Alien Languages, Turing on Money, and Microbots: Lux Recommends #272
Welcome to Lux Recommends #272, this week’s edition of what we at Lux are reading and thinking about (want to receive this by email? Sign up here).
Articles
Alien Languages May Not Be Entirely Alien to Us: “Evolution should favor some universal traits in the emergence of any form of communication on any planet” — Adam K
Jennifer Doudna on the Pandemic Year: The Power of Mission-Driven Science: “Professors, researchers and engineers set aside their own projects to focus on how best to fight the pandemic” — Deena
The UK’s new £50 note celebrates Alan Turing with lots of geeky Easter eggs — Sam
Racing Against Time: Responding to COVID-19 — Deena
The Deepest Diver in the History of Free Diving Goes Below the Ice: “For the past four years, Alexey Molchanov has been the undisputed best all-around free diver in the world. He broke yet another world record last week, this time beneath an icy surface.” — Adam K
This Used Volvo V70 Wagon Will Cost You $20M Thanks to Its License Plate — Zack
Bonobos Offer Clues To Why Humans Evolved To Value Niceness — Deena
Turing Award Goes to Creators of Computer Programming Building Blocks: “Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho developed many of the fundamental concepts that researchers use when they build new software.”-Shaq
New picture of famous black hole reveals its swirling magnetic field — Deena
Microsoft wins U.S. Army contract for augmented reality headsets, worth up to $21.9 billion over 10 years — Mike
A Vermont high school has moved into a former Macy’s. Here’s what it looks like. — Adam K
Microrobots fight brain tumors in mice — Deena
The Data Visualizations Behind COVID-19 Skepticism — Adam G
Clubhouse Feels Like a Party: “But is it a good one?” — Deena
Books
Master of the Revels by Nicole Galland: “This fast-paced sequel to the New York Times bestselling near-future adventure The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. picks up where the original left off, as Tristan Lyons, Mel Stokes, and their fellow outcasts from the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.) fight to stop the powerful Irish witch Gráinne from using time travel to reverse the evolution of all modern technology.” — Sam
Podcasts
Eddie Murphy on WTF with Marc Maron Podcast — Adam G
Videos
How Earth Will Look In 250 million Years — Adam K
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