Marcos Huerta
@marcoshuerta.com
400 followers 740 following 440 posts
Past: PhD in Astrophysics from Rice University -> Science policy at the US Department of Energy. 
Present: Data scientist living in Virginia. I am also on Mastodon, @[email protected] https://marcoshuerta.com
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marcoshuerta.com
The paper in Science Advances that said some moms have more boys than girls that got a lot of press attention? I dove into their raw data and their conclusions seem flawed. #dataBS

marcoshuerta.com/posts/baby-b...
Having a boy or girl at birth is a coin toss: Reanalyzing a new study. – Marcos Huerta
Data is Singular
marcoshuerta.com
marcoshuerta.com
The column names changed.
philistella.bsky.social
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

New library catalogue website.
impavid.us
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
Andrew Cuomo is incapable of speaking clearly and directly about Trump’s authoritarianism.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
davidcorn.bsky.social
A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.
marcoshuerta.com
Would not have taken out Skubal.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
kathleenclark.bsky.social
A master class from MIT in responding to authoritarian overreach:

Your “premise … is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
… America’s leadership in science & innovation depends on independent thinking & open competition for excellence.
Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges.
We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit. Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.
• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available to any American with an internet connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly 10%.

source: 
https://orgchart.mit.edu/letters/regarding-compact • We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.
These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.
As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people. We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth
marcoshuerta.com
No Carplay is a deal breaker. Plus if enough of us stay away due to missing Carplay, they'll have to cave and bring it back.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
donmoyn.bsky.social
New from @jeremymberg.bsky.social at Can We Still Govern:
"Silence may protect an institution from becoming an early target, but history shows that it increases the likelihood that that institution (and many others) will be become targets over time."
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/deafening-...
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
Leaders are underestimating the risks of not fighting back
donmoynihan.substack.com
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
dieworkwear.bsky.social
“A second inflatable frog has now been spotted wiggling through Portland.”
Marco Rubio whispers into Donald Trump's ear.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
databsconf.com
The videos from the #DataBS Conference have made it to YouTube!

Over the coming days, we'll highlight sessisons from the event -- one post per talk.

You can also sneak ahead by going straight to the YouTube playlist, here:

www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Data Behind the Scenes 2025 - YouTube
Data Behind the Scenes is a data conference by data practitioners, for data practitioners. We come together to share stories and experiences about the the me...
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
stevevladeck.bsky.social
The very first statute authorizing domestic use of the military during domestic emergencies, enacted in 1792 by a Congress full of the same folks who wrote and ratified the Constitution, expressly provided for judicial review in certain circumstances *before* the President could even send troops.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
yayroger.bsky.social
Two dudes whom despite their best efforts have no power in Canada.
marcoshuerta.com
I’d compare him to Chris Simms, but Simms would at least do okay against poor opponents.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
govpritzker.illinois.gov
This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
ocasio-cortez.house.gov
We can't settle for Republicans’ promise of later negotiations. Because every time this Administration says something, they go back on their word.

If Republicans need Democratic votes, they need to keep health care premiums from skyrocketing for the American people.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
marcoshuerta.com
My profile pic here and everywhere is intentionally 10+ years old.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
safa-science.bsky.social
Federal workers are speaking out on how the Trump regime is harming Americans:

"We stand here today at a moment of the greatest assault of our lifetimes on our freedoms. The US Constitution is being shredded... We are here to call on Congress to stand up and stop it."

youtu.be/uw1KwIBgrCw?...
Mark Histed, NIH Scientist *speaking in personal capacity
YouTube video by Civil Servants Coalition
youtu.be
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
gregsargent.bsky.social
Relatedly, exactly this, from @brianbeutler.bsky.social. The Dems getting heard nationally right now are those who grasp this point.

"The nature of public misgivings over the Trump regime stem from his dictatorial abuses, rather than quotidian policy disputes."

www.offmessage.net/p/20-thought...
20 Thoughts On The Government Shutdown
Fighting is good; fighting smart is better.
www.offmessage.net
marcoshuerta.com
“It’s not a comedy”
“My eyes, the googles, they do nothing.”
“Time to take out the trash” - Bette Middler.
rockshrimp.bsky.social
what's the stupidest/randomest Simpsons quote that lives in your head rent free? Mine is the urge to say "you said go to bread" every time I am about to head to bed.
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
aoc.bsky.social
A bus of Bronx middle schoolers pulled up to the Capitol this morning for a long-planned field trip just a few hours after the government shut down.

All Capitol tours were cancelled as the guides can’t work in shutdown.

So I escorted them in myself and gave them a personal tour. They were great!
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
samd.bsky.social
Sam’s Law of Media:

The media treats Democrats as the only political actors with agency, responsible for everything happening

Republicans, by contrast, are treated like zoo animals: odd, fascinating, but never to be judged and, perhaps more importantly, never responsible for their own decisions
Reposted by Marcos Huerta
jamellebouie.net
there are almost certainly more people — more blue collar laborers, specifically — involved in the cultivation and production of chardonnay grapes and wine than in coal
atrupar.com
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."