Time flies, doesn't it Andy? Here's Harald and I outside one of our future neighboring townhouses while it was under construction in the summer of 2006
@Eric_Betzig @HHMIJanelia wow! I can't believe that it has been 20 years. I remember interviewing there when it was a construction site.
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Happy 20th birthday, @HHMIJanelia ! I'm eternally grateful for the incredible support you've provided me over the years, and proud of what you've accomplished. I'm particularly thankful for Gerry's original vision and continued guidance, and his willingness to give a washed up has-been an opportunity for a new life in science. May the next twenty be even better!
youtube.com/watch?v=kwHSVO…
youtube.com/watch?v=kwHSVO…
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Most impressive to me is that, with these prompts, the AI itself was able to make its own value judgements of finding and solving a problem at the intersection of novel, useful and tractable.
Two physicists asked AI to choose a problem on its own, solve it and write a paper that could be published in a prestigious journal. In two hours, AI produced a paper with a novel, significant result.
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Eric Betzig retweeted
“Real intellectual growth begins only when an individual realizes that their deeply held assumptions might be completely mistaken.”
- Epictetus
Epictetus (c. 50–135 CE) was a Greek Stoic philosopher whose teachings emphasized self-discipline, resilience, inner freedom, and an and cannot control. Born into slavery in the Roman Empire, he endured significant hardship before gaining his freedom and becoming one of history’s most influential philosophers. Although he never wrote books himself, his student Arrian preserved his wisdom in The Discourses and The Enchiridion.
Throughout his life, Epictetus faced adversity, including a serious leg injury and exile from Rome under Emperor Domitian. He eventually established a philosophical school in Nicopolis, Greece, where he taught that true freedom comes not from controlling external circumstances but from mastering our thoughts, attitudes, and reactions.
Rather than allowing suffering to define him, Epictetus transformed hardship into wisdom. His philosophy reminds us that while we cannot control everything life brings, we always have the power to choose our response. Nearly 2,000 years later, his teachings continue to inspire resilience, courage, and the pursuit of inner peace.
- Epictetus
Epictetus (c. 50–135 CE) was a Greek Stoic philosopher whose teachings emphasized self-discipline, resilience, inner freedom, and an and cannot control. Born into slavery in the Roman Empire, he endured significant hardship before gaining his freedom and becoming one of history’s most influential philosophers. Although he never wrote books himself, his student Arrian preserved his wisdom in The Discourses and The Enchiridion.
Throughout his life, Epictetus faced adversity, including a serious leg injury and exile from Rome under Emperor Domitian. He eventually established a philosophical school in Nicopolis, Greece, where he taught that true freedom comes not from controlling external circumstances but from mastering our thoughts, attitudes, and reactions.
Rather than allowing suffering to define him, Epictetus transformed hardship into wisdom. His philosophy reminds us that while we cannot control everything life brings, we always have the power to choose our response. Nearly 2,000 years later, his teachings continue to inspire resilience, courage, and the pursuit of inner peace.
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Existence is the constant battle between energy and entropy.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ warns against the folly of building your house on sand. In 1969, blind and running the National Library of Argentina, Jorge Luis Borges offered a quiet correction. There is no stone.
Every civilization, philosophy, love, and life is constructed dust. The universe provides zero permanent foundations.
Yet Borges refuses nihilism. The ultimate dignity of human consciousness isn’t throwing your hands up in despair but picking up the tools and building anyway, fully aware that the tide will wash it all away.
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Yup. Nothing of importance was ever created without passion.
“If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it's your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life!”
- Charles Bukowski
A powerful reflection on living with purpose, paired with striking artwork rages us to chase our passions without hesitation or compromise. The message calls for complete devotion to whatever ignites our spirit, suggesting that a life lived without intensity, ambition, or genuine passion risks becoming an ordinary story that fades into obscurity.
Standing alone beside a seagull, the legendary sailor Corto Maltese embodies freedom, adventure, and the courage to follow an unconventional path. His contemplative gaze toward the horizon captures the restless spirit of those who refuse to settle for an uninspired existence. Together, the words and imagery serve as a reminder that a meaningful life is not found in comfort or conformity, but in the fearless pursuit of what makes us feel truly alive.
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Siloization of universities into separate departments has been a millstone around the neck of human progress. Creativity flourishes best at the interface between disciplines.
If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this universe, into parts — physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on — remember that nature does not know it!
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Gave a talk at my son's HS yesterday, and on leaving the classroom, I was treated to this:
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The hallmark of scientific veracity is replication, not peer review.
@doristsao H Doris. I realise astera are posting on biorxiv instead of journals but surely such a claim needs peer review. If you would like us to arrange review at @eLife we’d be happy to do it :)
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I assume you write stupid shit like this just for the clicks, and not because you’re genuinely this stupid. If I’m wrong, I apologize.
Elon has made massive political mistakes and now pays the price.
I've said many times that he should stop all political activities and attempts to influence policy be it national or internationally and focus on his companies, which undoubtedly offer great products and services.
Elon Musk is a genius as an entrepreneur and inventor, but he has never understood history or the basics of politics and has caused massive damage through his interference and actions.
SpaceX is already suffering badly as a result.
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Eric Betzig retweeted
“What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean.”
- Isaac Newton
- Isaac Newton
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Eric Betzig retweeted
The sentence immediately before the last line of The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus was twenty-eight when he finished it, working as a journalist and unable to publish under his own name in Algeria.
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mcmaster.com is an amazing company -- the Amazon for engineers, but better, where very nearly every part you'd ever need is instantly findable and in stock. It's website is a gem -- incredibly simple yet exhaustive, and trivially easy to sort through a vast array of options to the exact specifications you need, which are also linked to downloadable 2D drawings and 3D CAD models. I couldn't function without it.
@HansMahnckeusehold name, but a big long-term success in the US with an excellent management culture has been the McMaster-Carr company. I had a friend who worked in management at the company HQ. He said they maintain a threat list of smaller, smart and rapidly growing rivals. (At the time he told me Fastenal was on that list.) It is not a hit list, it is who they need to work smarter than to stay ahead of. McMaster is extremely competent but not aggressive, the ultimate purpose of the list is, they do not want to become an extinct dinosaur like Sears or Kodak.
So there are some executives a lot smarter than Matthias Müller who know the importance of assessing small rivals warily and carefully. The problem with a place like VW is that personal success in management depends on political skill and not decision-making talent. And here, as evidence of that, we had VW CEO Müller being politically anti-Tesla instead of making a good decision to watch carefully and stay ahead.
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What a silly way to sell a car. Are you sure it wasn’t a shark it jumped over?
ELON MUSK: “It's going to be pretty wild that you can have a rocket car. The car has attitude control thrusters and main thrusters in the rear, so it can basically fly like a rocket. It could do rolls. It could do crazy gymnastics. Whatever you want, really.
This is not timized car, but it takes the fun meter to 11 out of 10.
This will be an actual car that’s on the roads. I’m not sure it’s necessarily legal in all jurisdictions.
The car can recharge its air tank, so it’s not like you need special propellant or anything like that. It literally is just going to pop itself up and be able to do these maneuvers whenever you’d like.”
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America is the epicenter of New Space, and if they're silly enough to let politics guide their decision, it's their loss.
Geneva has beaten Houston and Barcelona to host the 2029 IAC conference. Houston bid aggressively for this to mark the 60th anniversary of Apollo. Have to believe dim international views of our current political leadership played a big role.
infoespacial.com/texto-diario/m…
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Will go down in history as one of the key milestones in our diaspora through the solar system. Ship catch too, possibly by Thanksgiving, would be the final crossing of the Rubicon to this new era.
Two years ago today, SpaceX made history with the first Super Heavy booster catch. On the very first attempt.
Still one of the most incredible moments in spaceflight.
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I would too, provided the sidewalk is clean enough (certainly not a given in Berkeley).
“I despise formal restaurants. I find all of that formality to be very base and vile. I would much rather eat potato chips on the sidewalk.”
- Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (born 1942) is a legendary German filmmaker recognized for his unconventional storytelling, relentless tion with the extremes of human nature. Born in Munich and raised in a remote Bavarian mountain village without electricity, running water, or a telephone, Herzog developed an early connection to the natural world. Largely self-taught, he began making films independently, establishing a distinctive style that challenged traditional filmmaking.
His work frequently explores obsession, madness, ambition, and humanity’s struggle against the overwhelming power of nature. Known for blending documentary realism with fiction, Herzog often pushes himself and his productions into dangerous, physically demanding environments. His most celebrated films include Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Grizzly Man, and Cave of Forgotten Dreams.
Herzog’s fearless approach to filmmaking, philosophical narration, and willingness to pursue seemingly impossible artistic visions have made him one of cinema’s most influential figures. Even in his eighties, he continues creating thought-provoking work that examines the fragile relationship between humanity, civilization, and the natural world.
His remarkable career reflects a lifelong obsession with exploring the limits of human ambition, endurance, and imagination.
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