Life by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
Whatever it is that biology studies.
From Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman chapter O Americano, Outra Vez!:
The people from the airlines were somewhat bored with their lives, strangely enough, and at night they would often go to bars to drink. I liked them all, and in order to be sociable, I would go with them to the bar to have a few drinks, several nights a week.
One day, about 3:30 in the afternoon, I was walking along the sidewalk opposite the beach at Copacabana past a bar. I suddenly got this treMENdous, strong feeling: "That's just what I want; that'll fit just right. I'd just love to have a drink right now!"
I started to walk into the bar, and I suddenly thought to myself, "Wait a minute! It's the middle of the afternoon. There's nobody here, There's no social reason to drink. Why do you have such a terribly strong feeling that you have to have a drink?" - and I got scared.
I never drank ever again, since then. I suppose I really wasn't in any danger, because I found it very easy to stop. But that strong feeling that I didn't understand frightened me. You see, I get such fun out of thinking that I don't want to destroy this most pleasant machine that makes life such a big kick. It's the same reason that, later on, I was reluctant to try experiments with LSD in spite of my curiosity about hallucinations.
One notable drug early teens Ciro consumed was Magic: The Gathering, see also: Section "Magic: The Gathering is addictive".
Quantum interconnect by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated 2025-07-16
"Quantum interconnect" refers to methods for linking up smaller quantum processors into a larger system.
As of 2024, seemingly few organizations developing quantum hardware had actually integrated multiple chips in interconnects as part of their main current roadmap. But many acknowledged that this would be an essential step towards scalable compuation.
The name "quantum interconnect" is likely partly a throwback to classical computer's "chip interconnect".
Sample usages of the term:
Video 1.
Gerhard Rempe - Quantum Dynamics by Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
. Source. No technical details of course, but they do show off their optical tables quite a bit!
Pentane interference typically refers to the impact that pentane, a straight-chain hydrocarbon with five carbon atoms, can have on various chemical analyses, particularly in chromatographic methods. In the context of gas chromatography or mass spectrometry, pentane can co-elute with other compounds, potentially leading to inaccurate results or difficulties in identifying and quantifying other analytes.
"Suspension" is a film that was released in 2015. It is a psychological horror film directed by Dave R. Sheppard, featuring a storyline that revolves around a group of friends who find themselves trapped in a series of bizarre and suspenseful situations. The narrative often intertwines elements of fear and the supernatural, typical of the horror genre. The film delves into themes of isolation and psychological strain, often keeping viewers on edge through its suspenseful atmosphere and twists in the storyline.
As of my last update in October 2023, there is no widely recognized entity or subject known as "Suvini Zerboni." It’s possible that it could refer to a person, a brand, or a concept that emerged after that date, or it might be a relatively niche or obscure reference.
Per Carlqvist is a name that could refer to different individuals or contexts, but it's not widely recognized in popular culture, politics, or science as of my last knowledge update in October 2023.
"Swedish nuclear physicists" refers to scientists from Sweden who specialize in the field of nuclear physics, which is the study of atomic nuclei, their constituents, and interactions. This field encompasses a variety of topics, including nuclear decay, nuclear reactions, and the properties of nuclear matter. Sweden has contributed significantly to nuclear physics research and development, particularly through institutions like the Uppsala University, Lund University, and the Swedish National Space Agency.
The Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS) is a renowned academic conference that focuses on theoretical computer science. It serves as a venue for researchers to present their work, exchange ideas, and discuss various aspects of theoretical foundations related to computer science. The topics covered in STACS typically include areas such as algorithms, complexity theory, automata theory, formal languages, logic in computer science, and computational models.
"Syntacticians" refers to linguists or researchers who specialize in syntax, which is the study of the structure and rules governing the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Syntacticians analyze how different components of sentences interact with each other, including word order, grammatical relationships, and hierarchical structures. They may also explore how syntax interacts with other linguistic domains such as semantics (meaning) and morphology (structure of words).
Syntagmatic analysis is a concept derived from linguistics and semiotics, primarily associated with the structuralist approach to language and meaning. It refers to the relationships and associations that words or signs have with one another within a sequential context—essentially, how elements operate in conjunction with one another in a sequence (or "syntagm"). In syntagmatic analysis, the focus is on the horizontal relationships of elements that are combined to create meaning.
Percy Williams Bridgman (1882-1961) was an influential American physicist known for his work in the field of high-pressure physics. He is best remembered for his research on the properties of materials at high pressures, particularly with regard to phase transitions and the behavior of solids.
Tacheometry is a surveying method used to determine the distances and elevations of points on the ground without the need for a direct measurement of distance. It is a technique that combines the principles of trigonometry with the use of instruments like theodolites or total stations. In tacheometry, the surveyor typically measures angles and, using a fitted scale or an equation, can obtain horizontal distances based on the angles measured and the height of the instrument above the ground (the instrument's height).
In set theory, a "tall cardinal" is a type of large cardinal that has properties extending the concept of regular and measurable cardinals. A cardinal \( \kappa \) is called a tall cardinal if it satisfies specific additional conditions that make it "tall" in a certain sense.
The Tarski-Kuratowski algorithm is a method used in topology and related fields to determine the connectivity and separation properties of sets in a topological space. Specifically, it addresses the problem of determining whether two sets are separated or not by exploring their topological relationships. The algorithm operates on pairs of closed sets in a topological space and can be used to find whether one set is contained within another, whether they are disjoint, or whether they intersect.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a service in the UK that allows individuals to register their preference not to receive unsolicited telemarketing calls. When someone registers their phone number with TPS, it signals telemarketers that the person does not wish to be contacted for marketing purposes. Here are some key points about the Telephone Preference Service: 1. **Registration**: Individuals can register their home or mobile phone numbers for free. Registration can usually be done online, via phone, or by mail.
The ternary conditional operator, often simply called the "ternary operator," is a shorthand way to perform a conditional operation in programming. It provides a compact syntax to return one of two values based on a condition. The ternary operator is commonly represented using the `?` and `:` symbols, and is available in many programming languages, including C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python (via syntax like `value_if_true if condition else value_if_false`), and others.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact