There’s been much debate about lateral flow tests – their accuracy depends on context and the theories of a 18th-century cleric
The obscure maths theorem that governs the reliability of Covid testing
Author: Tom Chivers
I'm a freelance science writer. Until January 2018 I was science writer for BuzzFeed UK; before that, I was a comment and features writer for the Telegraph, having joined in 2007. My first book, "The AI Does Not Hate You: Superintelligence, Rationality and the Race to Save the World", for Weidenfeld & Nicolson, is due to be published June 2019. Since leaving BuzzFeed, I've written for the Times, the Guardian, New Scientist, the i, the Telegraph, UnHerd, politics.co.uk, and elsewhere.
We should be very wary of the R value
Did anyone predict coronavirus?
Hindsight makes it easy to blame the Government for listening to the wrong people, not the right ones
Read more in UnHerd.
Self-isolation is feeding my Warhammer addiction
There’s nothing like a bunch of paintbrush-toting nerds telling each other that they’re doing nice work
Read more in UnHerd.
‘Eugenics is possible’ is not the same as ‘eugenics is good’
Rows involving Richard Dawkins and Andrew Sabisky reveal how difficult it is to ‘decouple’ controversial concepts in our heads
Read more in UnHerd.
What’s next for psychology’s embattled field of social priming?
A promising field of research on social behaviour struggled after investigators couldn’t repeat key findings. Now researchers are trying to establish what’s worth saving.
The bonkers, bristly story of how big toothbrush took over the world
In a few decades, two warring toothbrush giants have carved out a market worth billions, with the help of a little science and some clever marketing. But where does it go next?
Britain Hasn’t Had a Rocket in Half a Century. Now the Black Arrow is Back.
The country’s only shot at a nuclear missile is inspiring a new shot at a future in space.
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Dominic Cummings is no chicken
Dominic Cummings and I share some interests, to my slight chagrin. Both he and I are big fans of the nerdy, abstruse bit of the internet filled with people who are sometimes called “Rationalists”. Read more on Unherd.
Does psychology have a conflict-of-interest problem?
Some star psychologists don’t disclose in research papers the large sums they earn for talking about their work. Is that a concern?
