This Is A Light-Nanosecond!

less than 1m read

·Nov 10, 2024

I trimmed my beard yesterday, so I'm feeling a bit like a baby today. But look at the trimmings! Specifically this one that is 2.4 fortnits worth of beard growth. How do I know? Well, because of this tool I made. This about 5 years ago to free people from the tyranny of standard units. It measures in weird units like beard fortnits, the typical length of beard grows every 2 weeks.

It's also got light pico seconds, how far light travels in a trillionth of a second. If you didn't get one 5 years ago but you're subscribed much later this year, three boxes from now you'll get one in a special Legacy box we're making. The entire ruler is exactly one light nond long. This is how far light travels in a vacuum in 1 nond.

Everything I see from this distance, I'm seeing as it was a billionth of a second ago. It's a reminder that you live in the past because light has a finite speed. You do not see things as they are; you see the universe only as it was. Also, you're going nowhere if you fall asleep tonight in the same bed you woke up in this morning. Your average velocity for the day will be zero.

Bitcoin For The Intelligent Layperson. Part One: Context.

Introduction to production functions | APⓇ Microeconomics | Khan Academy

View All

Interpreting determinants in terms of area | Matrices | Precalculus | Khan Academy

So, I have a two by two matrix here, and we could view it as having two column vectors. The first column can define this vector (3, 1), which I’ve depicted in blue here. Then, that second column you can view it as telling us that we have another vector (1…

Cocaine Shipment at JFK Airport | To Catch a Smuggler

[music playing] We’re headed to a warehouse. This one has a lot of European shipments, South American shipments, a lot of source countries for us for narcotics. So we’re gonna see what we can find over here. [music playing] Albert, take a look at this. …

Natural Custodians: Indigenous Lessons in Reconnecting with Nature | National Geographic

The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the rest of the world. Ice caps are melting and sea ice is retreating, changing the weather and disrupting marine life. To protect these polar ecosystems, we need to understand them. And no one knows the …

Why You Keep Failing At Self-Discipline

There’s a widely-held belief that self-discipline means being able to do something when you don’t actually want to do it. People who believe this think that self-discipline means going to the gym, reading books, or eating chicken and broccoli when you don…

Adventure Photography: 4 Tips to Get an Epic Shot | Get Out: A Guide to Adventure

Hi, my name is Keith Linski. I’m an adventure photographer and filmmaker. Today, I’m going to talk a little bit about essential things I bring in the field for every shoot. There are so many great apps that make photography so much easier out in the fiel…

9 Japanese Philosophies to Become Self-Disciplined and Stop Procrastinating

Have you ever struggled with procrastination or finding the motivation to get things done, feeling like you’re not living up to your own expectations? I won’t lie. I struggle with procrastination a lot, and it’s a challenge, especially when I have importa…

This Is A Light-Nanosecond!

More Articles