Stan CareyDec 12

Greatly enjoyed this expansive criticism of conceptual problems in biology, starting with some stubborn metaphors and models: DNA as blueprint, cell as factory, living systems as machines. Ball shows how these are all seriously misleading, and why it matters

#books #biology #microbiology #genetics #reading #PhilipBall #science #metaphor

Soh Kam YungOct 14

New book by Philip Ball on alchemy.

"In his latest book, Alchemy, science writer Philip Ball portrays the practice instead as “one of the most versatile, allusive, and fertile products of the human imagination”. He deftly recounts its 4,000 years of history [...] picking out changing beliefs, famous works and personalities along the way."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03309-9

#Books #Science #History #Alchemy #PhilipBall #Reviews

Alchemy: discredited pseudoscience or chemistry’s worthy ancestor?

A spirited tour of alchemy shows how it bridged everything from chemical reactions, medicine and craft to philosophy, art and religion.

Sci-books.comOct 7
The Elements: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 1st Edition by Philip Ball (PDF)
Author: Philip Ball
File Type: PDF
Download at https://sci-books.com/the-elements-a-very-short-introduction-very-short-introductions-1st-edition-b000sgvzrs/
#General, #PhilipBall
CheshireJan 29, 2025
The Case for Kicking the Stone | Los Angeles Review of Books
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-case-for-kicking-the-stone
#NicholasCarr
#PhilipBall
CheshireOct 4, 2023
Science hasn’t gone ‘woke’ – the only people meddling with it are the Tories
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/04/science-research-sex-gender-michelle-donelan-conservatives-conference?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
#PhilipBall
Science hasn’t gone ‘woke’ – the only people meddling with it are the Tories

Michelle Donelan’s plan to ‘depoliticise’ science with new guidelines on sex and gender research is a chilling move, says science writer Philip Ball

The Guardian
Julia PetschinkaOct 31, 2022
I have started to re-read the book "beyond weird" by Philip Ball after my supervisor (when I was at the Uni, it is long ago) Anton Zeilinger was awarded with the nobel prize in physics... I have realized that all I have learnt some 20 years ago is actually quite cool - but has vanished into hidden places of my brain. Hence the book about quantum physics. And it is actually the best I have ever read about this counter-intuitive "thing".
#book #quantum #physics #philipball #reading