Ink and Equations

We write real science as stories, poems, satire and speeches

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Ink and Equations

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We write real science as stories, poems, satire and speeches.

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  1. How an Old Ball Swings the Wrong WayUnpacked, 8 Nov
  2. How a Rock Ended Up Running Your PhoneDeep Dives, 5 Nov
  3. Aristotle Was Wrong for 2,000 Years, and That's Good NewsRhetoric, 4 Nov

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    Nothing saved yet. Use Save under any piece’s byline and it waits here.

    Contributor terms

    What happens when you send us a piece: who owns it, how we edit it, how you are named, and how to take it down.

    These terms are for anyone who sends a piece to Ink and Equations. They are written plainly, and they describe how we work. If anything here is unclear, ask us before you send your piece.

    Who can send us a piece

    Any student, at any school or college, anywhere. If you are under 18, please make sure a parent or guardian knows you are sending us your work and that it may be published.

    It has to be your own work

    • Send us only writing you wrote yourself. Don’t copy anyone else’s words, and don’t send something you’ve already sent to another journal unless you tell us.
    • You can use tools to check spelling or to look things up, but the writing has to be yours. Tell us if any part of the piece was written by an AI tool; we don’t publish pieces written by AI.
    • Quote other people only briefly, say who said it, and list your sources at the end.
    • Satire pokes fun at ideas and mistakes, not at real, private people. Don’t name or mock anyone who isn’t a public figure.

    Your piece stays yours. By sending it, you give us permission to publish it on Ink and Equations, to illustrate it, and to share links and short extracts from it in our newsletter and on social media. That permission isn’t exclusive: you’re free to publish your piece anywhere else too, before or after we do.

    We don’t pay for pieces, and we never charge you anything to send one.

    Editing and checking the science

    We may suggest edits, and an editor checks every scientific claim with you before the piece appears. We won’t publish changes you haven’t agreed to. If we can’t agree on the science, we won’t publish the piece; we bend the story, never the science.

    We choose the pictures that go with each piece. Some are drawn with the help of AI image tools.

    How you’re named

    Pieces don’t show bylines on the page. Your name, in the form you ask for (your full name, your first name, or initials), stays with your piece: it appears when someone cites it, and in the details search engines read. Tell us your school only if you want it mentioned.

    Corrections and taking a piece down

    If you find a mistake in your piece after it’s published, tell us and we’ll correct it, with a dated note at the end of the piece saying what changed. You can ask us to take your piece down at any time, for any reason, and we’ll remove it as soon as we can.

    Your details

    We use your email address only to talk to you about your piece. We don’t share it, and we don’t add you to the newsletter unless you sign up yourself. Our privacy page explains the rest.

    If these terms change

    If we change these terms, we’ll update this page and the date below. Changes don’t apply to pieces already published unless you agree.

    Last updated 14 November 2026.