Amanda Askell on Tantalum: an isotope with a half-life we may never see decay
AmandaAskell · x · 2026-10-02
Anthropic researcher Amanda Askell shares a delightful case of nominative determinism: tantalum, discovered in 1802 and named after the Greek figure Tantalus, turns out to have an isotope with a half-life so long that we might never observe it decay — the name seems to have fulfilled itself.
More from Fun
- Claude Opus 5.5 codes an entire piano piece and 3D animation end-to-end — FinanceYF5 · 2026-10-02
- An AI made an idle game about what outlives a death — without realizing it described itself — MDawg74 · 2026-10-02
- "Sand can't be conscious. Only coal and water": the silicon-consciousness meme strikes again — AndyMasley · 2026-10-02
- 'Where's the page?' — parody music video roasts bad citations in academic papers — Ok-Lab-7347 · 2026-10-02
- Anti-AI gamers still believe GTA wasn't AI-coded, dev says it's worse — cgarciae88 · 2026-10-02
- CT Community's Perfect Riposte to 'Attention Is All You Need' — beffjezos · 2026-10-02