The Daily Valet. - 10/30/23, Monday
✔️ A Quantum Leap
Monday, October 30th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
How many Barbie and Kens did you see walking around this weekend? I counted at least six different couples.
Today’s Big Story
Quantum Entanglement
SCIENTISTS SUCCESSFULLY SIMULATE BACKWARD TIME TRAVEL WITH A 25% CHANCE OF ACTUALLY CHANGING THE PAST
This could be something ... or maybe it's just a theory. Because we have to talk about quantum physics for a minute. Bear with me, because this is worth your time. But put simply, quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of the very smallest objects—down at the level of atoms and electrons. Solar panels, LED lights, your mobile phone and MRI scanners in hospitals: all of these rely on quantum behavior. It is one of the best-tested theories of physics, and we use it all the time.Recently, Scientific American declared, “Quantum physics isn't as weird as you think ... it's weirder.” They said we have to stop “thinking of atoms as tennis balls, and instead more like waves pushing through water.” Much like a fickle wave, a quantum object can “be in two places at once” by being in a so-called superposition of states. Thinking about waves, this is no surprise. A wave can be in two places at once. “If you send a wave down a forked channel, it will easily split and flow through both channels at the same time.”So now you're ready to hear that scientists trying to take advantage of the unusual properties of the quantum realm say they have successfully simulated a method of backward time travel that allowed them to change an event after the fact one out of four times. The Cambridge University team is quick to caution that they have not built a time machine, per se, but also note how their process doesn't violate physics while changing past events after they have happened.“Imagine that you want to send a gift to someone: you need to send it on day one to make sure it arrives on day three,” explained lead author David Arvidsson-Shukur from the Cambridge Hitachi Laboratory. “However, you only receive that person's wish list on day two.” Their simulation uses quantum entanglement manipulation to show how you could retroactively change your previous actions to ensure the final outcome is the one you want.Of course, this is all theoretical at the moment. The team demonstrated that one could “probabilistically improve one's past choice,” explained study co-author Nicole Yunger Halpern, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland at College Park, in a statement to Gizmodo, though she noted that the proposed time travel simulation has not yet taken place. Gizmodo also pointed out that the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics went to three physicists for their interrogation of quantum entanglement, and that just a few years ago, a team synchronized drums as wide as human hairs using entanglement. So this is clearly a space that is worth watching.
Dig Deeper:
From the multiverse to black holes, here are 10 mind-boggling facts about quantum physics. Consider it your cheat sheet to the spooky side of the universe.
Israel Pounds Gaza From Air and Land
Biden pressed for more aid, as Relatives of the hostages have asked Netanyahu to halt the airstrikes
Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation and warned of a long and difficult war ahead and said the conflict had entered its “second stage” after ground troops entered Gaza in an expansion of fighting. On Sunday, airstrikes pummeled the north in what residents said was among the worst bombardments of the war so far—Israel's military said its fighter jets struck more than 450 Hamas targets in Gaza in the last day.Internet and phone connectivity in the besieged enclave, cut by Israel on Friday night, were partially restored Sunday morning at the White House's urging, according to a senior U.S. official. President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should conduct its offensive against Hamas in Gaza “in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians,” the White House said on Sunday. And there are growing calls for a cease-fire or humanitarian pause. Relatives of the Israelis held hostage by Hamas have asked Netanyahu to halt the Gaza airstrikes and resume rescue negotiations. Such requests went unheeded as the death toll in Gaza soared past 8,000, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.Meanwhile, UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said “thousands of people” broke into its warehouses and distribution centers in southern and central Gaza and stole “basic survival items” including wheat flour and other supplies recently arrived from Egypt. Thomas White, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, called it “a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down.”
MIssion Impossible?
Biden says that Mideast leaders must consider a two-state solution after the war ends. “There’s no going back to the status quo.”
Where’s Everyone Going?
This is where eager and able Americans are moving
Have you, or do you know someone who, moved cities or states recently? Of course. Seemingly all American cities have experienced a rise in living costs after the pandemic. More and more people are able to work remote. Add those to worries about a looming recession and enough Americans are apprehensive about their financial security—enough to pack up a moving truck in search of more space or less housing costs.But just where are they going? New data from the U.S. Census shows that around 820,000 people moved out of California and 550,000 out of New York in 2022. Many of those moving are headed to Florida or Texas, the states with the largest influxes in 2022. Similar warm-weather southern states like Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia also topped the list. All in all, more than 8 million Americans moved states in 2022, reports Axios.And, the trend doesn't look likely to change in coming years: four in ten Californians and three in ten New Yorkers say they're still considering moving out of state. But they're likely still heading to big cities. A recently published report from SmartAsset, ranking where young and rich Americans are headed, found that “deep-pocketed millennials relocated to large metro areas such as Jersey City, Miami and Austin.” Some other popular destinations among this group included Colorado, Connecticut and North Carolina.
Meanwhile:
Americans are flocking to Mexico City where rent is cheaper and life is more laid-back. But for locals, it’s complicated.
Where are the Robotaxis?
Cruise is pausing its autonomous fleet nationwide in bid to ‘earn public trust’
Cruise, the autonomous vehicle operator backed by General Motors, says it decided to “proactively pause” its fleet of driverless cars across the United States. The operations halt comes just two days after Californian regulators suspended Cruise's robotaxi permit in the state, claiming that its vehicles “are not safe for public operation.”After ceasing operations in California early last week, Cruise continued in Phoenix, Arizona, and in two of Texas' largest cities, Austin and Houston. However, the entire robotaxi fleet nationwide has now been grounded. In a brief social media thread, Cruise said that the company needed to “take steps to rebuild public trust…even if it means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult.”Earlier this month, at its peak, Cruise had a fleet of 400 robotaxis nationwide. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it was investigating Cruise after receiving reports of pedestrian injuries. According to The Verge, the company has been conducting autonomous driving tests across other regions like Miami, San Francisco and Dallas, and had plans to expand to Seattle and Washington D.C. Meanwhile, after announcing back in May a multiyear strategic partnership to make Waymo robotaxis available in the Uber app, that's apparently now happening in Phoenix, Arizona.
FYI:
GM and Honda are now working to launch Cruise robotaxis in Japan by 2026. It would be its second international market, after Dubai.
In Other News
He tried to buy a silencer in August but was denied by a gun shop owner.
The Bureau of Land Management Rules Off-Roading Is Ruining Moab, Permanently Closes 317 Miles of Trails
Have you heard about ...
The Long Read
The artist paints words and uses unconventional materials like gunpowder and chocolate to capture his world
He painted industrial buildings standing starkly against cloudless skies; he painted fixtures of the highway, from gas stations to guardrails. While peers like Andy Warhol enshrined Hollywood starlets in Technicolor silkscreens, Ruscha painted the back of the Hollywood sign—a hint that he understood the American dream, but also its dystopian veneer, better than anyone.”
- By Kelly Crow
Read It:
//
Shopping
What We’re Buying
an earthy candle
This candle ($150) doesn't smell like weed. Despite being the latest edition to Seth Rogen's canabis brand, Houseplant, this dual-wick candle, Rogen says, “brings together a supergroup of warm, earthy, sunny, California scents to create something new, yet totally familiar.” There are notes of smoked birch wood and warm spices like cardamom and nutmeg, making it ideal for this time of year.
Want more?
The five stylish items to buy this week.
Morning Motto
Aspire to wisdom.
▾
Follow:
Share today’s motto:
