Sam Gregson

illustration image, made of a map of Antarctica (NASA svg) and SARS-CoV-2 virus (NIH BioArt)

Are you familiar with the story of the Antarctica sequences?

If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.

For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin

Brian Keating

Institutions can always be improved.

This is Sabine intentionally lying by omission to her audience.

This isn’t science communication. It‘s preaching.

It’s giving the audience half a story, so they think they’re well informed while activating them against scientists by hiding the true motivations.

She knows what she is doing.

Can you think of any Rutgers faculty or book writers that might fit this definition? 🤔

That doesn’t mean she can’t be popular or say some true things. She can.

The populist parts are:

- the reflexive dumping on institutions
- baselessly ascribing them corrupt intentions while falsely claiming to represent the public position
- suggesting that institutions be ripped down and restructured as she sees fit

She is the archetype of a science populist.

Yes! We will cover this in the next video.

Dismissing precision as if it’s just “looking at something we have already seen but a bit better” is intentionally disingenous.

Precision measurements scour the high energy frontier, probe quantum nature, can identify new interactions (Higgs width) etc

@timhenke.bsky.social and I wanted to avoid the why because it’s incredibly hard to know what is really happening in the heads of these people and instead focus on the downstream outputs and impacts

Have you noticed that science communication is overrun with populist rhetoric? @timhenke.bsky.social and I have.

We are beset by influencers who rubbish institutions, prop up cranks, and mislead audiences about problems in science.

We deserve better.

Full video: youtube.com/watch?v=sQnO...

🧪⚛️

Have you noticed that science communication is overrun with populist rhetoric? @timhenke.bsky.social and I have.

We are beset by influencers who rubbish institutions, prop up cranks, and mislead audiences about problems in science.

We deserve better.

Full video: youtube.com/watch?v=sQnO...

🧪⚛️

If you're interested in particle physics specifically, you gotta check out my friend @badboyofscience.bsky.social

Another great science communicator is Angela Collier. She doesn't take bullshit but she has so much enthusiasm to share

There's also Rebecca Watson, she's great but more opinionated

Discussion link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Sz...
Book link: sites.uci.edu/alienphysics/

Discussion link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Sz...
Book link: sites.uci.edu/alienphysics/

Had a great time discussing whether "aliens speak physics" with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social .

When the aliens arrive, will they understand our physics? Will they have the same laws? Will they want to discuss the subject?

We address these Qs and many more!

Link: youtube.com/watch?v=l1Sz...

⚛️🧪

Had a great time discussing whether "aliens speak physics" with @danielwhiteson.bsky.social .

When the aliens arrive, will they understand our physics? Will they have the same laws? Will they want to discuss the subject?

We address these Qs and many more!

Link: youtube.com/watch?v=l1Sz...

⚛️🧪

This isn't science communication anymore.

It's contrarian and libertarian coded bs reskinned with physics.

It's the usual formula of the influencer.

All this, whilst she remains entirely silent on the real war on science both ideological (insert classic outraged "are we really financing THAT" popular article here) and practical (let's get rid of these unproductive funds/positions)

YouTube video by Bad Boy of Science Did We Just Find Life On Mars? Mars Scientist Explains.

Had a brilliant time discussing the latest results from the NASA @nasapersevere.extwitter.link rover on Mars.

Did we just find a biosignature and evidence that life once flourished on the red planet?

Mars scientist Henry Manelski breaks down the science!

Link: youtube.com/watch?v=PQUEXBy2J2Q

🧪⚛️

YouTube video by Bad Boy of Science Did We Just Find Life On Mars? Mars Scientist Explains.

Had a brilliant time discussing the latest results from the NASA @nasapersevere.extwitter.link rover on Mars.

Did we just find a biosignature and evidence that life once flourished on the red planet?

Mars scientist Henry Manelski breaks down the science!

Link: youtube.com/watch?v=PQUEXBy2J2Q

🧪⚛️

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world YouTube

I've been trawling through some old science comedy sets.

Here's why physics is just like sex...

Link: youtube.com/shorts/EurEA...

#science #comedy

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world YouTube

I've been trawling through some old science comedy sets.

Here's why physics is just like sex...

Link: youtube.com/shorts/EurEA...

#science #comedy

🧪⚛️

It's an important continuation of the trend that "all experts are shills and must not be trusted, only populists can be trusted"

Even domains that seem far from public policy are attacked. Because if their experts can be trusted, then maybe there are other experts elsewhere, too.

There are no personal attacks here

Today LHCb presented a new measurement of the decay of a B meson into a K* and a μ+ μ- pair

Previous results disagreed with the Standard Model prediction for the branching fraction and angular distribution

The new measurement has almost twice as much data and still disagrees!

🧵1/6

Have you ever wondered why physicists are so excited to study the Higgs Boson at a new Higgs Factory collider?

Wonder no more!

I explain what a Higgs factory is, why we need one, and the amazing measurements the machine will make.

Check it out!

Link: youtu.be/xtJgh7yZHkk

🧪⚛️

Have you ever wondered why physicists are so excited to study the Higgs Boson at a new Higgs Factory collider?

Wonder no more!

I explain what a Higgs factory is, why we need one, and the amazing measurements the machine will make.

Check it out!

Link: youtu.be/xtJgh7yZHkk

🧪⚛️

This is not the quality of pseudoscience infotainment to which I have grown accustomed Teasing the public with fraudulent or self-deluded promises of aliens used to mean something. It took work. It meant slapping together…

I have a complaint about Avi Loeb's latest work and I want to speak to management.

medium.com/@steve.desch...

Was a pleasure, Steve! Thanks for taking the time!