I have recently encountered the Wolfram Physics Project a few times, for example this podcast.

The basic idea, if I dare re-state it without any deep understanding, is that the universe is computation at the fundamental level and the laws of nature that we have figured out are emergent pockets of computational reducibility. In general though, the underlying rules are being executed a very large number of times in a computationallly irreducible way, without any shortcuts. Particles and such are patterns in the "grid", analogous to a glider in Conway's Game of Life.

I find this surprisingly non-crazy, especially if, as Wolfram and collaborators claim, much of physics naturally arises in that framework. But what do I know‽ Theoretical/fundamental physics is not exactly my strong suit, and as always it needs to be judged on whether or not it provides better explanations and predictions than competing theories.

If you enjoy getting your mind tickled by abstract questions like How fundamental are numbers?, there are worse places to go than the world of Stephen Wolfram.

I try to take note when I encounter fun new words. Today: persnickety, which means fussy, overly obsessed about details, snobbish.

Not so long ago: recalcitrant, meaning subbornly defiant of authority.

• Can you distinguish real paper titles and abstracts from computer-generated ones?
• Watch someone open and taste a 40-year-old Berliner Weisse.
• Remastered pictures of Earth from the Apollo missions.
• How tech companies devolve into zombies, text or video. Similarities to organizations like universities are obvious.
• Hilarious review of Arabian Nights.
• Bluetit live nest cam.

Have you heard of PlantNet and BirdNET? Their phone apps allow you to take a picture of a flow or plant, or record bird song, and instantly get an answer on what species it is.

They are not perfectly accurate and often give several probable choices, but very impressive and fun nonetheless. I especially like the visualization of the spectrum of bird songs, because I remember more easily how they look than from sound alone.

One of the two water wheels in the nearby mill. I spend all day there yesterday to free it from the bushes that were in the process of overgrowing it.

Sometimes I wonder whether I made the wrong choice to get into academia. Now that I have been spending a few days planting trees instead, I get reminded once more that there is a sense of satisfaction after a long day of physical work that has no real equivalent in a desk job. The getting into a rhythm of repetition, the sense of visible progress, and the feeling of relaxed exhaustion in the evening. Something to be appreciated, for sure!

Then again, it might well be the case that the positive valence comes purely from the contrast to everyday life. Probably I would quickly get fed up, if I had to do boring physical work day in and day out.

I was again planting forest today and I listen to podcasts while doing that. As a nice follow-up to yesterday, I very much enjoyed this one about ending factory farming for chickens.

Many insights into when it makes sense to antagonize and campaign against the people doing the things you consider bad, versus working with them to improve the situation. In this example, chicken farmers in the US are often stuck in a bad system that they do not approve of themselves, which opens the door for win-win situations.

Overall another great interview by @robertwiblin!

About two thirds done with planting 4000 saplings on 2.5ha of forest area. The colored lines are GPS-tracks of how I walked (a bit incomplete), which is mostly determined by terrain.

Imagine what would happen if we had a magic wand that could solve climate change. Should we wave it?

Apparently, most people answer no. Mark Lynas and Yascha Mounk discuss why. Recommended 45 minutes to listen! Transcript available.

I agree with most of what they say, and like the idea of the new movement of ecomodernism. Finding pragmatic solutions to environmental problems and working on a positive vision of the future make so much more sense than trying to get people to reject the benefits of technological development.

Lynas' story about how he helped banning GMO in Europe and how he now thinks this was a mistake is a harrowing example of doing great harm with good intentions. I get chills when I imagine having to live with that. Luckily, I have never been sure enough about anything to become an activist.