Author Archives: woit

The Situation at Columbia XXIV

Posted on June 12, 2025 by woit

Now back on the Columbia campus after nearly two weeks away traveling. It is extremely quiet here, just some summer classes going on. Security remains intense: you have to go through one of a small number of checkpoints to get … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 10 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XXIII

Posted on June 4, 2025 by woit

This week I’m very happy to not be at Columbia, and not in the US, enjoying spending the week at the Perimeter Institute at a conference in honor of Lee Smolin. Since there’s a little bit of Columbia news and … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 17 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XXII

Posted on May 31, 2025 by woit

Nothing much new happening today, a short summary of what is going on follows. I will be traveling the next ten days or so, likely much less posting. On the visa front, a court stopped Trump from his plan to … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 4 Comments

Will We Ever Prove String Theory?

Posted on May 30, 2025 by woit

No. If you want to hear Cumrun Vafa’s latest “predictions of string theory”, there’s a podcast at Quanta magazine you could listen to. Over the years, Vafa has promoted various proposals for “predictions” of string theory. For instance, back in … Continue reading →

Posted in This Week's Hype | 14 Comments

Leinweber Institutes for Theoretical Physics

Posted on May 28, 2025 by woit

I don’t know how cuts for DOE and NSF funding will affect theoretical physics, but there’s news today of a very large gift that will may help make up for such cuts. The Leinweber Foundation announced \$90 million in gifts … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XXI

Posted on May 28, 2025 by woit

Bogus accusations of “antisemitism” continue to be a central feature of the march of Fascism locally and globally. Starting from the local: There’s an open letter from some of my colleagues which, while I don’t agree with all of it, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 29 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XX

Posted on May 23, 2025 by woit

It looks like the efforts of the Columbia trustees to negotiate “in good faith” with the Fascist dictator have failed so far. I guess this is good news, because the alternative would be reading an announcement further solidifying our reputation … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 68 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XIX

Posted on May 22, 2025 by woit

Yesterday was the main and final graduation ceremony here at Columbia. Despite the NY Post labeling their coverage “arrests-diploma-burning-mayhem-and-chaos”, graduation went on here very peacefully, much the same as usual. Lots and lots and lots of happy students and proud … Continue reading →

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The Situation at Columbia XVIII

Posted on May 19, 2025 by woit

There’s an excellent New York magazine article out this morning that gets the story of what the Columbia trustees have been doing to the university right, with the brutal title How Trump Defeated Columbia: The inside story of an unconditional … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 47 Comments

The Situation at Columbia XVII

Posted on May 9, 2025 by woit

First the good news: a Vermont judge has ordered ICE to release Rumeysa Ozturk. This is yet more evidence that one does not need to bow to the dictatorship. The judicial system is still functional, so one can go to … Continue reading →

Posted in The Situation at Columbia | 56 Comments