This Week I Learned - Week #15 2025

This Week I Learned - 

* Never a dull day in the AI world - Offering sophisticated multimodal features, Meta has introduced Llama 4, their newest open-weight AI models comprising Scout, Maverick, and Behemoth. The models are based on a novel "mixture of experts" (MoE) architecture.

Llama 4 is trained to operate with both text and visual inputs like photographs or videos. It uses a technique called early fusion, meaning it processes all input types through one combined system from the beginning. This lets it be trained all at once on a combination of text, image, and video data.

Scout can operate effectively on one high-end graphics card—the NVIDIA H100.

While Maverick has 17 billion active parameter models with 128 experts, Llama 4 Scout with the same 17 billion active parameters is constructed using 16 experts.

In artificial intelligence, parameters are similar to brain cells in that they enable the model to learn from data, interpret language and make informed decisions. More  the parameters, the smarter is the model.

Experts are specialised components of the model. It chooses a handful of these "experts" depending on the task rather than applying the entire model every time, hence increasing speed and efficiency.

* Apache Superset is an Open-Source Data Visualization and Data Exploration Platform capable of handling data at petabyte scale -

• Provides a powerful alternative to Tableau.

• Supports a wide range of data sources.

• Offers various visualization options.

• Suitable for diverse use cases.

• Originally a hack-a-thon project by Maxime Beauchemin.

• Initiated through the Apache Incubator program in 2017.

* QuillBot is a writing assistant providing features like summarizing, paraphrasing and grammar checking. It was started by Anil Jason, Rohan Gupta & Dave Silin in 2017.

* The Data Visualization Society connects data visualizers across tech stacks, subject areas, and experience: we invite you to be part of our community. There is a lot of useful content on their YouTube channel.

* Jer Thorp is one of the world's foremost data artists. He was the New York Times' first Data Artist in Residence. 

* "All the projects that I’ve had to make, I had to make because I couldn’t find anything better that somebody else did. But I much prefer other people solving my problems for me. So me having to come up with a project is actually a failure of the world—and the world just hasn’t failed in the last 20 years for me." - Linus Torvalds, created Linux 34 years ago and Git 20 years ago

* GitHub started 17 years ago.

* China accounts for over 70% of global output of consumer electronics.

* What NOT to do if you spill any liquid on a laptop, according to Gemini:

• Don't panic and move the laptop erratically.
• Don't use a hairdryer or other heat sources.
• Don't shake the laptop violently.
• Don't try to turn it on immediately.
• Don't use a cloth that sheds lint.

Follow these steps instead:

1. Immediately Power Down and Unplug

2. Remove the Battery (If Possible)

3. Drain Excess Liquid

4. Absorb Surface Moisture using a soft, lint-free cloth or paper towels to gently blot away any visible liquid

5. Open and Air Dry

* Beavers' teeth are orange because they contain iron, which strengthens the enamel and makes them incredibly durable. This iron-rich enamel helps beavers gnaw through tough tree trunks and branches without wearing down their teeth too quickly.

* Severe muscle cramps and spasms may be linked to hypomagnesemia — a condition caused by low magnesium levels due to excessive use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), a class of drugs commonly used to treat acidity. Muscle cramps aren’t just metabolic. Dehydration, overuse, electrolyte imbalance, or even prolonged use of diuretics can contribute.

* The "Brilliant Minds" medical drama series, and its main character, is inspired by the life and work of Dr. Oliver Wolf Sacks (1933-2015), a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer, and his books "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales" (1985) and "An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales" (1995).

* "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired" - Jules Renard (1864-1910), French author