APRIL 2024 MAGAZINE

As the indicators of the status of complicated macroscopic systems, statistically valid representative variables are of critical importance for knowing the dynamic conditions of the systems. As a few examples, in natural sciences, we have become very familiar to various physical quantities such as temperature and pressure, which can help us to predict the behavior of a natural system; in economics, we have economic indices to track economic health from different perspectives; in psychology, we have the intelligence quotient to provide a partial evaluation of the intelligent level of individuals.

Despite the convenience of using the well-known variables in academic researches and practical applications, the process of identifying the notions behind those variables could be painstaking and daunting. This article would introduce an abstract notion for the cultural dynamics, which has been greatly ignored by the world in the past.

Toward an Ecological Way of Death...Our traditional funeral practices are ecologically unsound and wasteful. We can do much better.

As robots can act in many ways more and more like humans, it becomes more and more meaningful to be philosophically clear about the fundamental difference between humans and AI machines in terms of learning. This knowledge is desired not only when it comes to the century long question of whether computers can outsmart humans, but also for the sake of knowing the potential and limit of AI development in areas such as AI translation, Human-Machine conversation, and more……