Reposted by Sam
So many things to add to this, but I’ll just give the example of the Mark Twain Project, which has been digitizing for nearly three decades, fairly well-resourced, with a sizable full-time staff.
And they are, optimistically, maybe half done.
And they are, optimistically, maybe half done.
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
December 22, 2025 at 1:46 AM
So many things to add to this, but I’ll just give the example of the Mark Twain Project, which has been digitizing for nearly three decades, fairly well-resourced, with a sizable full-time staff.
And they are, optimistically, maybe half done.
And they are, optimistically, maybe half done.
Reposted by Sam
If you're a wealthy individual looking for a legacy, one of the craziest bargains to be had right now is saving an entire generation of American nuclear policy expertise by tossing some change at the nonprofits. The field is trying to hold together ~500 jobs max, and it can't last as things stand
We're getting nights like this basically monthly now, and the major funders of nuclear policy work are still retreating
October 30, 2025 at 1:56 AM
If you're a wealthy individual looking for a legacy, one of the craziest bargains to be had right now is saving an entire generation of American nuclear policy expertise by tossing some change at the nonprofits. The field is trying to hold together ~500 jobs max, and it can't last as things stand
Reposted by Sam
If you’re looking to do a PhD in the US, it’s a mess out there. Words by me ⬇️
Some doctoral programmes in the US are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding
go.nature.com/4o63boK
go.nature.com/4o63boK
US PhD admissions shrink as fears over Trump’s cuts take hold
Some doctoral programmes are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding.
go.nature.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:22 PM
If you’re looking to do a PhD in the US, it’s a mess out there. Words by me ⬇️
Reposted by Sam
damning thread on how the IDF's propaganda arm is scraping 3D assets intended for things like games, films, or architectural purposes and kitbashing together supposed hamas bunkers and iranian nuclear sites. a genocide campaign propped up in part by someone's nephew who got too into blender.
NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites
The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war
The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war
October 9, 2025 at 2:48 AM
damning thread on how the IDF's propaganda arm is scraping 3D assets intended for things like games, films, or architectural purposes and kitbashing together supposed hamas bunkers and iranian nuclear sites. a genocide campaign propped up in part by someone's nephew who got too into blender.
Reposted by Sam
The University of Washington Women's Volleyball team is here at the gate about to board a plane I have never felt more Hobbit-sized in my life
September 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The University of Washington Women's Volleyball team is here at the gate about to board a plane I have never felt more Hobbit-sized in my life
Reposted by Sam
New study by @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @jasonreifler.bsky.social & colleagues demonstrates that prebunking election fraud rumors — by warning about anticipated false claims & filling conceptual gaps that those claims exploit — helps to reduce belief in falsehoods: www.science.org/content/arti...
Trust in elections rises after ‘inoculations’ meant to preempt false fraud claims
New U.S.-Brazil study points to ways of countering election misinformation, political scientists say
www.science.org
August 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM
New study by @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @jasonreifler.bsky.social & colleagues demonstrates that prebunking election fraud rumors — by warning about anticipated false claims & filling conceptual gaps that those claims exploit — helps to reduce belief in falsehoods: www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Sam
Breaking News: The Trump administration ordered construction to stop on a $4 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that has already mostly been built.
Trump Administration Orders Work Halted on Wind Farm That Is Nearly Built
The order to stop construction on Revolution Wind off the coast of Rhode Island is part of a campaign against renewable energy.
nyti.ms
August 23, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Breaking News: The Trump administration ordered construction to stop on a $4 billion wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island that has already mostly been built.
Reposted by Sam
And they say nothing inspiring is happening in America anymore
August 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
And they say nothing inspiring is happening in America anymore
Reposted by Sam
If a tsunami siren went off near you, do you know how you would get to safety?
Many people might feel an urge to drive to higher ground or a designated safe site — but tsunamis are often precededed by earthquakes, which can damage roads or make them tough to navigate. 1/n
Many people might feel an urge to drive to higher ground or a designated safe site — but tsunamis are often precededed by earthquakes, which can damage roads or make them tough to navigate. 1/n
July 31, 2025 at 4:28 AM
If a tsunami siren went off near you, do you know how you would get to safety?
Many people might feel an urge to drive to higher ground or a designated safe site — but tsunamis are often precededed by earthquakes, which can damage roads or make them tough to navigate. 1/n
Many people might feel an urge to drive to higher ground or a designated safe site — but tsunamis are often precededed by earthquakes, which can damage roads or make them tough to navigate. 1/n
Reposted by Sam
Get your National Climate Assessment from archive -dot- org: web.archive.org/web/20250629...
The White House took down a website hosting the nation's top report on how climate change is affecting the United States.
The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here
The National Climate Assessment is the most influential source of information about climate change in the United States.
n.pr
July 1, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Get your National Climate Assessment from archive -dot- org: web.archive.org/web/20250629...
Reposted by Sam
I know there’s a lot of news right now but this is really crazy. They’re booting the National Science Foundation out of its newish building with no plans for where 1800 people are going to go.
National Science Foundation Staff Booted From Headquarters - Eos
Staff at the National Science Foundation (NSF) were notified on 25 June that the agency’s office space, located in Alexandria, Va., will be taken over by Department of Housing and Urban Development (H...
eos.org
June 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I know there’s a lot of news right now but this is really crazy. They’re booting the National Science Foundation out of its newish building with no plans for where 1800 people are going to go.
Reposted by Sam
🚨 There’s a lot of horrific news out of Washington right now—but you might have missed this: Senate Republicans just introduced a plan to sell off 120 million acres of our public lands.
Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵
Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵
June 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
🚨 There’s a lot of horrific news out of Washington right now—but you might have missed this: Senate Republicans just introduced a plan to sell off 120 million acres of our public lands.
Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵
Let me break down what’s in the bill and why it’s a full-scale land grab. 🧵
Reposted by Sam
Exxon Mobil is the largest private oil company in the world and it produces less than 4% of the world’s oil.
It is quite hard for me to remember that most of the world’s oil is drilled, not by companies, but by countries.
It is quite hard for me to remember that most of the world’s oil is drilled, not by companies, but by countries.
June 13, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Exxon Mobil is the largest private oil company in the world and it produces less than 4% of the world’s oil.
It is quite hard for me to remember that most of the world’s oil is drilled, not by companies, but by countries.
It is quite hard for me to remember that most of the world’s oil is drilled, not by companies, but by countries.
Reposted by Sam
it's insane how good LLMs are given how bad they are
June 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM
it's insane how good LLMs are given how bad they are
Reposted by Sam
For what it's worth, NEJM, JAMA and the Lancet are basically the medical equivalent of, like, Science, Nature and Cell.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to bar government scientists from publishing in major medical journals, saying on a podcast that three top journals were “corrupt” and influenced by pharmaceutical companies.
RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
The health secretary said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet are in bed with pharma.
www.politico.com
May 27, 2025 at 8:32 PM
For what it's worth, NEJM, JAMA and the Lancet are basically the medical equivalent of, like, Science, Nature and Cell.
Reposted by Sam
This is an excellent piece and thread. This point is really important— I don't think most people outside of academia realize that separate from normal processing fees in high-impact journals, we actually have to pay to make our own papers open access. This is only sometimes covered by institutions.
As reported by the @splcenter.org, anti-trans pseudoscience groups often pay the open-access fees for researchers with friendly viewpoints.
It needs to be studied further, but this strategy seems to work for AI search. Many cited articles had their open access fees paid by an anti-trans group.
It needs to be studied further, but this strategy seems to work for AI search. Many cited articles had their open access fees paid by an anti-trans group.
![Screenshotted text.
One might imagine that algorithms like these could improve their answers to medical questions if they restricted themselves to citing the academic literature, rather than potentially partisan blogs—that is, sticking to the “science.” However, pseudoscientific disinformation campaigns are often laundered through the scientific literature itself, creating additional challenges for algorithmic systems hoping to do scientific boundary work. Prior reporting has documented how SEGM pays for open-access fees for authors publishing research congenial to their anti-transgender stances, so that their work will be freely accessible to the public instead of hidden behind paywalls. This also means, however, that the text of these articles is available to algorithmically generated search summaries like Google Search, which often cites their claims via publicly accessible text.[13] Two out of the three peer-reviewed scientific articles cited in the above summary on detransition had their open-access fees paid for by SEGM, of these, one suggests that existing research on detransition rates is flawed, and the other suggests it is higher than is widely reported. One of the articles was authored by someone whose only listed affiliation was SEGM itself.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tsuexertapdaedikorpy27ck/bafkreibosvmqwvc4ddmc5aipn4awqu4hexq34cn4vtupz4eucbdgymojga@jpeg)
May 19, 2025 at 11:21 PM
This is an excellent piece and thread. This point is really important— I don't think most people outside of academia realize that separate from normal processing fees in high-impact journals, we actually have to pay to make our own papers open access. This is only sometimes covered by institutions.
Reposted by Sam
Short write-up about how I got xAI to briefly add "white genocide" stuff back into Grok's system prompt.
smol.news/p/the-utter-...
smol.news/p/the-utter-...
The Utter Flimsiness of xAI’s Processes
xAI's was happy to put "white genocide" stuff back into Grok's system prompt without second thought.
smol.news
May 16, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Short write-up about how I got xAI to briefly add "white genocide" stuff back into Grok's system prompt.
smol.news/p/the-utter-...
smol.news/p/the-utter-...
Reposted by Sam
How's fascism going for you? medium.com/bits-and-beh...
How is fascism going for you? Here’s how it’s going for me.
A catalog of impacts thus far from this administration’s horrors.
medium.com
May 12, 2025 at 12:45 AM
How's fascism going for you? medium.com/bits-and-beh...
Reposted by Sam
There’s so much happening right now, I thought I’d put together a running thread on the dismantling of #climate and research and knowledge infrastructure in the United States 🧵
May 7, 2025 at 12:11 PM
There’s so much happening right now, I thought I’d put together a running thread on the dismantling of #climate and research and knowledge infrastructure in the United States 🧵
Reposted by Sam
Long before there was a coffee shop seemingly on every Seattle street corner, there was Café Allegro. On Saturday, the U-District coffeehouse turns 50, making it the oldest one in the city.
This hidden coffee shop that launched Seattle's coffee culture turns 50
Long before there was a coffee shop seemingly on every Seattle street corner, there was Café Allegro.
On Saturday, the U-District coffeehouse turns 50, making it the oldest one in the city.
www.kuow.org
May 6, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Long before there was a coffee shop seemingly on every Seattle street corner, there was Café Allegro. On Saturday, the U-District coffeehouse turns 50, making it the oldest one in the city.
Reposted by Sam
Amid all the other news, it's easy to become inured to the basic facts here. Öztürk:
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
Now from Öztürk’s ACLU lawyer Esha Bhandari:
“Rümeysa Öztürk’s case is unprecedented and shocking. She has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op-ed.”
“Rümeysa Öztürk’s case is unprecedented and shocking. She has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op-ed.”
May 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Amid all the other news, it's easy to become inured to the basic facts here. Öztürk:
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
-Is not accused of committing any crime
-Is nonviolent
-Was in this country legally
-Merely engaged in speech that the administration objects to
-Has been locked up for six weeks
Reposted by Sam
I love that we make up these fake generational names that have no basis in anything except when a once-in-a-century shock comes along that *actually* marks a sharp dividing line between cohorts we're just like "uhhh yeah it's older Gen Z and younger Gen Z"
April 27, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I love that we make up these fake generational names that have no basis in anything except when a once-in-a-century shock comes along that *actually* marks a sharp dividing line between cohorts we're just like "uhhh yeah it's older Gen Z and younger Gen Z"
Reposted by Sam
🎉 May is National #BikeMonth p/b @bikeleague.bsky.social. How are you gonna celebrate? (FWIW It’s always Bike Month when you work in active transportation 😉.)
Photo tax for reach: me during a friend’s Taco Bell-themed century bike ride, accompanied by what appears to be a furry grizzled sea captain.
Photo tax for reach: me during a friend’s Taco Bell-themed century bike ride, accompanied by what appears to be a furry grizzled sea captain.
April 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
🎉 May is National #BikeMonth p/b @bikeleague.bsky.social. How are you gonna celebrate? (FWIW It’s always Bike Month when you work in active transportation 😉.)
Photo tax for reach: me during a friend’s Taco Bell-themed century bike ride, accompanied by what appears to be a furry grizzled sea captain.
Photo tax for reach: me during a friend’s Taco Bell-themed century bike ride, accompanied by what appears to be a furry grizzled sea captain.
Reposted by Sam
As far as I'm aware, the first documented spike in data leaving an agency after DOGE infiltration. Extensive forensic evidence.
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
April 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
As far as I'm aware, the first documented spike in data leaving an agency after DOGE infiltration. Extensive forensic evidence.
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...
Reposted by Sam
This is only true if you don’t adjust for inflation. Video game systems were low-key hella expensive when we were kids!
April 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This is only true if you don’t adjust for inflation. Video game systems were low-key hella expensive when we were kids!