Jonathan Chiche
@jonathanchiche.bsky.social
French antiquarian bookseller living in Taiwan.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
@adamroberts.bsky.social "Wine-dark sea' caused a great deal of excitement in the letters page of Nature in the 1980s. Here are some of the early contributions... Full list here: www.nature.com/search?q=win...
January 31, 2026 at 2:33 PM
@adamroberts.bsky.social "Wine-dark sea' caused a great deal of excitement in the letters page of Nature in the 1980s. Here are some of the early contributions... Full list here: www.nature.com/search?q=win...
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
We are screwed if polio vaccine is made optional. Poliovirus is circulating in the US and the only reason we don’t see cases is due to vaccination. If vaccine coverage drops there will be many cases of polio in the US - all preventable.
Milhoan is an idiot.
Milhoan is an idiot.
January 29, 2026 at 3:54 PM
We are screwed if polio vaccine is made optional. Poliovirus is circulating in the US and the only reason we don’t see cases is due to vaccination. If vaccine coverage drops there will be many cases of polio in the US - all preventable.
Milhoan is an idiot.
Milhoan is an idiot.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Here's an article I wrote that @nature.com turned down, on Crick and his half-century relationship with Nature. It condenses all the material relating to Nature that appeared in my Crick biography (apart from the double helix, which you can find here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Francis Crick and Nature
A relationship that lasted nearly 50 years and which saw the publication of some key papers in the history of science, and some complete nonsense.
matthewcobb2.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Here's an article I wrote that @nature.com turned down, on Crick and his half-century relationship with Nature. It condenses all the material relating to Nature that appeared in my Crick biography (apart from the double helix, which you can find here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I’m sure that the Grolier Club is a wonderful place and that, if you are in New York, you should go. However, if you are in Paris, go to the BnF, which is my favorite place in the world.
The exhibitions as well as the library are open to all—and although I admit the library can feel a little “chatty”, it is a great place to do research because I am always running into people working on things adjacent me. My favorite place in the world.
Inside New York’s Grolier Club, Where the Rare Book World Is Open to All 📜
news.artnet.com/art-world/gr...
news.artnet.com/art-world/gr...
January 26, 2026 at 5:14 PM
I’m sure that the Grolier Club is a wonderful place and that, if you are in New York, you should go. However, if you are in Paris, go to the BnF, which is my favorite place in the world.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
*Summer Academy*
Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course by @uni-muenster.de & @univie.ac.at and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 29 June–3 July 2026 in Münster: an advanced summer academy on Chagatai manuscripts with leading experts from across Europe.
www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIsl...
Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course by @uni-muenster.de & @univie.ac.at and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 29 June–3 July 2026 in Münster: an advanced summer academy on Chagatai manuscripts with leading experts from across Europe.
www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIsl...
January 19, 2026 at 12:46 PM
*Summer Academy*
Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course by @uni-muenster.de & @univie.ac.at and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 29 June–3 July 2026 in Münster: an advanced summer academy on Chagatai manuscripts with leading experts from across Europe.
www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIsl...
Chagatai Manuscript Reading Course by @uni-muenster.de & @univie.ac.at and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 29 June–3 July 2026 in Münster: an advanced summer academy on Chagatai manuscripts with leading experts from across Europe.
www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIsl...
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Of course, this response is always an option to the President's threats.
January 19, 2026 at 5:39 AM
Of course, this response is always an option to the President's threats.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Hey, good folks of #TEsky—
Looking for good recent review, suitable for undergrads, of the fnxns of transposable elements in the genome, for class session on the nonlinear, highly regulated, 4D nucleome. Suggestions welcome!
(I'm the author of the "other book" on Barbara McClintock)
TIA!
Looking for good recent review, suitable for undergrads, of the fnxns of transposable elements in the genome, for class session on the nonlinear, highly regulated, 4D nucleome. Suggestions welcome!
(I'm the author of the "other book" on Barbara McClintock)
TIA!
The Tangled Field: Barbara McClintock's Search for the Patterns of Genetic Control
Buy The Tangled Field: Barbara McClintock's Search for the Patterns of Genetic Control on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders
www.amazon.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Hey, good folks of #TEsky—
Looking for good recent review, suitable for undergrads, of the fnxns of transposable elements in the genome, for class session on the nonlinear, highly regulated, 4D nucleome. Suggestions welcome!
(I'm the author of the "other book" on Barbara McClintock)
TIA!
Looking for good recent review, suitable for undergrads, of the fnxns of transposable elements in the genome, for class session on the nonlinear, highly regulated, 4D nucleome. Suggestions welcome!
(I'm the author of the "other book" on Barbara McClintock)
TIA!
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Excellent passage in Tom Wolfe’s THE RIGHT STUFF describing the psychological testing of the Mercury astronauts and Pete Conrad’s response
January 15, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Excellent passage in Tom Wolfe’s THE RIGHT STUFF describing the psychological testing of the Mercury astronauts and Pete Conrad’s response
"A rousing, uplifting song, which is guaranteed to cheer you up."
Tom Lehrer - We Will All Go Together When We Go
YouTube video by The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel
www.youtube.com
January 15, 2026 at 12:07 PM
"A rousing, uplifting song, which is guaranteed to cheer you up."
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Wolfgang Pauli invented his famous matrices to describe the angular momentum of a spin-1/2 particle back in 1927. You'll see them in most courses on quantum mechanics. But where do they come from? Here I derive them from scratch.
youtu.be/M4QwKz1wvn4
youtu.be/M4QwKz1wvn4
Standard Model 6: Pauli Matrices
YouTube video by John Baez
youtu.be
January 13, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Wolfgang Pauli invented his famous matrices to describe the angular momentum of a spin-1/2 particle back in 1927. You'll see them in most courses on quantum mechanics. But where do they come from? Here I derive them from scratch.
youtu.be/M4QwKz1wvn4
youtu.be/M4QwKz1wvn4
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Cloud-9 is a galaxy with practically no stars in it - just gas and a large amount of dark matter! It seems to be a remnant of early galaxy formation: a 'failed galaxy' that never produced any stars.
But there's more to it than this.
(1/n)
But there's more to it than this.
(1/n)
January 10, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Cloud-9 is a galaxy with practically no stars in it - just gas and a large amount of dark matter! It seems to be a remnant of early galaxy formation: a 'failed galaxy' that never produced any stars.
But there's more to it than this.
(1/n)
But there's more to it than this.
(1/n)
I would go if I could.
Join me @rarebookschool.bsky.social for an intensive week of Latin Paleography, June 1-5 in Charlottesville. Paleography doesn't have to be scary. Trust me...we'll have a blast! Application portal is now open. rarebookschool.org/courses/manu...
Introduction to Paleography, 800–1500 | Rare Book School
“This course was very useful and packed with information.” — 2016 student Course Length: 30 hours Course Week: 31 May–5 June 2026 Format: in person, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA Fee: ...
rarebookschool.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:22 PM
I would go if I could.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
A recent post from @sims-mss.bsky.social reminded me of a really cool UPenn manuscript that I keep meeting to write about. It's UPenn Ms. Codex 1056, a lovely Book of Hours for the Use of Rouen. colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/8143...
January 6, 2026 at 4:55 PM
A recent post from @sims-mss.bsky.social reminded me of a really cool UPenn manuscript that I keep meeting to write about. It's UPenn Ms. Codex 1056, a lovely Book of Hours for the Use of Rouen. colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/8143...
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Do I have an expert on Hakka in my timeline who could check potential loans?
January 5, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Do I have an expert on Hakka in my timeline who could check potential loans?
Barack Obama in 2016: “If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, […] [y]ou’d choose right now”. He has a point: I would choose 2016 rather than 2026. But I am not sure I would choose 2016 either.
January 4, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Barack Obama in 2016: “If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, […] [y]ou’d choose right now”. He has a point: I would choose 2016 rather than 2026. But I am not sure I would choose 2016 either.
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Got it! With MAJOR thanks to @benpohl.bsky.social and others. The original reference is to JL 4366, in H. Bresslau's Papyrus und Pergament in der päpstlichen Kanzlei bis zur Mitte des 11. Jahrh. published in 1888. BUT he clearly states that the original document is lost! 🧵
I am on the trail of my very own manuscript studies chortlemuffin (™️Drimmer). Everyone says that the last dated papal bull on papyrus was issued in 1057 but I cannot find a shelfmark or incipit or image or any supporting evidence for this statement. I will get to the bottom of it, I assure you.
The citation chain usually works like this:
-supposition stated as fact
-supposition with reference to reputable book from c.1930s
-reputable book from c.1930s with reference to Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, 1782
- Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, "here's an idea I'll fart out," 1782
/2
-supposition stated as fact
-supposition with reference to reputable book from c.1930s
-reputable book from c.1930s with reference to Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, 1782
- Sir Edward Chortlemuffin, "here's an idea I'll fart out," 1782
/2
January 4, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Got it! With MAJOR thanks to @benpohl.bsky.social and others. The original reference is to JL 4366, in H. Bresslau's Papyrus und Pergament in der päpstlichen Kanzlei bis zur Mitte des 11. Jahrh. published in 1888. BUT he clearly states that the original document is lost! 🧵
I'm puzzled by the fact that this exhibition seems to elicit so little (i.e. zero) interest in my Bluesky. I don't recall seeing any announcement about it and my post below looks like a stone having been thrown into the sea. We're talking about dozens of printed books of the Song dynasty!
Only two days left (until Sunday 4 January) to visit the first part of the fantastic exhibition "Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection (I)". The second part will open on 10 January.
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
Introduction - Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection
In late ninth-century China, woodblock printing revolutionized reading, transforming books into new cultural expressions. The Song dynasty (10th–13th centuries) marked the golden age of printing, with...
theme.npm.edu.tw
January 3, 2026 at 6:38 AM
I'm puzzled by the fact that this exhibition seems to elicit so little (i.e. zero) interest in my Bluesky. I don't recall seeing any announcement about it and my post below looks like a stone having been thrown into the sea. We're talking about dozens of printed books of the Song dynasty!
Only two days left (until Sunday 4 January) to visit the first part of the fantastic exhibition "Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection (I)". The second part will open on 10 January.
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
Introduction - Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection
In late ninth-century China, woodblock printing revolutionized reading, transforming books into new cultural expressions. The Song dynasty (10th–13th centuries) marked the golden age of printing, with...
theme.npm.edu.tw
January 2, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Only two days left (until Sunday 4 January) to visit the first part of the fantastic exhibition "Two Hundred Treasures: Song Dynasty Rare Books in the National Palace Museum Collection (I)". The second part will open on 10 January.
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
theme.npm.edu.tw/exh114/TwoHu...
For what it's worth (maybe some people follow me for professional reasons), reading is a crucial part of antiquarian bookselling as I want to do it. Not just catalogues and reference books, but general readings. I now probably read more than during my PhD (in Mathematics).
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
Loved this brilliant biography of Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social But what struck me from the start: it's also a portrait of a lost time in science: no grant applications or teaching, big travel budgets: the job only to think, talk & get science done. Future scientific biogs will be so different.
January 2, 2026 at 11:36 AM
For what it's worth (maybe some people follow me for professional reasons), reading is a crucial part of antiquarian bookselling as I want to do it. Not just catalogues and reference books, but general readings. I now probably read more than during my PhD (in Mathematics).
I’ve just looked again at an opinion poll conducted in Taiwan in August and the way it was reported by the government, Taiwan Info and Taiwan Today. Here are two comments. If you find mistakes in what I write, please correct me, thank you. First, the government webpage about the poll (link below).
中華民國大陸委員會
提供大陸委員會官方發佈的新聞、重要活動、大陸政策、兩岸統計、臺港澳關係、本會官方YouTube及Picasa影音頻道等相關資訊。
www.mac.gov.tw
January 2, 2026 at 6:15 AM
I’ve just looked again at an opinion poll conducted in Taiwan in August and the way it was reported by the government, Taiwan Info and Taiwan Today. Here are two comments. If you find mistakes in what I write, please correct me, thank you. First, the government webpage about the poll (link below).
What was the last movie or TV show you watched in 2025?
I you don't know it, watch "The Phobia Workshop". Make sure it is the UK version.
I you don't know it, watch "The Phobia Workshop". Make sure it is the UK version.
January 1, 2026 at 4:21 PM
What was the last movie or TV show you watched in 2025?
I you don't know it, watch "The Phobia Workshop". Make sure it is the UK version.
I you don't know it, watch "The Phobia Workshop". Make sure it is the UK version.
I remember learning this one listening to the Goon Show episode "The Tay Bridge Disaster".
Hogmanay [hog-muh-NAY]
(n.)
- New Year's Eve and its celebrations.
- A gift that is given on this day.
Used in a sentence:
“The hapless Hadley Hogwood has a horrible hibernal habitude of hurriedly helping himself to heaping helpings of the Hogmanay honey baked ham.”
(n.)
- New Year's Eve and its celebrations.
- A gift that is given on this day.
Used in a sentence:
“The hapless Hadley Hogwood has a horrible hibernal habitude of hurriedly helping himself to heaping helpings of the Hogmanay honey baked ham.”
January 1, 2026 at 5:07 AM
I remember learning this one listening to the Goon Show episode "The Tay Bridge Disaster".
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
A thread on #nature and #wildlife photographs shared by the #Taiwanese forestry agency 🧵
Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area in Miaoli is known for mist-shrouded #mountain ridges and ancient red cypresses revered as "sacred #trees." recreation.forest.gov.tw/EN/Forest/RA...
Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area in Miaoli is known for mist-shrouded #mountain ridges and ancient red cypresses revered as "sacred #trees." recreation.forest.gov.tw/EN/Forest/RA...
December 19, 2025 at 5:57 AM
A thread on #nature and #wildlife photographs shared by the #Taiwanese forestry agency 🧵
Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area in Miaoli is known for mist-shrouded #mountain ridges and ancient red cypresses revered as "sacred #trees." recreation.forest.gov.tw/EN/Forest/RA...
Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area in Miaoli is known for mist-shrouded #mountain ridges and ancient red cypresses revered as "sacred #trees." recreation.forest.gov.tw/EN/Forest/RA...
Reposted by Jonathan Chiche
Very friendly letter from Crick to Franklin, April 1954, discussing work, helping her arrange a trip to the USA, and hoping to see her soon in the US or back in the UK. His sign-off – 'Yours ever' – was reserved for his closest friends.
December 18, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Very friendly letter from Crick to Franklin, April 1954, discussing work, helping her arrange a trip to the USA, and hoping to see her soon in the US or back in the UK. His sign-off – 'Yours ever' – was reserved for his closest friends.