Michael Rosenberg
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mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg
@mrosenberg.bsky.social
1.3K followers 210 following 1.3K posts

Evolutionary Biologist, Data Scientist, Amateur Fiddler Crab Wrangler

I don't so much focus on specific topics as meander randomly through the topical landscape, like a broken adaptive model that doesn't realize downhill isn't supposed to be an option. .. more

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Biology 22%
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mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · Apr 29
The entirety of the tournament has been archived in a Google Doc for posterity: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I may try to create a neater PDF version once I’ve caught up on the rest of my life.

#FiddlerCrabBracket #FiddlerCrab 🦀🦑🧪
Fiddler Crab Tournament Archive
docs.google.com

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 11h
Looking back at 2025, I realized I posted a deficit of cat photos, so while not a New Year's resolution per se, I aim to be a bit better about keeping the "Internet Cat Photo Gods"™ appeased this year.

Here is Normal, ~11 months old, asking why I'm shoving my phone in his face.
A long-haired ~11-month old gray tabby--named Normal--looking at the camera from a close distance.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
An Eastern Gray Squirrel being all squirrel-like

8/8
An Eastern Gray Squirrel sitting in some patchy grass

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
A Bald Eagle about to take off from a tree (poor photo, unfortunately) 🦉


7/8
A not particularly good photo of a Bald Eagle perched in a tree but leaning forward as it was just about to take off and fly away

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
A Northern Mockingbird 🦉


6/8
Northern Mockingbird in the top of a bush

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
A female Purple Finch 🦉


5/8
A female Purple Finch in a tree

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
A Bufflehead duck 🦉


4/8
A Bufflehead in a lake

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
Canada Geese 🦉


3/8
A line of five Canada Geese in a lake

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
Red-bellied Woodpecker 🦉

2/8
A red-bellied woodpecker perched on the side of a tree

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 12h
Some visitors for the New Year:

A pair of red foxes having fun

1/8
A red fox standing on a bank by a lake, looking into the water with its reflection seemingly looking back at it A pair of red foxes standing on some steps A pair of red foxes on the shore of a lake

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 2d
@amalelmohtar.com did you do a top 10 books list this year that I missed? Enjoyed the last few as good recommendations to look for

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Mark A. Lemley , and 17 more

mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 7d
This is perfect. The DOJ's embarrassing snafu with disappearing redactions was the fault of Elon Musk. Musk cancelled government subscriptions to Adobe programs that would have made the redactions permanent. What a pack of fools.

Reposted by Michael S. Rosenberg, Alessandro Rigolon, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

malwarejake.bsky.social
Jake Williams @malwarejake.bsky.social · 7d
Just wow. @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy came out swinging in this article. He's right though and that's the coolest part.
In 2026, countries that want to win the trade war have a unique historical possibility: They could repeal their “anticircumvention” laws, which make it illegal—a felony, in many cases—to modify devices and services without permission from their manufacturers. Over the past two decades, the office of the US Trade Representative–which is responsible for developing and coordinating US international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy—has pressured most of the world into adopting these laws, hamstringing foreign startups that might compete with Apple (by providing a jailbreaking kit that installs a third-party app store), or Google (by blocking tracking on Android devices), or Amazon (by converting Kindle and Audible files to formats that work on rival apps), or John Deere (by disabling the systems that block third-party repairs), or the Big Three automakers (by decoding the encrypted error messages mechanics need to service our cars). The rents that these digital locks help American companies extract run to hundreds of billions of dollars every single year. The world’s governments agreed to protect this racket in exchange for tariff-free access to American markets. Now that the US has reneged on its side of the bargain, these laws serve no useful purpose.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 13d
It won't prevent AI from hallucinating papers, but at least it won't be littering your profile with the hallucinations and/or later pulling those same hallucinations from your profile.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 13d
There is a way to block this in your Google Scholar profile: turn off the option to automatically add papers; instead it will email you whenever it wants to add anything and you have to approve/deny.

This has mostly been useful for other authors with similar names, but now with AI...

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 14d
It's me. You found me out.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 14d
I suppose this might be a PC/console bias. Arkham Knight was playable on consoles but unplayable on PC, while Cyberpunk was unplayable on consoles but (more-or-less) playable on PC (I played C2077 on PC and didn't find most of the bugs too bad even from the start, beyond some clothing issues)

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 14d
I enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 from the beginning, despite the bugs, and do understand why its reputation was so tarnished at the start, but it is always held up as the standard bearer for a disastrous release: does no one remember Batman: Arkham Knight? It was pulled from Steam it was so unplayable!

Reposted by Michael S. Rosenberg, Charles West

rahaeli.bsky.social
rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 15d
I love the fucking internet, part 972964386: "One Night In Bangkok" arranged and performed as a 16th century chanson. youtu.be/i3jHv0GZB9U?...
One Night in Bangkok but it's a 16th century chanson
YouTube video by Jonasquin
youtu.be

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
Best 6 Television Programs of 2025

📺 Andor - Season 2
📺 Have I Got News For You (US Version) - Seasons 2-3
📺 Only Murders in the Building - Season 5
📺 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Season 12
📺 Murderbot - Season 1
📺 Severance - Season 2

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
It should be noted that the majority of the >110* books (novellas or longer) I read in 2025 were not published this year, so I'm sure I have yet to read plenty of really good 2025 works that would have made this list (or would make it if I did a retrospective).

*How do I find time to read so much?🤷

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
Best 6 Books of 2025

📖 Bonded in Death - J.D. Robb
📖 Brigands and Breadknives - @travisbaldree.bsky.social
📖 A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett
📖 Isles of the Emberdark - @brandonsanderson.com
📖 Murder by Memory - @oliviawaite.com
📖 The Shattering Peace - @scalzi.com

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
Best 6 Computer Games of 2025

🎮 Assassin's Creed Shadows
🎮 Blue Prince
🎮 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
🎮 Promise Mascot Agency
🎮 Split Fiction
🎮 The Roottrees are Dead

There are a few more games on my "to play" list I strongly suspect would be added to my best of 2025 once I actually play them.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
This year will include Computer Games, Books, and Television Shows.

I don't consume enough music or movies to intelligently put together even a list of six, and the TV listing is already arguably stretching things a bit.

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 16d
Now time for my Best 6* of 2025 listings, the event absolutely no one was waiting for.

* Why Best 6? I refuse to bow down to the bilaterally symmetric pentadactyl lobby!

Any suggestion that the number may change year-to-year (or category-to-category) is fake news.

Listings are alphabetical

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 29d
It's found throughout the northern half of the Gulf

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · 29d
Minuca longisignalis

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · Dec 1
It's Tubuca paradussumieri

Reposted by Michael S. Rosenberg, Jesse M. Shapiro, Erin O’Donnell

prosanta.bsky.social
Prosanta Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social · Dec 1
New post by me on #MITPressReader @mitpress.bsky.social

On the 100th anniversary of the #ScopesMonkeyTrial
the ways we depict #evolution can still give an erroneous progressive view (that evolution leads to humans or ‘increased complexity’).

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/is-our-pictu...
Depictions of evolution where a phylogeny often has humans on the far right or top can give an impression of evolution being progressive of leading to ‘increased complexity’ when it does not. Top figure shows such a phylogeny which can look the same as ‘the March of progress’ depiction most commonly used to depict evolution (showing monkey to man erroneous march of evolution) - instead swiveling some nodes on a phylogeny where humans are shown closer to the center (which doesn’t change relationships) can lead to better ‘tree thinking’

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · Nov 29
I find the timing of Northwestern's capitulation curious.

This Tuesday is one of their big annual fundraising days. As an alumni who regularly donates, I am not inclined to do so now, given this display of cowardice. If they had waited one week, I would have already committed for this year...

mrosenberg.bsky.social
Michael Rosenberg @mrosenberg.bsky.social · Nov 29
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:

Komodo Dragon
Gentoo Penguin
Platypus
Giant Manta Ray
Southern Cassowary