Matt Pfeffer
@mattpfeff.bsky.social
Your mind doesn't just stay open all by itself you know
(I'm a health informaticist at Flatiron Health, so I'll probably talk about health data and technology sometimes)
Profiles are weird.
(I'm a health informaticist at Flatiron Health, so I'll probably talk about health data and technology sometimes)
Profiles are weird.
A serendipitous, perfect encapsulation of the future that certain entrenched powers want. LLM as teacher is the embodiment of the notion that actual insight and comprehension are valueless -- what better way to rob the next generation of the ability to discern the difference.
October 22, 2025 at 3:07 AM
A serendipitous, perfect encapsulation of the future that certain entrenched powers want. LLM as teacher is the embodiment of the notion that actual insight and comprehension are valueless -- what better way to rob the next generation of the ability to discern the difference.
A plainly reported, human, and quietly heartbreaking story (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/u...
His Family Voted to Support Trump’s Deportation Plan. That Includes Him. (Gift Article)
His friends and family members in Rome, Ga., voted to support mass deportation. Now he’s scrambling to stay in the country.
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2024 at 7:52 PM
A plainly reported, human, and quietly heartbreaking story (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/u...
this is just to say
I shot the poet
in that apartment building
with my tank
that's his arm
over there
forgive me
the targeting system is so sweet
and it was all lit up
I shot the poet
in that apartment building
with my tank
that's his arm
over there
forgive me
the targeting system is so sweet
and it was all lit up
December 9, 2023 at 6:31 PM
this is just to say
I shot the poet
in that apartment building
with my tank
that's his arm
over there
forgive me
the targeting system is so sweet
and it was all lit up
I shot the poet
in that apartment building
with my tank
that's his arm
over there
forgive me
the targeting system is so sweet
and it was all lit up
Lifehack: wash your towels inside out
November 30, 2023 at 12:03 AM
Lifehack: wash your towels inside out
We're gonna have the best graveyards, they're gonna be perfect graveyards, first-class, they're gonna be so perfect you're not gonna believe it. We're gonna gold-plate the tombstones. And we're gonna fill them with enemies, so many enemies, you're not gonna be able to count all the enemies
November 22, 2023 at 4:53 AM
We're gonna have the best graveyards, they're gonna be perfect graveyards, first-class, they're gonna be so perfect you're not gonna believe it. We're gonna gold-plate the tombstones. And we're gonna fill them with enemies, so many enemies, you're not gonna be able to count all the enemies
Reposted by Matt Pfeffer
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the wall of the Landsdowne Hotel in Belfast. From a sarcastic meme about pub wall tat, to a framed place on a real pub's wall.
We gazed too long at the abyss and Chomsky gazed right back.
The internet is, truly, an elephant that never forgets.
We gazed too long at the abyss and Chomsky gazed right back.
The internet is, truly, an elephant that never forgets.
November 20, 2023 at 12:06 PM
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you the wall of the Landsdowne Hotel in Belfast. From a sarcastic meme about pub wall tat, to a framed place on a real pub's wall.
We gazed too long at the abyss and Chomsky gazed right back.
The internet is, truly, an elephant that never forgets.
We gazed too long at the abyss and Chomsky gazed right back.
The internet is, truly, an elephant that never forgets.
Reposted by Matt Pfeffer
ok by popular demand (Mara) I’m going to talk a little about one of my favorite subjects: Greek and Roman curse tablets
(and maybe a couple other favorite letters etc too)
(and maybe a couple other favorite letters etc too)
PLEASE SHARE
I have…such a long list of these haha
November 18, 2023 at 6:08 AM
ok by popular demand (Mara) I’m going to talk a little about one of my favorite subjects: Greek and Roman curse tablets
(and maybe a couple other favorite letters etc too)
(and maybe a couple other favorite letters etc too)
Dang, what did Linda do wrong now?
Apple suspends all advertising on X/Twitter, joining IBM, Lionsgate and the European Commission
November 17, 2023 at 8:37 PM
Dang, what did Linda do wrong now?
I think this is right, and I wonder sometimes when other folks seem more optimistic about the long term here. But social media platforms don't scale gracefully, and the only significant new factor I can see with BS is customized algorithms. What are the odds that they will make the difference?
November 15, 2023 at 11:07 PM
I think this is right, and I wonder sometimes when other folks seem more optimistic about the long term here. But social media platforms don't scale gracefully, and the only significant new factor I can see with BS is customized algorithms. What are the odds that they will make the difference?
Today's youth think Rick Rolling is funny
hello everybody and welcome to the Fall 2023 Discourse Games, where we will compete to see who can make the best New Discourse! the rules are thus:
November 2, 2023 at 1:48 PM
Today's youth think Rick Rolling is funny
These days I have to speed run my doom-scrolling because otherwise it's too exhausting resisting the urge to rage post about everything I see
November 1, 2023 at 11:11 PM
These days I have to speed run my doom-scrolling because otherwise it's too exhausting resisting the urge to rage post about everything I see
Reposted by Matt Pfeffer
They made me cut it because the source didn't want to use their name, but a Smithsonian official told me they didn't want these monuments because "museums aren't America's attic for its racist shit."
October 27, 2023 at 11:39 AM
They made me cut it because the source didn't want to use their name, but a Smithsonian official told me they didn't want these monuments because "museums aren't America's attic for its racist shit."
Reposted by Matt Pfeffer
Ursula Vernon's Hugo acceptance speech included this delightful anecdote-slash-metaphor-slash-encouragement. https://www.patreon.com/posts/91410900
October 21, 2023 at 11:04 PM
Ursula Vernon's Hugo acceptance speech included this delightful anecdote-slash-metaphor-slash-encouragement. https://www.patreon.com/posts/91410900
Reposted by Matt Pfeffer
Full sequence of the annular solar eclipse at Shiprock, New Mexico. This was a dream composition of mine. So much time, energy, and money went into making it happen. I'm forever grateful to the Navajo for letting me shoot it from sacred ground. An experience I'll never forget.
October 19, 2023 at 2:50 AM
Full sequence of the annular solar eclipse at Shiprock, New Mexico. This was a dream composition of mine. So much time, energy, and money went into making it happen. I'm forever grateful to the Navajo for letting me shoot it from sacred ground. An experience I'll never forget.
Something I've often wondered about
If you ever get a chance to discuss the frustrations of having a mind that is ‘computationally bounded’ with Stephen Wolfram, I highly recommend it
October 19, 2023 at 2:55 PM
Something I've often wondered about
Confused as to why the entire internet is not yet celebrating and bowing before my Take, which is correct in ways both obvious and profound
October 18, 2023 at 10:11 PM
Confused as to why the entire internet is not yet celebrating and bowing before my Take, which is correct in ways both obvious and profound
Describe a movie or book accurately but in a way that misrepresents the story:
King Lear: Spoiled favorite child refuses to play dad's silly game, he gets really mad and gives all her stuff to her sisters
King Lear: Spoiled favorite child refuses to play dad's silly game, he gets really mad and gives all her stuff to her sisters
Describe a movie or book perfectly accurately, but in a way that totally misrepresents the story:
Jaws, a movie about three guys who head out to do some fishing off the coast of Long Island.
Jaws, a movie about three guys who head out to do some fishing off the coast of Long Island.
October 18, 2023 at 5:44 PM
Describe a movie or book accurately but in a way that misrepresents the story:
King Lear: Spoiled favorite child refuses to play dad's silly game, he gets really mad and gives all her stuff to her sisters
King Lear: Spoiled favorite child refuses to play dad's silly game, he gets really mad and gives all her stuff to her sisters
It's super important that you know that the other side's killing machines blew up the [hospital] so we can continue to proudly proclaim the impeachability of our own use of killing machines
October 18, 2023 at 5:10 PM
It's super important that you know that the other side's killing machines blew up the [hospital] so we can continue to proudly proclaim the impeachability of our own use of killing machines
A brief manifesto for a reader:
All public speech is political.
Most political statements have an aim other than whole, full truth.
Don't take any public speech at face value without asking who stands to benefit from it. And, who thinks they will benefit.
All public speech is political.
Most political statements have an aim other than whole, full truth.
Don't take any public speech at face value without asking who stands to benefit from it. And, who thinks they will benefit.
October 15, 2023 at 5:53 PM
A brief manifesto for a reader:
All public speech is political.
Most political statements have an aim other than whole, full truth.
Don't take any public speech at face value without asking who stands to benefit from it. And, who thinks they will benefit.
All public speech is political.
Most political statements have an aim other than whole, full truth.
Don't take any public speech at face value without asking who stands to benefit from it. And, who thinks they will benefit.
I borrowed the audio book of "Open Throat" based on this comment and am thoroughly enjoying it. The satire from a mountain lion protagonist is an unexpected joy. For example: "I feel more like a person than ever, because ... I'm starting to hate myself."
Listen, I tore through OPEN THROAT twice to lap up every drop. I’d love to read more science fiction like this, especially on the shorter and voice-forward side. (A quick nod as well to Stephen Kearse’s LIQUID SNAKES, which I read immediately before OPEN THROAT and was similarly impressed with.)
October 15, 2023 at 1:41 AM
I borrowed the audio book of "Open Throat" based on this comment and am thoroughly enjoying it. The satire from a mountain lion protagonist is an unexpected joy. For example: "I feel more like a person than ever, because ... I'm starting to hate myself."
Heading into the weekend feeling like we're trapped in a slow motion lead-up to yet more calamity and horror
"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..."
"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..."
October 14, 2023 at 12:27 AM
Heading into the weekend feeling like we're trapped in a slow motion lead-up to yet more calamity and horror
"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..."
"No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..."
Seeing this effect on friends and loved ones compounds the heartache. And ... even if I ever were actually equipped to shift someone's reaction to this, I'm not prepared to even try right now
The use of massacre & atrocity in civil wars and liberation struggles is functional. Its purpose is to remove any possibility of common ground or co-existence. Atrocity forces everyone on both sides to choose between ends and means: Yes, even this; or if this, then no. This is a feature, not a bug.
October 13, 2023 at 12:00 AM
Seeing this effect on friends and loved ones compounds the heartache. And ... even if I ever were actually equipped to shift someone's reaction to this, I'm not prepared to even try right now
Ed Yong's feed is the purest thing right now.
If, you know, you could use something like that this week, for some reason.
If, you know, you could use something like that this week, for some reason.
House finches on a barbed wire fence. 🪶
Eastern side of the marsh at MLK Jr Shoreline.
Eastern side of the marsh at MLK Jr Shoreline.
October 10, 2023 at 4:43 AM
Ed Yong's feed is the purest thing right now.
If, you know, you could use something like that this week, for some reason.
If, you know, you could use something like that this week, for some reason.
In eternal awe of David Brooks, ultimate shitposter. No notes
September 22, 2023 at 1:00 AM
In eternal awe of David Brooks, ultimate shitposter. No notes