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What is an algorithm? How computers know what to do with data
Computer algorithms can involve complicated math, but the concept of an algorithm is simple.Hill Street Studios/DigitalVision via Getty ImagesThe world of computing is full of buzzwords: AI,...
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Who invented the Electoral College?
A transcript from the Constitutional Convention records the official report creating the Electoral College.U.S. National Archives, CC BY-NC-NDThe delegates in Philadelphia agreed, in the summer of...
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The complicated origin of the expression ‘peanut gallery’
Children in the live audience of 'Howdy Doody' were seated in what was known as the peanut gallery.NBC Television via wikimedia.org“No comments from the peanut gallery!” For many Americans who were...
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What’s cellular about a cellphone?
Editor’s note: Daniel Bliss is a professor of electrical engineering at Arizona State University and the director of the Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computational Architecture. In this...
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Why do older people heal more slowly?
The older you get, the more slowly you heal, and there are a number of reasons why.Westend61 via Getty ImagesI recently visited an 83-year-old patient in the hospital after EMTs rushed her to the ER...
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What makes the world’s biggest surfable waves?
Some places, like Nazaré Canyon in Portugal, produce freakishly huge waves.AP Photo/Armando FrancaOn Feb. 11, 2020, Brazilian Maya Gabeira surfed a wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, that was 73.5...
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How do archaeologists know where to dig?
A variety of clues can tip off archaeologists about a promising spot for excavation.Gabriel Wrobel , CC BY-NDNational Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones movies might have you picturing...
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How sensors monitor and measure our bodies and the world around us
Infrared sensors make it possible to measure a person's body temperature without touching the person's body.AP Photo/LM OteroSensors are all around. They are in automatic doors, at cash registers, in...
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Virgin births from parthenogenesis: How females from some species can...
Getting the job done. A female Asian water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) produced a daughter (left) without the assistance of a male. Skip Brown/Smithsonian’s National ZooAn Asian water dragon...
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When working out makes you sick to your stomach: What to know about...
It's no fun to exercise if you wind up doubled over with gastrointestinal problems.Goads Agency/iStock via Getty Images PlusYou’re doing it! You’re working out, reaping all those benefits of exercise...
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What is a margin of error? This statistical tool can help you understand...
All predictions, whether scientific or political, include uncertainty. CasarsaGuru/E+ via Getty ImagesIn the last year, statistics have been unusually important in the news. How accurate is the...
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Why do smoke alarms keep going off even when there’s no smoke?
Sensors in smoke detectors monitor how particles in the air affect a flow of current to the batteryGarrett Aitken/iStock via Getty ImagesEditor’s note: MVS Chandrashekhar is a professor of electrical...
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From the Cold War to COVID-19: The 8 common ways people behave in a crisis
One of the most common reactions during a crisis is the urge to help others. Here a health-care worker watches as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are delivered to a long-term...
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How does Wi-Fi work? An electrical engineer explains
The Wi-Fi symbol, like the technology it represents, has become ubiquitous.Smith Collection/Gado via Getty ImagesThough you can’t see them, radio waves are all around you all the time, carrying...
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The 17th-century cloth merchant who discovered the vast realm of tiny...
Leeuwenhoek refined the magnifying glass, creating the world's first microscope.Tetra Images via Getty ImagesImagine trying to cope with a pandemic like COVID-19 in a world where microscopic life was...
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Going back to the office? The colder temperature could lead to weight gain
A person's resting metabolism is very sensitive to temperature, and offices are often too cold for people.Steelcase/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SAWith millions of Americans vaccinated against COVID-19,...
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Why do we hate the sound of our own voices?
Your voice, when played back to you, can sound unrecognizable.GeorgePeters/Getty ImagesAs a surgeon who specializes in treating patients with voice problems, I routinely record my patients speaking....
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COVID-19 budget pressures threaten curiosity-driven science. That’s a bad thing
Some of the dishes that make up the Square Kilometre Array's radio telescope system. This kind of "blue skies" research can have great real-world value. MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP via Getty ImagesManagement...
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How to nurture creativity in your kids
Creativity has many academic, professional and personal benefits.Stephen Simpson/Stone Collection via Getty ImagesParents who want their kids to be more creative may be tempted to enroll them in arts...
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Why do couples use baby talk with one another?
Baby talk is cute when used with babies. But when adults converse with each other? Not so much.Justin Case/Getty ImagesImagine you’re strolling through a park and you overhear a middle-aged couple...
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Want to get more women to start their own businesses? Here’s what it takes
ShutterstockGlobally, men are twice as likely as women to start a business. Most research into how to start a business has been focused on men. Not much has looked at why women are not fully...
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How to keep kids curious – 5 questions answered
Could schools be putting a damper on children's curiosity?Jose Luis Pelaez Inc via Getty ImagesKids are naturally curious. But various forces in the environment can dampen their curiosity over time....
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A sampler of our most popular articles of 2022
Download this collection of articles, or read them hereThe Conversation, CC BY-NC-NDWe’ve created a special downloadable e-book of some of our most popular stories of the year – stories that sparked...
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Debate: ChatGPT reminds us why good questions matter
shutterstockOver 100 million people used ChatGPT in January alone, according to one estimate, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. By producing resumes, essays, jokes and even...
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Being humble about what you know is just one part of what makes you a good...
Good thinking is built from many ingredients.skynesher/E+ via Getty ImagesWhat does it mean to be a good thinker? Recent research suggests that acknowledging you can be wrong plays a vital role. I had...
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