🧪Thanks to my @ucsdphysci.bsky.social colleague Brian Keating, who hosted me on a podcast. We discussed phase transitions, renormalization group, what is usually missed by philosophers in talking about emergence, why AI shouldn't work, evolution & the purpose of life. Not the meaning of life 😀.

Why AI Shouldn’t Work — And Why It Does Anyway

YouTube video by Dr Brian Keating

youtu.be

Are we ever going to find out what happened to mitch McConnell

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the classroom. The Education Department just proposed OMB-style regulations yesterday. Presumably these are attempts to implement the OMB proposals agency by agency now that it is more likely that the original OMB one will get push back.

Agencies Move to Implement OMB’s Proposed Grants Takeover

The Education Department and National Science Foundation have suggested regulations that would adopt core aspects of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s proposal—even though it’s not fin...

insidehighered.com

Link to proposed changes and supporting information (the important bit). www.regulations.gov/docket/NSF-2... Link to make comments. www.regulations.gov/commenton/NS... Deadline: Monday 24 Aug 11.59pm Eastern. NSF: 2k comments so far. OMB: had ~ hundreds of thousands

Nigel Goldenfeld@nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social · 3d ago

🧪Deadline tomorrow midnight Eastern to post Comments on proposed NSF revisions. They smuggle in OMB revisions, which were so controversial that Congress specifically excluded them from the current continuing resolution. If you've ever been funded by NSF, please comment. Info and my comment 👇👇👇👇👇

I recommend putting your (anyone) comment in an attachment so you control length and format. Citations are helpful. You can get ideas from other comments and search my name to get a starting point or just copy it (after the site loads it up), & get relevant ideas from the comments on OMB-2026-0034.

🧪Deadline tomorrow midnight Eastern to post Comments on proposed NSF revisions. They smuggle in OMB revisions, which were so controversial that Congress specifically excluded them from the current continuing resolution. If you've ever been funded by NSF, please comment. Info and my comment 👇👇👇👇👇

Nigel Goldenfeld@nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is an excellent article by Irene Ngun at @standupforscience.net I commented about these issues in my NSF comment, which is here: www.regulations.gov/comment/NSF-... If you did not do so there's still time. You can submit multiple comments.

Three more days to comment on NSF's attempt to smuggle in OMB's already-rejected policies of terminating any grant without cause, gutting civil rights obligations and restricting international collaborations. Submit your comment today! Then call your representatives. 🧪

Noam Ross@noamross.net · 4w ago

My comment on NSF-2026-OTR-0001, NSF's obsequious gutting of their own procedures, replacing them with OMB's proposed rules undermining federal grantmaking with their ideological agenda. Need guidance on commenting? @standupforscience.net has you covered: fight2win.standupforscience.net #NSF

Tagging @irenesufs.bsky.social ...

Nigel Goldenfeld@nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is an excellent article by Irene Ngun at @standupforscience.net I commented about these issues in my NSF comment, which is here: www.regulations.gov/comment/NSF-... If you did not do so there's still time. You can submit multiple comments.

In 2026, there is no longer any lab leak hypothesis you can state consistently with the available evidence. Despite this, it has been the dominant media narrative for six years. Read my new data-driven investigation: www.protagonist-science.com/p/biased-med...

Biased media coverage and the lab leak theory

Gain-of-function fearmongering and blame gets the glitzy NYT visual treatment as Republicans weaponize the lab leak theory again in attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci

protagonist-science.com

"The notion of a bunch of physicists living in tents & exchanging thoughts when not fending off bears is ridiculous." -- Michael Cohen, a founder of the famed Aspen Center for Physics, where physicists go to workshops & hike. Not so ridiculous: this year the place is literally swarming with bears!

The Tent City That Never Was - Aspen Center for Physics

Surely you were joking, Mr. Cohen. The notion of a bunch of physicists living in tents and exchanging thoughts when not fending off bears is ridiculous. (More so than seven curled-up dimensions?) In r...

aspenphys.org

Tagging @ireneone.bsky.social 🙏

Nigel Goldenfeld@nigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social · 6d ago

This is an excellent article by Irene Ngun at @standupforscience.net I commented about these issues in my NSF comment, which is here: www.regulations.gov/comment/NSF-... If you did not do so there's still time. You can submit multiple comments.

This is an excellent article by Irene Ngun at @standupforscience.net I commented about these issues in my NSF comment, which is here: www.regulations.gov/comment/NSF-... If you did not do so there's still time. You can submit multiple comments.

How the National Science Foundation is Closing the Door on Opportunity in Science — Stand Up for Science Foundation

 At the National Science Foundation, the recent rescinding of Title VI disparate-impact regulations, termination of equity-focused STEM education programs and broadening-participation grants, and...

standupforscience.foundation

Requisite Tony Judt quote about the single greatest institutional achievement in 250 years of the Republic:

Gerry Doyle@mgerrydoyle.bsky.social · 7d ago

u.s. public universities are great and it's kind of a shame so many legislators have decided they hate them

The culprit? Like last year, NSF is spending more up front, discontinuing multi-year awards and paying off the mortgage on existing awards. But FY26 and FY25 have similar budgets. What accounts for the difference is that NSF has withheld $1 billion—$1,016,862,632, to be precise.

Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up. In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.

Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades

The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.

nature.com

Okay, now a thread about some highlights from the article. First, it is only an indirect response to the fancy-looking but irresponsible NYT op-ed article featuring Dr. Alina Chan. I am not the only one noticing a certain pattern here. 1/

If Zachary Blount had one dollar for every cell he plated in his dissertation looking for new Cit+ mutations, he could single handedly pay off the US debt of $40,000,000,000,000. www.npr.org/2026/08/19/n...

When military families speak, we should listen! They carry the weight of deployments, long separations & constant uncertainty. Their loved ones serve this country, they deserve respect & a Commander in Chief who takes their sacrifices seriously! #MilitaryFamilies #SupportOurTroops #SheShed

Trump says he has "total control over the Strait of Hormuz." Basic reality/facts say otherwise, unless "control" means the US is blocking all traffic. ONE ship transited today; 449 others remain stuck. www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

This thread is worth reading all the way through. A stark reminder of the prolonged attack on US basic science and the NSF. And while you're here... Please comment on the new NSF proposed changes. DEADLINE 5 DAYS AWAY You can get started here: www.aps.org/initiatives/...

Proposed changes to NSF proposals

Share your feedback about concerning, proposed, updated changes to National Science Foundation funding guidance. The comment period will close on Aug. 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

aps.org

Joshua Weitz@joshuasweitz.bsky.social · last wk.

NSF announces a $1.5B program in 'foundational' research. Is that a win? Only if one commits to the art of willful forgetting. NSF-supported work has always aspired to be foundational. But science is hard. Adjectives like 'foundational' or 'gold standard' don't suddenly make it easier.

NSF is touting a dozen new solicitations announced this week as evidence that basic research still rules. But that's not what's really going on. www.science.org/content/arti...

Is NSF’s new call for research proposals good news? Scientists and staffers have doubts

The long-delayed 12 solicitations only cover some disciplines—and promise to give them much less money

science.org

Speaking truth to power button. "I also asked Gemini for help placing an order... I held down the button & started reading out my order: diapers ... my list was long & ... taking a while, the phone turned off ... because the button for talking to Gemini is also the power button for the phone"

Google’s Pixel 11 Comes With Plenty of A.I. Does Anyone Want That?

The phone’s artificial intelligence can order groceries, book tables and take photos on a user’s behalf. But is it something people really want?

nytimes.com

You don't say... www.ms.now/news/frame-u...

Whistleblower says probes into antisemitism at colleges were ploys to harass and strip millions

A former Justice Department lawyer says the Trump investigations squeezed Ivy League universities for millions before they were even concluded. A top Democrat is demanding answers.

ms.now

A government actively (and not just passively) against science and scientists is producing predictable results in the US. jobs.physicstoday.org/article/phys...

Briefing: Physics PhDs Are Leaving the US at a Record-high Rate | Physics Today Jobs

Briefing: Physics PhDs Are Leaving the US at a Record-high Rate - read this article along with other careers information, tips and advice on Physics Today Jobs

jobs.physicstoday.org

This is why science needs to care about democracy. US science depends on state capacity—the ability of NIH and NSF to continue to fund fundamental research is what built the US science superpower. But we can’t rebuild that without also supporting the people who care about the collapse of democracy.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · last wk.

New from me: what would a grand coalition for government reform look like post-Trump? It should include both people who care about democratic backsliding and state capacity. But right now these groups aren’t really talking to one another. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-could...

Thanks for posting about this. My institution also. The list includes most of the top research universities in the US.

Ryan Comes@rbcomes.bsky.social · last wk.

So my institution and 29 others have wound up on the DOD 💩 list for the alleged transgression of collaborating with China. Considering I have AFOSR money, I'm sure this will be a hassle. The feds have a great history on their China probes. 🧪⚛️ 1/2 defensescoop.com/2026/08/17/p...

These proposed changes are nuts. This is like having the Olympic Games with a field of 100 runners divided into groups: first 25 to cross the line = 🥇, next 25 = 🥈, final 50 = 💩. Followed by The Boss taking away 45 medals, leaving 5 🏆 for the Chosen Ones. formernih.substack.com/p/nih-direct...

NIH Directors Decide, Except When HHS Says No

A June 2026 Nature report revealed that mandatory reviews by top officials, checking for a list of 235 disfavored terms, have left hundreds of meritorious NIH applications in administrative limbo (Koz...

formernih.substack.com

Dear Fellow Americans, We're paying more for fossil fuels, gasoline-powered cars, electricity, and bad investments than the rest of the world because they're all building renewable energy systems and industries. We're not, because the fossil-fuel industry owns our politicians.

Last week we learned that the US jobs economic data had been revised downwards because the administration, well you know ... They're also doing it to COVID cases, see below thread. Levels starting to rise due to the annual summer wave. AFAIK origin of 2 waves/yr unknown www.pmc19.com/index.php

Mike Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA@michael-hoerger.bsky.social · last wk.

🚨BREAKING 🦠 On Friday, the US CDC arbitrarily shifted higher COVlD levels into lower categories depicted with cooler colors. Much of what was Very High is now "High." What was High is now "Moderate" or "Low." Low is "Very Low." 1/