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It’s easy to think that living stuff must be inherently different from non-living stuff, but is that really the case? Some of our greatest thinkers have explored the question, and the more we learn, the harder it is to conclude there’s anything special or distinct about ‘life’. What is Life? Is Death Real? is a clever animation that explores how viruses, artificial intelligence and the nature of DNA make drawing a line between the living and the non-living so difficult, and why we’re not likely to resolve the big questions about life any time soon.
Video by Kurzgesagt
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Architecture
Why a sculptor pivoted from gallery installations to big-box stores design
9 minutes
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Physics
Spectacular fractal patterns emerge when electricity meets a wooden surface
4 minutes
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Mathematics
How a verbal paradox shattered the notion of total certainty in mathematics
5 minutes
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Values and beliefs
How a God-fearing Jewish woman found atheism – and bacon – in her later years
9 minutes
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War and peace
Before he leaves to go to war, Artem, 18, says goodbye to the man who raised him
12 minutes
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Metaphysics
To see the Universe more clearly, think in terms of processes, not objects
6 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
How machine learning can help historians decode ancient inscriptions
7 minutes
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Family life
A son of China’s former one-child policy remembers the sibling he never had
8 minutes
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Social psychology
A harrowing account of a 1970 ‘leadership seminar’ spotlights self-help’s dark side
11 minutes