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Lee Phillips

@badphysicist.bsky.social
310 followers 58 following 671 posts

Physicist and writer. lee-phillips.org

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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Charlie Ludwig @chuck4242.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I had a blast the last month chasing hummingbirds, and this shot was one of my favorite poses I was able to capture. #Birds #Birding #Wildlife #Nature #Photography #Animals #Photos #Photo #ECK #BirdOfTheDay #BestOfTheMonth
A hummingbird flies with its wings perfectly outstretched.
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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
'I have never belonged wholeheartedly to a country, a state, nor to a circle of friends, nor even to my own family.' -Albert Einstein www.commentary.org/articles/c-s... #Einstein #science #physics
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
McMansion Hell Returns and Notices Ceiling Fans mcmansionhell.com/post/8291279... One of my favorite websites, McMansion Hell, had been on vacation for a while. It has returned with a horrified catalog of trends in ceiling fan design.
mcmansionhell.com
what is going on with ceiling fans
Sometimes new design phenomena slip past even those of us who are most in tune with the happenings of the built environment. Such is the case with whatever the hell is going on with commercial ceiling...
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
How the default #Vim configuration can overwrite files created outside of Vim and cause autobuild systems to fail: lee-phillips.org/badvim/ #linux
lee-phillips.org
The one bad thing about vim
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
How the default #Vim configuration can overwrite files created outside of Vim and cause autobuild systems to fail: lee-phillips.org/badvim/ #linux
lee-phillips.org
The one bad thing about vim
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 24/09/2026
This is a SMALL version of the largest JWST image released so far—of IC 348, a star-forming region about 1,000 lightyears away. Open up the image and marvel in the incredible beauty even in our galactic neighbourhood. This is what it looks like when stars are born.
From the source: "A star-forming region. It is blanketed in thick clouds of gas and dust, millions of kilometres across, that form swirling patterns. Bright stars are scattered throughout the clouds, with the densest cluster situated in the centre of the scene. Each is crowned with six long points created by the optics of the telescope’s mirrors. In the upper right, a couple of hidden stars blast out long, glowing jets of material."
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Against #Wikipedia: I was watching in real time as Gopher, Wais, and the Web were all equally in play, and as the Web won. I had a personal website at the beginning, and I still have it. It seemed to be the next revolution in the dissemination of ideas after Gutenberg.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Publishers Weekly praises THE GREAT ATOM DEBATE: "Halpern... delivers a solid account of two Austrian physicists who famously debated the existence of atoms... [I]ntriguing intellectual history... [and] an accessible look at a critical scientific era." www.publishersweekly.com/9781541607224
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Super sale on a book you must read. amzn.to/3YZZB4W
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Super sale on a book you must read. amzn.to/3YZZB4W
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Jaron Lanier is eloquent here in expressing a point of view that I find I share about Wikipedia and similar crowd-sourced phenomena: www.edge.org/conversation...
edge.org
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wikipedia is a salient example of a collective, bland, plagiarising substitute for individual expertise that can not be held responsible for its words and that is accorded a false authority. it is part of the tragedy of the Web that could have been.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Individuals could make their creations available to the entire world at almost no cost. Individual sites, individual voices, in all their eccentric glory, arose in profusion. Then it all became swamped by anonymous, unaccountable corporate voices.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Against #Wikipedia: I was watching in real time as Gopher, Wais, and the Web were all equally in play, and as the Web won. I had a personal website at the beginning, and I still have it. It seemed to be the next revolution in the dissemination of ideas after Gutenberg.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The “In Our Time” episode is quite good.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/09... #physics #mathematics #fluidynamics
johndcook.com
The part of Navier-Stokes no one is talking about
When OpenAI released their proof that solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations can blow up in finite time, they also released a formal proof in Lean 4.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I’m not using juliaup because it doesn’t solve any problem that I have. I know how to move files and create hard and soft links in Linux, and what the path is, so I don’t need to learn about an extra layer. I certainly have no interest in yet another unnecessary GUI layer on top of that.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blo... contains one of my favorite corrections (at the end of the article).
archive.nytimes.com
Obama Biography Is Coming From New Yorker Editor
The biography by David Remnick, to be titled “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” will published by Knopf on April 6.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today the great photographer Jay Maisel died.¹ The sad event reminded me of the time that John Gruber took part in inciting an internet mob who vandalized the photographer’s house.² [1] www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/a... [2] lee-phillips.org/music/whoIsT...
nytimes.com
Jay Maisel, Photographer of Miles Davis and Much More, Dies at 95
His moody portrait became the album cover for “Kind of Blue.” Mr. Maisel lived and worked in an old bank that he bought for $102,000 and sold for $55 million.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today the great photographer Jay Maisel died.¹ The sad event reminded me of the time that John Gruber took part in inciting an internet mob who vandalized the photographer’s house.² [1] www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/a... [2] lee-phillips.org/music/whoIsT...
nytimes.com
Jay Maisel, Photographer of Miles Davis and Much More, Dies at 95
His moody portrait became the album cover for “Kind of Blue.” Mr. Maisel lived and worked in an old bank that he bought for $102,000 and sold for $55 million.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blo... contains one of my favorite corrections (at the end of the article).
archive.nytimes.com
Obama Biography Is Coming From New Yorker Editor
The biography by David Remnick, to be titled “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” will published by Knopf on April 6.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
For the next two weeks you need to be subscribed to see the article. Subscribing to LWN is a great way to support the Free Software community (and the content is first rate).
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
lwn.net/Articles/109... "Typst makes big strides" My article about the major new features in #Typst v0.15 appeared today in LWN. Typst is a typesetting system that is the first realistic candidate for a modern LaTeX replacement. #science #scicomm
lwn.net
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
For the next two weeks you need to be subscribed to see the article. Subscribing to LWN is a great way to support the Free Software community (and the content is first rate).
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
lwn.net/Articles/109... "Typst makes big strides" My article about the major new features in #Typst v0.15 appeared today in LWN. Typst is a typesetting system that is the first realistic candidate for a modern LaTeX replacement. #science #scicomm
lwn.net
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Contrary to popular belief, Albert Einstein was always excellent in mathematics. Here is his high school diploma to prove it. It shows excellence in geometry, algebra, physics, and history, but only average marks in French. (In the Swiss grading system of the time, 1=low marks, 6=high marks)
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
www.johndcook.com/blog/2026/09... #physics #mathematics #fluidynamics
johndcook.com
The part of Navier-Stokes no one is talking about
When OpenAI released their proof that solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations can blow up in finite time, they also released a formal proof in Lean 4.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/09/2026
Isaac Newton famously wrote “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Academic progress is always iterative and builds on the work of others, and a key component of academic culture is proper citation & attribution. It would be a travesty to let LLMs destroy that.
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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Ludwig Boltzmann, founder of Statistical Mechanics, wrote a beautiful ode to New York: 'Whenever I enter New York Harbor I am seized by a kind of ecstasy. The towering buildings and the Statue of Liberty with the torch held up high! If I were a musician I would compose a symphony.' #Boltzmann
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
amzn.to/3Jn1QdR Learn the best language for scientific computing.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
amzn.to/3Jn1QdR Learn the best language for scientific computing.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Putting this on my (alarmingly long list of) books to read.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
www.sciencealert.com/astronomers-... New vortex dynamics on Saturn.
sciencealert.com
Astronomers Detect a 10-Sided Structure in Saturn's Atmosphere
Saturn, apparently, has been hiding its talents.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
www.sciencealert.com/astronomers-... New vortex dynamics on Saturn.
sciencealert.com
Astronomers Detect a 10-Sided Structure in Saturn's Atmosphere
Saturn, apparently, has been hiding its talents.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions of my book. I’m glad you found value in it! lee-phillips.org/noether/
lee-phillips.org
Einstein’s Tutor: The Story of Emmy Noether and the Invention of Modern Physics
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
I predicted* in 2014 that #julialang might replace #Fortran for #science and #engineering calculations. I think this process has begun and will continue. Get a solid foundation (for any) language by starting with a good book: lee-phillips.org/amazonJuliaB... *https://t.co/eWOQwj7IY2
lee-phillips.org
Rankings of Julia books on Amazon
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Yes, but I don’t know anything about that company, and you can get bigger machines for your $5 at other places with good reputations. Look at Hetzner and Vultr.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Yes. Rent a Linux server for $5/month and use rsync. Rent two on different continents for redundancy. Don’t trust some company with your data.
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Dear restaurants with “sangria” on the menu: It’s not just sweet red wine with fruit, you monsters.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
If you’d like to hear me chat about Emmy Noether, the #history of #physics, the #energy problem, and my book¹: gateway.on24.com/wcc/eh/42775... (Free registration required to see the video, sorry.) [1] amzn.to/3Y1wfCG
gateway.on24.com
Einstein's Tutor with Dr. Lee Phillips
Einstein's Tutor with Dr. Lee Phillips
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Why Should I Pay to Read This? lee-phillips.org/whypay/
lee-phillips.org
Why Should I Pay to Read This?
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Universal praise for _Einstein’s Tutor_ (amzn.to/3YZZB4W): #Science: “Phillips’ writing shines…everyone will learn something new from this book.” #Physics #Education: “Fascinating” London Times: “full of lessons for the international scientific community today”.
amzn.to
Einstein's Tutor: The Story of Emmy Noether and the Invention of Modern Physics: Phillips, Lee: 9781541702950: Amazon.com: Books
Einstein's Tutor: The Story of Emmy Noether and the Invention of Modern Physics [Phillips, Lee] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Einstein's Tutor: The Story of Emmy Noether and the...
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Web Applications with Julia: www.digitalocean.com/community/tu... Reprint of my article from the February 2025 edition of “ADMIN magazine”: admin-magazine.com/Archive/2025... #julialang #science #programming #backend #education #linux
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Informative video about how recent fusion startups recapitulate the hype history of fusion in the large: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVw5... Since the 1950s, commercial #fusion has perpetually been 5 years away. Even if it somehow works, we won’t want or need it: progressive.org/op-eds/let-c...
youtube.com
Nuclear Fusion is in Trouble
YouTube video by Sabine Hossenfelder
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Here is Qatari state media quoting a discredited, defacto Hamas spokesperson: the propaganda arm of an antisemitic government quoting a rabid antisemite . And of course this is being widely reposted as if it’s credible. unwatch.org/un-on-france...
unwatch.org
Bot Verification
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Reposted by Lee Phillips
Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
If the professors at Cambridge who interviewed Jason Arday had urged him to seek psychiatric help instead of hiring him, he might still be alive.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Here is Qatari state media quoting a discredited, defacto Hamas spokesperson: the propaganda arm of an antisemitic government quoting a rabid antisemite . And of course this is being widely reposted as if it’s credible. unwatch.org/un-on-france...
unwatch.org
Bot Verification
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
There are various ways that Pandoc can help with this—and you won’t have to worry about LLMs changing your text or feel guilty about the environmental damage caused by data centers.
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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
A good moment to recommend Angela Saini‘s Superior, which traces back the history of “race science” and shows the institutions that sustain this pseudo-research until today. These pursuits have nothing in common with the principles of academic inquiry www.angelasaini.co.uk/superior
angelasaini.co.uk
Angela Saini | Award-winning Science Journalist and Author
The website of British independent science journalist, author and broadcaster, Angela Saini. Her most recent book is Superior: The Return of Race Science.
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Lee Phillips @badphysicist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
lwn.net/Articles/103... is my article about Typst 1.13. An update for 1.15 will be published in a few weeks. In short: the output is nearly identical and Typst is far more pleasant to use—but LaTeX still dominates for manuscript submission and its vast civilization of packages.
lwn.net
Typst: a possible LaTeX replacement
Typst is a program for document typesetting. It is especially well-suited to technical material [...]
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