New Ideas, Retired Subways, and Time Travel: Lux Recommends #207
Welcome to Lux Recommends #207, this week’s edition of what we at Lux are reading and thinking about (want to receive this by email? Sign up here).
Articles
See the Mississippi River’s hidden history, uncovered by lasers: “Using hyperprecise LiDAR data, a cartographer maps the river’s bends and channels over time with mesmerizing results.” — Adam G
The Myth and Magic of Generating New Ideas: “A mathematician on how to get the mind into motion.” — Sam
The Joy of Finding Out: “The process of digging into hard questions makes the moment of discovery all the more satisfying.” — Sam
From leech collectors to knocker-ups, here are 16 weird jobs that no longer exist — Lux Recommends reader Greg Greenberg
Intestinal Stretch Tells Brain to Switch Off Appetite — Adam G
Scientists Reverse Cognitive Deficits of Down Syndrome Mice— Adam K
From ashes to AI: How technology puts a new lens on ancient texts: “Recent breakthroughs in scanning, image processing, and machine learning are helping researchers read historic documents once considered lost to time.” — Deena
Nature’s reach: narrow work has broad impact: “A scientific paper today is inspired by more disciplines than ever before, shows a new analysis marking the journal’s 150th anniversary.” — Sam
Photos of Retired Subway Cars Being Dumped Into the Atlantic Ocean — Adam K
A real-life cyborg brain — Adam G
Books
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz: “a story of time travel, murder, and the lengths we’ll go to protect the ones we love.”— Sam
The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson: “The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the adventures of the Viking Röde Orm — called “Red” for his hair and his temper, a native of Scania” — friend of Lux Jeremy Glick
Television
The Mandalorian: “The travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic.” — Adam G
Videos
Computer graphics simulation of baking bread, cookies, and pancakes — Adam K
Animated globe shows a year worth of earthquakes by depth — Adam K
Can you pick up a 40-ton truck with 2,000 drones? — Adam K
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