Adam Frank
Astrophysicist
Adam Frank is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester and a leading expert on the final stages of evolution for stars like the sun. Frank's computational research group at the University of Rochester has developed advanced supercomputer tools for studying how stars form and how they die. A self-described “evangelist of science," he is the author of four books and the co-founder of 13.8, where he explores the beauty and power of science in culture with physicist Marcelo Gleiser.
Is “Dune” worth the hype?
Tighten your ‘thopter seatbelts and get those worm-hooks ready: we're going to unpack the hype surrounding Dune, both the book and the movie.
How Arthur C. Clarke’s three laws apply to alien technology
Technology has advanced at a blinding pace in the past 150 years. That won’t always happen.
Why did the Buddha invent baseball?
The book Buddha Takes the Mound delivers an engaging and sophisticated account of Buddhism’s worldview through the prism of baseball.
How a scientific consensus developed over beautiful nebulae
Nebulae are beautiful, but so is the process of science.
How Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” highlights the value of science fiction
Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series helped inspire the field of social physics, which uses math to understand crowd behavior.
Climate change is an existential threat not to humanity but to our project of civilization
Civilization is facing an existential threat from climate change. Will we humans make it? Does anyone in the universe make it?
The mystery of life cannot be solved by science
Reductionism is a successful way to explain the universe, but it cannot replace experience. This is part of the mystery of life.
HR diagram: how we learned that stars evolve
After 100 million nights of people asking, "What are those twinkly lights?" it is pretty remarkable that we happen to live in one of the first generations that actually knows the answer.
What is light? The limits and limitlessness of imagination
Philosophers and scientists spent millennia arguing about the nature of light. It turned out to be stranger than anyone imagined.
The Suicide Squad: why is Marvel excellent but DC is not?
The world is full of great mysteries. This is one of them.
Is it raining helium on Jupiter?
How can we understand mysterious planets like Jupiter? Use giant lasers!
Social physics: Are we at a tipping point in world history?
Does history have a grand narrative, or is it just a random walk to no place in particular? And is the world as we know it about to change?
What do Olympic gymnasts and star-forming clouds have in common?
When Olympic athletes perform dazzling feats of athletic prowess, they are using the same principles of physics that gave birth to stars and planets.
Why information is central to physics and the universe itself
Information may not seem like something physical, yet it has become a central concern for physicists. A wonderful new book explores the importance of the "dataome" for the physical, biological, and human worlds.
How to read the HR diagram, the most important graph in astrophysics
One single plot of data embodies the most profound thing we know about the stars.
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram: the most important graph in astrophysics
If you truly want to understand modern astrophysics, knowing how to read this graph is essential.
The most important boring idea in the universe
We live in a world dominated by science, but most people don't understand its most essential characteristic: establishing standards of evidence to keep us from getting fooled by our own biases and opinions.
Why condensed matter physicists reject reductionism
Reduction is an approach that has been successful in science but is not itself synonymous with "science."
The future of humanity: can we avert disaster?
Climate change and artificial intelligence pose substantial — and possibly existential — problems for humanity to solve. Can we?
How do we know the sun is a star?
Today, it's common knowledge, but it took scientists centuries to figure out.
The impossible cool of Cowboy Bebop
The 1998 hit is making a comeback. Stop what you're doing and watch the original.
Does quantum mechanics favor Buddhist philosophy?
No. But Buddhism and quantum mechanics have much to teach each other.
How cell phone data can help redesign cities
With the rise of Big Data, methods used to study the movement of stars or atoms can now reveal the movement of people. This could have important implications for cities.
Reductionism vs. emergence: Are you “nothing but” your atoms?
Reductionism offers a narrow view of the universe that fails to explain reality.
When great video games make great art
Sometimes, moral lessons can be learned from blowing away zombies.
The universe has a Hubble constant problem
Differences in the way that the Hubble constant—which measures the rate of cosmic expansion—are measured have profound implications for the future of cosmology.
If you hate your job, blame the Agricultural Revolution
Hunter-gatherers probably had more spare time than you.