Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Lots of really interesting ideas and observations in this preprint and this thread. Thank you for sharing! 140
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 08/11/2025This is a fun read … www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...quantamagazine.orgPhysicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics | Quanta MagazineQuantum mechanics has at last been formulated exclusively with real numbers, bringing a mathematical puzzle at the heart of the theory into a new era of inquiry. 010
Reposted by Scott McKinleyAubrey Hirsch @aubreyhirsch.bsky.social · 14/10/2025Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math 321144617
Reposted by Scott McKinleyBK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Powerful interview of recently fired CDC director by @maxkozlov.bsky.social . What unfolded is chilling and also sad to read in her words. The decimation of the CDC is a low point in global public health history because its impact extended beyond America. www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comExclusive: ex-CDC director talks about why she was fired“I would never do that, as a scientist,” Susan Monarez says of being asked to approve changes to vaccine recommendations without knowing the details. 212359
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Note to NYT mobile: Science is not broken. Trust in science might be, in part, because of terrible communication like this. 010
Reposted by Scott McKinleyRenee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 20/09/2025Last week @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social and I put out a provocation & set of suggestions on how influence has changed and why institutions (& funders) need to change their thinking on shaping public opinion and connecting w/audiences. The old way no longer works. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...carnegieendowment.orgFor Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications StrategiesTo avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence. 921099
Reposted by Scott McKinleyMargaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · 13/05/2025"the freedom to speak becomes meaningless when disconnected from the possibility of being heard". This is a heartbreaking piece from @alondra.bsky.social on the regression of scientific progress and why she's resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress. time.com/7285045/resi...time.comWhy I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of CongressI cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging. 04723
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDr. Allison Wiltz @allyfromnola.bsky.social · 29/08/2025Twenty years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans. At approximately 5:00 AM, the levees broke, flooding 80% of our city. As a result, an estimated 1400 people lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Over half of the victims were Black. 6292143
Reposted by Scott McKinleyCatherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 29/08/2025Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.forbes.comTrump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International StudentsTrump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious. 941482700
Reposted by Scott McKinleyKatelyn Jetelina @kkjetelina.bsky.social · 28/08/2025CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else. #USAnotRFK Lets gooooo 172131673314
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDan Murphy @bungdan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...youtube.comLIVE: CDC staff plan walkout at Atlanta HQ after Trump firingsYouTube video by Associated Press 432069786
Reposted by Scott McKinleyJen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 05/08/2025"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities...." cc: Sen. Bill Cassidy 3142396979
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDave Kung @dtkung.bsky.social · 02/08/2025The NSF canceled all grants to UCLA- including IPAM (one of the math research centers). Terry Tao weighs in on the impact of this decision (dressed up in the language of fighting antisemitism.) mathstodon.xyz/@tao/1149568... 3208
Reposted by Scott McKinleyShannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 10/07/2025"Mac settings have lived a far more fascinating life than I imagined, have been redesigned many times, and can tell us a lot about the early history + the troubled upbringing of this interesting machine. Join me on a journey through the first twenty years of Mac’s control panels." (via The Browser)aresluna.orgFrame of preferenceA story of early Mac settings told by 10 emulators. 26414
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 01/07/2025Growing up in Baton Rouge, I cannot overemphasize the shadow this man cast over the people of that city. He was the first person who showed me that charisma is an almost mystical personality trait. And that its power looks absurd to anyone not subject to its sway. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/u...nytimes.comJimmy Swaggart, Passionate Televangelist Ousted by Scandal, Dies at 90 030
Reposted by Scott McKinleyjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 27/06/2025... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...nytimes.comUniversity of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration 881151201
Reposted by Scott McKinleyMichael Lowry @michaelrlowry.bsky.social · 26/06/2025A huge blow was dealt to hurricane forecasters this week as a critical tool was abruptly terminated by the Department of Defense and NOAA. The immediate discontinuation of data from three weather satellites will severely impact hurricane forecasts this season and beyond. More ⬇️michaelrlowry.substack.comCritical Hurricane Forecast Tool Abruptly TerminatedU.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday it would no longer process and deliver data essential to most hurricane forecasts 19523211555
Reposted by Scott McKinleyElizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 10/06/2025Bill Cassidy (R) at RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing: “If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without changes”. Today, RFK Jr. fired every single member of ACIP. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...usatoday.comRFK Jr. fires entire CDC vaccine advisory panelHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousted all 17 members of a panel that advises the CDC on the safety, efficacy and clinical needs of vaccines. 78971341
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDavid Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 13/05/2025Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3 www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgTrump officials take steps toward a radically different NSFEfforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress 15407310
Reposted by Scott McKinleyPiper Hutchinson @piperhutch.bsky.social · 06/05/2025Louisiana would be among the states hardest hit by the indefinite pause of funding from the National Science Foundation, with higher education leaders warning of catastrophic impacts to students and the economy. #lalege #lagovlailluminator.comScientific research cuts could be ‘devastating” to Louisiana, higher ed leaders warn • Louisiana IlluminatorLouisiana would be among the states hardest hit by the indefinite pause of funding from the National Science Foundation, with higher education leaders warning of catastrophic impacts to students and t... 057
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 01/05/2025BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comExclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing onesUS science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’. 381309963
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 19/04/2025People call lots of things “gaslighting” these days. This is the real thing, operating at an institutional level 030
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 17/04/2025These are not the words of someone who seeks to understand. These are the words of someone who seeks to vilify and dehumanize. 010
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 15/04/2025Turns out there are more amendments than just the 2nd Amendment. Take, for example, the 8th: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." 010
Reposted by Scott McKinleyCarl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 04/04/2025“Kennedy’s team requested that Marks turn over data on cases of brain swelling and deaths caused by the measles vaccine—data that Marks said doesn’t exist because there have been no such confirmed cases in the U.S.” www.wsj.com/health/healt...wsj.comExclusive | Ousted Vaccine Chief Says RFK Jr.’s Team Sought Data to Justify Anti-Science StanceDr. Peter Marks says the new health secretary’s team wants to show vaccines aren’t safe while promoting dangerous and unproven treatments. 208104393925
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 04/04/2025These are the men who burned the Library of Alexandria 000
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 30/03/2025When they put their actual policies up for a vote, they lose 030
Reposted by Scott McKinleyWIRED @wired.com · 24/03/2025As graduate programs lose spots and labs face shutdowns following Trump administration cuts to science funding, students and researchers are left to figure out what's next.wrd.cmThe Chaos of NIH Cuts Has Left Early-Career Scientists ScramblingAs graduate programs lose spots and labs face shutdowns following Trump administration cuts to science funding, students and researchers are left to figure out what's next. 15517149
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Getting the flu is not fun. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise 100
Reposted by Scott McKinleyThe Associated Press @apnews.com · 18/03/2025BREAKING: A federal judge rules the dismantling of USAID likely violated the Constitution and blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from further cuts. bit.lyJudge rules DOGE's USAID dismantling likely violates the ConstitutionA federal judge ruled Tuesday that the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development likely violated the Constitution and blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from further cuts to the agency. 501461319
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 15/03/2025A person simply cannot be “pro-life” and anti-USAID www.nytimes.com/interactive/...nytimes.comOpinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True.A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death. 210
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 14/03/2025To all who celebrate … (not my handiwork, credit goes to our department administrator!) 030
Reposted by Scott McKinleyAmanda Shendruk @not-ship.com · 11/03/2025Trump is purging government data in an attempt to doctor reality. Disappearing, or otherwise manipulating, statistics is a classic authoritarian technique. @crampell.bsky.social and I analyze these tricks in our latest piece. gift link: wapo.st/4iCmMtnwapo.stOpinion | How Trump is reshaping reality by hiding dataSweeping statistical purges are part of a broader attempt to reinvent “truth.” 517183
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Every one of these details shows how incredibly insecure and unqualified these people are to manage our national interests www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/t... 110
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Quite a line-up for Tulane Book Fest: Anthony Fauci, Jennifer Doudna, Mark Milley, Imani Perry, Nate Silver, W. Kamau Bell, Francis Collins, Anne Applebaum, and on and on ... bookfest.tulane.edu/schedulebookfest.tulane.edu2025 Schedule | The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane 020
Reposted by Scott McKinleyKathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 10/03/2025“But just when we should be demanding more public accountability & reliability, we seem to be turning away from the idea that health is a collective endeavor, a public good at all, & retreating into the rhetoric of personal responsibility… I fear we will come to regret it.” @profgoldberg.bsky.socialnytimes.comOpinion | Covid’s Deadliest Effect Took Five Years to AppearWhat once belonged to all of us now belongs to corporations. 14012
Reposted by Scott McKinleyDare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 09/03/2025The coolest thing I’ve seen today is that a bunch of volunteer public health professionals and developers have restored the CDC website from before January 20th 2025. This differs from an archive in that they want to rebuild the links between pages and replicate the full website.restoredcdc.orgCenters for Disease Control and Prevention 437326988274
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 08/03/2025If you’re not giving me a hint for your kid’s birthday party present, I’m defaulting to a crafting kit that has permanent markers, glitter, and crazy glue 030
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 06/03/2025This, while they think transgenic mice are transgender 000
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 05/03/2025For anyone who thought season one of True Detective was over the top #RexComus 0152
Reposted by Scott McKinleySMB - Society for Mathematical Biology @smbmathbiology.bsky.social · 02/03/2025Welcome to BlueSky, @smbdevbio.bsky.social! We are happy that the SMB Subgroup on Cell and Developmental Biology is now part of the mathematical biology community here. For more information on the SMB subgroup, check out their website smb-celldevbio.github.io/aboutme/.smb-celldevbio.github.ioContactIf you are a current [member](https://www.smb.org/categories/) of the Society of Mathematical Biology, please indicate the Cell and Developmental Biology subgroup in your membership application to joi... 081
Reposted by Scott McKinleyAtul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · 27/02/20251. All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated. 212199667
Reposted by Scott McKinleyJason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Dean Karlan, Chief Economist at USAID, has resigned www.npr.org/sections/goa... 10816362
Reposted by Scott McKinleyPaul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 20/02/2025A Brief History of School Today Is Too Easy 🧵 924587
Reposted by Scott McKinleyJeremy Koster @jeremykoster.bsky.social · 19/02/2025Upon learning that yesterday would be my last day as a program officer at the National Science Foundation, I shared this parting message with my colleagues. The next few months will be frenetic and stressful for them. Here are some things that you can do to help them with the mission ahead. (1) 692414820
Scott McKinley @scottalister.bsky.social · 18/02/2025As usual, @dahlialithwick.bsky.social gets it right. slate.com/news-and-pol...slate.comI Just Figured Out What Elon Musk’s DOGE Really IsIt’s how things worked when you went to the Cosa Nostra to ask for protection for you and your family in exchange for some portion of your own resources. 100
Reposted by Scott McKinleyCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 15/02/2025This excellent interactive tutorial on misleading data visualizations explores the idea of a "counter chart" — the graph you draw in response to refute a misleading claims flowingdata.com/projects/dis...flowingdata.comDefense Against Dishonest ChartsThis is a guide to protect ourselves and to preserve what is good about turning data into visual things. 531211441