Pankaj Sharma is one of the world's premier speakers on Leadership and Personal Mastery. As a presenter, Sharma has the rare ability to electrify an audience yet deliver uncommonly original and useful insights that lead to individuals doing their best work, teams providing superb results and organizations becoming unbeatable.
Pankaj Sharma is also a Research Scientist.
Friday, January 27, 2023
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think
Plus: An infinite array of potential black holes; a quantum time flip (sort of); the math of good board games; algebra-enabled space communication
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think
By JOANNA THOMPSON
Depression has often been blamed on low levels of serotonin in the brain. That answer is insufficient, but alternatives are coming into view and changing our understanding of the disease.
Mathematicians Find an Infinity of Possible Black Hole Shapes
By STEVE NADIS
In three-dimensional space, the surface of a black hole must be a sphere. But a new result shows that in higher dimensions, an infinite number of configurations are possible.
How Quantum Physicists 'Flipped Time' (and How They Didn't)
By CHARLIE WOOD
Two teams have made photons act as if time were simultaneously flowing in two directions. The experiments demonstrate a way to potentially boost the performance of quantum devices.
The Basic Algebra Behind Secret Codes and Space Communication
By PATRICK HONNER
Whether you're passing secret notes in class or downloading images from a space probe, Reed-Solomon codes offer an ingenious way to embed information and correct for errors.
I Saw the Sign Humans can correctly guess the meaning behind the gestures made by wild chimps and bonobos, reports Victoria Gill for BBC News. Researchers think that our ancestors used similar gestures to communicate before they developed language. Gestures are not only useful tools for communication. Mounting evidence suggests that they serve an important role in perception and cognition, too. Raleigh McElvery wrote about this for Quanta in 2019.
Io's Ire A recent eruption on Jupiter's intensely volcanic moon Io emitted a mix of chemicals that startled observers, reports Oliver Whang for The New York Times. Studying it could help scientists better understand Io's volcanoes and their interactions with Jupiter. Gas emitted by Io's volcanoes can get captured by Jupiter's magnetic fields and power the planet's auroras. In 2021 Robin George Andrews reported for Quanta that these auroras are why Jupiter is unexpectedly warm.
