Jacob Aron
@jjaron.bsky.social
News editor at New Scientist. I read a lot of books, and recommend the best ones to you
Pinned
Jacob Aron
@jjaron.bsky.social
· Nov 15
I used to share book recommendations on the other place but got out of the habit this year as engagement massively dropped off. Thinking about putting together my top 10 list for this year though, so as a test, like this, and for each like I'll recommend something great I read in the past 5 years
I swear Jack and Kate wore those exact same clothes on that exact same beach
New look at Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien in Sam Raimi’s ‘SEND HELP’
The film follows 2 co-workers who hate each other but get stranded together on a desert island after their plane crashes.
(Source: Collider)
The film follows 2 co-workers who hate each other but get stranded together on a desert island after their plane crashes.
(Source: Collider)
November 14, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I swear Jack and Kate wore those exact same clothes on that exact same beach
Charlotte Church playing to get money for her own charity is...a choice
FYI: The BBC has revealed the charities #TheCelebrityTraitors were all competing for, with links so that you can donate.
November 14, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Charlotte Church playing to get money for her own charity is...a choice
Reposted by Jacob Aron
Sequencing Hitler's DNA was always going to be a bad idea, with little upside and plenty of downside, but the way it has been done as part of a TV documentary is particularly bad www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Sequencing Hitler's genome teaches us nothing useful about his crimes
To understand Adolf Hitler, we need to look at his personal life and the wider societal and historical context - analysing his DNA for a TV gimmick tells us nothing, says Michael Le Page
www.newscientist.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Sequencing Hitler's DNA was always going to be a bad idea, with little upside and plenty of downside, but the way it has been done as part of a TV documentary is particularly bad www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Next they will be claiming it was AI...
This truly is madder than Mad Jack McMad ...
November 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Next they will be claiming it was AI...
Sequencing Hitler's DNA was always going to be a bad idea, with little upside and plenty of downside, but the way it has been done as part of a TV documentary is particularly bad www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Sequencing Hitler's genome teaches us nothing useful about his crimes
To understand Adolf Hitler, we need to look at his personal life and the wider societal and historical context - analysing his DNA for a TV gimmick tells us nothing, says Michael Le Page
www.newscientist.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Sequencing Hitler's DNA was always going to be a bad idea, with little upside and plenty of downside, but the way it has been done as part of a TV documentary is particularly bad www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Really great interview with Richard Binzel, who invented the Torino scale for measuring the risk of Earth being catastrophically hit by an asteroid www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
Is a deadly asteroid about to hit Earth? Meet the man who can tell you
When an asteroid threatens Earth, astronomers use a rating called the Torino scale to communicate the risk. Richard Binzel, who invented the scale, tells New Scientist about his 50-year career in plan...
www.newscientist.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Really great interview with Richard Binzel, who invented the Torino scale for measuring the risk of Earth being catastrophically hit by an asteroid www.newscientist.com/article/2501...
Reposted by Jacob Aron
They are literally standing on the world's best solar generator and opting for the smoke-stack. It's the most expensive, convoluted way imaginable to capture energy. The Sun is free, but the profit from gas is apparently too valuable to ignore.
You live in the literal desert but somehow gas, not solar, is your choice for electricity generation www.ft.com/content/e34c...
Saudi Aramco steps up gas push to meet surging electricity demand
World’s largest oil producer shifts focus as it prepares to begin production at the giant Jafurah field
www.ft.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:26 AM
They are literally standing on the world's best solar generator and opting for the smoke-stack. It's the most expensive, convoluted way imaginable to capture energy. The Sun is free, but the profit from gas is apparently too valuable to ignore.
You live in the literal desert but somehow gas, not solar, is your choice for electricity generation www.ft.com/content/e34c...
Saudi Aramco steps up gas push to meet surging electricity demand
World’s largest oil producer shifts focus as it prepares to begin production at the giant Jafurah field
www.ft.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:23 AM
You live in the literal desert but somehow gas, not solar, is your choice for electricity generation www.ft.com/content/e34c...
This seems clearly not ok? Definitely one for the ICO to take a look at, not that that will achieve much. In another life I worked for Lloyds TSB and had to have my salary paid into an account there. I moved it out to another bank each month for exactly this kind of reason www.ft.com/content/7d3d...
Lloyds used data from 30,000 staff accounts in union pay talks
Bank’s customer insights team compared financial resilience of lowest-paid staff to customers as part of salary negotiations
www.ft.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:16 AM
This seems clearly not ok? Definitely one for the ICO to take a look at, not that that will achieve much. In another life I worked for Lloyds TSB and had to have my salary paid into an account there. I moved it out to another bank each month for exactly this kind of reason www.ft.com/content/7d3d...
Reposted by Jacob Aron
environmental storytelling
November 12, 2025 at 6:07 AM
environmental storytelling
Reposted by Jacob Aron
When you refrain from posting your take on something, we should call that a give
November 12, 2025 at 7:22 AM
When you refrain from posting your take on something, we should call that a give
Reposted by Jacob Aron
Solar will power the world www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
November 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Solar will power the world www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
Reposted by Jacob Aron
AI is essentially incompatible with net zero, in the short term. I know which I'd rather have www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
AI power use forecast finds the industry far off track to net zero
Several large tech firms that are active in AI have set goals to hit net zero by 2030, but a new forecast of the energy and water required to run large data centres shows they’re unlikely to meet thos...
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
AI is essentially incompatible with net zero, in the short term. I know which I'd rather have www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Reposted by Jacob Aron
If this happens, it could completely transform the sociology of mathematics www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
The biggest controversy in maths could be settled by a computer
For over a decade, mathematicians have failed to agree whether a 500-page proof is actually correct. Now, translating the proof into a computer-readable form may finally settle the matter
www.newscientist.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:23 PM
If this happens, it could completely transform the sociology of mathematics www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Reposted by Jacob Aron
I wonder if this 'AI generated' target is something like
number of pupils x 95%
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
number of pupils x 95%
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
All schools in England to be given AI-generated pupil attendance targets
Unions decry move, saying it will put more pressure on headteachers without tackling absence from classrooms
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I wonder if this 'AI generated' target is something like
number of pupils x 95%
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
number of pupils x 95%
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
As someone who is (well, was really, it's been 20 years) good at maths, learning how not to be this person was one of the most important things I ever did
I think the belief by the powerful that "people will put up with many things if you are excellent at math" is incredibly revealing in terms of understanding How We Got Here
November 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
As someone who is (well, was really, it's been 20 years) good at maths, learning how not to be this person was one of the most important things I ever did
Reposted by Jacob Aron
If there's one thing you're always seeing in literary history it's husbands giving their wives credit for stuff they wrote
Meanwhile, on twitter, did you know that Mary Shelley never could have written Frankenstein (which is about magnets as you know) because her boyfriend was really into magnets?
In fact, when you think about it, that's why women in general don't write great literature (chicks aren't into magnets).
In fact, when you think about it, that's why women in general don't write great literature (chicks aren't into magnets).
November 11, 2025 at 9:27 PM
If there's one thing you're always seeing in literary history it's husbands giving their wives credit for stuff they wrote
Reposted by Jacob Aron
The James Bond franchise faces a big problem: me, the viewer, has been shot at the start of the movie through the barrel of my gun, and I'm dripping blood over my own eye balls (they're in the gun)
November 11, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The James Bond franchise faces a big problem: me, the viewer, has been shot at the start of the movie through the barrel of my gun, and I'm dripping blood over my own eye balls (they're in the gun)
Reposted by Jacob Aron
I refuse to believe this was said by someone who previously wrote James Bond. How are you this "Zelda Timeline" brained for JAMES BOND. Has this guy not realized that James Bond has been 34 years old since 1962? I need his head cannon explanation for how Moneypenny magically became black in 2012.
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I refuse to believe this was said by someone who previously wrote James Bond. How are you this "Zelda Timeline" brained for JAMES BOND. Has this guy not realized that James Bond has been 34 years old since 1962? I need his head cannon explanation for how Moneypenny magically became black in 2012.
Reposted by Jacob Aron
My last word on the matter
November 11, 2025 at 2:27 PM
My last word on the matter
Man, video games went wrong
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Man, video games went wrong
The Venn diagram of this is going to look very, very ugly
November 11, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The Venn diagram of this is going to look very, very ugly
From a survey on arXiv
November 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
From a survey on arXiv
If this happens, it could completely transform the sociology of mathematics www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
The biggest controversy in maths could be settled by a computer
For over a decade, mathematicians have failed to agree whether a 500-page proof is actually correct. Now, translating the proof into a computer-readable form may finally settle the matter
www.newscientist.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:23 PM
If this happens, it could completely transform the sociology of mathematics www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
This quote, if real, has drastically reduced my respect for Anthony Horowitz...
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 11:44 AM
This quote, if real, has drastically reduced my respect for Anthony Horowitz...