Maps

22 articles
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    Communication

    Should Scientists Use the Phrase “Quantum Supremacy”?

    Forget for a moment that you know the meaning of “quantum supremacy,” the idea of a quantum computer outdoing its conventional counterpart. What does the phrase instantly bring to mind? Perhaps the idea that the quantum world, with its electrons, neutrons, and quarks, is, somehow, better than ours—more dazzling and awe-inspiring. Or perhaps it’s the […]

  • Paulson_HERO

    Anthropology

    Why Doesn’t Everybody Have Dark Skin Today?

    Questions and answers about the science of skin color.

  • Manuel_HERO

    Health

    What Really Inflamed the Coronavirus Epidemic

    Censorship didn’t worsen the deadly virus outbreak. Incompetence did.

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    Math

    Color-Changing Material Unites the Math and Physics of Knots

    Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine’s Abstractions blog. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . One sunny day in the summer of 2019, Mathias Kolle, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, took a couple of eminent colleagues out sailing. They talked about their research. They had some drinks. Then […]

  • OConnor_HERO

    Psychology

    There’s No Homunculus In Our Brain Who Guides Us

    Why the cognitive-map theory is misguided.

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    Psychology

    Why We Love to Be Grossed Out

    Disgust may not be a straightforward extension of the immune system’s aversion to harmful substances, but rather “a psychological nebula, lacking definite boundaries, discrete internal structure, or a single center of gravity,” says psychologist Nina Strohminger.Photograph by Star Stock / Flickr Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . Nina Strohminger, […]