Ric Crossman
@riccrossman.bsky.social
Statistician. Educator. Union man. Occasional pop culture critic for ATB Publishing (and himself). Just wants everyone to be happy, a fact that has made a number of people EXTREMELY angry. He/him/Comrade.
Pinned
Ric Crossman
@riccrossman.bsky.social
· Apr 1
Infinite Diversity, Finite Combinations Volume 1.1 (paperback+1st class postage) | Infinite Diversity,
The first volume of IDFC in weighty paperback form! Contains essays on every episode of Season 1 of The Original Series (including "The Cage"), along with pieces on The Motion Picture, James Blish's S...
www.idfc.co.uk
Plus, the first Infinite Diversity, Finite Combinations book is out in paperback, if that's the sort of thing you think you might be into (and you live in the UK).
www.idfc.co.uk/product-page...
www.idfc.co.uk/product-page...
Spoilery review for #StarfleetAcademy 1.6 "Come, Let's Away" up now.
Starfleet Academy Review: Come, Let's Away
Spoilers belowCraig Finn, lead singer of the Hold Steady, once talked about how, as the old school musician he is, he can't help but think of every album he does as consisting of two sides. We're so p...
www.idfc.co.uk
February 12, 2026 at 11:35 AM
Spoilery review for #StarfleetAcademy 1.6 "Come, Let's Away" up now.
This approach to maths teaching was a big part of why I became a maths teacher myself - it was just so obvious there needed to be a better way.
Those who weren’t resigned to the Math Idiot Garbage Bin as kids may not grasp how much “if you’re bad at math, you’ll die in a ditch and all will be better off for it” sentiment was floating around in the 90s and 2000s, but it sure felt real to me.
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
(my parents are great! It didn’t come from them!)
February 11, 2026 at 10:14 PM
This approach to maths teaching was a big part of why I became a maths teacher myself - it was just so obvious there needed to be a better way.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
If Melanie Phillips tells you to stop digging you’re seconds away from striking rich. A reverse-lodestone, both factually and morally, you could mindlessly take the negation of whatever she says and end up a decent human being.
February 10, 2026 at 10:57 PM
If Melanie Phillips tells you to stop digging you’re seconds away from striking rich. A reverse-lodestone, both factually and morally, you could mindlessly take the negation of whatever she says and end up a decent human being.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
if you fucks would have listened to trans people and given a shit what happens to us instead of treating us as disposable torture toys this could have been stopped a decade sooner
February 10, 2026 at 8:50 PM
if you fucks would have listened to trans people and given a shit what happens to us instead of treating us as disposable torture toys this could have been stopped a decade sooner
It's like Satan taught him to smile but got bored halfway through.
OMG, I thought this was a fake article by a dab hand at photoshop, but it’s actually in the Guarditerf!
A lot of creepy, powerful, behind-the-scenes (not unlike Epstein/Mandelson) people want this dishonest transphobic NHS privatiser & genocide apologist to be the next Labour leader.
A lot of creepy, powerful, behind-the-scenes (not unlike Epstein/Mandelson) people want this dishonest transphobic NHS privatiser & genocide apologist to be the next Labour leader.
It’s practically a work of art that he thinks we’re all that stupid.
February 10, 2026 at 12:09 AM
It's like Satan taught him to smile but got bored halfway through.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
A good reminder from @billybragg.bsky.social about what Starmer once pretended to be - always worth remembering he threw this all away and managed to get fewer votes than Corbyn
February 9, 2026 at 11:02 PM
A good reminder from @billybragg.bsky.social about what Starmer once pretended to be - always worth remembering he threw this all away and managed to get fewer votes than Corbyn
Reposted by Ric Crossman
Mornington Crescent: a rant.
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
February 9, 2026 at 8:51 AM
Mornington Crescent: a rant.
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
Reposted by Ric Crossman
Results are in regarding our local ballot.
63.3% of voters are prepared to take IA consisting of a strike action, and 75.6% are prepared to take ASOS. Return rate was 53.1%, comfortably clear of the Tory anti-trade union minimum.
63.3% of voters are prepared to take IA consisting of a strike action, and 75.6% are prepared to take ASOS. Return rate was 53.1%, comfortably clear of the Tory anti-trade union minimum.
February 8, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Results are in regarding our local ballot.
63.3% of voters are prepared to take IA consisting of a strike action, and 75.6% are prepared to take ASOS. Return rate was 53.1%, comfortably clear of the Tory anti-trade union minimum.
63.3% of voters are prepared to take IA consisting of a strike action, and 75.6% are prepared to take ASOS. Return rate was 53.1%, comfortably clear of the Tory anti-trade union minimum.
Not really my most charitable or noble impulse, but I do enjoy those rare occasions when it proves a very bad day for very bad people.
February 8, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Not really my most charitable or noble impulse, but I do enjoy those rare occasions when it proves a very bad day for very bad people.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
Great to see Grant enthusiastically endorsing our slate. We particularly agree with this part of his election address!
February 8, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Great to see Grant enthusiastically endorsing our slate. We particularly agree with this part of his election address!
Reposted by Ric Crossman
I was on precarious, short-term, hourly-paid teaching contracts for 12 years, to the (ongoing) detriment of my mental health, and I can't stress enough how awful and unethical casualisation is. But here are five simple and effectively free things universities could do to improve matters.
New on the CDBU blog: 5 low cost things employers could do to help precarious staff 💰
Words by @hagenilda.bsky.social ✍️
Words by @hagenilda.bsky.social ✍️
Our employers say they care about precarious staff. Here are five low cost things they could do right now to help us – and them - CDBU
cdbu.org.uk
February 8, 2026 at 11:02 AM
I was on precarious, short-term, hourly-paid teaching contracts for 12 years, to the (ongoing) detriment of my mental health, and I can't stress enough how awful and unethical casualisation is. But here are five simple and effectively free things universities could do to improve matters.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.
Great work everyone.
Great work everyone.
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.
Great work everyone.
Great work everyone.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
The Epstein mess is really the perfect vehicle for showing that reflexive heterodox thinking is complete performative and reactionary crap. "Oh, so you think a sex trafficking and pedophilia operation that many powerful people interacted with is *bad*? You rube, let me tell you why you're wrong."
February 5, 2026 at 9:12 PM
The Epstein mess is really the perfect vehicle for showing that reflexive heterodox thinking is complete performative and reactionary crap. "Oh, so you think a sex trafficking and pedophilia operation that many powerful people interacted with is *bad*? You rube, let me tell you why you're wrong."
Evening re-up.
My review of #StarfleetAcademy Episode 5 "Series Acclimation Mil" is up now. This one was a lot, in all the best ways. Going to be hard to resist another full DS9 rewatch.
Starfleet Academy Review: Series Acclimation Mil
Spoilers belowI've talked before about my awareness that ultimately, this is a show that isn't really aimed at me. This is, as I've also said, good and necessary, but it also can make it hard to know ...
www.idfc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Evening re-up.
My review of #StarfleetAcademy Episode 5 "Series Acclimation Mil" is up now. This one was a lot, in all the best ways. Going to be hard to resist another full DS9 rewatch.
Starfleet Academy Review: Series Acclimation Mil
Spoilers belowI've talked before about my awareness that ultimately, this is a show that isn't really aimed at me. This is, as I've also said, good and necessary, but it also can make it hard to know ...
www.idfc.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
My review of #StarfleetAcademy Episode 5 "Series Acclimation Mil" is up now. This one was a lot, in all the best ways. Going to be hard to resist another full DS9 rewatch.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
Pleased to see the jury make this decision.
We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries.
People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries.
People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Palestine Action protesters not guilty of defence firm burglary
The group are cleared of aggravated burglary over the alleged raid at an Elbit Systems warehouse.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Pleased to see the jury make this decision.
We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries.
People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries.
People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Ric Crossman
Reposted by Ric Crossman
It is crazy the knots some men will tie themselves into rather than just admit that the feminists were correct and patriarchy is real
For sure man: Larry Summers, Peter Thiel, Ehud Barak, Peter Mandelson, Bill Gates, and basically every other oligarch, power broker and political bigwig in the western power structure were all taken in by a devious Russian plot to enact the precise policy suite they’ve espoused their entire careers.
February 4, 2026 at 10:19 AM
It is crazy the knots some men will tie themselves into rather than just admit that the feminists were correct and patriarchy is real
Amazing how loud the sound of a dog licking himself becomes when you're trying to write a study protocol.
February 4, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Amazing how loud the sound of a dog licking himself becomes when you're trying to write a study protocol.
As @nateo.bsky.social notes, Sussex wasn't even doing that; it was fined for having an extremely reasonable, if not milquetoast, policy on the books that it wasn't even enforcing when it very clearly should have been. 1/3
February 4, 2026 at 9:14 AM
As @nateo.bsky.social notes, Sussex wasn't even doing that; it was fined for having an extremely reasonable, if not milquetoast, policy on the books that it wasn't even enforcing when it very clearly should have been. 1/3
Reposted by Ric Crossman
The UK populace is HR-brained: reports of a student saying, in effect, 'This makes me feel anxious' and I'm sitting here thinking 'He's acting unprofessionally from top to bottom and his behaviour would be unacceptable in any other role.'
And now he's suing the uni over his own anxiety?
Shut up.
And now he's suing the uni over his own anxiety?
Shut up.
![“I was then told, ‘One of your students has come in and he’s anxious, so we are temporarily halting your classes next week’,” he recalled.
“All my classes [were halted] because one student has gone in saying he doesn’t agree with what I’m saying.”
The school then held a meeting with its 95 jazz students, from which Mr Speake was excluded. They then asked him to send the email to the entire jazz department, which he did.
“Then it went nuts because the students put the email on social media,” he said. “I was very, very naive. I made a mistake, thinking it would remain internal.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2qwpeisxhznwdjfylihurdp4/bafkreieubhvgnbmmaa2vcip5vt74hyapwtqfdyibyg5zndopyq4toem4uu@jpeg)
February 2, 2026 at 12:20 PM
The UK populace is HR-brained: reports of a student saying, in effect, 'This makes me feel anxious' and I'm sitting here thinking 'He's acting unprofessionally from top to bottom and his behaviour would be unacceptable in any other role.'
And now he's suing the uni over his own anxiety?
Shut up.
And now he's suing the uni over his own anxiety?
Shut up.
Reposted by Ric Crossman
He sent an 1,170-word email to the entire department, starting with, 'Some white musicians deliberately have black musicians in their band to help them get gigs rather than thinking who is musically suitable' and ending with 'If there is systematic bias in Britain... it is against white people.'
February 2, 2026 at 12:20 PM
He sent an 1,170-word email to the entire department, starting with, 'Some white musicians deliberately have black musicians in their band to help them get gigs rather than thinking who is musically suitable' and ending with 'If there is systematic bias in Britain... it is against white people.'
Reposted by Ric Crossman
It’s @ucu.org.uk NEC election time again. Please read my election address and consider giving me your vote www.ucu.org.uk/article/1436.... Please also vote for Sean Wallis for Vice President HE seanwallis.uk @seanawallis.bsky.social
Grant Buttars (University of Edinburgh)
www.ucu.org.uk
February 2, 2026 at 6:28 AM
It’s @ucu.org.uk NEC election time again. Please read my election address and consider giving me your vote www.ucu.org.uk/article/1436.... Please also vote for Sean Wallis for Vice President HE seanwallis.uk @seanawallis.bsky.social
So do we think this was a good thing for protecting women and girls, orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
JK Rowling's team invited Jeffery Epstein to the deathly hallows play and to a Harry potter dinner.
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
February 1, 2026 at 9:50 PM
So do we think this was a good thing for protecting women and girls, orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Gosh, look at the time! Re-up for the late evening crowd/those westward.
Wondering what to do with your Sunday morning? I have an obvious solution for you: a sixteen minute read about the #Picard episode "The End Is The Beginning", detailing the many ways the Zhat Vash parallel the UK's disgraceful anti-trans movement.
8.1.3 Adult Romulan Female
The End Is The BeginningThis month's question: Just what are the Zhat Vash up to, anyway? Risking a billion Romulans to keep Romulans alive? Let's use the power of triangles to square the circle. Kind...
www.idfc.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Gosh, look at the time! Re-up for the late evening crowd/those westward.