Are we able to imagine (visualize) new colours? #philsky

There is nothing more motivating than a supervisor who expresses their trust in your process, while saying things like 'that's perfectly normal', and 'I have this all the time'. I am very much aware of how much depends on having the right supervisors, and I count my blessings. #research #Philsky

Instead of stories that reflect on what it means to be human, stories that question power structures, reveal vulnerability, and allow for doubt, science fiction narratives are sometimes invoked as arguments for leaving Earth behind. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Aliens as a mirror for ourselves. What does how we visualize aliens tell us about ourselves and society? Looking for highly recommended alien films by female directors (feminist aliens = big bonus 👽). Preparing a film and philosophy lecture with the theme 'Know Thyself'. Tips welcome : )

On the left: IceCube, one of the world’s most prestigious neutrino observatories, located in Antarctica. On the right: Google Reviews of IceCube. 😆#philsci #Science #SciSky

'What's behind the tendency of physicists to distrust and dismantle metaphors?' (P.92) - are you, dear physicists? And then indeed, what's behind the tendency? #philsky #philsci

In the category books you need ro read, NOW: The Girl With the Red Hair, about Hannie Schaft, a girl who joined the resistance in the Netherlands during WWII ( Het meisje met het rode haar). Also, little acts of resistance: Buy your books at a local seller ❤️ #books www.amazon.nl/Girl-Red-Hai...

Confirmed: I’ll be visiting five (and possibly more) telescope sites across Ireland this summer. I’m really looking forward to this research trip. Just look at these incredible locations, so much history, and so many scientific and sci-historical stories!

Verwacht van mij geen klassieke filmanalyse of uitleg over de keuzes van de regisseur. Ik vertel juist over échte ruimtewetenschappers, over hoe en waar sciencefiction en wetenschap elkaar raken én over de cruciale rol van verbeelding en visualisatie. www.focusarnhem.nl/agenda/2001-...

I'm past the 'I can't believe this is happening phase', since late 2025. I'm entering in my 'we saw this coming from miles away era.'

Ik denk dat het hoog tijd wordt om deze eindelijk eens te lezen.

AHHHHHHHHHHH

At a party, I spoke with someone who is traveling to the US this summer. When I asked about his social media, he said, “My family and I agreed not to post anything about politics in the coming year, so I think we should be okay.” The implications of that statement hit me like a ton of bricks.

Cancel the LA Olympics, scrap the World Cup, the United States cannot be a trusted part of the international community so long as the White House operates this violently and with impunity.

'Strive to be a creative rebel with a cause', - on how to be authentic according to Simone de Beauvoir. Authenticity is the topic of choice for the next semester of philosophy teaching at the art academy. So what is authenticity, really? Can it be applied to design, or recognized within it?

What connects pioneer and photographer Berenice Abbott, the iconic Earthrise photograph, and Onsala in Sweden? Science and photography, and above all the moment when those two reinforce one another. spacephilosopher.substack.com/p/science-on...

I'll start replying to my emails like this. #science #academia #academic #philosophy #philsky

Oh, the love of messy, unreadable notebooks. The students presented their process notebooks on my course 'philosophy of complicatedness and complexity', and I'm so proud of the philosophy being done. I present a few of the 2nd years here Carmen - researched the complexity of social interactions

What is it with tech billionaires and their bizarre fantasies that seem to revolve around violence and an obsession with (fragile) masculinity? I find it deeply disturbing that these thoughts can be voiced openly without any consequences.

One more, because these telescopes are just so aesthetically pleasing as they are interesting! I visited the Onsala telescopes (Chalmers.se) in Sweden together with astronomer Nikki Arendse, and met with artistic researcher Kerstin Hammilton there to talk about the stories of these telescopes.

New paper out, together with the amazing Mike Stuart: AI methods are being touted as a powerful new source of scientific progress. Are they? If so, what kind of progress do they facilitate? philarchive.org/rec/WINLCI

In a few days time, I visited 6 locations and seen over 12 telescopes in Sweden. And I have to say, Kvistaberg Observatory is a beautiful place, where the magic of its history is still very palpable. Take a look, I made a short compilation video: www.instagram.com/p/DRtZdmYiD6_/

Actual footage of me presenting my first findings on visualization and imagination in space research, for a group of philosophy professors.

So, Substack is not here to stay either - amazon fuelled and prone to alt-right. I might be going back to the printed newsletter eventually.

Just learned about the Chesire Cat Galaxy - a galaxy that is shaped like the smiling feline. Some of the cat-like features are actually distant galaxies whose light has been stretched and bent by the large amounts of mass contained in foreground galaxies. chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015/c...

'Mom, when I close my eyes, I still can see the Moon', that's how bright she was, yesterday evening. Shining so bright, it was like someone was pointing a flashlight directly at our telescope.

How can artists and designers cut through the mystification and hype of artificial intelligence? I wrote a contribution for Algorithmic Imaginations, the book offers an in-depth exploration of AI through the lens of art and design practice, take a look here: artezpress.artez.nl/books/algori...

I’ve been collaborating with the amazing Mike Stuart on an article exploring the philosophy of scientific progress and the role of AI in space exploration. As that piece nears completion, we’re already drafting a new paper on AI and space science - such an interesting field! #phil #space #philsci

'In Astronomy, you can’t run lab experiments in the traditional sense. If something explodes, you can’t rewind and repeat the event. It might be a unique occurrence, and you may need to wait another 100,000 years to see it again, which is, of course, beyond the length of a PhD.'

In the category places to visit, I present to you the Super Kamiokande Neutrino Detector, in the Mozumi Mine in the Hida's Kamioka area, where after an exposure of 503 days, on a depth of 1km this picture of the sun was taken through neutrino measurement. Woa.

Just delved into the Horn Antenna in New Jersey- a radio telescope that was used by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson when they discovered strong evidence for the Big Bang theory in 1964. Now I desperately want to visit the site (the future of the site is uncertain because of redevelopment of the area)

Working on space-related themes for the majority of my work week over several years has had some interesting consequences: a desire to dig myself into the earth, to become more conscious of how precious our ecosystem is, to work in the garden, to swim in lakes, - to literally touch base.

Now that I learned that Substack is hosted on Amazon webservices - I'm once again looking for alternatives to host my writings. Where do you share your online writings? Is Ghost something to try out? #substack #writing #phil

Did you know that there is a NASA website dedicated to the current status of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2? Where they are at, what their velocity is respectively to our sun and what is switched off an on? I love this kind of stuff. science.nasa.gov/mission/voya...

Last Sunday, the exhibition Inner Orbits, Cosmic Motion opened. So proud of the work the artists put together. I co-curated this exhibition and wrote a short opening speech. If you're interested: kunstenlab.nl/tentoonstell...

I am delighted that my book 'More Equal Than Others: Humans and the Rights of Other Animals' is featured in Psychology Today @psychologytoday.com and has been made an essential read in their Philosophy section. Many thanks to Marc Bekoff for interviewing me! www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim...

'Unfortunately, we are living through a time that will be studied in the history books of the future.'

We’re used to algorithms guiding our choices. When machines can effortlessly generate the content we consume, though, what’s left for the human imagination? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

One of my favorite quotes about dark matter from the interviews I’ve conducted is: "You need to know what you’re looking for so that you’ll see it." - I don't think the researcher in question even remember saying it, but to me there is so much interesting stuff in this seemingly simple expression.

Are there people here in Europe who are avoiding travel to the U.S. right now for political reasons, or because they feel unsafe about going? I’ve criticized the regime a lot online, and I realized this has made me hesitant to travel to the U.S. for work. A strange realization, really.

With all the news right now, just make sure to keep a copy of these banned books in your personal library, so you’ll have something to read if they cut off your internet for ‘national security reasons.’ www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it). But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that

In a few weeks I’ll be traveling to Sweden to visit telescopes. It’s taken me many months and quite an effort to get all the information organized, but when it works out, it truly is a joy every single time. I still have many telescopes on my wish list, but if you have a tip, please do let me know!

For me, space, the stars, and the writing and thinking around space exploration are my weapon of choice. But I can easily imagine other ways of arriving at the same sense of perspective, connection, and wonder: spacephilosopher.substack.com/p/wonder-ast...

Very excited to be one of the speakers on this wonderful symposiym by Zoë Robaey at @w-u-r.bsky.social Imagining the Good Life under Uncertainty with Biology & Technology www.ethicsandbiotechnology.com/event

Another mystical sphere, another telescope visit! This November, the journey goes to Sweden. The focus will be on learning more about geodetic research and uncovering the history of the telescopes in Kvistaberg and Saltsjöbaden. I’m reaching out to research facilities to finalize plans, 🤞

I visited a brand-new laser telescope in Finland a few weeks ago. In places, it was held together with duct tape. The PI saw my face and laughed: “If there’s no duct tape on a telescope, I don’t trust it.” Saying, that if an instrument is being used properly, duct tape is indispensable.

Telescope Trips: Mapping the Stars in Finland. I wrote about the telescopes of Professor Argelander and the marvelous experience visiting places that smell of dusty paper and wood rot. #philsky #philsci #philosophy

Update about the course on complicatedness: The students have to work on a weekly basis in a notebook, researching through various ways on the notion of complexity vs complicatedness. The notes are part of the assignment. And, the notebook itself will become an object of complexity itself! #philsky