Twitter Is Not Rocket Science—It's Harder

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November 22, 2022

Dear Reader, In order to run social media platform Twitter and make it more profitable, billionaire Elon Musk has said he plans to "do lots of dumb things [and] keep what works." This tinkering-focused approach pays off when his space exploration company SpaceX is developing rockets, but projectile motion is predictable and controllable. Human behavior is neither. In this week's featured story, Joe Bak-Coleman explains why running a social media platform is harder than rocket science.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology @sophiebushwick

Culture Twitter Is Not Rocket Science--It's Harder Elon Musk wants to run Twitter like SpaceX. But human behavior will make it much more difficult By Joe Bak-Coleman

Biotech Tiny 'Rover' Explores Cells without Harming Them A miniature antenna can transmit data from inside cells without using damaging microwaves By Andrew Chapman

Computing It's Time to Open the Black Box of Social Media Social media companies need to give their data to independent researchers to better understand how to keep users safe By Renée DiResta,Laura Edelson,Brendan Nyhan,Ethan Zuckerman

Sports Men's World Cup Soccer Ball, the Al Rihla, Has the Aerodynamics of a Champion The Al Rihla may fly more quickly through the air than previous World Cup balls By John Eric Goff,The Conversation US

Natural Disasters Twitter Chaos Endangers Public Safety, Emergency Managers Warn Twitter is a crucial communication tool during disasters, but impersonators and other problems under Elon Musk's leadership have emergency managers on edge By Andrea Thompson

Computing The Leap Second's Time Is Up: World Votes to Stop Pausing Clocks How, and whether, to keep atomic time in sync with Earth's rotation is still up for debate By Elizabeth Gibney,Nature magazine

Politics How Stochastic Terrorism Uses Disgust to Incite Violence Pundits are weaponizing disgust to fuel violence, and it's affecting our humanity By Bryn Nelson

Conservation Saving Coral Reefs with Dental Tech Dental scanners could help researchers diagnose stressed-out baby corals By Susan Cosier

Robotics Transforming Robots Help to Transfer Skills How do you teach a new robot old tricks? By Matthew Hutson

Space Exploration Artemis I Launches U.S.'s Long-Awaited Return to the Moon The first flight test of the world's most powerful rocket will send an uncrewed spacecraft to lunar orbit and back By Nadia Drake

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Volume 327, Issue 6

QUOTE OF THE DAY "We already know huge portions of the country aren't getting broadband speeds -- but even where they are, those connections are often bogged down by limited options, predatory billing practices, and a general lack of choice." Russell Brandom, The Verge

FROM THE ARCHIVE SpaceX's Crew Dragon Signals Sea Change in U.S. Spaceflight An uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station will be a crucial milestone for the company's grand vision of private spaceflight By Ned Potter | February 2019

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