Philip Ball
@philipcball.bsky.social
Science writer and author of books including Bright Earth, The Music Instinct, Beyond Weird, How Life Works.
Reposted by Philip Ball
I regret to inform you that this thread is 100% accurate. Including the part about senior academics being among the worst offenders.
One thing that has genuinely shocked me over the past year is how many faculty are now using LLMs for nearly every part of their jobs. Not as tools to assist their thinking, but to offload the entire job itself.
1/7
1/7
October 27, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I regret to inform you that this thread is 100% accurate. Including the part about senior academics being among the worst offenders.
Well now look, this is something I want.
Terence Tao’s SIX MATH ESSENTIALS publishes in two weeks. The UK edition—SIX MATHS ESSENTIALS—is out today! Order your copy: www.quantabooks.org/books/six-ma...
Six Math Essentials - Quanta Books
The “Mozart of mathematics” invites readers on a brief tour of six core ideas—numbers, algebra, geometry, probability, analysis, and dynamics—that capture the beauty and power of mathematical thinking...
www.quantabooks.org
October 27, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Well now look, this is something I want.
Reposted by Philip Ball
Hello, human geneticist here. There is no scientific basis for attempts to define people in terms of “good” or “bad” genes - these are discredited views in service of racist ideologies. For consensus & concerns of experts in our field, see e.g. this 2020 statement from @geneticssociety.bsky.social:
August 22, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Hello, human geneticist here. There is no scientific basis for attempts to define people in terms of “good” or “bad” genes - these are discredited views in service of racist ideologies. For consensus & concerns of experts in our field, see e.g. this 2020 statement from @geneticssociety.bsky.social:
Reposted by Philip Ball
As my ex-colleague @jcdamos.bsky.social isn't crowing about this, let me advertise it instead. Jon's really raised the bar!!
👏👏👏
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
👏👏👏
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Part of Antarctica named after former BBC reporter Jonathan Amos
A stretch of water in the west of the continent is now called the Amos Channel after the ex-BBC journalist.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 26, 2026 at 6:22 PM
As my ex-colleague @jcdamos.bsky.social isn't crowing about this, let me advertise it instead. Jon's really raised the bar!!
👏👏👏
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
👏👏👏
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
As you might imagine, this take on Dawkins' The Selfish Gene 50 years on by @nccomfort.bsky.social pretty much captures my own views.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Selfish Gene, 50 years on — it’s time for an update
A focus on the gene alone has become outdated. Books that capture the complexity of life deserve centre stage.
www.nature.com
October 26, 2026 at 6:55 PM
As you might imagine, this take on Dawkins' The Selfish Gene 50 years on by @nccomfort.bsky.social pretty much captures my own views.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
😢
My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today.
Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man.
Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man.
October 26, 2026 at 6:18 PM
😢
Here's a little look at the black-hole information paradox, 50 years on, for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social. I have a much bigger look at it in the works!
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
Stephen Hawking’s biggest mystery, 50 years on
The thing about black holes is that they’re not actually black – they glow. And that’s where the mystery begins
www.thenewworld.co.uk
October 26, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Here's a little look at the black-hole information paradox, 50 years on, for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social. I have a much bigger look at it in the works!
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
Reposted by Philip Ball
Some unhinged comments and quote posts on this. Machine learning with artificial neural networks has transformed the environmental sciences, and rightly deserved the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. This isn’t using a chatbot to predict hurricanes.
Hurricane forecasters are increasingly using artificial intelligence to make predictions. n.pr/4dUkB4O
How AI is transforming hurricane forecasts
Hurricane forecasters are increasingly using artificial intelligence to make predictions.
n.pr
October 26, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Some unhinged comments and quote posts on this. Machine learning with artificial neural networks has transformed the environmental sciences, and rightly deserved the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. This isn’t using a chatbot to predict hurricanes.
Reposted by Philip Ball
This is *the* piece to read on how Brexit became “mouldy bread from the back of the cupboard” and how Rejoin can win hearts as well as heads.
Free to read with email sign-up. www.arguably.uk/p/europe-is-...
Free to read with email sign-up. www.arguably.uk/p/europe-is-...
October 26, 2026 at 10:03 AM
This is *the* piece to read on how Brexit became “mouldy bread from the back of the cupboard” and how Rejoin can win hearts as well as heads.
Free to read with email sign-up. www.arguably.uk/p/europe-is-...
Free to read with email sign-up. www.arguably.uk/p/europe-is-...
Reposted by Philip Ball
A more than 40% risk reduction “would send many researchers over the Moon”. This personalised mRNA vaccine reduced the risk of skin cancer returning or the recipient dying by 42%
go.nature.com/4ik3TNr
go.nature.com/4ik3TNr
Moderna mRNA vaccine almost halves the risk of skin cancer returning
Nature - Long-awaited results from phase III trial show a huge benefit in treating treatment-resistant melanoma.
go.nature.com
October 25, 2026 at 5:26 PM
A more than 40% risk reduction “would send many researchers over the Moon”. This personalised mRNA vaccine reduced the risk of skin cancer returning or the recipient dying by 42%
go.nature.com/4ik3TNr
go.nature.com/4ik3TNr
Reposted by Philip Ball
“In any case, regulation still leaves the underlying problem untouched: that of corporations squatting upon public infrastructure. Addressing that requires us to transform the relationship between technology and the public.” My @theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
When defence depends on a billionaire’s whim, democracy i...
Elon Musk’s restriction of Starlink in Ukraine exposes the extent to which unelected power is being concentrated in the hands of a few tech moguls
observer.co.uk
October 25, 2026 at 9:41 AM
“In any case, regulation still leaves the underlying problem untouched: that of corporations squatting upon public infrastructure. Addressing that requires us to transform the relationship between technology and the public.” My @theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
I've reviewed Jessica Riskin's excellent biography of Lamarck in the TLS. Not everyone will buy Jessica's efforts to make Lamarckism relevant to today's biology, but as a revisionist perspective on Lamarck's unjust vilification it is persuasive.
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
Heroic creation
Lamarck’s rival theory of evolution
www.the-tls.com
October 24, 2026 at 8:15 PM
I've reviewed Jessica Riskin's excellent biography of Lamarck in the TLS. Not everyone will buy Jessica's efforts to make Lamarckism relevant to today's biology, but as a revisionist perspective on Lamarck's unjust vilification it is persuasive.
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
Charles Seife has a very thoughtful and insightful review of Graham Farmelo's biography of Hawking in the latest TLS.
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
Singular scientist
A warts-and-all authorized biography
www.the-tls.com
October 24, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Charles Seife has a very thoughtful and insightful review of Graham Farmelo's biography of Hawking in the latest TLS.
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
www.the-tls.com/science-tech...
Reposted by Philip Ball
… and/or we can acknowledge its existence, try to understand how and why this has happened, what purpose it serves and what we might learn from this, and how the two might be reconciled. This is, in large part, the theme of ‘Two Lives’:
October 24, 2026 at 5:20 PM
… and/or we can acknowledge its existence, try to understand how and why this has happened, what purpose it serves and what we might learn from this, and how the two might be reconciled. This is, in large part, the theme of ‘Two Lives’:
I think most folks had decided already what the answer was. Intrigued about the idea of introducing agency into the debate though...
www.newscientist.com/article/2579...
www.newscientist.com/article/2579...
Can consciousness be quantum? We may now have an answer | New Scientist
A mathematical analysis suggests that the notion of agency, which is a prerequisite for consciousness, cannot be purely quantum in nature
www.newscientist.com
October 24, 2026 at 5:06 PM
I think most folks had decided already what the answer was. Intrigued about the idea of introducing agency into the debate though...
www.newscientist.com/article/2579...
www.newscientist.com/article/2579...
I wrote Beyond Weird to try to move how we talk about quantum beyond the off-the-shelf clichés and misconceptions of the time. One of them was the idea that quantum computing is about doing many calculations in parallel. I was kind of surprised, then...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
Questioning quantum speed
Questioning quantum speed, Ball, Philip
iopscience.iop.org
October 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I wrote Beyond Weird to try to move how we talk about quantum beyond the off-the-shelf clichés and misconceptions of the time. One of them was the idea that quantum computing is about doing many calculations in parallel. I was kind of surprised, then...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
Characteristically excellent piece by Kate Mossman on the compelling and playful microtonal rock of Angine de Poitrine.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/musi...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/musi...
Angine de Poitrine are intelligent life on planet rock
How the secretive costumed duo doubled the amount of notes in their music
www.newstatesman.com
October 24, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Characteristically excellent piece by Kate Mossman on the compelling and playful microtonal rock of Angine de Poitrine.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/musi...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/musi...
Very thoughtful discussion of Carlo Rovelli's two new books, by Ray Monk.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Carlo Rovelli’s flitting perspectives
Science’s leading evangelist challenges what we think we know – about the laws of physics and of human conflict
www.newstatesman.com
October 24, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Very thoughtful discussion of Carlo Rovelli's two new books, by Ray Monk.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Philip Ball
We’re all going to die...
But not from AI, argues science writer Philip Ball in our recent cover essay 🧵
But not from AI, argues science writer Philip Ball in our recent cover essay 🧵
October 20, 2026 at 5:03 PM
We’re all going to die...
But not from AI, argues science writer Philip Ball in our recent cover essay 🧵
But not from AI, argues science writer Philip Ball in our recent cover essay 🧵
Reposted by Philip Ball
Absolutely not. Humans evolved to live on Earth and there’s no other place that has the right amount of everything we need, like climate, liquid water, mix of oxygen and non-toxic gases in the atmosphere, magnetic field, gravity, puppies, kittens, etc.
October 19, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Absolutely not. Humans evolved to live on Earth and there’s no other place that has the right amount of everything we need, like climate, liquid water, mix of oxygen and non-toxic gases in the atmosphere, magnetic field, gravity, puppies, kittens, etc.
Reposted by Philip Ball
I'd rather someone read this than anything on the subject by Anthropic right now. It's less misleading, and more informative. But this should not be the level of discussion we are at, and it should not be the expertise relied upon at high-level summits and parliaments and policymaking.
October 22, 2026 at 6:33 PM
I'd rather someone read this than anything on the subject by Anthropic right now. It's less misleading, and more informative. But this should not be the level of discussion we are at, and it should not be the expertise relied upon at high-level summits and parliaments and policymaking.
Reposted by Philip Ball
Now @sciencewriting.bsky.social, we remember our mighty colleague Helen Branswell. With remembrances from @stephaniemlee.bsky.social @martinenserink.bsky.social @usha.bsky.social @kakape.bsky.social @edyong209.bsky.social casw.org/news/cohn-pr...
Cohn Prize honoree Helen Branswell remembered for sharp, authoritative reporting - CASW
CASW mourns the loss of Cohn Prize winner Helen Branswell, a journalist known for excellent coverage of epidemics and pandemics.
casw.org
October 22, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Now @sciencewriting.bsky.social, we remember our mighty colleague Helen Branswell. With remembrances from @stephaniemlee.bsky.social @martinenserink.bsky.social @usha.bsky.social @kakape.bsky.social @edyong209.bsky.social casw.org/news/cohn-pr...
Reposted by Philip Ball
Science is inherently political and when our government is actively hostile to science as a whole, publications should be able to write about it without being censored. Alas. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Fall of “Scientific American”
When the beloved science publication got too political, its corporate owners stepped in. Now its future is uncertain.
www.thenation.com
October 22, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Science is inherently political and when our government is actively hostile to science as a whole, publications should be able to write about it without being censored. Alas. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
There is a small but vocal contingent of scientists who have long been complaining loudly about the alleged wokeness of Sci Am. I guess those folks got what they wanted: high-level politicized interference in the magazine's editorial independence, & eventually mass layoffs. Censorship, essentially.
It's been truly depressing to watch the gutting of SciAm--and of course, terrible to watch so many great journalists (and friends) lose their jobs amid the meltdown.
The Fall of “Scientific American”
When the beloved science publication got too political, its corporate owners stepped in. Now its future is uncertain.
www.thenation.com
October 22, 2026 at 1:44 PM
There is a small but vocal contingent of scientists who have long been complaining loudly about the alleged wokeness of Sci Am. I guess those folks got what they wanted: high-level politicized interference in the magazine's editorial independence, & eventually mass layoffs. Censorship, essentially.