Samuel Loncar
@samuelloncar.bsky.social
Philosopher of Science and Religion | Research Director | Speaker & Consultant | Yale PhD | Marginalia Review of Books | Institute for the Meanings of Science | http://www.samuelloncar.com
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
Because mid-list authors have to exploit every conceivable opportunity to advertise their books, may I use Hallowe'en to recommend to you, first, The Modern Myths, which has all manner of things about Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, and zombies...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
The Modern Myths
With The Modern Myths, brilliant science communicator Philip Ball spins a new yarn. From novels and comic books to B-movies, it is an epic exploration of literature, new media and technology, the natu...
press.uchicago.edu
October 29, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Because mid-list authors have to exploit every conceivable opportunity to advertise their books, may I use Hallowe'en to recommend to you, first, The Modern Myths, which has all manner of things about Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, and zombies...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
I’m launching the Plato Parsha Project to read through all of Plato’s works in a year, based on a weekly Plato portion (parsha), inspired by the Jewish tradition of reading the Torah every year. I’ll be posting free lessons each week, beginning now. Join the Project!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9C...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9C...
Why Ignorance Rules the World: Socrates, Euthyphro, and the Search for Knowledge
YouTube video by Dr. Samuel Loncar | Becoming Human Project
m.youtube.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I’m launching the Plato Parsha Project to read through all of Plato’s works in a year, based on a weekly Plato portion (parsha), inspired by the Jewish tradition of reading the Torah every year. I’ll be posting free lessons each week, beginning now. Join the Project!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9C...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9C...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
‘A persistent challenge to anarchism is that it can’t work because human nature “isn’t like that”. People are too selfish. David Graeber responds by casting doubt on the idea that human nature is so simple.’
Richard Seymour reads David Graeber:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Richard Seymour reads David Graeber:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Richard Seymour · Baseline Communism: David Graeber’s Innovations
Graeber seems to have had most fun as an outsider, a movement anthropologist wending his way among anticapitalist...
www.lrb.co.uk
August 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
‘A persistent challenge to anarchism is that it can’t work because human nature “isn’t like that”. People are too selfish. David Graeber responds by casting doubt on the idea that human nature is so simple.’
Richard Seymour reads David Graeber:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Richard Seymour reads David Graeber:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
I wrote an op-ed on the world-class STEM research ecosystem in the United States, and how this ecosystem is now under attack on multiple fronts by the current administration: newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-an-awar...
I’m an award-winning mathematician. Trump just cut my funding.
The “Mozart of Math” tried to stay out of politics. Then it came for his research.
newsletter.ofthebrave.org
August 18, 2025 at 3:45 PM
I wrote an op-ed on the world-class STEM research ecosystem in the United States, and how this ecosystem is now under attack on multiple fronts by the current administration: newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-an-awar...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
Correction! I mistyped this and was out by a million. Should have been 49 million not 48! Current unique download figure now 49,410,184 and rising….
Philosophy Bites podcast all time unique episode downloads: 48,376,893 www.philosophybites.com or find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc.
Philosophy Bites Podcast
Top philosophers interviewed on bite-sized topics
www.philosophybites.com
August 19, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Correction! I mistyped this and was out by a million. Should have been 49 million not 48! Current unique download figure now 49,410,184 and rising….
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
This year’s Simonyi Lecture @oxfordplayhouse.bsky.social on 7 November celebrates 100 years of quantum physics and who better to guide us through the weird world of the very small than the wonderful @philipcball.bsky.social www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/the-a...
The Annual Charles Simonyi Lecture: Philip Ball | Oxford Playhouse
Join Marcus du Sautoy and Philip Ball for the 2025 Charles Simonyi Lecture, Beyond Weird: One Hundred Years of Quantum Mechanics
A century ago, Werner Heis
www.oxfordplayhouse.com
August 18, 2025 at 7:47 AM
This year’s Simonyi Lecture @oxfordplayhouse.bsky.social on 7 November celebrates 100 years of quantum physics and who better to guide us through the weird world of the very small than the wonderful @philipcball.bsky.social www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/the-a...
Ball’s thoughts on some core issues in scientific culture and communications, especially the knotty problem of politics and values in science, which really does need more discussion, as he notes.
I find plenty to agree with in this paper, but also plenty to 🤔. It seems largely couched in terms of the "public understanding vs public engagement" debate that happened in the late 1990s. Which is fine, but are we still at that stage of the debate?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
An agenda for science communication research and practice | PNAS
Science should not unilaterally dictate individuals’ decisions or public policies.
Yet, it provides a vital source of information for societies and...
www.pnas.org
August 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Ball’s thoughts on some core issues in scientific culture and communications, especially the knotty problem of politics and values in science, which really does need more discussion, as he notes.
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
The second part of my conversation with Sir Paul Nurse on the state of play in molecular and cell biology, hosted by The Marginalia Review of Books, is now online.
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/__tbd-1
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/__tbd-1
Living Systems are Not Like Machines: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate, Paul Nurse, Part Two
SIR PAUL NURSE | Human beings like things to be ordered. That's how we are. But maybe cells and living things are more sloppy. Perhaps the cell has to be sloppy to avoid, as I said, getting stuck...
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com
July 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
The second part of my conversation with Sir Paul Nurse on the state of play in molecular and cell biology, hosted by The Marginalia Review of Books, is now online.
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/__tbd-1
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/__tbd-1
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
I'm thrilled to see Lizzie's piece on quantum interpretations finally appear in @nature.com. This is a big survey and gives a good snapshot of the state of play. And lots of great quotes in here.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Physicists disagree wildly on what quantum mechanics says about reality, Nature survey shows
First major attempt to chart researchers’ views finds interpretations in conflict.
www.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 11:08 AM
I'm thrilled to see Lizzie's piece on quantum interpretations finally appear in @nature.com. This is a big survey and gives a good snapshot of the state of play. And lots of great quotes in here.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
After a decade, I’m returning to my favorite music to write to: Angela Hewitt playing Book Two of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. I wrote my dissertation to that, and am now finishing The Book to the same tunes…
July 7, 2025 at 12:08 AM
After a decade, I’m returning to my favorite music to write to: Angela Hewitt playing Book Two of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. I wrote my dissertation to that, and am now finishing The Book to the same tunes…
As the Editor of the Marginalia Review of Books, I’m going to need to see this for research purposes….
So glad this exhibition is getting such great coverage. It really is monumental and we are incredibly lucky that it is free - not very common in this day and age!
The "Words on the Wave" exhibition is featured in @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
The article explores medieval marginalia—scribbled notes and doodles left by monks over a millennium ago.
Visit in person at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street.
🔗 www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
The article explores medieval marginalia—scribbled notes and doodles left by monks over a millennium ago.
Visit in person at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street.
🔗 www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
July 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
As the Editor of the Marginalia Review of Books, I’m going to need to see this for research purposes….
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
I was on the Becoming Human podcast to talk about Bergson's life and philosophy with
@samuelloncar.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8p...
@samuelloncar.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8p...
How a Celebrity Philosopher Changed History & Why He Was Forgotten: Emily Herring on Henri Bergson
YouTube video by Dr. Samuel Loncar | Becoming Human Project
www.youtube.com
May 14, 2025 at 10:28 AM
I was on the Becoming Human podcast to talk about Bergson's life and philosophy with
@samuelloncar.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8p...
@samuelloncar.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr8p...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
Well, this seems now to be official. Trust me, it is a beautiful thing.
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
Alchemy - Yale University Press London
Flush with hundreds of illustrations, this book revisits the histories of chemistry, medicine, ideas, and culture through the lens of alchemy The craf...
yalebooks.co.uk
March 18, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Well, this seems now to be official. Trust me, it is a beautiful thing.
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
The paranormal looms large in pop culture, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was of interest to many scientists. What does this history reveal about the boundaries of science? A Comment article in Nature Reviews Physics examines this question. https://go.nature.com/3PN3vsZ 🧪
January 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The paranormal looms large in pop culture, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was of interest to many scientists. What does this history reveal about the boundaries of science? A Comment article in Nature Reviews Physics examines this question. https://go.nature.com/3PN3vsZ 🧪
Thomas Kuhn’s major work is famous but like many famous books strangely unstudied as a consequence and subject to shallow stereotypes. Everyone has a take on Kuhn and few carefully ask what he contributes to science. The answer is, a lot. Thanks to the 49k viewers:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oCTr...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oCTr...
Things Ancient and New: The Logic of Scientific Discovery in Thomas Kuhn
YouTube video by Samuel Loncar | Becoming Human Project
m.youtube.com
December 22, 2024 at 2:01 AM
Thomas Kuhn’s major work is famous but like many famous books strangely unstudied as a consequence and subject to shallow stereotypes. Everyone has a take on Kuhn and few carefully ask what he contributes to science. The answer is, a lot. Thanks to the 49k viewers:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oCTr...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oCTr...
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
Full detailed image of a star factory.
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
December 20, 2024 at 8:09 PM
Full detailed image of a star factory.
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and producing several sun-like stars each year.
🔭 🧪
A perfect package of amazing holiday reading:
Time, before the holidays descend, for a little round-up of some of the articles I published this year. To start, this look in @quantamagazine.bsky.social at the use of neutral Rydberg atoms as quantum bits for quantum information technology.
www.quantamagazine.org/the-best-qub...
www.quantamagazine.org/the-best-qub...
The Best Qubits for Quantum Computing Might Just Be Atoms | Quanta Magazine
In the search for the most scalable hardware to use for quantum computers, qubits made of individual atoms are having a breakout moment.
www.quantamagazine.org
December 21, 2024 at 3:21 AM
A perfect package of amazing holiday reading:
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
NEW JWST IMAGE OF NGC 2566!!! 🌌
image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy
image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy
December 18, 2024 at 6:33 PM
NEW JWST IMAGE OF NGC 2566!!! 🌌
image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy
image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy
Reposted by Samuel Loncar
I wrote something about Google's Willow for The Marginalia Review of Books,and what it means (and what it doesn't).
(Ignore a couple of formatting errors: 3x3 etc, and 10^25 - we'll fix them.)
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/google-...
(Ignore a couple of formatting errors: 3x3 etc, and 10^25 - we'll fix them.)
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/google-...
Google's Willow and the Future of Quantum Computing
PHILIP BALL | I’d put money on quantum computing becoming commercially viable and useful way before fusion does...
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com
December 13, 2024 at 9:55 PM
I wrote something about Google's Willow for The Marginalia Review of Books,and what it means (and what it doesn't).
(Ignore a couple of formatting errors: 3x3 etc, and 10^25 - we'll fix them.)
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/google-...
(Ignore a couple of formatting errors: 3x3 etc, and 10^25 - we'll fix them.)
www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/google-...