roots The Beauty of Roots John Baez September 29, 2023 Around 2006, my friend Dan Christensen created a fascinating picture of all the roots of all polynomials of degree ≤ 5 with integer coefficients ranging from -4 to 4: Click … Read more
The Swift Fire Grenade. Courtesy LFB Sophie Walter, Assistant Curator at London Fire Brigade Museum, on the small, beautiful and potentially fatal Glass Fire Grenade When they were first introduced in the nineteenth century, Glass Fire Grenades were produced as … Read more
As any silversmith knows, silver solder is the ideal material to use when joining sterling by the traditional method of brazing. Sometimes I will receive an object which has been lead-soldered in the area in need of repair (or re-repair). … Read more
I was reading through some of Hales’ blog archives over Xmas, like a gentleman, and was reminded of his post about CGI, the simple application/web interface from the 1990s. And here’s the thing: he said it was good. He invited … Read more
View discussion on Hacker News The Unix philosophy lays emphasis on building software that is simple and extensible. Each piece of software must do one thing and do it well. And that software should be able to work with other … Read more
You have full access to this article via your institution. Scientists’ ability to experience wonder, awe and beauty in their work is associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and better mental health, finds an international survey of researchers. Brandon … Read more
No one likes cheap products. We all want high-quality ones, and we want to feel the joy of owning them. But there is something about those cheap products that I personally find interesting… I just don’t worry about them.. Let … Read more