Nature snapshots
As I was waiting for my wife when visiting the Doges’ Palace in Venice last week, I read most of one of the issues of Nature I had brought with me to the Serenissima (after they arrived by bulk the week before for unclear reasons).
- One of the editorials is about AI-assisted design of mathematical conjectures. Reminding me of grant panels I took part in where candidates in pure maths were often focussing on solving one or many conjectures, as opposed to more applied branches (like statistics).
- Two entries about France, one about Macron’s idea of a European DARPA, unlikely to convince European partners after his calling most unnecessarily an election and bringing the extreme-right to its apex since the Vichy régime. Another one about the super mega campus Paris-Saclay unable to settle on a form of leadership and hence elect a president. Federalist versus centralised… Once again, thanks to Macron’s reckless gamble, his current Ministry for Higher Education may be in need of a position next month and could return to heading the campus.
- Worrying coverage of bird flu in US cows (not yet pigs on the wing but worrying enough) and of zombie cells that should have died and that new treatments can fight way better.
- A reflection on coming up with a treaty against AI weapons with autonomous kill decisions but isn’t it too late?!
- Building design that would avoid total collapse of a failing building, as in South Florida four years ago. But solely for new ones, unfortunately. (And the connection with lizards escapes me, except for managing to escape by loosing a tail…)
- A biography of Daniel Kahneman, decision-theorist, 2002 Nobel economics (aka Bank of Sweden) Prize, author of Thinking, Slow and Fast, and spending the WW II in occupied France hiding from round-ups by the Vichy police.
Xi'an's Og 
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