Paul Stevenson
@pdstevenson.bsky.social
Nuclear physicist and quantum computerer &c. J'habite le sarf of England
On my way to Teddington, which sounds like a CBeebies show about a delightful small town populated by soft toys
February 11, 2026 at 8:19 AM
On my way to Teddington, which sounds like a CBeebies show about a delightful small town populated by soft toys
Waiting for the Lower School Concert to start. Glad to see they have precautions in case the drum kit explodes
February 10, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Waiting for the Lower School Concert to start. Glad to see they have precautions in case the drum kit explodes
Confected free speech wars against Universities will come with any Reform victory
This is pretty menacing.
Sarah Pochin wrote to Bangor's university student run debating society requesting that she attend to "answer questions from students."
When they said "no" Reform rolled all it's tanks onto the lawns and said they'll cut funding to the entire university if they win.
Sarah Pochin wrote to Bangor's university student run debating society requesting that she attend to "answer questions from students."
When they said "no" Reform rolled all it's tanks onto the lawns and said they'll cut funding to the entire university if they win.
February 10, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Confected free speech wars against Universities will come with any Reform victory
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
In case you want a prestigious certificate on your wall theagat.co
The AGAT - The Adventure Game Aptitude Test
Can you beat an 80s adventure game without a walkthrough? Prove it by taking the world's first standardized gaming exam.
theagat.co
February 9, 2026 at 8:28 PM
In case you want a prestigious certificate on your wall theagat.co
A sad story on the BBC News website about scammers, but I had to laugh at this line www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
February 9, 2026 at 9:12 AM
A sad story on the BBC News website about scammers, but I had to laugh at this line www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hertfordshire, where I grew up, is rarely in the news, but we've just had Matt Goodwin's origin story and now this. It's all happening in Herts (Herts CC, you can have that slogan for free).
As and adult, I live in a radically different place. Surrey.
As and adult, I live in a radically different place. Surrey.
February 2, 2026 at 9:12 AM
Hertfordshire, where I grew up, is rarely in the news, but we've just had Matt Goodwin's origin story and now this. It's all happening in Herts (Herts CC, you can have that slogan for free).
As and adult, I live in a radically different place. Surrey.
As and adult, I live in a radically different place. Surrey.
Tonight’s Pick of the Pops part 1. What a year 1983 was
February 1, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Tonight’s Pick of the Pops part 1. What a year 1983 was
Plenty of seats (all of them) still available for the two screenings of Mel*nia at the Guildford Odeon tomorrow
January 31, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Plenty of seats (all of them) still available for the two screenings of Mel*nia at the Guildford Odeon tomorrow
I'd suggest starting here
January 28, 2026 at 1:21 PM
I'd suggest starting here
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
The government’s suggestion that rolling out 20 minute courses on writing “AI“ prompts, sponsored by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, is somehow comparable to the founding of the Open University (the Wilson government‘s, & Jennie Lee’s, proudest achievement), is an insult to our human intelligence.
January 28, 2026 at 8:37 AM
The government’s suggestion that rolling out 20 minute courses on writing “AI“ prompts, sponsored by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, is somehow comparable to the founding of the Open University (the Wilson government‘s, & Jennie Lee’s, proudest achievement), is an insult to our human intelligence.
There was a conference last year called "My Favourite Dark Matter Model". It sounds more like a round in Just a Minute indico.cern.ch/event/134667...
MY FAVOURITE DARK MATTER MODEL
WARNING! ⚠️ Phishing attempts As usual there have been some phishing attempts regarding hotel reservations. As stated below, you should reserve your hotel and disregard any emails offering this servic...
indico.cern.ch
January 27, 2026 at 9:07 AM
There was a conference last year called "My Favourite Dark Matter Model". It sounds more like a round in Just a Minute indico.cern.ch/event/134667...
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
Congratulations to our PhD student Khlood Alharthi, who has her first preprint out today! It shows how nuclear octupole vibrations are related to the surface tension of the nucleus arxiv.org/html/2601.17...
The role of the surface energy in nuclear octupole excitations
arxiv.org
January 27, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Congratulations to our PhD student Khlood Alharthi, who has her first preprint out today! It shows how nuclear octupole vibrations are related to the surface tension of the nucleus arxiv.org/html/2601.17...
Perhaps foolish to post to social media about public space etiquette but … pedestrians around where I live seem to just wait at pelican crossings without pressing the button. This seems to be a new thing, or perhaps I’ve just noticed. Is this a thing?
January 26, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Perhaps foolish to post to social media about public space etiquette but … pedestrians around where I live seem to just wait at pelican crossings without pressing the button. This seems to be a new thing, or perhaps I’ve just noticed. Is this a thing?
I think having 15 minute cities would be great. 15 tiny cities. Like model villages but bigger. Who doesn’t like a model village?
January 25, 2026 at 7:34 PM
I think having 15 minute cities would be great. 15 tiny cities. Like model villages but bigger. Who doesn’t like a model village?
Burns’ Night! The one day of the year I can say that I hope you enjoy his Cock Up Your Beaver
January 25, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Burns’ Night! The one day of the year I can say that I hope you enjoy his Cock Up Your Beaver
"Mathematics distracts from God" - a blogpost blogoftheisotopes.blogspot.com/2026/01/math...
Mathematics distracts from God
I've just returned from the British Film Institute where I went with my brother to watch Eric Rohmer's 1969 film My Night at Maud's. It's ...
blogoftheisotopes.blogspot.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:36 AM
"Mathematics distracts from God" - a blogpost blogoftheisotopes.blogspot.com/2026/01/math...
Smuttily-named items aimed at the Christmas market are now discounted at Guildford Waitrose. Guess we're too prurient in Surrey
January 21, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Smuttily-named items aimed at the Christmas market are now discounted at Guildford Waitrose. Guess we're too prurient in Surrey
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
This should be posted under every post Farage sends and quoted at him in every interview he gives - forever.
January 21, 2026 at 7:27 AM
This should be posted under every post Farage sends and quoted at him in every interview he gives - forever.
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
There are lots of great things to say about Dolly Parton – I love pointing to her scientific philanthropy during the pandemic – but my favorite is that she has probably done more for childhood literacy than anyone alive. Happy 80th birthday, Dolly.
Entertainer, childhood literacy advocate, and *scientific philanthropist* Dolly Parton was born #OTD in 1946.
Mostly known for singing and songwriting, Dolly's Imagination Library program has distributed over 100 million free books to kids around the world. 🦋 📖 🎶
dollyparton.com/imagination-...
Mostly known for singing and songwriting, Dolly's Imagination Library program has distributed over 100 million free books to kids around the world. 🦋 📖 🎶
dollyparton.com/imagination-...
January 19, 2026 at 4:24 PM
There are lots of great things to say about Dolly Parton – I love pointing to her scientific philanthropy during the pandemic – but my favorite is that she has probably done more for childhood literacy than anyone alive. Happy 80th birthday, Dolly.
While engaging in the dangerous activity of reliving Facebook memories, I was reminded of the days of the horsemeat scandal
January 17, 2026 at 6:38 PM
While engaging in the dangerous activity of reliving Facebook memories, I was reminded of the days of the horsemeat scandal
The one place on my body you can see my heartbeat is on my foot. Not the case from the quick straw poll of other people in my family. Is it just me?
January 17, 2026 at 6:13 PM
The one place on my body you can see my heartbeat is on my foot. Not the case from the quick straw poll of other people in my family. Is it just me?
Some hope for me here
‘Nobel-prizewinning scientists were less likely to have won academic scholarships than those… who did not win. They also took longer to reach senior academic positions, had less impressive early publication records, and maintained interest in fields beyond that for which they won their prize’
January 17, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Some hope for me here
Reposted by Paul Stevenson
I once applied for £400 from my faculty for an airfare. They insisted on three separate meetings with three senior people including the Dean before approving the funds. Any one of those meetings probably cost £400 in wasted time.
Incredible article which points out that it often collectively costs more to apply for scarce research funding than the funds awarded to the successful proposals.
What an absurd system we've built in the service of efficiency and competition.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What an absurd system we've built in the service of efficiency and competition.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
January 14, 2026 at 8:31 AM
I once applied for £400 from my faculty for an airfare. They insisted on three separate meetings with three senior people including the Dean before approving the funds. Any one of those meetings probably cost £400 in wasted time.
I managed to make my trail to Monday's Wordle a description of the game itself
January 14, 2026 at 8:09 AM
I managed to make my trail to Monday's Wordle a description of the game itself