Jim Baggott
@jimbaggott.bsky.social
Science writer based in Cape Town. Author of 'Discordance', 'Atomic', ‘The Quantum Story’, ‘Quantum Drama’ (with John Heilbron), and lots more. Migrant from symbol-formerly-known-as-Twitter. Also on Substack: jimbaggott.substack.com. www.jimbaggott.com.
Reposted by Jim Baggott
This is an absolute disgrace. So the values held by society haven’t changed in 323 years (Isaac Newton was elected president of the Royal Society in 1703)?
"I think it is naive, frankly, to say that we should get rid of him because he’s a bad person," the new UK Royal Society president says of Elon Musk's membership.
The society would have expelled Isaac Newton if it made judgments on character & behaviour, Paul Nurse says.
www.ft.com/content/088b...
The society would have expelled Isaac Newton if it made judgments on character & behaviour, Paul Nurse says.
www.ft.com/content/088b...
Elon Musk should keep UK Royal Society membership, says president
Paul Nurse tells FT that national science academy should avoid ‘making judgments’ about ‘character’ of fellows
www.ft.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:13 PM
This is an absolute disgrace. So the values held by society haven’t changed in 323 years (Isaac Newton was elected president of the Royal Society in 1703)?
Alternative headline: ‘Astronomers are still arguing about the dark energy equation of state’.
Dark energy just got even weirder and why the Universe may end in a 'Big Crunch' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dark energy just got even weirder and why the Universe may end in a 'Big Crunch' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dark Energy may be changing and with it the fate of the Universe
A mysterious force called Dark Energy might be changing, in a way that challenges our current understanding of the nature of time and space.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Alternative headline: ‘Astronomers are still arguing about the dark energy equation of state’.
Dark energy just got even weirder and why the Universe may end in a 'Big Crunch' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dark energy just got even weirder and why the Universe may end in a 'Big Crunch' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
*Hapgood* was one of my favourite Stoppard plays. Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Sir Tom won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love.
www.bbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM
*Hapgood* was one of my favourite Stoppard plays. Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Jim Baggott
The remarkable story we discussed this morning. (No paywall but do consider subscribing.) www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Prescott himself doctored Trump quote in his anti-BBC report
A report alleging Panorama broadcast misleading Trump quotes contains misleading quotes itself
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The remarkable story we discussed this morning. (No paywall but do consider subscribing.) www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
Well worth reading in full. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Well worth reading in full. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
Reposted by Jim Baggott
Britain is not a country of racist bigots.
Time for the decent majority to "take back control".
Repost if you agree.
Time for the decent majority to "take back control".
Repost if you agree.
August 31, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Britain is not a country of racist bigots.
Time for the decent majority to "take back control".
Repost if you agree.
Time for the decent majority to "take back control".
Repost if you agree.
The answer is, of course, no. As Nigel explains.
Is matter conscious? app.thenewworld.co.uk/story/144378...
Is the universe conscious? Philip Pullman thinks so…
It’s fun to entertain the possibility of panpsychism – that all the physical things around you have some level of experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s how reality works
app.thenewworld.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 5:48 AM
The answer is, of course, no. As Nigel explains.
Reposted by Jim Baggott
New books this week. @foliosociety.bsky.social @greatdismal.bsky.social @brianclegg.bsky.social @alekskrotoski.bsky.social @jimbaggott.bsky.social @markcooperjones.bsky.social @jayforeman.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Haven’t seen this anywhere yet so I guess I’m going to say it. OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.
October 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Haven’t seen this anywhere yet so I guess I’m going to say it. OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.
Reposted by Jim Baggott
Fresh JWST view of Uranus taken Oct 6 2025 with NIRCam.
Full size & more info: flic.kr/p/2rByidu 🔭🧪
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck CC BY
Proposal PI: Varun Bajaj
Proposal ID: 8975
Filters: F150W2-F162M, F410M
Full size & more info: flic.kr/p/2rByidu 🔭🧪
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck CC BY
Proposal PI: Varun Bajaj
Proposal ID: 8975
Filters: F150W2-F162M, F410M
October 26, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Fresh JWST view of Uranus taken Oct 6 2025 with NIRCam.
Full size & more info: flic.kr/p/2rByidu 🔭🧪
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck CC BY
Proposal PI: Varun Bajaj
Proposal ID: 8975
Filters: F150W2-F162M, F410M
Full size & more info: flic.kr/p/2rByidu 🔭🧪
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck CC BY
Proposal PI: Varun Bajaj
Proposal ID: 8975
Filters: F150W2-F162M, F410M
Are we *sure* everybody’s seen this now?
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute
Despite huge breakthroughs, astronomers still can’t agree on what the cosmos is made of, much less how it came to be. A fresh account delves into the reasons.
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Are we *sure* everybody’s seen this now?
Today is UK publication day for my new book *Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant* To celebrate, I’m posting an essay on the trailblazing women who transformed our understanding of the universe. open.substack.com/pub/jimbaggo...
The Harvard Computers
The trailblazing women who transformed our understanding of the universe
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Today is UK publication day for my new book *Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant* To celebrate, I’m posting an essay on the trailblazing women who transformed our understanding of the universe. open.substack.com/pub/jimbaggo...
Has everyone seen this yet? 😉
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute
Despite huge breakthroughs, astronomers still can’t agree on what the cosmos is made of, much less how it came to be. A fresh account delves into the reasons.
www.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Has everyone seen this yet? 😉
Reposted by Jim Baggott
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute
Despite huge breakthroughs, astronomers still can’t agree on what the cosmos is made of, much less how it came to be. A fresh account delves into the reasons.
www.nature.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute
Despite huge breakthroughs, astronomers still can’t agree on what the cosmos is made of, much less how it came to be. A fresh account delves into the reasons.
www.nature.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
"Baggott’s book is a masterpiece that combines depth with clarity and comprehensiveness with readability,” says renowned historian of physics Helge Kragh in his review of my new book ‘Discordance’. 😳 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Chinese Nobel laureate and physicist Chen Ning Yang dies aged 103 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Chen Ning Yang: Chinese Nobel prize winning physicist dies aged 103
Yang, one of the world's most influential scientists, earned global recognition for his work in theoretical physics.
www.bbc.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Chinese Nobel laureate and physicist Chen Ning Yang dies aged 103 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hey! Look what just arrived. 😎
October 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Hey! Look what just arrived. 😎
Physics Nobel awarded to three scientists for work on quantum computing www.bbc.com/news/article...
Physics Nobel: Three win prize for paving way for very powerful computers
The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.
www.bbc.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Physics Nobel awarded to three scientists for work on quantum computing www.bbc.com/news/article...
The Cepheid found in Andromeda by Hubble had been discovered earlier by Milton Humason. But when he showed the marked image to Harlow Shapley - who had argued that the Milky Way *is* the entire universe - Shapley erased the marks.
VAR!
In the early morning hours #OTD in 1923, Edwin Hubble took a photo plate of M31 that showed a Cepheid variable star.
Using Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s distance-luminosity relationship, Hubble concluded that M31 is another galaxy outside the Milky Way. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
Image: Carnegie Observatories
In the early morning hours #OTD in 1923, Edwin Hubble took a photo plate of M31 that showed a Cepheid variable star.
Using Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s distance-luminosity relationship, Hubble concluded that M31 is another galaxy outside the Milky Way. 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
Image: Carnegie Observatories
October 7, 2025 at 5:46 AM
The Cepheid found in Andromeda by Hubble had been discovered earlier by Milton Humason. But when he showed the marked image to Harlow Shapley - who had argued that the Milky Way *is* the entire universe - Shapley erased the marks.
I’m heading into a studio next week to record the audio version of my new book ‘Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant’. This will be a new experience for me. Anyone have any tips?
October 2, 2025 at 12:08 PM
I’m heading into a studio next week to record the audio version of my new book ‘Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant’. This will be a new experience for me. Anyone have any tips?
Nostalgia attack! I remember reading this as a young kid (about 8 years old). It featured Fireball XL-5 and Stingray and a cartoon strip featuring Lady Penelope. When a reader wrote in to ask who she was, the editor explained that she was a character in a new show called Thunderbirds, which …
September 30, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Nostalgia attack! I remember reading this as a young kid (about 8 years old). It featured Fireball XL-5 and Stingray and a cartoon strip featuring Lady Penelope. When a reader wrote in to ask who she was, the editor explained that she was a character in a new show called Thunderbirds, which …
Anyone watching the reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk might want to Google ‘Horst Wessel’.
September 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Anyone watching the reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk might want to Google ‘Horst Wessel’.
Reposted by Jim Baggott
The Big Bang - is it a theory in crisis? @jimbaggott.bsky.social @aeon.co
aeon.co/essays/why-m...
aeon.co/essays/why-m...
Why might the Big Bang theory be in crisis very soon? | Aeon Essays
The current theory for the origin of the Universe is remarkably successful yet full of explanatory holes. Expect surprises
aeon.co
September 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM
The Big Bang - is it a theory in crisis? @jimbaggott.bsky.social @aeon.co
aeon.co/essays/why-m...
aeon.co/essays/why-m...