[medius]

This is one of the most amazing things about humans to me. I marvel at how it's possible to get so much information about our universe by observing so little. Astronomy is another field that I'm really impressed with. It's possible to infer things about galaxies, stars, planets, etc. just buy observing some light coming from them to our little blue planet. Absolutely crazy.

How many such techniques we haven't even discovered or technology is not there to observe such things?

I really enjoyed reading Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark that explores such things.

[lubujackson]

I always love reading the crazy new techniques for extracting text from rotten old paper and papyrus. I distinctly remember reading a few months back an article about someone detecting trace chemicals from an old pocket bible or something, and deduced the owner had liver disease or something equally insane. wish I could find that article!

[klenwell]

I was just about to post the link to this New Yorker article in response to GP's question. I believe this is the one you're referring to:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/26/do-proteins-ho...

Under the right conditions, proteins can survive for millions of years. In recent years, proteomic studies of art works and archeological remains have yielded biological information of startling clarity, revealing gossamer-thin layers of fish glue on seventeenth-century religious sculptures and identifying children’s milk teeth from pits of previously unrecognizable Neolithic bones.

[lubujackson]

Yes! Thank you, it was somehow impossible to Google this.

[medius]

Sherlock Holmes would be envious of such abilities.

[gonehome]

I also really liked Our Mathematical Universe.

You’d probably like this short story which is about exactly what you’re describing: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5wMcKNAwB6X4mp9og/that-alien...

[weberc2]

Regarding astronomy, the more amazing things are what we've been able to predict by mathematical inference before we had the technology to validate the predictions.

[signa11]

on similar lines, imho, mendleev’s periodic table is also quite amazing. it is now close to 150 years old !!!

from a random page on the web

‘’’

Mendeleev realized that the physical and chemical properties of elements were related to their atomic mass in a 'periodic' way, and arranged them so that groups of elements with similar properties fell into vertical columns in his table.

Gaps and predictions Sometimes this method of arranging elements meant there were gaps in his horizontal rows or 'periods'. But instead of seeing this as a problem, Mendeleev thought it simply meant that the elements which belonged in the gaps had not yet been discovered. He was also able to work out the atomic mass of the missing elements, and so predict their properties. And when they were discovered, Mendeleev turned out to be right. For example, he predicted the properties of an undiscovered element that should fit below aluminum in his table. When this element, called gallium, was discovered in 1875 its properties were found to be close to Mendeleev's predictions. Two other predicted elements were later discovered, lending further credit to Mendeleev's table.

‘’’

[girzel]

> what we've been able to predict by mathematical inference

Or purely mathematical intuition.