Molly M. King
@mollymking.bsky.social
Sociologist of knowledge, science, inequality. Researcher. Wheelchair basketball player. ♿️ Personal citizen account.
The dark side of American individualism and constant ambition is they ignore the structural constraints that shape lives: "[Insisting] positive thinking and hard work meant I could achieve my goals — intrinsic qualities that should be under my control — it made me feel responsible for my failure."
Get set for independence
Why I left the rehab hospital more disabled than when I arrived
www.disabilitydebrief.org
September 18, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The dark side of American individualism and constant ambition is they ignore the structural constraints that shape lives: "[Insisting] positive thinking and hard work meant I could achieve my goals — intrinsic qualities that should be under my control — it made me feel responsible for my failure."
First year I've felt like reporting information to my government science funding agency is potentially... risky. I'll probably still report, now that I have the protections of tenure, but it makes me sad for both science and the study of science.
July 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
First year I've felt like reporting information to my government science funding agency is potentially... risky. I'll probably still report, now that I have the protections of tenure, but it makes me sad for both science and the study of science.
Reposted by Molly M. King
These are the people ensuring your water is safe & air breathable.
Hundreds of #EPA professionals spoke out - worried about public safety, ignored science, and shrinking support for vulnerable communities.
We stand with them. Sign here to join us ➡️zurl.co/T2a5Z
zurl.co/hCozc
Hundreds of #EPA professionals spoke out - worried about public safety, ignored science, and shrinking support for vulnerable communities.
We stand with them. Sign here to join us ➡️zurl.co/T2a5Z
zurl.co/hCozc
EPA employees put names to 'declaration of dissent' over agency moves under Trump
The letter is rare public criticism from agency employees who could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support.
www.nbcnews.com
July 3, 2025 at 12:18 AM
These are the people ensuring your water is safe & air breathable.
Hundreds of #EPA professionals spoke out - worried about public safety, ignored science, and shrinking support for vulnerable communities.
We stand with them. Sign here to join us ➡️zurl.co/T2a5Z
zurl.co/hCozc
Hundreds of #EPA professionals spoke out - worried about public safety, ignored science, and shrinking support for vulnerable communities.
We stand with them. Sign here to join us ➡️zurl.co/T2a5Z
zurl.co/hCozc
Reposted by Molly M. King
Yes! We have to move the needle on public perception of science. Scientists can share their story in a LOCAL HOMETOWN PAPER op-ed, published June 16! #McClintockLetters #SciComm
Share how we serve the public with fed dollars, & insights into fed funded research. tinyurl.com/McClintockLetters
Share how we serve the public with fed dollars, & insights into fed funded research. tinyurl.com/McClintockLetters
May 13, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Yes! We have to move the needle on public perception of science. Scientists can share their story in a LOCAL HOMETOWN PAPER op-ed, published June 16! #McClintockLetters #SciComm
Share how we serve the public with fed dollars, & insights into fed funded research. tinyurl.com/McClintockLetters
Share how we serve the public with fed dollars, & insights into fed funded research. tinyurl.com/McClintockLetters
Reposted by Molly M. King
"Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants.
Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF
Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress
www.science.org
May 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
"Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants.
Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
For those who truly embrace that they're on social media only for the likes? Programming ethics == building in a reminder that "you're real."
April 21, 2025 at 6:33 PM
For those who truly embrace that they're on social media only for the likes? Programming ethics == building in a reminder that "you're real."
Reposted by Molly M. King
Why do nearly 45,000 scholarly papers cite themselves? My latest for @retractionwatch.com: retractionwatch.com/2025/03/19/p...
@lutzb.bsky.social, @mollymking.bsky.social
@lutzb.bsky.social, @mollymking.bsky.social
Why do nearly 45,000 scholarly papers cite themselves?
While thousands of papers cite themselves, the percentage that do so is relatively low. Haunschild & Bornmann/arXiv.org While using bibliometric techniques to measure how disruptive research pa…
retractionwatch.com
March 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Why do nearly 45,000 scholarly papers cite themselves? My latest for @retractionwatch.com: retractionwatch.com/2025/03/19/p...
@lutzb.bsky.social, @mollymking.bsky.social
@lutzb.bsky.social, @mollymking.bsky.social
Reposted by Molly M. King
Some people’s research will be flagged and then will move on with clarification. Other people’s research will be flagged and… it’s done. The differences in who those people are will not be random.
Slightly annoying how many of the comments are like, "This is written so broadly it's going to even affect ME over here in chemistry" or whatever. We need to (always) stand together as scientists whether you're the target or the collateral damage.
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
February 4, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Some people’s research will be flagged and then will move on with clarification. Other people’s research will be flagged and… it’s done. The differences in who those people are will not be random.
Reposted by Molly M. King
Science is closed for business
January 22, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Science is closed for business
Hiring an NSF-funded postdoc: looking for a network science scholar to study determinants and consequences of gender inequalities in scientific collaboration. Learn more here and please spread the word. sites.google.com/view/gender-...
Gender Differences& Co-authorship - Work with us!
We are currently soliciting applications for a one-year full-time post-doctoral fellowship with expertise in computational and network social science on the topic related to gender and collaboration. ...
sites.google.com
May 14, 2024 at 6:12 PM
Hiring an NSF-funded postdoc: looking for a network science scholar to study determinants and consequences of gender inequalities in scientific collaboration. Learn more here and please spread the word. sites.google.com/view/gender-...
Ahh... the old mythos of individual agency strikes again.
April 23, 2024 at 11:19 PM
Ahh... the old mythos of individual agency strikes again.
"Luck is a fairy tale we use to make people feel better about the world being unfair as shit." - S.A. Chakraborty, The Empire of Gold
April 23, 2024 at 11:16 PM
"Luck is a fairy tale we use to make people feel better about the world being unfair as shit." - S.A. Chakraborty, The Empire of Gold
Happy Earth Day, all you humans who are trying to save it and humans who are trying to destroy it and humans who are unintentionally somewhere in-between thanks to capitalist social structures. 🌎
April 22, 2024 at 6:41 PM
Happy Earth Day, all you humans who are trying to save it and humans who are trying to destroy it and humans who are unintentionally somewhere in-between thanks to capitalist social structures. 🌎
This doesn't seem outrageous at all to me. Does one vote matter? Not at all, provably. Would it be a problem if everyone stopped voting? Very yes.
April 22, 2024 at 6:38 PM
This doesn't seem outrageous at all to me. Does one vote matter? Not at all, provably. Would it be a problem if everyone stopped voting? Very yes.
Once had this logic used to entice me to apply for a job at [big tech], arguing that if I didn't apply because of moral qualms, someone else with lower ethical standards would. But (hypothetical) conundrum would be, if I then did apply, wouldn't I be the type of person with different standards?
April 22, 2024 at 6:37 PM
Once had this logic used to entice me to apply for a job at [big tech], arguing that if I didn't apply because of moral qualms, someone else with lower ethical standards would. But (hypothetical) conundrum would be, if I then did apply, wouldn't I be the type of person with different standards?
Oh I'm 💯% here to encourage your epistemological theory kink.
April 3, 2024 at 12:48 AM
Oh I'm 💯% here to encourage your epistemological theory kink.
Not only is this applicable to LGBTQ+ rights, but also to disability rights -- "Undergirding it is the unspoken but clear judgment that this identity is regrettable but in a civilized country must be tolerated."
A liberatory diversity does not only tolerate the existence of those who differ.
A liberatory diversity does not only tolerate the existence of those who differ.
February 6, 2024 at 10:51 PM
Not only is this applicable to LGBTQ+ rights, but also to disability rights -- "Undergirding it is the unspoken but clear judgment that this identity is regrettable but in a civilized country must be tolerated."
A liberatory diversity does not only tolerate the existence of those who differ.
A liberatory diversity does not only tolerate the existence of those who differ.
"The notion that people who diverge from social norms under existing hierarchies deserve basic human dignity only if they have no choice about that divergence is fundamentally degrading."
Such a well-put idea about the issue with using "born this way" rhetoric in the fight for civil rights.
Such a well-put idea about the issue with using "born this way" rhetoric in the fight for civil rights.
Opinion | Born This Way? Born Which Way?
The panic over transgender children is driven by the fear that they’ll regret transitioning. But freedom to make mistakes is core to being human.
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2024 at 10:49 PM
"The notion that people who diverge from social norms under existing hierarchies deserve basic human dignity only if they have no choice about that divergence is fundamentally degrading."
Such a well-put idea about the issue with using "born this way" rhetoric in the fight for civil rights.
Such a well-put idea about the issue with using "born this way" rhetoric in the fight for civil rights.
Moving on from banning books to banning ideas...
Sociology has been removed from the list of courses Florida public college students are ALLOWED to take to fulfill general education requirements, because it may cover "topics like race, gender and sexual orientation". www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/u...
Sociology has been removed from the list of courses Florida public college students are ALLOWED to take to fulfill general education requirements, because it may cover "topics like race, gender and sexual orientation". www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/u...
January 26, 2024 at 9:09 PM
Moving on from banning books to banning ideas...
Sociology has been removed from the list of courses Florida public college students are ALLOWED to take to fulfill general education requirements, because it may cover "topics like race, gender and sexual orientation". www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/u...
Sociology has been removed from the list of courses Florida public college students are ALLOWED to take to fulfill general education requirements, because it may cover "topics like race, gender and sexual orientation". www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/u...
Our findings of gender differences and similarities in network positioning provide insight into the international and interdisciplinary structure of scholarly collaboration. More descriptives, literature review, and cool graphs in the #openaccess paper!
January 4, 2024 at 10:30 PM
Our findings of gender differences and similarities in network positioning provide insight into the international and interdisciplinary structure of scholarly collaboration. More descriptives, literature review, and cool graphs in the #openaccess paper!
We find substantial similarity in interdisciplinary reach and international reach between men and women. Men and women tend to have co-authors with similar average productivity levels across subjects and regions. These findings contradict arguments that men have higher-status collaborators.
January 4, 2024 at 10:29 PM
We find substantial similarity in interdisciplinary reach and international reach between men and women. Men and women tend to have co-authors with similar average productivity levels across subjects and regions. These findings contradict arguments that men have higher-status collaborators.
The most dramatic gap we find is that of gender homophily in the tendency to collaborate. Homophily operates across all regions and all subject areas, with implications for women’s downstream research productivity, especially where the representation of women is limited.
January 4, 2024 at 10:29 PM
The most dramatic gap we find is that of gender homophily in the tendency to collaborate. Homophily operates across all regions and all subject areas, with implications for women’s downstream research productivity, especially where the representation of women is limited.
We use network analysis of Scopus from 2009-2013 to look at first- and second-degree ties among 1 million+ co-authors. While second-order collaborations look similar, men have greater first-degree ties.
January 4, 2024 at 10:22 PM
We use network analysis of Scopus from 2009-2013 to look at first- and second-degree ties among 1 million+ co-authors. While second-order collaborations look similar, men have greater first-degree ties.