Kotliar Lab / publication 01
Issue 1 published / August 26, 2026
WEEKLY
Five inquiry files. One continuing thread. A publication built to show its working.
Editorial notation
Evidence is an observation, measurement, document, or source that can be inspected and challenged.
Interpretation is the explanation placed on evidence. Plausible interpretations can compete.
Prediction states what should happen next if an interpretation is useful.
01
Demography / war
How Many Men Can Ukraine Actually Mobilize?
The demographic arithmetic is less hopeless than some headlines suggest—and far more constrained than a simple population count implies.
Open inquiry 01.102
Political structure
What Happens to MAGA After Trump?
Trump built a political movement around himself. The harder question is whether that movement can survive the disappearance of its founder.
Open inquiry 01.203
Brains + AI
If We Simulated Every Neuron, Would We Have a Brain?
The answer depends less on how many neurons we simulate than on what we mean by “simulate.”
Open inquiry 01.304
Research review
How Much Protein Do We Actually Need?
The official RDA answers one question. Most people asking about protein are actually asking a different one.
Open inquiry 01.405
History of science
When Geologists Thought the Rocks Recorded Noah's Flood
Early geologists did not simply ignore evidence because they believed the Bible. Many investigated the rocks precisely because they thought the evidence might reveal how the biblical world worked.
Open inquiry 01.5Continuing file
Brains
+ AI
The issue article defines the opening question. The thread keeps the question alive across later observations, objections, and revisions.
Follow the investigation