"The orthodox interpretation (also called the textbook or Dirac-von Neumann interpretation) of quantum mechanics... is not Copenhagenish." I strongly recommend this paper by Matt Leifer and colleagues to all those who routinely confuse these two things. arxiv.org/abs/2506.00112

@philipcball.bsky.social "How Life Works" is an amazing MUST READ for anyone who wants to understand where biology is right now. It's a masterpiece. Dawkins was wrong. Genes are not selfish and not the deterministic blueprint for life. Just as important, the machine metaphor fails.

This is a good summary of where we are with Trump. First, he can no longer make thoughts, only fragments composed of a grab bag of ingrained tropes. Second, he can no longer distinguish when he's speaking to his lackeys or to the world. It's not even "This isn't fair", but merely...

Well I don't know quite what to make of this but the claim is striking: the first observation of entanglement within the human body, namely from annihilation photons generated during PET scanning. arxiv.org/abs/2606.29421

I just can't get my head around the fact that this bizarre object is whizzing through space at insane speed.

"It is also dawning on those within Reform that Nigel Farage is simply not acting like a man who expects to be PM. Where they might expect him to throw himself into his job, professionalise the party, handle its vetting, and come up with a policy platform, he is disappearing for weeks at a time."

The real story of the FOXP2 gene, & what it can & cannot tell us about human language, is complicated & fascinating, & it does not involve any extraterrestrials. If you want to learn more, some overviews of the science are here: www.cell.com/current-biol... & link.springer.com/article/10.1... 10/n🧪

25 years ago, we implicated rare variants of the FOXP2 gene in a severe speech disorder. I’ve spent much time stressing that FOXP2, while interesting, is not the mythical “gene for language”. Weirdly, on occasion I also need to explain why it’s not “proof of aliens”. Full disclosure in this 🧵. 1/n 🧪

I'm really looking forward to this event (it's in-person and live online) featuring Melanie Challenger, Nick Lane and @philipcball.bsky.social at the Royal Institution later this month. Alive: what life is, how it works, and why it matters. www.rigb.org/whats-on/ali...

I'd go further: if we native English speakers expect English to be the lingua franca (ha!) of most of the world, everyone who uses it gets to influence how it evolves. Phrases that aren't standard English, like "quite some" and "allows to", are then no longer really "wrong" at all.

Joao Alves in Vienna - "Writing is Thinking: If we hand the writing to a machine, we quietly hand over the thinking too." #astronomy #academia #academicchatter #eas2026

Here is my review for @thelancet.com of the excellent Beyond Belief by @helenpearson.bsky.social, on the rise of evidence-based decision making in medicine, social policy, policing, education and more. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Why is anyone today sending forms for expenses etc as pdfs that cannot be fully annotated and so must be printed and then scanned? Why is this still a thing?

What is life? This new paper analyses the views of a whole bunch of folks who think about such things to see what if any coherence and overlap is to be found among them. It turns out that @wiringthebrain.bsky.social is the most centrist of all... link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A reminder of what NAS President Marcia McNutt said in Nov 2024: "As the scientific community continues to do so now, it must take a critical look at what responsibility it bears in science becoming politically contentious, and how scientists can rebuild public trust." www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Premieres in half hour.

At last. Now the other government departments please.

I've developed a strong aversion to AI-generated slides in presentations. They look so ugly, and seem to discourage economy in how ideas are presented. Indeed, the problems are akin to those for AI text: the hard work of creation is bypassed, and it shows.

A terrific talk by @philipcball.bsky.social on The Space of Possible Minds

Revisiting this short piece, in preparation for our session on consciousness at #AISB today… jocnf.pubpub.org/pub/htx54kpm...

Do these tech bros actually believe it? I think they kinda do, which is possibly the more disturbing option.

Awesome — younger Hinton gegen present Hinton, via the sadly recently deceased Inman Harvey @anilseth.bsky.social #aisb #aiethics

Damned inconvenient to have to ask people if you can use their work for your own profit. This comment from Clegg crystallizes the problem, not least because it shows folks in the industry don't even understand the problem. musictech.com/news/industr...

One of the TV and Streaming picks of the weeks from both The Guardian and TV Times, the first four episodes of For the Record: An Incomplete History of Music are available to stream on YouTube now at www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Wait, I've seen this movie already.

Great night tonight at the @rigb.org with @helenczerski.bsky.social and @philipcball.bsky.social talking about the physics of sound and music for a For the Record event. Watch the documentary at youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Two excellent people, talking about one who was (IMO) less so. But a deeply interesting discussion nonetheless.

Special For the Record event at the historic RI tonight! Introduced by @trunkmanuk.bsky.social followed by two incredible talks on the physics of sound from @helenczerski.bsky.social & @philipcball.bsky.social. 7pm start, handful of tickets remaining - www.rigb.org/whats-on/rec...

Episode 4 tonight at 9pm. We look at the evolution of instruments and the invention of numerous ways to spread music from oral traditions to records and radio. And for long time Shambles fans, tonight's ep marks the first appearance of one @robinince.bsky.social youtu.be/2LWTLhOJbFA

OMG, they did it! Seriously, I am not worthy. 😍

Oh, 1976, yada yada. The top 5 hottest summers in the UK have all been since 2000. They were 2003, 2006, 2018, 2022 and 2025. This summer looks like being hotter. At the risk of seeming insulting, anyone who thinks climate change is a scam needs their heads examining.

Really looking forward to this.

My new YouTube channel, "Unbaffled", is here. It's where I'll be exploring the biggest ideas in science. Our founding principle is that science doesn’t have to be baffling. The first video (on time travel) is here: youtu.be/c63XUCGg9hM Do subscribe, like, etc

I just came across this, rather late in the day. The final sentence is very apt, and I wonder if I detect in it a hint of irony? cc @scurry.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It's now officially 39C in Frankfurt. I got to the airport a few hours early, precisely because I figured it would be madness thinking I could visit anything before my flight, and because there'd be some air con here.

"Don’t miss it for the world... this is the sort of show the BBC used to be famous for. Even a decade ago, something like [this] would have found a very comfortable home on BBC Four, and yet it is telling that it has ended up on YouTube." www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Very proud of @trunkmanuk.bsky.social ‘s incredible work with @cosmicshambles.com and creating this amazing documentary series www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

‘Making mirror-image biomolecules is not a frivolous affair.’ @philipcball.bsky.social explores the scope, concerns and limitations of mirror life in his latest article: #ChemSky www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/woul...

A travesty. Springer Nature offloads SciAm—the most storied science magazine in the US—onto a content mill consortium, LabX, during an almost certainly successful union vote. LabX now says it will lay off 15 people, over 1/3rd of the unit and 60% of the bargaining committee. Pure union busting.

This is great news. So thoroughly deserved - Martin has been such a stalwart for the ABSW. Congratulations too to all the other award winners, and I was very sorry to miss the event because I'm at a conference in Germany.

Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - [email protected]

Whatever's happening at Scientific American, it doesn't sound too good at this point.

My book is coming out in October and will be available open access! However, for those who prefer physical copies, Barnes & Noble is currently running a preorder sale for members. Use code PREORDER25 to get 25% off the paperback! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-referee...

Looking forward to "Rethinking Scientific Models' hosted by @beilstein-institut.bsky.social 🧪 🧬 ⚛️ First up is @philipcball.bsky.social on "Biological Complexity", I follow w "Standards for Scientific Explanation", later talks by @vanessaseifert.bsky.social & many others! Live-stream available!

"Ultimately, the survival of democracy depends on institutional courage... The lessons of history and contemporary experience converge on a single point: institutions must choose between being bulwarks of democracy or bridges to authoritarianism." 👏👏👏

🧵1/ In our new paper, @chrischirp.bsky.social & I argue that while institutions can resist authoritarian pressure, some enable it. Looking at the current US regime, we examine why universities, law firms, and corporations often chose accommodation over resistance.

Martin is of course entirely correct, as I documented here for example. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

We've been getting a little DIY in the office lately... 🧶

As ways to arrive at a conference go, this is a first for me: By cable car.