Doing some experiments with #RayTracing #ComputerGraphics using #Bonzomatic #GLSL #shader editor.

I define a 24-cell as the intersection of 24 half-spaces in 4D (with normals all permutations of (±1,±1,0,0)), then slice through constant 4th coordinate to get a 3D object, and simulate it as a glass-like material with reflection and refraction.

Future enhancement ideas:

- handle polarised light properly (currently I ignore polarisation, simply averaging the Fresnel reflection coefficients)

- wavelength-dependent index of refraction and absorption

- anti-aliasing (currently the edges are steppy as there is only 1 sample per pixel in a regular grid)

- improve efficiency (internal ray bounce is O(N^2) where N is the number of surfaces, could probably be O(N) with some extra maths insights)

- do 4D->3D slicing on CPU instead of every ray bounce

- add other 4D shapes

#Polarisation is something I haven't done before, so I'm curious to see how to implement it and how it changes appearance.

The #MultiPoD project: A European Public Space for Citizen Deliberation 🌐

At a time of #polarisation and political biases, can we foster an open and inclusive political deliberation across linguistic and socio-cultural boundaries?

#Decidim is participating in a new EU-funded project, MultiPoD, contributing to the conceptualisation and development of a digital collaborative infrastructure to foster political participation across #Europe.

Read more in our new article: https://decidim.org/blog/2025-04-10-the-multipod-project-a-european-public-space-for-citizen-deliberation/

"Democratic countries are now in the minority, freedom of expression is declining, and high levels of #disinformation and #polarisation fuel democratic backsliding."

New #Democracy Report from the V-Dem Institute:

https://www.v-dem.net/news/press-release-restrictions-to-freedom-of-expression-as-democracy-loses-ground/

#DefendDemocracy

⚔️🏛️🗳️ "#Polarisation stops political parties from cooperating and poisons relations between individuals."

Political scientist Frederico Ferreira da Silva and his colleagues at UNIL have studied the increase in what he describes as a "threat to #democracy."

➡️ https://sohub.io/rvd7

⚔️🏛️🗳️ «La #polarisation incite les partis à ne pas coopérer et empoisonne les relations entre individus.»

Le politologue Frederico Ferreira da Silva a étudié avec ses collègues à l’UNIL l’augmentation de ce qu’il qualifie de «menace pour la #démocratie».

➡️ https://sohub.io/wv7p

Cette étude met en évidence un nouveau clivage idéologique au sein des jeunes générations. Tandis que les jeunes femmes adoptent des positions plus progressistes, notamment sur l’immigration, les minorités et l’égalité des sexes, les jeunes hommes s’orientent davantage vers des idées conservatrices.
L’écart grandissant entre jeunes femmes et jeunes hommes en matière de satisfaction de vie et de confiance envers autrui éclaire les raisons profondes de ce fossé grandissant. Tandis que la satisfaction des jeunes femmes diminue, portée par une prise de conscience accrue des discriminations et inégalités depuis #MeToo, la méfiance interpersonnelle s’intensifie chez les jeunes hommes, ce qui favorise leur basculement vers des valeurs plus conservatrices.
Ce clivage générationnel et genré pose un enjeu politique et social majeur : comment reconstruire un dialogue dans une jeunesse dont les trajectoires idéologiques et les votes semblent de plus en plus opposés ?

https://www.cepremap.fr/2025/03/un-fosse-ideologique-grandissant-entre-jeunes-femmes-et-jeunes-hommes-en-france/

#OpenSsource implementation of #polarisation-resolved single-shot differential #phase contrast #microscopy (#pDPC) on a modular #openFrame-based #microscope:

-cost: ∼£2.5 k

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00622
#DIYbio #lab #instruments #QPI #imaging #fluorescence #infrared