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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · 23d

so good

Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Hannah Waters @hanner.bsky.social · 23d

Hi! Today @quantamagazine.bsky.social published a special issue on climate science, featuring stories about how Earth's climate fundamentally works that I needed to read after covering climate impacts for so many years. I hope you'll check it out! <3 www.quantamagazine.org/how-we-came-...

How We Came To Know Earth | Quanta Magazine

Climate science is the most significant scientific collaboration in history. This series from Quanta Magazine guides you through basic climate science — from quantum effects to ancient hothouses, from...

www.quantamagazine.org

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · 23d

🧪

Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · 23d

After a long break, my podcast 'Why This Universe?' is starting up again! In our first episode of the season, Nobel prize-winner Adam Riess shares his story of the discovery that dark energy is powering the expansion of space.

Listen to the whole episode here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · 23d

You can find the show anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · 23d

After a long break, my podcast 'Why This Universe?' is starting up again! In our first episode of the season, Nobel prize-winner Adam Riess shares his story of the discovery that dark energy is powering the expansion of space.

Listen to the whole episode here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Sep 5

And here's another one I wrote with @quantamagazine.bsky.social 🧪:

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Sep 5

In 1981, Richard Feynman famously quipped that “if you want to make a simulation of nature, you’d better make it quantum mechanical.” Only quantum computers can faithfully model the world in its true nature. @shalmawegs.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/analog-vs-di...

Analog vs. Digital: The Race Is On To Simulate Our Quantum Universe | Quanta Magazine

Recent progress on both analog and digital simulations of quantum fields foreshadows a future in which quantum computers could illuminate phenomena that are far too complex for even the most powerful ...

www.quantamagazine.org

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks for the shout-out @seanmcarroll.bsky.social! And a funny coincidence—the Fourier transform really is everywhere you look.

Sean Carroll @seanmcarroll.bsky.social · Sep 5

Completely coincidental that @quantamagazine.bsky.social just published a nice article by @shalmawegs.bsky.social on the history of Fourier transforms! I did not know that Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was slated to be guillotined. Narrow escape there.

www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-the-...

What Is the Fourier Transform? | Quanta Magazine

Amid the chaos of revolutionary France, one man’s mathematical obsession gave way to a calculation that now underpins much of mathematics and physics. The calculation, called the Fourier transform, de...

www.quantamagazine.org

Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Sep 3

My latest story is out in Quanta Magazine. Had a lot of fun digging into both history and math for this one!

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Sep 3

At 26, during the Reign of Terror in France, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier narrowly avoided the guillotine. A decade later, he made a discovery that changed mathematics forever. @shalmawegs.bsky.social reports:
www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-the-...

What Is the Fourier Transform? | Quanta Magazine

Amid the chaos of revolutionary France, one man’s mathematical obsession gave way to a calculation that now underpins much of mathematics and physics. The calculation, called the Fourier transform, de...

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jul 10

Fingers crossed. Keep telling your members of Congress this is important.

Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 10

The Senate appropriations committee has voiced its intent to ignore the request by President Donald Trump to slash the budgets of the National Science Foundation and NASA science programs. scim.ag/4nW7XWi

Senate spending panel would rescue NSF and NASA science funding

Its support for a flat budget is a sign of congressional resistance to drastic cuts Trump has proposed

scim.ag

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Jul 6

My last story with Quanta dove deeeeep into quantum crystals. You can’t read about research this fresh anywhere else! 🧪

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · Jun 6

Physicists recently mapped the hidden geometry that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using a new method that’s expected to become ubiquitous. @shalmawegs.bsky.social reports:
www.quantamagazine.org/first-map-ma...

First Map Made of a Solid’s Secret Quantum Geometry | Quanta Magazine

Physicists recently mapped the hidden shape that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using a new method that’s expected to become ubiquitous.

www.quantamagazine.org

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · Jul 3

BREAKING: The United States of America

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Jul 1

Nazi Germany did literally ban Nature:

"Articles are often published in the London weekly scientific journal Nature containing outrageous and vile attacks on German science and the national socialist state.

The journal must therefore be excluded from general use in the scientific libraries."

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Ben Brubaker @benbenbrubaker.bsky.social · Jul 1

I am no fan of Springer, but to preempt objections that this is hyperbolic language, the Nazis literally banned the same journals and justified the decision using very similar rhetoric.

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · Jun 30

"Woke science" seems to be the new "Jewish physics".
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Trump team axes contracts with publishing giant Springer Nature

The action comes as high-ranking US officials criticize top journals as ‘woke’ and ‘corrupt’.

www.nature.com

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Jun 25

The National Science Foundation is getting kicked out of their building

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · Jun 24

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.

NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Cara Giovanetti @idontevencara.bsky.social · Jun 23

First images from the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory are out!

Rubin sees an area on the sky of about 9.6 square degrees with a 3.2 Gigapixel resolution. This is like taking a picture of a football field from a mile away and still being able to resolve the thickness of a dime on the field.

⚛️🧪

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Nick (derogatory) ✨ @slothropsmap.bsky.social · Jun 17

Well this is fucking crazy

Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · Jun 17

Trump just shared this alarming text from Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee, effusively praising him while telling him that no president has been in his position "since Truman in 1945" (when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Japan) & that he "will hear a voice from heaven" telling him what to do.

text screenshot: Mike Huckabee >
Mr President, God spared you in Butler, PA to be the most consequential President in a century-maybe ever.
The decisions on your shoulders I would not want to be made by anyone else. You have many voices speaking to you Sir, but there is only ONE voice that matters. HIS voice. | am your appointed servant in this land and am available for you but I do not try to get in your presence often because I trust your instincts. No President in my lifetime has been in a position like yours. Not since Truman in 1945. I don't reach out to persuade you. Only to encourage you. I believe you will hear from heaven and that voice is far more important than mine or ANYONE else's. You sent me to Israel to be your eyes, ears and voice and to make sure our flag flies above our embassy. My job is to be the last one to leave.
I will not abandon this post. Our flag will NOT come down! You did not seek this moment.
This moment sought
YOU! It is my honor to serve you!
Mike Huckabee

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Melanie Mitchell @melaniemitchell.bsky.social · Jun 16

New paper: "Large Language Models and Emergence: A Complex Systems Perspective" (D. Krakauer, J. Krakauer, M. Mitchell).

We look at claims of "emergent capabilities" & "emergent intelligence" in LLMs from the perspective of what emergence means in complexity science.

arxiv.org/pdf/2506.11135

arxiv.org

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · Jun 17

The civilian wing of the MAGA movement is attempting to murder Democrats and their spouses in their homes.

The state wing of the MAGA movement is arresting Democrats for performing their official duties.

The MAGA movement is trying to make it illegal to oppose Trump.

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Sexy CHOAM Nomsky costume @samthielman.com · Jun 17

what is it called when people who aren't cops and don't have a warrant drag you away, because I don't think "arrest" is the word

Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court

New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander has been arrested at a federal building in Manhattan as he was trying to accompany a person out of an immigration courtroom.

apnews.com

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Jun 16

Wired continuing to do great + important work for the political moment!

WIRED @wired.com · Jun 16

Jack and Fiona watched as Trump and Musk turned the US into what they call “a fascist hellscape.” So they turned to tech to organize, creating @stickittofascists.com.

They're one of many mobilizing online. And as millions joined the "No Kings” protests, these tools were powering the movement.

The Online Tools That Fueled ‘No Kings’ and the Trump Resistance

Social media platforms, collaborative online tools, and encrypted messaging are all helping to power a massive, decentralized resistance to the Trump administration.

www.wired.com

Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · Jun 9

So much waste and harm could be avoided if we just treated these as fragile, dangerous tools suited for very specialized use cases, like we do with lasers and circular saws, and not as magic thinking beans

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Jun 9

Cutting-edge AI models ‘collapse’ in face of complex problems, Apple study finds

‘Pretty devastating’ paper raises doubts about race to reach stage of AI at which systems match human intelligence Apple researchers have found “fundamental limitations” in cutting-edge artificial intelligence models, in a paper raising doubts about the technology industry’s race to develop ever more powerful systems. Apple claimed in a paper published at the weekend that large reasoning models (LRMs) – an advanced form of AI – faced a “complete accuracy collapse” when presented with highly complex problems. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Shalma Wegsman

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · Jun 11

This is very thorough and very good. Among other things, it reiterates that the fact LLMs only "tell the truth" sometimes (but bullshit with utter confidence) is a feature, not a bug. It can't be simply fixed post hoc.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Do large language models have a legal duty to tell the truth? | Royal Society Open Science

Careless speech is a new type of harm created by large language models (LLM) that poses cumulative, long-term risks to science, education and shared social truth in democratic societies. LLMs produce ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Jun 11

I'm reading Meghan O'Gieblyn's "God, Human, Animal, Machine" and now I can't stop seeing its argument everywhere: that the whole idea of the technological singularity is the newest iteration in a long history of religious prophecies — a metaphor taken literally.

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · Jun 11

Sam Altman wrote a blog post to tell us that he doesn't understand human creativity, technology, science, politics, history, ethics, or even his own AI. He does, however, have some grasp of marketing.
blog.samaltman.com/the-gentle-s...

The Gentle Singularity

We are past the event horizon; the takeoff has started. Humanity is close to building digital superintelligence, and at least so far it’s much less weird than it seems like it should be. Robots...

blog.samaltman.com

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Sean Carroll @seanmcarroll.bsky.social · Jun 9

I would love to think that everyone has known for a long time that LLMs aren't going to lead to "general intelligence," but all the evidence suggests there are plenty of people who resist this, so it's good to have a paper from researchers Apple making the point strongly.

Karl Olson 🎃 Ultraklystron @karlrolson.com · Jun 7

There's a lot of big news today/this week, but Apple just dropped a nuke of a paper about LLMs & LRMs, specially around "high-complexity tasks where both models experience complete collapse." This is the biggest sign yet that if AI ever lives up the hype, it won't be via those approaches:

The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity

Recent generations of frontier language models have introduced Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) that generate detailed thinking processes…

machinelearning.apple.com

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Shalma Wegsman @shalmawegs.bsky.social · Jun 8

Mark is such a talented and passionate science illustrator it was a pleasure to work together on this!

mark belan | science illustrator + info designer @markabelan.bsky.social · Jun 7

Check out this new story at Quanta about quantum geometry - new research about the hidden shapes that underlie the quantum behaviors of a crystal.

I had so much fun producing graphics for this cool story with @shalmawegs.bsky.social + @nattyover.bsky.social.

www.quantamagazine.org/first-map-ma...

First Map Made of a Solid’s Secret Quantum Geometry | Quanta Magazine

Physicists recently mapped the hidden shape that underlies the quantum behaviors of a crystal, using a new method that’s expected to become ubiquitous.

www.quantamagazine.org

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