Most people take boiling water for granted. For Associate Professor Matteo Bucci, uncovering the physics behind boiling has been a decade-long journey filled with unexpected challenges and new insights. The seemingly simple phenomenon is extremely hard to study in complex systems like nuclear reactors, and yet it sits at the core of a wide range…
The past 12 months have been undeniably busy for those working in AI. There have been more successful product launches than we can count, and even Nobel Prizes. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. AI is an unpredictable technology, and the increasing availability of generative models has led people to test their limits in…
Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. More than 70 countries went to the polls in 2024. The good news is that this year of global elections turned out to…
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Here’s a question. Imagine that, for $15,000, you could purchase a robot to pitch in with all the mundane tasks in your household. The catch (aside from the price tag) is…
The Vedas are ancient scriptures that form the foundation of Hinduism, containing knowledge about the Universe, rituals, philosophy, and divine wisdom. They are considered eternal and were revealed to great sages through direct spiritual experience. What Does Apourusheya Mean? The Vedas are considered Apourusheya, which means “not of human origin” or “divinely revealed.” This signifies…
Who Was Daksha and How Can He Have Different Lineages? Now that we know about Daksha (also known as Prajapati), it’s important to understand that Daksha wasn’t just one being, but many. While one Daksha is said to have been born from Brahma’s toe, the Daksha we’re focusing on here was the son of the…
The Birth of Svayambhuva Manu and Shatarupa: To continue the creation process, Lord Brahma created a man and a woman from his own body. The man was named Svayambhuva Manu and the woman was named Shatarupa. They became the first ancestors of human beings, which is why humans are called Manava. Manu and Shatarupa had…
The Nature of Brahman: In the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, the Brahman is the ultimate, formless reality – beyond all attributes and limitations. This concept of Nirguna Brahman suggests that Brahman is infinite, all-encompassing, and without any defining qualities. However, for those who seek a more personal connection with the divine, Brahman also manifests in…
Understanding Vedic Time The ancient Vedic texts describe time as vast and cyclical, with the universe undergoing repeated cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction. These cycles are governed by cosmic laws and divine principles, reflecting the eternal rhythm of existence. Breakdown of Vedic Time Cycles Manvantara: A long era within the Vedic time cycle. Each…
Try taking a picture of each of North America’s roughly 11,000 tree species, and you’ll have a mere fraction of the millions of photos within nature image datasets. These massive collections of snapshots — ranging from butterflies to humpback whales — are a great research tool for ecologists because they provide evidence of organisms’ unique behaviors, rare conditions,…