Scott McKinley

Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics | Quanta Magazine Quantum 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.

This is a fun read …

www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...

Did 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

Exclusive: 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.

Powerful 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...

NY Times mobile headline states that “Science is broken. Can this man (the appointed head of NIH) fix it?” Even the article does not have this headline

Note to NYT mobile: Science is not broken.

Trust in science might be, in part, because of terrible communication like this.

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To 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.

Last 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...

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

"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...

man rolling rock up hill how it started how its going

Twenty 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.

Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students Trump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious.

Trump 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.

CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else.

#USAnotRFK

Lets gooooo

YouTube video by Associated Press LIVE: CDC staff plan walkout at Atlanta HQ after Trump firings

AP live feed of the CDC walkout in Atlanta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ7Q...

"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

The 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...

Frame of preference A story of early Mac settings told by 10 emulators.

"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)

Jimmy Swaggart, Passionate Televangelist Ousted by Scandal, Dies at 90

Growing 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...

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...

Critical Hurricane Forecast Tool Abruptly Terminated U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday it would no longer process and deliver data essential to most hurricane forecasts

A 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 ⬇️

RFK Jr. fires entire CDC vaccine advisory panel Health 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.

Bill 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...

Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress

Another 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...

Scientific research cuts could be ‘devastating” to Louisiana, higher ed leaders warn   • Louisiana Illuminator Louisiana 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...

Louisiana 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 #lagov

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

BREAKING: 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...

People call lots of things “gaslighting” these days.

This is the real thing, operating at an institutional level

These are not the words of someone who seeks to understand.

These are the words of someone who seeks to vilify and dehumanize.

Turns 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."

Exclusive | Ousted Vaccine Chief Says RFK Jr.’s Team Sought Data to Justify Anti-Science Stance Dr. Peter Marks says the new health secretary’s team wants to show vaccines aren’t safe while promoting dangerous and unproven treatments.

“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...

These are the men who burned the Library of Alexandria

When they put their actual policies up for a vote, they lose

The Chaos of NIH Cuts Has Left Early-Career Scientists Scrambling As 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.

As 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.

Getting the flu is not fun.
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

Judge rules DOGE's USAID dismantling likely violates the Constitution A 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.

BREAKING: A federal judge rules the dismantling of USAID likely violated the Constitution and blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from further cuts.