Where did our written numbers come from? (Credit: Nikita Rogul/Shutterstock)
The history of math is murky, predating any written records. When did humans first grasp the basic concept of a number? What about size and magnitude, or form and shape?
In my math history courses and my research travels in Guatemala, Egypt and Japan, I’ve been especially interested in the commonality and differences of mathematics from various cultures.
Although no one knows math’s exact origins, modern m ...read more
Valentina Tereshkova. NASA.
On June 16, 1963, Valeriy Bykovsky had been orbiting in Vostok 5 for a little under a day when he gained a companion: Valentina Tereshkova in Vostok 6. After more than a year of intensive training, she became, on that Sunday afternoon, the first woman in space.
Tereshkova’s story starts towards the end of 1961 with Sergei Korolev. Korolev was the Soviet space program’s Chief Designer and the mastermind behind the nation’s earliest space triump ...read more
Rather than declining, CO2 levels in the atmosphere are rising thanks to continuing growth in emissions of the climate-altering gas
This visualization shows the behavior of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from Sept. 1, 2014, to Aug. 31, 2015, based on observations and modeling. In May, atmospheric CO2 reached the highest levels ever directly measured. (Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/K. Mersmann, M. Radcliff, producers)
The Paris Agreement was intended to turn the worl ...read more
Private military contractors wearing haptic vests in the show “Westworld.” Credit: HBO
Most of the HBO show “Westworld” focuses on artificial intelligence and android robots that seem indistinguishable from humans. But the show has also occasionally snuck in some real-world technology that seems futuristic enough to blend in with the science fiction setting. One example of such real technology in “Westworld” comes in the form of haptic vests t ...read more
A bluetongue skink in a classic anti-predator display. (Credit: Shane Black)
When most animals feel threatened, their responses can be divided into two general categories: fight or flight. Bluetongue skinks, though, buck the trend in a most unusual way — when attacked, they stick their tongues out.
Their tongues are bright blue, and the sudden flash of color can be just enough to give potential predators pause and allow the lizards to escape. Now researchers find these tongues don&r ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
