No Such Thing As A Fish No Such Thing As Space Eggs
5 snips
Feb 5, 2026 
Lieven Scheire, Belgian comedian and science communicator, hops into a whirlwind of odd science stories. They unpack Seymour Cray's eccentric supercomputing lore. They trace cranes from medieval treadwheels to Big Carl. They marvel at silica gel's vast porous world. They also spotlight Mary Somerville's outsized influence on 19th-century science.
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Seymour Cray's Thinking Tunnels
- Seymour Cray retreated to tunnels beneath his house and claimed the "elves" brought him solutions when stuck on problems.
- He valued long, silent thinking sessions and even demanded silence during family car journeys so he could focus.
The Term "Supercomputer" Is Moving
- Supercomputing power is relative and the label "supercomputer" shifts as mainstream computing grows.
- Today’s top machines (like El Capitan) perform tasks unimaginable decades ago but journalists often mislabel routine servers as "supercomputers."
Think Beyond Earth For Cooling And Power
- Consider placing computing infrastructure where cooling and power are easier to manage when scaling performance.
- Space is attractive for continuous solar power and different cooling strategies, but it still requires radiation-based heat rejection.
