Engines of Our Ingenuity

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3341: The McCulloch-Pitts Model

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3341 How Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts laid the foundation for current AI research.  Today, the origin of artificial neural networks.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3340: Scissors

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3340 We look at the curious mechanics behind scissors.  Today, let’s look at scissors.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1473: Titanic and Great Eastern

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1473 Two unsinkable ships: the Titanic and the Great Eastern.  Today, a story of two ships. One sank. One didn't.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1472: Big Numbers

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1472 New uses for huge numbers.  Today, big numbers find new meaning.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1471: Jamestown and Suicide

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1471 Some thoughts about immigrants, depression, suicide & Jamestown.  Today, a story about Jamestown and self-destruction.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1470: Occam’s Razor

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1470 Occam's razor and engineering design.  Today, we cut with Occam's razor.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2533: The Power of Three

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2533 On Table Legs and Flat Surfaces.  Today, the power of three.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2763: Steve Jobs, Simplifier

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2763 The legacy of Steve Jobs, who simplified computers and computing devices.  Today, the man who made it simple.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3339: The Eames Lounge Chair and Leg Splint

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3339 Cradling the Body: The Eames Lounge Chair, Leg Splint, and Good Design.  The Eames Lounge Chair and Leg Splint

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3338: Predicting Warcraft

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3338 An old Century Magazine tries to predict future warfare.  Today, we predict warcraft.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1469: The Hourglass

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1469 The hourglass: the poor man's clock, the poor man's metaphor.  Today, let's look at the hourglass.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1468: The Bicycle

08 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1468 The evolution of the bicycle.  Today, let's talk about bicycles and freedom.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2529: Comparing Fingerprints

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2529 Comparing Fingerprints: What's Involved and What can go Wrong.  Today, who dunnit?

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3337: Claude Bernard

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3337  Claude Bernard’s important medical science, horrifically achieved.  Today, let’s meet a problematic scientist.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2018: The Chamberlen Family Secret

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2018 The Chamberlen family secret: the invention of forceps.  Today, guest historian Cathy Patterson reveals family secrets.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3007: Elastic Chair

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3007 Samuel Gragg's Unusual Chair.  Today we look at an elastic Chair.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3336: Nickel

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3336 The evolution and potential demise of the lowly Nickel.  Today, let us spend the lowly nickel.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1467: Napoleon and Iron

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1467 Napoleon Bonaparte and Iron in France.  Today, Napoleon builds iron monuments.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1466: Vegetable Physiology

01 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1466 An old botany book for young girls changes scientific thinking.  Today, a young student forms a scientific theory.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3335: Transcontinental

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #3335 Learning to fly non-stop from coast to coast in America.  Today, we fly across America.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2527: Alphonse Bertillon

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2527 Alphonse Bertillon: Measuring the Man.  Today, the measure of a man.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3244: Bias in Face Recognition Software

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3244 Bias and Diversity in Photography and Face Recognition Software.  Today, bodies, in beautiful black and white.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2909: Renewable Energy

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2909 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Providing Renewable Energy, A Comparison of Hydrogen Fuel Cell and Lithium Ion Battery.  Today, a neat way to get en...

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1465: The Cancer Cluster Problem

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1465 In which random statistical clusters look significant.  Today, we flip six heads in a row.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1464: Learning Curve

26 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1464 Trying to teach technologies that were novel for us, but not our students.  Today, a thought about technological change and learning.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1463: New Hampshire Iron

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1463 An old pig iron smelter in the New Hampshire underbrush.  Today, an old iron works hidden in the tall grass.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1462: Jedidiah Morse

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1462 Jedidiah Morse, geographer and Samuel F. B. Morse's father.  Today, Jedidiah Morse's geography.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2523: Georges-Eugene Haussmann

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2523 Georges-Eugene Haussmann Reshapes Paris.  Today, a city redone.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3334: In Praise of Humble Lint

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3334 In Praise of Humble Lint.  Today highlighting a former fabric byproduct.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2818: The Pompeian Paradox

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2818 The Pompeian Paradox and Fiorelli's Body Casts.  Today, the Pompeian paradox.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1461: Telescopes

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1461 George Everett Hale and BIG telescopes.  Today, we look through some really big telescopes.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1460: Chindogu

19 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1460 The little-known Japanese art of Chindogu.  Today, the odd Japanese art of Chindogu.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1459: Teaching and Ambiguity

18 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1459 A tongue-tied attempt to say what teaching is.  Today, teaching and ambiguity.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1458: Streetcars in Houston

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1458 The brief bright day of the electric trolley in Houston.  Today, let's ride the Houston trolley.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2520: Hybrid Car Technology

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2520 Hybrid Electric Car Technology.  Today, we hit the brakes.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2815: How Ideas Spread

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2815 The spread of ideas in social networks.  Today, let's talk about engineered social networks.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2638: Artificial Gravity

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2638 Artificial Gravity for Human Spaceflight; What is Gained, What is Lost.  Today, astronaut Michael Barratt discusses the pros and cons o...

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1457: Eratosthene’s Diameter of Earth

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1457 Eratosthenes's 2200 year old calculation of Earth's size.  Today, we measure the earth.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1456: Paper in Samarkand

12 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1456 In which paper goes from China to Europe by way of Samarkand.  Today, paper makes a long journey.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1455: Dentistry

11 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1455 A brief history of dentistry and pain.  Today, we drill teeth.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1454: Juxtaposition and Contradiction

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1454 The sometimes astonishing results of juxtaposing contradictory ideas.  Today, a thought about juxtaposition and contradictions.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2517: Rebecca Clarke

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2517 Rebecca Clarke: Violist, Composer, Woman.  Today, a woman in conflict.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2978: Matisse’s Verve

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2978 Henri Matisse cuts paper to design a cover for the art magazine Verve.  Today we look at heroism through cut paper.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3333: Lawrence Morely and Seafloor Spreading

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3333 Lawrence Morely and Seafloor Spreading.  Today, a question of priority.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3332: Dynamo

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3332 From DC Dynamo to AC Alternator.  Today, the dynamo.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1453: Two Huygens and John Donne

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1453 Christiaan and Constantijn Huygens, and John Donne.  Today, a tale of two Huygens and John Donne.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1451: Inventing the Library

04 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1451 Inventing the free public lending library: socialism in books.  Today, we invent the library.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3331: What Is a Photo?

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3331 Some thoughts about photography and reality.  Today, Let’s take pictures.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2513: Our Teachers

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2513 The Importance of Teachers in Shaping our Lives.  Today, remembering our teachers.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2905: The Gift of Imagination

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2905 Imagination's Contributions to Science and Technology, Developmental Psychology and Imagination.  Today, the gift of imagination.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3245: Memes

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3245 Memes, Internet Challenges, and the Selfish Gene.  Today, memes.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1450: Searching for Cleopatra

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1450 In which we learn too much about Cleopatra and the Pharos Lighthouse.  Today, we look for Cleopatra.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1449: Image and Reality

28 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1449 Another look at image and reality: Fake Triceratops and manuscript books.  Today, more on images and reality.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1448: Guillotin/Guillotine

27 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1448 The Guillotine and the democratization of death.  Today, heads will roll.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1447: Eighteenth-Century Factory Maintenance

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1447 18th-C factory maintenance: messier than Diderot showed us.  Today, a question of image and reality.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2510: Reason in All Things

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2510 Reason in all things: Augustine, Galileo, Collins, The Human Genome, and God.  Today, Augustine, Galileo, and the human genome.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2488: Creator vs. Revisor

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2488 Revision: An Essential Component of the Creative Process.  Today, creator vs. revisor.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2823: Hypnotic Crimes

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2823 Gilles de la Tourette and Hypnotic Crimes.  Today, hypnotic crimes.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1444: ThrustSSC : 763 MPH

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1444 In which ThrustSSC passes the sound barrier on land.  Today, a very fast car.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1443: Praising the Famous

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1443 Some thoughts on fame and fortune in technology.  Today, thoughts on fame and fortune.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1442: Walter Chrysler and the texture of fame

20 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1442 Walter Chrysler and the texture of fame.  Today, an odd glimpse of the texture of fame.

The Engines of our Ingenuity 1441: Secret New York

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1441 The secret places that define a city.  Today, we look for the secret places that complete a city.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2507: The Unsung Engineer

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2507 The Unsung Engineer: The Mechanical Arts in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie.  Today, celebrating the mechanical arts.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3330: Castle Drogo

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3330 Building 20th century Castle Drogo Designed by Edwin Lutyens.  Today, building a twentieth-century Castle.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2816: Beginning Volcanology

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2816 Sir William Hamilton and the Beginnings of Volcanology.  Today, the beginnings of volcanology.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1440: Steam Engines in England

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1440 Steam engines in England during the 18th century.  Today, a look at steam engines in 18th-century England.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1439: A Capital Ship on an Ocean Trip

14 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1439 A capital ship on an ocean trip: a reflection on battleships.  Today, let's talk about battleships.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1438: The XP-75

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1438 The story of a failed airplane design -- the XP-75.  Today, we try to build a perfect airplane.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1436: Adding It Up in 1910

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1436 Adding it up in 1910: A book grapples with the coming 20th century.  Today, a world prepares to be transformed.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2503: Rod Serling

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2503 Story-Teller Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone.  Today, a story — submitted for your approval.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2684: Will Computers Replace Scientists?

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2684 Will Computers Replace Scientists?  Today, will computers replace scientists?

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2873: Encounter of the Third Kind

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2873 The Search for Extraterrestrial Life; Drake Equation Explained; Aliens from Other Planets.  Today, an encounter of the third kind.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1435: Rudolph Diesel

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1435 Rudolf Diesel, his engine, and a look at invention.  Today, meet Rudolf Diesel.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1434: Systems, Complexity, and Simplicity

07 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1434 Reflections on systems, complexity, and modern life.  Today, let's see what happens when our technologies join forces.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1432: Decisiveness

06 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1432 Thoughts in dispraise of decisiveness.  Today, let's not decide.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1431: Dogs

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1431 In which dogs humanize us.  Today, some sidelights on the history of dogs.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2501: Nietzsche, Strauss, and Kubrick

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2501 Nietzsche, Strauss, Kubrick, and a Trilogy of Metaphor.  Today, a story — in three parts.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2790: Vaccine Scares

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2790 The Dynamics of Vaccine Scares.  Today, let's talk about vaccine scares.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2714: Hub Motors

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2714 Hub Motors, aka In-Wheel Motors and their applications in electric vehicles.  Today, re-inventing...wheels.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1430: A Concern About Genius

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1430 A concern about the complexity and danger of genius.  Today, I find genius puzzling.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1429: Russian Air Records

31 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1429 Joseph Stalin and Russian aircraft records in the 1930s.  Today, Joseph Stalin tries to set flight distance records.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1428: Men and Self-Destruction

30 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1428 Why do men self-destruct and die sooner than women?  Today, men self-destruct.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1427: Dominique de Menil

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1427 Dominique de Menil, a creative legacy.  Today, I learn something at a fancy benefit dinner.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3329: As the Mind Ages

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3329 Cognitive Decline as We Age.  Today, a well-tempered mind.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2884: Images of Kanji

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2884 Communicating Through Pictures: The Japanese Language.  Today, the images of Kanji.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2813: An Ancient Earthquake

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2813 Seneca the Younger and the Great Earthquake of 62 AD.  Today, an ancient earthquake.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3328: A Horse Adventure

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3328 A Brief History of Horses, and their role in Japan.  Today, an adventure on horseback.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1426: Skyscrapers

24 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1426 The skyscraper: a Phoenix out of the great Chicago Fire.  Today, let's talk about skyscrapers.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1425: Transatlantic Cable

23 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1425 Laying the transatlantic telegraph cable.  Today, Queen Victoria sends a telegram to President Buchanan.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1424: La Sylphide

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1424 La Sylphide: an elemental in the Industrial Revolution.  Today, a ballet gives us an odd window into history.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3327: Pasteurization

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3327 Different Methods of Pasteurization in Different Countries.  Today, an experiment.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2658: Massively Multiplayer Mathematics

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2658 Massively Multiplayer Mathematics.  Today, let's talk massively multiplayer mathematics.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2456: Ode To Kodachrome

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 2456 The invention and history of Kodachrome film.  Today, photographic memory.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3326: Aeroplane Structures

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3326 An old book on airplane structures reveals its secrets.  Today, we build old aeroplanes.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1423: The Day I Met Einstein

17 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1423 An encounter with Einstein.  Today, a young man lets history slip by him.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1422: Alexandria

16 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 1422 Technology in Alexandria, ca. 200 BC.  Today, a 2200-year-old age of invention.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3325: Machines That Forgot to Fail

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode: 3325 Machines That Forgot How to Fail: An AI Guest’s Perspective on Reliability.  Today, our guest, ChatGPT, talks about machines that fo...