David Simmons-Duffin

Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@duetosymmetry Done

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

"I'm prepared to go forward with it" https://t.co/oJZO5El0fO

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

.@nathanheller on why stutterers who gain fluency, like Joe Biden, never lose awareness of their speech. https://t.co/Ua5etvVSh3

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@RaeHaskell Does this mean that in a future Proxy-less world we should all turn on AllowAmbiguousTypes? It sounds a bit scary... Really like the video, btw -- looking forward to more!

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@naomigend I agree about muted names. I made class "participation" required, where a student could fulfill the requirement either by (1) turning on Zoom camera during lecture, or (2) posting a question/comment on the class forum. Turning on camera was easiest, so most students did it.

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@selenasd Pretty cool :)

[Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren]

I released a plan for a national contact tracing program with @RepAndyLevin in April. Trump & the @SenateGOP bungled this so badly that they can’t even track cases in the White House. Enough is enough: we need to pass my bill to finally build this program. https://t.co/yqbaIRD0J5

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@duetosymmetry Yikes. My experience with AppleScript: at age 12, I programmed my dad's secretary's computer to show a dialog box that said "Ready for retinal scan" with a rectangle to look at. It was a security measure to fool people who didn't know monitors can't do retinal scans.

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@duetosymmetry I played with Applescript as a kid, but I don't really remember any. For the record, I agree that it is not a good language.

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@DD_Baumann I prefer live lectures, and the students I've talked to seem to prefer them too. It helps to emulate a classroom as much as possible -- require everyone to turn on their cameras, encourage interruptions. Take a 5 minute break for students to say where they're calling from.

[Leo C. Stein is @duetosymmetry on bsky/threads/🐘 @duetosymmetry]

This is a Penrose illustration appreciation thread. Post your favorite figures below.

[Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren]

My statement on President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis:

[Mount Wilson Observatory @MtWilsonObs]

We were asked many times: "How close did the fire get?" We have the answer. (Video from SEP 17) Damage: Smoke and soot inside upper story of The Monastery but otherwise unscathed. How these heroic firefighters managed to save the building is incredible! #bobcatfire

[Emily Riehl @emilyriehl]

But I do feel like my performative question-asking changes something imperceptible in the atmosphere of the mathematical spaces I inhabit. I like to imagine that the difference is that it's easier for others to find their voice as well. But who knows.

[Caltech @Caltech]

SoCal just experienced an M 4.5 quake, probably along the Puente Hills thrust fault system, the same one that ruptured in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake. The aftershock forecast can be found here: https://t.co/G4HErJK78L

[Dr. Lucy Jones @DrLucyJones]

.@Caltech operates the Mount Wilson seismic station. It has recorded all the important California earthquakes for 100 years. The #Bobcat fire threatens to destroy it today.

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@xkcd_rss xkcd was scooped by @daniela_witten

[Daniela Witten @daniela_witten]

Shout-out to all the people who are like “you must not know any physicists” 🤣

[Daniela Witten @daniela_witten]

It actually makes sense that the physicists didn’t know about college parties

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

@emilyriehl Hi! Congrats on the interview and the upcoming book! I see your name appear every once in a while in relation to both QFT and Haskell (which I use in my work). It was fun to read about you in Quanta.

[David Simmons-Duffin @davidsd]

Wonderful interview in Quanta with my former math classmate @emilyriehl https://t.co/T7UC2JXw5n