Nieske Vergunst
@nieskevergunst.nl
Science communication & public engagement researcher, practitioner, trainer | Writer, singer, pianist | Girlfriend, friend, aunt | Did a PhD in AI before it was cool | (Re)posts mostly in English, sometimes in Dutch.
📚✒️🚀🤖👩💻🎶🏳️🌈∞❤️🧩
📚✒️🚀🤖👩💻🎶🏳️🌈∞❤️🧩
Be more like a lichen. "Leave the world better than you found it. Lichens enrich the soil of deserts, stabilize sand dunes, and create loam from stone across the long arc of their lives."
www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/02/l...
www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/02/l...
How to Be a Lichen: Adaptive Strategies for the Vulnerabilities of Being Human from Nature’s Tiny Titans of Tenacity
When I was a child, little delighted me more than the magical green garlands draping from the pine trees, which I made into wreaths and mustaches to roam the mountains of Bulgaria as a miniature Or…
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Be more like a lichen. "Leave the world better than you found it. Lichens enrich the soil of deserts, stabilize sand dunes, and create loam from stone across the long arc of their lives."
www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/02/l...
www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/02/l...
"Stop being so goddamn creepy and weird about the technology! It's just tech, everything doesn't have to become some weird religion that you beat people over the head with, or gamble the entire stock market on."
💯⬆️ YES.
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
💯⬆️ YES.
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:04 AM
"Stop being so goddamn creepy and weird about the technology! It's just tech, everything doesn't have to become some weird religion that you beat people over the head with, or gamble the entire stock market on."
💯⬆️ YES.
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
💯⬆️ YES.
www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
What if we don't fight AI in education, but instead, move with it and let students draw their own conclusions? "They didn’t like hearing how their AI-generated submissions [...] amounted to a big bowl of bland, flavorless word salad."
lithub.com/what-happene...
lithub.com/what-happene...
What Happened When I Tried to Replace Myself with ChatGPT in My English Classroom
My students call it “Chat,” a cute nickname they all seem to have agreed on at some point. They use it to make study guides, interpret essay prompts, and register for classes, turning it loose on t…
lithub.com
October 11, 2025 at 8:53 AM
What if we don't fight AI in education, but instead, move with it and let students draw their own conclusions? "They didn’t like hearing how their AI-generated submissions [...] amounted to a big bowl of bland, flavorless word salad."
lithub.com/what-happene...
lithub.com/what-happene...
Ik schiet altijd weer een beetje in de lach van de afrekening van Lira (de BumaStemra voor boeken, zeg maar).
(En stiekem word ik ook vrolijk van het feit dat er 8-9 jaar na verschijnen nog steeds mensen zijn die mijn boeken lezen 🥰)
(En stiekem word ik ook vrolijk van het feit dat er 8-9 jaar na verschijnen nog steeds mensen zijn die mijn boeken lezen 🥰)
September 20, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Ik schiet altijd weer een beetje in de lach van de afrekening van Lira (de BumaStemra voor boeken, zeg maar).
(En stiekem word ik ook vrolijk van het feit dat er 8-9 jaar na verschijnen nog steeds mensen zijn die mijn boeken lezen 🥰)
(En stiekem word ik ook vrolijk van het feit dat er 8-9 jaar na verschijnen nog steeds mensen zijn die mijn boeken lezen 🥰)
“The Biology department solicits applications for the last tenure-track position this university will ever offer.” 🥲
"The Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department welcomes applications from research scientists who want their work routinely dismissed or criticized by a large percentage of the public."
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/hon...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/hon...
Honest Academic Job Postings
English department seeks a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in Shakespeare, Romanticism, Victorianism, modernism, post-modernism, post...
www.mcsweeneys.net
September 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
“The Biology department solicits applications for the last tenure-track position this university will ever offer.” 🥲
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
A reminder - a majority of Americans in every state are aware of climate change and are worried about what it means for the future. climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizatio...
September 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM
A reminder - a majority of Americans in every state are aware of climate change and are worried about what it means for the future. climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizatio...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Finnen zijn permanent klaar voor oorlog – en tegelijk het gelukkigste volk ter wereld. Wat kan Nederland van ze leren? ‘Finland beschouwt burgers als een hulpbron. Landen als Nederland zien hun inwoners meer als een potentieel probleem dat moet worden gemanaged.’ @ftm.nl
www.ftm.nl/artikelen/zo...
www.ftm.nl/artikelen/zo...
Reddingszwemmen, sneeuwscooteren en schieten: zo trainen Finnen voor oorlog
Finnen zijn permanent klaar voor oorlog en tegelijk het meest tevreden volk ter wereld. Wat kunnen wij van ze leren? ‘De politieke elite staat voor een filosofische, maar belangrijke vraag: vertrouw j...
www.ftm.nl
August 1, 2025 at 6:10 AM
Finnen zijn permanent klaar voor oorlog – en tegelijk het gelukkigste volk ter wereld. Wat kan Nederland van ze leren? ‘Finland beschouwt burgers als een hulpbron. Landen als Nederland zien hun inwoners meer als een potentieel probleem dat moet worden gemanaged.’ @ftm.nl
www.ftm.nl/artikelen/zo...
www.ftm.nl/artikelen/zo...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
“The problem is that the intellectual difficulty of reading complex academic texts builds analytical muscle. Students who never develop these muscles might become just consumers of knowledge rather than knowledge creators.”
Goed stuk over AI en (niet meer) lezen - via @lliev.bsky.social. Het probleem is: je kunt denken niet versnellen. Iedereen probeert dat wel de hele tijd en AI belooft het. Maar het kan niet lucaspoy.substack.com/p/notebooklm...
NotebookLM: The end of reading as we knew it?
This is the second in a series of posts exploring how historians can engage with AI tools.
lucaspoy.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 8:12 AM
“The problem is that the intellectual difficulty of reading complex academic texts builds analytical muscle. Students who never develop these muscles might become just consumers of knowledge rather than knowledge creators.”
Wat gezellig, een hond onder tafel. @vprozomergasten.bsky.social, is ie van Eus of Griet? En zien we ‘m volgende week weer?
July 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Wat gezellig, een hond onder tafel. @vprozomergasten.bsky.social, is ie van Eus of Griet? En zien we ‘m volgende week weer?
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Buffy is so old there were only 103 named elements, we’re at 118 now.
(Yes I pause every show that has a periodic table to see if its period accurate)
(Yes I pause every show that has a periodic table to see if its period accurate)
July 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Buffy is so old there were only 103 named elements, we’re at 118 now.
(Yes I pause every show that has a periodic table to see if its period accurate)
(Yes I pause every show that has a periodic table to see if its period accurate)
Ik hoop dat ze het niet persoonlijk bedoelen.
www.oldambtnu.nl/2025/07/10/t...
www.oldambtnu.nl/2025/07/10/t...
Tennisvereniging "De Nieske Meppers" viert 50 jarig jubileum - OldambtNu.nl
Midwolda – Op zaterdag 5 juli stond Tennisvereniging “de Nieske Meppers” uit Midwolda stil bij haar 50-jarig bestaan. Leden en genodigden waren aanwezig bij de jubileumdag.- advertentie - De middag be...
www.oldambtnu.nl
July 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Ik hoop dat ze het niet persoonlijk bedoelen.
www.oldambtnu.nl/2025/07/10/t...
www.oldambtnu.nl/2025/07/10/t...
Earlier this week, I had an extensive discussion with a colleague about a photo of a chimpanzee sticking a blade of grass up its anus and whether that was too raunchy to put on our website. Yeah, #sciencecommunication can be wild.
www.uu.nl/en/news/a-po...
www.uu.nl/en/news/a-po...
A pointless fashion trend? Chimpanzees wear blades of grass in their ears and rears
Edwin van Leeuwen: "This may offer insights into the evolutionary roots of human culture.”
www.uu.nl
July 10, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Earlier this week, I had an extensive discussion with a colleague about a photo of a chimpanzee sticking a blade of grass up its anus and whether that was too raunchy to put on our website. Yeah, #sciencecommunication can be wild.
www.uu.nl/en/news/a-po...
www.uu.nl/en/news/a-po...
I thought @mcsweeneys.net was satire? This is honestly not too far off from actual travel advice from non-US institutions. I'm only missing "contact your embassy as soon as you arrive in the US" and "only take a burner phone and laptop" (I wish I was kidding).
"If you are a woman, acquire your contraception and birth control needs before you set foot in the United States. It is effectively impossible and/or prohibitively expensive in many regions to access reproductive health care or even basic contraception."
Tips for Foreign Correspondents in an American Conflict Zone
1. The United States is considered an unstable region due to frequent authoritarian crackdowns, rising Christian fundamentalism, and active attacks...
buff.ly
July 8, 2025 at 7:34 AM
I thought @mcsweeneys.net was satire? This is honestly not too far off from actual travel advice from non-US institutions. I'm only missing "contact your embassy as soon as you arrive in the US" and "only take a burner phone and laptop" (I wish I was kidding).
ICYMI, here's a mini recap of last week's @vrubinobs.bsky.social Rubin first look watch party at Sonnenborgh Observatory in #Utrecht. Happy & proud to have hosted a full room of space lovers at this beautiful historic location! 🤩 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
📺 Last Monday at Sonnenborgh - museum & sterrenwacht, we hosted a watch party for the very first images from Rubin Observatory, such as an this immensely detailed image of the Trifid and Lagoon… |...
📺 Last Monday at Sonnenborgh - museum & sterrenwacht, we hosted a watch party for the very first images from Rubin Observatory, such as an this immensely detailed image of the Trifid and Lagoon Ne...
www.linkedin.com
July 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
ICYMI, here's a mini recap of last week's @vrubinobs.bsky.social Rubin first look watch party at Sonnenborgh Observatory in #Utrecht. Happy & proud to have hosted a full room of space lovers at this beautiful historic location! 🤩 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
"We want our publishers to stand with us. To make a pledge that they will never release books that were created by machines. To pledge that they will not replace their human staff with AI tools or degrade their positions into AI monitors." lithub.com/against-ai-a...
Against AI: An Open Letter From Writers to Publishers
To Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, and all other publishers of America: We are standing on a precipice. At its simplest level, our job as …
lithub.com
July 2, 2025 at 8:58 AM
"We want our publishers to stand with us. To make a pledge that they will never release books that were created by machines. To pledge that they will not replace their human staff with AI tools or degrade their positions into AI monitors." lithub.com/against-ai-a...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Met zijn stelling in NRC dat Nederlandse universiteiten te veel met zichzelf bezig zijn draagt NWO-voorzitter Marcel Levi bij aan het wantrouwen in de wetenschap, schrijft hoofddocent Jaap Kooijman. www.folia.nl/nl/opinie/16...
Steun wetenschappers in plaats van ons af te vallen
www.folia.nl
July 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Met zijn stelling in NRC dat Nederlandse universiteiten te veel met zichzelf bezig zijn draagt NWO-voorzitter Marcel Levi bij aan het wantrouwen in de wetenschap, schrijft hoofddocent Jaap Kooijman. www.folia.nl/nl/opinie/16...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
It’s Mary Anning’s birthday, so time to share @katebeaton.bsky.social’s brilliant cartoon again.
May 21, 2025 at 11:31 AM
It’s Mary Anning’s birthday, so time to share @katebeaton.bsky.social’s brilliant cartoon again.
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Hoe functioneert de politieke arena? Maryse Wulf werd Statenlid voor #Volt en verwonderde zich. Over politiek zonder inhoud,, moties die niets veranderen en andere problemen.
chrisaalberts.nl/2025/03/28/g...
chrisaalberts.nl/2025/03/28/g...
‘Geen openbaar vervoer is naar, dat de politieke arena niet functioneert is erger’ - Chris Aalberts
Soms lopen dingen anders dan je aanvankelijk had gedacht. In maart 2023 werd Maryse Wulf verkozen als Statenlid. Het was de entree van Volt in Overijssel. Na anderhalf jaar concludeerde Wulf dat het w...
chrisaalberts.nl
March 29, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Hoe functioneert de politieke arena? Maryse Wulf werd Statenlid voor #Volt en verwonderde zich. Over politiek zonder inhoud,, moties die niets veranderen en andere problemen.
chrisaalberts.nl/2025/03/28/g...
chrisaalberts.nl/2025/03/28/g...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Programma's als 'Meet the Professor' kunnen stereotypen doorbreken, maar daarvoor moet wel aan een aantal voorwaarden worden voldaan. Een verslag van onze eerste expersessie: wetenschapensamenleving.nl/index.php/20...
‘Het maakt echt verschil als er een vrouwelijke wetenschapper in de klas komt’ – NEWS
wetenschapensamenleving.nl
March 18, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Programma's als 'Meet the Professor' kunnen stereotypen doorbreken, maar daarvoor moet wel aan een aantal voorwaarden worden voldaan. Een verslag van onze eerste expersessie: wetenschapensamenleving.nl/index.php/20...
Who can help me solve this #puzzle?
I've been using @kagi.com for a while and love it, but I can't make sense of this search result:
banana oat protein pancake = 7.7 g^2 (grams squared) | 55 g^2 (grams squared)
I can't make sense of what Wolfram Alpha is trying to do here. Any ideas?
I've been using @kagi.com for a while and love it, but I can't make sense of this search result:
banana oat protein pancake = 7.7 g^2 (grams squared) | 55 g^2 (grams squared)
I can't make sense of what Wolfram Alpha is trying to do here. Any ideas?
March 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
The Netherlands faces a critical risk of losing its leadership in knowledge and innovation if proposed science funding cuts proceed, warns NWO. The halving of Open Science NL's budget adds to these concerns.
This week, the Senate is deliberating on the OCW budget: www.nwo.nl/en/news/know...
This week, the Senate is deliberating on the OCW budget: www.nwo.nl/en/news/know...
Knowledge for the Netherlands is falling behind due to budget cuts in higher education and research | NWO
This week, the Senate is considering the OCW budget with its proposed cuts to higher education and research. Ahead of the debate, NWO once again expresses its concerns about the consequences of the cu...
www.nwo.nl
January 20, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The Netherlands faces a critical risk of losing its leadership in knowledge and innovation if proposed science funding cuts proceed, warns NWO. The halving of Open Science NL's budget adds to these concerns.
This week, the Senate is deliberating on the OCW budget: www.nwo.nl/en/news/know...
This week, the Senate is deliberating on the OCW budget: www.nwo.nl/en/news/know...
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
Quote van de dag: 'Het geheim van vrijheid is moed.' – Pericles
March 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Quote van de dag: 'Het geheim van vrijheid is moed.' – Pericles
Reposted by Nieske Vergunst
As European leaders rally around Zelensky in support, the head of the EU's most Kremlin-infiltrated government is, as usual, siding with the other side.
The EU must not only take the threats posed by Putin and Trump seriously—it must also finally confront the danger within.
The EU must not only take the threats posed by Putin and Trump seriously—it must also finally confront the danger within.
March 1, 2025 at 10:59 AM
As European leaders rally around Zelensky in support, the head of the EU's most Kremlin-infiltrated government is, as usual, siding with the other side.
The EU must not only take the threats posed by Putin and Trump seriously—it must also finally confront the danger within.
The EU must not only take the threats posed by Putin and Trump seriously—it must also finally confront the danger within.