Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Jan 9, 2025 | eastangliabylines.co.uk | Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Digging for Britain is back, I see (8 pm, Tues, Weds, Thurs, BBC2). Haven’t they found it yet? For a country that has its national identity reflected back at itself so relentlessly, you’d think we’d all know it by now. Yet apparently we must be told. Look at the number of TV programmes that feel the need to label themselves ‘British’. I counted 30 in this week’s schedule alone.

Oct 25, 2024 | nautil.us | Hugh Aldersey-Williams |John Leech

Science may happen in laboratories, but that does not isolate it from the rest of human society. Scientists are just as likely as any of us to become concerned about what is happening in the wider world, and to feel the urge to express their views. For some of them, though, there is a residual unease about doing this that is not felt by the rest of us; because scientists work in a highly specialized arena, sometimes there is a reluctance to speak out in areas beyond their narrow expertise.

Oct 14, 2024 | nautil.us | James Drake |Hugh Aldersey-Williams

As of 2023, it is estimated that some 6.92 billion smartphones, and a further 7.33 million mobile phones, are in use worldwide. Via these pocket-size devices users can, at the touch of a button, converse with others scattered all over the world. With such a luxury now commonplace, it is easy to forget that not so long ago the concept of the telephone was merely science fiction.

Jun 5, 2024 | spectator.com.au | Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Inside the Stargazer’s Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe Oneworld, pp.304, 22 Where is science bred? Is it where the physical circumstances are right – clear skies for astronomy, for example? Where raw materials are abundant – coal for organic chemistry? Where minds freely meet? Where the enlightened patron rules?

Jun 5, 2024 | spectator.co.uk | Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Text size Line Spacing Comments Share Share Hugh Aldersey-Williams Those magnificent men and their stargazing machines Linkedin Messenger Email Inside the Stargazer’s Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe Violet Moller Oneworld, pp. 304, £22 Weekly delivery of the magazine Unlimited access to our website and app Spectator newsletters and podcasts Our online archive, going back to 1828...