Social panic is a great excuse, a subterfuge used by cowards to avoid disclosing sensitive information. Data that, if known, rather than generating collective fear, would help to save lives. From Saturday, November 7, 1970 onwards, one of these informative censorships spread, as much or more than the trail of harmful radioactive isotopes that leaked … Read more
1990 was a tremendously turbulent year for Madrid and, more specifically, for one of its neighborhoods: Cerro Belmonte. The residents of the humble but tenacious neighborhood were unwilling to comply with a speculative plan supported by the Madrid City Council to expropriate and evict 125 families in exchange for building luxury villas. Thus, the first … Read more
Human beings need to archive information. This may be due to his innate curiosity and his unstoppable desire to know and not to forget. This is why we invented data storage media, designed to replace the oral transmission of knowledge, which is imperfect and subject to alterations. We quickly think of hard disks or USB … Read more
Although space may seem a distressing and empty place, the truth is that it is full of millions of roaming travelers that, from time to time, can be seen from Earth. There are several types of them, and you’ve probably wondered more than once how to distinguish them. Here are some clues: Asteroids: rocky masses … Read more
It is the life of the hoax party. It has been an unprecedented success in social networks. Thanks to it, everyone now knows that messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines do all sorts of nasty things to our genetic material. Needless to say, everything they cause is bad. Yes, conspiracists are extremely pessimistic… The truth is that … Read more
Because of this peculiarity, they look like creatures out of some disturbed mind, but they are very real, both they and their bloody “weepings”. They do not “weep” blood because they have seen something horrifying, but because it is an extremely curious defense mechanism. This behavior has been recorded mainly in some species of horned … Read more
In crisis situations, fear and unease find a very pleasant niche in which to prosper. So do those who feed and promote those fears. Complexity is unpleasant, and our world, fortunately or unfortunately, is complex. All the events we experience involve a myriad of factors, so it is not easy to explain them or find … Read more
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), our conception of intelligence has been slightly disrupted. After all, AI machines meet the requirements of some of the definitions of “intelligence”, such as solving complex problems. So, can machines think? This question was already proposed in the middle of the last century by one of the fathers … Read more
In a scene from the first episode of the acclaimed Disney+ series Loki (keep calm, there are no spoilers), the charismatic Norse god of deception played by Tom Hiddleston is on a plane smartly attired in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, sunglasses. Calmly, he gives a brief note to the purser who has … Read more
It seems that we are referring to the Pleistocene if we consider that 32 years ago, in 1989, the idea of the Bluetooth technology emerged, a wireless networking system designed to connect devices of all kinds with each other, to somehow unify technology. The Swedes Nils Rydbeck and Johan Ullman of Ericsson Mobile were the … Read more
I imagine you are all prepared for this unique night. What is going to be celebrated? Today is the “witches’ night”, one of the most important festivities of the witches’ calendar in Northern Europe. On this night, one of the most intense and frightening witches’ sabbaths of the year takes place at the Brocken Peak … Read more
Snakes have often been associated with evil, either for cultural reasons or, directly, because of our survival instinct. We fear and respect them and the venom they use to hunt and defend themselves. However, as it usually happens, fear is diluted when our knowledge about them increases. In fact, they are not all equally poisonous … Read more
Life has devised a multitude of strategies to adapt and survive, such as mimesis. We all quickly think of examples from the animal kingdom, such as syrphids, some caterpillars, various butterflies or spiders that resemble ants. However, plants are not far behind. Orchids of the genus Ophrys sp. are true works of art of nature. … Read more
Most of us are familiar with or have heard of electricity-based therapies. They are used in a wide range of medical disciplines: neurology, psychiatry, physical medicine, rehabilitation… Logically, we consider these techniques an advance of the modern world, because if electricity had not been discovered, they could not exist. It is true that electricity is … Read more
Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600 – 1681) was one of the many literary figures who gilded a century with his distinguished works. Author of dramas, comedies, sacramental plays, and plays, his name will always be linked to works such as El gran teatro del mundo or La vida es sueño. This is his best … Read more
Nature is the best weapon engineer. Some living beings are equipped with a series of strategies and tools that it’s difficult to imagine they were generated by chance. In fact, devotees of creationism and intelligent design use these examples to vindicate their beliefs. Let’s look at the case of the carabid beetles of the genus … Read more
In the face of the current situation, which will undoubtedly mark humanity forever, a race against time has been generated to try to overcome it as quickly as possible. Not in vain, in less than a year it has shown us how vulnerable we are, but also our resilience. The most promising weapons with which … Read more
Is the end of the pandemic near? Is SARS-CoV-2, the same one that has shown how fragile the egomaniacal Homo sapiens and his civilization are, giving its last breath? Will the longed-for vaccines end with this science-fiction situation? The vaccines are being presented as the definitive solution to our problems, the definitive weapon that will … Read more
The nativity scene tradition has become a true artistic expression. There are orthodox and heterodox nativity scenes worthy of admiration for their level of detail and complexity, not to mention the exquisite craftsmanship of some of their figures. Where does it come from? When did we start representing the events surrounding the birth of Jesus … Read more
“Smokescreens” are a strategy increasingly employed by politicians and the media to divert mass attention away from the truly important things and hide them. The expression has, therefore, a metaphorical use today, but not long ago it was used (and still is) in the military field to confuse adversaries and acquire strategic advantage. Let us … Read more