Author: signoregalilei
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Judging Fractals
Recently, I made a most startling discovery: someone else has been judging geometric shapes, and falsely publishing under my name!1 I have been impersonated by a dastardly impostor! After getting over the initial shock, I realized that my impostor actually made a good decision on what class of shapes to judge: fractals. Fractals are shapes…
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Looking back on Inkhaven
How can we measure thee, o Inkhaven? We had 41 residents, plus our staff and contributing writers. 30 days of posts, and not one person failed out. A million words of fresh thought now grace this grand internet of ours. Now, a week removed from the excitement, how does it feel looking back? For me…
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Treating Factorio Withdrawal
I’ve learned a lot of lessons since college. One big one is that I have to treat Factorio like alcohol. It’s fun, great for hanging out with your friends, and don’t consume it during your lunch break or else you’re going to have a very awkward conversation with your boss. In case you haven’t read…
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I collect Rubik’s cubes – and I can’t solve them
Since I was a kid, I’ve been building up a collection of Rubik’s cubes. This is not that special. Lots of people collect Rubik’s cubes. The difference is that I don’t actually know how to solve a Rubik’s cube. When I was younger, I definitely seemed like the kind of kid who would enjoy Rubik’s…
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Inkhaven’s turn: The best empires 600 BCE – Present
What’s changed, what’s the same, and why. Here are Inkhaven’s changes to my empire list from yesterday. There weren’t that many changes, but they were interesting ones.
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The best empires 500 BCE – Present, according to me
I was inspired by all the previous whiteboard takeovers to create my own, with a historical twist. This is my version of the list. Inkhaven’s edited version, and my comments, will be tomorrow.
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Review: Surreal Numbers
This is a review of two things: the mathematical system of surreal numbers, and Surreal Numbers by Donald Knuth, a book which describes them. Surreal Numbers is a strange book. You could describe it as a hybrid of a novella and a textbook, but its goal is pretty different than either of those. The plot,…
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The dying idealism of Peacecore
When I was writing my Olympics post, I noticed a particular strain of Utopianism present among the founders of the modern Olympic movement, especially Pierre de Coubertin. I decided to team up with a fellow Inkhaven resident, Mahmoud, to explore deeper. We identified this Utopian aesthetic and philosophy – typified by the UN, the Olympics,…
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A deep dive into the Earth
Earth has layers. This is something kids get taught in science class, and it’s true. The Earth has a solid metal inner core, a liquid metal outer core, a semi-solid rocky mantle, and an approximately-solid rocky crust. But like a lot of science class, this picture is highly simplified.
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Fiction: A leap of logic
The cell is spotless, as always. I watch the fluorescent light flicker on as the cloying, synthetic voice makes its usual morning announcement over the loudspeaker. I ignore it – anyone would know it by heart, by now. It’s all lies anyway. I roll out of bed and zip on my orange jumpsuit. 84 seconds…