Sean Carroll
@seanmcarroll.bsky.social
Physics, philosophy, complexity. @jhuartssciences.bsky.social & @sfiscience.bsky.social. Host, #MindscapePodcast. Married to @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social.
Latest books: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe.
https://preposterousuniverse.com/
Latest books: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe.
https://preposterousuniverse.com/
All of the naughty forbidden ideas so beloved of the IDW and the University of Austin ultimately come down to “What if Archie Bunker’s worst prejudices were right?”
Curtis Yarvin has written a very long screed in defense of his post in which he said, “Hitler spoke the truth.”
A sampling of select portions is below and includes, in reference to Jewish people, the words:
“The only way to tell is the name and the nose.”
A sampling of select portions is below and includes, in reference to Jewish people, the words:
“The only way to tell is the name and the nose.”
January 6, 2026 at 5:08 PM
All of the naughty forbidden ideas so beloved of the IDW and the University of Austin ultimately come down to “What if Archie Bunker’s worst prejudices were right?”
Reposted by Sean Carroll
Lizards have evolved their own version of rock-paper-scissors. Here's my story on the genetics behind nature's games. Gift link: nyti.ms/493KGMI
January 6, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Lizards have evolved their own version of rock-paper-scissors. Here's my story on the genetics behind nature's games. Gift link: nyti.ms/493KGMI
The fact that he not only got away with it but got re-elected is a stunning indictment of our government, media, educational system, and society.
The newspaper headlines. It's insane that he got away with this unpunished.
January 6, 2026 at 2:48 PM
The fact that he not only got away with it but got re-elected is a stunning indictment of our government, media, educational system, and society.
Reposted by Sean Carroll
👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 @neddo.bsky.social on “thinking meat”, inverted spectra, and other goodies 👇🏽
Mindscape 339 | Ned Block on Whether Consciousness Requires Biology. #MindscapePodcast
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
January 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 @neddo.bsky.social on “thinking meat”, inverted spectra, and other goodies 👇🏽
Reposted by Sean Carroll
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations
Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service
www.huffpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
Let the war on ham sandwiches commence.
January 5, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Let the war on ham sandwiches commence.
Reposted by Sean Carroll
I feel like I'm back in the early 2000s, with a bunch of Democrats buying into the idea that supporting endless wars is going to make voters think they're "strong."
This is just sickening. Back when people were saying "Primary every Democrat," we should have stuck with that
January 5, 2026 at 3:18 PM
I feel like I'm back in the early 2000s, with a bunch of Democrats buying into the idea that supporting endless wars is going to make voters think they're "strong."
Mindscape 339 | Ned Block on Whether Consciousness Requires Biology. #MindscapePodcast
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
January 5, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Mindscape 339 | Ned Block on Whether Consciousness Requires Biology. #MindscapePodcast
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026...
Reposted by Sean Carroll
Million-year-old seashells preserved in siltstone.
January 4, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Million-year-old seashells preserved in siltstone.
The idea that it is good to have constraints on one’s actions, that strong institutions can lead to fair outcomes by letting multiple constituencies have a voice — we’re losing that, aren’t we.
January 3, 2026 at 4:42 PM
The idea that it is good to have constraints on one’s actions, that strong institutions can lead to fair outcomes by letting multiple constituencies have a voice — we’re losing that, aren’t we.
We increasingly live in a world run by gangsters.
January 3, 2026 at 1:06 PM
We increasingly live in a world run by gangsters.
Reposted by Sean Carroll
To sum up, a US president is going to war without congressional authorization against a sovereign nation that has not attacked or threatened it, and is doing so like a thief in the night, with no explanation for the American people or the world. It is all so unimaginable that it strains credulity.
January 3, 2026 at 9:38 AM
To sum up, a US president is going to war without congressional authorization against a sovereign nation that has not attacked or threatened it, and is doing so like a thief in the night, with no explanation for the American people or the world. It is all so unimaginable that it strains credulity.
We laugh, but I do wonder about the extent to which this syndrome has degraded all sorts of writing. Thanks to the internet, writers are constantly exposed to all sorts of silly and thoughtless responses, and worry too much about how to avoid provoking them. You can’t!
Nice article you’ve got there. Be a shame if *cocks shotgun* you forgot to include an otherwise irrelevant item that is important to me, personally.
January 2, 2026 at 10:50 PM
We laugh, but I do wonder about the extent to which this syndrome has degraded all sorts of writing. Thanks to the internet, writers are constantly exposed to all sorts of silly and thoughtless responses, and worry too much about how to avoid provoking them. You can’t!
Reposted by Sean Carroll
2025 was a stellar year for the Hubble Space Telescope! From tracking "blue lurker" stars to catching colliding asteroids in nearby Fomalhaut, Hubble has added to its list of discoveries from the last three decades. 🔭
2025 Year In Review — Hubble Space Telescope #shorts
YouTube video by Space Telescope Science Institute
www.youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:52 PM
2025 was a stellar year for the Hubble Space Telescope! From tracking "blue lurker" stars to catching colliding asteroids in nearby Fomalhaut, Hubble has added to its list of discoveries from the last three decades. 🔭
Opinions on "superintelligence" can reasonably differ. (Personally I think it's a terrible framing that obscures more than it clarifies.) But I still struggle to comprehend why anyone would think LLMs are the route to it.
Ex-Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has Lunch with the FT and in one of those instances so rare that you know he didn't sign an NDA, says exactly why as.ft.com/r/e503690d-8...
January 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Opinions on "superintelligence" can reasonably differ. (Personally I think it's a terrible framing that obscures more than it clarifies.) But I still struggle to comprehend why anyone would think LLMs are the route to it.
I need a more instantly recognizable look. I'm thinking a Mohawk.
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 10:33 PM
I need a more instantly recognizable look. I'm thinking a Mohawk.
Reposted by Sean Carroll
Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed. Double-detonating "superkilonova," Roman liquid gypsum burials, biomechanics of kangaroo hops, and cracking a puzzle that stumped fictional physicists on The Big Bang Theory, among other tantalizing tidbits arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed
Double-detonating "superkilonova," Roman liquid gypsum burials, biomechanics of kangaroo posture, and more.
arstechnica.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed. Double-detonating "superkilonova," Roman liquid gypsum burials, biomechanics of kangaroo hops, and cracking a puzzle that stumped fictional physicists on The Big Bang Theory, among other tantalizing tidbits arstechnica.com/science/2026...
The calendar changes— on the one hand, an entirely arbitrary chronological signifier. On the other, an absolutely necessary chance to catch our breath, renew our energies, and look ahead. Let’s go!
January 1, 2026 at 5:44 AM
The calendar changes— on the one hand, an entirely arbitrary chronological signifier. On the other, an absolutely necessary chance to catch our breath, renew our energies, and look ahead. Let’s go!
Reposted by Sean Carroll
⌛️ Two days left to double your donation to @give-directly.bsky.social for #PodsFightPoverty!
Donate: givedirectly.org/pods
Donate: givedirectly.org/pods
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givedirectly.org
December 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
⌛️ Two days left to double your donation to @give-directly.bsky.social for #PodsFightPoverty!
Donate: givedirectly.org/pods
Donate: givedirectly.org/pods
Reposted by Sean Carroll
This spectacular image of the planetary alignment of Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter above the Sydney Opera House was taken in the early morning around April 21, 2022, and featured as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on April 26, 2022
December 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This spectacular image of the planetary alignment of Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter above the Sydney Opera House was taken in the early morning around April 21, 2022, and featured as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on April 26, 2022
Reposted by Sean Carroll
🎆Welcome to the Round of 16 of the 2025 Headline of the Year Contest!🎆
Voting will be open in 4 locations for each round for about a day.
16 headlines.
Only 1 winner.
A reminder of the nominees:
bsky.app/profile/paul...
Voting will be open in 4 locations for each round for about a day.
16 headlines.
Only 1 winner.
A reminder of the nominees:
bsky.app/profile/paul...
The 2025 Headline of the Year Nominees
🧵
🧵
December 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
🎆Welcome to the Round of 16 of the 2025 Headline of the Year Contest!🎆
Voting will be open in 4 locations for each round for about a day.
16 headlines.
Only 1 winner.
A reminder of the nominees:
bsky.app/profile/paul...
Voting will be open in 4 locations for each round for about a day.
16 headlines.
Only 1 winner.
A reminder of the nominees:
bsky.app/profile/paul...
Reposted by Sean Carroll
Invited speaker lineup is out for SPP 2026! More information on the meeting here: www.socphilpsych.org/meetings.html
Submissions accepted until Jan 16! Come hang in Baltimore; conference is at Johns Hopkins from June 17-20, 2026!
@socphilpsych.bsky.social
@joshrottman.bsky.social
#SPP2026
Submissions accepted until Jan 16! Come hang in Baltimore; conference is at Johns Hopkins from June 17-20, 2026!
@socphilpsych.bsky.social
@joshrottman.bsky.social
#SPP2026
December 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Invited speaker lineup is out for SPP 2026! More information on the meeting here: www.socphilpsych.org/meetings.html
Submissions accepted until Jan 16! Come hang in Baltimore; conference is at Johns Hopkins from June 17-20, 2026!
@socphilpsych.bsky.social
@joshrottman.bsky.social
#SPP2026
Submissions accepted until Jan 16! Come hang in Baltimore; conference is at Johns Hopkins from June 17-20, 2026!
@socphilpsych.bsky.social
@joshrottman.bsky.social
#SPP2026
In retrospect, AI "family portraits" seem like an inevitable development. It is not surprising that, given a choice between an accurate record and a fantasy, many will choose the latter. Technology is just making it possible to an unprecedented extent.
this is demonic. sorry to say but if you do this you should be shipped to a desert island away from the rest of us who still have human souls
![All Things Motherhood Jasmen Powell • 6d • S
Hot take, but an honest one.
I think Al is going to replace a big part of traditional photography, especially when it comes to fa... See more
[ugly AI family photo]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:awzzrtrcrvpnxi3ph2sbhxwv/bafkreihowb4dqnatcls7ownxqvmctzo7y75g2ofcrcwlumxvtaovgju4om@jpeg)
December 26, 2025 at 11:22 PM
In retrospect, AI "family portraits" seem like an inevitable development. It is not surprising that, given a choice between an accurate record and a fantasy, many will choose the latter. Technology is just making it possible to an unprecedented extent.
Reposted by Sean Carroll
What's the latest news on black holes? And, in this weird liminal space between the holidays, what *is* time? Physicist Sean M. Carroll tackles these questions and more. ⚛️
Tangling With Entanglement And Other Big Ideas In Physics
Physicist Sean Carroll takes on back holes, Schrödinger’s cat, and other big physics concepts that had our audience wondering.
buff.ly
December 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
What's the latest news on black holes? And, in this weird liminal space between the holidays, what *is* time? Physicist Sean M. Carroll tackles these questions and more. ⚛️