GeekPress

Shortcut To Mars

2026-05-07T00:02:00.009-07:00

"Scientist accidentally finds shortcut to Mars that could slash travel time in half"

Viking Coins

2026-05-07T00:01:00.003-07:00

"Largest Viking Age coin hoard ever found in Norway astonishes archaeologists". (Via H.R.)

Negative Time?

2026-05-06T00:02:00.008-07:00

"Physicists have measured 'negative time' in the lab". Link to original paper.

Losing Infinity?

2026-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

"What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?"

AI And Water Use

2026-05-05T00:01:00.012-07:00

"AI Is Not Draining the Colorado River. I Measured It."

Summary from Beyond Euclid:

An engineer working on the Colorado River tracked every AI interaction he had over 11 weeks — 100 sessions, an iOS app, 15,000 words of text, countless policy documents. Total water footprint: about 5 gallons. One diesel drive from Tucson to his office that same period: 110 gallons. All US data centers account for 0.3% of the country’s total water use. Agriculture takes 80% of the Colorado River. The river’s problem isn’t AI. It’s a 1922 water-sharing agreement based on the wrong math, and a century of warming since. But what went viral was AI water use.

How To Read A Clinical Trial Report

2026-05-04T00:02:00.007-07:00

Dr. Bishal Gyawali: "How I Read a Clinical Trial Report? A Primer for Busy Clinicians".

Although the article is aimed at physicians, it has lots of useful tips for non-physicians seeking to properly interpret the latest "hot" medical article on some dramatic breakthrough.

Infrasonics

2026-05-04T00:01:00.008-07:00

"Infrasound waves stop kitchen fires, but can they replace sprinklers?" (Via H.R.)

Ping Pong Robot

2026-04-24T00:02:00.006-07:00

"Ping-pong robot Ace makes history by beating top-level human players". (Click through to see video.)

Iliad Fragment

2026-04-24T00:01:00.006-07:00

"Archaeologists Unearth a Papyrus Fragment From the 'Iliad' Tucked Inside the Wrappings of a 1,600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy"

TSA X-rays

2026-04-23T00:01:00.004-07:00

"What Do TSA Agents See When They Scan Your Bags?"

Volcanic Lightning

2026-04-10T00:01:00.005-07:00

"Physicists Say They've Cracked the Mystery of Volcanic Lightning". (Via H.R.)

Rebuilding Civilization

2026-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

"CivOS (Civilization OS) is a fully offline, AI-powered civilization accelerator designed to be downloaded today and activated after any collapse scenario."

65 Weird Shopping Items

2026-04-08T00:01:00.006-07:00

"65 weird things with near-perfect reviews that are truly life-changing". (Via Gus Van Horn.)

Airline Booking Tips

2026-04-07T00:01:00.004-07:00

"Tips for booking the cheapest airfare and best days to fly"

Not A Crisis

2026-04-06T00:01:00.004-07:00

"There is no imminent infectious disease crisis at the border"

Teaching Kids To Use Typewriters

2026-04-02T00:01:00.008-07:00

"A college instructor turns to typewriters to curb AI-written work and teach life lessons"

Like a rotary phone, the manual typewriter appears simple but is not intuitive to the smartphone generation. Phelps demonstrated how to feed the paper manually, striking the keys with force but not so hard the letters would smudge. She explained that the dinging bell signifies the end of a line and the need to manually return the carriage to start the next line. (“Oh,” said one student, “that’s why it’s called ‘return.’”)

Hsieh Forbes Column: Unintended Consequences Of Government Medical Payment Policies

2026-04-01T00:01:00.005-07:00

My latest Forbes column is now out:: "How Government Attempts To Reduce Health Spending Can Paradoxically Raise Health Costs"

Why Basketball Sneakers Squeak

2026-03-16T01:00:00.016-07:00

Nature article on why basketball sneakers squeak.

Summary of the Nature article from Beyond Euclid:

"High-speed cameras showed the rubber sole rapidly snapping and slipping against the floor on impact — hundreds of tiny wave pulses, similar to fault ruptures in earthquakes. The tread pattern forces these into regular intervals, producing a steady pitch instead of noise. Flat sole: random noise. Patterned tread: something close to a tone."

Spotting AI Voice

2026-03-13T01:01:00.005-07:00

How to detect AI-generated prose.

Winter Tire Update

2026-03-13T01:00:00.003-07:00

"These new winter tires have studs that retract as it warms up". (Via H.R.)

Cat Physics Update

2026-03-12T01:01:00.004-07:00

"Flexible feline spines shed light on 'falling cat' problem". (Via H.R.)

The First Multi-Behavior Brain Upload

2026-03-12T01:00:00.006-07:00

"The First Multi-Behavior Brain Upload". Click the Eon systems link to see the video. (Via G.F.)

Headphones On United Airlines

2026-03-05T08:00:00.005-07:00

"Good: United Threatens To Kick Off Passengers Who Don't Use Headphones"

AI Not Replacing Radiologists

2026-03-04T08:00:00.014-07:00

CNN: "This job has become the ultimate case study for why AI won't replace human workers"

From personal experience -- our practice is busier than ever, and we are still looking to hire more (not fewer) radiologists.

If LOTR Characters Had Access To Modern Level 1 Trauma Care

2026-03-03T08:00:00.007-07:00

Surgeon Dr. Ron Barbosa discusses how medical outcomes could have improved if major characters from Lord Of The Rings had had access to a modern Level 1 Trauma Center.