This Month in the Archives

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Dear Reader, It’s November, and we go through the usual nonsense of changing the time (okay, I like the extra hour of sleep and getting up in the daylight, but what a production!). I found some interesting articles for you on what we mean about “time” and its physical properties. Also, as the weather worsens, we tend to cocoon ourselves in our transportation more, so let’s take a look through our archive at cars. And if you believe that humans are living in an overly complex society, life is not necessarily simpler for baboons in the wild, as you will see.

I hope you enjoy the journey! Dan Schlenoff, Editor of “50, 100 & 150 Years Ago”

THE PHYSICS OF TIME

Shuffling a deck of cards randomizes them; if the “arrow of time” went the other way, there would be all sorts of problems with statistics. (January 1967)

December 1924 The question of space and time had begun to loom large in the early 1900s; here’s a question from nearly a century ago: Is time a fourth dimension? January 1967 Our resident mathematician, the late Martin Gardner, looks at the “Arrow of Time” and explains why it would be weird if time went backward. July 1996 Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose have a chat about time and space—and disagree, much to our delight.

ICON OF MODERNITY: THE CAR A “quadratic drive” concept car design from 1945: the rear engine would have transmitted power to the wheels through hydraulic fluid. (October 1945) December 1916 It’s never easy to know which technology will emerge as superior. The steam-powered car of 1916 only takes one minute to warm up. October 1945 “Motor Cars Tomorrow” talks about the innovations on the horizon but notes that the “Big Three” Detroit car companies will decide what gets made. June 2016 Computing power for the automated self-driving car has advanced by leaps and bounds; but safe consumer versions might still be “decades” away.   Access 174 Years of Scientific Knowledge THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BABOON One of our primate cousins, from 1891. Studies of baboons in the wild can illuminate our own social interactions. December 1891 The Chacma baboon from southern Africa is noted, in 1891, as being the “ugliest” baboon. (I’d really like to think our scientific descriptions have evolved since then.) June 1961 Anthropologists take to the field to see what they can find about the social life of baboons, as a model for primate interactions. January 1990 Baboons in the wild serve as study subjects for how stress affects them—and how it might affect humans. LATEST ISSUE Check out the latest issue of Scientific American For more highlights from the archives, you can read November’s 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago column   Questions?   Comments? Download the Scientific American App To view this email as a web page, go here. You received this email because you opted-in to receive email from Scientific American. To ensure delivery please add news@email.scientificamerican.com to your address book. Unsubscribe    Email Preferences    Privacy Policy    Contact Us