Apr 26, 2021

Ian Robinson's Weekly Digest - 25th April 2021

By Ian Robinson's Weekly Digest • Issue #10 • View online

Another weekly digest post has arrived! There are 11 items in this week’s, plus 10 pointers to new music that I found in the last week. As usual, all links from names go to Twitter or a website if there is no Twitter account. The horror! Any feedback or questions, just ask.

Technology

Artificial Intelligence: Learning the language of chemistry - Chemistry World - Link

Machine learning use improves in the world of chemistry. A system built to analyse chemical reactions and work out pathways from reactants to products is described in this article.

After exposure to millions of known organic reactions, it was able to work out the ‘grammar’ that allows atoms on the left-hand side of the equation to be mapped to those on the right-hand side. These rules allow it to describe how bonds are formed and broken in a set of 49,000 further reactions, with more than 99% accuracy.

Article by Philip Ball.

Apple: Interview: Apple executives on the 2021 iPad Pro, stunting with the M1 and creating headroom - TechCrunch - Link

An interview with Greg Joswiak and John Ternus from Apple by Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch. Glad to hear there is still no plan to merge the Mac and iPad:

What is the best iPad we can make what are the best Macs we can make.

Gadgets: Make restaurant-quality pizza in your kitchen - Financial Times - Link

I have a Sage toaster, and it’s bloody marvellous. So when I started reading this article in the FT How To Spend It section about a new Sage Smart Pizza oven, I was very interested and leaning towards getting one. Then I saw the price! £699 😱

Gadgets: Four hands-free cameras for epic content creation - Financial Times - Link

Another FT How To Spend It article. This one on various cameras to use to take video for sharing on social media etc. I quite like the look and idea of the AirSelfie AirPix drone. But some of the reviews on Amazon are worrying. Both from a delivery perspective and on functionality. A quote from one review:

The drone itself however is completely out of control. I had several attempts. The last attempt was when I launched the drone in front of me. It flew away a few feet then flew towards me at lightening speed, cornered me against a wall and landed on my head. The props were still going so my hair got tangled in the props and I had to cut it out.

Online Search: SEO in 2021: The Definitive Guide - Backlinko - Link

A guide on SEO from the excellent Backlink0 site.

Science

Geology: Plate Tectonics: The Mystery of Earth’s Many Faces (Video) - Quanta Magazine - Link

A nice overview of how plate tectonics shapes the surface of the Earth. If you want to dive deeper into the topic and the history of how it came to be accepted by geologists, then I can highly recommend the Roy Livermore book called The Tectonic Plates Are Moving! I’m about a third of the way through it. It’s terrific.

Physics: David Tong: Lectures on Physics - David Tong - Link

A series of undergraduate lecture notes on Physics from David Tong of The University of Cambridge. An excellent resource if you want to learn more about various areas of physics.

Culture

Festivals: Hay Festival – Wednesday 26 May to Sunday 6 June 2021 - Hey Festival - Link

This year’s Hay Festival is all online. From their blurb:

Over 12 days, more than 200 acclaimed writers, global policy makers, historians, poets, pioneers and innovators join us to inspire, examine and entertain in events for all ages. All events will be closed-captioned and available to watch for free 24 hours from their live broadcast.

Some good sessions. They have a donation page as well to support the festival.

Books: ‘My novel now feels unnerving’: authors who predicted the pandemic - The Guardian - Link

An excellent article by Christina Sweeney-Baird on her debut novel about a pandemic killing most men. She wrote it before the current pandemic. The article talks about what was changed in editing due to recent events. It also highlights other pandemic books, including Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I love Station Eleven. It’s a fabulous book. I’ve ordered The End of Men.

Writing: Copywriting: The Definitive Guide (2021) - Backlinko - Link

A comprehensive and handy overview of what copywriting is and how to approach it in multiple formats. From the same site as the SEO in 2021 guide linked above.

Music Creation: MA Songwriting and Music Production - ThinkSpace Education - Link

If you’ve ever wanted to get some formal qualifications in song writing and music production, now’s your chance. ThinkSpace Education is going to offer a Master’s course in conjunction with the University of Chichester. I bought their short courses on music Theory and How To Write Music. Very good. Guy Michelmore is a force of nature, which you will quickly discover if you subscribe to his ThinkSpace Education YouTube channel.

Music: New music I discovered this week

Wolf Alice - Smile (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Charlotte Cardin - Phoenix (Album) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

SIØBHAN - Everything (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Deb Never - Sorry (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Jenny Plant - Don’t Worry (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Nik Sharma - Guava (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Charlotte Spiral - New Light (EP) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

P. J. Harding & Noah Cyrus - People Don’t Change (EP) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter (P. J. Harding) - Twitter (Noah Cyrus)

CHVRCHES - He Said She Said (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

Maple Glider - Swimming (Single) - Apple Music - Spotify - Twitter

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By Ian Robinson's Weekly Digest

Writer, walker, atheist, optimist, Apple enthusiast, cinema lover, hobby musician, science junkie, perpetual maths student, cricket fan, chess patzer.

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