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Solution: ‘Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories’

September 7, 2018

How much stock should we put in mathematical models of evolution that have not been validated by rigorous empirical data?

Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories

August 15, 2018

Evolutionary stories like the grandmother hypothesis are easy to construct from mathematical models, but how well do they reflect reality?

Solution: ‘The Slippery Math of Causation’

June 29, 2018

The all-too-intuitive picture of a straight arrow going from cause to effect is far too simplistic to describe the real world.

The Slippery Math of Causation

May 30, 2018

If a forest is burning and we don’t know what’s responsible, does it have a cause?

Solution: ‘The DNA Computer Program’

April 27, 2018

Computer code serves as a useful analogy for what our genes do, but the complexity and messiness of life go well beyond simple analogies and mathematical models.

How the DNA Computer Program Makes You and Me

April 5, 2018

Can a set of simple instructions produce complex, three-dimensional living structures?

Solution: ‘When Probability Meets Real Life’

March 2, 2018

When our brains don't have a good intuition for reasoning with numbers, explicit probabilistic thinking can lead to improved decision-making.

When Probability Meets Real Life

February 8, 2018

When faced with a difficult decision, should you go with your gut or carefully calculate the attendant risks?

Solution: ‘Triangulation and Motion Sickness’

January 30, 2018

A method for estimating distances in sailing and astrophysics helps explain why riding on buses and boats can make us nauseous.

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