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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 1d

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

Chad Orzel @orzelc.bsky.social · 1d

Reading today's thing about the evils of LLM slop, and reminded of one of my undergrad professors ranting about dumb plagiarism. "Did you think I wouldn't've read the book on [class subject] by [author name] WHOSE OFFICE IS NEXT TO MINE?!?!"

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Reposted by Mark Hannam

Margaret Harris @drmlharris.bsky.social · 5d

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)

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

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Reposted by Mark Hannam

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 7d

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

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

An encounter with my brilliant and terrifying Head of Department

This is definitely a piece of fiction

open.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 7d

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

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

An encounter with my brilliant and terrifying Head of Department

This is definitely a piece of fiction

open.substack.com

1 1

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 24d

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

Shocking that anyone would say otherwise.

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 27d

* ok, 85%

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 27d

Already several comments on this line.

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

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

My dream postdoc

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

open.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · 27d

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

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

My dream postdoc

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

open.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Aug 29

But ok, at least he wasn’t boring…

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Aug 29

I recently re-read the DFW piece. I remember thinking it was great, but this time around he came across as a bit disturbed. Probably he shouldn’t have gone a cruise alone…

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Aug 1

Poor performance. We really need to up our game.

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 18

Gotta keep them honest!

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 18

Me on the radio, taking massive black holes crashing into each other.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Biggest black hole merger observed

Two black holes have collided and combined in the largest merger yet observed.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Mark Hannam

LIGO Scientific Collaboration @ligo.org · Jul 14

Our collaboration member Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social shares his insights on working on our latest discover, the particularly tricky gravitational-wave signal #GW231123

fictionalaether.substack.com/p/gw231123-a...

GW231123: an unearthly signal

A report on some actual science

fictionalaether.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 14

That must have made his day!

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 14

My summary of the latest @ligo.org observation paper.

Massive black holes!

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

GW231123: an unearthly signal

A report on some actual science

open.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 12

Here we go: the first of three trials of the scientific paper writer!

fictionalaether.substack.com/p/a-collisio...

A collision of co-authors

Three trials of a scientific paper writer: the first trial

fictionalaether.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 5

In honour of the second night of Oasis in Cardiff, I’m at home listening to Blur.

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 5

Latest piece: “The 2025 vacation life hack”

Including a (fashionably ambivalent) cameo appearance from Bluesky.

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

The 2025 vacation life hack

Or: how to write an article that mentions Donald Trump yet remains frothy and whimsical. (Hopefully.)

open.substack.com

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jul 1

The Trump Administration vs Springer? Please don’t ask me to pick a side.

Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · Jun 30

NASA scientists will apparently no longer be able to read @nature.com at their jobs, as the Trump administration has canceled all subscriptions to Springer Nature journals, per the agency. (1/3) 🧵

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Jun 30

Received one more - this time from NASA

“NASA sent a notification to Springer Nature stating the agency was cancelling its subscriptions. Our engineers and scientists will still have access to NASA mission data shared with their journals, as well as have access to many other scientific journals.”

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jun 28

Is Lolita the only case where the song is better than the book?

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jun 28

Latest post!

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jun 28

Finally, a new post! (And it’s not *just* about the lack of posts…)

“It’s been so quiet here lately that you might be wondering whether this ‘Stack continues to exist. Do not fear! The Fictional Aether exists just as certainly as the real aether does not.”

open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

An artist in peril

It’s been so quiet here lately that you might be wondering whether this ‘Stack continues to exist.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Mark Hannam

Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jun 7

A cautionary tale of duplicity and wickedness disguised as a piece of advice. Or, let’s face it: just a piece of advice.

“How to get your name on a paper”:
open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

How to get your name on a paper

I am in a panic.

open.substack.com

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Mark Hannam @markdhannam.bsky.social · Jun 7

A cautionary tale of duplicity and wickedness disguised as a piece of advice. Or, let’s face it: just a piece of advice.

“How to get your name on a paper”:
open.substack.com/pub/fictiona...

How to get your name on a paper

I am in a panic.

open.substack.com

1 1