Essays

Where are Vacation Homes Located in the US?

As of 2023, the US has around 142.3 million housing units: roughly one home for every 2.4 people in the country.

Jul 24 •

How China Became the World’s Biggest Shipbuilder

Since 2017, China has been the largest shipbuilder in the world.

Jul 18 •

Should the Federal Government Sell Land?

An early version of the US Senate budget bill which passed last week included a provision to sell off between 2 and 3 million acres of federal land in…

Jul 10 •

Why Are Homes in Western States So Expensive?

Earlier this month I came across the following graphic, originally posted on Reddit in 2022, showing the state of housing affordability in the US.

Jun 26 •

How Batteries Are Making the Electrical Grid More Reliable

To operate reliably, the US electrical grid needs to balance supply and demand: to make sure, at any given moment, that the amount of electricity…

Jun 19 •

How Common Is Multiple Invention?

When Alexander Graham Bell filed a patent for the telephone on February 14th, 1876, he beat competing telephone developer Elisha Gray to the patent…

Jun 5 •

Can We Afford Large-Scale Solar PV?

In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies.

May 29 •

Japan and the Birth of Modern Shipbuilding

How Japan invented modern shipbuilding, and conquered the shipbuilding industry in the process.

May 22 •

Improving Naval Ship Acquisition

This is a policy proposal written by Austin Vernon and myself for improving US naval shipbuilding.

May 15 •

and

How the US Built 5,000 Ships in WWII

Among the most impressive manufacturing achievements of the US during WWII was the number of ships it produced.

May 7 •

Robot Dexterity Still Seems Hard

You can’t throw a rock these days without hitting someone trying to build humanoid robots.

Apr 24 •

50 Things I’ve Learned Writing Construction Physics

I’ve been writing Construction Physics since September of 2020.

Apr 17 •

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