Avani
@avani.bsky.social
ML/Systems researcher with delusions of neuroscience and cryptography. Currently @Cloudflare and Emory. Dilettante SFF writer. Fellow of Odd Salon. I like to play the drums. #vp2023.
https://linktr.ee/circumviso
https://linktr.ee/circumviso
Reposted by Avani
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
This fantastic essay by @maxgladstone.bsky.social precisely and elegantly captures the feeling that the Internet has moved beyond "eternal September," but as a natural consequence of its attention capitalizing nature.
Visits from the *ahem* Squad
On spare attention, the changing internet, and need.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:23 AM
This fantastic essay by @maxgladstone.bsky.social precisely and elegantly captures the feeling that the Internet has moved beyond "eternal September," but as a natural consequence of its attention capitalizing nature.
I dreamt last night that I was in a theme park ride with Sec. Clinton. She was introducing me to a pop song about dissonance, but it was entirely in C Major, and brain that is a little on the nose don't you think?
October 29, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I dreamt last night that I was in a theme park ride with Sec. Clinton. She was introducing me to a pop song about dissonance, but it was entirely in C Major, and brain that is a little on the nose don't you think?
Psyched to see "Bill and Ted's Existential Adventure"
October 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Psyched to see "Bill and Ted's Existential Adventure"
Manhattan's answer to SF's AI billboards
October 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Manhattan's answer to SF's AI billboards
We're about to be hiring interns! If you're a PhD student and want to work with my group on the edges of ML/AI research for a better Internet, shoot me a DM and tell me what excites you!
What did Cloudflare launch in Birthday Week 2025? 🎉
✔️ Tools for creators + expanded Project Galileo
✔️ NET Dollar + x402 Foundation w/ Coinbase
✔️ Cap’n Web, VibeSDK, PQC in WARP + more
✔️ 1,111 interns in 2026 + student/startup support
📺 Full recap: ThisWeekinNET.com
✔️ Tools for creators + expanded Project Galileo
✔️ NET Dollar + x402 Foundation w/ Coinbase
✔️ Cap’n Web, VibeSDK, PQC in WARP + more
✔️ 1,111 interns in 2026 + student/startup support
📺 Full recap: ThisWeekinNET.com
September 29, 2025 at 9:21 PM
We're about to be hiring interns! If you're a PhD student and want to work with my group on the edges of ML/AI research for a better Internet, shoot me a DM and tell me what excites you!
Reposted by Avani
Hi! Did you know that you aren’t pronouncing axolotl correctly?
Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!
Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:
Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!
Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:
September 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Hi! Did you know that you aren’t pronouncing axolotl correctly?
Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!
Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:
Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!
Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:
Ok Internet it's time. I'll call you a car.
Wth!
None of u, I repeat, none of u heathens told me Aldous fricking Huxley wrote the screenplay for the 1940 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Watching now
None of u, I repeat, none of u heathens told me Aldous fricking Huxley wrote the screenplay for the 1940 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Watching now
September 28, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Ok Internet it's time. I'll call you a car.
Reposted by Avani
If you're from an under-represented background in tech and are interested in building with any of this but need guidance, my DMs are open
If you're a dev looking for a job, it can be hard to get anyone's attention who has hiring power. Your resume gets lost in the noise.
Open source can be a good side channel, but that doesn't mean "build whatever and put it on github". It has to be relevant to someone with hiring authority.
Open source can be a good side channel, but that doesn't mean "build whatever and put it on github". It has to be relevant to someone with hiring authority.
September 27, 2025 at 2:17 AM
If you're from an under-represented background in tech and are interested in building with any of this but need guidance, my DMs are open
Reposted by Avani
Proud of the @radar.cloudflare.com team for the work done to add three great new data sets to Radar -- we're constantly expanding visibility into what's happening on the #Internet!
🧵
🧵
Three new Radar features launched today for @cloudflare.social #BirthdayWeek!
First: regional traffic data is now available. You can now get a more localized perspective on the impact of events and disruptions on Internet traffic. Learn more at blog.cloudflare.com/new-regional...
First: regional traffic data is now available. You can now get a more localized perspective on the impact of events and disruptions on Internet traffic. Learn more at blog.cloudflare.com/new-regional...
September 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Proud of the @radar.cloudflare.com team for the work done to add three great new data sets to Radar -- we're constantly expanding visibility into what's happening on the #Internet!
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Avani
Recently I asked someone what actions he's taking to help with an issue he cares about a lot. He said he didn't know what to do -- what he could do that would actually make a difference.
What I said helped him, so I wrote it down for others too.
harihareswara.net/posts/2025/i...
What I said helped him, so I wrote it down for others too.
harihareswara.net/posts/2025/i...
harihareswara.net
September 23, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Recently I asked someone what actions he's taking to help with an issue he cares about a lot. He said he didn't know what to do -- what he could do that would actually make a difference.
What I said helped him, so I wrote it down for others too.
harihareswara.net/posts/2025/i...
What I said helped him, so I wrote it down for others too.
harihareswara.net/posts/2025/i...
Reposted by Avani
On the one hand, there’s all the other stuff, but on the other hand, it’s John Coltrane’s 99th birthday and you can listen to WKCR’s 24-hour broadcast of his music www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/
WKCR 89.9FM NY
www.cc-seas.columbia.edu
September 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
On the one hand, there’s all the other stuff, but on the other hand, it’s John Coltrane’s 99th birthday and you can listen to WKCR’s 24-hour broadcast of his music www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/
Reposted by Avani
Navratri Ki Shubhkamnaye – नवरात्रि की शुभकामनाये संदेश
May Maa Durga stand with us and bring us strength and victory in dangerous times.
May Maa Durga stand with us and bring us strength and victory in dangerous times.
September 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Navratri Ki Shubhkamnaye – नवरात्रि की शुभकामनाये संदेश
May Maa Durga stand with us and bring us strength and victory in dangerous times.
May Maa Durga stand with us and bring us strength and victory in dangerous times.
My 2nd grader just woke up to say "sometimes my eyeballs get strangled together and I can't open my eyes."
September 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
My 2nd grader just woke up to say "sometimes my eyeballs get strangled together and I can't open my eyes."
This paper is really well written, and I encourage you to read it if you're ML-adjacent.
An example they give is birthdays: birthdays across a population are uniformly(*-ish) distributed. Thus, asking an LLM for a birthday is going to be a shot in the dark, every single time.
An example they give is birthdays: birthdays across a population are uniformly(*-ish) distributed. Thus, asking an LLM for a birthday is going to be a shot in the dark, every single time.
In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits.
www.computerworld.com/article/4059...
www.computerworld.com/article/4059...
OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws
In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...
www.computerworld.com
September 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
This paper is really well written, and I encourage you to read it if you're ML-adjacent.
An example they give is birthdays: birthdays across a population are uniformly(*-ish) distributed. Thus, asking an LLM for a birthday is going to be a shot in the dark, every single time.
An example they give is birthdays: birthdays across a population are uniformly(*-ish) distributed. Thus, asking an LLM for a birthday is going to be a shot in the dark, every single time.
In case anyone else thinks "Radiation? That's just like x-rays right?" It is very much not. Brought to you by day 4 of not being able to lift my head, and my terrifying backlog of an inbox.
September 19, 2025 at 10:25 PM
In case anyone else thinks "Radiation? That's just like x-rays right?" It is very much not. Brought to you by day 4 of not being able to lift my head, and my terrifying backlog of an inbox.
Cool I guess the writers are doing fanfic now
September 19, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Cool I guess the writers are doing fanfic now
Reposted by Avani
oh my god they released Mecha-Hildegard
September 18, 2025 at 10:04 PM
oh my god they released Mecha-Hildegard
As an update, Katabasis was a very solid trip through academic trauma, complete with a loyal lab cat. Highly recommended.
In case you, like me, find first two chapters of this oddly weak, I highly recommend you push through to get *this* gloriousness. I had to draw out hyperbolic surfaces to make certain I understood her geometries ❤️
I can virtually guarantee that this is the first time Dini’s surface (a.k.a. the “twisted pseudosphere”) has appeared in a New York Times #1 Best Seller. (The novel is #Katabasis by R. F. Kuang.)
September 18, 2025 at 5:10 AM
As an update, Katabasis was a very solid trip through academic trauma, complete with a loyal lab cat. Highly recommended.
In case you, like me, find first two chapters of this oddly weak, I highly recommend you push through to get *this* gloriousness. I had to draw out hyperbolic surfaces to make certain I understood her geometries ❤️
I can virtually guarantee that this is the first time Dini’s surface (a.k.a. the “twisted pseudosphere”) has appeared in a New York Times #1 Best Seller. (The novel is #Katabasis by R. F. Kuang.)
September 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
In case you, like me, find first two chapters of this oddly weak, I highly recommend you push through to get *this* gloriousness. I had to draw out hyperbolic surfaces to make certain I understood her geometries ❤️
For the evening crowd (with thanks to everyone who has already gotten in touch with datasets)
Who here do I know that hosts their own webpages or blogs? A postdoc colleague and I would like to ask a few fast questions about your traffic patterns over the last 5 years.
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
September 5, 2025 at 3:49 AM
For the evening crowd (with thanks to everyone who has already gotten in touch with datasets)
Reposted by Avani
Not that it comes as much of a surprise to many of us, but it's worth emphasizing once again - the 👏 brain 👏 uses 👏 distributed 👏 coding 👏. 😁
Two new papers from the #IBL looking at brain-wide activity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience 🧪
Two new papers from the #IBL looking at brain-wide activity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience 🧪
Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making - Nature
Brain-wide recordings in mice reveal that prior expectations are distributed through recurrent loops across all levels of cortical and subcortical processing.
www.nature.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Not that it comes as much of a surprise to many of us, but it's worth emphasizing once again - the 👏 brain 👏 uses 👏 distributed 👏 coding 👏. 😁
Two new papers from the #IBL looking at brain-wide activity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience 🧪
Two new papers from the #IBL looking at brain-wide activity:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience 🧪
Who here do I know that hosts their own webpages or blogs? A postdoc colleague and I would like to ask a few fast questions about your traffic patterns over the last 5 years.
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
September 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Who here do I know that hosts their own webpages or blogs? A postdoc colleague and I would like to ask a few fast questions about your traffic patterns over the last 5 years.
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
(please reshare for reach thank you!)
Reposted by Avani
Hey hey hey! My new novel Everybody's Perfect is available to preorder with a release date of June 30th 2026! (I'm linking to Amazon but you can preorder it from anywhere good books are sold) www.amazon.com/Everybodys-P...
Everybody's Perfect
Everybody's Perfect - Kindle edition by Walton, Jo. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Everybody's Perfect.
www.amazon.com
September 1, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Hey hey hey! My new novel Everybody's Perfect is available to preorder with a release date of June 30th 2026! (I'm linking to Amazon but you can preorder it from anywhere good books are sold) www.amazon.com/Everybodys-P...
And today I spent replenishing the supply...
September 1, 2025 at 12:25 AM
And today I spent replenishing the supply...