Cliff Pickover

Ask me anything. I will be happy to answer some of your questions, and will try to reply to a portion of your questions below in the coming days.

Mathematics. This interactive web page allows users to experiment with the structure and beauty of dynamic models for collective motion (swarming) in animal groups. Source (Dirk Brockmann): tinyurl.com/y84prd86 CCommons Attrib 2.0.

My favorite science-fiction novel is “The Number of the Beast” by Robert Heinlein, particularly the original edition with fantastic drawings illustrating the chapters. I like its focus on parallel universes, playful banter between its smart characters, scary sense of adventure…

Architecture. Imagine the joy of living in a home with this "geometric art deco" circular portal. This one was from a movie set for "Pleasure Crazed" (1929). An elegant, vintage interior scene featuring a circular archway with intricate wrought iron detailing.

Mathematics. I love fractals like this in which patterns repeat at different scales, meaning smaller parts resemble the whole structure when magnified. The term "fractal" was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975. Image by @LunesDes, used with permission.

Mathematics. Which "God" decided this would be the best way to setup the universe?

→ Spiral of Life. Credit: By Alexander Butaev, mr.butaevs. I didn’t upload this image to 𝕏. I’m pointing to an image residing in the 𝕏 stream of “Ricardo Abreu”, 𝕏 ID “AbreuEsposende” (Feb 25, 2023).

Math, physics, reality. Which "God" decided this would be the best way to setup the universe? Source: M. G. Raymer, Brian J. Smith, arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0…

“From the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician.” — James Hopwood Jeans, The Mysterious Universe, 1930

Minerals are mathematicians. Natural pyrite. Shangbao Pyrite mine, Leiyang County, Hengyang Prefecture, Hunan Province, China, tinyurl.com/2s4e8jju

A prison inmate's love for math leads to new discoveries. What do you find most interesting about this article: phys.org/news/2020-05-i…

Reality Explained. Geometry. Math. This image may appeal to humorists who like mathematics. By @howie_hua, linktr.ee/howiehua, used with permission.

Reality Explained. This image may appeal to humorists who like mathematics. By @howie_hua, linktr.ee/howiehua, used with permission.

Math, physics, astronomy, reality. Everything in the universe in one graph. A glimpse into the mind of "God." Source: pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/artic… A few of you asked for more info on this figure. The authors are showing masses, sizes, and relative densities of objects in our…

Mathematics. Behold the Gyroid, a minimal surface. Imagine lingeringly running your fingers over its smooth surface. By Paul Nylander, bugman123.com, Used with permission.

Beyond the Veil. Whispers of the Divine. Angelic Blueprint. Chart showing the names of the 72 Kabbalistic angels. (Kabbalah is a mystical tradition within Judaism that explores the essence of God and the nature of the universe.) Source: The Magus, 1801, by Francis Barrett.

Math and Beauty. Fingerprint of Infinity. Hyperbolic Tessellation. "This (6,4) tiling of my Dinosaur tessellation was conformally mapped from a hexagon to a hyperbolic hexagon using a Hypergeometric function." By Paul Nylander, bugman123.com, Used with permission.

Mathematics. Anatomy of a circle. By Sketchplanations, @sketchplanator, Source: sketchplanations.com/parts-of-a-cir…, Used with permission.

Physics humor illustrating relationships among volt, amp, and ohm.

Physics and Reality. For those of you who believe we live in a "Simulation," do you believe all of these particles are explicitly simulated, or do you believe the appearance (or effects or illusion) of these particles is simulated?

Physics and Religion. Which "God" decided this would be a good plan? Fermions form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being bosons. All subatomic particles must be one or the other. A composite particle (hadron) may fall into either class…