[shireboy]

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]

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

[jaggederest]

One of the classics, his take on Chlorine Trifluoride (!!!!)

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]

That’s a very interesting book if you have a passing knowledge of chemistry. Findable on the web in pdf form.

[r2_pilot]

Ignition! has also now been reprinted and is well worth the purchase and read.

[wiredfool]

Cool, when I read it it was pdf or $300 used copies.

[rtsil]

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.

[WaffleIronMaker]

That's a good option, though I also enjoyed the audiobook of Ignition! on Audible.

[vanderZwan]

After which I recommend continuing with: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-wor...

[realPtolemy]

In case you’ve missed it. His blogposts at Science.org are available here: 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.

[thenipper]

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

[FeteCommuniste]

Haha, had to check that one to be sure (two different people).

[ethbr0]

> 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-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!)

[kgwgk]

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.