Douglas Natelson
@nanoscaleviews.bsky.social
Physicist, occasional wiseass. Feed for Nanoscale Views (http://nanoscale.blogspot.com). [email protected]. He/his. These opinions are my own, obviously, and don’t represent my employer. (Annoyed that I feel like I have to say that.)
Fact of the day from Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War documentary, episode 3: In winter of 1776, as the Continental Congress fled, the British garrisoned towns across NJ, including “Spanktown”, which is now called Rahway.
November 24, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Fact of the day from Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War documentary, episode 3: In winter of 1776, as the Continental Congress fled, the British garrisoned towns across NJ, including “Spanktown”, which is now called Rahway.
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
November 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
⚛️🧪 Why are scientific equipment vendors (I'm looking at you, Leybold) promoting "Black Friday Sales"?
November 21, 2025 at 3:42 PM
⚛️🧪 Why are scientific equipment vendors (I'm looking at you, Leybold) promoting "Black Friday Sales"?
WTF? No, seriously, is the DOD next going to decide that burning crosses are warm and fuzzy?
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The Guard has been reworking its policies to align with the administration’s changing tolerances for hazing, harassment within the U.S. military. By
@taracopp.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
The Guard has been reworking its policies to align with the administration’s changing tolerances for hazing, harassment within the U.S. military. By
@taracopp.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:26 PM
WTF? No, seriously, is the DOD next going to decide that burning crosses are warm and fuzzy?
🧪⚛️ A brief discussion of how to think about quantum geometry in solids. (A bit math-y; I hope to come back to this one.) nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/11/quan...
Quantum geometry - some intuition
There has been a great growing interest in quantum geometry in recent years. Last week, I heard an excellent talk by Raquel Queiroz about ...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:14 PM
🧪⚛️ A brief discussion of how to think about quantum geometry in solids. (A bit math-y; I hope to come back to this one.) nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/11/quan...
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
🧪⚛️ APS publication notice = good. Getting emailed the link that immediately goes to a cloudflare error page = priceless.
November 18, 2025 at 2:27 PM
🧪⚛️ APS publication notice = good. Getting emailed the link that immediately goes to a cloudflare error page = priceless.
The new documentary by @kenlburns.bsky.social about the American Revolution is characteristically excellent.
November 17, 2025 at 3:55 AM
The new documentary by @kenlburns.bsky.social about the American Revolution is characteristically excellent.
WTF. How did this chucklehead become president of f-ing Harvard, with so little basic morality or sense that he hit on grad students and gossiped about it in writing with an infamous sex pest?!
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 1:44 AM
WTF. How did this chucklehead become president of f-ing Harvard, with so little basic morality or sense that he hit on grad students and gossiped about it in writing with an infamous sex pest?!
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
'Four cones wins, but in order to get a cone you have to build a civilization. Which is where the spirit cards come in'
November 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
'Four cones wins, but in order to get a cone you have to build a civilization. Which is where the spirit cards come in'
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.
November 13, 2025 at 11:48 PM
If you have to get permission to teach in your area of expertise from people who are definitionally not qualified to adjudicate your expertise then you are no longer working at a university.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
You’re working at a state propaganda factory.
🧪⚛️ Vortices and this year's APS Buckley Prize - a brief write-up. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/11/vort...
Vortices everywhere
The 2026 APS Oliver E. Buckley Prize in condensed matter physics was announced this week, and it's a really interesting combination of topi...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
🧪⚛️ Vortices and this year's APS Buckley Prize - a brief write-up. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/11/vort...
🧪⚛️
October 31, 2025 at 12:32 PM
🧪⚛️
So, does the mayor of NYC have some amazing level of power? It seems like there are breathless news stories every day as if as mayor Mamdani could single-handedly alter NYC's tax structure. Like, there is a city council, right? What am I missing here?
October 27, 2025 at 9:34 PM
So, does the mayor of NYC have some amazing level of power? It seems like there are breathless news stories every day as if as mayor Mamdani could single-handedly alter NYC's tax structure. Like, there is a city council, right? What am I missing here?
🧪⚛️ Thoughts but unfortunately no solutions to the problems facing science journalism. Just trying to get people to pay attention. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/10/scie...
Science journalism - dark times
At this point it's old hat to decry the problems facing traditional news media. Still, it is abundantly clear in our late stage capitalist ...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:53 AM
🧪⚛️ Thoughts but unfortunately no solutions to the problems facing science journalism. Just trying to get people to pay attention. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/10/scie...
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
Not a single graduate of Acme Looniversity found gainful employment as a looney tune post graduation. Utter failure of a trade school
October 25, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Not a single graduate of Acme Looniversity found gainful employment as a looney tune post graduation. Utter failure of a trade school
🧪⚛️ I have it on good authority that, after recent layoffs, the @wsj.com is now down to a single science reporter on staff. One. Because in today's world of fast-paced scientific and technological change and massive disinformation, who needs real science reporting?
October 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
🧪⚛️ I have it on good authority that, after recent layoffs, the @wsj.com is now down to a single science reporter on staff. One. Because in today's world of fast-paced scientific and technological change and massive disinformation, who needs real science reporting?
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
LEGAL RELEASE FORM: You agree to let us film you
ME: Seems OK
FORM: We own your face forever
ME: Ummm
FORM: We own your face via technologies that haven’t been invented yet
ME:
FORM: in other galaxies
ME: OK hold on
FORM: If we kill you during filming you’re not allowed to scream
ME: Seems OK
FORM: We own your face forever
ME: Ummm
FORM: We own your face via technologies that haven’t been invented yet
ME:
FORM: in other galaxies
ME: OK hold on
FORM: If we kill you during filming you’re not allowed to scream
October 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
LEGAL RELEASE FORM: You agree to let us film you
ME: Seems OK
FORM: We own your face forever
ME: Ummm
FORM: We own your face via technologies that haven’t been invented yet
ME:
FORM: in other galaxies
ME: OK hold on
FORM: If we kill you during filming you’re not allowed to scream
ME: Seems OK
FORM: We own your face forever
ME: Ummm
FORM: We own your face via technologies that haven’t been invented yet
ME:
FORM: in other galaxies
ME: OK hold on
FORM: If we kill you during filming you’re not allowed to scream
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
This is an excellent piece, and I encourage you to read it. It's not very long, and it provides valuable context for understanding the state of AI technologies generally and generative AI tools specifically. 🧪
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:48 PM
This is an excellent piece, and I encourage you to read it. It's not very long, and it provides valuable context for understanding the state of AI technologies generally and generative AI tools specifically. 🧪
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
🧪⚛️ There are a couple of fun, conversational preprints this week on the arXiv - one about the mysterious connection between structural chirality and electron spin; and a condensed matter theory take on ways to think about quantum gravity. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/10/inte...
Interesting preprints: chirality-induced spin selectivity + quantum gravity
This continues to be a very busy time, but I wanted to point out two preprints that caught my eye this week. Their subjects are completely ...
nanoscale.blogspot.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:44 PM
🧪⚛️ There are a couple of fun, conversational preprints this week on the arXiv - one about the mysterious connection between structural chirality and electron spin; and a condensed matter theory take on ways to think about quantum gravity. nanoscale.blogspot.com/2025/10/inte...
Reposted by Douglas Natelson
It surprises me how poorly generative AI is at chemical structures. Google image search for "benzene" finds thousands of correct structures. Why does its generative image AI tool fail to create something that matches that training set?
October 15, 2025 at 8:35 PM
It surprises me how poorly generative AI is at chemical structures. Google image search for "benzene" finds thousands of correct structures. Why does its generative image AI tool fail to create something that matches that training set?
🧪⚛️ This morning when I tried to search for a scientific result on my browser, it popped up this image. While it asks if I want "help" on my homework, it says paste in the problem and it (presumably google gemini) will just solve it for me. Google, why are you explicitly encouraging this??
October 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
🧪⚛️ This morning when I tried to search for a scientific result on my browser, it popped up this image. While it asks if I want "help" on my homework, it says paste in the problem and it (presumably google gemini) will just solve it for me. Google, why are you explicitly encouraging this??
If the speaker of the house can indefinitely refuse to swear in duly elected members, then we don’t have representative government anymore.
AZ AG Mayes: If I have to, I’ll take Speaker Johnson to court. There's no legitimate reason for him to refuse to swear her in right now. And it's not fair for Mike Johnson to be holding the state of Arizona hostage because he doesn't want to release the Epstein files.
October 15, 2025 at 3:39 AM
If the speaker of the house can indefinitely refuse to swear in duly elected members, then we don’t have representative government anymore.