Ask HN: How do you keep up broadly with science? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you keep up broadly with science?

10 pointssynu6 comments

When I was a kid in school, each year there would be a new science textbook and invariably within the first few weeks I’d read the whole thing. What I enjoyed about textbooks at that level was a lot of basic (but scientific) knowledge about a lot of subjects, which I could then explore more deeply if I liked. Encyclopaedias were also nice for this, but the science textbooks really were my favorite.

The closest thing I’ve found is YouTube channels, but great ones aren’t necessarily super common, and I don’t know if any with a wide scope. Wikipedia I often find the articles are too complex when you get into specific topics.

The purpose is just for fun and intellectual stimulation, so not really looking for educational programs. Does anyone have any recommendations?

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I've subscribed to a few feeds (via Inoreader) that will carry science news. Inoreader sits as a widget on my phone screen and if something catches my eye I'll read it. Some of the articles serve as a jumping point into doing a little more searching, and in some cases, go down a rabbit hole.

It usually does end up at Wikipedia but there are often helpful blog posts that explain the same concept in simpler ways. I have tried, but don't find YT or podcasts very useful, because it doesn't really allow for learning at my own pace.

I follow:

* Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/

* https://phys.org

* DW science: https://www.dw.com/en/science/s-12526

* Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue/

* Science news: https://www.sciencenews.org/

* Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/

What’s stopping you from continuing to read textbooks? Even for advanced subjects I’m sure there are always some books that are targeted to a broader audience and don’t go too deep into the theory.

I like to listen to Science Friday on NPR. Usually they have a theme over the show and then talk about a few different subjects. It's scientific, and they say the applications, but not really in an educational way.

https://www.sciencefriday.com/

I have a (sort of on and off) subscription to Scientific American, this might fit your bill.

I always enjoy reading articles from https://www.quantamagazine.org and https://nautil.us . They are really well written, insightful (but not too technical) and nicely illustrated.

Quanta articles are free to read. Unfortunately, Nautilus is behind a paywall after 2 free articles/month and it seems that contributers have not (yet?) gotten the money they deserve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_Quarterly#Controversy I have not looked more closely into the matter, since I don’t read their articles very often, but may be worth considering if you decide to subscribe.

Quanta is a gem.

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