Short posts from Andrew Jaffe
The Random Universe reviewed in Nature:
“The sun and the stars and the edge of the Universe are inaccessible, but no more so than the interior lives of other people,” writes astrophysicist Andrew Jaffe in his intriguing book about epistemology, probability and cosmology.
Appearance: 12 Last Songs, Saturday, 14 March 2026 at Battersea Arts Centre: A live exhibition and performance “about work and how we spend time. Making a living. Finding your passion. Watching the clock.” It starts at noon with a midwife and ends at midnight with an astronomer (me!).
My kid took The Random Universe into school for International Book Day.
Maybe this Green victory will convince Labour that there is no point in pandering to the pro-Brexit anti-immigration right (who weren’t going to vote for them anyway)?
Podcast appearance: I discuss The Random Universe on Scientific Sense with Gill Eapen. (Or on YouTube for the video version.)
Officials targeted what they thought was a drug cartel drone, but turned out to be a party balloon.
Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence.
UK government threatening savage cuts to astronomy and particle physics: to pay for fluctuations in costs to participate and run large shared facilities, a very small part of UK science is being targeted for massive cuts, especially to funding for early career researchers.
Great description of a big air snowboarder ignoring style and going for pure power: “CERN mentality”
Crusty.
The other problem with teaching at 5pm is that I spend the whole afternoon beforehand thinking about my lecture.
I’m on my colleague Brian Keating’s Into the Impossible podcast discussing The Random Universe. Please listen! (Apple Podcasts; YouTube; Spotify)
5pm Fridays is not the best time to lecture.
If you’ve read — and learned from — The Random Universe, please consider leaving a rating or a review at the site of your choice.
First undergraduate cosmology lecture in about 13 years. Too many slides today, but looking forward to 25 lectures of good old-fashioned chalk-and-talk.
Holiday buns. Finally perfected with the third batch of the season. (6/12)
Our first sourdough…
I’m on a new podcast, Science for Fiction, hosted by my Imperial colleague, and fellow author, David Clements, discussing my book, The Random Universe.
Podcast appearance: I discuss The Random Universe on The New Books Network with host Gregory McNiff. (Apple podcast link.)
We want to make sourdough. Should I buy starter, or try to make my own?
Thrilling to see The Random Universe in the real world.
The Random Universe IRL!
Come hear us talk about the first moments in the history of the Universe, part of Imperial Lates at Imperial College in South Kensington, London.
Grateful to the colleagues, friends, students, and others who showed up for The Random Universe launch last night, and to Imperial College and Yale University Press for sponsoring and enabling the event.
First batch of winter buns.
Listening to A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs on the Richmond origins of The Yardbirds while riding the 65 London bus through Richmond.
The good news: The Random Universe is the “#1 New Release in Cosmology”.
The bad news: a friend and cosmology colleague has found the first error in the book.
Today in the NY Times: Lisa Lucas’ love letter to Leiden, one of the intellectual capitals of Europe.
Podcast appearance: listen to me talk about The Random Universe (the book, and the Universe itself) on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape. We cover epistemology, probability, quantum mechanics, cosmology and more. Sean and I were cosmology grad students at the same time, and it was a pleasure and an honour to spend time with him online.
The Random Universe is out! Buy it or borrow it, read it and review it!