Ryan Dahn
@ryandahn.com
Editor at @physicstoday.bsky.social. Historian studying Nazi science by night. Passionate about Philadelphia urbanism, sports, and politics. All opinions my own.
https://ryandahn.com
https://ryandahn.com
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
The UN proclaimed 2025 the Int’l Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
I was too busy to celebrate, except that just now I read this from @ryandahn.com.
A succinct history of a pivotal period, arguing against the portrayal of Heisenberg as a lone genius. 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/features/dem...
I was too busy to celebrate, except that just now I read this from @ryandahn.com.
A succinct history of a pivotal period, arguing against the portrayal of Heisenberg as a lone genius. 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/features/dem...
Demythologizing quantum history
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of quantum mechanics in 2025 without providing appropriate context risks reinforcing a long legacy of hagiography and hero worship.
physicstoday.aip.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:48 AM
The UN proclaimed 2025 the Int’l Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
I was too busy to celebrate, except that just now I read this from @ryandahn.com.
A succinct history of a pivotal period, arguing against the portrayal of Heisenberg as a lone genius. 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/features/dem...
I was too busy to celebrate, except that just now I read this from @ryandahn.com.
A succinct history of a pivotal period, arguing against the portrayal of Heisenberg as a lone genius. 🧪
physicstoday.aip.org/features/dem...
found out today that a grad school colleague of mine whom i was reasonably friendly with took a job at New College of Florida after the DeSantis putsch and is now essentially a Chris Rufo lite. gross
December 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
found out today that a grad school colleague of mine whom i was reasonably friendly with took a job at New College of Florida after the DeSantis putsch and is now essentially a Chris Rufo lite. gross
@reprabb.bsky.social's answer in this article made me very happy. excited to support him in the primary next year! it's time to get money out of politics.
(also let me just say that it is beyond bizarre that the biggest annual gathering of PA pols takes place in Manhattan...)
(also let me just say that it is beyond bizarre that the biggest annual gathering of PA pols takes place in Manhattan...)
Inside Pennsylvania Society: Power schmoozing, budget ballads, and midterm jockeying in Manhattan
Hundreds of Pennsylvania politcos made their way to New York for the state’s annual weekend of civility, bipartisanship, fundraising, and partying.
www.inquirer.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:31 AM
@reprabb.bsky.social's answer in this article made me very happy. excited to support him in the primary next year! it's time to get money out of politics.
(also let me just say that it is beyond bizarre that the biggest annual gathering of PA pols takes place in Manhattan...)
(also let me just say that it is beyond bizarre that the biggest annual gathering of PA pols takes place in Manhattan...)
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
ultimately, no one even grieved Charlie Kirk. he was just another thing for the worst people on earth to get outraged over. and when the outrage of real events wasn't enough, they invented new ones.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
my read is they were trying to whip up the usual frenzy, but then the effort got blown up by Candace Owens saying The Jews did it
It’s kind of incredible how little has been published about this guy and how little conservatives seem to care. Did people just forget these people were screeching for civil war when they thought he was a liberal?
December 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
ultimately, no one even grieved Charlie Kirk. he was just another thing for the worst people on earth to get outraged over. and when the outrage of real events wasn't enough, they invented new ones.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
not even his wife saw his death as anything other than an opportunity.
and maybe the worst part is that it's not just a lottery to get the chance to buy a ticket—you have to actually preselect which games and which categories you want, and then your card is automatically charged if you're selected. so you could theoretically be out thousands of dollars...
FIFA has hiked World Cup ticket prices yet again.
It's now...
💵 $700 for some standard group stage tickets
💵 $140 *at minimum* — no more Category 4
💵 $8,680 for a Category 1 ticket to the final
@theathleticfc.bsky.social has published a full list of prices here:
It's now...
💵 $700 for some standard group stage tickets
💵 $140 *at minimum* — no more Category 4
💵 $8,680 for a Category 1 ticket to the final
@theathleticfc.bsky.social has published a full list of prices here:
World Cup ticket prices rise again after draw; What each match costs to attend
For the first time, tickets are available to specific World Cup games, and the prices are largely on a significant rise
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
and maybe the worst part is that it's not just a lottery to get the chance to buy a ticket—you have to actually preselect which games and which categories you want, and then your card is automatically charged if you're selected. so you could theoretically be out thousands of dollars...
just going to put it on record that as a big fan of the original Rocky film, I think this is incredibly dumb and cheapens one of the best art museums in the country. Philly is so much more than a fictional character!
Plan to keep a Rocky statue at the top of the Art Museum steps moves forward
If the plan goes through, the screen-used statue that sits at the bottom of the Art Museum steps would be moved to the top.
www.inquirer.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:42 PM
just going to put it on record that as a big fan of the original Rocky film, I think this is incredibly dumb and cheapens one of the best art museums in the country. Philly is so much more than a fictional character!
hadn't heard about this, but it's lame AF. the first Rocky is an all-time classic, but Stallone sucks, and the museum is so much more than a fictional character. the current situation with the statue near the museum was perfect.
The Philadelphia Art Commission will review a proposal today backed by Mayor Parker to keep Stallone's Rocky statute at the top of the Art Museum steps permanently and give the one at the bottom to him in return.
It's clear how a lot of us feel about this. 1/4
www.inquirer.com/columnists/r...
It's clear how a lot of us feel about this. 1/4
www.inquirer.com/columnists/r...
The ‘Rocky’ statue at the top of the Art Museum has overstayed its welcome, readers agree
Officials won't say why Sylvester Stallone's casting of the "Rocky" statue remains at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, months after it was to be removed, so we asked for your thoughts.
www.inquirer.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
hadn't heard about this, but it's lame AF. the first Rocky is an all-time classic, but Stallone sucks, and the museum is so much more than a fictional character. the current situation with the statue near the museum was perfect.
truly don't know how anyone sits through an open enrollment meeting and comes away with any conclusion other than "we need single-payer healthcare ASAP"
December 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM
truly don't know how anyone sits through an open enrollment meeting and comes away with any conclusion other than "we need single-payer healthcare ASAP"
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
It is kinda wild how the president is evidently receiving some kind of regular medical care that requires IVs and we don't know what's up
Trump's bandaged and discolored hand was visible today during an event where he again at times struggled to keep his eyes open (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
December 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
It is kinda wild how the president is evidently receiving some kind of regular medical care that requires IVs and we don't know what's up
New reporting from @physicstoday.bsky.social on the situation at the historic Lowell Observatory. It...isn't great, sadly.
Tenured and tenure-track astronomers at cash-strapped Lowell Observatory must now either survive on hard-to-get grants or leave. As Toni Feder reports, the observatory will likely see at least a temporary slowdown in science as it tries to build back to financial sustainability. #physics #astronomy
With eye on future, Lowell Observatory shaves jobs, focuses science
As scientists scramble to land on their feet, the observatory’s mission remains to conduct science and public outreach.
physicstoday.aip.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:38 PM
New reporting from @physicstoday.bsky.social on the situation at the historic Lowell Observatory. It...isn't great, sadly.
well, this is alarming.
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
wapo.st
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
well, this is alarming.
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
honestly one of the most striking things about epstein's emails is the fact that the man, described in many places as "a genius," is essentially subliterate
November 12, 2025 at 10:57 PM
honestly one of the most striking things about epstein's emails is the fact that the man, described in many places as "a genius," is essentially subliterate
biggest revelation from the Epstein files: is there any high-powered individual who actually knows proper spelling and punctuation? jfc
November 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
biggest revelation from the Epstein files: is there any high-powered individual who actually knows proper spelling and punctuation? jfc
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
why the fuck didn’t any of this stuff come out when Biden was president
A direct email exchange from 2011 between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, just released by House Oversight Committee Democrats.
November 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
why the fuck didn’t any of this stuff come out when Biden was president
Thank you. It’s making me crazy how the caving crew (and the media) is touting “getting Trump to agree to stop doing some of the many obviously illegal things he’s doing,” like rehiring federal workers and restoring SNAP, as concessions. All of that was blatantly illegal...
SNAP benefits weren’t stopped by the shutdown, they were stopped by Trump’s lawbreaking.
Under US law there is a dedicated SNAP fund for shutdowns, Trump refused to spend it, lost in court, defied the court order, took the issue to the Supreme Court.
And guess what? He’s still pursuing that case.
Under US law there is a dedicated SNAP fund for shutdowns, Trump refused to spend it, lost in court, defied the court order, took the issue to the Supreme Court.
And guess what? He’s still pursuing that case.
The Trump administration continued Monday to press the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn lower court decisions requiring the federal government pay full SNAP benefits, even as Congress appeared to approach an end to the record-breaking government shutdown. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/11/11/r...
November 11, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Thank you. It’s making me crazy how the caving crew (and the media) is touting “getting Trump to agree to stop doing some of the many obviously illegal things he’s doing,” like rehiring federal workers and restoring SNAP, as concessions. All of that was blatantly illegal...
where is he getting this 1000 years thing from???
November 6, 2025 at 12:26 AM
where is he getting this 1000 years thing from???
Emailing with Garwin a few years ago was one of my first "wow" moments at @physicstoday.bsky.social. This is a great tribute to him—check it out!
Physicist Richard Garwin, a giant in the field, died in May 2025 at age 97. Famous for designing the first hydrogen bomb, Garwin was also a prominent adviser—and occasional critic—of the US government. Three of his close colleagues examine his career for @physicstoday.bsky.social. #physics #histSTM
Remembering Richard Garwin, physicist and science adviser
The polymath scientist leaves behind a monumental legacy in both the scientific and political realms.
physicstoday.aip.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Emailing with Garwin a few years ago was one of my first "wow" moments at @physicstoday.bsky.social. This is a great tribute to him—check it out!
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
In NJ, in VA, in NYC, it's time to get to work.
There are no permanent majorities. There are only moments of time when parties can assemble a majority of voters around a set of ideas. You have to take that moment and run as fast as you can, before the next election breaks your stride.
There are no permanent majorities. There are only moments of time when parties can assemble a majority of voters around a set of ideas. You have to take that moment and run as fast as you can, before the next election breaks your stride.
November 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
In NJ, in VA, in NYC, it's time to get to work.
There are no permanent majorities. There are only moments of time when parties can assemble a majority of voters around a set of ideas. You have to take that moment and run as fast as you can, before the next election breaks your stride.
There are no permanent majorities. There are only moments of time when parties can assemble a majority of voters around a set of ideas. You have to take that moment and run as fast as you can, before the next election breaks your stride.
More important coverage of our current slow-motion disaster from @physicstoday.bsky.social...
Although the US was once the "crown jewel for science," the political and funding climate has changed the calculus for STEM scholars considering coming from abroad. #physics #science
Equation changes for international STEM scholars deciding whether to come to US
Even as funding cuts, visa issues, border fears, and other hurdles detract from US attractiveness, some scholars still come.
physicstoday.aip.org
November 3, 2025 at 7:41 PM
More important coverage of our current slow-motion disaster from @physicstoday.bsky.social...
really says so much about the sad state of the mainstream national media that one of the best outlets covering the current shitshow is one of the OG tech blogs, @techdirt.com...
60 Minutes Edits Donald Trump Telling Them 60 Minutes Should Edit Donald Trump Talking About How 60 Minutes Paid Him For Editing Kamala Harris
60 Minutes is under new management and things are getting stupid faster than you might expect. Last night’s episode featured President Trump, which is currently being described as “nuts.” There are…
www.techdirt.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:28 PM
really says so much about the sad state of the mainstream national media that one of the best outlets covering the current shitshow is one of the OG tech blogs, @techdirt.com...
Reposted by Ryan Dahn
Philadelphians, here are the Philadelphia Bar Association recommendations for judge election/retention. electqualifiedjudges.com
Judges Have Enormous Power
The Association's Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention evaluates judicial candidates to help voters make decisions about candidates for judicial office. The Commission's evaluations are base...
electqualifiedjudges.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Philadelphians, here are the Philadelphia Bar Association recommendations for judge election/retention. electqualifiedjudges.com
serious question: was The Great Gatsby the first piece of art that was intended to be deeply critical of a time and place but has consistently been misread as a celebration of said time and place?
many such examples: Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, etc. etc.
many such examples: Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, etc. etc.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: In my book I invented Gatsby lifestyle as a cautionary tale
The president: At long last, we have created the Gatsby lifestyle from the classic novel The Great Gatsby
The president: At long last, we have created the Gatsby lifestyle from the classic novel The Great Gatsby
November 3, 2025 at 4:25 PM
serious question: was The Great Gatsby the first piece of art that was intended to be deeply critical of a time and place but has consistently been misread as a celebration of said time and place?
many such examples: Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, etc. etc.
many such examples: Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas, etc. etc.
giving any credence to this whole "Trump will defund NYC if it elects Zohran" thing is ridiculous and plays into his preferred image: that of a strongman dictator who personally decides who gets money and how much.
Crazy how much some media has normalized the idea that voters are taking a risk if they elect governors/mayors who will defy Trump. That he’ll threaten their funding, etc.
Try to imagine, say. Greg Abbott being asked if he’s worried that Biden will punish Texas over his lawsuits.
Try to imagine, say. Greg Abbott being asked if he’s worried that Biden will punish Texas over his lawsuits.
November 3, 2025 at 4:20 PM
giving any credence to this whole "Trump will defund NYC if it elects Zohran" thing is ridiculous and plays into his preferred image: that of a strongman dictator who personally decides who gets money and how much.
This is one of the coolest things the history and library team at @aip.bsky.social is doing. If you have photos, please consider contributing! Future historians will thank you :)
Do you take snapshots of your everyday life as a physical scientist? @aip.bsky.social is soliciting photos from scientists at all career stages and disciplines from around the world to broaden its 30 000+ photo collection, which is used frequently by historians. #physics #astronomy #histSTM
Archivists seek photos of today's physical scientists
The goal of a new crowdsourcing effort is to build a more contemporary and inclusive visual record of the physical sciences community.
physicstoday.aip.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:55 PM
This is one of the coolest things the history and library team at @aip.bsky.social is doing. If you have photos, please consider contributing! Future historians will thank you :)