Part of Anders Exoself
Avogadro s number — the count of atoms in a mole — is about . The number of stars in the observable universe is, depending on whose galaxy survey you trust, somewhere between and . These are, to within the squint of an order of magnitude, the same number. Sean Carroll asked if this is a [ ]
Today s project: First Light , a metal concept album about extreme ultraviolet lithography in technical detail. A fun collaboration between me and Claude 4.6 generating music using Suno 5.5. SIDE A — FROM SAND TO SUBSTRATE Czochralski 13.5 Nanometers The Droplet The Mirror SIDE B — PATTERNING THE IMPOSSIBLE The Sequel Chemically Amplified Etch The [ ]
Looking back at 2025 and forward to 2026, here are some notes. Changed mind about The thing I changed my mind most about in 2025 was group agency and other collective properties. I have long declared myself an methodological individualist in social science, and I still think that group properties supervene on individuals. That groups [ ]
I have digital scar tissue. My first email address, nv91-asa@nada.kth.se is still haunting the net. I got it in 1991 when I started at university and it was valid for more than 15 years. During this time, I wrote many documents, websites, and academic papers, ensuring that it will be out there. Of course, it [ ]
(Originally a twitter thread) When @fermatslibrary brought up this 1940 paper about why we have nothing to worry about from nuclear chain reactions, I first checked that it was real and not a modern forgery. Because it seems almost too good to be true in the light of current AI safety talk. Yes, the paper was real: Harrington, [ ]
Why do some musical tones sound consonant, and others dissonant? And how does this change with different musical instruments or universes? William Sethares has a great overview of this topic, from which I will borrow a lot (including his code). This thread was primed by this very good video, which got me thinking about [ ]
By Anders Sandberg I manifested on a hillside lit by the everlasting sunset, overlooking the dry western plains. A little girl was poking around a tangle of flowers in the terra cotta light. Her clothes were made of felt lizards, quietly and slowly moving around her body. She was manipulating the plants like a well-learned [ ]
My own exceedingly nerdy motivational poster. (See Goodstein s theorem, which is one of the most awesome uses of let s complicate things a bit in order to suddenly get a very simple and obvious answer .)
(Based on this Twitter thread. Epistemic status: fairly plausible, I would teach this to kids) A simple, and hardly unique economic observation: when you are poor, money is additive. As you get more, it becomes multiplicative. And eventually exponential. To a kid or a very poor person every coin is a treasure, worth something just [ ]
Today I handed in my laptop. A part of my extended mind was removed. The shutdown of the Future of Humanity Institute has many odd effects. I have been at FHI since 2006. I interviewed for the job a rainy July day in 2005, apparently impressing people with my interdisciplinary knowledge… and the fact that [ ]