Nick Johnston
@nifjnick.bsky.social
Project Support at Queen's University Belfast
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick-Johnston-5?ev=hdr_xprf
& Ed Admin for @jrlepp.bsky.social
Views are personal and not those of my employers or funders
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick-Johnston-5?ev=hdr_xprf
& Ed Admin for @jrlepp.bsky.social
Views are personal and not those of my employers or funders
Pinned
Nick Johnston
@nifjnick.bsky.social
· Aug 31
The Hokey Cokey in the style of Mariah Carey!
YouTube video by BBC
www.youtube.com
Public Service Announcement:
If you would like even a 5 minute break from the world, pop on to YouTube and add "ISIHAC" to the search box.
"I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" is pure joy, and has been running on the BBC for more than 50 years.
An example (watch to the end):
www.youtube.com/shorts/Ity43...
If you would like even a 5 minute break from the world, pop on to YouTube and add "ISIHAC" to the search box.
"I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" is pure joy, and has been running on the BBC for more than 50 years.
An example (watch to the end):
www.youtube.com/shorts/Ity43...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
I've often wondered how Steven Pinker's amazingly sloppy research and baseless claims* have for so long received a free pass. I wonder whether it could have something to do with a. his connections with the rich and powerful; b. his claims often aligning with what they want to hear.
*See next post.
*See next post.
This isn't something distant or far away. Super-agent & close Epstein ally, John Brockman had huge influence. His 'rockstar' writers, scientists and academics dominated our book pages & broadsheets.
We need nothing less than a total revisionist history of the last 20 years.
2/
We need nothing less than a total revisionist history of the last 20 years.
2/
February 16, 2026 at 8:53 AM
I've often wondered how Steven Pinker's amazingly sloppy research and baseless claims* have for so long received a free pass. I wonder whether it could have something to do with a. his connections with the rich and powerful; b. his claims often aligning with what they want to hear.
*See next post.
*See next post.
Reposted by Nick Johnston
And we’re got big news! Next year’s artist in residence is none other than @roxanegay.bsky.social!!!! Imagine getting to study writing with her AND me!!! At the same time!! APPLY!!!
You there, smart person, come study with me at Harvard Medical School! Our program is so fun! The application deadline is March 13.
Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health
The Master of Science in Media, Medicine, and Health is a nine-month Harvard Medical School graduate program for those interested in using storytelling to make a difference in health. The Master of Sc...
ghsm.hms.harvard.edu
February 15, 2026 at 3:26 PM
And we’re got big news! Next year’s artist in residence is none other than @roxanegay.bsky.social!!!! Imagine getting to study writing with her AND me!!! At the same time!! APPLY!!!
Reposted by Nick Johnston
I like the government pivot to reminding voters that Farage is an avowed enemy of NATO & Europe & an ardent admirer of Vladimir Putin, who routinely orders the murders of critics & opponents. It is politically effective & morally essential.
February 15, 2026 at 12:47 PM
I like the government pivot to reminding voters that Farage is an avowed enemy of NATO & Europe & an ardent admirer of Vladimir Putin, who routinely orders the murders of critics & opponents. It is politically effective & morally essential.
Reposted by Nick Johnston
NEW: Read this terrific piece @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social for @thenerve.news in which she unpicks Edge.org, the hugely influential 'salon' funded by Epstein & threaded through with race science & eugenics.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science
Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...
www.thenerve.news
February 15, 2026 at 11:18 AM
NEW: Read this terrific piece @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social for @thenerve.news in which she unpicks Edge.org, the hugely influential 'salon' funded by Epstein & threaded through with race science & eugenics.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
When @audacityofdespair.bsky.social says "dragging us all", he means the whole world - communicable diseases don't mind flying long haul in economy
Trumpism and RFK Jr, its crazed witch doctor, are dragging us all back into the Dark Ages. And we are, all of us, yawning at the spectacle.
In terms of what cures are being lost:
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
- Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis
- herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis
- shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease
February 13, 2026 at 4:34 PM
When @audacityofdespair.bsky.social says "dragging us all", he means the whole world - communicable diseases don't mind flying long haul in economy
Reposted by Nick Johnston
girls just wanna make puns
What a fantastic initiative and important paper! Congratulations @vborghesani.bsky.social and co-authors
But I am absolutely devastated that @olivia.science and I didn’t think of the brilliant “girls just wanna have funds” first 😂🥹🥺
But I am absolutely devastated that @olivia.science and I didn’t think of the brilliant “girls just wanna have funds” first 😂🥹🥺
Proud of being part of www.winrepo.org and of all the work we do! 💙
February 13, 2026 at 3:07 PM
girls just wanna make puns
Reposted by Nick Johnston
“A victory for freedom for all”
Some good news from the High Court today:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule
Some good news from the High Court today:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule
UK ban on Palestine Action unlawful, high court judges rule
Protest group’s co-founder wins legal challenge against decision to proscribe it under anti-terrorism laws
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:29 PM
“A victory for freedom for all”
Some good news from the High Court today:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule
Some good news from the High Court today:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule
Reposted by Nick Johnston
The EU is a top public investor in research and innovation worldwide, but a lack of private investment and a fragmented funding landscape hold it back.
What can be done? Read more in about in this instalment of the @ec.europa.eu’s R&I Papers series: link.europa.eu/b79kQq 🧪
What can be done? Read more in about in this instalment of the @ec.europa.eu’s R&I Papers series: link.europa.eu/b79kQq 🧪
February 13, 2026 at 1:30 PM
The EU is a top public investor in research and innovation worldwide, but a lack of private investment and a fragmented funding landscape hold it back.
What can be done? Read more in about in this instalment of the @ec.europa.eu’s R&I Papers series: link.europa.eu/b79kQq 🧪
What can be done? Read more in about in this instalment of the @ec.europa.eu’s R&I Papers series: link.europa.eu/b79kQq 🧪
Reposted by Nick Johnston
Remigration by stealth?
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social examines the impact -intended otherwise - of the government's "earned settlement" proposals. Up to two million current UK residents could be affected.
The consultation closes tonight...
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social examines the impact -intended otherwise - of the government's "earned settlement" proposals. Up to two million current UK residents could be affected.
The consultation closes tonight...
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
Remigration by stealth? The government’s earned settlement proposals - UK in a changing Europe
James Bowes analyses the potential impact of the UK government's proposed changes to its settlement schemes to both new migrants and migrants already in the UK.
ukandeu.ac.uk
February 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Remigration by stealth?
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social examines the impact -intended otherwise - of the government's "earned settlement" proposals. Up to two million current UK residents could be affected.
The consultation closes tonight...
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
@jamesbowes01.bsky.social examines the impact -intended otherwise - of the government's "earned settlement" proposals. Up to two million current UK residents could be affected.
The consultation closes tonight...
ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
Koç University had a need, and the #COALESCE project offered the expertise. That’s how the first ‘train-the-trainer’ workshop for professors was designed and delivered in November and December 2025.
🔹role of scientists in #society and #scicomm
🔸skills they need
🔹brief historical overview
1/2
🔹role of scientists in #society and #scicomm
🔸skills they need
🔹brief historical overview
1/2
February 12, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Nick Johnston
This state’s power prices are plummeting as it nears 100% renewables
"South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind+solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30% in a year..."
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
"South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind+solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30% in a year..."
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
This state’s power prices are plummeting as it nears 100% renewables
South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind and solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30 per cent in a year and sometimes ...
www.newscientist.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:01 PM
This state’s power prices are plummeting as it nears 100% renewables
"South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind+solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30% in a year..."
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
"South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind+solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30% in a year..."
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
"women are recursively
being called upon to carve out and
carry out intellectually demanding roles, such as human computer and programmer only to be automated away, masculinised out, forgotten about"
Pygmalion Displacement: When Humanising AI Dehumanises Women. doi.org/10.31235/osf...
being called upon to carve out and
carry out intellectually demanding roles, such as human computer and programmer only to be automated away, masculinised out, forgotten about"
Pygmalion Displacement: When Humanising AI Dehumanises Women. doi.org/10.31235/osf...
![6.1 Women hold up half the Skynet
By paraphrasing Mao Zedong — who intended “the govern-
ment to raise women’s status [by] abolish[ing] the feudal sys-
tem which holds women in bondage [as well as] mobiliz[ing]
women to participate in the labor force” (Li 2000, p. 31) —
and making reference to the Terminator media franchise’s su-
perintelligent AI antagonist, we want to underline that women
have contributed both to their own emancipation and to their
own disenfranchisement by participating in (all three overlap-
ping definitions of) AI (given in the Introduction).14 This may
seem, at first blush, to be a negative perspective wherein we
are not able to imagine ourselves out of repeating the leitmo-
tif this paper is focused on, forever iterating over attempts to
free ourselves from capitalist patriarchy but never escaping the
infinitely nested loops within which the current technopolitical
landscape encircles us. That is to say, women are recursively
being called upon, and calling on themselves, to carve out and
carry out intellectually demanding roles, such as human com-
puter and programmer only to be automated away, masculinised
out, forgotten about, or all the above. But this is not the only
way forward, we propose we can halt this problem](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vsyj5jtayxcq5dw5mtja4xtb/bafkreieuqp2yyfemo3e5ohf5eoscw5vbito2swwqvoh5tlqys4hivu6q6e@jpeg)
February 12, 2026 at 3:36 PM
"women are recursively
being called upon to carve out and
carry out intellectually demanding roles, such as human computer and programmer only to be automated away, masculinised out, forgotten about"
Pygmalion Displacement: When Humanising AI Dehumanises Women. doi.org/10.31235/osf...
being called upon to carve out and
carry out intellectually demanding roles, such as human computer and programmer only to be automated away, masculinised out, forgotten about"
Pygmalion Displacement: When Humanising AI Dehumanises Women. doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
Calling on other UK immigrants and pro immigration citizens, today is the last day (til 11.59pm) to fill in the public consultation on the proposed changes to Earned Settlement, most notably moving the timeline from 5 years to 10 years www.gov.uk/government/c...
Earned settlement
The government is consulting on how the current settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.
www.gov.uk
February 12, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Calling on other UK immigrants and pro immigration citizens, today is the last day (til 11.59pm) to fill in the public consultation on the proposed changes to Earned Settlement, most notably moving the timeline from 5 years to 10 years www.gov.uk/government/c...
So refreshing to compare this with all the paid-for AI boosterism on LinkedIn especially because it comes with receipts
Beyond the endless back-and-forth...
What do we actually KNOW about GenAI?
www.ned-potter.com/blog/what-do...
What do we actually KNOW about GenAI?
www.ned-potter.com/blog/what-do...
What do we *know* about GenAI — Ned Potter
GenAI reduces cognitive function, doesn't reduce employee workload, gets stuff wrong a lot, has a high body count already, is built on stolen data, doesn't save companies money or even make GenAI comp...
www.ned-potter.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:27 PM
So refreshing to compare this with all the paid-for AI boosterism on LinkedIn especially because it comes with receipts
Trying to decide which is more briliant - the super efficient skewering of a wide range of eejits who should know and do better in just over 3 minutues or the super understated effing and jeffing while @zoejardiniere.bsky.social suggests same eejits should do one.
Worth a watch as always!
Worth a watch as always!
Oh look!
We’re talking about immigration again!
Instead of corruption money & pedos permeating our politics! 🤩 Brilliant! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhZk...
We’re talking about immigration again!
Instead of corruption money & pedos permeating our politics! 🤩 Brilliant! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhZk...
Finally! A chance to talk about IMMIGRANTs & not corruption!
YouTube video by Zoe Gardner
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Trying to decide which is more briliant - the super efficient skewering of a wide range of eejits who should know and do better in just over 3 minutues or the super understated effing and jeffing while @zoejardiniere.bsky.social suggests same eejits should do one.
Worth a watch as always!
Worth a watch as always!
Reposted by Nick Johnston
🚨3 Lectureships in Biology 🚨
Come join us in Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social!
We are looking for new collegues working across a broad spectum of topics in biology, including ecology & environmental change. Get in touch if you have Qs!
Apply here by 8 March: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Come join us in Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social!
We are looking for new collegues working across a broad spectum of topics in biology, including ecology & environmental change. Get in touch if you have Qs!
Apply here by 8 March: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
February 12, 2026 at 9:10 AM
🚨3 Lectureships in Biology 🚨
Come join us in Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social!
We are looking for new collegues working across a broad spectum of topics in biology, including ecology & environmental change. Get in touch if you have Qs!
Apply here by 8 March: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Come join us in Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social!
We are looking for new collegues working across a broad spectum of topics in biology, including ecology & environmental change. Get in touch if you have Qs!
Apply here by 8 March: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
Last day to do this.
For the sake of the country and our friends and neighbours, please respond and oppose this proposal - do it TODAY!
Helpful guides for responding from @amnestyuk.bsky.social and @migrantvoice.bsky.social in comments below.
For the sake of the country and our friends and neighbours, please respond and oppose this proposal - do it TODAY!
Helpful guides for responding from @amnestyuk.bsky.social and @migrantvoice.bsky.social in comments below.
1) Today (23:59) is the deadline for submitting responses to the Home Office "consultation" on their plans to make life a lot more difficult for foreigners living in the UK: www.gov.uk/government/c...
A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: statement and accompanying consultation on earned settlement (accessible)
www.gov.uk
February 12, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Last day to do this.
For the sake of the country and our friends and neighbours, please respond and oppose this proposal - do it TODAY!
Helpful guides for responding from @amnestyuk.bsky.social and @migrantvoice.bsky.social in comments below.
For the sake of the country and our friends and neighbours, please respond and oppose this proposal - do it TODAY!
Helpful guides for responding from @amnestyuk.bsky.social and @migrantvoice.bsky.social in comments below.
Reposted by Nick Johnston
Social scientists📣Are you interested in how to improve the research and development (R&D) ecosystem? @ukri.org has funding available for metascience research into more effective ways of conducting and supporting research & development.⏰Closes 23 Apr 2026. Find out more➡️
Metascience research grants round 2
Apply for funding to undertake cutting-edge Metascience research into more effective ways of conducting and supporting research and development (R&D), including the impact of AI and the challenges of…
www.ukri.org
February 12, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Social scientists📣Are you interested in how to improve the research and development (R&D) ecosystem? @ukri.org has funding available for metascience research into more effective ways of conducting and supporting research & development.⏰Closes 23 Apr 2026. Find out more➡️
When you find it, "sneakily tickle cattle" is the tongue twister you didn't know you needed. (Fortunately I'm in an otherwise empty office so no-one can hear me)
I needed these tree photos and alt text captions today! 🙏🏻
I hand over an invisible ‘Tree Of The Day’ award to the most charismatic tree I see on each of my walks. Here are just a few past winners of this esteemed but still largely unknown prize.
February 12, 2026 at 12:21 PM
When you find it, "sneakily tickle cattle" is the tongue twister you didn't know you needed. (Fortunately I'm in an otherwise empty office so no-one can hear me)
Reposted by Nick Johnston
I keep saying that "Everything Is America Now" when it comes to UK rightism, because it's true.
This Dickensian card sharp-looking prick's colonisation line is the same Great Replacement Theory & Kalergi Plan trash that you can read on any US far rightist social media feed, any day of the week.
This Dickensian card sharp-looking prick's colonisation line is the same Great Replacement Theory & Kalergi Plan trash that you can read on any US far rightist social media feed, any day of the week.
'UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
In an interview with Sky News's Ed Conway, Sir Jim says Britain faces profound political, social and economic challenges, among them an unprecedented rise in immigration in recent years.
news.sky.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:12 PM
I keep saying that "Everything Is America Now" when it comes to UK rightism, because it's true.
This Dickensian card sharp-looking prick's colonisation line is the same Great Replacement Theory & Kalergi Plan trash that you can read on any US far rightist social media feed, any day of the week.
This Dickensian card sharp-looking prick's colonisation line is the same Great Replacement Theory & Kalergi Plan trash that you can read on any US far rightist social media feed, any day of the week.
Travis Rice INSANE Drop in the Backcountry
YouTube video by Red Bull Snow
youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Nick Johnston
JOB ALERT!
We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!
Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!
We look forward to receiving your applications!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!
Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!
We look forward to receiving your applications!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
JOB ALERT!
We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!
Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!
We look forward to receiving your applications!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
We are excited to announce that we are recruiting three new academics at lecturer level!
Click the link below for more info on how to apply, and don’t forget to explore our research themes too!
We look forward to receiving your applications!
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
anyway the consultation shuts tomorrow, one minute to midnight UK time: www.gov.uk/government/c... Amnesty have some good guidance here. Go on: media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/Am...
media.amnesty.org.uk
February 11, 2026 at 8:49 AM
anyway the consultation shuts tomorrow, one minute to midnight UK time: www.gov.uk/government/c... Amnesty have some good guidance here. Go on: media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/Am...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
🧵 Who is Matt Goodwin, Reform UK’s provocative far-right candidate?
Goodwin was once a serious academic warning about populist extremism.
He has since morphed into something very different.
Read our updated briefing here:
hopenothate.org.uk/2026/02/11/w...
Goodwin was once a serious academic warning about populist extremism.
He has since morphed into something very different.
Read our updated briefing here:
hopenothate.org.uk/2026/02/11/w...
Who is Matt Goodwin? Far-right provocateur and Reform UK candidate – HOPE not hate
Matt Goodwin was once a serious academic, who sought to understand the drivers of far-right extremism and warn about its dangers. He has since morphed...
hopenothate.org.uk
February 11, 2026 at 1:42 PM
🧵 Who is Matt Goodwin, Reform UK’s provocative far-right candidate?
Goodwin was once a serious academic warning about populist extremism.
He has since morphed into something very different.
Read our updated briefing here:
hopenothate.org.uk/2026/02/11/w...
Goodwin was once a serious academic warning about populist extremism.
He has since morphed into something very different.
Read our updated briefing here:
hopenothate.org.uk/2026/02/11/w...
Reposted by Nick Johnston
New paper on AI in Psychology assessments in the Journal of Academic Ethics. Congratulations, in particular, to Matthew Ivory and Sam Finnerty, who worked very hard on the project link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The Integrity of Psychology Assessments in the AI Age: A Critical Examination - Journal of Academic Ethics
Journal of Academic Ethics - Generative artificial intelligence’s (Gen-AI) increasing prevalence within higher education raises concerns over its usage by students, particularly over their...
link.springer.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:34 AM
New paper on AI in Psychology assessments in the Journal of Academic Ethics. Congratulations, in particular, to Matthew Ivory and Sam Finnerty, who worked very hard on the project link.springer.com/article/10.1...