#093: 'Math Academy' of Physics, America's AI Action Plan, Writing is Thinking

Hi All!

We are pleased to welcome you to this week's edition of Undiscovered, a newsletter with exclusive resources and insights expanding from the material found on our main site - becketu.com.

It's been a busy day over here at the Becket U headquarters, but we finally have this week's edition rolling hot off the press. You know what they say - "Better late than never!"

This week, we will take a look at the 'Math Academy' of physics, America's AI action plan, the effect of the Columbian Exchange on global cuisines, and more.

Let's dive in:

The 'Math Academy' of Physics

You know what the mission of Becket U is: finding the best resources for learning math, physics, computers, microeconomics, game theory, and persuasion.

If these topics were infinity stones, Math Academy would be the only resource I recommend for learning math. And now, thanks to Jeffrey Biles, a second infinity stone has been captured for learning physics - PhysicsGraph.com.

Physics Graph aims to be the equivalent to undergraduate-level courses in physics, built with the most efficient and effective learning techniques. It's all done via spaced repetition, mastery learning, high school math, an initial diagnostic test, and lessons all personally built by an expert.

Now it begs the question, who will make the 'Math Academy' for computers, microeconomics, game theory, and persuasion?

Writing is Thinking

I wonder what the future of writing will look like. When Chat GPT first rolled out a few years back, the first 'magic trick' people used it for (myself included) was to show others how it could write essays on any topic almost instantly.

This made me a little jealous since essay writing was the first application I thought it could be used for in the school setting. But now, with time passing and seeing these language models mature, I find myself thankful I finished my scholastic journey at the precipice of this new era.

It makes sense why students would want to outsource their writing first: it's hard. There is a lot of thinking that goes into the flow and logic of an essay, research document, or a thesis. Writing can be augmented and revised by AI, it can help you brainstorm a direction or an outline, but I believe it could be having negative effects on our ability to simply think.

​@dr_alphalyrae shared a recently published Nature article titled, Writing is Thinking. In it, the author states, "Writing compels us to think - not in the chaotic, non-linear way our minds typically wander, but in a structured, intentional manner. By writing it down, we can sort years of research, data and analysis into an actual story, thereby identifying our main message and the influence of our work."

It's a wonderfully written statement, and also harkens back to the Paul Graham 2024 essay, Writes or Write-Nots, where Paul Graham boldly claims that in a few decades, there will not be many people who can write. This will divide the world into 'writes' and 'write-nots'. Except it goes deeper than this, and it's potentially more sinister:

"So a world divided into writes and write-nots is more dangerous than it sounds. It will be a world of thinks and think-nots. I know which half I want to be in, and I bet you do too."

Write. No matter what you do, write. It doesn't matter if it takes longer to go back and revise. Sure, get AI to write a few things for you here and there if tedious and necessary, but please continue to write and think.

America's AI Action Plan

The US Government just released a detailed AI Action Plan for winning the global AI race. In the introduction to the plan, it states "America is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence (AI). Winning this race will usher in a new era of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people."

The plan is focused on three pillars: accelerating innovation, building AI infrastructure, and leading in international diplomacy and security. It's a relatively short plan, but the entire roadmap can be found in this 28-page pdf. For the tldr of each section, here's the gist of each:

Accelerate AI Innovation. "America must have the most powerful AI systems in the world, but we must also lead the world in creative and transformative application of those systems. Ultimately, it is the uses of technology that create economic growth, new jobs, and scientific advancements. America must invent and embrace productivity enhancing AI uses that the world wants to emulate. Achieving this requires the Federal government to create the conditions where private sector-led innovation can flourish."

Build American AI Infrastructure. "AI is the first digital service in modern life that challenges America to build vastly greater energy generation than we have today. American energy capacity has stagnated since the 1970s while China has rapidly built out their grid. America’s path to AI dominance depends on changing this troubling trend. That requires streamlining permitting, strengthening and growing the electric grid, and creating the workforce to build it all."

Lead in International AI Diplomacy and Security. "To succeed in the global AI competition, America must do more than promote AI within its own borders. The United States must also drive adoption of American AI systems, computing hardware, and standards throughout the world. America currently is the global leader on data center construction, computing hardware performance, and models. It is imperative that the United States leverage this advantage into an enduring global alliance, while preventing our adversaries from free-riding on our innovation and investment."

Origin of Food from the Columbian Exchange

An interesting exchange occurred on Twitter, where @EsotericCD made a statement reminding the general populace "Not a single European, much less any Italian, had eaten a tomato until the 16th century".

This sparked @MuseZack to inquire about a general interest book 'about how pretty much every major world cuisine as we know it was completely reinvented over a period of 50-100 years in the wake of the Columbian exchange'.

The top comment was @bbalkus recommending a Fast Times article titled "Everything I, an Italian, thought about Italian Food is Wrong". The article reveals that beloved Italian staples like carbonara, panettone, and pasta with tomato sauce are modern creations born from centuries of global exchange, not ancient tradition.

If the subject continues to interest you, more users recommended reading the book 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created to learn more.

Spiciest, Most Thorough Snack Review of All Time

Sometimes, falling down a good rabbit hole is what you need after a long week of work. Julian Shapiro is helping us make the most of the rest of summer by conducting one of the most unexpectedly thorough and 'spicy' reviews you'll ever come across.

He decided he wanted to test every top-rated sauce, spice, and snack on Amazon, and spent $2,500 in process. How long did this process take you may ask? 3 YEARS(!).

He then had dozens of people compare alongside him, and he finally came up with the winners:

It may be a slightly different change of pace than the AI hope/doom and gloom, but it's a delicious one we openly welcome. Thanks, Julian!

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J.B.