Free-speech as an instrument of repression
One of the more eye-opening discussions on Elon Musk's attempt to take control of Twitter, and the Twitter board's attempts to defend the company from the bid, have been playing out on Hacker…
MIT develops thermo-PV cell with 40% efficiency
Researchers at MIT have developed a heat engine that can convert heat to electricity with 40% efficiency. Unlike traditional heat engines – a common example is the internal combustion engine inside a…
At last, physicists report finding the 'fourth sign' of superconductivity
Using an advanced investigative technique, researchers at Stanford University have found that cuprate superconductors – which become superconducting at higher temperatures than their better-known conv…
Anonymity in journalism and a conflict of ethics
I wrote the following essay at the invitation of a journal in December 2020. (This was the first draft. There were additional drafts that incorporated feedback from a few editors.) It couldn’t be publ…
NFTs aren't thriving – they're often in the hospital
This is not a real anniversary but it's worth commemorating, if only to remember the pseudo-events propping up the NFT business-culture. One month and one year ago, a cryptocurrency user named Met…
On the NBDSA opinion against Zee News
On April 5, JNU PhD student Shehla Rashid tweeted that the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Agency (NBDSA) had ordered Zee News to remove links to a show it had broadcast in November 2020,…
Awaiting more info on WP.com's new pricing
After my last blog post on WordPress.com's bizarre paid-plans rejig, which stayed on top of Hacker News for a few hours and eventually caught the attention of the CEOs of WordPress.com and Automat…
What are you doing, WordPress.com?
Be sure to check out the update at the bottom. I recently wrote that I've stuck with WordPress.com for so long, for all its purported limitations, because its features fully suffice the committed…
TV ads are becoming creepy
Have you watched the new ads of Magicpin, Instamart, Rapido and PharmEasy?…
The paradoxical virtues of primacy in science
Primacy is a false virtue imposed by the structures of modern science – yet it is also necessary to right some wrongs.…
Better nuclear fusion – thanks to math from biology
A new study discusses a way to make nuclear fusion devices more efficient by applying equations used in systems biology.…
Intro to NFTs
A far-too-simplified introduction to cryptocurrencies and NFTs.…