Statistics
When to Stop and Choose: The Secretary Problem
The secretary problem asks how to maximize the chance of picking the very best candidate when you must decide on each one on the spot. This article explains its rules, why the answ
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712 articles found
Earth science
When the Whole Planet Froze Over: Snowball Earth
Snowball Earth is the hypothesis that Earth’s surface was once almost entirely covered in ice during the Cryogenian Period. This article explains how the idea arose, the ice-albedo
Information technology
When Clocks Jump Back to 1901: The Year 2038 Problem
What is the Year 2038 problem? It is the glitch in which computers that store Unix time in 32 bits mistake moments after January 19, 2038, for 1901. This article covers how it work
General knowledge
A Miracle Comes Once a Month: Littlewood’s Law
Littlewood’s Law is the rule of thumb that an event as rare as one in a million happens to an ordinary person about once a month. This article explains its origins with J. E. Littl
Film & media
The Camera That Circles Frozen Time: Bullet Time
Bullet time is a visual effect in which time seems to slow down or stop while the camera keeps moving around the scene at normal speed. This article explains how it differs from sl
Journalism & communication
How We Say It Changes the World: The Medium Is the Message
"The medium is the message" is Marshall McLuhan's 1964 claim that we should look at the medium itself before the content it carries. This article explains what the phrase means, Mc
Psychology
One Now or Two Later? The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment studied self-control by asking young children to choose between one treat now and two treats later. This article explains how the experiment wor
Food & nutrition
How to Measure Spiciness in Numbers: The Scoville Scale
The Scoville Scale expresses how hot a chili pepper is as a number, the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU). This article explains why spiciness is actually pain, how the scale is measured by
Social welfare
Welfare That Pays Families to Send Children to School: Conditional Cash Transfers
A conditional cash transfer gives money to poor households only if they meet set conditions, such as keeping children in school or getting regular health checkups. This article cov
Physics
A Thunderclap from a Clear Sky: The Sonic Boom
A sonic boom is the loud sound made when the shock waves created by an object moving faster than sound reach the ground. This article explains how sonic booms form, the small sonic
Logistics
The Logistics Behind the Order Button: Order Fulfillment
Order fulfillment covers everything from the moment an order is received until the customer holds the product. This article explains what fulfillment means, its step-by-step flow,
Library & information science
Following the Scent to Find Information: Information Foraging Theory
Information foraging theory, developed by Peter Pirolli and Stuart Card at Xerox PARC, explains how people search for information the way animals hunt for food. This article covers