Mike Sowden
@mikeachim.bsky.social
Writer (on science, travel & curiosity), Yorkshireman, tedious enthusiast, professional overthinker, Megathreader. Now: Scotland.
Writes Everything Is Amazing: https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/
Writes Everything Is Amazing: https://everythingisamazing.substack.com/
(Also, on a selfish note - thirty years ago, what I'm now doing for a living didn't exist. Writing a science newsletter that could be delivered more or less instantly anywhere in the world, & having a way for some of those readers to be kind enough to pay for it? Absolute science fiction, mate. 🤯)
November 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
(Also, on a selfish note - thirty years ago, what I'm now doing for a living didn't exist. Writing a science newsletter that could be delivered more or less instantly anywhere in the world, & having a way for some of those readers to be kind enough to pay for it? Absolute science fiction, mate. 🤯)
I love this take. I'm a former archaeology student who now writes about science and loves science fiction, and to my mind, it's all the same thing: openly exploring that "strangeness" to discover how what we regard as normal is never the only way to think about things and never the only way to live.
November 29, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I love this take. I'm a former archaeology student who now writes about science and loves science fiction, and to my mind, it's all the same thing: openly exploring that "strangeness" to discover how what we regard as normal is never the only way to think about things and never the only way to live.
Reposted by Mike Sowden
I recently wrote something about the science of pareidolia, the "you can't unsee this face in this inanimate thing" bias - and all the examples I found are delightful, ludicrous and worrying! (It's amazing how completely it hijacks our mind.)
I dare you to unsee the following examples.
1/
I dare you to unsee the following examples.
1/
November 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
And this certainly feels related: bsky.app/profile/chri...
For more than a decade now the government’s answer to how to fund universities has been to make money from overseas students.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
And this certainly feels related: bsky.app/profile/chri...
The 65,000km length is the entire continuous mountain-chain network that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge connects to, which runs all the way round the world!
November 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
The 65,000km length is the entire continuous mountain-chain network that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge connects to, which runs all the way round the world!
Welcome back for the second half of this trip along the world's longest mountain-chain!
This sea-mount is halfway down the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, but under *kilometres* (gulp) of water. Incredibly difficult to explore directly.
But there's a fantastically clever way scientists can "see" it...
1/
This sea-mount is halfway down the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, but under *kilometres* (gulp) of water. Incredibly difficult to explore directly.
But there's a fantastically clever way scientists can "see" it...
1/
The Atlantis Massif is around 16km across, and climbs 4.2km, to within 700 metres of the sea surface.
I know these are just numbers, so - it's about the size of Mount Rainier (Washington State).
To help you imagine this, here's a pic of Mount Rainier.
Now imagine that underwater.
9/
I know these are just numbers, so - it's about the size of Mount Rainier (Washington State).
To help you imagine this, here's a pic of Mount Rainier.
Now imagine that underwater.
9/
November 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
But if you fancy taking further trips of scientific fancy with me on all sorts of curious subjects, I write a newsletter for this very purpose, which is free to sign up to!
> everythingisamazing.substack.com <
Thanks for coming along. :)
> everythingisamazing.substack.com <
Thanks for coming along. :)
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 PM
But if you fancy taking further trips of scientific fancy with me on all sorts of curious subjects, I write a newsletter for this very purpose, which is free to sign up to!
> everythingisamazing.substack.com <
Thanks for coming along. :)
> everythingisamazing.substack.com <
Thanks for coming along. :)