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OLLI Science in the News & Your recommendations
For 10/17/2024
⓵ Apple study exposes deep cracks in LLMs' "reasoning"
capabilities - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/lIms-cant-perform-genuine-logical-reasoning-apple-researchers-suggest/
GSM-Symbolic: Understanding the Limitations of Mathematical
Reasoning in Large Language Models
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.05229
⓶ Do AI models produce more original ideas than researchers?
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03070-5
AI shows flair for scientific originality
An artificial intelligence (AI) ideas generator came up
with more original research ideas than did 50 scientists,
according to a preprint study. The ideas were blind
evaluated by reviewers, who scored AI-generated concepts
as more exciting, but slightly less feasible, than those
from people. Critics say that pitting scientists against
an LLM that can generate thousands of ideas in hours isn’t
exactly a fair fight. “You have to compare apples to
apples,” says computational social scientist Jevin West.
⓷ Testing ChatGPT o1-Preview
Background: A Video Tour of the Standard Model 16+ min
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-video-tour-of-the-standard-model-20210716/
Q: Why are there three 'tiers' of Fermions?
A: The existence of three “tiers,” or generations, of
fermions is one of the fundamental features of the
Standard Model of particle physics. Each generation
consists of a pair of quarks and a pair of leptons, with
identical properties except for their masses, which
increase with each generation. Here’s a brief overview:
1. First Generation: Up quark, down quark, electron, electron neutrino
2. Second Generation: Charm quark, strange quark, muon, muon neutrino
3. Third Generation: Top quark, bottom quark, tau, tau neutrino
Why Three Generations?
As of now, there is no definitive explanation for why
there are exactly three generations of fermions. The
Standard Model accepts the number of generations as an
empirical fact derived from experimental observations, but
it doesn’t provide a theoretical reason for this specific
number. Here are some points to consider:
1. Experimental Evidence: Precision measurements, such as
those from the Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) at
CERN, have confirmed the existence of only three light
neutrino types, corresponding to the three observed
generations. If there were additional light neutrinos,
they would have altered the decay rates of the Z boson,
which has not been observed.
2. Anomaly Cancellation: The mathematical consistency of
the Standard Model requires that certain anomalies cancel
out, which they do with the known three generations.
However, this requirement doesn’t dictate the number of
generations; it merely necessitates that the contributions
balance.
3. Flavor Hierarchies and Masses: The pattern of masses
and mixing angles between generations is not currently
explained by the Standard Model. The heavier masses of
particles in higher generations affect processes like CP
violation but don’t explain the number of generations.
4. Beyond the Standard Model Theories: Some theoretical
frameworks, like Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) or string
theories, attempt to predict the number of generations.
For instance, certain string theory models naturally lead
to three generations, but these are speculative and not
experimentally verified.
4. Anthropic Principle: Some physicists consider the
anthropic principle, suggesting that the universe has
three generations because it allows for the complex
chemistry necessary for life. However, this is more of a
philosophical argument than a scientific explanation.
Conclusion
The question of why there are exactly three generations of
fermions remains one of the open mysteries in fundamental
physics. While the Standard Model describes how these
particles behave and interact, it doesn’t explain why
their family structure is tripartite. Ongoing research in
particle physics and cosmology aims to uncover deeper
principles or new theories that might provide an answer.
⓸ Why people think they're right, even when they are wrong
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-people-theyre-wrong.html
Researchers found that people naturally assume they have
all the information they need to make a decision or
support their position, even when they do not.
The researchers called it the "illusion of information
adequacy."
⓹ Liftoff! NASA’s Europa Clipper Sails Toward Ocean Moon
of Jupiter | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/liftoff-nasas-europa-clipper-sails-toward-ocean-moon-of-jupiter/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-europa-clipper-spacecraft-aims-for-jupiters-most-intriguing-moon/
Europa, an ice-encrusted moon that may offer the best odds
humanity will ever get for finding life beyond Earth.
Europa’s interior may be home to a moon-spanning, briny
sea that could possess all the elements needed to craft
and cradle life as we know it: energy, chemical elements
and water. And Europa’s hidden ocean is thought to hold
more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
LATEST NEWS
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https://phys.org https://sciurls.com/?q=phys
https://www.nature.com https://sciurls.com/?q=nature
https://www.nytimes.com/science https://sciurls.com/?q=nytimes%20science
https://www.quantamagazine.org https://sciurls.com/?q=quantamagazine
https://www.sciencenews.org https://sciurls.com/?q=sciencenews
https://www.scientificamerican.com https://sciurls.com/?q=scientificamerican
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