The butcher An unpleasant encounter with an ordinary person.

Our beloved professor imteracts with an ordinary person.

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Also fascinating how brazenly some physicists will lie to influence the official history of their field, but that’s another story…

I was recently at a historians-meet-physicists conference, and the questions the historians were most interested in seemed totally irrelevant and beside the point to the physicists. Seemed like a huge missed opportunity.

Might walk the dog later.

This head of a group got up at 10am…

The Dossier The heartwarming tale of my attempt to destroy my academic nemesis, Dr. Jamie Bumbles.

You’ll tell me that the ending of this story is completely unrealistic.

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The nemesis One of the absolute most important keys to success, which most people are too chicken to include in their self-help books, is, of course: have a nemesis.

Never underestimate the professional benefits of having a good nemesis.

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Thank you!

The saviours of science Desperate times call for extreme measures

When a scientific field goes rotten — really rotten!

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It’s very long. They might need an AI summary.

Jet-lagged and drinking coffee in Melbourne The title is entirely descriptive and there is no twist

The title says it all, really.

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Touch and go A dirty story of a dirty man, plus two more Beatles references.

Could it be that my stories have reached a new level of emotional maturity and thematic sophistication?

No, not really…

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The best thing about switching off email over Christmas is opening it again in January and doing a great big delete all.

Three terrifying London episodes (2/3) In which I disgrace myself before the worst professor I have ever met

Everyone I’ve shown this asks, “How did you know what my office was like!?”

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Oh boy! I may have to schedule a return trip to NZ just to see it!

Three disturbing London episodes (1/3) The approach to the twelfth floor.

Latest thrilling — and in some ways terrifying — instalment of The Fictional Aether.

That’s right, we’re going to London!

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Great culture can save lives. Literally.

Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

A Greek island tragedy averted (At least for the hero of this story)

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I just listened to the podcast and thought, “There can’t possibly be two TV science advisors with the same name!”

I hope all is well with you, even if you’re not playing with centrifuges!

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

Bluetorial-Jim Watson

I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.

What follows is my personal perspective.

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How to read a great book Robert Caro's Power Broker, and some guides to powering through it.

My latest, on reasons to read The Power Broker, and some things that might help you do it.

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I would expect that’s the one book I stubbornly would NOT have read…

A photo of the Matterhorn rising above an Alpine landscape. The colours are a little washed out, but do not appear artificially tinted

Ahead of tomorrow’s #NobelPrize announcement, I went on a deep dive in search of the most obscure physics Nobel Prizes in history. That means it's time for a thread on...🧵

PHYSICS NOBEL PRIZES YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF – PART 1

(1/n)

An encounter with my brilliant and terrifying Head of Department This is definitely a piece of fiction

In which I valiantly defend my artistic freedom and, of course, freedom of speech.

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An encounter with my brilliant and terrifying Head of Department This is definitely a piece of fiction

In which I valiantly defend my artistic freedom and, of course, freedom of speech.

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Obviously it’s extreme-mass-ratio inspiral. The words connected by the hyphens are the adjective for “inspiral”.

Shocking that anyone would say otherwise.

* ok, 85%

My dream postdoc It's all true and not a single bit is made up.

Already several comments on this line.

All I can say is, “Wow, you made it all the way* through the piece!”

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My dream postdoc It's all true and not a single bit is made up.

How Good Will Hunting helped me to find my dream postdoc…

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But ok, at least he wasn’t boring…