Author Archives: Andrea

Ein Jahr Krieg in der Ukraine

Zeit Online: 365 Tage “Überfall, Widerstand, Gegenoffensive, Stellungskrieg: Seit einem Jahr greift Russland die Ukraine an. Wir zeigen in Karten und Satellitenbildern die wichtigsten Phasen.” Von Florian Bayer, Paul Blickle, Dr. Hauke Friederichs, Marcus Gatzke, Steffen Richter, Julius Tröger und Benja Zehr.

Die Zeit: UN-Vollversammlung: 141 Stimmen Rückhalt. “Annalena Baerbock sucht bei den Vereinten Nationen, Unterstützung für die Ukraine zu sichern. Dass ihr das gelingen würde, war keinesfalls absehbar.” Eine Analyse von Alice Bota, New York.

“Am Nachmittag Ortszeit fiel die Entscheidung: 141 Jastimmen und eine Neinstimme mehr als vor gut einem Jahr (Mali stimmte dieses Mal dagegen), bei 32 Enthaltungen. Auch Lulas Brasilien stimmte für die Resolution. Ein diplomatischer Erfolg. Die Gespräche mit Äthiopien, mit Senegal, Brasilien und Nigeria, die Annalena Baerbock bis zum Schluss geführt hatte, die vielen SMS, die Versuche, sich von den russischen und belarussischen diplomatischen Störaktionen nicht beirren zu lassen, haben sich ausgezahlt. “Dieses Ergebnis zeigt, Russland ist mit seinem Kriegskurs genauso isoliert wie vor einem Jahr”, sagte Baerbock. “Die Welt will Frieden. Wir stellen uns gemeinsam gegen den Bruch des Völkerrechts.””

Baerbocks Rede kann man im englischsprachigen Original hier ansehen und -hören. (Guardian News stream der ganzen UN Generalversammlung)

A Time To Live

Real Stories: A Time To Live (Living With Terminal Illness Documentary) (YouTube, 1 hour)

“Award-winning filmmaker Sue Bourne wanted to make a film about living, not dying. She set out to find people of all ages who had managed to find positives in their terminal prognosis and were making the most of the time they had left.

The twelve people in this thought-provoking and uplifting film range from their twenties to their late sixties. They speak eloquently and inspiringly about what they’ve discovered really matters in life. They smile and laugh and try not to cry because they say that crying and being sad is a waste of the precious time they have left. Some say they feel privileged to have been told how much time they have left.”

The Open University: A Time to Live. “What would you do if you were told you had a terminal illness and may only have months to live?”

“Award winning film-maker Sue Bourne wanted to make a film about living, not dying. She set out to find people of all ages who had managed to find positives in their terminal prognosis and were making the most of the time they had left.

The twelve people in this thought-provoking and uplifting film range from their twenties to their late sixties. They speak eloquently and inspiringly about what they’ve discovered really matters in life. They smile and laugh and try not to cry because they say that crying and being sad is a waste of the precious time they have left. Some say they feel privileged to have been told how much time they have left.”

The page includes interviews with nine people who took part in the project.

Links via MetaFilter.

What does Gauß have to do with the nuclear arms race?

Veritasium: How An Algorithm Could Have Stopped The Nuclear Arms Race. (YouTube, 26:32min)

“The Fast Fourier Transform is used everywhere but it has a fascinating origin story that could have ended the nuclear arms race. […]
Thanks to Grant Sanderson of 3Blue1Brown for his helpful feedback on the script. His great video on the Fourier Transform is here”

3Blue1Brown: But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction. (YouTube, 21min)

It blew my mind that Carl Friedrich Gauß found the discrete Fourier transform – 150 years earlier that Fourier.

“Plump up the cartilage”

The Washington Post: Does running really wreck your knees? “Contrary to popular opinion, distance running rarely causes knee problems in runners, and often leaves joints sturdier and less damaged.” By Gretchen Reynolds.

“Hart and his colleagues believe running strengthens the major leg muscles supporting the knee, allowing them to take on and offload more of the strains involved in repeatedly striking the ground.

The knee’s cartilage probably also bulks up, thanks to the repeated squishing it receives during running, Esculier said. “For a long time, we thought that cartilage could not adapt” to running or other activities, he said, because it lacks blood supply and nerves. “But in fact, cartilage does adapt,” he said, “by becoming stronger and more tolerant to compression.”

In a 2022 review of past MRI studies he co-wrote, he and his colleagues found evidence that the knee’s cartilage flattens immediately after a run, but then bounces back into shape within a few hours. With long-term recreational running, he said, the cartilage probably thickens, although that possibility still needs to be studied.

“Bottom line is that cartilage does become more robust” with running, Esculier said.”

Alles gesagt?

In den letzten Wochen habe ich zwei höchst interessante Podcast-Folgen gehört, und zwar vom unendlichen Zeit-Podcast Alles gesagt?

Richert Socher, was denken Maschinen? (26. November 2020, gute acht Stunden lang)

“Einer der meistzitierten jungen KI-Forscher spricht im Podcast darüber, wie Computer die Welt verstehen, über sein Leben im Silicon Valley und seine Kindheit in der DDR.”

Thomas Zurbuchen, wann findet die Nasa Leben im Weltall? (22. August 2022, fünf Stunden lang)

“Er ist der wohl einflussreichste Forscher der Welt. Im unendlichen Podcast spricht der Astrophysiker über die Magie der Sterne, Elon Musk und Science-Fiction-Filme.”

Weitere Folgen der Serie, die ich hörenswert fand:

  • Uli Wickert, was ist das Geheimnis Ihres reichen Lebens? (24. Mai 2019, 5 Stunden)
  • Alice Hasters, was sollten weiße Menschen über Rassismus wissen? (3. Juni 2020, 6,5 Stunden)
  • Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, rettet Wissenschaft die Welt? (23. Juli 2020, 4 Stunden)
  • Joachim Gauck, warum braucht Deutschland einen Bundespräsidenten? (9. Juni 2022, 6 Stunden)