Have you seen the videos of the crow solving an eight-stage
puzzle? Or of Lee Sedol losing to DeepMind? Learning seems to extend everywhere
from the mobile above an infant’s crib to machines to, some argue, evolution
and physical law. As we discover and build new learning systems, the biggest
lessons may be about how we fit into the new landscape around us.

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science and culture for people who love beautiful writing.
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Celebrating the Relationship Between Science and Illustration
A conversation with Society of Illustrators executive director Arabelle Liepold -
The Extraordinary, Imperiled Science at the End of the Earth
Firing experts in Antarctica couldn’t come at a worse time -
Breaking a Cycle of Apocalypse
John Larison’s new novel The Ancients suggests some societies are built for cataclysm -
An Earthy Fallen Star
The strange mushroom that puffs life into forests around the world. -
Inside an Exploded Star
Cassiopeia A gets a close-up.