Researchers from Brazil's Universidade Estadual de Campinas used a computer simulation to confirm paleontologist Stephen J. Gould's prediction that it is evolutionarily advantageous for cicadas to emerge at intervals lasting a prime number of years.

Cognitive Reductionism about languages is the following (empirical) claim:Every language L is spoken/cognized by some one or more speakers.That is, the claim that languages can be reduced to cognitve states of some one or more speakers. However, I think that cognitive reductionism is deeply mistaken. There are languages which are not spoken, or cognized.So, on my view, statements of the form:Agent A cognizes language LAgents A and B cognize the same ("shared") language L. are contingent […]

This is a guest post by Marc Joffe, the principal consultant at Public Sector Credit Solutions, an organization that provides data and analysis related to sovereign and municipal securities. Previously, Joffe was a Senior Director at Moody’s Analytics for more than a decade. Note to readers: for a bit of background on the SEC Credit Ratings […]

"I had better say something here about this question of age, since it is particularly important for mathematicians. No mathematician should ever allow himself to forget that mathematics, more than any other art or science, is a young man's game. ... I do not know an instance of a major mathematical advance initiated by a man past fifty. If a man of mature age loses interest in and abandons mathematics, the loss is not likely to be very serious either for mathematics or for himself."That's what […]

“No mathematician in the world would bother making these senseless distinctions: is a “mixed number ” while is an “improper fraction.” They’re EQUAL for crying out loud. They are the […]