Alia Valentine
@aliaisnonlinear.net
applied math PhD student @ cornell; control theory, mathematical biology, amateur musician & photographer, she/her
https://valentine-alia.github.io/
https://valentine-alia.github.io/
printing this and putting it on my wall. this is so accurate I have such a hard time believing I've ever done anything right
in my opinion, if an Autistic person appears to be bragging, it is likely that they're in a bit of disbelief about their accomplishment & they're seeking external validation
we've been told our whole lives what we do is wrong
when we DO get it right we aren't sure until someone else validates it
we've been told our whole lives what we do is wrong
when we DO get it right we aren't sure until someone else validates it
January 9, 2026 at 2:55 PM
printing this and putting it on my wall. this is so accurate I have such a hard time believing I've ever done anything right
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Meanwhile, every morning for my commute I step onto a metro train that:
- runs every 3 minutes
- carries nearly 1000 people at a time
- is fully electric
- costs €1 / a day for unlimited citywide transit on buses, trams, or trains
- has nearly 100% reliability
Oh, and it has automatic doors. 😇
- runs every 3 minutes
- carries nearly 1000 people at a time
- is fully electric
- costs €1 / a day for unlimited citywide transit on buses, trams, or trains
- has nearly 100% reliability
Oh, and it has automatic doors. 😇
“Because riders and passersby can be unreliable, Waymo pays workers in Los Angeles $20 or more for rescuing a robotaxi by closing a door, summoning help through an app called Honk that is like an Uber for towing companies.”
When robot taxis get stuck, a secret army of humans comes to the rescue
Waymo robotaxis get stranded when a passenger leaves the door open. Tow truck operators can get paid $22 to close a door and set them free again.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Meanwhile, every morning for my commute I step onto a metro train that:
- runs every 3 minutes
- carries nearly 1000 people at a time
- is fully electric
- costs €1 / a day for unlimited citywide transit on buses, trams, or trains
- has nearly 100% reliability
Oh, and it has automatic doors. 😇
- runs every 3 minutes
- carries nearly 1000 people at a time
- is fully electric
- costs €1 / a day for unlimited citywide transit on buses, trams, or trains
- has nearly 100% reliability
Oh, and it has automatic doors. 😇
Reposted by Alia Valentine
This year's gingerbread is the Vera Rubin Observatory! @vrubinobs.bsky.social
December 25, 2025 at 1:34 PM
This year's gingerbread is the Vera Rubin Observatory! @vrubinobs.bsky.social
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Ever wondered how many bins to choose when making a histogram of data? The answer is that you shouldn't choose a number of bins yourself! ☄️ #astrocode
Here's a little notebook explaining how to make less biased histograms:
Here's a little notebook explaining how to make less biased histograms:
Making histograms is a common way to estimate the true density distribution of a sample. But how can we choose the number of histogram bins? And if we get fancy and use kernel density estimation (KDE)...
Making histograms is a common way to estimate the true density distribution of a sample. But how can we choose the number of histogram bins? And if we get fancy and use kernel density estimation (K...
gist.github.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Ever wondered how many bins to choose when making a histogram of data? The answer is that you shouldn't choose a number of bins yourself! ☄️ #astrocode
Here's a little notebook explaining how to make less biased histograms:
Here's a little notebook explaining how to make less biased histograms:
Reposted by Alia Valentine
For readers who are about to lose care, I have been told that the Trans Youth Emergency Project is helping the families of trans youth contingency plan to access that care.
www.transyouthemergencyproject.org
www.transyouthemergencyproject.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
For readers who are about to lose care, I have been told that the Trans Youth Emergency Project is helping the families of trans youth contingency plan to access that care.
www.transyouthemergencyproject.org
www.transyouthemergencyproject.org
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too!
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
December 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too!
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
Reposted by Alia Valentine
At first glance, looks like a Gray–Scott reaction-diffusion
But it’s a fertilized starfish 🥚: proteins self-organizing into spiral waves across the membrane
Same dynamics seen in ❤️/🧠/🌊, even quantum fluids. Universality in action!
#ComplexSystems
news.mit.edu/2020/growth-...
But it’s a fertilized starfish 🥚: proteins self-organizing into spiral waves across the membrane
Same dynamics seen in ❤️/🧠/🌊, even quantum fluids. Universality in action!
#ComplexSystems
news.mit.edu/2020/growth-...
December 9, 2025 at 9:03 PM
At first glance, looks like a Gray–Scott reaction-diffusion
But it’s a fertilized starfish 🥚: proteins self-organizing into spiral waves across the membrane
Same dynamics seen in ❤️/🧠/🌊, even quantum fluids. Universality in action!
#ComplexSystems
news.mit.edu/2020/growth-...
But it’s a fertilized starfish 🥚: proteins self-organizing into spiral waves across the membrane
Same dynamics seen in ❤️/🧠/🌊, even quantum fluids. Universality in action!
#ComplexSystems
news.mit.edu/2020/growth-...
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Have a look through this gallery to see one of the coolest examples of role specialisation in the insect world 🐜
They live inside twigs with small circular entrances & these workers have evolved heads the perfect shape to block those entrances - effectively, they are living doors!
They live inside twigs with small circular entrances & these workers have evolved heads the perfect shape to block those entrances - effectively, they are living doors!
A gallery of Cephalotes turtle ants, denizens of the treetops in tropical American forests.
Cephalotes - Alex Wild
is a diverse genus of heavily-armored, tree-dwelling myrmicine ants found in forested regions of the new world tropics and subtropics. A number of canopy species show the unusual habit of controlled ...
www.alexanderwild.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Have a look through this gallery to see one of the coolest examples of role specialisation in the insect world 🐜
They live inside twigs with small circular entrances & these workers have evolved heads the perfect shape to block those entrances - effectively, they are living doors!
They live inside twigs with small circular entrances & these workers have evolved heads the perfect shape to block those entrances - effectively, they are living doors!
Reposted by Alia Valentine
One of the best-sketched characters in an incredibly character-rich show: a fascist whose (potentially real!) redeeming qualities are continually undercut by his monumental pride, bigotry, entitlement and pettiness
The most realistic scene in DS9 is when Gul Dukat whined about how the Bajorans never erected a statue in his honor. A prophetic text.
December 7, 2025 at 6:08 PM
One of the best-sketched characters in an incredibly character-rich show: a fascist whose (potentially real!) redeeming qualities are continually undercut by his monumental pride, bigotry, entitlement and pettiness
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Everyone stop, this is important
July 7, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Everyone stop, this is important
Reposted by Alia Valentine
In case you aren't already aware of one of the nerdiest, nich-est online games: TeXnique, where the goal is to type LaTeX formulae as quickly as possible. texnique.xyz
It is "fun."
It is "fun."
November 21, 2025 at 9:14 PM
In case you aren't already aware of one of the nerdiest, nich-est online games: TeXnique, where the goal is to type LaTeX formulae as quickly as possible. texnique.xyz
It is "fun."
It is "fun."
Reposted by Alia Valentine
It doesn't matter how despicable a person is, mocking their innate physical appearance is always wrong.
Not because it's cruel to them, but because it perpetuates the harmful idea that innate physical appearance has anything to do with one's character / beliefs / actions.
Not because it's cruel to them, but because it perpetuates the harmful idea that innate physical appearance has anything to do with one's character / beliefs / actions.
Do you have any extremely niche, but serious, ethical stances?
October 19, 2025 at 8:13 PM
It doesn't matter how despicable a person is, mocking their innate physical appearance is always wrong.
Not because it's cruel to them, but because it perpetuates the harmful idea that innate physical appearance has anything to do with one's character / beliefs / actions.
Not because it's cruel to them, but because it perpetuates the harmful idea that innate physical appearance has anything to do with one's character / beliefs / actions.
Reposted by Alia Valentine
It's that time again :>
August 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
It's that time again :>
Reposted by Alia Valentine
people more pro-AI than me? gullible nerds. people more anti-AI than me? fear-addled clowns. and me? perfect, as per usual
June 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM
people more pro-AI than me? gullible nerds. people more anti-AI than me? fear-addled clowns. and me? perfect, as per usual
Reposted by Alia Valentine
one of the most heartbreaking things i have learned in my career as an educator is that our country's disinvestment in children is not just neglect -- it crosses over to antipathy
the US profoundly needs a children's rights movement. children are not property... they deserve opportunity and learning and autonomy and security.... and our country just does not acknowledge this
July 30, 2025 at 2:18 AM
one of the most heartbreaking things i have learned in my career as an educator is that our country's disinvestment in children is not just neglect -- it crosses over to antipathy
Reposted by Alia Valentine
It’s worse than “Gaza is being starved and destroyed and no one cares.” It’s that hundreds of millions *do* care and are powerless to stop it. We need a world where that can never happen, where the masses actually have political power.
July 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
It’s worse than “Gaza is being starved and destroyed and no one cares.” It’s that hundreds of millions *do* care and are powerless to stop it. We need a world where that can never happen, where the masses actually have political power.
Reposted by Alia Valentine
How far can you compress a complex system?
🚨 In our latest paper we collapse high-dim compartmental models (from epidemics to ecosystems) into a single 1-D equation using quantum-inspired math, exposing universal phase transitions #ComplexSystems 👇👇👇
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
🚨 In our latest paper we collapse high-dim compartmental models (from epidemics to ecosystems) into a single 1-D equation using quantum-inspired math, exposing universal phase transitions #ComplexSystems 👇👇👇
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
July 17, 2025 at 9:54 AM
How far can you compress a complex system?
🚨 In our latest paper we collapse high-dim compartmental models (from epidemics to ecosystems) into a single 1-D equation using quantum-inspired math, exposing universal phase transitions #ComplexSystems 👇👇👇
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
🚨 In our latest paper we collapse high-dim compartmental models (from epidemics to ecosystems) into a single 1-D equation using quantum-inspired math, exposing universal phase transitions #ComplexSystems 👇👇👇
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
Reposted by Alia Valentine
When using computer vision to identify organisms in a image, it helps to know what the model was trained on. To a shark ID AI, everything is a shark.
July 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM
When using computer vision to identify organisms in a image, it helps to know what the model was trained on. To a shark ID AI, everything is a shark.
Reposted by Alia Valentine
The Red Avadavat, also called Red Munia or Strawberry Finch 🪶
#BirdArt #AnimalArt #SciArt #Sketchbook
#BirdArt #AnimalArt #SciArt #Sketchbook
July 9, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The Red Avadavat, also called Red Munia or Strawberry Finch 🪶
#BirdArt #AnimalArt #SciArt #Sketchbook
#BirdArt #AnimalArt #SciArt #Sketchbook
Reposted by Alia Valentine
My research group at Cornell finally has a dedicated website ☺️ Still very minimal, but we will populate it soon with the cool projects we are getting off the ground! Stay tuned! sites.google.com/cornell.edu/...
C³ Group @ Cornell
We are a team of interdisciplinary researchers at Cornell University. We study how nonlinear dynamics and distributed control shape collective intelligence in natural and engineered systems, drawing o...
sites.google.com
June 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
My research group at Cornell finally has a dedicated website ☺️ Still very minimal, but we will populate it soon with the cool projects we are getting off the ground! Stay tuned! sites.google.com/cornell.edu/...
I got my passport in the mail today and despite this ruling it has incorrect information
www.aclu.org/press-releas...
www.aclu.org/press-releas...
Transgender US Passport Holders Granted Temporary Relief in Challenge to Trump Gender Marker Policy | American Civil Liberties Union
BOSTON – A federal judge today expanded a preliminary injunction to two newly certified classes of passport holders in Orr v. Trump, a challenge to...
www.aclu.org
June 19, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I got my passport in the mail today and despite this ruling it has incorrect information
www.aclu.org/press-releas...
www.aclu.org/press-releas...
Reposted by Alia Valentine
Just discovered the motherlode of wildly incomprehensible unhinged mathematical diagrams.
June 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Just discovered the motherlode of wildly incomprehensible unhinged mathematical diagrams.
Reposted by Alia Valentine
6 beers deep, vehemently nodding along to my friend’s story, yelling “exaaaactly” at every point they make.
June 5, 2025 at 3:08 AM
6 beers deep, vehemently nodding along to my friend’s story, yelling “exaaaactly” at every point they make.
Reposted by Alia Valentine
*** Academic BFD alert ***
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
April 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
*** Academic BFD alert ***
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We just published a new global bird phylogeny. It synthesizes the work of thousands of researchers before us, and it will grow and improve over time. @snacktavish.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Alia Valentine
"Most say gender is determined at birth"
New poll determines that most of society is incorrect.
apnorc.org/projects/mos...
This poll is fucking horrifying.
New poll determines that most of society is incorrect.
apnorc.org/projects/mos...
This poll is fucking horrifying.
Most say gender is determined at birth - AP-NORC
More people approve of Trump’s handling of transgender issues than his job performance overall. People are more likely to oppose than support public health insurance programs like Medicare or Medicaid...
apnorc.org
May 13, 2025 at 8:19 PM
"Most say gender is determined at birth"
New poll determines that most of society is incorrect.
apnorc.org/projects/mos...
This poll is fucking horrifying.
New poll determines that most of society is incorrect.
apnorc.org/projects/mos...
This poll is fucking horrifying.