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Amateurs Solve a Famous Computer Science Problem On Discord

A team of amateurs recently came together in an online collaboration called the Busy Beaver Challenge to pin down the value of BB(5), the fifth “busy beaver” number — a notoriously difficult problem in theoretical computer science.


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Janna Levin on Science and Culture

May 5, 2016

Janna Levin talks about her roles as scientific director at a “center for art and innovation” in Brooklyn and as a physicist and writer.

Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries

May 3, 2016

David Moore explains why we might expect to find strange things when we study gravity at small scales.

David Moore: Tabletop Physics

May 3, 2016

David Moore of Stanford University describes how, inside this chamber, silica spheres probe for distortions of gravity.

The Evolutionary Argument Against Reality

April 21, 2016

Donald Hoffman explains how our perceptions have evolved to become like a computer interface.

Is That ‘Bump’ a New Particle?

April 14, 2016

David Kaplan reports on a potentially exciting new signal at the Large Hadron Collider.

David Deamer: How We’re Studying the Origins of Life

March 17, 2016

David Deamer explains how his laboratory mimics the extreme conditions found on volcanoes in the early Earth.

Are We Alone in the Universe?

February 4, 2016

David Kaplan explores the best ways to search for alien life on distant planets.