Splakey
@splakey.bsky.social
A little fish swimming with big ideas in Te Whanganui a Tara
Reposted by Splakey
Putting an atom into a hall of mirrors ("cavity") can stop it from emitting light. Now remove a mirror. How long before the atom can emit? Immediately! No matter how long the hallway. Vlatko Vedral of @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social explains this bizarre case of quantum spooky action at a distance.
It’s All (Quantum) Smoke and Mirrors
Issue #57 ~ As my readers will know, I have been advocating a picture of the universe in which the underlying reality consists of quantum waves. Quantum, meaning that the height of the wave and its ph...
vlatkovedral.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Putting an atom into a hall of mirrors ("cavity") can stop it from emitting light. Now remove a mirror. How long before the atom can emit? Immediately! No matter how long the hallway. Vlatko Vedral of @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social explains this bizarre case of quantum spooky action at a distance.
A good primer on the neo-Idealists/ post-physicalists.
Good scientific thinkers know that the formalisms only get you so far.
medium.com/@jnode/ideal...
Good scientific thinkers know that the formalisms only get you so far.
medium.com/@jnode/ideal...
Idealism: A Consciousness-Only View of Reality
Metaphysical idealism asserts that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental in nature. Essentially, at the foundation…
medium.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:22 AM
A good primer on the neo-Idealists/ post-physicalists.
Good scientific thinkers know that the formalisms only get you so far.
medium.com/@jnode/ideal...
Good scientific thinkers know that the formalisms only get you so far.
medium.com/@jnode/ideal...
Reposted by Splakey
Are the laws of classical physics missing something important about how the Universe works? This short documentary by @quantamagazine.bsky.social presents a proposal that could help us better understand why everything seems to grow more complex and orderly over time
A radical reimagining of physics puts information at its centre | Aeon Videos
Does physics miss something important about how the Universe works? A new law of information could account for complexity
buff.ly
October 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Are the laws of classical physics missing something important about how the Universe works? This short documentary by @quantamagazine.bsky.social presents a proposal that could help us better understand why everything seems to grow more complex and orderly over time
Reposted by Splakey
as a reminder: bluesky (the app) has a broad set of user interactions controls.
beyond blocking and block lists, we have features to control who can reply, mention, and quote-post accounts
beyond blocking and block lists, we have features to control who can reply, mention, and quote-post accounts
October 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM
as a reminder: bluesky (the app) has a broad set of user interactions controls.
beyond blocking and block lists, we have features to control who can reply, mention, and quote-post accounts
beyond blocking and block lists, we have features to control who can reply, mention, and quote-post accounts
Grant truly impresses me with his consistent & singular wrongness.
In what universe are readers enlightened by a boomer libertarian mansplaining why taking a position against genocide is “demagoguery” while quite literally engaging in demagoguery against a particular female politician?
#nzpol #stuff
In what universe are readers enlightened by a boomer libertarian mansplaining why taking a position against genocide is “demagoguery” while quite literally engaging in demagoguery against a particular female politician?
#nzpol #stuff
October 11, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Splakey
The usual explanation for great music is that it's predictable but not too predictable. But there's more to it, said @frosas.bsky.social at #ALIFE2025. We prefer music when we perceive agency behind it. Improvisation trumps a prepared performance. See paper at www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy.... ⚙️🧫
October 7, 2025 at 3:12 AM
The usual explanation for great music is that it's predictable but not too predictable. But there's more to it, said @frosas.bsky.social at #ALIFE2025. We prefer music when we perceive agency behind it. Improvisation trumps a prepared performance. See paper at www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy.... ⚙️🧫
Reposted by Splakey
Sad to report that we've lost another #kakapo, and a particularly significant one. Solstice was the last kākāpō rediscovered, found on Rakiura in 1997. She died on the weekend as a result of complications from the #disease cloacitis. There are now 237 kākāpō left. #conservation #parrots #birds
October 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Sad to report that we've lost another #kakapo, and a particularly significant one. Solstice was the last kākāpō rediscovered, found on Rakiura in 1997. She died on the weekend as a result of complications from the #disease cloacitis. There are now 237 kākāpō left. #conservation #parrots #birds
All this appeasement on Gaza is really paying off.
We could probably shave a few % off that movie tariff if Luxon erased a century of social and environmental progr…
(checks feed)
… never mind.
#nzpol
We could probably shave a few % off that movie tariff if Luxon erased a century of social and environmental progr…
(checks feed)
… never mind.
#nzpol
October 1, 2025 at 5:29 AM
All this appeasement on Gaza is really paying off.
We could probably shave a few % off that movie tariff if Luxon erased a century of social and environmental progr…
(checks feed)
… never mind.
#nzpol
We could probably shave a few % off that movie tariff if Luxon erased a century of social and environmental progr…
(checks feed)
… never mind.
#nzpol
September 27, 2025 at 4:16 AM
It is 9/11 in the US and I can think of no better answer to the question, “25 years later, how would we know if terrorism won?” than a quick scroll through X today.
Here in Aotearoa, we already knew the answer to “who matters to David Seymour?”
It.Can.Happen.Here.
#nzpol
Here in Aotearoa, we already knew the answer to “who matters to David Seymour?”
It.Can.Happen.Here.
#nzpol
September 11, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It is 9/11 in the US and I can think of no better answer to the question, “25 years later, how would we know if terrorism won?” than a quick scroll through X today.
Here in Aotearoa, we already knew the answer to “who matters to David Seymour?”
It.Can.Happen.Here.
#nzpol
Here in Aotearoa, we already knew the answer to “who matters to David Seymour?”
It.Can.Happen.Here.
#nzpol
Reposted by Splakey
After nearly a century of effort, we still don't have a theory of quantum gravity
go.nature.com/45VIwf7
go.nature.com/45VIwf7
Unifiying gravity and quantum theory requires better understanding of time
Textbooks give strange, imprecise explanations of where things happen in quantum mechanics. Consistency with gravity needs a fresh approach.
go.nature.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:04 AM
After nearly a century of effort, we still don't have a theory of quantum gravity
go.nature.com/45VIwf7
go.nature.com/45VIwf7
Reposted by Splakey
Researchers have identified more than 1,000 potentially problematic open-access journals using an AI tool
go.nature.com/3JGQnFT
go.nature.com/3JGQnFT
Hundreds of suspicious journals flagged by AI screening tool
Nature - System that searches for signs of bad practice could help to weed out questionable titles.
go.nature.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Researchers have identified more than 1,000 potentially problematic open-access journals using an AI tool
go.nature.com/3JGQnFT
go.nature.com/3JGQnFT
Reposted by Splakey
Researchers are studying why mitochondria are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases
go.nature.com/4fYoEwG
go.nature.com/4fYoEwG
Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health?
Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.
go.nature.com
September 1, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Researchers are studying why mitochondria are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases
go.nature.com/4fYoEwG
go.nature.com/4fYoEwG
So, they just bought the butter from the pic?
August 22, 2025 at 1:02 AM
So, they just bought the butter from the pic?
No, David Seymour is a deeply unserious person who diminishes every issue he touches.
It’s like saying “Diddy is right that we have to get past this whole East Coast West Coast rivalry.”
#nzpol
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-...
It’s like saying “Diddy is right that we have to get past this whole East Coast West Coast rivalry.”
#nzpol
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-...
David Seymour was right to question our compulsory helmet laws
There’s little evidence our mandatory cycle laws improve overall safety, and quite a bit of evidence suggesting they’re doing more harm than good.
thespinoff.co.nz
August 21, 2025 at 7:35 AM
No, David Seymour is a deeply unserious person who diminishes every issue he touches.
It’s like saying “Diddy is right that we have to get past this whole East Coast West Coast rivalry.”
#nzpol
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-...
It’s like saying “Diddy is right that we have to get past this whole East Coast West Coast rivalry.”
#nzpol
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-...
Uff, the comments on this article are BRUTAL.
And finally, consensus among Kiwis. None too keen to replace the current empty suit with an equally empty “effervescent tangerine” pantsuit.
#nzpol
www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...
And finally, consensus among Kiwis. None too keen to replace the current empty suit with an equally empty “effervescent tangerine” pantsuit.
#nzpol
www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...
The 'gentle whispers' in London that Nicola Willis would be NZ's next PM follow her home
The finance minister is dismissing a post from London’s New Zealand Society that her visit left the “room buzzing with excitement” with “gentle whispers” from expats that she’ll be the next prime mini...
www.stuff.co.nz
August 19, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Uff, the comments on this article are BRUTAL.
And finally, consensus among Kiwis. None too keen to replace the current empty suit with an equally empty “effervescent tangerine” pantsuit.
#nzpol
www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...
And finally, consensus among Kiwis. None too keen to replace the current empty suit with an equally empty “effervescent tangerine” pantsuit.
#nzpol
www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...
Yet this absurdity is being applied relentlessly and pervasively.
August 18, 2025 at 6:07 AM
“Kiwis travelling to the US should be concerned. Reasonableness is absent from the border scene there.”
Just. Don’t. Go.
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36079...
Just. Don’t. Go.
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36079...
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
August 18, 2025 at 6:01 AM
“Kiwis travelling to the US should be concerned. Reasonableness is absent from the border scene there.”
Just. Don’t. Go.
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36079...
Just. Don’t. Go.
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36079...
Reposted by Splakey
Reclaiming the sacred: How we can begin to decolonise ourselves
Reclaiming the sacred: How we can begin to decolonise ourselves
Rather than waiting for systemic change, there are steps we can take as individuals towards decolonisation....
thespinoff.co.nz
August 15, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reclaiming the sacred: How we can begin to decolonise ourselves