Rahul Siddharthan @rsidd120 Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

@zHCNQ1tJil80721

@LyondellBasell

@s7V45YqYmsXmA1Y

@yalitani_8dmt

@zkLink_Official

@Meanless_eth

@YorukEnver

@husnuarkan

@SHB_wg

@LukeWarmOW

@piscisyhot

@cthulhumasters

@TheklaOe

@csoccernews

@nep_anime

@waterinew

@Zonadeaccidents

@tantesemokbohay

@Pattaya3Some_v2

@hlTDIn2eBHJKpTU

@sillydarket

@Manilla_Kv

@honoka___maru

@mangoMunga

@govochto

@IMightyWarrior

@Geensly

@traderytx

@paulmescalfiles

@sui_hi_sf

@ShaDowRetnBck

@_svnflowxr

@tawnspov

@Julezkk

@BabyYoloToken

@mujerymotor

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

My father, doubly vaccinated, got covid. Got worse over 10 days, went to hospital (VHS). Didn't need ICU. Rapidly recovered. Discharged in 5 days, a week ago. Feels fine. My mother never got symptoms. Vaccines work. Hospitals work, when not overwhelmed by surge. Get vaccinated.

88

1K

8K

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

9 months

Director of an IIT. Why is Himachal having landslides? Because of unplanned construction/deforestation/climate change/all of the above? No. Because of meat-eating. Is he saying farming animals leads to deforestation? No. He says it leads to cloudbursts.

IIT Mandi Director Shocking Statement

IIT Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera tells school children that eating Non Veg food will make them bad human beings and lead to the downfall of Himachal Pradesh.

www.youtube.com

100

384

1K

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Sad that ISRO lost communication with the moon lander. Now let's think about a state that has lost communication for an entire month now.

31

294

898

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Why Elsevier, Wiley, ACS should drop the Sci-Hub suit and work on making scientific literature accessible. My piece (with valuable inputs from many others)

An anti-science lawsuit

Instead of pursuing their case against Sci-Hub, publishers should work with the government to make research accessible

www.thehindu.com

16

121

436

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

This is a stinging article. Every word is true. The Modi government didn't buy for India, didn't fund SII to ramp up production, then when crisis hit, hijacked supply meant for COVAX. Forced SII to break commitments. India and world are paying the price.

Modi Never Bought Enough COVID-19 Vaccines for India. Now the Whole World Is Paying

“India’s vaccine nationalism—along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s empty showboating—not only plunged India into an unexpected vaccine shortage, but also put countries banking on vaccines from...

time.com

10

124

340

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

6 years

I once associated BJP with images of Rath Yatra/Babri 1992. Then with Gujarat 2002. Right now the only image is Asifa 2018. I hope her image is burned into every retina in the country and everyone remembers the ones who defended her killers, and the silence of Modi and cronies.

8

138

283

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Linus Torvalds' first email, 29 years ago, announcing Linux (yet unnamed—someone else chose that name). Today it runs the majority of smartphones (via android), the vast majority of supercomputers, dominates cloud computing; even Windows 10 offers a "Windows Subsystem for Linux"!

5

89

301

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

If there is data, share it. If there is a manuscript, share it. If not, shut up until you can. For a government to recommend this sort of unvetted "treatment" during a pandemic is utterly criminal. Close down the Ayush ministry. Use the money saved to fight the pandemic.

Piyush Goyal (मोदी का परिवार)

@PiyushGoyal

3 years

AYUSH-64 has emerged as a ray of hope for COVID-19 patients. Scientists of reputed research institutions have found that AYUSH-64, a polyherbal formulation from @CCRAS_MoAYUSH is useful in the treatment of asymptomatic, mild & moderate COVID-19. 📖

275

251

866

10

69

284

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

6 years

Important article by Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. States like KA contribute more tax revenue than they receive in return, yet have no say in economic policy. «While I recognize the need for correcting regional imbalances, where is the reward for development?»

10

130

259

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

8 months

More from IIT Mandi director.

15

117

287

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

9 months

@ganitlabs He is not talking about livestock farming. No Hindu fundamentalist objects to dairy. Quite the opposite. The most objectionable part was his making children repeat after him that they will not eat meat. Wasn't there a single adult in the room willing to speak up?

2

14

211

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Terrific post. Physicists who are just getting into epidemiology, don't rush to put your preprints on arxiv. Even blatantly wrong predictions are going viral and spreading fear if not panic.

11

79

201

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Has @angie_rasmussen or any of the other "experts" admitted yet that they were catastrophically wrong about aerosol spread? Plenty of good science was there. Bad science rose to the top, dominated global advice. India's still paying the price for this utter failure of science.

C Pita 🇺🇦🌻

@CPita3

3 years

God grant me the unassailable confidence of a virologist that has been repeatedly and unfathomably wrong at every turn during a novel global pandemic, yet utterly incapable of admitting to any error, even when said errors arguably lead to more transmission and death.

27

99

504

12

60

191

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

How Do You Save a Million People From a Cyclone? Ask a Poor State in India

7

97

190

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

The Morbi bridge that collapsed was a suspension bridge for pedestrians, and 500 people were standing on it. If their average weight was 50kg, that's 25000 kg, similar to 25 cars. On a pedestrian bridge. Why was this allowed at all?

9

14

195

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Irony, it's paywalled. (Though the Hindu's paywall is reasonable, do subscribe.) But here goes.

10

66

193

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

@peeleraja You really need to mark certain tweets of yours "sarcasm". This could be a very serious tweet from some other people.

4

1

176

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

After Bhima Koregaon anti-Dalit violence, Dalits and Dalit-rights activists were charged, still in jail. After Delhi anti-Muslim violence Muslims are being charged. Safoora Zargar is in jail, pregnant, during a pandemic. Perpetrators are free. Where's India's #BlackLivesMatter ?

6

70

170

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I'm getting extremely pessimistic... [thread] * India has 3 vaccines approved, including the rushed Covaxin and unapproved Sputnik * Most vaccination is Covishield (AstraZeneca) * Supply is a huge problem 1/

5

43

180

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Worth sharing again and again. Only four states in India are majority-vegetarian (I'm surprised Punjab is one of them...) and only three others are significantly vegetarian (≥ 40%). And yet a vegetarian diet gets imposed on schoolchildren, in office canteens, etc.

Stats of India

@Stats_of_India

2 years

What percentage of population in India eats meat? 77% Source: NFHS-5 2019-21

89

490

3K

14

55

152

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Looks sensible to me. No mention of HCQ, ivermectin, remdesivir etc (it leaves hospital care to specialists; it goes up to pre-hospital care). @ICMRDELHI should take note

104 GoTN

@104_GoTN

3 years

The Government of Tamil Nadu has issued the following Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19. #TNFightsCorona #COVID19 @NHM_TN @TNDPHPM @TNDME1 @deepakj2012 @albyjohnV @RAKRI1 @MoHFW_INDIA

36

911

1K

7

41

145

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Just this week, GOI has * removed plasma therapy from ICMR protocol * recognized airborne spread indoors, emphasised ventilation * pushed for greatly expanding testing, including RAT, home-test kits. Is GOI finally listening to scientists outside a narrow ICMR echo chamber?

5

10

144

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

9 months

Bhatnagar awards for 2022 announced in late 2023. 12 men, 0 women. 2021 awards had 11 men, 0 women. 2020 had 11 men, 3 women. There are so many superb women scientists below 45. Their omission cannot be a statistical anomaly or a reflection of "merit".

6

44

151

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I had to do the math on this. A daily teaspoon would be about 5 gm: that's 595 μg of arsenic in that spoon. WHO estimates 3.0μg/kg body weight is associated with increased risk of lung cancer. That's 210 μg for a 70kg adult. A teaspoon of this is 3x that.

6

54

140

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Yesterday I learned that Nilgiri's, the Bangalore-based supermarket brand ubiquitous in South India, is owned by Reliance. (It was owned by Future Retail since 2008, who have been bought by Reliance.) Truly, resistance is futile; you will be assimilated.

16

18

120

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Think computers evolve fast? Yes and no. Unix is 50 years old this year and dominates the world. Its design underpins Linux, Android, Mac OS X. Despite their shiny skins, all these systems have design philosophies, system layouts, command shells traceable to Bell Labs in 1969!

6

25

115

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

11 months

How does 2002 Gujarat (1000+ dead, worst since 1984 Delhi) not even show up as a blip here? Oh right, it's not counting victims, only "total cases registered".

Prof. Shamika Ravi

@ShamikaRavi

11 months

Riots (violence) in India is on a steady decline. The country is most peaceful in 50 years. Here’s the updated analysis using NCRB data:

330

2K

4K

8

14

126

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

1 year

Here you go. Luxembourg, Malta; select routes in Spain, Italy; cheap unlimited passes in Germany, Austria; future plans for free public transport in Paris; the list grows... Congratulations to Bangalore (and Chennai, earlier) for enabling women.

These European Countries Are Offering Free Public Transport to Help Combat Air Pollution

The policies are aimed at local commuters, but in many places, tourists can take advantage of them, too.

www.cntraveler.com

jss

@jsensarma

1 year

@RitayanGhosh1 I have traveled in Europe/Asia a bit and lived long in US. Have not experienced any free public transport. They are actually quite expensive (compared to India). And at best they would offer income based subsidies. Gender discrimination is unthinkable.

149

11

152

7

17

127

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Superb.

Massimo

@Rainmaker1973

3 years

How a book written in 1910 could teach you calculus better than several books of today [Calculus Made Easy, by Silvanus P. Thompson, 1910 - full text pdf: or with the table of contents: ]

101

1K

6K

4

12

117

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

India on 4 May 2020: 32,020 active cases (blame the few thousand Jamatis in one corner of Delhi) India on 23 April 2021: 16,602,968 active cases (but Kumbh is not a major contributor)

8

28

110

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

A call from some of us to end the blackout of academic institutions in Kashmir

Scholars call upon government to lift ‘J&K academic blackout’

Professors from six reputed scientific institutions stress the need for preservation of campus integrity in blockaded Jammu and Kashmir.

www.thehindu.com

2

50

103

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

SII is a privately held business, no shareholders. So they could move with great agility early in 2020. Their risky bet worked, we benefited. I applaud that. Price high? GOI has money. Scrap ₹20000cr central vista project, vaccinate every Indian 10× free. Even at Pfizer prices.

3

12

100

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

English is an official language of India. IACS is located in a Bangla-speaking city. IACS finds itself in a "very worrying situation". Why? Read on. (h/t @MenonBioPhysics )

15

45

100

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Ridiculous how South Africa is being punished for good surveillance while (a) cases have already reached UK, continental Europe, and likely every other part of the world (b) cases were skyrocketing in EU/US already (c) zero evidence omicron is deadlier than previous strains

3

11

102

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

110 km journey in 10 minutes thanks to this magic 1km tunnel. That's 660 km/hr. Why isn't our biased media talking about such achievements?

11

13

94

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Very good article by @PriyankaPulla . The violations in good manufacturing process found by Anvisa are very much the ones that led to the deadly Cutter incident in 1955 (which she describes well). Bharat Biotech needs to clarify.

2

41

86

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

@tmkrishna Tendulkar's contemporary Vinod Kambli is a striking example. Set world records with Tendulkar in school, impossible to ignore. Then he had a few low scores. So they invested in ironing out his technical flaws in view of his phenomenal talent. No, of course not. They dropped him.

9

11

73

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Amateur enthusiast spends hours searching for Vikram lander, finds it. NASA confirms it and credits him. ISRO dismissively says "we already did it". This is what is wrong with India and India's science admins. Why should ISRO feel threatened by an amateur?

'Already Done,' Says ISRO Boss On Chennai Engineer Spotting Lander Debris

ISRO chief Dr K Sivan said the space agency's own orbiter had located the lander of Chandrayaan 2, India's ambitious moon mission. The statement from the country's top space scientist comes after US...

www.ndtv.com

10

20

82

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Very nice article on prime numbers by @kaneenikasinha , from ancient Greek ideas to theoretical computer science, including the "Primes is in P" paper, IMO the most important 21st century Indian contribution to science.

2

28

82

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

This bullshit is unending. Serum Institute delivered and is delivering. 2 million doses/day is no joke. Now you want a government that was more interested in poll campaigns than covid control, that reportedly hasn't even placed a vax order since March, to take over production?

Nikhil Alva

@njalva

3 years

Nationalise Serum Institute & Bharat Biotech. Pour as much money as is needed into them to ramp up production to 200+ Million doses a month & vaccinate on a war footing. Stop corporate profiteering on vaccines. India is going to need vaccines for years to come. #PutIndiaFirst

11

117

332

5

6

87

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

The case is sub judice and this is appalling behaviour on Twitter's part. via @Verge

Twitter suspends Sci-Hub account amid Indian court case

Sci-Hub’s account was gathering statements of support

www.theverge.com

1

35

82

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

11 months

Anyone know why India Today ranks IITs among engineering colleges but not IISERs or IISc among science colleges? And not one institution from Kolkata which consistently churns out excellent science undergrads. This top 10 list is a joke. 1/2

17

12

89

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

I'm pretty sure that's not what Prof VijayRaghavan said about hox genes.

Infosys Prize

@InfosysPrize

4 years

#DidYouKnow that the Hox genes determine if a fruit fly becomes a fly or a mouse? Prof. @kvijayraghavan , @PrinSciAdvGoI was awarded the Infosys Prize in 2009 for unlocking the secrets of this powerful genetic material. More about his research here.

2

19

160

5

9

81

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

My thoughts on that IIT Kharagpur calendar. Headline not mine; I don't want to speculate on IIT-KGP's motivation. But it is part of a larger narrative that seeks to dismiss non-Indo-Aryan indigenous history, which must be recognized and refuted.

The IIT Kharagpur Calendar Is the Right’s Attempt To Appropriate the Indus Valley Civilisation

The political right in India have held up Vedic culture as “Indian” culture, and therefore the idea that it could have a “foreign” origin – even if about three millennia old – is perceived to be an...

thewire.in

11

23

78

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Your must-read, by @muradbanaji who thoroughly, expertly shreds that awful IIT Kanpur report. He focus on the (non-)methodology of estimating mortality, which is their entire basis for praising UP government. He doesn't go into shortcomings of SUTRA model.

Why the IIT Kanpur Report on UP’s COVID-19 Crisis Was Dishonest

The document is easy to dismiss as political propaganda – but it deserves careful scrutiny given the wide media coverage and the eminence of its author.

thewire.in

2

34

80

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

SII makes about 2m doses/day. The total pop of Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur (worst-hit cities) is about 25 million. Why not divert 10 days production to giving all adults in those cities one dose? Then do Delhi, Bangalore, Raipur, Chennai...? Attack the fire where it's raging. 1/

9

20

79

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

CR Rao turns 100

C.R. Rao, a doyen of statistics, turns 100

C.R. Rao shaped the dramatic growth of mathematical statistics in the 20th century, refining and restructuring it from its somewhat ad hoc origins

www.thehindu.com

1

16

74

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Nauseating triumphalism. In fact, as the article says, Kerala is still doing a good job and still has among the lowest case fatality rates in India. If other states had adopted the Kerala model we would not be at 400,000 cases or 28,000 deaths.

Kanchan Gupta (Hindu Bengali Refugee)🇮🇳

@KanchanGupta

4 years

A slap in the face of 'experts' who would not stop praising the #Kerala model. The 'great success story' in fighting the #ChineseVirus #Covid19 now stands un-masked. My colleague @oommen @orfonline had sensed this long ago. Compliments to him.

29

128

326

4

24

69

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Elsevier's profit margin is a mere 37% on measly revenue of GBP 2.54 billion. Please don't hurt them further by using sci-hub. For each article you want to read, pay them the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Dr. Heather Ratigan

@hcratigan

4 years

Absolutely no one should use this free, helpful resource to access papers behind paywalls. It hurts the huge profit margins of journals a tiny amount who steal obscene amounts of $ from the public, and therefore it is bad. Don't google sci hub or lib gen to find the current urls!

22

2K

5K

1

15

74

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Sudeshna Sinha is the woman who brought order in computing from chaos via @htTweets

Sudeshna Sinha is the woman who brought order in computing from chaos

She came up with the revolutionary technique of chaos computing, which has the potential to create advanced generations of computing machines.

www.hindustantimes.com

1

20

69

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

The court is shocked—shocked!—that an 84-year-old Parkinson's patient jailed, denied bail by the courts, and denied medical aid for 8 months could have died in custody.

Live Law

@LiveLawIndia

3 years

Court - With all humility at our command, we are sorry to know that he has passed away . We are shocked. We passed orders for his hospital admission on the first day. #BombayHighCourt

32

52

232

0

23

73

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Strong statement by an IIT Bombay young PI on the proposed tenure track system and the ground realities

11

32

73

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

This. Gautam @MenonBioPhysics says it. More should be saying it. Loudly. Outdoors is much, much safer. Maintain distancing, avoid crowds, but don't close beaches, open-air markets, outdoor sports and recreation, etc. Encourage people to be outside.

9

16

69

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

This, if true (and it would be hard to make this up), is really very damaging. And disappointing. I am quoted (without being named). I deserve the snark. The question that everyone in every science institution may worry about is, how common is this?

Student, Meet Bus

What led to retraction of the Sensei RNA paper by Arati Ramesh in Bangalore: the “factually inaccurate, anonymous, and unverified” version, which “quite frankly, can be termed sla…

forbetterscience.com

9

15

68

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

1 year

And, as I never tire of saying, GN Ramachandran who unravelled the structure of collagen and whose φ-ψ plot is in every undergrad mol-bio textbook, never got even a Padma Shri from the Indian government. (And yes posthumous GOI awards are a thing. But this was never amended.)

Abhijit Majumder

@abhijit_MLab

1 year

Founding Director of IISER Pune and IISER Tirupati Prof KN Ganesh, and Ms Raveena Tandon received Padmashri on the same year (2023).

13

14

358

3

9

72

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Distancing is important but, indoors, not enough. Covid spreads via aerosols that can stay in air for hours in poorly ventilated spaces. Here's an analogy I saw somewhere. Imagine you dislike cigarette smoke. 1/

4

23

70

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

This is disappointing, and the defence quoted here is even more disappointing. 1/5

3

26

68

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Reminder. 30C in homeopathy means diluted 100×, successively, 30 times. That means, finally, 1 part in 10⁶⁰. To compare, there are about 10⁴³ water molecules on all of earth. The likelihood of having even one A.a. molecule remaining in a 30C preparation is basically zero.

DBT-THSTI

@THSTIFaridabad

2 years

@THSTIFaridabad and @ccrhindia signed an MoU for evaluating the immunological effects of Arsenicum album 30C against #SARSCoV2 as part of Randomized Controlled Trial. @DBTIndia @rajesh_gokhale

2

5

16

6

20

72

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

1 year

This is what I hate about modern science. They discover how the Romans made self-healing concrete (basically, use quick lime and not slaked lime), a fantastically cool discovery, and.... patent it? Patent something the Romans knew over 2000 years ago?

4

8

71

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

What a statement of intent. Most of them were on the union government team earlier, and could/should still have been there. Particularly good to see Jean Dreze in the list, at the same time some other states are vilifying him.

8

15

64

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

Not one scientist on this list. And none were asked their opinion either.

This is the next-generation of Indian intellectuals

India's next 51 top intellectuals, as chosen by Ramchandra Guha, Shashi Tharoor, Nandan Nilekani and others. ThePrint's exclusive list.

theprint.in

13

16

64

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Someone pointed out this paper to me. The authors "declare no competing interest". But one author is at the "Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet" (that's the Isha Yoga guy). How is that not a conflict of interest? @PNASNews

9

12

69

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Several scientists submitted an intervention petition in the Elsevier-SciHub case, as (separately) did Delhi Science Forum. Justice Midha agreed to admit the petitions, observing that it is an issue of public importance. Next hearing is on February 23.

Delhi HC to hear academicians in case against open-access sites

"It is an issue concerning public importance... scientific community," observed Justice J R Midha, adding it was not an ordinary suit that would affect only two persons.

indianexpress.com

2

14

67

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Horrifying how many people are cheerleading the extrajudicial killing by Hyderabad Police. How do we know these were the rapists? Was evidence ever produced before a court? For every future rape, do we want the police to pick up a few people and shoot them? Will all be well then?

4

7

64

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

What a horrifying read. The engineers knew, desperately tried to be heard. The corporate execs should be in jail. And management schools who preach cost-cutting and "shareholder value" should be shut down, worldwide.

3

18

67

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I'm a bit stunned at this quote. Has Agrawal talked to any epidemiologist outside India? Does he think his fantastic work on the primality test (which most would say is very much CS, though on interface with pure math) gives him a pass on everything else?

9

18

60

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Glad to see that several prominent names, including directors of institutes, are speaking up. One can be afraid of retaliation by the government (already the fund crunch is a problem) but one should be more afraid for the future of this country.

0

23

67

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Our manuscript (with @vishuguttal @sandeepdusk ) on improved contact tracing using secondary and higher order contacts while preserving privacy is now up on @medrxivpreprint , feedback welcome

Risk assessment via layered mobile contact tracing for epidemiological intervention

There is strong interest globally amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic in tracing contacts of infectious patients using mobile technologies, both as a warning system to individuals and as a targeted...

www.medrxiv.org

2

19

63

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Wrote this in a whatsapp group, one of the few I am part of. I said I would leave if certain attitudes became rampant. Instead, the person I was replying to left.

2

62

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Can Indian scientists put an "amicus curiae" brief? Maybe explain exactly how scientific publishing works? No non-scientist understands how such a system is possible. Yes, sci-hub is illegal. But scientists have no alternative, faced with ever-higher paywalls. @arulscaria

3

20

66

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Rewarding failed states for their bulging population. Punishing well-administered states for their better socioeconomic indicators (more women's empowerment ⇒ lower fertility, worldwide). Forget GDP contribution, this is just rewarding bad governance.

S K Kashyap

@cvoice5678

2 years

#Delimitation2026 BIMARU states will have 320/888 seats in LS, 36% say in parliament with just 14% contribution to GST. GJ, MH, TN, KA contribute 45% of GST and 218/888 seats, just 24% say in LS. Development, population control have no meaning . Flawed delimitation process .

36

74

134

15

18

65

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

@netshrink Man U is a British football team, named for the founder of caste

3

4

64

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

"Hare brained scheme" (P Balaram's term) is correct. If DST wants to throw money at research students, please support travel to international conferences. Generously. It's not a "perk". It would help raise India's research profile greatly. But that is where DST, GOI are stingiest

R. Prasad

@RPrasad12

5 years

Doling out incentives for paper publication and patent filing is a terrible idea. The Science Ministry doesn’t seem to have learnt from the mistakes of UGC and CSIR. @IndiaDST @DBTIndia @CSIR_IND @icarindia @ugc_india @drharshvardhan via @RPrasad12

4

21

45

5

16

61

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

5 years

I suspect it's just that the media is now willing to give space to RG -- likely hedging bets -- and, unlike Modi, RG can actually handle questions impromptu.

vir sanghvi

@virsanghvi

5 years

I don’t know whose idea it is to get Rahul Gandhi to give relaxed interviews in daylight on the road or at rallies to reporters but it’s working well.Nice contrast with Mr. Modi’s imperial, formal interactions with movie stars & genuflecting big shots in controlled surroundings

331

1K

6K

2

21

58

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

GEM is a highly frustrating experience. Even for basic computers and laptops it has led to ridiculous delays, and the site is flooded with unknown Indian manufacturers with no servicing facilities. High-end equipment -- forget it.

‘Substandard equipment, no repair’ — Modi govt's 'Buy Indian' credo has scientists exasperated

Highlighting the importance of ‘precision, highest quality control’ in scientific equipment, scientists and researchers in India ask for easier procurement norms.

theprint.in

7

9

65

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Hey @tvmiiser director and powers-that-be, do you know what brings disrepute to and damages the image of your institute? This sort of office memorandum does, that's what. If @tvmiiser faculty, generally excellent (like all IISERs), are complaining, listen! Address the issues.

3

21

61

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

@TheDailyBunkum @apar1984 My view today: contact tracing was a valid idea at that time when covid was believed to spread by close contact. Today (for well over a year now) we know it is airborne and spread by aerosol. Contact tracing is impossible and aarogya setu should be scrapped.

4

56

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I propose a new acronym for OTP: "Grow old during one transaction" (GODOT) I'm still waiting for GODOT

4

7

63

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

9 years.

Advaid അദ്വൈത്

@Advaidism

3 years

"Possessing a book of Bhagat Singh is not unlawful." Karnataka tribal youth acquitted after 9 years. Vittala Malekudiya and his father were booked under UAPA for having a book on Bhagat Singh and newspaper clippings

38

418

1K

0

13

55

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Will Indian educational institutions ever speak up like this about issues of inequity that plague India?

Rajini Rao

@madamscientist

4 years

Statement from leadership @JohnsHopkins and @HopkinsMedicine in solidarity against racism and inequity.

3

27

60

10

13

57

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I deactivated my Facebook account a while ago. Today I found I cannot see a "public" link on Facebook, even in incognito mode on Chrome or Firefox: it asks me to log in first. FB knows who I am. I can see it using Tor, which adds several further layers of anonymization. Creepy.

7

3

57

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

How did we get to be a country where migrant workers desperate to get home are being described in language used for criminals? Couldn't transport with safeguards, distancing, testing, isolation etc have been arranged? Can't it be done even now using PM-CARES?

4

10

55

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

The person responsible for 90% of India's vaccination to date is the one who "designed India's descent into hell". Wonderful. Just wonderful. As @abandopa said, nobody says about a word about those who just warm their chairs. But if a rich man tries to make a difference...

3

7

56

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Every one of these questions is important. Disappointing that all three declined interviews with Karan Thapar. Some of these points came up in @PrinSciAdvGoI interview with Indian Express. But answers were inadequate. We need answers, and accountability.

4

22

59

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

There's another category of scientists missing here despite having half the world's population...

Arindam Ghosh

@ArindamPhysics

3 years

We must ask why there is no Indian in a picture like this in last 81 years inspite of having one sixth of world's population. Has our research ecosystem enabled a structure where scientists are encouraged to start & lead a new area in science, that eventually impacts lives. No.

45

30

324

0

2

54

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

The trouble with public figures bullshitting on fields they know nothing about is that it destroys trust in things they may possibly know about. Why should I trust Bhushan's opinions on anything now? I may as well ask Eric Clapton or Jenny McCarthy.

Prashant Bhushan

@pbhushan1

3 years

For the record, I have not taken, nor do I intend to take any Covid Vaccine

4K

440

3K

3

5

54

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I'm sorry, WHERE does this sanctimony from the @StevenSalzberg1 's and @mbeisen 's come from? Who charges $3000 or $2500 for articles? @PLOS and @elife , that's who. YOU legitimized the principle. You're now haggling about the price. 1/

Prestige Journal Publisher, Nature, Slaps Scientists In The Face

When I tell non-scientists how academic publishing works, they are flabbergasted.

www.forbes.com

3

12

54

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Congratulations to my @IMScChennai colleague Saket Saurabh, theoretical computer scientist, on being awarded the SS Bhatnagar award in mathematical sciences!

1

2

57

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

Neither Modi nor the Gandhis have said a word about the attack on Rushdie. Of Indian politicians, I think only Shashi Tharoor, himself a writer, has. Why this silence after an attack on probably the world's most prominent Indian-origin writer?

6

5

56

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Argh. @anandmahindra There is NO research saying 49 day lockdown is optimal. None. If referring to a recent preprint, that was flawed in almost every way and repudiated by data as soon as it came out: see this critique

anand mahindra

@anandmahindra

4 years

Research suggests a 49 day lockdown is optimal.If true, then post that duration, I believe the lifting of the lockout should be comprehensive. Containment by exception based on widespread tracking & testing. Isolation only of hotspots & vulnerable segments of the population.(3/3)

147

368

3K

1

11

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

This is stupid. Age is already a comorbidity. SII has cut production because of lack of demand for covishield. And has stockpiles of covovax, of which GOI pre-ordered a billion but still hasn't approved. Just approve the boosters for all, already.

ANI

@ANI

2 years

People above 60 years of age will need a 'comorbidities certificate' to take the COVID-19 precautionary dose: National Health Authority (NHA) CEO, Dr. R S Sharma (file photo)

86

76

468

2

10

55

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Just curious, does general public respect Priyanka Pulla (among other journalists) as much as scientists do? Thorough, meticulous, well-researched (more so than many scientists!), asks important questions. Is that obvious to the lay reader?

PriyankaPulla

@PriyankaPulla

4 years

Those having trouble trusting journalists right now, here is a bit of advice. Don't just diss on "media" because it is easy. Find sources you trust, follow them, pay for their journalism. Dumping on all of media with no qualifications helps no-one. We are all doing our job

7

35

144

5

10

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

Whoever came up with this is a genius.

2

7

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

4 years

This is EXCELLENT news. Thank you @PrinSciAdvGoI for all your behind-the-scenes work.

0

25

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I kind of agree: everyone should *learn* science through high school and even early university. Why can't one study physics *and* economics *and* philosophy? Why is it OK to drop math if you're studying biology? Indian system needs total overhaul. #NEP2020 makes some attempts.

Nitin Pai

@acorn

3 years

Why you should encourage your children to study science up to Grade 12.

5

10

37

5

47

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Disappointed by this sort of defensiveness from an iconic scientist. Please @agrawalmanindra recognise that @thattai 's language wasn't the problem. Your model was, and is. Now that you find his language "decent", please consider his suggestion of retiring the model.

Manindra Agrawal

@agrawalmanindra

3 years

@thattai I am glad to see decent language now unlike your earlier posts. I hope you can make this a habit. Your argument, as I understand it, is not that the model went wrong in March, rather that policy makers were misled by it. If yes, your argument is based on flawed premise.

13

8

57

5

3

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

I am not outraged that a judge in Allahabad HC claimed cows exhale more oxygen than they inhale. I am outraged that he denied bail to a Muslim who was accused of cow slaughter. Yes his claims were scientific rubbish. But if they were true, would that make the ruling OK? 1/3

3

15

52

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

Peaceful end to a chaotic 2020

1

0

55

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

2 years

I am no vaccine skeptic, but I am skeptical of the value of boosters in those who have already been vaccinated twice *and* tested positive (which is many many of us now). So, in this case, I would agree with Vinay Prasad. (note: study is about Pfizer mRNA vax, not AZ/covishield)

Vinay Prasad MD MPH

@VPrasadMDMPH

2 years

"The fact the US, CDC, NIAID, FDA, etc etc. have to rely on a Thailand preprint for the first prospective study of cardiac biomarkers is mind-boggling negligence. "

158

2K

4K

4

2

53

Rahul Siddharthan

@rsidd120

3 years

TN's 'freebies' have included mixies and other timesaver appliances for women, bicycles for schoolgoing girls, etc. TN's indices are among the highest in the country. Perhaps other states should consider such freebies.

Shekhar Gupta

@ShekharGupta

3 years

Our #50WordEdit on TN polls

113

29

497

5

6

49