The notion of international conferences are a commonplace anymore. But such was not the case over 150 years ago. The first international scientific conference was held on Sept. 3rd, 1860. Sarah Everts marks the 150 years of science as international discipline with this fascinating article in C&E News. Here is an excerpt: When the 1860 …
Recently, slashdot went berserk with Vinay Deolalikar’s manuscript (in progress) that claims P is not equal to NP. For a detailed generalist’s explanation of the P vs. NP problem, check out MIT’s website. Now many of you might ask “WTF is P, NP, and why should I care?” I am here to tell you that …
With due apologies to Tom Lehrer… Actually the SMUT I am talking about is an acronym S.M.U.T.: “Subversive Manifesto for Underground Technology.” It is a monthly event that was started by Tracy Hammond (twitter), Cody Marx Bailey (twitter), and Christopher Zebo in Bryan/College Station, Texas, USA. The “official” blurb is: S.M.U.T. is famous academics giving …
