Greg Egan
@gregegansf.bsky.social
SF writer / computer programmer
Latest novel: MORPHOTROPHIC
Latest collection: SLEEP AND THE SOUL
Web site: http://gregegan.net
Also: @[email protected]
Latest novel: MORPHOTROPHIC
Latest collection: SLEEP AND THE SOUL
Web site: http://gregegan.net
Also: @[email protected]
Pinned
Greg Egan
@gregegansf.bsky.social
· Nov 25
My new novel MORPHOTROPHIC is available now!
You can read the first two chapters here:
www.gregegan.net/MORPHOTROPHI...
You can read the first two chapters here:
www.gregegan.net/MORPHOTROPHI...
"We're trying to compete with the big boys, and part of that is you've got to keep your content refreshed and new all of the time," Mr Hennessy said.
Refreshed, new and hallucinated: tourists book trips to nonexistent hot springs.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Refreshed, new and hallucinated: tourists book trips to nonexistent hot springs.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
January 21, 2026 at 11:09 PM
"We're trying to compete with the big boys, and part of that is you've got to keep your content refreshed and new all of the time," Mr Hennessy said.
Refreshed, new and hallucinated: tourists book trips to nonexistent hot springs.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Refreshed, new and hallucinated: tourists book trips to nonexistent hot springs.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
For crying out loud, ABC news, never send a line graph to do a bar chart’s job.
Link: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Link: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
January 21, 2026 at 10:21 AM
For crying out loud, ABC news, never send a line graph to do a bar chart’s job.
Link: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Link: www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
When the crackpot DIY Theory of Everything spammers forget to fill in the blanks in their email templates:
“I'm reaching out because your work in - particularly on - engages with fundamental questions that the U-Model addresses from a unique angle.”
“I'm reaching out because your work in - particularly on - engages with fundamental questions that the U-Model addresses from a unique angle.”
January 21, 2026 at 12:38 AM
When the crackpot DIY Theory of Everything spammers forget to fill in the blanks in their email templates:
“I'm reaching out because your work in - particularly on - engages with fundamental questions that the U-Model addresses from a unique angle.”
“I'm reaching out because your work in - particularly on - engages with fundamental questions that the U-Model addresses from a unique angle.”
“Keep, ancient lands, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Give me your Oscars, your Tonys, your Grammys. Your Pulitzers and your Prime Time Emmys. Your Breakthrough Prizes. No one deserves a Breakthrough Prize like me. Just leave them all by the door on your way out.”
January 16, 2026 at 1:56 PM
“Keep, ancient lands, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Give me your Oscars, your Tonys, your Grammys. Your Pulitzers and your Prime Time Emmys. Your Breakthrough Prizes. No one deserves a Breakthrough Prize like me. Just leave them all by the door on your way out.”
Reposted by Greg Egan
I think determinism is perfectly compatible with the kinds of free will worth wanting - those that underlie moral responsibility and such. It's a 'purely academic' issue, since our universe is not deterministic. But it helps clarify things.
direct.mit.edu/books/book/4...
direct.mit.edu/books/book/4...
Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting
A landmark book in the debate over free will that makes the case for compatibilism.In this landmark 1984 work on free will, Daniel Dennett makes a case for
direct.mit.edu
January 16, 2026 at 1:54 AM
I think determinism is perfectly compatible with the kinds of free will worth wanting - those that underlie moral responsibility and such. It's a 'purely academic' issue, since our universe is not deterministic. But it helps clarify things.
direct.mit.edu/books/book/4...
direct.mit.edu/books/book/4...
“Dialogue Boost” is described as an accessibility feature, and that’s fine with me, but honestly the sound mix is so bad in some movies that I bet 90% of people would welcome this even if they have no hearing difficulties in any other context.
www.aboutamazon.com/news/enterta...
www.aboutamazon.com/news/enterta...
Prime Video launches a new accessibility feature that makes it easier to hear dialogue in your favorite movies and series
Dialogue Boost is an innovation that lets you self-select dialogue volume levels to suit your needs on any device with Prime Video.
www.aboutamazon.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:03 PM
“Dialogue Boost” is described as an accessibility feature, and that’s fine with me, but honestly the sound mix is so bad in some movies that I bet 90% of people would welcome this even if they have no hearing difficulties in any other context.
www.aboutamazon.com/news/enterta...
www.aboutamazon.com/news/enterta...
Reposted by Greg Egan
I really don't have the words. Sheila is a dear friend and I wish and her family all the best as she recovers.
locusmag.com/2026/01/shei...
locusmag.com/2026/01/shei...
Asimov’s Editor Sheila Williams Hospitalized
The Must Read Books Team has shared that Sheila Williams, editor of Asimov’s, has been hospitalized after suffering a brain aneurysm. Asimov’s senior managing editor Emily Hockaday will…
locusmag.com
January 12, 2026 at 8:31 PM
I really don't have the words. Sheila is a dear friend and I wish and her family all the best as she recovers.
locusmag.com/2026/01/shei...
locusmag.com/2026/01/shei...
Chekhov: “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off.”
Ibsen: “Yeah, don’t worry, the guns have been fully telegraphed. My new rule is ‘Never bring the sole copy of a manuscript to a raucous party, unless it’s going to be in mortal danger.’”
Ibsen: “Yeah, don’t worry, the guns have been fully telegraphed. My new rule is ‘Never bring the sole copy of a manuscript to a raucous party, unless it’s going to be in mortal danger.’”
January 12, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Chekhov: “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off.”
Ibsen: “Yeah, don’t worry, the guns have been fully telegraphed. My new rule is ‘Never bring the sole copy of a manuscript to a raucous party, unless it’s going to be in mortal danger.’”
Ibsen: “Yeah, don’t worry, the guns have been fully telegraphed. My new rule is ‘Never bring the sole copy of a manuscript to a raucous party, unless it’s going to be in mortal danger.’”
Gravity is the curvature of spacetime. So, how curved is the spacetime we are in right now?
Let’s start by looking at the effect of curvature in a very simple situation. Two meridians on a sphere, like the red and blue ones in the diagram, will come together and move apart …
Let’s start by looking at the effect of curvature in a very simple situation. Two meridians on a sphere, like the red and blue ones in the diagram, will come together and move apart …
January 11, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Gravity is the curvature of spacetime. So, how curved is the spacetime we are in right now?
Let’s start by looking at the effect of curvature in a very simple situation. Two meridians on a sphere, like the red and blue ones in the diagram, will come together and move apart …
Let’s start by looking at the effect of curvature in a very simple situation. Two meridians on a sphere, like the red and blue ones in the diagram, will come together and move apart …
I would never have guessed that the Antarctic ice so far inland was moving quite so fast!
“The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea.
“The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea.
South Pole - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:45 PM
I would never have guessed that the Antarctic ice so far inland was moving quite so fast!
“The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea.
“The polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 m per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea.
Reposted by Greg Egan
LLM AI means you need more persistent experts and more sceptical generalists to spot fake stories like this www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea.... It’s a metacognition issue of certainty and confidence.
Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit
A “whistleblower” tried to corroborate his viral post with AI-generated evidence. This is how I caught him. PLUS: Grok's image-generation crisis, and the rapture over Claude Opus 4.5
www.platformer.news
January 6, 2026 at 9:15 AM
LLM AI means you need more persistent experts and more sceptical generalists to spot fake stories like this www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea.... It’s a metacognition issue of certainty and confidence.
Every Australian politician who has dragged their feet on emissions reductions is cordially invited to spend the upcoming 44°C day in Sydney’s western suburbs in a two-bedroom flat without air conditioning.
January 6, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Every Australian politician who has dragged their feet on emissions reductions is cordially invited to spend the upcoming 44°C day in Sydney’s western suburbs in a two-bedroom flat without air conditioning.
Reposted by Greg Egan
No need for a futuristic sci-fi take on What It’s Like To Be Grok, whether it can meaningfully apologize, anything like that. X is paying for synthetic revenge porn and CSAM at enormous scale because it amuses its insane king and appeases its sick users. The implementation details are irrelevant.
January 4, 2026 at 11:29 PM
No need for a futuristic sci-fi take on What It’s Like To Be Grok, whether it can meaningfully apologize, anything like that. X is paying for synthetic revenge porn and CSAM at enormous scale because it amuses its insane king and appeases its sick users. The implementation details are irrelevant.
Of course They Might Be Giants have the perfect song to prepare you for 2026:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBCV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBCV...
They Might Be Giants - Prepare (official video)
YouTube video by ParticleMen
www.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Of course They Might Be Giants have the perfect song to prepare you for 2026:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBCV...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBCV...
Reposted by Greg Egan
Last year I wrote about a paper on the idea of black holes made purely from light, and why it doesn't seem possible. Now one of the proponents of the idea, Don Page, has argued that there are still circumstances in which they could happen.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Light Black Holes from Light
\'Alvarez-Dom\'{\i}nguez et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 041401 (2024)] have suggested that ``it is not possible to concentrate enough light to precipitate the formation of an event horizon. We argue th...
journals.aps.org
December 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Last year I wrote about a paper on the idea of black holes made purely from light, and why it doesn't seem possible. Now one of the proponents of the idea, Don Page, has argued that there are still circumstances in which they could happen.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Three movies I’m looking forward to in 2026. (The dates here are when they open in my home town, at Perth’s Luna Cinemas.)
“No Other Choice” Jan 15
“The Secret Agent” Jan 22
“It Was Just An Accident” Jan 29
“No Other Choice” Jan 15
“The Secret Agent” Jan 22
“It Was Just An Accident” Jan 29
December 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Three movies I’m looking forward to in 2026. (The dates here are when they open in my home town, at Perth’s Luna Cinemas.)
“No Other Choice” Jan 15
“The Secret Agent” Jan 22
“It Was Just An Accident” Jan 29
“No Other Choice” Jan 15
“The Secret Agent” Jan 22
“It Was Just An Accident” Jan 29
December 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Greg Egan
2025 Headline of the Year nominee (August)
December 23, 2025 at 12:18 AM
2025 Headline of the Year nominee (August)
My Christmas was just saved from being fairly dire by D. C. Stillson, inventor of the pipe wrench. My place is so old you can’t buy the square-plug tools for opening the drain access hatches anymore, but a pipe wrench did the trick, and now the kitchen sink ... empties again.
December 24, 2025 at 10:18 AM
My Christmas was just saved from being fairly dire by D. C. Stillson, inventor of the pipe wrench. My place is so old you can’t buy the square-plug tools for opening the drain access hatches anymore, but a pipe wrench did the trick, and now the kitchen sink ... empties again.
Reposted by Greg Egan
What are the minimum and maximum areas of an equilateral triangle inscribed in a unit square?
(possibly use only simple algebra and geometry, no trigonometry, no calculus).
(possibly use only simple algebra and geometry, no trigonometry, no calculus).
December 24, 2025 at 8:35 AM
What are the minimum and maximum areas of an equilateral triangle inscribed in a unit square?
(possibly use only simple algebra and geometry, no trigonometry, no calculus).
(possibly use only simple algebra and geometry, no trigonometry, no calculus).
Reposted by Greg Egan
This is a cool result, but to me represents why the Turing model is actually the wrong physics model of computing. This is because it is serial, and so cannot deal with errors. I’ve written about this here dabacon.org/pontiff/2010...
December 23, 2025 at 3:57 PM
This is a cool result, but to me represents why the Turing model is actually the wrong physics model of computing. This is because it is serial, and so cannot deal with errors. I’ve written about this here dabacon.org/pontiff/2010...
Reposted by Greg Egan
In the 1960s, a group of New Jersey teenagers helped make computing personal...
(An excerpt from my new book in IEEE Spectrum)
spectrum.ieee.org/teenage-hack...
#HistSci #computing #History 🗃️
(An excerpt from my new book in IEEE Spectrum)
spectrum.ieee.org/teenage-hack...
#HistSci #computing #History 🗃️
The RESISTORS: Teen Hackers Who Saw and Lived the Future of Computing
In the 1960s, before PCs and the Internet were a thing, the RESISTORS were O.G. computer hackers, learning to code on old mainframes in a New Jersey barn.
spectrum.ieee.org
December 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
In the 1960s, a group of New Jersey teenagers helped make computing personal...
(An excerpt from my new book in IEEE Spectrum)
spectrum.ieee.org/teenage-hack...
#HistSci #computing #History 🗃️
(An excerpt from my new book in IEEE Spectrum)
spectrum.ieee.org/teenage-hack...
#HistSci #computing #History 🗃️
Reposted by Greg Egan
In his opening speech America’s Chief Counsel Robert H. Jackson called the decision to have a trial “one of the most significant tributes that Power ever has paid to Reason.”
That strikes a deep chord at a time when Power is trumping Reason in so many instances…
His full speech:
That strikes a deep chord at a time when Power is trumping Reason in so many instances…
His full speech:
www.cvce.eu
December 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
In his opening speech America’s Chief Counsel Robert H. Jackson called the decision to have a trial “one of the most significant tributes that Power ever has paid to Reason.”
That strikes a deep chord at a time when Power is trumping Reason in so many instances…
His full speech:
That strikes a deep chord at a time when Power is trumping Reason in so many instances…
His full speech:
I just got my annual COVID booster. The vaccine updated for LP.8.1 recently became available in Australia, so if you were waiting for that, now’s the time to get a pre-Christmas boost.
December 18, 2025 at 2:00 AM
I just got my annual COVID booster. The vaccine updated for LP.8.1 recently became available in Australia, so if you were waiting for that, now’s the time to get a pre-Christmas boost.
What surface arising naturally in physics is described by a degree-6 polynomial?
There’s a whole family of them hiding in plain sight:
x^2 – k^2 (x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^3 = 0
These are the surfaces of equal electrostatic potential for a dipole pointing along the x-axis!
There’s a whole family of them hiding in plain sight:
x^2 – k^2 (x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^3 = 0
These are the surfaces of equal electrostatic potential for a dipole pointing along the x-axis!
December 16, 2025 at 11:33 AM
What surface arising naturally in physics is described by a degree-6 polynomial?
There’s a whole family of them hiding in plain sight:
x^2 – k^2 (x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^3 = 0
These are the surfaces of equal electrostatic potential for a dipole pointing along the x-axis!
There’s a whole family of them hiding in plain sight:
x^2 – k^2 (x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^3 = 0
These are the surfaces of equal electrostatic potential for a dipole pointing along the x-axis!