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☆ Jim Simons, billionaire hedge fund founder, dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Jim Simons, the billionaire investor, mathematician and philanthropist, died on Friday in New York City, according to his foundation, the Simons Foundation. According to his foundation, Simons was fired from the institute in 1968 due to his opposition to the Vietnam War. Simons then joined the faculty at Stony Brook University as the head of the school’s mathematics department. Last year, Simons’ foundation donated $500 million to Stony Brook’s endowment, the largest unrestricted gift to an American university in history, according to the Simons Foundation. “I joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as chair of their Department of Mathematics,” Simons said at the time.

Persons: Jim Simons, Simons, ” Simons, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Simons, Technologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, MIT, Harvard University, Institute for Defense, National Security Agency, Stony Brook University, Renaissance Technologies, Simons Foundation, of Mathematics Locations: New York City, Newton , Massachusetts, Berkeley, Princeton , New Jersey, Vietnam, American

☆ Israel may have just hit a turning point in its war on Gaza — but not for the reason you think
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mass protests are taking place in Israel, and even its closest global allies are turning critical. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Instead, it's demonstrations by Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, fearful of mandatory conscription that they have long avoided, who may pose the biggest risk to Netanyahu's already fragile grip on power. AdvertisementTo prevent his downfall, and continue Israel's course in Gaza, Netanyahu has only one job: keeping his far-right coalition government intact. A Netanyahu ouster would undoubtedly have huge consequences for Israel's operations in Gaza and could prove more decisive than any outside intervention.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu, it's, Netanyahu, He's, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, they've, Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz, Gantz Organizations: Service, Israel's, Israel Democracy Institute, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Yeshiva, Justice, Netanyahu's Likud Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanyahu's

☆ Why this math professor is putting actors in classrooms
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Leah Collins | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Loh’s way of doing that is by creating Zoom classes that feel more like social media than traditional learning. Called live.poshenloh.com, the platform employs exceptionally talented US high school students to teach mathematics via livestream. Loh came up with the idea during the pandemic, when livestream learning became commonplace, but not necessarily engaging for students. “Most people had the experience that a Zoom math class was very effective at putting children to sleep,” he told CNN. “I didn’t realize that mathematics and the performing arts could harmonize together in such a wonderful way.”

Persons: CNN —, Shen Loh, ”, Loh, ” Loh, . Loh, “, Elena Baskakova, Elena Baskakova Loh, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Carnegie Mellon, Human, Initiative, Broadway, Math, US Team, International Locations: Pennsylvania, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

☆ Archimedes’ death ray might have worked, teen science project suggests
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But one fabled device has left scientists speculating on its existence for hundreds of years — the death ray. For his 2022 science project, Sener recreated the Archimedes screw, a device for raising and moving water. Sener found the death ray to be one of the more intriguing devices — sometimes referred to as the heat ray. Archimedes’ death ray is more commonly speculated to have been an array of several mirrors or polished shields. Sener’s mom, Melanie, was not surprised by her son’s choice in science project.

Persons: Archimedes, Brenden Sener, Sener, ” Sener, Melanie Sener, Cliff Ho, Ho, ”, “, Thomas Chondros, Melanie, … He’s Organizations: CNN, London Public, Canadian Science Fair, Sandia National Laboratories, US Department of, National Nuclear Security Administration, Greece’s University of Patras, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University Locations: Greece, London , Ontario, Syracuse, Albuquerque , New Mexico, Chondros

☆ Opinion | Math Is the Answer to More Than One Question
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Alec Wilkinson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I arrived by means of mathematics, specifically simple mathematics — algebra, geometry and calculus, the kind of mathematics that adolescents do. I am only a mathematical tourist, but my experience has led me to believe that mathematics is rife with intimations of a divine presence. For many mathematicians, there is no question that God is somehow involved. Newton, for example, believed that mathematics exemplified thoughts in the mind of God. The first is the question of whether mathematics is created or discovered.

Persons: Pythagoras, Newton Organizations: Mathematicians

☆ Black holes are rampaging through our universe at more than 2.2 million mph and scientists think they now know why
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

These black holes get kicked into space, moving as fast as 1,000 kilometers per second. AdvertisementScientists studying how supernovas explode may have discovered a new process for how certain black holes form. Turns out, some baby black holes hit the ground running at colossal speeds just moments after they take shape. Asymmetrical explosions can lead to powerful kicks that send black holes shooting into space at over 2 million mph. AdvertisementIf the black holes are movingIf you hear blazing-fast black holes and start to panic, don't.

Persons: —, MARK GARLICK, GARLICK, Adam Burrows, Burrows, Vijay Varma, Ivo Labbe, Swinburne, Rachel Bezanson, Varma Organizations: Service, Princeton University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, NASA, ESA, CSA, University of Pittsburgh

The court ordered new maps with contiguous districts, but also said the maps must not favor one party over another. Following Friday's map submissions, a pair of consultants hired by the Supreme Court will analyze the proposals and issue a report by Feb. 1. The consultants could choose to ignore all of the maps submitted last week and put forward their own plan. The 50-49 Republican majority map was submitted by Law Forward, the Madison-based law firm representing Democratic voters that brought the lawsuit. Republicans have indicated that they plan an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing due process violations, but it's not clear when that would occur.

Persons: Tony Evers, Evers, “, ” Evers, “ I’ve, I’d, John D, Johnson, Robin Vos, Janet Protasiewicz Organizations: Court, GOP, Gov, Democratic, Senate, Republican, ” Marquette University Law School, Law, Republicans, Senate Democrats, U.S, Supreme Locations: MADISON, Wis, Wisconsin, Madison, Evers

Neri Oxman , a former MIT professor and celebrity within the world of academia, stole sentences and whole paragraphs from Wikipedia, other scholars, and technical documents in her academic writing, Business Insider has found. AdvertisementNeri Oxman directly copied from Wikipedia in her Ph.D. dissertationOn page 81 of her dissertation, "Material-based Design Computation," Oxman published two sentences without attribution that had previously appeared on Wikipedia. Business InsiderThe Wikipedia article for "Weaving" featured virtually identical sentences in April 2010 , when Oxman's dissertation was submitted. Business InsiderOxman's cribbing from the "Weaving" article was one of 15 examples that BI found Oxman plagiarizing from a Wikipedia article in her dissertation. The bulk of the plagiarism BI found was in her dissertation, which runs more than 300 pages.

Persons: Neri Oxman, Oxman, Bill Ackman, Ackman, Claudine Gay, Gay, Claudine Gay's, It's, Rick Norwood, silkworms, Wolfram MathWorld, M.Y . Zhou, Bruno Zevi, Sally Kornbluth Organizations: MIT, Pershing, Capital Management, Washington Free Beacon, Business, Creative, East Tennessee State University, MIT Media, Rhino, BI, Da Capo Press, MIT Corporation, Eastern Tennessee State University Locations: Gaza

☆ In Ukraine, Mathematics Offers Strength in Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Siobhan Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a Saturday evening in August, two Ukrainian mathematicians, Maryna Viazovska and Masha Vlasenko, set out on a 19-hour train trip from Warsaw to Kyiv. They were en route to a conference titled “Numbers in the Universe: Recent Advances in Number Theory and Its Applications.” Symbolically, the journey served to plant a flag. The event marked the opening of the International Center for Mathematics in Ukraine, or I.C.M.U., which was established on paper in November. “The goal is to bring the world of mathematics to Ukraine and open, or reopen, Ukrainian science for the world,” said Dr. Viazovska, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. She won a Fields Medal in 2022 and serves as scientific lead on the center’s coordination committee.

Persons: Maryna Viazovska, Masha Vlasenko, “, ”, Viazovska, Jean, Pierre Bourguignon Organizations: International Center for Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, European Research Council Locations: Warsaw, Kyiv, Ukraine, Lausanne, London

☆ Black holes can speed through the universe at 17,500 miles per second, scientists say — and the discovery could reveal new laws of physics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Black holes can move through the universe at 17,500 miles per second, scientists have calculated. That's why black holes appear black. The scientists estimate the recoil speed limit for black holes is around 63 million miles per hour. They calculated that the maximum speed limit that recoiling black holes could reach was around 63 million mph. What if astronomers observe black holes that break this speed limit, recoiling at speeds greater than 63 million mph?

Persons: Carlos Lousto, Imre Bartos Organizations: Service, Rochester Institute of Technology, NASA, JPL, Caltech, University of Florida Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ In Florida’s History Lessons on Slavery, Context Matters - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

For example, at the same time that white supremacist authors were writing slavery apologia for student instruction, scholars like W.E.B. Du Bois were taking note of the skills and agency of enslaved Africans for a very different purpose. Continually runaway slaves are described as speaking very good English; sometimes as speaking not only English but Dutch and French. The difference between these accounts and those of the slavery apologists, however, is that Du Bois, Woodson and their contemporaries never implied or suggested that chattel slavery was anything less than a crime. Where apologists dismissed or disparaged the efforts, radical and otherwise, to end slavery, Du Bois, Woodson and others gave them pride of place in their histories and narratives about the peculiar institution.

Persons: ”, Du Bois, Carter G, Woodson, apologia Locations: Florida

☆ A.I. doomers are a ‘cult’ — here’s the real threat, according to Marc Andreessen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Andreessen Horowitz partner Marc Andreessen Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesVenture capitalist Marc Andreessen is known for saying that "software is eating the world." When it comes to artificial intelligence, he claims people should stop worrying and build, build, build. Andreessen writes that there's a "wall of fear-mongering and doomerism" in the AI world right now. Andreessen writes that people in roles like AI safety expert, AI ethicist and AI risk researcher "are paid to be doomers, and their statements should be processed appropriately," he wrote. In Andreessen's own idealist future, "every child will have an AI tutor that is infinitely patient, infinitely compassionate, infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely helpful."

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen Justin Sullivan, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen, It's, it's, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Getty Images Venture, Nvidia, Microsoft, Center, AI Safety, Tech Locations: China

☆ The hat: Mathematicians invent 'einstein' tile that never repeats
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Called “The hat” because it vaguely resembles a fedora, the elusive shape is an “einstein” (from the German “ein stein,” or “one stone”). “I’m not really into math, to be honest — I did it at school, but I didn’t excel in it,” Smith said. “The hat,” however, is an aperiodic tile, meaning it can still completely cover a surface without any gaps, but you can never identify any cluster that periodically repeats itself to do so. How ‘The hat’ worksThere’s nothing inherently magical about “The hat,” according to Kaplan. “We’re not trying to protect it in any way,” Kaplan said.

☆ In economics, women's voices still struggle to be heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Maria Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

There seems to be a lot to celebrate on International Women's Day in the field of economics. Women head the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Treasury and the European Central Bank. "The pervasive underrepresentation of women in economics is systemic and structural," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, told Reuters. "There are no women in the textbooks and most big names in economics are men," said Sandra Kretschmer, economics researcher and member of the Women in Economics Initiative. Women and men tend to have different research interests, said Alisa Weinberger, economics researcher at Goethe.

☆ Our quest to make AI love us back is futile — and dangerous
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But that's futile, experts say, because the AI of today can't feel empathy, let alone love. We've spent years trying to get AI to love us back. Experts told Insider that it's futile to expect the AIs that exist right now to love us back. During a simulation in October 2020, OpenAI's GPT-3 chatbot told a person asking for psychiatric help to kill themselves. Halpern, the UC Berkeley professor, told Insider AI-based relationships are perilous also because the entity can be used as a money-making tool.

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