 'we are all brothers.'
- He later wrote a memoir detailing the suffering he saw, which inspired the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
- Dunant's efforts led to the First Geneva Convention, which established rules for the humane treatment of wounded soldiers and laid the foundation for modern international law.
- Despite his contributions, Dunant faced personal and financial difficulties, including bankruptcy and accusations of fraud, which tarnished his reputation.
- His role in founding the ICRC was later rediscovered, and he was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
- The Geneva Conventions and subsequent international agreements have contributed to a more peaceful world, though the system remains fragile.
- Today, the international order is under threat from authoritarian regimes and leaders who reject or undermine these established rules.
- The legacy of Solferino and Dunant's vision highlights the importance of maintaining international cooperation and humanitarian principles.
A Math Lesson From Hitler’s Germany
a year ago
- David Hilbert's response to Nazi minister Bernhard Rust highlights the destruction of mathematics at Göttingen due to Nazi policies.
- The 1933 law in Germany forced Jewish and Communist mathematicians out of their jobs, leading to a significant loss of talent.
- The U.S. became the new center for mathematical research, benefiting from European mathematicians fleeing Nazi persecution.
- The article draws parallels between the anti-science sentiment in Nazi Germany and current political climates, warning of similar dangers.
- The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton played a crucial role in providing refuge and opportunities for displaced scholars.
- The fragility of academic institutions is emphasized, with the example of Göttingen's decline under Nazi rule.
- The article concludes with a cautionary note on the potential impact of anti-science policies on American academia.
100 Years to Solve an Integral (2020)
a year ago
- The integral of sec(x) was a major mathematical problem first introduced by Geradus Mercator in 1569 for map-making purposes.
- The exact solution to the integral of sec(x) was found accidentally in 1645, 86 years after Mercator's introduction, without the use of calculus.
- A formal proof for the integral of sec(x) was provided in 1668, 99 years after the problem was first proposed.
- The integral of sec(x) is crucial for the Mercator map projection, which is used in modern online maps like Google Maps and Apple Maps.
- Mercator's projection was designed to make rhumb lines (lines of constant bearing) appear straight, aiding navigation.
- The integral was discovered by Henry Bond in 1645 through numerical comparison with logarithmic tables, before calculus was formalized.
- The integral of sec(x) has multiple equivalent forms, including ln|sec(x) + tan(x)| + c and ln|tan(x/2 + 45°)| + c.
- The Mercator projection distorts areas, making regions near the poles appear larger than they are, which has been criticized for its colonial and racist implications.
- Alternative map projections like the Winkel Triple and Robinson Projection offer compromises between form and scale.
- The history of the integral of sec(x) highlights how mathematical concepts often have complex and non-linear developments.
Which year: guess which year each photo was taken
a year ago
- Guess the year historical photos were taken between 1850 and 2025.
- Use the timeline slider to select a year; closer guesses earn more points.
- Perfect guesses score maximum points.
- Use hints to reveal one digit of the correct year (each digit can be revealed once per game).
- Daily challenges feature new photos each day.
- Compare scores with other players and track progress over time.
50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics
a year ago
- Construction Physics newsletter has been running since September 2020, with 186 essays totaling 600,000 words.
- Originally focused on construction productivity, it now covers energy, transportation, and technological progress.
- 90% of US buildings are single-family homes, making up 60% of total building square footage.
- Prefab construction is not typically cheaper than on-site construction, except for manufactured homes.
- Manufactured homes became cheaper due to lending changes, not HUD code requirements.
- Levittown homes were not cheaper than conventional homes at the time.
- Wildfire damage is more about design and age than wood construction.
- Construction innovation attempts have a long history, with many past failures.
- US construction costs have rarely decreased historically.
- Individual construction tasks haven't gotten cheaper since the 1950s.
- Brick costs haven't decreased since the mid-19th century.
- Construction innovates at similar rates to other industries.
- Single-family homes use less energy per square foot than apartments.
- High historical US homebuilding rates were driven by falling household size.
- Repetitive designs are common in housing, contrary to the variety demand myth.
- Construction safety has improved significantly over time.
- Sears wasn't the first in mail-order homes; Aladdin Homes sold them earlier and longer.
- US skyscraper construction has slowed, with Chicago faster than New York.
- US skyscraper construction is comparable in speed to China for high-profile projects.
- Modern buildings can't easily be made cheaper by cutting materials.
- Glass box skyscrapers became popular because they were cheaper and tenants didn't care about exteriors.
- Homeowners insurance costs have risen due to factors beyond construction costs and weather.
- Early wind-generated electricity was common on US farms before rural electrification.
- Gas turbines became economical for power generation after the 1965 Northeast blackout.
- PURPA law, lobbied by a small company, helped wind and solar deployment.
- Oregon has the second-most planned electricity generation projects after Texas.
- US has vastly more hydrocarbon storage than grid-scale electricity storage.
- High-purity quartz from Spruce Pine, NC, is a bottleneck for semiconductor and solar PV manufacturing.
- Three Mile Island didn't kill US nuclear power; high costs had already stalled new orders.
- US Navy's nuclear reactor practices haven't made nuclear power cheaper than other ship propulsion.
- Urban areas have fewer power outages and fire incidents.
- US bridge and interstate quality is improving over time.
- San Francisco and Los Angeles have the worst roads among large US metros.
- Tunnel boring speed rose exponentially until the 1950s but has slowed since.
- Shenzhen grew faster than any 20th-century city.
- US shipbuilding has been uncompetitive since the late 19th century, unrelated to the Jones Act.
- AT&T spent more on telephone infrastructure in the 1960s than NASA on Apollo.
- Modern shipbuilding methods were invented in US WWII shipyards, later adopted and improved by Japan.
- Early technology improvements often exceed Moore's Law rates.
- Learning curve improvements drive cost reductions but have limits.
- Welding automation mostly replaced machine operators, not manual welders.
- Modern industrial robots are 50-100 times more accurate than 1970s robots.
- Cambridge has produced the most Nobel Prize-winning research.
- Bell Labs' Nobel-winning work surpasses the next six corporations combined.
- Bell Labs inspired other companies to fund basic research labs.
- Morris Chang's semiconductor career began out of spite after a salary dispute with Ford.
- Post-WWII, US and Russia acquired Germany's large forging presses.
- R&D costs have generally risen, but some areas have always been expensive.
- Most WWII US aircraft designs began before June 1940.
- Microchip production involves thousands of steps and months of processing.
- Key takeaway: Historical and technological developments are often more complex and contingent than they appear.
Musk's less than original measures: Developing the ideas of his grandfather
a year ago
- Elon Musk's ideas are seen as unoriginal, tracing back to his grandfather Joshua Haldeman's technocracy movement.
- Technocracy in the 1930s advocated for governance by engineers and technologists, replacing traditional politicians.
- Joshua Haldeman was a leader in the technocracy movement, which briefly gained significant media attention in the U.S.
- Technocrats believed in technical solutions for societal problems and even proposed merging Mexico and Canada into the U.S.
- Haldeman's vision included individuals being identified by numbers instead of names, influencing Musk's unconventional naming of his child.
- The technocracy movement faded after F.D. Roosevelt's New Deal introduced political and economic reforms.
- Roosevelt's policies, like minimum wage and unemployment aid, contrasted with technocratic ideals.
- Haldeman was once denied entry to the U.S. for being deemed a threat to public safety.
- Musk's DOGE and proposals are compared to his grandfather's technocratic ideas, showing a familial influence.
The Race That Turned to Ruin
a year ago
- Mike Wallace and Kevin Brielmann participate in the 1995 Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, the oldest and most prestigious balloon race.
- The race involves flying the farthest distance possible, with favorable weather allowing for an unprecedented fourth night of flight.
- The Spirit of Springfield and the D-Caribbean, another competing balloon, maintain close contact and navigate using wind layers and ballast.
- Belarus and Ukraine, newly independent nations, open their skies to the race for the first time, while Russia remains off-limits due to instability.
- Wallace and Brielmann face a tense encounter with a Russian military helicopter, leading to their last known radio transmission.
You are the heir to something greater than Empire
a year ago
- Yishan Wong's theory suggests China's 5000-year history instills a belief in inevitable renewal and future greatness.
- China's rapid industrialization contrasts with the West's gradual process, achieving in decades what took centuries elsewhere.
- Modern China's economic success is unprecedented, not merely a return to historical greatness.
- Motivating myths of past greatness are common across cultures, serving to inspire confidence and hard work.
- The narrative of historical continuity and future potential is powerful, even if not factually accurate.
Interview with Owen Le Blanc, creator of the first Linux distribution
a year ago
- Owen Le Blanc created the first Linux distribution, MCC Interim Linux, in early 1992.
- MCC Interim Linux was developed to simplify Linux installation, using ramdisk code and binaries from other early Linux efforts.
- The distribution was used at the University of Manchester for C and Unix courses, enabling quick installation on multiple machines.
- Le Blanc worked on MCC Interim Linux for about seven years, with the final release in 1998 including a migration tool to Debian.
- Despite its pioneering role, the University of Manchester was reluctant to fully embrace open-source software, according to Le Blanc.
- Le Blanc later focused on supporting Linux applications and servers at the university, advocating for Debian and Ubuntu.
- MCC Interim Linux was an important early step in the evolution of Linux distributions, paving the way for more enduring systems like Debian.
Little Wars
a year ago
- Little Wars is a set of rules for miniature wargaming written by H.G. Wells in 1913.
- The book includes simple rules for infantry, cavalry, and artillery, using toy soldiers and a toy cannon.
- Wells developed the game after a playful competition with his friend Jerome K. Jerome.
- The game uses lead hollow cast soldiers made by W. Britain and makeshift battlefields.
- Little Wars also includes philosophical reflections on war, reflecting Wells' pacifist views.
- The book was first published in 1913 and has been reprinted multiple times, including a 2004 edition with contributions from Gary Gygax.
- The game is described in a whimsical style, with illustrations and photographs of gameplay.
- An appendix provides more complex rules for larger-scale play, including logistics and cavalry charges.
- Little Wars is available online through Project Gutenberg and other digital archives.
- The book has been reviewed as an interesting historical volume but of limited use to modern gamers.

Hasty Briefsbeta

#history

Visions of Greenland

When Jorge Luis Borges met one of the founders of AI

Mercantilism

Microsoft turns 50: A look back at everything from the Altair to the Zune

Remembering MS-DOS 5.0

Tariff: The well-travelled Arabic term that became a byword for isolationism

Photographs of 19th Century Japan

Men's Weird Collections Inspired the Modern Museum: Cabinets of Curiosities

The Secret History of the Manicule, the Little Hand That's Everywhere

The Subjective Charms of Objective-C

How a Forgotten Battle Created a More Peaceful World

A Math Lesson From Hitler’s Germany

100 Years to Solve an Integral (2020)

Which year: guess which year each photo was taken

50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics

Musk's less than original measures: Developing the ideas of his grandfather

The Race That Turned to Ruin

You are the heir to something greater than Empire

Interview with Owen Le Blanc, creator of the first Linux distribution

Little Wars