If you’re struggling to get hold of special eclipse glasses, then you can always look at the shadow it produces through a colander.
This worked well for us last time.
Remote
Kit Yates
@kityates@mas.to
mastodon 4.7.2Author.
Prof of Math Bio and Public Engagement.
Member of Independent Sage since October 2020.
@Kit_Yates_Maths on twitter
Books -
Math(s) of Life and Death
How to Expect the Unexpected
You Don't Know What You're M ss ng
Get them here: tinyurl.com/37rx2yuv
He/Him
10156 Followers
167 Following
50 Posts
Joined November 08, 2022
My Bluesky:
My Website:
My Independent articles:
My Twitter (X):
So excited to be back speaking in this fantastic lecture theatre at the Royal Institution.
But this is a lot of books to sign after the talk. My hand is going to be sore.
Boosted by @trending@homestead.social
Getting very excited about the solar eclipse on Wednesday evening given the clear forecast.
Find out when and how much coverage you’ll see here:
https://eclipsefan.org/?v=2&t=max&layers=eclipse%2Cbesselian%2Cumbra-live%2Cshadow-3d%2Ccloud-projection%2Cosm&lat=51.5074456&lon=-0.1277653&opacity=besselian%3A0.2%2Cumbra-live%3A0.2&zoom=3&palier=minute
Some good news.
“A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections (RSV) is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g84nxwz8wo
"Coach operator FlixBus has announced the return of the 666 bus service to the Polish seaside resort of Hel.
It resurrects the controversial so-called "Highway to Hel" bus journey formerly run by local company PKS Gdynia."
😂
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1d2ld91635o
My daughter’s timelapse of the eclipse.
Not bad for an iPad.
I was on BBC Inside Science on Thursday as Presenter's Friend.
We talked about Leap seconds being on borrowed time, a ‘fire-loving’ amoeba and taking the temperature of T. rex.
You can read all about it on my substack here:
https://kityates.substack.com/p/presenters-friend-leap-seconds-fire?r=1cw8pl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
1/2
“The ex-chief exec of Southern Water has been charged with three others over an alleged plan to manipulate water quality tests to avoid paying financial penalties of about £45m”
😡
Why are we not surprised that this sort of thing might have been going on
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c36d0njy7jjo
“UK complacent about war threat” warns man whose company makes huge profits from threat of war.
A remarkable result, but an increase from 95 votes to 9455 makes Binface about 100 times more popular this time around, not 1000 times.
I know the Count will be kicking himself over this one.
Our best effort at capturing the eclipse in Cornwall.
Giving a talk at Soho Farm house this evening.
Found somewhere nice to work in the mean time.
Strange decision given Jodrell Bank is probably the most iconic symbol of science in the North of the England.
I would imagine our new Prime Minister, who is very focussed supporting the North, will have something to say about it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y6r9rdxygo
“Animal dewormer and a drug used to treat scabies are being sold and promoted as unproven cancer treatments, a BBC investigation has found.”
Disinformation at work again.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0m7wvpwjzeo
“More than 1,900 people have died from the virus since that declaration on 15 May, making this the second-worst Ebola outbreak ever.“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ydx7m8gzeo
"RFK is unwilling to admit that he made a miscalculation or simply misunderstood percentages. Seemingly, this regime would prefer to try to rewrite the fundamental rules of mathematics rather than climb down over a simple mistake."
My latest substack.
I’m appearing at the Stratford literary festival on Sunday November 1st to talk about You Don’t Know What You’re Missing.
If you’re in the area, please do come down, watch and say hello.
"This feels, to me, almost more Orwellian than any other piece of Newspeak the US regime has yet come up with. And that is saying something.
Can you just go about redefining how you calculate percentages? Only in a world where Ignorance is Strength."
An interesting subplot to the Clayton by-election result.
Just why didn’t Nigel Farage attend?
His comments seem to indicate embarrassment “I'm damned if I'm going to stand on a stage … and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”
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“ The order would also require that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine be broken into three separate shots, once it becomes available in the US. And it would recommend that all shots be given at separate medical visits, a frequent point Trump has made despite the safety, ease and lower costs of giving vaccines together.
I think the lobster outfit might be a bit of a red herring.
RE: https://mas.to/@kityates/116397008724254516
""I think people are sick of being told they can't have healthy rivers and seas, just because powerful financiers want to keep making money from our water bills.
"Our government is listening to them [water companies] but not to us,""
In the centre of Oxford for a viva this morning.
Nice morning for it.
“Writing in the Journal of 9/11 Studies, David Booth, standing for Reform in Croydon, refers to the Covid pandemic as a “staged event” that was designed by “powerful forces” to control the population.”
An insult the memories of those who died of Covid.
https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/15/reform-uk-candidate-claimed-covid-was-pentagon-led-plot-in-conspiracy-theory-journal/
The Tour de France completed it's 113th edition yesterday.
By why do cyclist keep making moves they know are destined to fail?
Not for nothing is grand tour cycling often referred to as "Chess on Wheels".
Check out my latest substack.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kityates/p/chess-on-wheels?r=1cw8pl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
“Millionaires including former footballer Gary Lineker and music producer Brian Eno have written to new prime minister Andy Burnham asking to be taxed more.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgjp79m42go
What does it mean when 84% of almost 30,000 Daily Mail readers think we should rejoin the EU?
Replying to
A 100% reduction would mean giving it away for free.
A 600% reduction would mean paying people to take it away.
The reduction Kennedy describes, from $600 to $10 would be a 98.33% reduction.
The conversation is transcribed here: https://www.al.com/politics/2026/04/rfk-jr-gives-wild-explanation-for-trumps-mathematically-impossible-drug-discounts.html
2/2
"Many dermatologists were dismayed when Kennedy abruptly withdrew a proposed FDA rule that would have banned minors from using devices that mimic sunlight — indoor tanning lamps"
It's like one step backwards... and then loads more steps backwards.
RE: https://mas.to/@kityates/116430085837338311
Something I write about in the book is survivorship bias: how we only see the winners or most successful (those that survive some filtering process).
On a completely unrelated note, I’ve decided to share my Wordle results today!
Wordle 1,765 2/6
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
"Two British people are self-isolating at home in the UK after potential exposure to hantavirus on the cruise ship struck by an outbreak, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wepl8we90o
I was on BBC inside Science as presenter's friend last week.
I've summarised some of the topics we talked about (monkeys doing geometry, AI doing maths, testosterone testing, beavers and Orcas ramming sunfish) in my latest substack post.
I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, and I’m happy for Ipswich being back in the prem, but an open top bus tour to celebrate finishing second in the championship?
“The UK’s new pandemic preparedness strategy – and ending the country’s contribution to the Pandemic Fund as part of aid cuts – raises serious questions about whether the UK can protect itself”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/uk-pandemic-aid-cuts-funding-b2958118.html
"Three people, including one British national, with suspected hantavirus have been evacuated from the Hondius in order to receive medical care in the Netherlands in co-ordination between the Cape Verde, UK and Dutch governments."
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-the-hantavirus-cruise-ship-outbreak
"70% per cent of the public can't spot the mistake in this sentence."
We read what we expect to read.
Chapter 3 of You Don't Know What You're M ss ng is "Reading between the lines"
Read a more detailed summary in my latest substack
https://open.substack.com/pub/kityates/p/reading-between-the-lines?r=1cw8pl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
1/2
Replying to
You can pre-order You Don’t Know What You’re M ss ng from Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Know-What-Youre-Missing/dp/1529438039
or to support independent bookshops around the country from Bookshop.org here:
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/you-don-t-know-what-you-re-missing-the-science-of-what-s-lost-and-how-to-find-it-kit-yates/497ab9dcf971763a
2/2
Replying to
I've summarised the first chapter - Making sense of it all - of my new book - You Don't Know What You're Missing - in my latest substack so you can get a feel for the book in case you want to get yourself a copy ahead of publication on June 4th.
”In total seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius have been confirmed, with two other cases suspected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjep78l5835o
“The passengers flew into Manchester Airport on a chartered flight from Tenerife, where the HV Hondius docked on Sunday morning, and have been taken to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, to isolate for 72 hours.”
Arsenal draw and and hand Man City the league title.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2lrzd4x02vo
"More than 140 people remain on the Hondius, which will take about three days to reach the Spanish archipelago for screening. A local official has criticized the plan."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/05/06/hantavirus-cruise-ship-hondius-outbreak-spain/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social
“The Andes strain of the virus [hantavirus] has been confirmed in two passengers who were taken to South Africa, according to the country's health minister.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r8j1l6j0go
"Questions about the culprit virus and its route of spread remain as health officials make plans for stranded passengers"