The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle ...

In an era dominated by social media, misinformation has become an all too familiar foe, infiltrating our feeds and sowing seeds of doubt and confusion. With more than half of social media users across ...

You’re at the checkout screen after an online shopping spree, ready to enter your credit card number. You type it in and instantly see a red error message ...

Ever wondered how social media platforms decide how to fill our feeds? They use algorithms, of course, but how do these algorithms work? A series of corporate leaks over the past few years provides a ...

If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle the easiest pieces first. But this kind of sorting has a cost.

Emma Stone had to learn a lot about conspiracy theories for her role in Ari Aster’s COVID-era Western “Eddington” — so much so that it started working its way into her social media algorithms. Stone ...

You might have heard that algorithms are in control of everything you hear, read, and see. They control the next song on your Spotify playlist, or what YouTube suggests you watch after you finish a ...

If you’ve ever paused a video on TikTok to wonder why it’s being shown to you, you know about the mysteries of the popular short-form video app’s algorithm. A post with no caption and minimal ...

Social media platforms are more than just tools for sharing cat videos or keeping up with friends—they're powerful influencers of public opinion. The algorithms that drive these platforms determine ...

SpaceX uses 3D printers and a process of relentless refinement to streamline its Raptor engines. In the Raptor 3, plumbing and wiring that had been on the outside were fused into the motor’s metal ...

Royalty-free licenses let you pay once to use copyrighted images and video clips in personal and commercial projects on an ongoing basis without requiring additional payments each time you use that ...