Tom Siegfried

science writer and editor

Tom Siegfried is a science writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., area. He writes the Context blog for Science News and his work has also appeared in Science, Nature, Astronomy, New Scientist, and Smithsonian. Previously he was the science editor of The Dallas Morning News. He is the author of four books: The Bit and the Pendulum (Wiley, 2000); Strange Matters (National Academy of Sciences’ Joseph Henry Press, 2002); A Beautiful Math (Joseph Henry Press, 2006); and The Number of the Heavens (Harvard University Press, 2019).

Wed, 12/02/2020 - 12:02
Foods of Abuse? Nutritionists Consider Food AddictionCookies, chips, hot dogs, and other ultraprocessed fare raise risk of runaway eating
Tue, 08/24/2021 - 12:02
This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine. From the earliest days of their evolution, guts and brains have been the best of friends. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Guts prepare nourishment for delivery to the brain. And…
Why Some Artificial Intelligence Is Smart Until It’s DumbMachine learning has uses in diverse fields, and its influence is growing. But so is the understanding of its limits.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 12:02
This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine. It’s Stardate 47025.4, in the 24th century. Starfleet’s star android, Lt. Commander Data, has been enlisted by his renegade android “brother” Lore to join a rebellion against humankind—much…
Fighting Crime With StatisticsTaking advantage of ‘natural experiments,’ researchers analyze data to look at what works
Mon, 02/04/2019 - 12:03
If Fyodor Dostoyevsky had been a mathematician, he might have written a book called Crime and Statistics. However, since “statistics” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “punishment,” it wouldn’t have sold as well. But such a book would make a…