4 ms·

Going to have to start following this Derek Lowe guy. He also had a good balanced bit on room temp superconductor. Well done science reporting without the hyper

Going to have to start following this Derek Lowe guy. He also had a good balanced bit on room temp superconductor. Well done science reporting without the hyperbole.

flobosg 3y ago
You’re in for a treat! Check out his “Things I Won't Work With” series.
- jaggederest 3y ago
  One of the classics, his take on Chlorine Trifluoride (!!!!) https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-you-time https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-yo... "It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water --- with which it reacts explosively." - John D Clark, Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
  - wiredfool 3y ago
    That’s a very interesting book if you have a passing knowledge of chemistry. Findable on the web in pdf form.
    - WaffleIronMaker 3y ago
      That's a good option, though I also enjoyed the audiobook of Ignition! on Audible.
    - r2_pilot 3y ago
      Ignition! has also now been reprinted and is well worth the purchase and read.
      - wiredfool 3y ago
        Cool, when I read it it was pdf or $300 used copies.
    - rtsil 3y ago
      I have a rusty, high-school knowledge of chemistry and Ignition made me love it (well, the part of it that is prone to explosion and corrosion). And I confirm, it's available in paper form.
  - vanderZwan 3y ago
    After which I recommend continuing with: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-dioxygen-difluoride https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...
thenipper 3y ago
Plus he pitched a no hitter for the Red Sox in 2002. What a well rounded guy.
- FeteCommuniste 3y ago
  Haha, had to check that one to be sure (two different people).
ethbr0 3y ago
> Well done science reporting without the hyperbole. He's been doing it for 20 years. https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/05/derek-lowe-chemist-blogger/ https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/05/derek-lowe-chemist-blogg... He also had an excellent series on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates during the height of the COVID media insanity. It was one of the few places to get a balanced, informed take on different approaches. Specifically, discussing the uncertainty bounds around results. Definitely a gifted science communicator. (No small skill, to distill but not pol/dilute!)
realPtolemy 3y ago
In case you’ve missed it. His blogposts at Science.org are available here: https://www.science.org/blogs/pipeline https://www.science.org/blogs/pipeline I’ve had it bookmarked for a couple of years. Worth visiting twice or trice a year, or even more frequently.
kgwgk 3y ago
I used to read his blog regularly and his name in the submission title is what caught my attention. It has been removed for some reason - not an improvement in my opinion.

Going to have to start following this Derek Lowe guy. He also had a good balanced bit on room temp superconductor. Well done science reporting without the hyperbole.

flobosg 3y ago

You’re in for a treat! Check out his “Things I Won't Work With” series.

jaggederest 3y ago
One of the classics, his take on Chlorine Trifluoride (!!!!) https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-you-time https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-yo... "It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water --- with which it reacts explosively." - John D Clark, Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
- wiredfool 3y ago
  That’s a very interesting book if you have a passing knowledge of chemistry. Findable on the web in pdf form.
  - WaffleIronMaker 3y ago
    That's a good option, though I also enjoyed the audiobook of Ignition! on Audible.
  - r2_pilot 3y ago
    Ignition! has also now been reprinted and is well worth the purchase and read.
    - wiredfool 3y ago
      Cool, when I read it it was pdf or $300 used copies.
  - rtsil 3y ago
    I have a rusty, high-school knowledge of chemistry and Ignition made me love it (well, the part of it that is prone to explosion and corrosion). And I confirm, it's available in paper form.
- vanderZwan 3y ago
  After which I recommend continuing with: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-dioxygen-difluoride https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...

thenipper 3y ago

Plus he pitched a no hitter for the Red Sox in 2002. What a well rounded guy.

FeteCommuniste 3y ago
Haha, had to check that one to be sure (two different people).

ethbr0 3y ago

> Well done science reporting without the hyperbole. He's been doing it for 20 years. https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/05/derek-lowe-chemist-blogger/ https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/05/derek-lowe-chemist-blogg... He also had an excellent series on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates during the height of the COVID media insanity. It was one of the few places to get a balanced, informed take on different approaches. Specifically, discussing the uncertainty bounds around results. Definitely a gifted science communicator. (No small skill, to distill but not pol/dilute!)

realPtolemy 3y ago

In case you’ve missed it. His blogposts at Science.org are available here: https://www.science.org/blogs/pipeline https://www.science.org/blogs/pipeline I’ve had it bookmarked for a couple of years. Worth visiting twice or trice a year, or even more frequently.

kgwgk 3y ago

I used to read his blog regularly and his name in the submission title is what caught my attention. It has been removed for some reason - not an improvement in my opinion.