Mathew Kiang
mathewkiang.com
Mathew Kiang
@mathewkiang.com

switch(
sample(x = 1:3, n = 1, prob = c(.05, .1, .85)),
tweet_joke(),
tweet_plot(),
dont_tweet()
)

Public Health 34%
Environmental science 19%

Dude, you won't believe the embarrassing level of effort it took to make Fig 9.

Have you ever wondered how to ensure a loss in Candyland though?

github.com/mkiang/candy...
github.com

Last week, the child caught me doing The Mini crossword and asked me why I was doing "the duplo of crosswords". Now I only do the real NYT crossword until she falls asleep so I don't get shamed.

It's that time of the year again. The mornings have a crisp edge. The smell of hot PSLs fills the air. The NIH SROs are sending out their "what to do if a government shutdown happens" emails. Magic is in the air.

I use Slack for precisely one thing.
Excellent coverage of our study out today on climate impacts on wildfire smoke and related health impacts.

I'm just saying I've never took the day off work, went for a bike ride, enjoyed the summer inversion and then regretted it.

Me too but I'm not above backing out.

Given the situation at the NIH, constant chaos, and everything else that's happening right now, are we still volunteering for study section?

Just seems like whatever incentives existed before ("insiders' view" or prestige) no longer apply. (Obv, money is good and I am poor but I'm not *that* poor.)

Just in time for the bird migration, which will almost certainly bring bird flu cases back...

apnews.com/article/kenn...
RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development
The Department of Health and Human Services plans to cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.
apnews.com

I attended a summer camp for nerds during grad school and honestly to god one night somebody started the party with "Can I share my favorite Terry Tao theorem with you guys?"

The Pearl quote is unsurprising and wildly on brand.

That Terry Tao needs to apply for funding is shocking. Dude should just be swimming in research money.
Math at UCLA suffered the greatest blow.

I spoke with Terry Tao—Fields Medalist and arguably the preeminent mathematician of his generation—who is apparently now doing his summer research in number theory without external funding.

Reposted by Mathew V. Kiang

Math at UCLA suffered the greatest blow.

I spoke with Terry Tao—Fields Medalist and arguably the preeminent mathematician of his generation—who is apparently now doing his summer research in number theory without external funding.
"When the first of August came round, the Professor realized he had pleasantly trifled away nearly two months at a task which should have taken little more than a week."

--Willa Cather, 1925 and timeless

The piñata at this birthday party is made of some kind of mithril and adamantium alloy.

Making travel decisions at this point in my career:

The piñata at this birthday party is made of some kind of mithril and adamantium alloy.

This whole time I just thought Skarsgard was a really popular Swedish surname.

Reposted by Mathew V. Kiang

The 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill's proposed Medicaid changes, including eligibility restrictions and reduced funding, are projected to cause negative health, economic, and healthcare system impacts.

https://ja.ma/469dTok

My platform will be the development of a GenAI model that'll do your self-promotion for you.*

*not really

Grad school really doesn't prepare you for the volume of awkward self-promotional materials you'll need to write just to get paid.

This is a bad take:
- >90% importation is from US residents visiting other countries
- Canada and Mexico account for only ~20%
- there are over 120k active cases in Europe
- 90% vaccination is still below the threshold
- xenophobic policies during mass illegal ICE kidnappings is a garbage suggestion

Reposted by Mathew V. Kiang

Karolinska is looking for 20 (!!) assistant professors and offering 6 year appointments with ~1M USD startup packages.

ki.se/en/about-ki/...
Call for 20 Assistant Professor positions
Karolinska Institutet is a world-leading medical university with a long and proud history of ground-breaking research. We are now recruiting outstanding early-career researchers with particularly exce...
ki.se

I was watching Kobe practicing free throws at the London Olympics before a game. After a string of makes, he missed one and I instinctively boo'ed — but I was the only person in that section. He just made eye contact with me and then shook his head in disappointment.
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie

Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction

Reposted by Mathew V. Kiang

I heard this morning that my informatics colleague Dr. Atul Butte passed after a battle with cancer. He was a giant in the field & inspired many of us over his distinguished career. He was a passionate champion of the power of big data & his impact on our field is immeasurable. RIP Atul & thanks.

What if we tried like... not bombing each other?
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie

Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction

The people change but the coffee stays the same.