The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price.

In the recent past, you probably attended a virtual lunch-and-learn presentation, read an article, or had a discussion with a controls sales representative in which the topic was a chilled water plant ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you’ve been making the same commute for a long time, you’ve probably settled on what seems like the best route. But “best” is a ...