Bankman Unfreed A very experienced fund manager once told us “Cryptocurrencies are more like a special type of derivative than another sort of money” If his advice had been followed, maybe investors would have approached this new market in very different ways, and a whole lot of trouble like the FTX Sam Bankman-Fried imbroglio could have been avoided. We don’t give investment advice, but one long-held theory of ours seems to have been born out: dressing down like the kids does not automatically confirm that you are a disruptive genius
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/02/sam-bankman-fried-trial-key-takeaways
Four Stunning Birds A good news story for once. According to the UK Rare Birds Breeding Panel, four iconic species are making a comeback. They are Ospreys, White Tailed Eagles, marsh harriers and goshawks. A rare boost in a country whose natural environment is so shamefully depleted
I’m Free to do what I want, any old time sang the Soup Dragons in their memorable 1988 hit. But-how free are you really? An interesting question for Robert Sapolsky in the Atlantic If you doubt the authors Bona fides, just remember what you said last time someone offered you a chocolate biscuit.(warning: you may have to jump a couple of those free trial hurdles to get at the whole of this one)
Ghost Planet We have always been fascinated by the hypothesis that the moon is the result of a cataclysmic collision between Earth and another large planet. Further support comes from reports that bits of the intruder are lying deep in our mantle. Real George Pal stuff! Strange Mantle Blobs are relics of our collision
Two mysterious blobs of rock in Earth’s mantle could be remnants of the planetary smash-up that formed the Moon. The formations sit in the layer between the crust and the core, are thousands of kilometres long and are slightly denser than their surroundings. Computer simulations suggest that they are from the protoplanet Theia, which smashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago. Some of Theia’s remnants were flung into orbit, where they coalesced into the Moon.Nature | 4 min read
Reference: Nature paper
Winds of Change Thirty years ago and more, climate experts predicted that we would see a growing frequency of ever more severe storms. That’s the thing about science-it makes predictions that you can test. Sadly, they were right:
Two from the Zoo AI isn’t all bad, as it may help the Zoological Society of London in its efforts to conserve a few fragments of our planet’s heritage. Here’s how:
Meanwhile, ZSL’s decision to set up Whipsnade in 1931 was one of the most humane and progressive in Science. So we thought we’d give them a free plug. If you live anywhere within 200 miles of that magnificent park on the Chilterns, read this:
https://www.whipsnadezoo.org/plan-your-visit/zoo-experiences?utm_s
#zsl london #zsl whipsnade #cryptocurrency #global warming #climate change #philosophy
Learning, Science and Society 