This article explores the Boltzmann brain hypothesis, the time-asymmetry of memory, and the second law of thermodynamics, formalizing their relationships within a time-symmetric, time-translation invariant Markov process framework. It disentangles these concepts to avoid circular reasoning and offers a novel formal approach to their investigation.
An exploration of SHACL 1.2 UI and its potential for creating forms and views, drawing parallels to the earlier XForms technology. The article discusses the benefits of declarative UI generation, dynamic properties, and security features.
The article explores SHACL 1.2 UI as a powerful, declarative approach to building forms and views for RDF data, drawing parallels to the earlier (and ultimately unsuccessful) XForms standard. The author argues that SHACL 1.2 UI offers benefits like consistent data presentation, automated form generation, dynamic property computation, and enhanced security, potentially revolutionizing how we interact with data on the web. While current tooling is limited, existing DASH-compatible tools can be adapted, and the author envisions a future where data itself dictates its presentation, reducing the need for costly and inconsistent manual form creation.
The article explores SHACL 1.2 UI as a powerful, declarative approach to building forms and views for RDF data, drawing parallels to the earlier (and ultimately unsuccessful) XForms standard. The author argues that SHACL 1.2 UI offers benefits like consistent data presentation, automated form generation, dynamic property computation, and enhanced security, potentially revolutionizing how we interact with data on the web. While current tooling is limited, existing DASH-compatible tools can be adapted, and the author envisions a future where data itself dictates its presentation, reducing the need for costly and inconsistent manual form creation.
A new paper by SFI Professor David Wolpert introduces a mathematically precise framework for the simulation hypothesis, challenging several long-standing claims and opening up new questions about simulated universes.
An exploration of the role of an ontologist, covering skills, tasks, differences from taxonomists, training resources, and the future of the field.
A pair of landmark studies has identified the originators of the Indo-European family of languages in current-day Russia about 6,500 years ago, the Caucasus Lower Volga people.
>“We can see there was a small group of villages 5,700 to 5,300 years ago with just a couple thousand breeding individuals,” Reich said. “And then there was a demographic explosion, with these people going everywhere.”
>“We can see there was a small group of villages 5,700 to 5,300 years ago with just a couple thousand breeding individuals,” Reich said. “And then there was a demographic explosion, with these people going everywhere.”
The Langlands programme has inspired and befuddled mathematicians for more than 50 years. A major advance has now opened up new worlds for them to explore.
The article details the recent proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture, a significant advancement in mathematics that validates a decades-old program aiming for a "grand unified theory" of the field. Led by Dennis Gaitsgory and Sam Raskin, the proof—spanning five papers and nearly 1,000 pages—is expected to open new avenues of research and potentially bridge connections between mathematics and theoretical physics, particularly in understanding symmetries in quantum field theory. While not a complete solution to the broader Langlands program, it provides strong evidence for its underlying principles and offers new tools for tackling complex mathematical problems.
The article details the recent proof of the geometric Langlands conjecture, a significant advancement in mathematics that validates a decades-old program aiming for a "grand unified theory" of the field. Led by Dennis Gaitsgory and Sam Raskin, the proof—spanning five papers and nearly 1,000 pages—is expected to open new avenues of research and potentially bridge connections between mathematics and theoretical physics, particularly in understanding symmetries in quantum field theory. While not a complete solution to the broader Langlands program, it provides strong evidence for its underlying principles and offers new tools for tackling complex mathematical problems.
A new theoretical framework utilizing three dimensions of time, arising from symmetries observed across quantum, interaction, and cosmological scales. This framework naturally explains the three generations of particles and their mass hierarchy, offering solutions to problems in particle physics like parity violation and ultraviolet divergences in quantum gravity. The theory makes testable predictions for neutrino masses, new resonances at colliders, and modifications to the speed of gravity, potentially verifiable within the next few years.
A study combining archaeology and genetics, published in Science, reveals that the spread of Neolithic practices from Anatolia wasn't solely due to migration. Researchers found evidence of significant genetic continuity in West Anatolia over 7,000 years, despite cultural shifts like the adoption of agriculture and settled lifestyles. This suggests ideas and technologies spread without large-scale population movement in many areas. Some regions did experience migration and genetic mixing around 7,000 BCE, and later in the Aegean, but the overall picture is one of cultural diffusion occurring alongside, and often independently of, population shifts. The study highlights the importance of supporting research in the regions directly related to the questions being investigated and demonstrates a new methodology for integrating genomic and archaeological data.
The article details a study suggesting that rapid shifts in gene regulation, rather than changes in protein-coding genes, likely drove the evolution of human intelligence. Researchers identified two key regulatory "saltations" – sudden changes – unique to humans that impact areas like memory, learning, social behavior, and emotional depth.
This article explores the intriguing idea that the laws of physics, specifically gravity, might be manifestations of computations performed by a fundamental substrate. The authors delve into the possibility of a universe where information processing is central to understanding gravity and other physical phenomena.
As the author succinctly states, “gravitational attraction is just another optimization mechanism in a computational process that plays a role in reducing the computational power and compressing information.”
As the author succinctly states, “gravitational attraction is just another optimization mechanism in a computational process that plays a role in reducing the computational power and compressing information.”
