Wednesday, September 17
Understanding the Hilbert Curve
3D Hilbert curve with 4 bits per axis traversing 4096 points (Image by author)
Space-filling curves (SFC) are fascinating mathematical constructs with many practical applications in data science and data engineering. While they may sound abstract, they’re often hiding in plain sight—behind terms like Z-ordering or Liquid Clustering (used, for example, in platforms like Databricks). If you’ve worked with large-scale data platforms, chances are you’ve already used SFCs without realizing it.
Despite its relevance in modern systems, information on this topic is often fragmented, making it difficult to bridge theory and practice. This article aims to bridge that gap, while focusing on the Hilbert curve.
Tuesday, September 16
Headlines
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Elon Musk buys $1b worth of Tesla shares. The Tesla CEO is putting his money where his electric cars are, buying 2.57 million shares, in a show of confidence in the company as its shareholders prepare to vote on a pay package that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Investors and analysts cheered his first purchase of the stock in the open market since February 2020, sending the share price up 3.26% yesterday—putting it up 85% from its April low to erase its losses for the year. But Musk’s big potential payday also gained a notable detractor: Pope Leo criticized the disparity between worker and CEO salaries, specifically referencing Musk’s potential package and saying, “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
China says Nvidia violated its antitrust laws. While there may be signs of a thawing over TikTok (see above), there were still some frosty signals as the US and China continued trade talks yesterday. Chinese regulators said that California-based Nvidia ran afoul of its antimonopoly rules during its 2020 purchase of Israeli networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies. China did not say what remedies it might seek from Nvidia, but this isn’t the chipmaker’s first time being caught between Washington and Beijing, since it has also had its sales to China curtailed by US export controls. Nvidia said it was in compliance with the law and would continue to cooperate with government agencies “as they evaluate the impact of export controls on competition in the commercial markets.”
US announces deadly strike on another alleged drug boat. President Trump said on Truth Social that the military had killed three “male terrorists” in a strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela in international waters. Tensions were already running high between the US and Venezuela after a previous strike two weeks ago killed 11 people on a boat that the US said was transporting drugs, allegedly with a connection to the Tren de Aragua gang. Venezuela and some scholars in the US had raised questions over whether that strike was legal, but with the second strike, the administration appeared to be doubling down on the aggressive strategy.—AR
Robert Reich
And if so, why?
Friends.
In the wake of last week’s murder of Charlie Kirk, the phrase “civil war” has spiked on social media and in Google searches. Trump has blamed the left for what he says was “savage rhetoric” leading to Kirk’s death and has vowed to go after “those who contributed to this atrocity.”
Democrats and Republicans in Congress have lashed out at each other and are ever more fearful for their own safety. People who castigated Kirk and his views have been targeted and exposed by right-wing influencers.
One historian told me that our current political moment parallels the 1850s, in the lead-up to the Civil War — including the deployment of troops to American cities, widespread disillusionment with the Supreme Court, and spasms of political violence, especially from disaffected young men.
At A Glance
How US currency has evolved over 250 years.
Dive deep with a marine scientist leading his first expedition.
How chronic stress alters the brain.
Ranking America's hidden-gem housing markets.
Japan yet again sets the record for most centenarians.
Wailing infants give adults hot flushes.
Why most windmills have three blades. (w/video)
These are the most-searched pumpkin spice recipes.
Clickbait: Mahiri the giraffe uses an inhaler.
Historybook: Pilgrims depart from England on the Mayflower (1620); Actress Lauren Bacall born (1924); American musician BB King born (1925); Historian and author Henry Louis Gates Jr. born (1950); Golfer Bryson DeChambeau born (1993).
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Jamaican Oblique Seville win women's and men's 100-meter titles at Track and Field World Championships (More) | 2025 WNBA playoffs kick off; see complete first round schedule (More)
> "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" hauls in $70M for the biggest US domestic box office opening weekend ever for an anime film (More)
> Terence Crawford beats Canelo Alvarez to become first male boxer to be undisputed world champion in three weight classes (More) | Ricky Hatton, British former world champion boxer, dies at age 46 (More)
Science & Technology
> Electric vehicle sales in January through August rise 25% worldwide compared to the same window last year, increase 6% in North America (More)
> New tsunami alert system from NASA successfully detected 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in late July, provided warning to Hawaii 30 to 40 minutes before waves arrived (More)
> Neuroscientists create miniature wearable microscope allowing imaging of mouse brains in real time; will help link behaviors and perception with specific brain circuits (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed Friday (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.6%, Nasdaq +0.4%) in lead-up to anticipated interest rate cuts this week (More)
> Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, backed by the Winklevoss twins, raises $425M in initial public offering, with shares closing up 14.3% (More) | What are IPOs and how do they work? (1440 Topics)
> Penske Media—owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety—sues Google over AI summaries; attributes drop in site traffic, revenue to the rollout (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Memorial honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk is set for this upcoming Sunday, Sept. 21, in Arizona (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Taliban rulers say they have reached a deal with the US to swap detainees, with at least six Americans still held captive in Afghanistan; White House has not confirmed as of this writing (More)
> Romania and Poland deploy fighter jets to protect their airspace following detection of Russian drones (More)
SOURCE: 1440 NEWS
Neighbors
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I was talking with two of my neighbors today; it the neighbor to the left of me and the neighbor to the left of that neighbor. In short, we were on the same side of the street if that makes any difference.
We were talking about our past and all the bad stuff we did during our pre-teen and teen years, and how those years did not just define who we were, but those years turned us around from who we were into something different, presumedly better.
It was like we were trying to be recognized for being the worst BAD ASS, as if that was somehow important to us all, since that personality was no longer who we are today, so we could be as bad as we needed to be.
Right now, I am trying to figure out why that might have been important to us today?
Who transformed the most, perhaps?
Our bragging consisted of theft, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, taking drugs, and being falsely accused of murder due to associations.
All of us are in our seventies (72-76-77) and I am wondering just how accurate our stories were and how much of it was unintentionally (or intentionally) distorted...
We did not want to talk about politics or religion or economics because those topics are all filled with emotional, misguided, or inaccurate beliefs and argument like that always end in animosity for not being able to convince the other person, you are correct. With THREE, it is even worse when two side against one.
I know neighbors are supposed to talk and be friendly, but I am wondering it that protocol needs to be re-evaluated.
Tiny gold quantum needles with astonishing powers discovered
Structural evolution of gold nanoclusters: From anisotropic nucleation to growth into gold quantum needles. The structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. Organic residues of the surface ligands were omitted for clarity. Color code: Au (gold): yellow; S: red. Credit: Takano et al 2025
Researchers Shinjiro Takano, Yuya Hamasaki, and Tatsuya Tsukuda of the University of Tokyo have successfully visualized the geometric structure of growing gold nanoclusters in their earliest stages. During this process, they also successfully "grew" a novel structure of elongated nanoclusters, which they named "gold quantum needles."
Thanks to their responsiveness to light in the near-infrared range, these "needles" could enable much higher-resolution biomedical imaging and more efficient light-energy conversion. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Monday, September 15
Headlines
Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Charlie Kirk’s memorial is set for Sunday, and other updates. The conservative activist’s public memorial will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, on Sept. 21. On Friday, President Trump confirmed that he would attend. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the assassination suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is “not cooperating” with investigators. Cox said on Sunday morning news shows that a motive was still being determined, and that more information may come out when charges are filed and Robinson appears in court tomorrow. Vice President JD Vance announced last night that he will host The Charlie Kirk Show today from the White House at noon ET to “pay tribute to my friend.”
Utah governor calls social media “evil” and a “cancer.” Yesterday on NBC, Gov. Spencer Cox said, “I believe that social media has played a direct role in every single assassination and assassination attempt that we have seen over the last five, six years. Cancer probably isn’t a strong enough word.” He also called the executives behind social media companies “conflict entrepreneurs” and that it took decades “to realize how evil these algorithms are.” The governor also said that alleged shooter Tyler Robinson had a “leftist ideology,” and spent large amounts of time in the “dark corners of the internet.” The state of Utah passed some social media laws to protect minors, most recently in 2024, but they have not taken effect since a federal judge temporarily blocked them.
The Pitt, The Studio, took home top Emmy Awards. “Chaotic workplace shows” have not only become “comfort TV,” as the Wall Street Journal reported, but also award winners. Apple TV+’s The Studio won 13 honors, including Seth Rogen’s first Emmy for best actor in a comedy and best comedy series. HBO Max’s The Pitt won five awards, including the coveted best drama series trophy. Each episode covers an hour during one shift in an ER, which some viewers in the medical profession find hits too close to work. One of The Studio’s showrunners, Peter Huyck, told the WSJ before the awards ceremony, “What we’re all drawing on is our own personal experiences in this town [Hollywood], and the stress we carry every day.” See the complete list of Primetime Emmy Award winners here.—HVL
Robert Reich
It’s a last-ditch effort to discredit all Trump’s political opponents. It will fail.
Friends,
We are now witnessing the start of what might be seen as Phase 2 of Trump’s efforts to eradicate political opposition.
Phase 1 has centered on silencing criticism. It has featured retribution toward people Trump deemed personal “enemies” — not just Democrats who had led the criticisms and prosecutions of him in his first term but also Republicans and his own first-term appointees who subsequently criticized him, such as John Bolton.
Phase 1 also entailed an assault on universities that utilize so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” harbor faculty members and students who speak out critically against Benjamin Netanyahu’s genocide in Palestine, or offer classes critical of the United States’s history toward Black people and Native Americans.
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