David Quintero
@davidsuculum.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Physicist in atmospheric sciences, but mainly Jack of all trades and master of none. Canary Islands, Spain.
[bridged from https://mathstodon.xyz/@davidsuculum on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
[bridged from https://mathstodon.xyz/@davidsuculum on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
A generalized probability theory allows you to describe quantum phenomena like entanglement without being quantum mechanics.
This is very intriguing because it may suggest that quantum mechanics is just one possibility in an ocean of possibilities. One could imagine other universes being […]
This is very intriguing because it may suggest that quantum mechanics is just one possibility in an ocean of possibilities. One could imagine other universes being […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
February 10, 2026 at 11:07 PM
A generalized probability theory allows you to describe quantum phenomena like entanglement without being quantum mechanics.
This is very intriguing because it may suggest that quantum mechanics is just one possibility in an ocean of possibilities. One could imagine other universes being […]
This is very intriguing because it may suggest that quantum mechanics is just one possibility in an ocean of possibilities. One could imagine other universes being […]
I discovered "Anthracite Fields" watching Dark. The second half part of this theme is astonishing.
Note: it's contemporary classical music. Expect unnerving dissonances.
IV. Flowers en Qobuz
Escuchar IV. Flowers de The Choir of Trinity Wall Street en Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/track/305983795
Note: it's contemporary classical music. Expect unnerving dissonances.
IV. Flowers en Qobuz
Escuchar IV. Flowers de The Choir of Trinity Wall Street en Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/track/305983795
Open Qobuz
open.qobuz.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:28 PM
I discovered "Anthracite Fields" watching Dark. The second half part of this theme is astonishing.
Note: it's contemporary classical music. Expect unnerving dissonances.
IV. Flowers en Qobuz
Escuchar IV. Flowers de The Choir of Trinity Wall Street en Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/track/305983795
Note: it's contemporary classical music. Expect unnerving dissonances.
IV. Flowers en Qobuz
Escuchar IV. Flowers de The Choir of Trinity Wall Street en Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/track/305983795
I had heard very positive things of "There is no antimemetics division", a mix of science fiction and lovecraftian atmosphere, written by an author "named" qntm. However, I was skeptical that that mixture is for me. But the other day I saw it translated into Spanish, and that impressed me […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
February 7, 2026 at 11:38 AM
I had heard very positive things of "There is no antimemetics division", a mix of science fiction and lovecraftian atmosphere, written by an author "named" qntm. However, I was skeptical that that mixture is for me. But the other day I saw it translated into Spanish, and that impressed me […]
What's your opinion on "Love, Death and Robots"? For me, some good ideas mixed with absolutely empty and/or horrendous chapters.
February 7, 2026 at 1:32 AM
What's your opinion on "Love, Death and Robots"? For me, some good ideas mixed with absolutely empty and/or horrendous chapters.
"The only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced will never be overthrown." Einstein, on Thermodynamics.
February 5, 2026 at 11:25 PM
"The only physical theory of universal content which I am convinced will never be overthrown." Einstein, on Thermodynamics.
Polemic thought of the day: I guess some of you have seen the architecture of a Transformer (the ML tool, not the alien robots). It looks so contrived and unnatural (a new case of a physicist obsessed with naturalness). Yes, I'm sure there're good reasons for each step, but the overall design […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
February 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Polemic thought of the day: I guess some of you have seen the architecture of a Transformer (the ML tool, not the alien robots). It looks so contrived and unnatural (a new case of a physicist obsessed with naturalness). Yes, I'm sure there're good reasons for each step, but the overall design […]
Is "Dark", the sf TV series, worth it?
February 2, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Is "Dark", the sf TV series, worth it?
Regarding the question "will we ever be able to understand everything?", it's curious the position of the philosopher Daniel Dennet. He considers that if you can understand something to ask a question, then you're already equipped to understand the answer, and you will understand it.
Whiteson […]
Whiteson […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 30, 2026 at 11:58 PM
Regarding the question "will we ever be able to understand everything?", it's curious the position of the philosopher Daniel Dennet. He considers that if you can understand something to ask a question, then you're already equipped to understand the answer, and you will understand it.
Whiteson […]
Whiteson […]
If dark matter exists and interacts only gravitationally (Ethan Siegel wrote today about it), its nature will be locked from us. I think it would be the first time in history that we know that the universe is hiding a scientific truth from us, forever.
January 30, 2026 at 12:27 AM
If dark matter exists and interacts only gravitationally (Ethan Siegel wrote today about it), its nature will be locked from us. I think it would be the first time in history that we know that the universe is hiding a scientific truth from us, forever.
In his last AMA, Sean Carroll says that thinking in terms of the 4 fundamental forces is a bit old fashioned. Not wrong, no, but that nowadays people prefer to think in terms of fields. The field is the central actor.
January 28, 2026 at 6:52 PM
In his last AMA, Sean Carroll says that thinking in terms of the 4 fundamental forces is a bit old fashioned. Not wrong, no, but that nowadays people prefer to think in terms of fields. The field is the central actor.
Greg Chaitin on famous physicist John Wheeler asking Gödel about uncertainty: 'Well, one day I was at the Institute for Advanced Study, and I went to Gödel's office, and there was Gödel. I said "Professor Gödel, what connection do you see between your incompleteness theorem and Heisenberg's […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 27, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Greg Chaitin on famous physicist John Wheeler asking Gödel about uncertainty: 'Well, one day I was at the Institute for Advanced Study, and I went to Gödel's office, and there was Gödel. I said "Professor Gödel, what connection do you see between your incompleteness theorem and Heisenberg's […]
There's an academy in Spain offering different courses in Physics online. Here's one that interests me a lot: Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. The professor comes from the University and is an expert on the topic.
Although it's in Spanish, you can check the syllabus. There're super cool stuff […]
Although it's in Spanish, you can check the syllabus. There're super cool stuff […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 25, 2026 at 10:41 PM
There's an academy in Spain offering different courses in Physics online. Here's one that interests me a lot: Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. The professor comes from the University and is an expert on the topic.
Although it's in Spanish, you can check the syllabus. There're super cool stuff […]
Although it's in Spanish, you can check the syllabus. There're super cool stuff […]
[Slightly personal]
I went to a "reading party" this evening. It was cool. It's great meeting people with similar interests than you.
I have some difficulties finding people akin to me. Things could be different in Madrid or Barcelona, but I live in the Canary Islands. So I feel a bit alone […]
I went to a "reading party" this evening. It was cool. It's great meeting people with similar interests than you.
I have some difficulties finding people akin to me. Things could be different in Madrid or Barcelona, but I live in the Canary Islands. So I feel a bit alone […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 24, 2026 at 1:11 AM
[Slightly personal]
I went to a "reading party" this evening. It was cool. It's great meeting people with similar interests than you.
I have some difficulties finding people akin to me. Things could be different in Madrid or Barcelona, but I live in the Canary Islands. So I feel a bit alone […]
I went to a "reading party" this evening. It was cool. It's great meeting people with similar interests than you.
I have some difficulties finding people akin to me. Things could be different in Madrid or Barcelona, but I live in the Canary Islands. So I feel a bit alone […]
TIL: Galileo discovered Neptune without knowing it! When he was observing through his telescope Jupiter and its moons, those years Neptune was, apparently, next to Jupiter. Indeed, it was brighter than the moons from Jupiter. Galileo draw it in his notebook, but he thought it was a "fixed star".
January 23, 2026 at 10:00 PM
TIL: Galileo discovered Neptune without knowing it! When he was observing through his telescope Jupiter and its moons, those years Neptune was, apparently, next to Jupiter. Indeed, it was brighter than the moons from Jupiter. Galileo draw it in his notebook, but he thought it was a "fixed star".
"Forever", the TV series from 2014, was cancelled. I think it was good.
January 22, 2026 at 11:06 PM
"Forever", the TV series from 2014, was cancelled. I think it was good.
My favourite subject as undergraduate was cosmology. It was an optional subject of the last year, and it was my last exam.
January 21, 2026 at 12:30 AM
My favourite subject as undergraduate was cosmology. It was an optional subject of the last year, and it was my last exam.
The Outlaw Bookseller recommends "The Essence" by Dave Hutchinson as the best sf book of the last year. (Note: he has British accent, so I understood like ~80%).
Best New Science Fiction Novel of 2025: 'Roadside Picnic' meets 'Slow Ho...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9BdNvt-_EoE&si=-VnpiU6ptrD2EFfS
Best New Science Fiction Novel of 2025: 'Roadside Picnic' meets 'Slow Ho...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9BdNvt-_EoE&si=-VnpiU6ptrD2EFfS
January 20, 2026 at 8:55 PM
The Outlaw Bookseller recommends "The Essence" by Dave Hutchinson as the best sf book of the last year. (Note: he has British accent, so I understood like ~80%).
Best New Science Fiction Novel of 2025: 'Roadside Picnic' meets 'Slow Ho...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9BdNvt-_EoE&si=-VnpiU6ptrD2EFfS
Best New Science Fiction Novel of 2025: 'Roadside Picnic' meets 'Slow Ho...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9BdNvt-_EoE&si=-VnpiU6ptrD2EFfS
It's interesting how Whiteson and Warner, in his book, remark that the Planck length (calculated combining G, c and h to have units of length) is just an hypothesis. It's not clear, and certainly hasn't been proved, that that length exists, nor it necessarily would have that value.
January 18, 2026 at 8:54 PM
It's interesting how Whiteson and Warner, in his book, remark that the Planck length (calculated combining G, c and h to have units of length) is just an hypothesis. It's not clear, and certainly hasn't been proved, that that length exists, nor it necessarily would have that value.
Something cool that I have learnt (and should probably already know) in Don Koks' book is that you can find the area between, say 2 vectors in a 6 dimensional Euclidean space, you can do it as the determinant of the matrix product of the vectors as (2, 6) and (6, 2) matrices.
That's called the […]
That's called the […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 16, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Something cool that I have learnt (and should probably already know) in Don Koks' book is that you can find the area between, say 2 vectors in a 6 dimensional Euclidean space, you can do it as the determinant of the matrix product of the vectors as (2, 6) and (6, 2) matrices.
That's called the […]
That's called the […]
TIL: While the eyes seem to have evolved many times, hearing could have evolved only once. Vertebrates use tiny filaments for hearing, insects use a surface, but at the molecular level they look very similar, so they could point out to the same origin.
If it only happened once, perhaps it's an […]
If it only happened once, perhaps it's an […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 15, 2026 at 8:13 PM
TIL: While the eyes seem to have evolved many times, hearing could have evolved only once. Vertebrates use tiny filaments for hearing, insects use a surface, but at the molecular level they look very similar, so they could point out to the same origin.
If it only happened once, perhaps it's an […]
If it only happened once, perhaps it's an […]
Reposted by David Quintero
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com. To order my new book of science cartoons 'Physics for Cats', see here: www.tomgauld.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
A recent cartoon for @newscientist.com. To order my new book of science cartoons 'Physics for Cats', see here: www.tomgauld.com
"Dark matter is like the perfect roommate. Maybe it leaves dark dishes in the dark sink, but you'll never know, because you have no way to sense it."
Whiteson and Warner, "Do Aliens Speak Physics?"
Whiteson and Warner, "Do Aliens Speak Physics?"
January 14, 2026 at 12:35 AM
"Dark matter is like the perfect roommate. Maybe it leaves dark dishes in the dark sink, but you'll never know, because you have no way to sense it."
Whiteson and Warner, "Do Aliens Speak Physics?"
Whiteson and Warner, "Do Aliens Speak Physics?"
Carl Sagan and others suggested that communication with an alien form could be possible thanks to the common language of science and mathematics. But Whiteson and Warner aren't so sure.
Aliens could be so different that they could have discovered other mathematics (they show an example of a […]
Aliens could be so different that they could have discovered other mathematics (they show an example of a […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 13, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Carl Sagan and others suggested that communication with an alien form could be possible thanks to the common language of science and mathematics. But Whiteson and Warner aren't so sure.
Aliens could be so different that they could have discovered other mathematics (they show an example of a […]
Aliens could be so different that they could have discovered other mathematics (they show an example of a […]
Interesting bit by Ned Block in Sean Carroll's podcast about a clue that could point out that a LLM is conscious: train it without discourses in the first person (I do, I think, I can, I, I..., all of them removed from your training data), and check if in spite of that it creates a discourse […]
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
mathstodon.xyz
January 11, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Interesting bit by Ned Block in Sean Carroll's podcast about a clue that could point out that a LLM is conscious: train it without discourses in the first person (I do, I think, I can, I, I..., all of them removed from your training data), and check if in spite of that it creates a discourse […]
As Whiteson and Warner point out in "Do Alies Speak Physics?", the Golden Record sent in the Voyager probes described our solar system with 9 planets, but now there're only 8 since Pluto was degraded.
We sent our address wrong! What a mistake! Aliens will never find us.
We sent our address wrong! What a mistake! Aliens will never find us.
January 10, 2026 at 2:29 PM
As Whiteson and Warner point out in "Do Alies Speak Physics?", the Golden Record sent in the Voyager probes described our solar system with 9 planets, but now there're only 8 since Pluto was degraded.
We sent our address wrong! What a mistake! Aliens will never find us.
We sent our address wrong! What a mistake! Aliens will never find us.