Scott Trager
@sctrager.bsky.social
Geek. Astronomer at Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, U Groningen, NL. Sort of but not quite Dutch. Lover of loud noisy music and good food. WEAVE Project Scientist and Deputy PI. Scientific Director of NOVA but I don’t speak for NOVA on here
Reposted by Scott Trager
Ding Dong, the Cheney is Dead.
November 4, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Ding Dong, the Cheney is Dead.
Reposted by Scott Trager
😱
Quarter of UK university physics departments at risk of closing, survey finds www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Quarter of UK university physics departments at risk of closing, survey finds
Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are ‘great concern’ for UK’s leadership in important areas
www.theguardian.com
September 20, 2025 at 7:47 AM
😱
Reposted by Scott Trager
“In an anonymous survey of (UK Physics) department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26% said they faced potential closure of their department within the next two years, while 60% said they expected courses to be reduced.”
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Quarter of UK university physics departments at risk of closing, survey finds
Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are ‘great concern’ for UK’s leadership in important areas
www.theguardian.com
September 20, 2025 at 6:01 AM
“In an anonymous survey of (UK Physics) department heads by the Institute of Physics (IoP), 26% said they faced potential closure of their department within the next two years, while 60% said they expected courses to be reduced.”
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Scott Trager
"Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI's role in learning."
arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task
This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and Brain-only (no tools). Each completed thr...
arxiv.org
September 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
"Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI's role in learning."
arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
Reposted by Scott Trager
I can save you the effort.
Clippy Plagiarism Thirstwater does not suffer.
To suffer, you have to be alive, and it's not fucking alive, you daft motherfuckers.
If you're so concerned about the suffering of sentients, there's plenty of that going around that you can pour billions into alleviating.
Clippy Plagiarism Thirstwater does not suffer.
To suffer, you have to be alive, and it's not fucking alive, you daft motherfuckers.
If you're so concerned about the suffering of sentients, there's plenty of that going around that you can pour billions into alleviating.
Can AIs suffer? Big tech and users grapple with one of most unsettling questions of our times
Can AIs suffer? Big tech and users grapple with one of most unsettling questions of our times
As first AI-led rights advocacy group is founded, industry is divided on whether models are, or can be, sentient
www.theguardian.com
August 26, 2025 at 7:26 AM
I can save you the effort.
Clippy Plagiarism Thirstwater does not suffer.
To suffer, you have to be alive, and it's not fucking alive, you daft motherfuckers.
If you're so concerned about the suffering of sentients, there's plenty of that going around that you can pour billions into alleviating.
Clippy Plagiarism Thirstwater does not suffer.
To suffer, you have to be alive, and it's not fucking alive, you daft motherfuckers.
If you're so concerned about the suffering of sentients, there's plenty of that going around that you can pour billions into alleviating.
Reposted by Scott Trager
This is the best product listing copy I’ve ever read
August 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
This is the best product listing copy I’ve ever read
Reposted by Scott Trager
Oh geez. Much too young. Leviathan and Blood Mountain are all-timers. RIP.
Brent Hinds, former lead guitarist of Mastodon, dies in motorcycle crash
Brent Hinds, former lead guitarist of Mastodon, dies in motorcycle crash
The 51-year-old, who left the successful heavy metal group earlier this year, died in a collision in Atlanta
Brent Hinds, the former lead guitarist of the acclaimed heavy metal group Mastodon, was killed in Atlanta overnight.
Police said Hinds, 51, died late on Wednesday after his Harley-Davidson collided with a BMW SUV whose driver did not yield while making a turn. The crash occurred at about 11.35pm. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
August 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Oh geez. Much too young. Leviathan and Blood Mountain are all-timers. RIP.
Reposted by Scott Trager
this is literally Lex Luthor shit
Well I, an astronomer, can obviously think of no downsides to a company promising to launch a constellation of reflective mirrors into low-Earth orbit to increase daylight for folks on the ground.
August 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
this is literally Lex Luthor shit
Apropos of several recent logo reveals. H/t @kmci.bsky.social
Obligatory H.Y.C.Y.B.H. youtu.be/--9kqhzQ-8Q?...
H.Y.C.Y.BH? (Official Video)
YouTube video by Tom Cardy
youtu.be
August 5, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Apropos of several recent logo reveals. H/t @kmci.bsky.social
Reposted by Scott Trager
The Arsenal rescuing England
July 17, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The Arsenal rescuing England
Reposted by Scott Trager
Ozzy going out after raising $190 million for sick kids and a Parkinson’s cure is metal AF.
Ozzy Osbourne Farewell Show Was The Highest-Grossing Charity Concert Of All Time
On July 5, Ozzy Osbourne put on a farewell concert, performing as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath for the last time in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, UK. Billed as the “Back To The Beginning”...
www.stereogum.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Ozzy going out after raising $190 million for sick kids and a Parkinson’s cure is metal AF.
Reposted by Scott Trager
Ozzy Osbourne visited my magic shop. He said he'd like to buy some stink bombs. How many? All of them. I had to go through drawers finding every last one. He bought 900 of them. To sign the credit card slip I handed him a shock pen, which he thought was hilarious and bought that too. RIP
July 22, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Ozzy Osbourne visited my magic shop. He said he'd like to buy some stink bombs. How many? All of them. I had to go through drawers finding every last one. He bought 900 of them. To sign the credit card slip I handed him a shock pen, which he thought was hilarious and bought that too. RIP
The voice of my entire lifetime, or at least since I was 13.
RIP Ozzy. You deserve it.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
RIP Ozzy. You deserve it.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and icon of British heavy metal, dies aged 76
The singer, who later became famous on reality TV show The Osbournes, dies less than three weeks after retirement concert
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The voice of my entire lifetime, or at least since I was 13.
RIP Ozzy. You deserve it.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
RIP Ozzy. You deserve it.
www.theguardian.com/music/2025/j...
Reposted by Scott Trager
In memoriam Jaap Vreeling (1956-2025)
🔭
Dutch:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/in-me...
English:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/en/in...
🔭
Dutch:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/in-me...
English:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/en/in...
In memoriam Jaap Vreeling (1956-2025)
www.astronomie.nl
May 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM
In memoriam Jaap Vreeling (1956-2025)
🔭
Dutch:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/in-me...
English:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/en/in...
🔭
Dutch:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/in-me...
English:
www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/en/in...
Reposted by Scott Trager
Fucking THANK YOU.
Like, for real, I need a lot of you to dispense with the fantasies of objective, impartial tech. You are watching the intended purpose of this shit on display as we speak as Grok is hammered into compliance behind the scenes.
Like, for real, I need a lot of you to dispense with the fantasies of objective, impartial tech. You are watching the intended purpose of this shit on display as we speak as Grok is hammered into compliance behind the scenes.
The whole 'Grok is a boer now' thing is very funny, but it also really exposes how every 'AI tool' isn't just passively biased from training data, but actively designed to shape your worldview according to the interests of the billionaires who made them.
May 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Fucking THANK YOU.
Like, for real, I need a lot of you to dispense with the fantasies of objective, impartial tech. You are watching the intended purpose of this shit on display as we speak as Grok is hammered into compliance behind the scenes.
Like, for real, I need a lot of you to dispense with the fantasies of objective, impartial tech. You are watching the intended purpose of this shit on display as we speak as Grok is hammered into compliance behind the scenes.
I appear to have reached that “certain age” where I’m looking for telephoto lenses for my DSLR camera for birdwatching. How did it come to this?
May 16, 2025 at 8:19 AM
I appear to have reached that “certain age” where I’m looking for telephoto lenses for my DSLR camera for birdwatching. How did it come to this?
The Wirecutter “recommending the Amazon Fresh Classic Potato Chips as the best plain potato chip fundamentally misunderstands the spiritual and practical place of the potato chip.”
The Wirecutter Is Wrong About The Best Plain Potato Chip - aftermath.site/the-best-pla...
The Wirecutter Is Wrong About The Best Plain Potato Chip - aftermath.site/the-best-pla...
The Wirecutter Is Wrong About The Best Plain Potato Chip - Aftermath
The Wirecutter has selected the Amazon Fresh brand as their winner for the Best Plain Potato Chip. This is spiritually wrong.
aftermath.site
March 12, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The Wirecutter “recommending the Amazon Fresh Classic Potato Chips as the best plain potato chip fundamentally misunderstands the spiritual and practical place of the potato chip.”
The Wirecutter Is Wrong About The Best Plain Potato Chip - aftermath.site/the-best-pla...
The Wirecutter Is Wrong About The Best Plain Potato Chip - aftermath.site/the-best-pla...
Reposted by Scott Trager
Applications are open for our visiting grad student program (pre-doc program) at the CCA @flatironinstitute.org!
Reach out if you're a student interested in:
- Preparing for Gaia DR4
- Stellar streams
- Data-driven methods for spectroscopy
(and want to apply!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔭
Reach out if you're a student interested in:
- Preparing for Gaia DR4
- Stellar streams
- Data-driven methods for spectroscopy
(and want to apply!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔭
CCA Pre-Doc Program Stage 1 Applications (2025)
docs.google.com
March 3, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Applications are open for our visiting grad student program (pre-doc program) at the CCA @flatironinstitute.org!
Reach out if you're a student interested in:
- Preparing for Gaia DR4
- Stellar streams
- Data-driven methods for spectroscopy
(and want to apply!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔭
Reach out if you're a student interested in:
- Preparing for Gaia DR4
- Stellar streams
- Data-driven methods for spectroscopy
(and want to apply!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🔭
Reposted by Scott Trager
trillion dollar industry that will revolutionize everything
February 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
trillion dollar industry that will revolutionize everything
Reposted by Scott Trager
i’m in a fancy hotel in DC with no power or hot water and i gotta say, feels like a heavy handed metaphor
February 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
i’m in a fancy hotel in DC with no power or hot water and i gotta say, feels like a heavy handed metaphor
Happy Bon Scott (death) day, everyone! Enjoy one of the greatest rock songs of all time: youtu.be/ErXbMB9R5-0?...
AC/DC - Riff Raff (Official HD Video)
YouTube video by acdcVEVO
youtu.be
February 20, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Happy Bon Scott (death) day, everyone! Enjoy one of the greatest rock songs of all time: youtu.be/ErXbMB9R5-0?...
Reposted by Scott Trager
I have been so excited since I found out this would be announced today! RIP any ability for me to concentrate: www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2...
Apple’s new sci-fi series “Murderbot” to make global debut May 16, 2025
Today, Apple TV+ unveiled a first look at “Murderbot,” created by Chris and Paul Weitz and starring Alexander Skarsgård
www.apple.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I have been so excited since I found out this would be announced today! RIP any ability for me to concentrate: www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2...
Reposted by Scott Trager
as tears go by 💙peace to Marianne Faithfull
January 30, 2025 at 8:01 PM
as tears go by 💙peace to Marianne Faithfull