KSJ at MIT

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KSJ at MIT

KSJ at MIT

@KSJatMIT

The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT. Directed by @deborahblum. We run the world's best science journalism fellowship program and publish @undarkmag.

Cambridge, MA Katılım Temmuz 2012
1.1K Takip Edilen7.5K Takipçiler
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GIJN Africa
GIJN Africa@gijnAfrica·
NEW! Journalists in Africa with at least three years of experience reporting on science, health or environmental issues can apply for the Africa & the Middle East fellowship at @KSJatMIT. Deadline: January 9, 2026. twp.ai/4it7hC
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
“This whole thing would be an economic boon for the county, and they were not considering that...They were just fear mongering.” KSJ Fellow @by_srmiller went on the ground to get the story of how a South Dakota county drove away millions in solar energy: theguardian.com/environment/20…
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Anil Ananthaswamy
Anil Ananthaswamy@anilananth·
Writing careers (and careers in general) have inflection points. For me, my time at @KSJatMIT was one. The fellowship is designed for mid-career journalists, providing both a respite from the daily grind and the mind space to explore something completely new. I decided to train myself in machine learning and AI. For my project, I asked: Can a deep neural network do what Johannes Kepler did, given the data Kepler had access to? The short answer is no! Of course, not. But I learned to code simple deep nets and LSTMs, to predict future positions of planets given enough data (from a simulation). I was able to use an Occam's razor argument to show that ML supports a solar system that is heliocentric. (The same computational resources and training data lead to a heliocentric model that can predict further into the future than a geocentric model; so the heliocentric model must be simpler to learn and hence correct. Agreed, it's a hand-wavy qualitative argument, but it's the best I could do with my then limited knowledge of deep learning and ML). But that foray was enough to stoke the desire to learn the math of ML. Which then led me deep down various rabbit holes, ultimately resulting in WHY MACHINES LEARN. It's the kind of book that I had always wanted to write, unapologetically technical, yet suffused with historical details, stories and narratives. (My role models: @stevenstrogatz's Infinite Powers and Leonard Susskind's Theoretically Minimum series (look it up if you haven't, it's awesome)). @dwarkesh_sp recently vented in a post, saying: "I find it frustrating that almost every nonfiction book is basically just a history lesson, even if it's nominally about some science/tech/policy topic. Nobody will just explain how something works." x.com/dwarkesh_sp/st… I share some of this concern, but not entirely. As science/tech writers, we owe it to our readers to do more than tell stories. Of course, stories are great--they are what shape our understanding. But the nitty-gritty matters, especially in this day of rapid change with #ArtificialIntelligence. And many writers do author such material, and I'm grateful for them. All this to say, I wouldn't have written WHY MACHINES LEARN if it hadn't been for the yearlong educational sojourn at MIT/Harvard, under the aegis of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship.
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
Current KSJ Fellow Christian @vonPreysing recently hung out at the @MITEdgerton Center, learning about their high speed camera strobe lab. This photo, taken by @jameswbales, shows him popping a balloon.
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
We are pleased to partner with @ScienceJF for its global Science Journalism Forum, as it moves to a new hybrid format. See you Oct 27–30 in the UAE or online! sciencejf.com
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KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
Former KSJ fellows report on catastrophic flooding in Rio de Janeiro, dive deep into the science of headaches, and feast on Aztec tacos, among other things, in our latest edition of Alumni Notes: ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/08/1…
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
“He unleashed in me waves of positive thinking, new story ideas, and determination.” Past directors, alumni, and friends of the Knight Science Journalism Program reflect on the legacy of its founder: ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/07/2…
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
The Knight Science Journalism Program regrets to announce that our founding director, Victor K. McElheny, passed away this week. The pioneering journalist and author was a steadfast champion of the global science journalism community. ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/07/1…
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KSJ at MIT
KSJ at MIT@KSJatMIT·
Meet the Knight Science Journalism Class of 2026! Ten Academic-Year fellows and this year’s Africa and Middle East fellow were selected from a combined pool of almost 400 applicants. ksj.mit.edu/.../ksj-announ…
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GIJN Africa
GIJN Africa@gijnAfrica·
📣 Attention science, health, technology & environmental journalists. @KSJatMIT is accepting applications for its 2025-2026 fellowship. You'll spend 9.5 months at @MIT exploring new beats & picking up new skills. Stipend: $85,000 Deadline: Jan. 16. twp.ai/1MbprK
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