David Pierce
@davut.bsky.social
Professor of mathematics, amateur of philosophy.
Living in Turkey/Türkiye (Ankara and Istanbul) since 2000.
Impenetrable blog: polytropy.com
Living in Turkey/Türkiye (Ankara and Istanbul) since 2000.
Impenetrable blog: polytropy.com
Yeah, I'd like to know what's going on with this
If BlueSky suspends someone, natural justice requires, surely, that they be given some explanation? @jay.bsky.team #sarahkendzior
November 11, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Yeah, I'd like to know what's going on with this
Reposted by David Pierce
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by David Pierce
“Putin would eat you for lunch.”
Today, exactly that happened.
Today, exactly that happened.
August 15, 2025 at 11:48 PM
“Putin would eat you for lunch.”
Today, exactly that happened.
Today, exactly that happened.
Reposted by David Pierce
NEW: Video shared with me from a bystander in DC shows multiple masked federal agents (at least one of whom appears to have an ICE badge) violently attacking and handcuffing a delivery worker in the street outside Bluestone Lane cafe near Logan Circle this morning.
Please take care when watching.
Please take care when watching.
August 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM
NEW: Video shared with me from a bystander in DC shows multiple masked federal agents (at least one of whom appears to have an ICE badge) violently attacking and handcuffing a delivery worker in the street outside Bluestone Lane cafe near Logan Circle this morning.
Please take care when watching.
Please take care when watching.
Reposted by David Pierce
One reason I say Trump wants to be a dictator, not a king, is that our modern reference point for royalty is a King like Charles, whose entire life is filled with duties to others, such as learning French so he can deliver a symbolic defense of Canada in his eighth decade.
WATCH LIVE: King Charles addresses Canadian parliament amid Trump annexation threats
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
May 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
One reason I say Trump wants to be a dictator, not a king, is that our modern reference point for royalty is a King like Charles, whose entire life is filled with duties to others, such as learning French so he can deliver a symbolic defense of Canada in his eighth decade.
Recent commencement address in the US. Terrific. Glad to be able to read the words
The whole speech in writing that everybody can access. commencement.news.wfu.edu/2020s/c2025/...
2025: Scott Pelley - Commencement News Archive
Good morning, everybody. What a beautiful day. What a beautiful North Carolina day for a graduation. Incredible. Thank you, President Wente, Provost Gillespie, members of the Board of Trustees and Kat...
commencement.news.wfu.edu
May 27, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Recent commencement address in the US. Terrific. Glad to be able to read the words
Reposted by David Pierce
My painting WISCONSIN FARM
May 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
My painting WISCONSIN FARM
Reposted by David Pierce
Non-use of AI *is* a setting in DuckDuckGo, I recently learned.
May 25, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Non-use of AI *is* a setting in DuckDuckGo, I recently learned.
"While the rest of us are told to compost, buy reusable straws, and take fewer showers during droughts, the world’s richest man floats into Cannes on a floating diesel inferno and gets a seat at the climate table via his fiancée’s perfectly bronzed décolleté"
louispisano.substack.com/p/the-bezos-...
louispisano.substack.com/p/the-bezos-...
The Bezos Cannes-tastrophe
Starring Jeff Bezos as himself, Lauren Sánchez as an environmentalist, and Cannes as the end-stage symptom of elite delusion.
louispisano.substack.com
May 23, 2025 at 3:29 PM
"While the rest of us are told to compost, buy reusable straws, and take fewer showers during droughts, the world’s richest man floats into Cannes on a floating diesel inferno and gets a seat at the climate table via his fiancée’s perfectly bronzed décolleté"
louispisano.substack.com/p/the-bezos-...
louispisano.substack.com/p/the-bezos-...
Reposted by David Pierce
In the doctoral “thesis that was the culmination of his studies in Rome … Father Prevost repeatedly emphasizes that authority should be a service rather than an opportunity for control. True authority, he writes, requires trust and humility.”
Pope Leo’s Doctoral Dissertation: Thoughts on Power and Authority
www.nytimes.com
May 23, 2025 at 7:21 AM
In the doctoral “thesis that was the culmination of his studies in Rome … Father Prevost repeatedly emphasizes that authority should be a service rather than an opportunity for control. True authority, he writes, requires trust and humility.”
Yeah, Star Trek was woke before woke was cool
I.D.I.C. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.
May 12, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Yeah, Star Trek was woke before woke was cool
Glad to know of at least one protest that can be effective.
It is creepy to think that, here in Istanbul, I used to live near Trump Towers, and now in my neighborhood somebody drives a Tesla
It is creepy to think that, here in Istanbul, I used to live near Trump Towers, and now in my neighborhood somebody drives a Tesla
I can't make the protest tomorrow, so I finally sat down and wrote my argument for the #TeslaTakedown: it's not just a way to express anger, but a unique opportunity to take down a seemingly untouchable oligarch, who is in fact extremely vulnerable.
niedermeyer.online/2025/05/09/t...
niedermeyer.online/2025/05/09/t...
The Tesla Takedown
It’s not about getting more mad, it’s about understanding what to do about it.
niedermeyer.online
May 11, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Glad to know of at least one protest that can be effective.
It is creepy to think that, here in Istanbul, I used to live near Trump Towers, and now in my neighborhood somebody drives a Tesla
It is creepy to think that, here in Istanbul, I used to live near Trump Towers, and now in my neighborhood somebody drives a Tesla
Reposted by David Pierce
Vulnerable people: “Could you please wear a mask so we don’t die?”
Them: “No it violates my freedom!”
ICE Agents: Wear masks to kidnap and disappear people.
Them: “This is fine”
Them: “No it violates my freedom!”
ICE Agents: Wear masks to kidnap and disappear people.
Them: “This is fine”
May 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Vulnerable people: “Could you please wear a mask so we don’t die?”
Them: “No it violates my freedom!”
ICE Agents: Wear masks to kidnap and disappear people.
Them: “This is fine”
Them: “No it violates my freedom!”
ICE Agents: Wear masks to kidnap and disappear people.
Them: “This is fine”
Reposted by David Pierce
Reposted by David Pierce
also you all need to see this, because this is something I don't think *anybody* could predict for where this ad goes
May 6, 2025 at 1:17 PM
also you all need to see this, because this is something I don't think *anybody* could predict for where this ad goes
> Their “study” was funded by McDonald’s, “to support McDonald’s belief that well-managed beef production has an important role to play in a thriving global ecosystem”
Not a study then, but a *case*?
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social points out what's wrong with it
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Not a study then, but a *case*?
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social points out what's wrong with it
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New reports tell us cattle and sheep farming can be sustainable – don’t believe them, it’s all bull | George Monbiot
Feeding the world sustainably is an incredibly complex challenge, yet some people are trying to sell us a bucolic fairytale, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
May 7, 2025 at 11:08 AM
> Their “study” was funded by McDonald’s, “to support McDonald’s belief that well-managed beef production has an important role to play in a thriving global ecosystem”
Not a study then, but a *case*?
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social points out what's wrong with it
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Not a study then, but a *case*?
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social points out what's wrong with it
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by David Pierce
A man who holds the title of President of the United States, who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, who then says he doesn’t know if he’d uphold the Constitution, is unfit to be president and should be removed.
May 6, 2025 at 3:30 AM
A man who holds the title of President of the United States, who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, who then says he doesn’t know if he’d uphold the Constitution, is unfit to be president and should be removed.
Reposted by David Pierce
About to be Jokerfied by this blandly tossed-off statement in a piece about how the lie machines will never stop lying. Why concede that AI is "useful" in writing term papers? What is the purpose of writing assignments in education? Is AI accomplishing that purpose? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
May 5, 2025 at 3:04 PM
About to be Jokerfied by this blandly tossed-off statement in a piece about how the lie machines will never stop lying. Why concede that AI is "useful" in writing term papers? What is the purpose of writing assignments in education? Is AI accomplishing that purpose? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
Reposted by David Pierce
This is the actual reality: bread adulteration was happening at scale by the end of the eighteenth century, and it caused wide scale issues with people getting rickets.
www.tastingtable.com/1080592/the-...
www.tastingtable.com/1080592/the-...
April 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
This is the actual reality: bread adulteration was happening at scale by the end of the eighteenth century, and it caused wide scale issues with people getting rickets.
www.tastingtable.com/1080592/the-...
www.tastingtable.com/1080592/the-...
Reposted by David Pierce
She could have been POTUS
Kamala Harris: The courage of Americans who are speaking out to say, it is not ok to violate court orders. Saying it is not ok to detain and disappear American citizens or anyone without due process. The courage of judges to uphold the rule of law in the face of those who would jail them.
May 1, 2025 at 3:37 AM
She could have been POTUS
Reposted by David Pierce
“Just say yes”.
The fascist who’s been convicted of sexual assault is called out for misinformation, and the only rebuttal he has is to demand a career journalist “say yes”.
The fascist who’s been convicted of sexual assault is called out for misinformation, and the only rebuttal he has is to demand a career journalist “say yes”.
This exchange is so very telling.
Trump repeatedly claims the photoshopped MS-13 on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckles is real, Terry Moran keeps telling him it isn't, prompting Trump to say this:
"I never heard of you. I picked you. You’re not being very nice. He had MS-13 tattooed... Just say yes!"
Trump repeatedly claims the photoshopped MS-13 on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckles is real, Terry Moran keeps telling him it isn't, prompting Trump to say this:
"I never heard of you. I picked you. You’re not being very nice. He had MS-13 tattooed... Just say yes!"
April 30, 2025 at 4:20 AM
“Just say yes”.
The fascist who’s been convicted of sexual assault is called out for misinformation, and the only rebuttal he has is to demand a career journalist “say yes”.
The fascist who’s been convicted of sexual assault is called out for misinformation, and the only rebuttal he has is to demand a career journalist “say yes”.
Schoolhouse Rock, "No More Kings."
In childhood, I heard worries that TV was a bad influence.
Alas, this particular video does not seem to have influenced too many Americans!
I can say now that the brief appearance of Indians is disappointing. Better than nothing?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvOZ...
In childhood, I heard worries that TV was a bad influence.
Alas, this particular video does not seem to have influenced too many Americans!
I can say now that the brief appearance of Indians is disappointing. Better than nothing?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvOZ...
SchoolHouse Rock - No More Kings
YouTube video by tennesseejed93
www.youtube.com
April 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Schoolhouse Rock, "No More Kings."
In childhood, I heard worries that TV was a bad influence.
Alas, this particular video does not seem to have influenced too many Americans!
I can say now that the brief appearance of Indians is disappointing. Better than nothing?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvOZ...
In childhood, I heard worries that TV was a bad influence.
Alas, this particular video does not seem to have influenced too many Americans!
I can say now that the brief appearance of Indians is disappointing. Better than nothing?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvOZ...