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Reposted by Alex Ji

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · 7h

More coverage of OSU’s new restrictions on conference attendance:

“These conferences are open forums for us to present our work, network and collaborate. Telling us that they’re going to regulate whether or not we can participate feels very stifling, prohibitive,” said @ohdearz.bsky.social

Under Anti-DEI Pressure, Ohio State Limits Conference Funds

The Education Department recently criticized Ohio State University’s involvement with a nonprofit that encourages people from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue doctorates. Now, OSU is rethinking ...

www.insidehighered.com

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Abbabadook 🎃 @abbiestev.bsky.social · 16d

If any of you fine folks are planetarians in (or want to be in) mid-Michigan, the Abrams Planetarium is hiring a full-time-staff position for the first time in 11 years!! Come work with the astro, scicomm, and informal ed folks at MSU!! 🔭 🧪 (reskeets welcome) careers.msu.edu/jobs/educati...

Educational Program Coordinator II - East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Position Summary The program coordinator will maintain the planetarium, present live shows, and create new planetarium visualizations. In addition, this position will assist customers, assist in educa...

careers.msu.edu

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Sarah Tuttle @niais.bsky.social · 5d

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

docs.google.com

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Reuters @reuters.com · 4d

MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding, other schools still mulling reut.rs/471tkNZ

MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding, other schools still mulling

Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth on Friday said she "cannot support" a memo that the White House sent to nine elite U.S. universities last week detailing policies they should follow to get preferential consideration for federal funding.

reut.rs

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Casey @mamasissiesays.bsky.social · 6d

I booked a photo session tonight bc I have very few pictures of my family together, but while I’m smiling & holding my children, I know I will hear this mother’s screams.

I don’t want my tax dollars supporting ICE agents dragging parents away from car line. And most moms in the US agree with me.

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve been asked to advise undergrads on how to get into grad school and this is all I can think about musgrave.substack.com/p/dont-do-a-...

Don't Do a Ph.D. Now

At least in the United States

musgrave.substack.com

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 6d

Fair, but I think this is still less qualitatively different than you think; eg having tutored O(100) CS101-type students, something like 20-30% of people their attitude was “if i remove all the red squiggles from my IDE that means I did it right” until they learned otherwise

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 6d

I think there's something where "did something that works" goes too far beyond "understanding what's actually happening" that is the issue here? And part of this is that abstractions that were initially leaky became more solid (e.g. no one worries about transistors failing now)

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 6d

Yes, but in this analogy this is like asking gcc to make a fancy figure for you; like technically it's able to do this, but you need to give it more guidance?

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 6d

I agree (though I didn't do binary!) and think there's a similar gap going from high level languages like python to LLM-based coding; there's something missing for most users. But at the same time, it really broadens access in a way that I think is valuable.

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Jocelyn Leitzinger @jocelynl.bsky.social · 6d

Armed, masked thugs are kidnapping our neighbors and terrorizing our communities

This was in front of an elementary school in the West Loop in Chicago today. Sharing because everyone needs to see what is happening here daily

Originally posted by @erynfreepress on IG. Her story is in the alt text

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 6d

I’m no expert, but we did go from coding in binary -> assembly -> FORTRAN/C -> Java/C++ -> Python/R. At each step we traded raw efficiency(/energy cost) for user convenience. It does take different thinking and teaching/learning for each step. LLM coding seems like it will be the next step..

Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 6d

Y'all. I just got ChatGPT to do everything in R for this manuscript. I mean EVERYTHING. And it's all legit and reproducible. I'm shook.

How are we mentoring our trainees in statistics now? Who needs to learn coding in R line by line, and who doesn't?

scienceforeveryone.science/statistics-i...

Statistics in the era of AI

How do we mentor, teach, and do stats when AI can do so much of the work?

scienceforeveryone.science

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Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 7d

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 9d

We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion. It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops.

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 14d

🫠🫠🫠

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 14d

"There's artificial intelligence, and then there's actual intelligence."

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 14d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 14d

For those frantically trying to submit their Gemini proposals tonight, it’s broken:
www.gemini.edu/news/science...

Gemini Proposal Server Offline

A network outage in Chile has caused a loss of connectivity to our backend servers for proposals for 2026A. We do not know at this stage how long it will take to restore the service. We will update he...

www.gemini.edu

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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 19d

In discussion with a computer scientist from the University of Cambridge last night:

Me: "you've described some of the things that AI is good at. How would you describe the category of things it's not good at?

**pause**

Him: "Anything where it has to be right".

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El Espectro 👻 🎃 @telescoper.bsky.social · 19d

R.I.P. George F. Smoot (1945-2025)

We will no doubt read many official obituaries in days to come, but all I can say is that he was a character, a very original thinker, a fine scientist, and a very nice man. Along with many others, I will miss him enormously.

R.I.P. George F. Smoot (1945-2025)

We will no doubt read many official obituaries in days to come, but all I can say is that he was a character, a very original thinker, a fine scientist, and a very nice man. Along with many others, I will miss him enormously.

telescoper.blog

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Alex Ji @alexji.bsky.social · 19d

😭

SMBC Comics @smbccomics.bsky.social · 21d

This print was added to our store by popular demand.

PRINT ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com/products/aut...
ORIGINAL COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/autism...

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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 20d

Here we go!

Over 13,000 H-1B workers have joined 200+ land-grant, sea-grant, and R1 research institutions so far this fiscal year.

I also found that public institutions in large, Republican states are disproportionately affected by Trump's $100,000 H1-B fee.

Find your state or your school:

The Xylom @thexylom.com · 20d

EXCLUSIVE: A new analysis by The Xylom's @alexip718.com shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on H-1B skilled workers — and how this delicate balance might be disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on legal immigration.

The Most Detailed Maps of H-1B Visa Holders Joining America's Top Research Institutions

A new analysis by The Xylom shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on the specialized knowledge of H-1B skilled workers — and how this…

www.thexylom.com

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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 20d

We're actually having trouble securing a spot in Chicago, our hometown :(

(This is mostly because it's such short notice, btw.)

Let us know if you're interested in screening Bad Pedophile and you have a big space in town: [email protected]

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 20d

Do you want to screen Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile in your town or city, unlike a cowardly major movie chain?

Email us at [email protected].

We'll allow you to screen it for free.

Yes, again, this is real.

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 20d

A very big Onion announcement:

The Onion has spent the last two months working on a masterpiece.

It's a documentary titled Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile.

It's so good, in fact, we were set to release it in theatres nationwide on October 2nd.

Then two weeks ago, Charlie Kirk was shot.

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James Davenport @jradavenport.com · 20d

Here is a review article I'm giving my students that Payne-Gaposchkin wrote a year before she died, where she reflects on what's been learned on variable stars in here career. She concludes: If I were beginning again, it is there [LMC/SMC] that I should search.

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1978ARA%...

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chigeek.bsky.social @chigeek.bsky.social · 21d

The annual pumpkin display at the entrance of Governor Pritzker’s personal residence on Astor Street. He is the pumpkin king. Illinois produces the most pumpkins, including canned, than any other state in the U.S., twice as many as the next five states combined.

My photo taken last year of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s personal residence on Chicago’s Astor Street showcasing an impressive pumpkin and gourd display.

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · Sep 14

Yesterday's piece from @jamellebouie.net is the only high-profile piece I've seen that specifically discusses the watchlist, its effect on academics, and its effect on public attitudes toward academia as a whole. (gift link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/o...

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