Latest news with #JohnConway
New York Times
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Leaving the City for the Farm Is a Hard Row to Hoe. But They Did It.
In August 1969, when Max Yasgur hosted the Woodstock Music and Art Fair at his farm in Bethel, N.Y., he wasn't the kind of guy you'd expect to revel in 'three days of peace and music.' Yasgur, then 49, was a conservative Republican who supported the Vietnam War. He was also the biggest dairy farmer in Sullivan County, and his interest in inviting nearly half a million hippies to his land was driven by the rental fee he could charge, which would help offset recent flood damage at the farm. 'The vagaries of farming obviously played a huge role in the fact that Woodstock happened here,' said John Conway, Sullivan County's historian. Woodstock became a junction between America's agricultural tradition and a postwar generation that was rejecting the consumer culture their parents had built by going 'back to the garden.' Half a century later, our era of environmental decay and ultraprocessed foods is still stoking that countercultural impulse, as new generations of back-to-landers get acquainted with the 'vagaries of farming' in the 21st century. The urge to farm among young people is gaining strength. In Sullivan County, the latest census data show that of the 749 producers reported, 36 percent were new and beginning farmers. We spoke with Sullivan County farmers of all ages who followed their own calls to the land, finding ways to sustain their commitment any way they can. The Flower Children Who Stuck It Out Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Gizmodo
05-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
This Weird Pyramid Always Lands on the Same Face, Confirming 40-Year-Old Theory
'Bille' is the first-ever monostable tetrahedron, or a pyramid-like shape with four triangular faces that has one stable resting position. What this means is that Bille, no matter how you throw it and how it lands, will flip back on exactly the same side every single time. In a recent preprint submitted to arXiv, mathematicians revealed the first physical model of Bille, closing a decades-old theory proposed by the renowned British mathematician John Conway. Made of lightweight carbon fiber and dense tungsten carbide, Bille represents an array of ridiculously sophisticated engineering decisions—making this as much a technological achievement as a mathematical one. It's no surprise, therefore, that its self-righting property additionally hints at some exciting applications for the spaceflight industry—which notably experienced two recent landing mishaps with toppled-over lunar landers. In his initial conjecture, Conway surmised that a tetrahedron with unevenly distributed weight across its sides would always flip to the same side, although a few years later Conway himself rejected the idea. Some mathematicians still thought there could be something to it, however, namely study co-author Robert Dawson, who almost succeeded in proving Conway right in the 1980s using lead foil and sticks of bamboo. 'But my recollection was that this only almost worked because of angular momentum,' Dawson, now a mathematician at Saint Mary's University in Canada, told Gizmodo. 'In the way that if a car comes across a bump in the road and it's already moving, it'll get over it thanks to angular momentum. But it might have a hard time starting up against that bump.' Ideally, the monostable tetrahedron shouldn't need another push to flop back on the 'base' side. For a while, it seemed like Conway's theory would end up in a box of really-cool-but-unlikely math ideas—until about three years ago, when mathematician Gábor Domokos and his student, Gergő Almádi at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, reached out to Dawson. Domokos, a long-time expert on tricky balancing problems in geometry, had already discovered the gömböc, a roundish object that balances only on two points like a roly-poly toy. While an impressive discovery, the gömböc, with its mostly round, multi-sided design, features relatively easy conditions for self-balancing, Domoko told Gizmodo. The fewer sides a figure has and the smaller the angles are on each side, the harder it is to make that figure monostable, he said. Picture the common six-sided die. 'If it is a fair die, it will land on each face with equal probability,' Domoko explained. Even if someone cheats and modifies the die by putting some extra weight on a couple of surfaces, the probability will shift slightly, but it should still be possible for the die to stand on all its faces. In that sense, the tetrahedron, with its pointy corners and tiny acute angles across its four sides, makes it the 'most difficult problem, the highest category' of shapes in terms of monostability—barring some kind of engineering miracle. Which really happened. After deriving a theoretical model to calculate Bille's dimensions, Almádi, an architecture student, spearheaded the quest to build a structure that, somehow, had one side made from a 'really heavy material, the lighter parts almost air, and an almost empty skeleton,' Domokos said. The team settled on carbon tubes for the skeleton and, for the base, dense tungsten carbide—a metal alloy twice as heavy as steel. Even after all that, an issue remained: For some reason, Bille kept landing on two different sides, not the one intended side. 'Then we looked at it, and there was a very small glob of glue which was sticking to one end!' Domoko exclaimed. Despite the chief engineer's assurances that it made no difference, Domoko insisted on removing the tiny blob of glue—the density and shape of which were also calculated with ridiculous precision. And—voilà. Bille made mathematical history. That said, the engineers played a huge role in making this possible, Domokos clarified. 'They were all part of the creation process—the geometry, engineering, and technological design. They all needed to click. If you take out any of these, it doesn't work.' To make sure Bille wasn't just a one-time dud, Domokos' team succeeded in making a second model—though this probably isn't something one could easily make at home. 'We wish good luck to anyone doing it,' Domokos joked. 'But somebody doing it now has a huge advantage compared to us, because we didn't know whether it would work.' Domokos is particularly excited to see what might become of Bille further down the line. One reason Domokos didn't want to stop at merely modeling Bille was because of gömböc, he explained. Like many aesthetically pleasing mathematical breakthroughs, gömböc got a lot of love from artistic communities and natural scientists drawing parallels between turtle shells and gömböc—which Domokos more or less expected. What he didn't expect was that Novo Nordisk, in collaboration with MIT and Harvard, would take interest in gömböc's design principles for an insulin capsule that self-rights itself once inside a stomach, eliminating the need for needle injections. 'And it sounded so outlandish—like science fiction,' Domokos said. 'Gömböc taught me that physical objects are crucial—there are many bright people out there who are not mathematically minded, but they can look at something and it will reflect in their minds many other things.' Still, it'll probably be a while—if ever—before Bille ends up in the blueprint for the latest lunar lander, which Domokos knows will be extremely challenging. 'When you develop something, you have to wait and technological innovation will catch up. Sometimes it takes 100 years, sometimes it takes 10 years. Mathematics is always a little bit ahead.'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The shrewd ways Cornish second home owners are getting around council tax increases
Tax-avoiding second home owners in Cornish beauty spots are set to burn a hole in the local authority's balance sheet, councillors have warned. Cornwall Council had hoped to raise £24m by charging a punitive 100pc council tax premium on those with second residences in the county. But, officials have become increasingly concerned that affluent owners are exploiting loopholes to avoid the four-figure bills – such as transferring properties into their children's name. Other tactics being deployed include turning the property into a holiday let or putting it on the market with no intention of selling up. Cornwall is amongst hundreds of English local authorities introducing additional tax charges in April as part of a nationwide bid to deter second home ownership and balance council budgets. It means holiday home owners in the region can expect to pay an extra £2,460 on a Band D property or £4,920 for Band H. Cornwall currently has a budget gap of £100m and believes it can earn £23.7m in 2025-26 by charging the tax premium on 12,200 non-main residence properties. But councillor, Steve Arthur, believes the authority will struggle to hit those figures. He said: 'The council needs to be careful. They're banking on this double council tax to bring in so many millions to shore up the finances. 'But they shouldn't spend this money before they've got it because there are ways around paying it. 'People are going to think, well, 'I've only got to put it in my son or daughter's name and I can save myself thousands of pounds a year'.' Cornwall is the second home capital of England, with around one in 20 homes in the county being second homes. Hotspots such as Cawsand and Padstow have an even higher concentration. The Truro area – which includes attractions such as St Ives and Falmouth – has seen a surge of properties hit the market ahead of the introduction of a tax premium. But many owners are still planning on staying put. Cllr John Conway said: 'Whether it's making it a holiday let, trying to put the property in someone else's name or some other ways that they come up with, I am absolutely convinced those with second homes will do everything they can not to pay the extra tax. 'The various tactics will make it like a learning curve for the council this year. 'The head of compliance will look into any houses that are trying to avoid it. They'll be looked at closely to make sure everything is being done properly.' As part of Cornwall's tax premium, owners can be granted a 12-month exemption if their home is listed for sale. This rule has already been enforced in Wales, with estate agents in Pembrokeshire telling The Telegraph that owners were pretending to sell up in order to save thousands of pounds. Across the country, an increasing number of second home owners are also turning their properties into holiday lets and registering them as businesses in a bid to reduce extra council tax charges. Cllr Arthur believes the simple step Cornish parents will utilise is handing over ownership to their children. He said: 'They'll realise that 'Oh, little 18-year-old Johnny hasn't got a house yet, so let's put his name down as council tax'. It's a simple solution.' However, Chris Etherington, of tax firm RSM, said such action is riddled with potential pitfalls. He said: 'Parents might think they are solving a problem by gifting a property but could end up creating larger ones if they don't look at the whole picture. 'Home owners could trigger a series of tax headaches if they fail to consider the wider implications of transferring a property. 'The gift of a property to a child can give rise to a capital gains tax bill, which may need to be reported and paid within 60 days, even if no sale proceeds are received by the parent. 'There may be an inheritance tax bill payable if the parent making the gift does not survive the gift by seven years. HMRC will ordinarily seek to recover any inheritance tax due from the recipient of the gift in the first instance.' Putting a second home in the name of a child will also impact their status as a first-time buyer in the future. For instance, when they come to buy a first home, they will not be able to use the perks of a lifetime Isa or Help to Buy Isa. Mr Etherington added: 'If there is a mortgage on the property, which the child takes over in return for the gift, there could be a stamp duty land tax bill to pay as a result. ' Cornwall Council, which is increasing standard council tax by 4.99pc from April, was approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The shrewd ways Cornish second home owners are getting around council tax increases
Tax-avoiding second home owners in Cornish beauty spots are set to burn a hole in the local authority's balance sheet, councillors have warned. Cornwall Council had hoped to raise £24m by charging a punitive 100pc council tax premium on those with second residences in the county. But, officials have become increasingly concerned that affluent owners are exploiting loopholes to avoid the four-figure bills – such as transferring properties into their children's name. Other tactics being deployed include turning the property into a holiday let or putting it on the market with no intention of selling up. Cornwall is amongst hundreds of English local authorities introducing additional tax charges in April as part of a nationwide bid to deter second home ownership and balance council budgets. It means holiday home owners in the region can expect to pay an extra £2,460 on a Band D property or £4,920 for Band H. Cornwall currently has a budget gap of £100m and believes it can earn £23.7m in 2025-26 by charging the tax premium on 12,200 non-main residence properties. But councillor, Steve Arthur, believes the authority will struggle to hit those figures. He said: 'The council needs to be careful. They're banking on this double council tax to bring in so many millions to shore up the finances. 'But they shouldn't spend this money before they've got it because there are ways around paying it. 'People are going to think, well, 'I've only got to put it in my son or daughter's name and I can save myself thousands of pounds a year'.' Cornwall is the second home capital of England, with around one in 20 homes in the county being second homes. Hotspots such as Cawsand and Padstow have an even higher concentration. The Truro area – which includes attractions such as St Ives and Falmouth – has seen a surge of properties hit the market ahead of the introduction of a tax premium. But many owners are still planning on staying put. Cllr John Conway said: 'Whether it's making it a holiday let, trying to put the property in someone else's name or some other ways that they come up with, I am absolutely convinced those with second homes will do everything they can not to pay the extra tax. 'The various tactics will make it like a learning curve for the council this year. 'The head of compliance will look into any houses that are trying to avoid it. They'll be looked at closely to make sure everything is being done properly.' As part of Cornwall's tax premium, owners can be granted a 12-month exemption if their home is listed for sale. This rule has already been enforced in Wales, with estate agents in Pembrokeshire telling The Telegraph that owners were pretending to sell up in order to save thousands of pounds. Across the country, an increasing number of second home owners are also turning their properties into holiday lets and registering them as businesses in a bid to reduce extra council tax charges. Cllr Arthur believes the simple step Cornish parents will utilise is handing over ownership to their children. He said: 'They'll realise that 'Oh, little 18-year-old Johnny hasn't got a house yet, so let's put his name down as council tax'. It's a simple solution.' However, Chris Etherington, of tax firm RSM, said such action is riddled with potential pitfalls. He said: 'Parents might think they are solving a problem by gifting a property but could end up creating larger ones if they don't look at the whole picture. 'Home owners could trigger a series of tax headaches if they fail to consider the wider implications of transferring a property. 'The gift of a property to a child can give rise to a capital gains tax bill, which may need to be reported and paid within 60 days, even if no sale proceeds are received by the parent. 'There may be an inheritance tax bill payable if the parent making the gift does not survive the gift by seven years. HMRC will ordinarily seek to recover any inheritance tax due from the recipient of the gift in the first instance.' Putting a second home in the name of a child will also impact their status as a first-time buyer in the future. For instance, when they come to buy a first home, they will not be able to use the perks of a lifetime Isa or Help to Buy Isa. Mr Etherington added: 'If there is a mortgage on the property, which the child takes over in return for the gift, there could be a stamp duty land tax bill to pay as a result. ' Cornwall Council, which is increasing standard council tax by 4.99pc from April, was approached for comment.
