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New ideas. Good company.
Weather7 min read
Reading the air above a hot road
A distant road can seem wet as light crosses the air near its surface. Thermometers, wind and viewing angle reveal different parts of that small weather system.
Language6 min read
What a corpus can reveal about an ordinary phrase
A corpus can show where a phrase appears, which meaning its context supports, and how its use varies across sampled kinds of speech and writing. Its counts inherit the limits of the collection.
Cartography6 min read
How a map chooses which roads to show
At any one scale, a map has room for only some roads. Choosing them means preserving useful routes and patterns, then drawing the survivors so they can be read without false junctions.
Books6 min read
When a book binding changes the way a page opens
A page that lies flat or springs shut reflects decisions in the sewing, adhesive, spine linings, paper and cover joints. The opening book is a moving system.
Measurement7 min read
How a balance notices the surrounding air
Two equal-mass objects can pull differently on a balance in air. Their volumes, the local atmosphere and the reference weight explain when that difference matters.
Descanso3 min read
No quiero ganarme el descanso doblando otra lavadora
Cómo proteger un rato propio cuando cuidar en casa parece una tarea que nunca alcanza la casilla de terminado.
Data literacy6 min read
Reading a chart with an uneven baseline
A cropped axis can turn a small gap between values into a towering gap between bars. The right way to read it depends on the mark, the scale, and the comparison being asked of the reader.
Plastics6 min read
The problem with calling a plastic biodegradable
Biodegradable describes a process under particular conditions, not a promise that a discarded object will vanish. The test, the environment and the disposal route matter.
PPC3 min read
Three bidders, one workshop, and a very tired kettle
Set the scene in a small repair workshop. The kettle clicks off. Someone has put a screwdriver beside the biscuits. Across the desk, a media buyer opens a proposal containing more campaign divisions than the
Sound7 min read
How a microphone changes a recording
A microphone records one place in a room. Its distance, direction, capsule design and noise limits decide which parts of a voice and its surroundings reach the track.
Volcanology7 min read
Reading the bubbles in volcanic glass
Vesicles preserve traces of gas leaving magma, but growth, merger, flow and the cut of a specimen all change the pattern a reader sees.
Wind Energy7 min read
The electricity a wind farm uses itself
A wind farm can become an electricity customer when the wind drops. Its own meters reveal the motors, controls and heaters behind that change of direction.