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Reposted by Philip Ball

Mark Miodownik @markmiodownik.bsky.social · 34m

We are running another repair cafe on 7th Nov. FREE to all. Learn how to mend your favourite objects for free, get involved in the repair and reuse process, and gain advice on the steps needed to bring your beloved belongings back to full working order. share.google/76mO7KzxbyiE...

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1h

As you doubtless know, Geoff!

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1h

Yes, I agree - it may be hard to calculate in general, but they tell us in principle what it is.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1h

I think people feel it sounds more "proper", e.g. "My partner and myself would like to thank you". As a rule, if "I" or "me" can be substituted for it, it shouldn't be "myself".

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 2h

Yes, Stu is keen on it (see below). I think it raises some interesting issues too.
www.quantamagazine.org/why-everythi...

Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex | Quanta Magazine

A new suggestion that complexity increases over time, not just in living organisms but in the nonliving world, promises to rewrite notions of time and evolution.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

Mike Lynch has published a trenchant critique of this idea. Some of his objections seem reasonable to me, as far as I can judge; some seem to rather miss the point. But Lynch is always worth reading.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 3h

I'm increasingly seeing even experienced writers using "myself" as a fancier way of saying "me". That's not how it works.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 5h

Yes, I seemed to spend half of the 1990s writing about that paper.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 6h

My clearout also unearthed this. That was such a fun project to work on.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 6h

Just cleared out my filing cabinet and discovered this, which must be something of a historical document now. It was an excellent talk, as I recall.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 6h

Anyway, the future of rock is also in the hands of these other two young women, who I'd also definitely go to see if I wasn't at a Royal Society meeting in Brighton on Tuesday 🫤
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuGI...

Larkin Poe "Bad Spell" - Live at the TELEFUNKEN Soundstage

YouTube video by Live From The Lab :: TELEFUNKEN Soundstage

www.youtube.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

Last time I went to something like this was about 20 years ago at the Brixton Academy to see Skunk Anansie, and I felt ancient then.
But I'll stay out of the mosh pit this time.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

Quite prepared to find myself the oldest geezer in the room at the Nova Twins gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town next weekend. On the other hand, maybe not, as I'm apparently not the only old rocker to consider these young women to be the future of rock.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdRd...

Nova Twins - Glory (Glastonbury 2025)

YouTube video by BBC Music

www.youtube.com

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

I've written about the chiliastic movements of the 16th century Peasants' War, and can't help seeing some similarities here. As if medicine would be a way of cheating God's will.

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

I've yet to see this properly analysed from a psychological point of view. Obviously RFK is a nut, but there's also a broader pattern in the GOP ranks that seems deeply peculiar, of wanting positively to welcome the threat of disease and death. It feels like a collective psychosis.

Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 1d

The Trump admin is in the midst of laying off 1,100-1,200 HHS staff. The CDC's outbreak responders, gone. The office producing CDC's weekly journal MMWR is gone. CDC staff securing sensitive data, gone. Worker safety, gone. Immunization group, gone.

Instead, Congress watches RFK "make the proof"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Reposted by Philip Ball

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

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Reposted by Philip Ball

Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 1d

The Trump admin is in the midst of laying off 1,100-1,200 HHS staff. The CDC's outbreak responders, gone. The office producing CDC's weekly journal MMWR is gone. CDC staff securing sensitive data, gone. Worker safety, gone. Immunization group, gone.

Instead, Congress watches RFK "make the proof"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

It always amuses me when people inadvertently own themselves in using this phrase, given how the adage alludes to the way a single bad apple turns the whole crate bad.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...