Sorin Adam Matei
Analysis, research, maps, and essays from Sorin Adam Matei.
Cesar Hidalgo’s book, “Why information grows” is trying to untangle a very big issue by looking at a very simple problem (at least in appearance). How do small things (cities, economies, groups) get complex when most other things in nature tend to decay…
A gorgeous visualization of the seasonal changes in land cover throughout the northern hemisphere via John Nelson (hat tip, io9.com) Here’s a view looking at one year of seasonal transformations on Earth. Made possible by the tremendous folks of the NASA Visible…
Algae-like biological entities were found in outer space in July 2013 by Sheffield University researchers, who collected the little critters on sterile studs of a balloon launched not far from Liverpool, UK. Researchers believe the entities did not originate on Earth. Likely…
April 15 is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912. The wreck of the ship was found in two pieces, the bow and the stern, by Ballard in 1985, who released the precise coordinates of…
Springfield tornado is now officially rated as an EF-3 on a scale of 5. An EF-3 event can easily level strong frame homes. The Joplin, Missouri tornado was an EF-5, or “devastating”. Intensity map of the Springfield tornado path, similar to the…
Of the many billions of stars that surround us, only some are orbited by planets. Of those that have planets, only some can support life. Of those planets that can support life, only some are close enough to their star not to…
A feature article published in Scientific American reveals the most probable use of what some consider to be the first complex computing device on record. According to Shawn Groetzen: Devices with this level of complexity were not seen again for almost 1,500…
The Daily Telegraph put the world on fire with the announcement that a square grid-like pattern of structures was found in the middle of the Atlantic. Google reacted promptly, claiming that the pattern is a digital artifact, being the product of the…