What is the point of mathematics?
A 23-year-old with no advanced mathematical training has solved a 60-year old problem. What comes next may matter more.
Confections & Reputations
A delicious mix of science fiction, science fact, history, politics and chicanery.
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Latest episodes
The fascinating war over the genealogy of the modern computer. Part IV
The also-rans
Why is physics so good at math?
Physical insights drawn from the real world are inexplicably useful for solving abstruse problems in mathematics.
Why do people hate maths?
And what should we do about it?
Labatut's 'Frankenstein'
'The MANIAC' reveals more about the author than about von Neumann
The Coming of Enki X
The final part of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The Coming of Enki IX
Part nine of a previously unpublished science fiction story
Expectancy Theory
A science fiction story that got mistaken for actual science
Oppie and Johnny, best frenemies of the Atomic Age. Part I
A fraught relationship helped spawn nuclear bombs and modern computers
The Coming of Enki VIII
An update and part eight of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The Coming of Enki VII
Part seven of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The Coming of Enki VI
Part six of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The fascinating war over the genealogy of the modern computer. Part III
The case for Turing
The Coming of Enki V
Part five of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The fascinating war over the genealogy of the modern computer. Part II
First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC
The Coming of Enki IV
Part four of a previously unpublished science fiction story
The fascinating war over the genealogy of the modern computer. Part I
Alan Turing versus the Eniac, theory versus history
Notes. Like Twitter but not owned by Elon
A new echochamber. More interesting than Mastodon.
The Coming of Enki III
Part three of a previously unpublished science fiction story
Should scientific journals back political candidates? Probably not
'Nature' defends itself after research shows Biden endorsement eroded trust in science