Philip Ball
Biographic Data
| ID | 3744215 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Philip Ball |
| GIVEN NAMES | Philip |
| FAMILY NAME | Ball |
| SIGNATURE | BALL P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ball (France) |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6458-1084 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Wilkins–Bernal–Medawar Lecture Remaking Ourselves: Technologies of Flesh and the Futures of Selfhood
Our biotechnologies have entered uncharted territory. The facility for precision editing of the human genome raises the prospect of systematic, ‘post-Darwinian’ control of inheritance. Stem cells can be used to make embryo-like structures that were never fertilized eggs and which might or might not recapitulate normal embryonic development. Neural ‘organoids’ grown in a dish force us to ask what are the minimal substrates of consciousness. It is …
Éloge: Evelyn Fox Keller and the new biology
Response to ‘A New View on Biology and Some Philosophical Perspectives’ by Emil Toescu and Daniel Bardos
Thomas Charles Buckland McLeish, 1 May 1962–27 February 2023
Lessons from the UK’s handling of Covid-19 for the future of scientific advice to government: A contribution to the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry
Despite strong expertise and a sophisticated scientific advisory system, the UK’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been, and continues to be, weak in terms of preventing death and illness, and damage to the economy. This article argues that an important reason for this failure has been that the policies of the UK government have at critical times failed to take adequate account of scientific evidence, while at the same time attempts have bee…
Book of Minds
Gender issues in fundamental physics: Strumia’s bibliometric analysis fails to account for key confounders and confuses correlation with causation
Alessandro Strumia recently published a survey of gender differences in publications and citations in high-energy physics (HEP). In addition to providing full access to the data, code, and methodology, Strumia (2021) systematically describes and accounts for gender differences in HEP citation networks. His analysis points both to ongoing difficulties in attracting women to HEP and an encouraging-though slow-trend in improvement
The epic battle against coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories
Art and science
Art and science – work in progress: Observations, opportunities, obstacles, vol 1 (of 2)
This edition, the first of two, does not aim to present an all-time authoritative and deterministic view of the current state of Art and Science collaboration. This is borne out in the variety of a
PostARTandSCIENCE: A symposium at the Wellcome Collection, London
As art historian Martin Kemp makes clear in his book Visualizations (OUP, 2000), there has never been an absence of dialogue between the arts and sciences. So why should the present moment seem an
Chaos imagined: Literature, art and science
It took us an awfully long time to acquire a scientific theory of chaos. That took shape in the 1970s and 1980s, but only by severely restricting its meaning. Chaos theory speaks about the dynamics
The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China
Serving the Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Physics under Hitler
Hits, Misses and Close Calls: An Image Essay on Pattern Formation in On Growth and Form
The second edition of D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form was written only shortly before the advent of computers made it possible to develop more sophisticated mathematical models of processes of growth, morphogenesis and pattern formation in nature. It also predates the blossoming of several branches of science with the conceptual tools to investigate complex phenomena such as self-organization, nonlinear dynamics and chaos, fractal geometry a…
Schoenberg, serialism and cognition: Whose fault if No one listens
Atonal compositions based on the 12-tone method devised by Arnold Schoenberg remain, in some cases a century after they were written, largely unpopular with music audiences. Research on the science of music cogni- tion may now offer some clues to why this is. Schoenberg’s method of atonal composition actively undermines some of the basic cognitive princi- ples that allow our brains to turn notes into music. Unless 12-tone music is granted other a…
Making Life: A Comment on ‘Playing God in Frankenstein’s Footsteps: Synthetic Biology and the Meaning of Life’ by Henk van den Belt (2009)
Alchemical culture and poetry in early modern England
There is a longstanding tradition of using alchemical imagery in poetry. It first flourished at the end of the sixteenth century, when the status of alchemy itself was revitalised in European society. Here I explain the reasons for this resurgence of the Hermetic arts, and explore how it was manifested in English culture and in particular in the literary and poetic works of the time
Molecules: A Very Short Introduction: A Very Short Introduction
Molecules: A Very Short Introduction investigates the nature of molecules and how molecular structures and activities underlie the properties of materials and the processes of life. A living cell is like a city teeming with molecular inhabitants that move, communicate, cooperate, and compete. This VSI considers how a single fertilized egg can grow into a multi–celled Mozart, what makes spider's silk insoluble in the morning dew, and how our under…
Beyond words: Science and visual theatre
Science is becoming increasingly visible in the theatre, where it is often regarded as a fertile source of ideas and metaphors. I argue that we should not overlook the potential of science as an abundant well of visual imagery for the theatre. Scientific research and discovery can provide new physical languages for theatrical expression, and new ways of looking at and depicting the world. Scientists at the nexus of experiment and discovery have o…
Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century
The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China
Beyond words: Science and visual theatre
Science is becoming increasingly visible in the theatre, where it is often regarded as a fertile source of ideas and metaphors. I argue that we should not overlook the potential of science as an abundant well of visual imagery for the theatre. Scientific research and discovery can provide new physical languages for theatrical expression, and new ways of looking at and depicting the world. Scientists at the nexus of experiment and discovery have o…
Art and science – work in progress: Observations, opportunities, obstacles, vol 1 (of 2)
This edition, the first of two, does not aim to present an all-time authoritative and deterministic view of the current state of Art and Science collaboration. This is borne out in the variety of a
Making Life: A Comment on ‘Playing God in Frankenstein’s Footsteps: Synthetic Biology and the Meaning of Life’ by Henk van den Belt (2009)
Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century
Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century
Beyond words: Science and visual theatre
Science is becoming increasingly visible in the theatre, where it is often regarded as a fertile source of ideas and metaphors. I argue that we should not overlook the potential of science as an abundant well of visual imagery for the theatre. Scientific research and discovery can provide new physical languages for theatrical expression, and new ways of looking at and depicting the world. Scientists at the nexus of experiment and discovery have o…
Molecules: A Very Short Introduction: A Very Short Introduction
Molecules: A Very Short Introduction investigates the nature of molecules and how molecular structures and activities underlie the properties of materials and the processes of life. A living cell is like a city teeming with molecular inhabitants that move, communicate, cooperate, and compete. This VSI considers how a single fertilized egg can grow into a multi–celled Mozart, what makes spider's silk insoluble in the morning dew, and how our under…
Alchemical culture and poetry in early modern England
There is a longstanding tradition of using alchemical imagery in poetry. It first flourished at the end of the sixteenth century, when the status of alchemy itself was revitalised in European society. Here I explain the reasons for this resurgence of the Hermetic arts, and explore how it was manifested in English culture and in particular in the literary and poetic works of the time
Making Life: A Comment on ‘Playing God in Frankenstein’s Footsteps: Synthetic Biology and the Meaning of Life’ by Henk van den Belt (2009)
Schoenberg, serialism and cognition: Whose fault if No one listens
Atonal compositions based on the 12-tone method devised by Arnold Schoenberg remain, in some cases a century after they were written, largely unpopular with music audiences. Research on the science of music cogni- tion may now offer some clues to why this is. Schoenberg’s method of atonal composition actively undermines some of the basic cognitive princi- ples that allow our brains to turn notes into music. Unless 12-tone music is granted other a…
Hits, Misses and Close Calls: An Image Essay on Pattern Formation in On Growth and Form
The second edition of D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form was written only shortly before the advent of computers made it possible to develop more sophisticated mathematical models of processes of growth, morphogenesis and pattern formation in nature. It also predates the blossoming of several branches of science with the conceptual tools to investigate complex phenomena such as self-organization, nonlinear dynamics and chaos, fractal geometry a…
Serving the Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Physics under Hitler
Art and science – work in progress: Observations, opportunities, obstacles, vol 1 (of 2)
This edition, the first of two, does not aim to present an all-time authoritative and deterministic view of the current state of Art and Science collaboration. This is borne out in the variety of a
PostARTandSCIENCE: A symposium at the Wellcome Collection, London
As art historian Martin Kemp makes clear in his book Visualizations (OUP, 2000), there has never been an absence of dialogue between the arts and sciences. So why should the present moment seem an
Chaos imagined: Literature, art and science
It took us an awfully long time to acquire a scientific theory of chaos. That took shape in the 1970s and 1980s, but only by severely restricting its meaning. Chaos theory speaks about the dynamics
The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China
Art and science
The epic battle against coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories
Gender issues in fundamental physics: Strumia’s bibliometric analysis fails to account for key confounders and confuses correlation with causation
Alessandro Strumia recently published a survey of gender differences in publications and citations in high-energy physics (HEP). In addition to providing full access to the data, code, and methodology, Strumia (2021) systematically describes and accounts for gender differences in HEP citation networks. His analysis points both to ongoing difficulties in attracting women to HEP and an encouraging-though slow-trend in improvement
Lessons from the UK’s handling of Covid-19 for the future of scientific advice to government: A contribution to the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry
Despite strong expertise and a sophisticated scientific advisory system, the UK’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been, and continues to be, weak in terms of preventing death and illness, and damage to the economy. This article argues that an important reason for this failure has been that the policies of the UK government have at critical times failed to take adequate account of scientific evidence, while at the same time attempts have bee…
Book of Minds
Thomas Charles Buckland McLeish, 1 May 1962–27 February 2023
Éloge: Evelyn Fox Keller and the new biology
Response to ‘A New View on Biology and Some Philosophical Perspectives’ by Emil Toescu and Daniel Bardos
Wilkins–Bernal–Medawar Lecture Remaking Ourselves: Technologies of Flesh and the Futures of Selfhood
Our biotechnologies have entered uncharted territory. The facility for precision editing of the human genome raises the prospect of systematic, ‘post-Darwinian’ control of inheritance. Stem cells can be used to make embryo-like structures that were never fertilized eggs and which might or might not recapitulate normal embryonic development. Neural ‘organoids’ grown in a dish force us to ask what are the minimal substrates of consciousness. It is …
Philosophy (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Art (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Visual arts (5 works) · Political science (4 works) · Biology (3 works)