Mordechai Rorvig

Intro

Hi, I’m Mordechai, a writer and science journalist. That’s my face there. My journalistic writing has appeared at outlets like Quanta Magazine, New Scientist, Scientific American, Wired, Vice, Nautilus, Symmetry, Physics, Inverse, IEEE Spectrum, and Astronomy. I’m passionate about good writing and science journalism, especially on computer science and AI.

Story Highlights

I have written some of the most in-depth accounts in existence of some of the most important and exciting developments in modern science. I have written about computer scientists’ quest to understand the nature of mathematical proof, and their subsequent success in creating proofs that are more akin to gambling games; the search by astronomers for alien structures that shroud entire stars; and the shocking discovery by AI experts that scaling up the size of their language programs would lead to a transformative leap in their powers.

Education and Work Background

I was Quanta’s first staff writer for computer science, and have held writing positions at various other companies and institutions, including MathWorks in Natick, Massachusetts, and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. I hold a master’s degree in physics from the University of Wisconsin, where I did research on the design of three-dimensional magnetic confinement fusion devices. I hold a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas. During college, I studied abroad at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and before college, I attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS), a residential high school program at the University of North Texas. I grew up in Denton, Texas. I currently live and work in New York.

Outside Funding and Support

In November 2022, I was awarded a grant from Open Philanthropy, a grantmaking organization, to provide one year’s worth of support for my independent journalism work in computer science and AI. This grant neither infringes on my editorial independence nor indicates an endorsement of my writing by the Open Philanthropy organization. I sought out grants after leaving Quanta in August 2022, and becoming increasingly informed about what I believe is a severe state of underfunding in science journalism, particularly for areas as important as computer science and AI.

About This Webpage

This webpage is mainly an informal placeholder for my presence on the internet. I’ve occasionally used it to host blog posts, but nowadays I do most of my random musings on Twitter. If you’d like to reach out to say hello or to ask a question, or share a journalistic story idea, please get in touch.