Dan Falk
@danfalk.bsky.social
Hi! I write about #science for Smithsonian, Discover, Quanta, Nautilus, Undark, National Geographic, CBC Radio, & many other outlets. Books include The Science of Shakespeare and In Search of Time. Co-host of BookLab podcast. 🔭🪐⭐️⚛️
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Dan Falk
@danfalk.bsky.social
· 20d
Is it time to bring back natural philosophy? - ABC listen
Once upon a time, what we now call scientists were known as "natural philosophers". These were people who studied the physical universe through observation and logic, using philosophical methods and r...
www.abc.net.au
1. As the year winds down, here are (in random order) seven things that I wrote about, or reported on, in 2025. 🧵 Starting with a radio report I did on whether natural philosophy is, or ought to be, making a comeback:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
1/3 Enjoying @seanmcarroll.bsky.social's "Mindscape" episode with Ned Block (@neddo.bsky.social). At one point Sean is trying to remember who said that LLMs don't experience the passage of time (a point he strongly agrees with). I don't know who specifically said *that*, but (cont'd)
January 19, 2026 at 5:10 AM
1/3 Enjoying @seanmcarroll.bsky.social's "Mindscape" episode with Ned Block (@neddo.bsky.social). At one point Sean is trying to remember who said that LLMs don't experience the passage of time (a point he strongly agrees with). I don't know who specifically said *that*, but (cont'd)
It’s 2026, so I guess let’s take St. Joseph’s levitations seriously
January 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
It’s 2026, so I guess let’s take St. Joseph’s levitations seriously
Happy perihelion everyone! www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
What is perihelion? Here's what happens when Earth is nearest to the sun
Here's how the astronomical phenomenon influences our planet—from the length of our seasons to the way Earth moves through space.
www.nationalgeographic.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Happy perihelion everyone! www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
Here’s another snippet from @jjvincent.bsky.social ‘s excellent @harpers.bsky.social feature on humanoid robots:
January 3, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Here’s another snippet from @jjvincent.bsky.social ‘s excellent @harpers.bsky.social feature on humanoid robots:
Reposted by Dan Falk
Dan Falk (@danfalk.bsky.social)'s piece about the Scopes trial, which included comments from yours truly, was among Smithsonian magazine's top ten stories for 2025!
Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2025, From Eerie Clay Puppets With Detachable Heads to a New Look at the American Revolution
The magazine’s most-read articles of the year included a deep dive on the Scopes "monkey trial," an interview with award-winning documentarians and a profile of quintuplets who found fame during the G...
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Dan Falk (@danfalk.bsky.social)'s piece about the Scopes trial, which included comments from yours truly, was among Smithsonian magazine's top ten stories for 2025!
Frozen pond scene, Halifax, NS, a couple of days ago: ( #winter #photography )
January 2, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Frozen pond scene, Halifax, NS, a couple of days ago: ( #winter #photography )
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" first appeared #OTD in 1818. A while back, I wrote about the real-life #science that inspired Shelley's groundbreaking novel:
www.mentalfloss.com/article/5268...
www.mentalfloss.com/article/5268...
How Real-Life Science Inspired Mary Shelley's <em>Frankenstein</em>
Shelley's famous tale is filled with the cutting-edge science of her day.
www.mentalfloss.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" first appeared #OTD in 1818. A while back, I wrote about the real-life #science that inspired Shelley's groundbreaking novel:
www.mentalfloss.com/article/5268...
www.mentalfloss.com/article/5268...
I’m enjoying @danielwhiteson.bsky.social ‘s book — but I’m not sure how much that looks like @seanmcarroll.bsky.social ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
January 1, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I’m enjoying @danielwhiteson.bsky.social ‘s book — but I’m not sure how much that looks like @seanmcarroll.bsky.social ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wake Up Dead Man was fine — but the best cinematic response to “Forgive me, father, for I have sinned” is still “That’s putting it mildly, 007.” (For Your Eyes Only, 1981.)
January 1, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Wake Up Dead Man was fine — but the best cinematic response to “Forgive me, father, for I have sinned” is still “That’s putting it mildly, 007.” (For Your Eyes Only, 1981.)
New Years Eve (afternoon), Black Rock Beach, Point Pleasant Park, Halifax:
December 31, 2025 at 8:32 PM
New Years Eve (afternoon), Black Rock Beach, Point Pleasant Park, Halifax:
1. As the year winds down, here are (in random order) seven things that I wrote about, or reported on, in 2025. 🧵 Starting with a radio report I did on whether natural philosophy is, or ought to be, making a comeback:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
Is it time to bring back natural philosophy? - ABC listen
Once upon a time, what we now call scientists were known as "natural philosophers". These were people who studied the physical universe through observation and logic, using philosophical methods and r...
www.abc.net.au
December 30, 2025 at 8:01 PM
1. As the year winds down, here are (in random order) seven things that I wrote about, or reported on, in 2025. 🧵 Starting with a radio report I did on whether natural philosophy is, or ought to be, making a comeback:
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... (cont'd...)
How easy / hard should it be to figure out a whodunnit film, before the answers are revealed? I would say, if you go as a group of three, maybe *one* of you should be able to figure it out. (If two of you can figure it out, it’s too easy.)
December 30, 2025 at 6:08 PM
How easy / hard should it be to figure out a whodunnit film, before the answers are revealed? I would say, if you go as a group of three, maybe *one* of you should be able to figure it out. (If two of you can figure it out, it’s too easy.)
“We are here happily celebrating 100 years, but actually it’s a mess. We were given this theory, and we still don’t understand what it means.” @walkingthedot.bsky.social reports on quantum mechanics 100th birthday party, in @quantamagazine.bsky.social
www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a... #physics
www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a... #physics
‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum Theory’s 100th Birthday Party | Quanta Magazine
Hundreds of physicists (and a few journalists) journeyed to Helgoland, the birthplace of quantum mechanics, and grappled with what they have and haven’t learned about reality.
www.quantamagazine.org
December 30, 2025 at 3:17 PM
“We are here happily celebrating 100 years, but actually it’s a mess. We were given this theory, and we still don’t understand what it means.” @walkingthedot.bsky.social reports on quantum mechanics 100th birthday party, in @quantamagazine.bsky.social
www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a... #physics
www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a... #physics
To think that I missed this back in 2021
December 29, 2025 at 11:53 PM
To think that I missed this back in 2021
Which other STEM fields have godfathers, besides AI? 🤔
December 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Which other STEM fields have godfathers, besides AI? 🤔
Reposted by Dan Falk
More than one million people a week are having conversations about suicide with the suicide machine
"around 0.15% of users active in a given week have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent": openai.com/index/streng...
"800M weekly users": techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/s...
even on the conservative end, that’s so many people
"800M weekly users": techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/s...
even on the conservative end, that’s so many people
December 28, 2025 at 9:38 PM
More than one million people a week are having conversations about suicide with the suicide machine
Reflection of the former Saint Mary's Boys and Girls School (1521 and 1531 Grafton Street), Halifax, this afternoon:
December 28, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reflection of the former Saint Mary's Boys and Girls School (1521 and 1531 Grafton Street), Halifax, this afternoon:
Anyone else feel like we’re maybe two data centres away from people believing that Rodney Dangerfield was president in-between Eisenhower and Kennedy?
December 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Anyone else feel like we’re maybe two data centres away from people believing that Rodney Dangerfield was president in-between Eisenhower and Kennedy?
Happy Birthday to Johannes Kepler, born #OTD in 1571. Among other achievements, Kepler determined the true shape of planetary orbits (they're ellipses, not circles, as had long been assumed). 🪐
www.astronomy.com/today-in-the...
www.astronomy.com/today-in-the...
Dec. 27, 1571: The birth of Johannes Kepler
Today in the history of astronomy, the astronomer responsible for the laws of planetary motion is born.
www.astronomy.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Happy Birthday to Johannes Kepler, born #OTD in 1571. Among other achievements, Kepler determined the true shape of planetary orbits (they're ellipses, not circles, as had long been assumed). 🪐
www.astronomy.com/today-in-the...
www.astronomy.com/today-in-the...
I wonder what a typical day is like for a Sarlacc. Like, do they just sit around, hoping that something will fall in?
December 27, 2025 at 4:06 AM
I wonder what a typical day is like for a Sarlacc. Like, do they just sit around, hoping that something will fall in?
Toronto scene (a few days ago). #Toronto #photography
December 27, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Toronto scene (a few days ago). #Toronto #photography
Life has been evolving for 4 billion(ish) years here on Earth -- so far, confined to the planet itself. But Caleb Scharf argues that space is life's next logical, perhaps inevitable, frontier. I review his new book, "The Giant Leap," for @undark.org:
undark.org/2025/12/26/b... #space #science
undark.org/2025/12/26/b... #space #science
Book Review: How Evolution Is Driving Us Further Into Space
"The Giant Leap," by astrobiologist Caleb Scharf, is an optimistic account of our widening journey into the cosmos.
undark.org
December 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Life has been evolving for 4 billion(ish) years here on Earth -- so far, confined to the planet itself. But Caleb Scharf argues that space is life's next logical, perhaps inevitable, frontier. I review his new book, "The Giant Leap," for @undark.org:
undark.org/2025/12/26/b... #space #science
undark.org/2025/12/26/b... #space #science
🙃 Last year, Christmas was on the 24th of Kislev; this years it’s on the 5th of Tevet — so confusing to have it jump around like that! 😉
December 25, 2025 at 7:59 PM
🙃 Last year, Christmas was on the 24th of Kislev; this years it’s on the 5th of Tevet — so confusing to have it jump around like that! 😉
FB keeps “suggesting” posts from the Babylon Bee — but I say no thanks to their anti-trans, pro-Bari-Weiss “humour.”
December 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
FB keeps “suggesting” posts from the Babylon Bee — but I say no thanks to their anti-trans, pro-Bari-Weiss “humour.”
Revolution number 9; Love Potion number 9; and
December 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Revolution number 9; Love Potion number 9; and