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Adam Frank

@adamfrank4.bsky.social

Astrophysicist. Author of The Little Book of Aliens. Stuff shows up at The Atlantic, NYTimes, Big Think, etc. The Ramones, the Mets and lots of video games.

1,412 Followers  |  549 Following  |  272 Posts  |  Joined: 28.12.2023
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Posts by Adam Frank (@adamfrank4.bsky.social)

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Is It Time for Scientists To Stop Being Polite? How to handle proud ignorance?

"Around the beginning of the 2010’s, however, I noticed something changing for those of us trying to bring science and its results to the public."

Some history & thinking about how we got here and what to do about it. This week's Everyman's Universe.

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/is-it-time...

02.03.2026 17:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I had a lovely conversation with the great Alan Alda about life in the Universe. What a joy!

Find his Clear + Vivid podcast on your favorite podcast delivery system.

24.02.2026 20:35 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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What We Could Learn From Trump’s UFO Disclosure? Disclosing government documents about UFOs won't mean much without hard physical evidence for alien spaceships or alien bodies.

"That is what disclosure needs to deliver. Not stories... but physical evidence that independent laboratories and independent scientists all over the world can verify. Only then will it live up to its hype."

Today's Forbes Column.

www.forbes.com/sites/adamfr...

23.02.2026 14:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why organisms are more than machines Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of AI.

"Life is Different". Science needs a new vision of nature when it comes to living systems and philosopher Hans Jonas was the first to articulate the contours of that new perspective.

Also "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is great.

bigthink.com/13-8/nature-...

22.02.2026 18:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

On Trump / Alien Files. I'm ALL for disclosure. If it leads to quality, verifiable data like every other scientific discovery required then...holy crap!

But, if it's more of what we've seen in congressional testimony so far, we'll still be arguing 'bout this 10 years from now.

20.02.2026 03:08 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why organisms are more than machines Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of AI.

"Only life knows Life". My @bigthink.com piece on Hans Jonas the most important philosopher you've never heard of.
Jonas saw why life is different and why reductionist models of it will fail.

A physics of life must go further.

bigthink.com/13-8/nature-...

19.02.2026 14:51 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh my god. He’s right! It’s all connected

16.02.2026 23:56 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week and don't forget to tip your server.

16.02.2026 19:09 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Did Obama Just Tell Us Aliens Are Real? Obama's comments on aliens highlights where the real action is in the search for life.

What actually happened with the Obama / Alien kerfuffle and what it tells us about the search for cosmic life.

My @forbes.com post this week.

www.forbes.com/sites/adamfr...

16.02.2026 17:59 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œAI is more extractive than artificial: it’s dependent on cheap workers, cheap materials, and stolen information.”

Luke Kemp

look under the hood and you’ll see epic scale human exploitation to make these systems.

14.02.2026 14:44 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Science Shows How To Change Your Mind: The Gaia Hypothesis A new paper on Life and Earth has me thinking I might need to change my beliefs

Science shows you how to change your mind. That's its superpower as a new paper on Gaia Theory recently showed me.

"Without shame and without rancor, science gives you a path to update your beliefs about the world."

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/science-sh...

13.02.2026 15:19 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Did Van Gogh’s Starry Night Anticipate Physics’ Hardest Problem? Researchers heated arguement over Van Gogh's Starry Night. Did Art Understand Turbulence Before Science?

Really interesting overlap between Art and Science here in the back and forth on Starry Night and Turbulence.

This weeks post on my Forbes column.

www.forbes.com/sites/adamfr...

05.02.2026 16:06 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Universe Loves Blowing Things Up. Everything in the Cosmos goes Boom!.

"We love to talk about Nature and its harmony and balance. But the Universe does have this other aspect embodied in volcanoes, exploding stars, and of course the Big Bang itself."

This weeks Everyman's Universe post

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/the-univer...

04.02.2026 22:27 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone."

@adamserwer.bsky.social

01.02.2026 19:10 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Winter Superstorm Reminds Us That Earth Is A God. The Earth channels cosmic power in the form of solar energy. The coming winter superstorm shows just what havoc that power can unleash,

My @forbes.com piece on the approaching Winter Superstorm and what it should remind us about the Earth.

We don't need to save it, we need to be scared sh&tless of it.

www.forbes.com/sites/adamfr...

24.01.2026 16:01 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2026 HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2026 brings a weekend packed with experiences unlike any other UK festival to Hay-on-Wye this May. Join us for a Bank Holiday filled with music, ideas, comedy, and much, much mor...

Speaking of the Institute for Arts and Ideas I am excited to be part of their HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN festival this May in Hay England.

I love that it's billed as THE WORLD'S LARGEST PHILOSOPHY & MUSIC FESTIVAL. Hell yeah!

howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay

20.01.2026 20:50 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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COMING SOON: IAI Live February From the origins of life to the limits of consciousness, from AI to the future of democracy β€” the world’s biggest questions demand bold new thinking. At IAI.tv, philosophers, scientists, artists, and ...

Very excited to be part of this Feb 2 debate via Institute of Art and Ideas ( @iai.tv )with Micheal Levin

Science Beyond the Physical: Is materialism holding science back?

iai.tv/live/science...

19.01.2026 22:05 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

With so many constellations of new communications (wireless) satellites launching over the next decades (hundreds of thousands) one wonders if we are about to make LEO unusable.

18.01.2026 19:20 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œAtomic-6 is positioning Space Armor as an alternative to those metallic shields, arguing that advances in composite materials can reduce mass while improving performance.”

Cool

16.01.2026 23:55 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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How To Live A Spiritual Life In A Scientific World. Part 1. Science rules but there's always more.

"I want to begin a brief discussion about this question: Can you live a life with a deep spiritual practice that is also committed to the beauty and power of science? Based on my own experience the answer is a resounding yes."

Part 1: Which words?

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/how-to-liv...

14.01.2026 23:21 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Plumes of Water from an Icy Moon, Avengers Doomsday and Satellite Dogfights. Stories for you about Cosmos and Culture

Plumes of Water from an Icy Moon, Avengers Doomsday and Satellite Dogfights.

Oh and the greatest beat in the history of Hip-Hop because... why not?

This weeks News Round-up from Everyman's Universe.

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/plumes-of-...

09.01.2026 14:15 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Nice piece!

08.01.2026 21:39 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

"OpenAI announced that users will soon be able to upload their medical data into its bot ChatGPT for more personal health recommendations"

What could possibly go wrong?

08.01.2026 21:35 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Maybe Earth-Life Didn’t Start on Earth? Panspermia may sound icky but it's a viable theory for the origin of life.

A wee discussion of panspermia. Are star systems swapping spit (and life)?

This week's Everyman's Universe post.

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/maybe-eart...

08.01.2026 15:01 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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What’s Coming in 2026 Science, Culture, Wonder, Promise, Risk.

Whoa!

The Everyman's Universe newsletter went from 0 to 4000 subscribers this year. Thanks everyone. Here's what to expect in 2026

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/what-s-com...

31.12.2025 19:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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My first post for @Forbes

Anti-predictions for 2026. Stuff people say will happen that ain't gonna happen: UFOs as Aliens; AGI; 3I/Atlas

forbes.com/sites/adamfr...

30.12.2025 14:45 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I’d say experience is the precondition for pattern recognition. Phenomenal presence is prior to sensorial specifics (I quess πŸ˜€β€¦ good question).

28.12.2025 02:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We only had about 1200 words to tackle this big beautiful idea.
If you want a deeper dive then read my @noemamag.com
piece.

noemamag.com/why-science-...

Or better yet, read our book "The Blind Spot. Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience"

lareviewofbooks.org/article/what...

27.12.2025 14:22 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Oh my god this nails it completely.

23.12.2025 13:53 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Freaky Earth. Does Water Make Us Alone In The Cosmos? Earth has both land and water. That might be really, really uncommon.

Continents and oceans: we both. But it didn’t have to be this way and on most planets it probably isn’t. That’s important because truly complex life may need dry land to get going.

Today's Everyman's Universe post.

www.everymansuniverse.com/p/freaky-ear...

22.12.2025 16:28 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0