New year, same you, better articles.

What do data science and writing have in common?

Besides the obvious (that we’re all looking for more hours in the day to get better at both), data science and writing also hold the title for being the two skills that can turn us into well-rounded individuals in both skills if improved in tandem.

Data scientists are commonly referred to as “storytellers” because of the way that they can turn massive data sets into beautiful visualizations that tell stories to the masses. …

AI co-piloted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane, paving the way for increased mastery of AI and a look to the future of warfare.

A major milestone in the future of artificial intelligence and modern warfare was reached this year when a U-2 Dragon Lady of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing was co-piloted not with a human pilot, but with artificial intelligence.

The flight took place on December 15th, 2020, where the artificial intelligence algorithm developed by researchers at the Air Command U-2 Federal Laboratory, partnered with U.S. Air Force Maj. “Vudu” to fly a reconnaissance mission that was simulated to take place during a missile strike. Known as ARTUμ, the AI algorithm was trained to execute in-flight tasks that would otherwise be conducted by a human co-pilot. During this scenario, the AI was tasked with finding enemy missile launchers while the human pilot was busy locating enemy aircraft. …

Exactly how I plan on teaching myself data science without spending a single dollar.

The end of December is the perfect time to make plans and resolutions for the upcoming new year. For some, resolutions include joining a gym, learning a new language, or reading fifty books.

As for me, my new year’s resolution is to learn data science. Because I like a challenge, I want to learn data science without spending a single penny.

Thanks to the generosity and ingenuity of many current data scientists, the internet is teeming with free learning resources covering every minute detail of data science. From learning how to code using Python, to learning multivariable calculus, to learning how to develop machine learning algorithms, it’s now possible to become a competent and competitive data scientist without spending thousands of dollars or years of your time on a post-secondary degree, diploma, or certificate. …

You don’t need a degree in computer science to become a successful software developer.

At a time like this, everyone is taking a good hard look in the mirror and asking themselves if they’re happy with their career. For some, they ended up pursuing careers in fields they chose to study when they were 18 and no longer have the same passion that drove them in the first place. For others, it’s a matter of no longer having the drive to work a standard 9-to-5 job that should require overtime pay thanks to a mind-numbing commute. …

The world’s richest 1% must reduce their carbon footprint by a factor of 30 to save the planet.

According to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report for 2020, the world’s wealthiest 1% will need to reduce their carbon emissions by a factor of 30 to keep the world on track to attain the Paris Agreement targets.

Despite a pandemic-linked economic slowdown that is expected to result in a 7% drop in greenhouse gas emissions, the planet is still on track to warm to well above 2 degrees Celsius. The reduction in emissions felt this year would only translate to a 0.01 degree Celsius drop in global warming by 2050. In other words, the planet is currently headed for a future that is 3.2 …

But you might want to take it easy with the sparkly Christmas ornaments anyway.

It’s widely known that it’s not officially Christmas until your entire home is coated with a thick layer of glitter.

From the ornaments and wreaths to the wrapping paper and gift bags and everything in between, glitter permeates anything even remotely related to Christmas. Glitter screams festivity, making it essential for the holiday season to feel complete.

However, for the last several years, many have begun declaring war on glitter. The reason: reducing the amount of plastic pollution entering the ocean. This isn’t a bad idea overall, as microplastics have been proven to be a threat to the environment. …

The cost of renewable energy is now on par with natural gas.

At a time when the only climate-related news that gets relayed paints a bleak picture of our future on this planet, it feels good to share a positive story about how far science has come in renewable energy.

According to research conducted by the University of Calgary, the cost of renewable energy has dropped massively, such that it can now compete with natural gas. The age of affordable renewable energy has arrived.

Over the last ten years, wind power costs have dropped by 70% and solar power costs have dropped by 90%. This decline in cost is dramatic and relates to how the levelized cost of wind and solar power is now similar to that of the marginal cost to run an efficient natural gas plant. Levelized cost is a measure that includes the cost of building and running power plants. Therefore, not only have renewable resources begun to match natural gas in price, they have actually become cheaper to operate than existing fossil fuel power plants. …

Hopefully, you didn’t bet on this taking longer than the age of the Universe to solve.

Levinthal’s paradox states that determining the “native folded state of a protein by a random search among all possible configurations can take an enormously long time.” So it makes sense that scientists believed it would take longer than the age of the Universe to understand how proteins achieve their three-dimensional structure.

However, CASP (Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction), an experiment that began in the 1990s, sought to carry out what hadn’t been accomplished in the 50 years since scientists first attempted to predict how proteins folded into their characteristic structure. …