There is no doubt that EV charging options are getting better - but there are still opportunities for range anxiety, and I can't help but feel the idea of vehicle-to-grid just makes them worse: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/05/how-... #electricvehicles #V2G #rangeanxiety

Are electric cars 'now cheaper than petrol cars'? Only if a group of ordinary people in a room with Elon Musk are all incredibly wealthy:

Review: Beyond Belief: @helenpearson.bsky.social **** - Noting the success of evidence-based medicine, looks at possibilities of using evidence rather than anecdote more in policing, conservation, business, education etc. Interesting. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/beyo... #bookreview #popsci

I generally go to X if I want to see a conspiracy theory - rather sad two have seen one (re Trump shooting) twice already on the generally more rational Bluesky.

Review (mystery): Murder in the Parish - Faith Martin *** - Described as 'an utterly gripping crime mystery full of twists'. It would be fairer to call it a readable crime mystery that fails to grip but rolls along reasonably well. brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/murd... #bookreview #crimenovel

Review (SF): Quantum Curators: Eva St. John *** - As a fan of St. John's Flint in the Bones I looked for more: this 5 volume multiverse novel feels like she was still learning - certainly good in parts, but I like separate books in a series. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-... #bookreview

A podcast by @timharford.ft.com on the dire nature of cubicles and bossware, combined with the thoughts of environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth, prompted a memory of an example where managers failed by focusing on inputs instead of outputs: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/inpu... #management #metrics

In Search of Sea Dragons: Matthew Myerscough ****- Like astronomy, palaeontology gives amateurs an opportunity to contribute in finding fossils: in a science/nature crossover we see the author rediscover his childhood enthusiasm popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/in-s... #bookreview #fossilhunting

There seems to be something dodgy about the claim in the news that 'Electric cars are now cheaper than petrol cars' - sadly, it seems, journalists still don't know when a median is more useful than a mean: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/will... #statistics #badjournalism

Review: The Autobiography: Patrick Moore **** - Dating to 2003, some real insights into a broadcaster who inspired many young astronomers (review includes a letter he wrote me after my first book). Anything but politically correct. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-... #astronomy #tvscience

It’s not often you see the strings they use to hold clouds together…

The question is, has @newscientist been using AI to write its subheads, or should it be using AI to write its subheads:

Something I find really irritating in bookshops (both physical and online) is the tendency to conflate fantasy and science fiction - when I'm looking for a new SF title to read, the last thing I want is to wade through about ten times as many demons/curses/romantasy titles...

I highly recommend BBC Radio 3's new show Key Changes (a history of classical music) and note how the first episode make me think it was a mistake to replace 'ut' with 'do': brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-gr... #musichistory #classicalmusic #tonicsolfa

Seen very good things about this BBC Storyville two parter - looking forward to watching it: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

AI can really help both individuals and businesses - but as Vivienne Ming @socos.org makes clear, most organisations will go about using it the wrong way:

I've been sceptical of the potential of AI in the workplace - but the contextual abilities really enhance this one:

In a fascinating interview: Immunologist David Miles tells us how he has investigated bus stop wisdom, why 'a cure for the common cold' is a pipe dream and about the potential of addressing air hygiene: popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/davi... #interviews #commoncold #immunology

It's refreshing in an age of social media bubbles to read an impassioned argument for a different point of view to my own:

After three months using Littlebird AI as a personal assistant/researcher I've been very impressed with its capabilities. Like all AI it's important to check sources - but what sold it was the use of context: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/litt... #artificialintelligence #PA

Ooh, ooh, my Employee Handbook for my (one person) company has been updated. I must rush and take a look. Admittedly it says it's from my safe sender list, but perhaps I should be a little suspicious? Also, I haven't cut it off: there is no 'or' after that 'either'. Hmm.

Review: Robot-Proof: Vivienne Ming **** - Impressive analysis of the three big mistakes organisations can make using AI, but less convincing with a creativity-focused solution that they are unlikely to adopt. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/robo... #bookreview #artificialintelligence #business

Sorry, Car magazine - I don't want buy five electric cars...

A good, light read for the weekend:

Review (fantasy): Flint in the Bones - Eva St. John ***** - this engaging Norwich-based fantasy give us a present day where magic is a normal part of life, even powering smartphones. Brilliant police procedural/fantasy crossover: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/flin... #bookreview #urbanfantasy

Review (SF): Professor Everywhere: Nicholas Binge ***** - A genuinely intriguing and original SF story set in a university, based on the many worlds hypothesis. Impressive storytelling with some surprising twists. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/prof... #bookreview #sciencefiction #manyworlds

Spotted in a flyer. Who doesn't look forward to hugiene visits?

You may have heard of the multimillion pound HS2 bat tunnel, but you probably have no idea how insane it actually is. An incredible short film from @mjrobbins.com youtu.be/CUetUfeEZZY?...

Review: Against the Machine - Paul Kingsnorth ***** - I ought to hate this book, which blames the enlightenment and tech for our ills, but I got a lot from it - we should read more books that don't reinforce preconceptions: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/agai... #bookreview #nature #technology

Repeat after me, BBC News ‘The Moon does *not* have a dark side’. It’s a Pink Floyd album, okay?

Is this Tarzan’s first paper? And was Jane referee 3?? 😂 #AcademicSky

Review (mystery): Murder at Bramhurst Chapel: Izzie Harper *** - What better for Easter weekend than a murder by a former private chapel? Despite the 'murder club' echoes, the historical mystery is ok, though the modern fallout is unlikely: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/04/murd... #bookreview

Found this in my old photos - any clues as to what it might be? (I do know)

Review: The Infinity Machine: Sebastian Mallaby **** - The most fascinating part of this exploration of Deep Mind is not AlphaGo or AlphaFold, but when the company found itself on the back foot over large language models. Interesting read. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-... #bookreview #AI

Review (SF): Ascendants: Don Schechter *** - Interesting mid-section on the development of a new brain technology and how it gets subverted, but the surrounding tale of the few having a detectable afterlife is a bit of a muddle. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/asce... #bookreview #scifithriller

Hmm: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Interesting article, but wrong to call Ada King, Countess of Lovelace a 'prominent mathematician' - she had an interest in maths, but did not contribute anything significant. To put her on a par with Emmy Noether minimises the work of real female mathematicians.

Review: Geology: an illustrated history: David Bainbridge *** - Decent text and great illustrations in an extended view of geology including how we use minerals, fossils and more. A dip-in book rather than an end-to-end read. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/geol... #bookreview #coffeetablebook

Up for a spot of aberration (the astronomical variety)? I surprise myself by having a mostly positive view of a short video explaining this (with a bonus on the history of speed of light measurement): brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/03/info... #astronomy #stellaraberration #speedoflight

I think in a way this is misleading. There was already genetic evidence that dogs had been bred away from wolves considerably earlier - between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. It's just that we haven't had archeological evidence this old before.

'Without maths the human race would still be living in caves' A brilliant interview with #ReachingForTheExtreme author Ian Stewart with Pop Science Books (@brianclegg.bsky.social).

Like many authors I have books that may end up in the Anthropic settlement. Got this today - about the tenth postal notification (on top of many emails). I can't help but feel every time I get one of these, my payout, if there is one, has become a little smaller to pay for it...

Interview: Mathematician and maths communicator extraordinary Ian Stewart tells us why maths is not limited to what we're taught at school, his view on AI in maths, how the field is developing, and his work on dynamical systems. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/ian-... #interview #mathematics

Review: Becoming Martian: Scott Solomon **** - An readable picture of the current status of the highly speculative concept of humans living on Mars, focusing on the biological and psychological impact of the venture popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/beco... #bookreview #popularscience #marscolony

Looking back on my secondary school days, mostly I had a great time. But sport was not my thing, perhaps not helped by a weird aspect of our swimming lessons: brianclegg.blogspot.com/2026/03/scho... #schoolsport #swimminglessons #safeguarding

Another in an occasional bird post from a non-birdy person. This one I had to do an image search to identify - anyone care to name it?

Review (SF): Split Second: Douglas Richards **** - Despite the pulp action thriller writing style, a genuinely interesting time travel concept: how could you make world-changing use of travelling back a fraction of a second? popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/spli... #bookreview #sciencefiction

Sign up for my always free weekly email this week's (out 10am Friday 20 March UK time) brings you reviews of books on the common cold, nanotechnology and locked room mysteries, plus a startlingly effective way to get across a serious message. Link to sign up in comments:

I'm no wildlife photographer, or bird person, but I've occasionally managed to take photos of birds in the UK, so here's the first of a short series. Some of these birds I needed significant help to identify - but I guessed this one (by Thames bank near Cookham).

Is the Government diverting money away from blue sky research towards government scientific priorities in yet another bid to shackle science to the economy? Over to @pallabg.bsky.social Well, if it walks like a duck… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Review: Sneeze: David Miles **** - While I was disappointed that Miles included flu and COVID as 'common cold' viruses, an engaging biological journey into the life and times of these irritating and sometimes deadly viruses. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/snee... #bookreview #popularscience