Prof Stephen Serjeant
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stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Prof Stephen Serjeant
@stephenserjeant.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.2K following 980 posts
Astronomy Prof at Open University. 26.2. #RejoinEU. Views not OU’s and often not even mine. He/him
🐘 https://mas.to/@stephenserjeant
🧵 https://www.threads.net/@prof.stephen.serjeant
ORCID 0000-0002-0517-7943 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0517-7943
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stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Would anyone like my @royalastrosoc.bsky.social 2026 diary? I use an electronic calendar so this is surplus to requirements. 🧪🔭
Blue/green RAS 2026 diary, a bit longer than the pen to its side for scale.
November 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Genuinely delighted to have contributed to the Physics Without Frontiers workshop on AI for Afghan Students - rather nice write-up here (the pic of me also shows the work of my excellent postdoc Dr Laura Hunt) 🧪🔭 www.ictp.it/news/2025/11...
Physics Withouth Frontiers Afghanistan site page, showing six screenshots of the online lectures and hands-on demonstrations. The screenshot showing Prof Stephen Serjeant also highlights the work of his postdoc Dr Laura Hunt.
November 7, 2025 at 6:13 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Tagging @davidallengreen.bsky.social on the offchance that this common lore is new. Corollary: lawyers don’t need spell-checkers?
oh-mother-of-darkness Who wants to hear my new conspiracy theory about lawyers oh-mother-of-darkness 1. Can't legally lie, but they trade in half-truths and misleading language 2. Obsessed with contracts 3. Required to follow the letter (but not the spirit) of the law 4. Really good at exploiting loopholes 5. Range from semi-helpful to openly malevolent Conclusion?? Faeries noirandpumpkinspice Well I mean the places where we do our main business are even called "courts" so it's not like we're trying that hard to hide it
November 3, 2025 at 12:09 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
A lovely day today spent at an @openuniversity.bsky.social graduation, celebrating everyone but especially for me the newly minted Dr Lynge Lauritsen & Dr Adam McMaster #OUFamily
A smiling Dr Lynge Lauritsen in the glorious blue and gold OU PhD gown, with me in my red and blue Oxford DPhil robes with a white bow tie. The OU requires gown & hood and no hat, but Oxford specifies a gown, no hood and a mortar board for this outfit. Irresistible force & immovable object -who wins? It’s an OU event so OU rules prevail of course. In Oxford terms it’s a Gaudy, so there. A smiling Dr Adam McMaster in the OU blue and gold PhD gown, with me in my red and blue Oxford DPhil one breaking an Oxford rule. Go see the alt text on the other photo for the why coz I aint typing that again haha
October 30, 2025 at 10:18 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
This is a first… Unsolicited email asking for a journal article submission but neglecting to give a link to the submission system or even the name of the journal 🤦‍♂️🧪
Dear Dr. Serjeant, Stephen: I wish you good luck with your work today! I recently read your article "The future of astronomy with small satellites" published in NATURE ASTRONOMY. I am deeply impressed by your research on education, which combines both theoretical depth and practical relevance. Given your academic strength in this field, we sincerely invite you to share your latest research. We will provide a one-on-one, dedicated contact, prioritize your manuscript, and expedite its processing, facilitating the rapid dissemination of your findings. This journal has been included in ESCI. Looking forward to your response!
October 27, 2025 at 10:52 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
An 18th century observation on populists and scholars, but startlingly relevant today. Posting also to the 🧪 feed for scicomm folk. From Threads
Screenshot of Threads thread by gutz156. Concatenated text follows. A French aristocrat wrote: most geniuses remain unknown — and when I learned the reason, I realized nothing has changed since The line came from the memoirs of Marquis de Villeroy, written in 1782. He observed that the brightest men in Paris never rose beyond small circles. “They possessed truth,” he wrote, “but no audience.” He noticed a paradox — intelligence didn’t attract attention; it repelled it, because the mind that questions also threatens. Villeroy described dinners where shallow charmers won applause while real thinkers sat silent. “They spoke with care,” he wrote, “and the room punished them with boredom.” The court didn’t hate genius — it simply had no patience for precision. Attention always flowed to those who could flatter, not clarify. He concluded that talent fails not from lack of effort, but from over-complexity of delivery. The human brain rewards familiarity, not depth. The clever man wants to be understood; the crowd wants to be confirmed. Every era repeats that trade: truth exchanged for attention. Modern research calls it the fluency effect. People trust what’s easy to process. Hard ideas create friction, and friction feels unsafe. That’s why marketers outperform philosophers — they speak in rhythm, not revelation. The mind mistakes simplicity for truth. Villeroy’s final note reads: “Genius needs translation before it needs recognition.” Two centuries later, the stage hasn’t changed — only the spotlight. Most brilliant minds still fade, not because they’re wrong, but because they refuse to sing their wisdom in the language of the crowd.
October 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Oh you are right, I had forgotten! Well spotted. Didn’t stop Peter Capaldi’s casting when he’d been Caecilius but yes it could be an obstacle. Drat, she’d be wonderful
Olivia Colman playing a scary alien with sharp fangs in Doctor Who
September 15, 2025 at 6:39 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
I genuinely find it difficult to tell the difference between Terence Stamp and Malcolm McDowell. Is it just me?
Malcolm McDowell. Or is it Terence Stamp? Terence Stamp. Or is it Malcom McDowell?
August 18, 2025 at 9:19 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
This is really rather lovely! Congratulations @chrislintott.bsky.social ! Chris is looking super-young in that early footage so here's me from about 20-25 years ago. OMG I'm a 👶
A very youg me, holding a little green rocket with "Rocket Salad" written on the side
July 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Generative machine learning can do many wonderful and useful things in scientific contexts, from image deconvolution to simulation based inference and more. 🔭🧪

And then there's this.
Screenshot of Google query "is the titanic swimming pool ful of water" with an AI-generated answer as follows. No, the Titanic's swimming pool is not full of water. It is likely empty due to the ship's sinking and the immense water pressure at the wreck's depth, which would have crushed any voids, including the pool. The ship's sinking caused the pool's base to crack, allowing water to escape. Additionally, the crew was focused on passenger evacuation and not on maintaining the pool's water level. This video explains the Titanic's swimming pool and its working mechanism
July 14, 2025 at 9:09 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Today’s finally the day that Daniel Hannan, famously such a predictive monster mind, said we should all look forward to.
h/t @edwinhayward.com

www.reaction.life/p/britain-lo...
What Britain looks like after Brexit DANIEL HANNAN JUN 21, 2016 You're reading Reaction. To get lain Martin's weekly newsletter, our columnists, and invites to membership events, become a member here. It's 24 June, 2025, and Britain is marking its annual Independence Day celebration. As the fireworks stream through the summer sky, still not quite dark, we wonder why it took us so long to leave. The years that followed the 2016 referendum didn't just reinvigorate our economy, our democracy and our liberty. They improved relations with our neighbours.
June 24, 2025 at 6:45 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
how about no
Slack pop-up with the following text: Unlock Al for 50% off Slack's Pro plan now includes Al features. Upgrade by July 17 for 50% off your first 3 months. Learn more Instantly summarize channels and threads Unlock unlimited message history Work with people outside your organization Compare Plans Upgrade for 50% off
June 18, 2025 at 8:36 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
I think Raymond Smullyan would've loved this 🧪
Screenshot of Google search for "is the google ai overview correct" The AI review responds with an extract of a vice.com site, reading as follows. These Al overviews might be convenient and helpful, but are they actually accurate? All in all, not really. I mean, sure, the generative Al might pull some accurate information from credible sources, but it also might gather misinformation from sites like Reddit or non-verified articles.
June 4, 2025 at 10:26 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Insightful as always, this is a great read on what the UK-EU “reset” really means. I was also quite struck by these two extracts - they’re nothing new, but reminders that the constant populist backdrop hasn’t gone away. And THAT’s everywhere, EU+US too, and I have no idea how it should be fixed
The reason for that is because actually, as has been obvious since 2016, the Brexiters will never accept any version of Brexit. Nothing will ever satisfy them, partly because what they want is not practically possible but mainly because they don't want to be satisfied, they want to be outraged; and Brexit will always be a betrayal for them because they want to be betrayed. I think this reflects an underlying problem with many opinion polls about Brexit. Even after all these years when it has been such a huge issue, almost no one in the public (and fewer than might be expected in the media) actually understand even the most basic things about what membership and non-membership of the EU mean, right down to what a single market, let alone a customs union, means. As a result, public opinion is very easily manipulated by, and vulnerable to, political dishonesty (e.g. 'closer relations' can readily be rearticulated as 'subjugation'), making opinion poll results rather unreliable.
May 26, 2025 at 9:07 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Timeline serendipity
Neil's post, below which is a post by Chris Cantwell saying "Why are we still tolerating any of this?"
May 23, 2025 at 5:52 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
50th #parkrun and a PB to boot ☺️😅 @ukrunchat.bsky.social
Me, in shorts and a yellow running top holding a bell, standing on grass next to the Parkrun Northampton banner. You wouldn’t know it from that photo but I was so wrecked after that run that someone looked at my crumpled heap on the floor & asked if I was okay. You might be tempted to write that off as a one off, but it’s the second race I’ve ran this week, the second time it turned me into a crumpled heap, and the second time someone asked if I was okay. What can I say. I’m a maniac.
May 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
MrsS said I shouldn’t go into the office today but should stand around the house looking decorative. Tshirt by @manwhohasitall.bsky.social
Me on a sunny day at the Open University campus, wearing a T shirt with the words “I’m too handsome to do maths”
May 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Quite brilliantly witty 🧪 www.threads.com/@dinabelenko...
Threads post by dinabelenko This is the best take on Al in general and ChatGPT in particular l've ever seen. The monster wears your face Image of an online form requiring the user to answer the following question: “Can you describe specific ways you have integrated Al tools into your development workflow? Please include any custom setups, automations, or use cases beyond simple prompt usage.” The user’s answer is as follows. there is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thousand voices. it will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. it will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. it will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask. it feels no joy and no sorrow, it knows no right and no wrong. it knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same. it offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. "you simply must visit the monster—i always just ask the monster." there are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn't mean it has no price for when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. and when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face.
May 13, 2025 at 6:58 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
#StarWarsDay
Yoda saying 4th of May be with you, followed by Obi-Wan facepalming
May 4, 2025 at 10:26 AM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
hmm
picture of me in the sunny countryside wearing a Dennis-style striped T-shirt and scruffy Dennis-like hair
April 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
A very nice article in @physicsworld.bsky.social by my friend Kate Shaw on the obvious biases and anachronisms in the Nobel Prizes etc (sorry, too long for complete alt text but the article is at doi.org/10.1088/2058-7058/38/02/17 ). DEI seeks to make science better by being fairer 🧪
Physics World article from Feb 2025 by Kate Shaw. The Nobel fight for equity Kate Shaw says that the Nobel prizes are continuing to damage science by indicating that only certain demographics can succeed Too long for complete alt text but after presenting complelling statistics on the scandalous under-prepresentation of certain demographics among Nobel laureatues, and in access to science resources in general, ends with this. Can we as a community help reshape a structure from the current version that favours those from affluent backgrounds, and work harder to reach out to young people – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds? Imagine the benefit not only to science – with a greater pool of talent – but also to society and our young students when they see that everyone can succeed in science, not just the privileged 1%.
March 24, 2025 at 4:53 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Another lucky near miss for Britain that the far-right didn't take hold? I grew up feeling that democracies are as strong as castle walls - another dangerously seductive myth but maybe less seductive now
Photograph of the Battle of Cable Street, with a placard They Shall Not Pass. Caption reads: The Battle of Cable Street, 4 October 1936, was a defining moment in British anti-fascist resistance. Over 100,000 East End residents prevented Oswald Mosley's British Union of rascists trom marching through their Jewish community. The barricades bore the resolute slogan 'They Shall Not Pass', a powerful echo of the Spanish Civil War's 'iNo Pasarán!" symbolising the enduring spirit of resistance in anti-fascist movements. The local Jewish, Irish, and Communist residents, in a remarkable display of unity, worked together to build these barriers from furniture, paving stones, and overturned vehicles. Despite the overwhelming force of 6,000 police attempting to clear a path for the fascists, the East End community stood firm.
March 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
One other thing we did today was visit Margate's Turner Contemporary gallery, which had a photography exhibition called "Resistance: How protest shaped Britain and photography shaped protest". Lots of suffragettes, NI, etc, but also the Battle of Cable Street.
Two photographs of Oswald Mosely leading rallies of the British Union of Fascists in 1937 and 1948
March 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
(This day was a few days ago btw)

Without diminishing all the bravery and skill, England was lucky with the weather in the 16th century Spanish Armada
Queen Elizabeth looking out at the burning Spanish Armada, from the film Elizabeth: the Golden Age
March 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
stephenserjeant.bsky.social
Thought-provoking and sobering day. Visited the Ramsgate WW2 tunnels, where townsfolk slept and took refuge from bombing. Ramsgate was also where ships set off for Dunkirk in WW2. Then this evening watched Elizabeth - The Golden Age. This all left me with five scary thoughts
Ramsgate tunnel from world war two with living areas cordoned off by canvas dividers. In the foreground are to deckchairs where people slept and sone cooking equipment
March 16, 2025 at 12:41 PM