Mark Tomlinson
@marksceptic.bsky.social
Co-Director of Institute for Life Course Health Research at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town. Researcher of stuff, opinionated and skeptical
The poster child for the dark triad of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism
November 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The poster child for the dark triad of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism
Not to mention stealing the discovery of the helix from a woman
RIP James Watson. Reading The Double Helix in high school was one of the first times I felt the thrill of scientific discovery. But his later statements were also a stark reminder that great science and deeply flawed views can coexist in one person.
The obituary of someone who gained widespread fame through remarkable achievements at a young age and then expected to be taken seriously for anything he said thereafter.
November 8, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Not to mention stealing the discovery of the helix from a woman
I keep telling people that but nobody listens
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I keep telling people that but nobody listens
“I don’t want a comfortable country,” he said. “I don’t want a country without questions or a country without a cause.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Beating, torturing, killing’: freed Palestinian author on life in Israeli jails
Nasser Abu Srour says outbreak of Gaza war after 7 October 2023 led to prisons becoming like ‘another front’
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:28 AM
“I don’t want a comfortable country,” he said. “I don’t want a country without questions or a country without a cause.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
My piece for National Children's Day on why children should be allowed to vote @ilchresearch.bsky.social @suhealthsci.bsky.social
www.news24.com/opinions/col...
www.news24.com/opinions/col...
OPINION | Mark Tomlinson: Why your child should vote (and you’re wrong to stop them) | News24
Mark Tomlinson dismantles every argument against children voting – from brain development to political knowledge – while making the case that if we don’t test adults’ competence to vote, we have no ri...
www.news24.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:57 PM
My piece for National Children's Day on why children should be allowed to vote @ilchresearch.bsky.social @suhealthsci.bsky.social
www.news24.com/opinions/col...
www.news24.com/opinions/col...
"The person who promised to drain the swamp is himself a swamp or a swamp creature (and I've alway perceived him as a sloshing, semi-liquid thing, like slime, jello, vomit, an animated meltdown, a blob of flesh in the process of liquefaction)."
www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-wreckag...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-wreckag...
This Wreckage Courtesy of the Enshittification Administration: Notes On Late-State Trumpism
In 2022, the tech critic and privacy advocate Cory Doctorow coined the term enshittification to describe what's happened on the Internet to a lot of the most widely used platforms: Google, Amazon, Fac...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
"The person who promised to drain the swamp is himself a swamp or a swamp creature (and I've alway perceived him as a sloshing, semi-liquid thing, like slime, jello, vomit, an animated meltdown, a blob of flesh in the process of liquefaction)."
www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-wreckag...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-wreckag...
Therein lies the problem. 50 year old moms and dads dressing up as frogs carrying witty placards. I find this Gothically sad. Young people ferment revolution. However well meaning, older people with much to lose, pose, dress up and march twice a year. Recipe for everything staying exactly as it is
The average age at the #nokings protest in suburban Brighton, NY must be 40-50 years old.
Also, lots of veterans and they're letting you know.
Also, lots of veterans and they're letting you know.
October 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Therein lies the problem. 50 year old moms and dads dressing up as frogs carrying witty placards. I find this Gothically sad. Young people ferment revolution. However well meaning, older people with much to lose, pose, dress up and march twice a year. Recipe for everything staying exactly as it is
The @theguardian.com newspaper is perhaps the best of an epically bad stable of traditional media. Israel has slaughtered close to 50 Palestinians since the ceasefire began and are now bombing. How does a journalist with a brain write a neutral headline like this?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reports of Israel airstrikes on Rafah as Gaza ceasefire deal comes under threat
Air force reportedly carries out attack after Hamas militants emerge from tunnels and shoot at Israeli soldiers
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The @theguardian.com newspaper is perhaps the best of an epically bad stable of traditional media. Israel has slaughtered close to 50 Palestinians since the ceasefire began and are now bombing. How does a journalist with a brain write a neutral headline like this?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
While Israelis are celebrating wildly the release of their hostages, Palestinian families are terrorised that, if they dare celebrate the release of their own, hell will be visited upon them. This is not Peace breaking out. This is Apartheid at its worst! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘Locked up for 24 years’: release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees sparks joy and sorrow
Nearly 2,000 people, including about 1,700 seized from Gaza and held without charge, set free from Israeli jails
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
While Israelis are celebrating wildly the release of their hostages, Palestinian families are terrorised that, if they dare celebrate the release of their own, hell will be visited upon them. This is not Peace breaking out. This is Apartheid at its worst! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
🔔 Introducing The Lancet Regional Health – Africa, a new #goldopenaccess journal promoting the advancement of clinical practice and health policy in Africa.
Explore the new journal at hubs.li/Q03KzMp00 #MedSky
Explore the new journal at hubs.li/Q03KzMp00 #MedSky
October 2, 2025 at 11:04 AM
🔔 Introducing The Lancet Regional Health – Africa, a new #goldopenaccess journal promoting the advancement of clinical practice and health policy in Africa.
Explore the new journal at hubs.li/Q03KzMp00 #MedSky
Explore the new journal at hubs.li/Q03KzMp00 #MedSky
My somewhat dark prediction of what Gaza portends for the future of the world
www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
Gaza genocide the murderous litmus test for our near future
I believe that one of the lessons of the current genocide in Gaza, its dark portend, is to provide a dress rehearsal for that near future, to establish how many children can be bombed and shot before ...
www.dailymaverick.co.za
October 1, 2025 at 5:53 PM
My somewhat dark prediction of what Gaza portends for the future of the world
www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
"There is a war on children"
A clarion call for action and accountability from Dr. Thaer Ahmad who served in Gaza.
He reads the 'will' of a 10-year-old girl who Israel killed, as a way to honour her.
open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
A clarion call for action and accountability from Dr. Thaer Ahmad who served in Gaza.
He reads the 'will' of a 10-year-old girl who Israel killed, as a way to honour her.
open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
Doctor Who Served in Gaza Reads the ‘Will’ of a 10-Year-Old Girl Who Was Killed
Dr. Thaer Ahmad gives an emotional statement at a high-level UN event about Israel's war on children in Gaza.
open.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
"There is a war on children"
A clarion call for action and accountability from Dr. Thaer Ahmad who served in Gaza.
He reads the 'will' of a 10-year-old girl who Israel killed, as a way to honour her.
open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
A clarion call for action and accountability from Dr. Thaer Ahmad who served in Gaza.
He reads the 'will' of a 10-year-old girl who Israel killed, as a way to honour her.
open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
Such a wonderful piece of writing. Full of a love that Trump could never feel www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Autistic people could teach Donald Trump a thing or two about focus, facts and empathy | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
While not without its challenges, autism isn’t a curse to be cured of, as the likes of the President and RFK Jr want us to believe, says Guardian columnist Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Such a wonderful piece of writing. Full of a love that Trump could never feel www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
In a world filled with horrible news every day, this is really amazing. This is what SCIENCE is about. And this is just the beginning. AMAZING!!
"An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:41 AM
In a world filled with horrible news every day, this is really amazing. This is what SCIENCE is about. And this is just the beginning. AMAZING!!
"An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients."
www.bbc.com/news/article...
I trust that the silence of the world leaders listening to this moron was out of empathy and respect for elderly people with late stage Alzheimer's. Otherwise they are complicit
Just the President of the US telling the United Nations that the UK wants to go to Sharia law. How in the fuck did anyone look at this brainless sack of shit and say “Yep, that’s the guy to run the most powerful nation on earth”?
September 24, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I trust that the silence of the world leaders listening to this moron was out of empathy and respect for elderly people with late stage Alzheimer's. Otherwise they are complicit
This feels about as surprising as being told that gravity exists
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Elon Musk’s father accused of sexually abusing his children and stepchildren
Errol Musk, rarely mentioned by his tech billionaire son, dismisses New York Times report as ‘nonsense’ and ‘false’
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:02 AM
This feels about as surprising as being told that gravity exists
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
The Disney brand, and the USA brand, sinking together. Parody from Dutch TV
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX...
Jimmy Kimmel’s show has been cancelled | The New Disney | LUBACH
YouTube video by LUBACH
www.youtube.com
September 20, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The Disney brand, and the USA brand, sinking together. Parody from Dutch TV
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX...
Such an interesting post. Imagine having to wait for a book for a week or two. Wait! Order a book every 2 weeks. Then you will never have to wait. Read a library book. Just wait.
September 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Such an interesting post. Imagine having to wait for a book for a week or two. Wait! Order a book every 2 weeks. Then you will never have to wait. Read a library book. Just wait.
Saying what needs to be said
www.rte.ie/news/2025/09...
www.rte.ie/news/2025/09...
President suggests Israel should be excluded from the UN
President Michael D Higgins has suggested Israel and countries that supply it with weapons should be excluded from the United Nations.
www.rte.ie
September 17, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Saying what needs to be said
www.rte.ie/news/2025/09...
www.rte.ie/news/2025/09...
Hiroshima? Warsaw ghetto? Dresden? No - Gaza
September 17, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Hiroshima? Warsaw ghetto? Dresden? No - Gaza
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
September 17, 2025 at 1:50 AM
This is fantastic www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
To understand how AI will reconfigure humanity, try this German fairytale | Clemens J Setz
Artificial intelligence will replace creativity with something closer to magical wishing. The challenge for future generations will be dealing with the feeling of emptiness that leaves us with
www.theguardian.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:16 AM
This is fantastic www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
If we truly cared about children, we would
- ensure they had easy access to lifesaving vaccines
- enact policies to control guns
- protect them in conflicts and wars
- tackle climate change which jeopardizes their future
Adults are failing on all the above
- ensure they had easy access to lifesaving vaccines
- enact policies to control guns
- protect them in conflicts and wars
- tackle climate change which jeopardizes their future
Adults are failing on all the above
September 16, 2025 at 11:11 PM
If we truly cared about children, we would
- ensure they had easy access to lifesaving vaccines
- enact policies to control guns
- protect them in conflicts and wars
- tackle climate change which jeopardizes their future
Adults are failing on all the above
- ensure they had easy access to lifesaving vaccines
- enact policies to control guns
- protect them in conflicts and wars
- tackle climate change which jeopardizes their future
Adults are failing on all the above
Funny thing this. Whenever somebody says their conscience is clear, you kind of know....... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘My conscience is clear’: Prince Harry on Ukraine, his family and the media
Exclusive: The duke talks about the cost of war, his portrayal in the press and boxing as the Guardian joins him on a visit to Kyiv
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Funny thing this. Whenever somebody says their conscience is clear, you kind of know....... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...