Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com
Whales not Wales
Feedback, with its extensive experience as a science journalist, has encountered numerous peculiar units of measurement over the years. When describing vast sizes or quantities, writers often resort to comparing them to familiar objects or locations, like saying an iceberg is X times the size of Wales or a mountain is Y times the height of the Burj Khalifa.
In a recent CNN article about the Blue Ghost lunar lander’s final message from the moon, Christopher Dionne noticed the attempt to convey the data sent by the probe by equating it to “about 120 gigabytes of data — equivalent to more than 24,000 songs — back to Earth.”
Dionne raised an interesting point regarding using songs as a standard unit for dataset size, considering the variability in file sizes due to streaming and compression methods. He proposed using the blue whale genome, which is 2.4 billion bases long, as a standardized unit of measurement. By this measure, he humorously suggested that the Blue Ghost sent back “50 blue whales of data from the moon.”
While Feedback found this concept amusing, they corrected Dionne’s calculation based on the differences between bases in a genome and bytes in a dataset. After the adjustment, they estimated that the Blue Ghost actually sent back about 200 blue whales worth of data.
Readers are encouraged to submit their own creative units of digital measurement for consideration, sparking a lively discussion on this intriguing topic.
Goodbye, Alice and Bob
Explaining jokes can often detract from their humor, especially when they involve niche references like cryptographic terminology. In the realm of cryptography, the characters “Alice” and “Bob” are commonly used to illustrate secure messaging systems and cryptographic concepts.
Referencing a satirical take on this tradition in a post by software developer John VanEnk on Bluesky, a Wikipedia page discussed fictional characters “Hegseth and Waltz” as placeholders in cryptographic discussions. The tongue-in-cheek scenario involved these characters and a third party, Goldberg, in a comical interception of communication.
While the joke may not land for everyone, Feedback invites comments and feedback, albeit humorously suggesting sending them to a nonexistent Signal account.
What a lark
Readers Patrick Fenlon and Peter Slessenger drew attention to an article in The Guardian discussing how migrating birds utilize quantum mechanics for navigation, particularly when flying solo at night.
The article highlighted biologist Miriam Liedvogel’s insights on the subject, emphasizing the fascinating ways in which birds navigate without following a leader. Fenlon aptly summarized the piece with a simple “Wunderbar,” capturing the wonder of nature’s mysteries.
Got a story for Feedback?
You can send stories to Feedback by email at feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week’s and past Feedbacks can be seen on our website.
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