A few years ago, my mum started ghosting me, without ever explaining why. I’ve written a piece for @aeon.co about how this estrangement created an odd kind of amnesia. It explores the role family narratives play in our identity - and what happens when they crumble aeon.co/essays/when-...

Since Leibniz was born #OTD, resharing this popular @psyche.co piece about misconceptions of his view of optimism - by @sumit.alternity.com psyche.co/ideas/why-it...

The strange rocks of the Anthropocene, which blur the boundary between natural and unnatural #geosciences #earthscientists 🧪 aeon.co/essays/the-s...

I stayed here recently www.bbc.com/future/artic...

In the Atacama Desert, astronomers live and work in a James Bond villain lair

Daniel Craig's James Bond battled a malign villain here. But Chile's futuristic Residencia is actually home to astronomers.

bbc.co.uk

Really interesting article by @richardfisher.bsky.social www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Chile's Atacama Desert is one of the darkest places on Earth. But now the light is intruding

Humanity’s artificial glow is swallowing the night sky. Even astronomers in this remote observatory in the South American desert cannot escape it.

bbc.com

“What's at stake is our understanding of the Universe itself.” @richardfisher.bsky.social is as excellent as ever - on the encroachment of artificial light into the home of star-gazing: www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Chile's Atacama Desert is one of the darkest places on Earth. But now the light is intruding

Humanity’s artificial glow is swallowing the night sky. Even astronomers in this remote observatory in the South American desert cannot escape it.

bbc.co.uk

"From the planet’s perspective, we’re actually quite a shallow species. Our future scraping by up here on the surface depends on coming to terms with that." A cracking new @aeon.co essay from @jamesdinneen.bsky.social about the deep Earth aeon.co/essays/how-d...

I had great fun writing this about David Attenborough's childhood fossil collecting. I went to Leicester for the day, tracing his route from his former home (on the university campus) to the fossil sites like Tilton-on-the-Hill which he visited as boy #earthscience www.bbc.com/future/artic...

'It was one of the key moments of my life': The thrilling fossil discoveries that sparked Attenborough's love for nature

Fossils fascinated Sir David Attenborough throughout his childhood. The BBC retraces the steps of Sir David's formative experiences roaming the British countryside.

bbc.com

🚨 Everyone, I have some personal news! 🚨 Today, I am announcing my new coaching service for writers - yes, journalists, but also anyone who uses writing in their work and who wants to stand out in a world increasingly awash with AI-generated copy! 🤖 🚫 chrisbaraniuk.com/coaching/

Chris Baraniuk: Non-fiction Writing Coach & Mentor

Chris Baraniuk, freelance science journalist, is a writing coach & mentor based in Northern Ireland.

chrisbaraniuk.com

You should read this cool piece by my friend @richardfisher.bsky.social about David Attenborough's childhood obsession with fossils! www.bbc.com/future/artic...

'It was one of the key moments of my life': The thrilling fossil discoveries that sparked Attenborough's love for nature

Fossils fascinated Sir David Attenborough throughout his childhood. The BBC retraces the steps of Sir David's formative experiences roaming the British countryside.

bbc.com

Why reality is more than the sum of its particles - by quantum matter physicist Felix Flicker for @aeon.co aeon.co/essays/why-r... ⚛️

The illustration subtly echoes the themes of this essay... click/press on it

Aeon Magazine@aeon.co · 3mo ago

‘The whole is not just more than the sum of the parts: it is also different.’ This Essay takes you on a deep dive into the most elementary parts of our Universe to question whether it is really made from its smallest constituents

‘The whole is not just more than the sum of the parts: it is also different.’ This Essay takes you on a deep dive into the most elementary parts of our Universe to question whether it is really made from its smallest constituents

Why reality is more than the sum of its particles | Aeon Essays

Particles are nature’s smallest constituents, but that doesn’t mean they’re fundamental. So what is the Universe made of?

buff.ly

I had great fun writing this about David Attenborough's childhood fossil collecting. I went to Leicester for the day, tracing his route from his former home (on the university campus) to the fossil sites like Tilton-on-the-Hill which he visited as boy #earthscience www.bbc.com/future/artic...

'It was one of the key moments of my life': The thrilling fossil discoveries that sparked Attenborough's love for nature

Fossils fascinated Sir David Attenborough throughout his childhood. The BBC retraces the steps of Sir David's formative experiences roaming the British countryside.

bbc.com

Two radically different training philosophies have come to dominate running: the precision-engineered ‘Norwegian Method’ and the group-based training styles embraced by many East African runners. Recent results speak for themselves: the more social, embodied approach is winning out

What Ethiopian running says about the limits of human ability | Aeon Essays

One school of training is highly personalised, technical and data-driven. The other is the one that wins marathons

buff.ly

Lately I've aimed to commission scientists to write about the open questions & uncertainties in their field. This essay on 'little red dots' by astrophysicist Jenny Greene is an example. If you're a scientist who'd like to communicate your own work, get in touch #SciComm🧪 aeon.co/essays/why-l...

Female and Jewish in a country and era that did not allow such bodies to exist, the mathematical world offered Emmy Noether an escape from the physical. Her influential theorems on the timelessness of the laws of physics reflect her yearning for the unbound

She freed physics, but Emmy Noether couldn’t escape herself | Aeon Essays

In the early 20th century, Emmy Noether’s mathematics transcended the physical world. She longed to do the same herself

buff.ly

On mathematical beauty - by @ritaahmadi.bsky.social aeon.co/essays/how-s...

‘A historical view of our relationship with orcas reveals that they have often served as a Rorschach test for humanity’s conflicted attitudes toward the sea.’ This Essay by environmental historian Jason Colby explores how our understanding of orcas has shifted over the last century

Orcas haven’t changed, but our view of the killer whale has | Aeon Essays

Sea pandas or sadistic killers? These enigmatic creatures invite contradictory labels that say far more about us than them

buff.ly

The long-term relationship between people and orcas, from killers to sea pandas to avengers - an excellent essay from historian Jason Colby that was a pleasure to work on aeon.co/essays/orcas...

Major news for Dads everywhere www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...

Ask Wirecutter: Stop Stressing About Turning Off the Lights When Leaving the Room!

If you’re of a certain age, you may be following outdated light bulb advice.

nytimes.com

I don't know if that was generally incredibly well-written, or if I just think so because it had exactly the level of technical detail I required to stick with the thread, but damn that was an interesting read.

Aeon Magazine@aeon.co · 6mo ago

In recent years, evidence has been accumulating for a third class of particles called ‘anyons’ which rewrite the rules for how particles move, interact, and combine. However, they’re theoretically possible only in 2D, so what kind of reality do they actually possess? if any at all?

Philosopher @elayshech.bsky.social explains the mind-bending reality of a third class of 2D particles called 'anyons' - using baseballs, holes, loops, and a coffee cup that's topologically equivalent to a doughnut aeon.co/essays/anyon...

The life and work of Satyendra Nath Bose - who lent his name to bosons, collaborated with Einstein, and shaped quantum mechanics aeon.co/essays/why-s...

If you missed this before Christmas, this @aeon.co piece by @karenlloyd.bsky.social is terrific. I really enjoyed working on it. (+ thanks to my colleague Sam Dresser for the inspired headline: 'Long live the aeonophiles!') aeon.co/essays/the-d...

This was the most read piece on Psyche in Nov/Dec and I can't get enough of the picture psyche.co/guides/how-t...

They're not "waiting to return to the surface," they're waiting for the planet to be blasted into pebbles to that they can reach another star-system #panspermia #intraterrestrials #aeonophiles https://aeon.co/essays/the-discovery-of-aeonophiles-expands-our-definition-of-life

The discovery of aeonophiles expands our definition of life | Aeon Essays

The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life

aeon.co

The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life. An Essay by @karenlloyd.bsky.social

The discovery of aeonophiles expands our definition of life | Aeon Essays

The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life

aeon.co

When you need to complete a complex task, imagine daubing paint on a canvas rather than perfecting intricate brushwork. A Note to Self by @richardfisher.bsky.social

The unfinished painting that captures perfectionism | Psyche Notes to Self

When you need to complete a complex task, imagine daubing paint on a canvas rather than perfecting intricate brushwork

psyche.co

As an editor for @aeon.co, commissioning an essay about ultra-long-lived organisms called *aeonophiles* was a no-brainer. I loved working on this. Biologist @karenlloyd.bsky.social's research is deeply fascinating... + check out her brilliant book Intraterrestrials! aeon.co/essays/the-d...