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1. The History of Science and the Science of History: Computational Methods, Algorithms, and the Future of the Field

   Gibson, Abraham; Ermus, Cindy (September 2019, Isis)

   Many researchers insist that computational methods will transform the historical profession, while an equally large number reject these claims as unwarranted hype. In this study, we attempt to place the debate in historical and social context. The article is divided into three parts. The first part offers a brief review of computational history. We ask whether the “computational turn” bears any resemblance to quantitative history, and how it fits within the digital humanities. The second part describes our recent attempts to apply computational methods to an existing project in the history of science using a standardized workflow. We demonstrate that each step of the workflow adds another layer of subjectivity. The third part reflects on what computational methods mean for the historical profession. We systematically review the positive aspects of computational history (open access, interdisciplinary collaboration, and new perspectives) as well as the negative aspects (inequality, fragility, and the threat of automation), and we offer prescriptions based on our experiences. 

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2. The History of Science and the Science of History: Computational Methods, Algorithms, and the Future of the Field

   https://doi.org/10.1086/705543  

   Gibson, Abraham; Ermus, Cindy (September 2019, Isis)
3. Measurement of the mass difference and the binding energy of the hypertriton and antihypertriton

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-0799-7  

   J. Adam, L. Adamczyk (April 2020, Nature Physics)

   According to the CPT theorem, which states that the combined operation of charge conjugation, parity transformation and time reversal must be conserved, particles and their antiparticles should have the same mass and lifetime but opposite charge and magnetic moment. Here, we test CPT symmetry in a nucleus containing a strange quark, more specifically in the hypertriton. This hypernucleus is the lightest one yet discovered and consists of a proton, a neutron and a Λ hyperon. With data recorded by the STAR detector1–3 at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we measure the Λ hyperon binding energy BΛ for the hypertriton, and find that it differs from the widely used value4 and from predictions5–8, where the hypertriton is treated as a weakly bound system. Our results place stringent constraints on the hyperon–nucleon interaction9,10 and have implications for understanding neutron star interiors, where strange matter may be present11. A precise comparison of the masses of the hypertriton and the antihypertriton allows us to test CPT symmetry in a nucleus with strangeness, and we observe no deviation from the expected exact symmetry. 

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4. The Fluidity of Phosphocholine and Maltoside Micelles and the Effect of CHAPS

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2019.03.019  

   Kieber, Marissa; Ono, Tomihiro; Oliver, Ryan C.; Nyenhuis, Sarah B.; Tieleman, D. Peter; Columbus, Linda (May 2019, Biophysical Journal)
5. Learning through the grapevine and the impact of the breadth and depth of social networks

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2205549119  

   Jackson, Matthew O.; Malladi, Suraj; McAdams, David (August 2022, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   We study how communication platforms can improve social learning without censoring or fact-checking messages, when they have members who deliberately and/or inadvertently distort information. Message fidelity depends on social network depth (how many times information can be relayed) and breadth (the number of others with whom a typical user shares information). We characterize how the expected number of true minus false messages depends on breadth and depth of the network and the noise structure. Message fidelity can be improved by capping depth or, if that is not possible, limiting breadth, e.g., by capping the number of people to whom someone can forward a given message. Although caps reduce total communication, they increase the fraction of received messages that have traveled shorter distances and have had less opportunity to be altered, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. 

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