Now that I’ve hopefully got you interested in exploring abstraction a bit further (if you already haven’t read my first blog post about abstraction and word games, check it out here), allow me to introduce you to the particular brand of abstraction that I and dozens of mathematicians around the world are dedicating years of […]
Creating a dialogue between law and science helps us recognize the problems of Offshore Wind Energy (OWE). This dialogue about the impacts of OWE can guide us to frame regulatory measures based on ecological sustainability. The dialogue supports identification of the laws applicable to the problems and facilitates how law can respond. This interaction is […]
Development challenges in Africa are often blamed on the colonial legacy of coercion and cooptation, just as social transformations on the continent are considered “inventions” of the colonial twentieth century. These explanations are useful in helping us understand Africa’s current political and economic issues and the historical roots of some of its social crises. But […]
If my attentive reader clicked on the link leading to this article because they recognized this famous piece of art, drawn in 19th century Japan, or were intrigued by my article’s unusual title, there might be a deep subconscious reason for that. And it is not just for the popularity of “The Great Wave of […]
Building models and using advanced statistics to unpack vexing questions in the social sciences makes for a neat, enlightening, and intellectually stimulating pursuit. It’s how I spend most of my days, happily so. But social science models, both theoretical and empirical, aren’t all cut from the same quality cloth. Many models as well as novel, […]
Companies like Airbus and Boeing are pushing the boundaries of technology, exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pilot aircraft. In 2021, Airbus’s ATTOL project, achieved a fully automatic AI-based take-off and landing. Boeing’s Phantom Works division also made significant strides in 2023 by developing an automated data-sharing AI-based system to create jetliners capable of flying without […]
Some of Canada’s biggest employers have a poor track record of abiding by environmental laws. When laws are broken corporate leaders don’t go to prison; instead, the company is fined. But the fines are rarely severe enough to scare them into changing their ways, let alone enough to make companies repair environmental damage or build […]
It seemed to be simple: as people released more of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, the oceans were expected to absorb more of it. Approximately 30 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities has found its way into the ocean through direct chemical exchange. […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of teleworking (working from home). What initially was a necessity during the lockdown period, is now thought of as a tool to better balance work and life. A significant portion of the workforce is continuing to telework at least some days of the week, depending upon the nature […]
In an age where our smartphones know more about our daily routines than our own families, the line between helpful technology and intrusive surveillance has become increasingly blurred. Let’s start with a common scenario: Have you ever talked about a product, only to find it advertised on your phone moments later? It’s like magic, except […]