Samir Varma

@samirvarma

Physicist, author, inventor, hedge fund manager, green tech pioneer. Beatles & Pink Floyd fan. I love AI, physics, science, markets, economics, squash, guitar.

Greenwich, CT

Joined March 2009

1KFollowing

2KFollowers

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jun 4, 2024

My new book, The Science of Free Will, is out with lots of cool stuff: do bees have emotions? Why don't we trade with ants? Can subatomic particles exhibit free will? Can AI ever be conscious? And lots more! amzn.to/4aMQJD1

samirvarma's tweet card. Every individual, from the most profound thinker to the casual observer, is composed of atoms - approximately 6.71×10^27 of them. These aren't just any atoms ... they're the same ones that construct...

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · 23 h

Melting glaciers could trigger volcanic eruptions around the globe, study finds buff.ly/anRCnGc

samirvarma's tweet card. Glacial melt could increase volcanic activity in North America, New Zealand and Russia, spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 23

“He touched places words couldn’t reach”: The Emotion Behind Gilmour’s Solos buff.ly/JSwV2h1

samirvarma's tweet card. At their peak, Pink Floyd teetered on collapse—until David Gilmour gave the band its soul, and its sound, forever.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 22

Adding a feature because ChatGPT incorrectly thinks it exists | Holovaty.com buff.ly/5UQJ8s4

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 21

My new post, "The Wedding Wars: How Indian Marriages Negotiate 5,000 Years of Tradition in One Weekend" is up. Substack: buff.ly/Ck0hEGC, Medium: buff.ly/PgldP62

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 20

Yes. I think that is mostly true. With exceptions as always.

AAvi Shikaripur@AviShikaripur · Jul 20

Insightful and on the money! One thing I would like to add is that for the most part, Indians living abroad are far less parochial than in India. Language, religion, community etc. distinctions are way less pronounced..

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 20

“He touched places words couldn’t reach”: The Emotion Behind Gilmour’s Solos buff.ly/JSwV2h1

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 19

Detecting Pancreatic Cancer early with remarkable accurach: buff.ly/x2eSH5H

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 18

People Are Using AI Chatbots to Guide Their Psychedelic Trips buff.ly/IcBJkFe

samirvarma's tweet card. As psychedelic companies and therapy apps experiment with AI, people are already taking huge doses of drugs and using chatbots to process their trips.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 17

It’s a strange new substance: soft wood transformed at the molecular level to be stronger than steel yet one-sixth the weight, writes Christopher @Mims. Its name? Superwood. buff.ly/JlJQbba

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 16

Why the Savannah Bananas — not the Dallas Cowboys — are America's Team buff.ly/0uMdh83

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 15

Decoding animal communication. buff.ly/bJVEfrh

samirvarma's tweet card. We’re on the verge of decoding animal communication. Here’s what we’ve learned so far – and how AI could finally help us decipher their languages

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 14

The second post in my series on India is up. What happens to Indian pluralism when Indians leave India? Medium: buff.ly/d6Ia39V Substack: buff.ly/Vi8GxCl

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 13

Amazon launches a new AI foundation model to power its robotic fleet and deploys its 1 millionth robot buff.ly/kZ1TULe

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 12

Microsoft says its new health AI beat doctors in accurate diagnoses by a mile buff.ly/Cg5JCqO

samirvarma's tweet card. The AI system correctly solved 85.5% of medical cases in the study, outperforming 21 experienced doctors who averaged 20% accuracy.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 11

What does it mean when an orca wants to share its lunch with you? | New Scientist buff.ly/k6UYcld

samirvarma's tweet card. Researchers have documented orcas seemingly gifting rays, seals and fish to scientists and divers, which could suggest they have theory of mind and engage in altruism – even across species

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 10

Project Vend: Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?) buff.ly/v79RZmQ

samirvarma's tweet card. We let Claude run a small shop in the Anthropic office. Here's what happened.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 10

7 People Now Have Elon Musk's Neuralink Brain Implant buff.ly/SsnnzJW

samirvarma's tweet card. The brain-computer interface lets those with cervical spinal cord injuries or ALS control a computer with their thoughts. This year, Neuralink has more than doubled the number of patients.

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 9

Thunderstruck by Steve'n'Seagulls (LIVE) buff.ly/yMyyhbM

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 9

It’s always difficult to define India. But this is a great effort. I saw myself nodding for the entire time. Can’t wait for the next post..

SSamir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 7

The first article in my series about what makes India unique is up! Substack: buff.ly/2lhJns2, Medium: buff.ly/x8wF3tj

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Samir Varma@samirvarma · Jul 8

How Does a Gravitational Slingshot Work? | Scientific American buff.ly/MD4WqqY

samirvarma's tweet card. Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

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