Yin Wang's Scientific Skepticism Memo | Generated by AI
Translation and Explanation of Yin Wang’s Substack Post
This appears to be an excerpt from Yin Wang’s (王垠) Substack newsletter, titled 垠的备忘录 (Yin’s Memo or Yin Wang’s Notebook). Yin Wang is a well-known Chinese software engineer, blogger, and educator, formerly at Google and Cornell University, who often writes critically about technology, science, education, and societal issues. His writing blends personal anecdotes, technical insights, and conspiracy-tinged skepticism toward mainstream narratives.
The main post you pasted is from May 23, 2023, titled 科学为我所用 (Science Serves Me / Using Science for My Benefit). It’s marked as “Paid” content, meaning it’s behind a subscriber paywall. Below, I’ll provide a full English translation of the main post, followed by a brief explanation of its themes and context. Then, I’ll translate the list of recommended/other posts that appear at the end (these seem to be a sidebar of popular or related articles from his newsletter).
Full English Translation of the Main Post
Science Serves Me
Yin Wang
May 23, 2023
∙ Paid
Some people say I believe in conspiracy theories, but they don’t know how much time I’ve spent observing and studying these things, or what kind of scientific instruments I’ve used to measure and investigate the details of everyday life.
Why do I know that lemon can remove limescale? Does anyone know the pH value of lemon juice? What happens after adding a cup of water? What’s the difference in pH between lemon juice and orange juice? These are all science, but who has observed them? They only believe the “miracle limescale remover” claims on chemical cleaner packaging, buy it home, and find it doesn’t work, never imagining things could be this simple.
Who would think to buy a 102 mm aperture astronomical telescope to observe the contrails of planes in the sky? Who knows how many telescope eyepieces I’ve tested, or how much time I’ve spent studying the optical principles of telescopes and cameras? 400 years ago, Galileo used a telescope to discover that the universe wasn’t as described in the Bible. Today, I use a telescope to discover that contrails aren’t the “water vapor condensation” as claimed in popular science articles—they’re large-scale spraying of substances into the air. It’s both fascinating and tragic.
The same principles of optical imaging told me how to naturally reverse myopia, making me realize that the entire “ophthalmology medicine” around nearsightedness is fake. The misleading advice from eye doctors that “you must wear glasses” is the root cause of myopia’s rapid development into high myopia. This isn’t just “misleading”—it’s a conspiracy.
Why can I assemble a Michelson interferometer and a Sagnac interferometer using just 20 yuan worth of materials, understand the issues in the Michelson-Morley experiment, and then read Einstein’s relativity paper, as well as the papers from scientists opposing Einstein’s relativity (like Miller, Sagnac, etc.), and find their conclusions reasonable?
These all rely on basic optical principles—high school optics knowledge (which I reviewed in just two days). Yet, optics majors fresh out of graduate school have never done these famous optical experiments. A physics student whose graduation project was an interferometer watched my video on building a Michelson interferometer and told me it reminded him of the agony of his thesis, saying he’d never touch this stuff again. That’s what physics students are like these days.
Of course, they wouldn’t use astronomical telescopes either, let alone understand that those contrails in the sky are spraying substances, not condensing water vapor. What’s surprising is that other physics professionals also can’t grasp this simple truth: if those trails are water vapor, how much fuel would you need to burn to create such wide trails? That’s basic conservation of mass—a fundamental physics principle. Laughably, even professional physicists probably don’t get it.
Of course, they wouldn’t carefully watch the U.S. military’s documentary The Tale of Two Cities filmed after bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and discover from it that the atomic bomb was fake. Most of the physics knowledge they learn and research in university is fake. Only the basic, traditional physics from high school is real. Galileo and Newton might still be the greatest scientists in the world, not Einstein or Feynman.
Most modern famous “scientists” are basically actors in the Matrix, and many of them have poor acting skills. Someone like Einstein gives it away on camera right away—he even has to read from a script to barely recite something as simple as E=mc², and he couldn’t debate face-to-face with other scientists. Of course, maybe even Galileo and Newton were actors in the Matrix. After all, the Matrix has existed for centuries—who knows how many centuries?
All of this violates people’s religious beliefs—the religion called “science.” I put it in quotes because that’s not real science; it’s a religion. Once a claim offends this religion, their minds reject it without analysis or observation. What’s shocking is that the vast majority of so-called “scientists” are like this. They aren’t real scientists.
Even with a phone right in their hand, they wouldn’t think to use its “time-lapse photography” feature to film contrails in the sky, to see how they spread and differ from clouds. Those time-lapse videos I took with an old iPhone 7, using just a cheap mini tripod. This is real science: using simple scientific tools to expose the world’s most hidden conspiracies—the toxic substances sprayed by these chemtrail planes might be the source of cancer, COVID, and many other “infectious diseases.”
If more people thought to do this—using science for themselves—humanity would usher in the day of liberation: freedom from the illusions created by the Matrix, true freedom. Faced with real science, the Matrix is powerless, because they’re just a gang of scammers.
Recommend Yin’s Memo to your readers
Brief Explanation
This post is a manifesto-like rant blending personal experimentation with anti-establishment skepticism. Yin Wang positions himself as a “true scientist” who uses accessible tools (e.g., telescopes, pH tests, phone cameras) to challenge “official” narratives. Key themes:
- DIY Science vs. Institutional Dogma: He contrasts his hands-on experiments (e.g., building interferometers cheaply, reversing myopia without glasses) with what he sees as lazy or corrupted academia/professional science.
- Conspiracy Elements: He promotes ideas like chemtrails (planes spraying toxins causing diseases), fake atomic bombs, and flaws in relativity—common in fringe circles but dismissed by mainstream science. He frames these as revelations via “basic physics,” accusing experts of blindness.
- Critique of “Science as Religion”: Yin argues modern science is a controlling “Matrix” (referencing the film), with figures like Einstein as poor actors. He calls for empowerment: anyone can “use science” to break free.
- Tone and Style: Passionate, sarcastic, and autobiographical. It’s motivational for readers who feel alienated by elites, aligning with Yin’s broader persona as a contrarian thinker in tech/CS education.
This fits Yin’s Substack, where he critiques Big Tech, education, and society while sharing coding tips. The post likely appeals to his niche audience of disillusioned engineers/philosophers.
Translation of the Recommended/Related Posts List
This seems to be a sidebar of other popular posts from his newsletter (in chronological order, newest to oldest). I’ve translated titles, dates, authors (all Yin Wang), like counts, and short excerpts/summaries where provided.
-
My Thoughts (Chinese Version)
Oct 26, 2023 • Yin Wang
2 Likes
(No excerpt; likely a meta-post or collection of ideas in Chinese.) -
A Simple Method to Cure Athlete’s Foot
Oct 26, 2023 • Yin Wang
14 Likes
Recent research projects have included various sports, but also a very annoying problem called athlete’s foot. Finally, I conquered it with my own wisdom. -
A Bad Review of Introduction to Algorithms
Mar 5, 2024 • Yin Wang
16 Likes
In a previous article, I mentioned the importance of learning AVL trees or B-trees. Later, in a basic class discussion, a student said he’d heard of “red-black trees” and asked the difference from AVL trees. I just told him red-black trees are “random” and not precisely balanced, so lookup efficiency isn’t as guaranteed as in AVL trees. -
Computer Science Fundamentals Class (5th Session) Ends
May 3, 2024 • Yin Wang
13 Likes
I can now announce that the Computer Science Fundamentals Class (5th session) has successfully concluded. The results far exceeded my expectations. Not only were the original contents greatly improved, but the new additions on imperative programming methods, Python, Java, Rust languages, perfectly fulfilled their roles. In the end, we even added a special Bonus lesson: C++. -
My Story with Humanity
Nov 22, 2022 • Yin Wang
31 Likes
At the very beginning, I told people that Windows wasn’t a good thing and recommended they use Linux or FreeBSD—they didn’t believe me. Later, Linux took over almost all high-end server markets, and FreeBSD took over all Apple products. -
Why I Left This World
Feb 2, 2024 • Yin Wang
13 Likes
Whenever I write an article pointing out phenomena that I think shouldn’t happen in certain places, or describing what the world should really be like, someone mocks me: “Yin Wang’s next article will be Why I Left….” Indeed, I’ve written many similar articles, from the first one The Shattering of the Tsinghua Dream to later ones about Cornell, Google… -
Recalling CPSer
Feb 28, 2024 • Yin Wang
11 Likes
CPSer—known as “Yin Wang’s 40 Lines of Code”—is an “automatic CPS transformation” I wrote at Indiana University (IU). Its essence is actually a compiler, and it has no so-called administrative redexes. In other words, the generated code has no unnecessary overhead. -
How Did Design Patterns Become Popular?
Nov 23, 2022 • Yin Wang
20 Likes
30 years later, people are finally celebrating the gradual demise of Design Patterns. This book once dominated at Google… -
Why I See the World I See
Jan 24, 2024 • Yin Wang
10 Likes
Someone told me my articles changed their family’s worldview. I was gratified to hear it. I thought about it: why did I end up here, seeing through so many of the world’s huge secrets? It’s inseparable from my initial decision to start the Computer Science Fundamentals Class. -
How to Handle Layoffs and Budget Cuts at Tech Companies
Aug 18, 2023 • Yin Wang
11 Likes
Recently, many tech companies are laying off staff; those not laid off are skimping on bonuses. My advice to students from my classes: Master your core skills, reduce your effort at work. Do more entertainment and leisure, travel. Don’t write clear, maintainable code (contrary to my teaching). Let them know: for that pay, you do that much work—excellent code can’t be bought for peanuts. -
The Nightmare of Air Fresheners
Feb 3, 2023 • Yin Wang
22 Likes
I came to the UK, one of the world’s supposedly cleanest countries with the best air. But after nearly a month, my impression of the actual environment is very bad. In fact, I feel like I’m living in a nightmare, one cause of which is the ubiquitous smell of “air fresheners”…
© 2025 Yin Wang
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your Substack | Get the app
Substack is the home for great culture
Overall Context
Yin’s Substack mixes tech education (e.g., CS classes, code critiques) with personal essays on life hacks, conspiracies, and cultural rants. Posts like the main one appeal to readers skeptical of authority, while others offer practical advice (e.g., curing athlete’s foot) or reflections on his career. If you’re interested in his work, his full archive is at yinyang.substack.com (English/Chinese bilingual). Let me know if you’d like a deeper dive into any specific post!