A short Note to Self I wrote for @psyche.co about the graph that more or less changed the course of my life psyche.co/notes-to-sel...

My debut for @aeon.co: Life formed incredibly early in Earth's history, so the idea that our world was once an unliveable hellscape is just not true. https://aeon.co/essays/life-on-earth-emerged-fast-far-quicker-than-we-thought

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Popular perceptions of past empires focus on their great artwork and monumental achievements. But in recent years, many historians have taken a different approach, asking: what was it like as an ordinary person to live through these imperial collapses?

Absolutely delightful piece on our magnificent cosmic web by my friend and sometime collaborator @markneyrinck.bsky.social, who reminds us that the beauty of cosmos is also always here on earth with us. 🔭🧪 #scicomm aeon.co/essays/how-t...

Do you need a brain to have a memory? Slime moulds suggest not. A new @aeon.co essay by @philosobio.bsky.social aeon.co/essays/what-...

At the moment, I'm particularly looking for *scientists* interested in writing for @aeon.co. Is that you? I have recently commissioned essays on geology, oceans, cosmology, astronomy, Antarctica, the brain, computer science, quantum and more. aeon.co/science

What a fantastic piece of multimedia storytelling this is www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Learned some thing about Phineas Gage, a case I've always thought was really interesting.

Merveilleux-scientifique With brain swaps and death rays, a little-known French sci-fi genre explored science’s dark possibilities a century ago By Fleur Hopkins-Loféron aeon.co/essays/how-f... Maurice Renard at PG: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... #books #sciencefiction

One thing I'd never done until recently was look closely at Phineas Gage's photo, especially his good eye. He was probably far more complex than he is described in the textbooks. Ben Platts-Mills investigates how Gage's humanity has been overwritten to create a case study aeon.co/essays/how-t...

At the moment, I'm particularly looking for *scientists* interested in writing for @aeon.co. Is that you? I have recently commissioned essays on geology, oceans, cosmology, astronomy, Antarctica, the brain, computer science, quantum and more. aeon.co/science

A century before Black Mirror, the French merveilleux-scientifique sci-fi genre was exploring dark thought experiments inspired by the era's science and technology. Really enjoyed working on this @aeon.co essay with Fleur Hopkins-Loferon aeon.co/essays/how-f...

I wrote this for the launch of Psyche's new memoir strand: "The girl was lying on a stretcher, wrapped in a blanket, and he reached for a medallion hanging around her neck, showing to me the two words embossed on it: Sourde-Muette." psyche.co/stories-of-c...

This is an interesting essay on gen AI by the philosopher Andy Clark, of the 'extended mind' idea. A few extracts that struck me: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

These two in the photo have really been on a journey since 'distracted boyfriend'... it seems they broke up, became colleagues, and now are merely sighing at each other www.theguardian.com/money/2025/m...

Since it's Cannes, resharing the time I spent more than 10 minutes clapping for a BBC article www.bbc.com/future/artic...

This week, Psyche magazine has started running short 300-word pieces called 'Notes to Self'. I wrote this one about the 'pain cave' and the astonishing ultrarunning of Courtney Dauwalter psyche.co/notes-to-sel...

Welcome to the new Psyche! Psyche is a digital magazine dedicated to helping you know your self and live well. We’ve relaunched with a revitalised mission, new content types and a fresh site design. Explore what’s changed here: psyche.co

Congratulations to my colleagues at @psyche.co, who have relaunched the Psyche site today with a fresh look, a revitalised mission, and all-new treatments. Its simple goal is to help you know your self and live well psyche.co

Fascinating meditation by a philosopher of language. Bonus points for the “Darmok” discussion. aeon.co/essays/why-a... (h/t @johncoulthart.com)

What would alien languages be like? Far stranger than we currently imagine - in fiction or even in linguistics. Really enjoyed working on this essay with Nikhil Mahant aeon.co/essays/why-a...

The Landsat folks at NASA Goddard put together this fun tool that lets you spell your name in Landsat satellite imagery (which, of course, is the basis of Google Earth)!

An astonishing headline reporting on new observations from a team led to Nikku Madhusudhan claims they’ve found ‘hints of life’ on a planet orbiting a dwarf star some 124 light years away. What’s going on? (1/n) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🔭 🧪

A "Great Reshuffle" of land is underway, driven by shifting populations and climate change. Experiments in new forms of property rights and ownership will have to go mainstream to manage it equitably. My essay @aeon.co based on LAND POWER. Happy weekend reading! 🎉

I really enjoyed writing this piece for @aeon.co! A huge thank you to @richardfisher.bsky.social for his patience and support during the editing process.

Here's a fascinating exploration of the concept of a species in @aeon.co, by Richard Smyth: "In a sense, every animal is the last of its kind. It just depends what we mean by ‘kind’." 🌎🧪 #scicomm aeon.co/essays/the-c...

An excellent early seismological analysis of the scale of the Myanmar earthquake - and the current uncertainties - from @judithgeology.bsky.social & Kyle Bradley. I have great admiration for their newsletter; science communication at its best earthquakeinsights.substack.com/p/catastroph...

diagenesis

Really enjoyed writing this science story for the @nytimes.com: it's about a technique to make synthetic amber-like 'fossils' in only 24 hours. To do it, the researchers pressure-cooked tree resin, like in an Instapot. It also works for feathers, leaves & lizard feet! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/s...

Lovely piece by @benjyb.bsky.social in @aeon.co on the cultural history of zero and the psychology of nothingness aeon.co/essays/why-z...

I wrote this for the BBC about the head-scratching behaviour of time in the quantum world... using the opening credits (and ending) of The Sopranos to help explain it #physics ⚛️ www.bbc.com/future/artic...

A new essay on @aeon.co about... nothing. aeon.co/essays/why-z...

I wrote this for the BBC about the head-scratching behaviour of time in the quantum world... using the opening credits (and ending) of The Sopranos to help explain it #physics ⚛️ www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The Manuscript Cafe in Koenji, Japan is a concept cafe where you pay to have someone nag you and keep you from leaving so you can focus and do your writing koenji-sankakuchitai.blog.jp/ManuscriptWr...

Thought this provided a good impetus to (finally) start a Bluesky account! My latest article, for @aeon.co on how humanity gained its bearings in time, and why this stands set to inculate a revolution in our sense of who and what we are... Read here! aeon.co/essays/how-h...

I apologise to the Woolf estate

"What even are subspecies, these neither-this-nor-that intermediates, these creatures caught between binomials, like actors surprised mid-costume change?" I wrote about Noah's ark, wrens, ruddy ducks and Booming Ben, for @aeon.co. aeon.co/essays/the-c...

Just to add to this call-out: I'd particularly encourage early-career academics to pitch. We want to be a home for emerging ideas & fresh voices, and we can help you communicate your work to a wider audience. You'll be supported by experienced editors & we're 100% open-access. #science #SciComm

Absolutely loved this, @richardfisher.bsky.social Marcia brings the incredible journeys of these rocks and minerals to life with such vivid detail. It’s like a geological action movie unfolding over millions of years beneath our feet.

If you're an academic who might like to write a longform essay for @aeon.co, I'm accepting pitches! I specialise in physics/astronomy/space, earth science, environment, and technology + more. #science, #physics ⚛️, #geosciences, #paleontology #astronomy, #philtech, #histsci, #SciComm #science

If you're an academic who might like to write a longform essay for @aeon.co, I'm accepting pitches! I specialise in physics/astronomy/space, earth science, environment, and technology + more. #science, #physics ⚛️, #geosciences, #paleontology #astronomy, #philtech, #histsci, #SciComm #science

Happy UK publication day to @alternity.com: the multi-talented Sumit Paul-Choudhury. His new book The Bright Side is really very good, and I'd highly recommend it. It transformed my understanding of what optimism can and should mean canongate.co.uk/books/4754-t...

It was a pleasure to work with the geologist Marcia Bjornerud on this lovely essay about metamorphic rocks: the "emissaries from the deep". From Timefulness to her more recent book Turning to Stone, Marcia's work has so often inspired me over the years #geology #geoscientists aeon.co/essays/metam...

A fascinating tour China's internet slang. eg “Special Forces Tourism” (特种兵旅游): maximising your holiday time to do the absolute most; "internal friction" (内耗): putting on a brave face; & "pasta concrete” (意面混凝土): a nonsense filibuster designed to confuse in arguments. asteriskmag.com/issues/08/a-...

Reading this enjoyable piece, I experienced schadenfreudefreude psyche.co/ideas/schade...

To tell the truth, he seems a bit miffed

Question for people who know #mathematics: I saw a social post with a maths professor talking abt teaching probability to undergrads. He said "it takes 3 years to build up the language before I can say to them 'I'm not going to lie to you anymore; now we can do it properly'". What does he mean?

this is fun - an animation made from road signs aeon.co/videos/an-an...

Sinkholes always make me feel a mix of awe and dread. Such striking photography here www.theguardian.com/world/galler...