Live, Learn and Reflect Living is like stumbling around in a dark room. Learning is memorizing where the furniture is. Reflecting is turning on the light.
Ten months ago, we launched the Vesuvius Challenge to solve the ancient problem of the Herculaneum Papyri, a library of scrolls that were flash-fried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Today we are overjoyed to announce that our crazy project has succeeded. After 2000 years, we can finally read the scrolls:
This image was produced by @Youssef_M_Nader, @LukeFarritor, and @JuliSchillij, who have now won the Vesuvius Challenge Grand Prize of $700,000. Congratulations!!
These fifteen columns come from the very end of the first scroll we have been able to read and contain new text from the ancient world that has never been seen before. The author – probably Epicurean philosopher Philodemus – writes here about music, food, and how to enjoy life's pleasures. In the closing section, he throws shade at unnamed ideological adversaries – perhaps the stoics? – who "have nothing to say about pleasure, either in general or in particular."
This year, the Vesuvius Challenge continues. The text that we revealed so far represents just 5% of one scroll.
In 2024, our goal is to from reading a few passages of text to entire scrolls, and we're announcing a new $100,000 grand prize for the first team that is able to read at least 90% of all four scrolls that we have scanned.
The scrolls stored in Naples that remain to be read represent more than 16 megabytes of ancient text. But the villa where the scrolls were found was only partially excavated, and scholars tell us that there may be thousands more scrolls underground. Our hope is that the success of the Vesuvius Challenge catalyzes the excavation of the villa, that the main library is discovered, and that whatever we find there rewrites history and inspires all of us.
It's been a great joy to work on this strange and amazing project. Thanks to Brent Seales for laying the foundation for this work over so many years, thanks to the friends and Twitter users whose donations powered our effort, and thanks to the many contestants whose contributions have made the Vesuvius Challenge successful!
Read more in our announcement: https://t.co/rUlrdGXBMs
Ett företag i Sverige har sedan i helgen varit drabbat av en cyberattack vars kaskadeffekter och förgreningar in i olika verksamheter ser ut att vara mycket omfattande. Berörda myndigheter, däribland rättsvårdande, i det nationella cybersäkerhetscentret har arbetat med frågan sedan i helgen och delar lägesbild till regeringen. Det är nu viktigt att alla aktörer förstår läget, och med läget avses i klartext omvärldsläget.
Det är inte en slump att regeringen i höstas skärpte skrivningarna om arbetet med informations- och cybersäkerhet i ett regleringsbreven för ett hundratal myndigheter, eller för den delen att vi dragit igång ett omfattande arbete med att få högre operativ effekt vi vårt nationella cybersäkerhetscenter, för att bland annat få bättre fungerande informationsflöden.
Även denna händelse kommer att behöva utvärderas noga, men just nu befinner vi oss fortfarande i en hanteringsfas. Budskapet om det allvarsamma omvärldsläget riktar sig givetvis inte bara till myndigheter, utan också till alla privata företag som ägnar sig åt samhällsviktig verksamhet och som vill kunna fortsätta göra anspråk på detta.
Den nu aktuella händelsen måste i efterhand skärskådas också ur detta perspektiv. Cybersäkerhet måste vara hela samhällets prioritet, såväl i offentlig som privat sektor. När den operativa fasen är över avser regeringen samla alla berörda aktörer, såväl offentliga som privata för att utvärdera denna händelse noga.
As a droplet touches a liquid surface it bounces gently, kept afloat momentarily by a thin air cushion. As the air dissipates the droplet comes in contact with the liquid. The droplet undergoes a multi-step coalescence journey: with each interaction, it merges and reduces in size, transitioning into a smaller droplet, until it eventually fully merges with the liquid below.
Your friendly reminder that a prototype is a throw away experiment, a proof of concept intended to demonstrate the feasibility of an idea, not something that is meant to be evolved till reaching production.
We finally have a scientific health check for the entire planet! 6 of 9 planetary boundaries currently transgressed. This does not mean irreversible collapse, but we are losing resilience. We are putting the stability of the entire earth system at risk.
This ecocide as a continuation of Russias unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine is yet another atrocity which leaves the world lost for words. Our eyes are once again on Russia who must be held accountable for their crimes.
Cybersäkerhetsforskaren slår larm: Prata inte hemligheter i din Volvo! Kinesiskägda bolag är skyldiga att rapportera till Kinas underrättelsetjänst. Bahnhof avråder från att diskutera känslig information i närheten av all smart teknologi, även amerikansk. https://t.co/ynINN3PsLA
I made a quick Automation to protect my iPhone if someone steals it while unlocked: if they turn on Airplane Mode (Find My), it asks for a passcode. If wrong… it automatically locks the phone 🔒, turns ON all connectivity 📡 + Low Power Mode 🔋, and shares its current location📍
1970: One more lane will fix it.
1980: One more lane will fix it.
1990: One more lane will fix it.
2000: One more lane will fix it.
2010: One more lane will fix it.
2020s: This might be the wrong approach