University debate: "The gorilla proves you can build strength on plants alone."
Vegan: "400 pounds of muscle. Never touched a steak or a protein shake. If leaves are enough for him, they're enough for a man in a gym."
Anthropologist: "How much does he eat?"
Vegan: "A lot. He's a big animal."
Anthropologist: "40 pounds a day. He chews for most of his waking life. Where does it go?"
Vegan: "His stomach."
Anthropologist: "His colon. More than half his gut is a fermenting vat. Bacteria break the leaves down. Into what?"
Vegan: "Nutrients. Energy."
Anthropologist: "Fatty acids. Nearly 60% of his calories arrive as fat, made in-house."
Vegan: "That can't be right. Leaves have no fat in them."
Anthropologist: "The leaves don't. The gorilla does. One of those acids is butyrate. It's named after butter."
Vegan: "Then we can do the same."
Anthropologist: "With what? Your colon's a fifth of your gut. You'd get wind and about 5% of your calories."
Vegan: "Plenty of vegan bodybuilders manage."
Anthropologist: "On pea isolate, soya isolate, creatine, B12 and a blender. None of which grows in the Congo."
Vegan: "So the gorilla isn't plant-based?"
Anthropologist: "The gorilla is a fat-burner with a brewery attached. The only one in this debate living on raw carbohydrate and willpower is you."
Moderator: "Does the proposer wish to respond?"
Vegan: "He's still vegan."
Anthropologist: "He also eats his own droppings. I'd pick your role models one habit at a time."
This is an incredible moment in this history of mathematics, computer science, physics & science with some of the hardest problems in human history being solved by AI over a period of weeks. Depending on your perspective, it's either a crisis, a triumph, or both. I don't think anyone knows for sure. We're all trying to make sense of it. I oscillate between fear/dread and optimism/excitement on a daily basis. The rate of progress is insane, including today's announcement from OpenAI of more problems solved.
To help make sense of all of it, here's my conversation with three mathematicians about this moment. Each of them is an expert in the field of each of the biggest problems solved: Navier-Stokes, quasi-Riemann hypothesis, the unique games conjecture and complexity theory more generally.
Ankur Moitra is a mathematician and theoretical computer scientist at MIT, visiting the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Steven Brunton (@eigensteve) is a mathematician and fluid dynamics expert at UW. Alex Kontorovich (@AlexKontorovich) is a mathematician at Rutgers specializing in number theory.
When I arrived in Vancouver, he showed me his hazmat suit. It was scary.
Then we left and flew to six major Canadian cities with nutritional science departments who could accept me for a PhD. Five said yes, Montreal said no as my French wasn’t good enough. The University of Toronto offered me a research officer position. I told them I would probably accept the offer from a South African University and will be returning in two years. However, while I was away, Tosca had sold my home in Johannesburg, so we moved to Toronto in two weeks. That story is in my new book, TIMELESS.
SHOCKING:
This woman was nearly killed in a hospital for being unvaccinated.
Gail Seiler got Covid in 2021.
When doctors discovered she was unvaccinated, they told her:
“You’re going to die.”
She was denied food for 12 days.
She was denied water for 7 days.
Doctors refused her requests for ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, budesonide, zinc, and vitamin C.
“I faced aggressive pressure to take remdesivir, escalating oxygen protocols, and repeated pressure toward ventilation.”
“I was isolated from my family.”
“I was denied access to my Catholic priest and my sacraments until I received remdesivir.”
“I was designated a DNR, or Do Not Resuscitate.”
“I experienced physical, verbal, and psychological abuse at the hands of some of the nurses because I was not vaccinated.”
“I was left naked and uncovered for extended periods of time while staff observed me through the ICU windows.”
“My family was repeatedly told that I was unsavabale and needed to be allowed to die.”
Getting her out took a six-hour police standoff.
Her husband Brad, a former ER nurse and Army captain, walked into the ICU to take her home.
“The hospital called the police, resulting in a six-hour standoff, as officers tried to persuade him to leave.”
It took an intervention from a Colonel and a State Senator to rescue her.
“With the intervention of Colonel Allen West and Texas Senator Bob Hall and our attorney, we were finally allowed to leave.”
“Doctors insisted that my lungs were permanently damaged and that I would not survive outside their care.”
“They were wrong.”
Treated at home with the drugs the hospital refused her, Gail fully recovered.
“I encourage our government to fully investigate what happened to patients and families during the Covid response so that no American family will ever experience these abuses again.”
@SenRonJohnson@HighWireTalk
This stunning cosmic predator just won Astronomy’s top prize
Kuwaiti photographer Ali Alobaidly spent two nights in the desert capturing the Shark Nebula. His image, The Quiet Predator, won the 2026 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition and a £10,000 prize