Christopher Little
@cshl.bsky.social
Avid learner. Dad. Love tech, space, metacognition, writing, guitars, Reedie. RS≠+1.
Reposted by Christopher Little
This change will result in more opaque decisions where subject area experts have less input. And feedback to grant submitters will be significantly reduced. It’s a step backward. And it’s a direct result of their reorganization and reduction of the NSF.
🧵 NSF is reducing external review requirements and eliminating routine expert panels, citing staff shortages that this administration implemented. This change expands program officer authority. But the solution to flawed accountability isn't less public accountability.
NSF plans to streamline merit review to heal self-inflicted staffing wound www.science.org/content/arti...
December 16, 2025 at 12:50 AM
This change will result in more opaque decisions where subject area experts have less input. And feedback to grant submitters will be significantly reduced. It’s a step backward. And it’s a direct result of their reorganization and reduction of the NSF.
Reposted by Christopher Little
A reminder that this man managed to drive casinos into bankruptcy.
December 15, 2025 at 10:30 PM
A reminder that this man managed to drive casinos into bankruptcy.
Reposted by Christopher Little
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens https://theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-regularly-happens-3/
December 15, 2025 at 5:21 PM
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens https://theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-regularly-happens-3/
Reposted by Christopher Little
"Weissman was in her dorm room at Brown when a friend called to warn her that a shooting was under way. Her initial feelings of panic soon turned to anger, she told NBC. “I’m angry that I thought I’d never have to deal with this again, and here I am eight years later,” Weissman told NBC News."
Two survivors of Brown University attack escaped other school shootings
Mia Tretta was shot in the abdomen in 2019 at a school near LA and Zoe Weissman witnessed a Florida shooting in 2018
www.theguardian.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:23 PM
"Weissman was in her dorm room at Brown when a friend called to warn her that a shooting was under way. Her initial feelings of panic soon turned to anger, she told NBC. “I’m angry that I thought I’d never have to deal with this again, and here I am eight years later,” Weissman told NBC News."
Reposted by Christopher Little
Michael C. Rockefeller got shipwrecked in 1963, washed up on an island, and was promptly eaten by cannibals.
December 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Michael C. Rockefeller got shipwrecked in 1963, washed up on an island, and was promptly eaten by cannibals.
Reposted by Christopher Little
More specifically: The epidemiologists proved they were better at statistics.
If you're wondering what happened to Nate Silver, he was into the COVID lab leak theory and got negative feedback online, including from epidemiologists and virologists and (GASP!) posters, which added to his belief that The Woke are victimizing Nate Silver. It spiraled from there.
I'm not kidding.
I'm not kidding.
what the fuck are you talking about man
December 14, 2025 at 5:38 AM
More specifically: The epidemiologists proved they were better at statistics.
Reposted by Christopher Little
This paper contains some good arguments about an issue that concerns me a lot when I hear my colleagues talking about LLM use in developing their research:
Whose ideas are you presenting as your own?
(Though the fatalist argument the authors make at the end of paper is disappointing/bizarre.)
Whose ideas are you presenting as your own?
(Though the fatalist argument the authors make at the end of paper is disappointing/bizarre.)
December 14, 2025 at 12:38 PM
This paper contains some good arguments about an issue that concerns me a lot when I hear my colleagues talking about LLM use in developing their research:
Whose ideas are you presenting as your own?
(Though the fatalist argument the authors make at the end of paper is disappointing/bizarre.)
Whose ideas are you presenting as your own?
(Though the fatalist argument the authors make at the end of paper is disappointing/bizarre.)
Reposted by Christopher Little
It’s good to see papers start to address LLMs as structural plagiarism — provenance, more hidden than the original words or training data. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
LLM use in scholarly writing poses a provenance problem
Nature Machine Intelligence - LLM use in scholarly writing poses a provenance problem
www.nature.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:13 AM
It’s good to see papers start to address LLMs as structural plagiarism — provenance, more hidden than the original words or training data. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Reposted by Christopher Little
Just saw a Parkland survivor post about being on lock down at Brown University.
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
December 13, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Just saw a Parkland survivor post about being on lock down at Brown University.
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
We've failed generations of kids with our gun fetish
Reposted by Christopher Little
AP on Trump now, and Biden in June 2022.
For Trump, declining to 36 percent approval is “good news.”
For Biden, holding steady at 41% is “a source of concern.”
For Trump, declining to 36 percent approval is “good news.”
For Biden, holding steady at 41% is “a source of concern.”
December 12, 2025 at 7:39 AM
AP on Trump now, and Biden in June 2022.
For Trump, declining to 36 percent approval is “good news.”
For Biden, holding steady at 41% is “a source of concern.”
For Trump, declining to 36 percent approval is “good news.”
For Biden, holding steady at 41% is “a source of concern.”
Reposted by Christopher Little
As we enter the season of "Don’t Overlook These Little-Known Ways to Cut Your 2025 Taxes", here's the only honest advice. I once asked a top tax expert how beside all the usual tax shelters (IRAs, etc) I could pay less in taxes. After a moment of reflection, he said "make less money."
December 12, 2025 at 3:35 PM
As we enter the season of "Don’t Overlook These Little-Known Ways to Cut Your 2025 Taxes", here's the only honest advice. I once asked a top tax expert how beside all the usual tax shelters (IRAs, etc) I could pay less in taxes. After a moment of reflection, he said "make less money."
Reposted by Christopher Little
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
December 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
Reposted by Christopher Little
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
AI toys for kids talk about sex and issue Chinese Communist Party talking points, tests show
New research from Public Interest Research Group and tests conducted by NBC News found that a wide range of AI toys have loose guardrails.
www.nbcnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
Reposted by Christopher Little
🚨 Federal jobs data may have vastly overstated jobs creation, swinging US from net job creation to net job loss over past 6 months
“The real number could be something more like a loss of 20,000 jobs a month”
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
“The real number could be something more like a loss of 20,000 jobs a month”
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Says U.S. May Be Drastically Overstating Jobs Numbers
Powell said that Fed staffers believe federal data could be overstating job creation by up to 60,000 jobs a month—which suggests the jobs market might be shrinking.
www.wsj.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:36 AM
🚨 Federal jobs data may have vastly overstated jobs creation, swinging US from net job creation to net job loss over past 6 months
“The real number could be something more like a loss of 20,000 jobs a month”
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
“The real number could be something more like a loss of 20,000 jobs a month”
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
Reposted by Christopher Little
Reposted by Christopher Little
laws like the one in AUS or proposed KOSA in US (kids online safety act) call for surveillance of teens & kids on social media but don’t stop, or focus on stopping, predators having accounts — is it effective to force kids to give their PII to big tech to solve big tech safety failures?
December 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
laws like the one in AUS or proposed KOSA in US (kids online safety act) call for surveillance of teens & kids on social media but don’t stop, or focus on stopping, predators having accounts — is it effective to force kids to give their PII to big tech to solve big tech safety failures?
Reposted by Christopher Little
Between this and previous rulings, U.S. corporations have effectively put a bullet in the head of labor protections, consumer protection, public safety, environmental law, and corporate oversight
I wish journalists would go a bit lighter on the legalese and a bit heavier on the real-world impact
I wish journalists would go a bit lighter on the legalese and a bit heavier on the real-world impact
Supreme Court appears likely to approve Trump’s firing of FTC Democrat
Conservative justices seem ready to back Trump control of independent agencies.
arstechnica.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Between this and previous rulings, U.S. corporations have effectively put a bullet in the head of labor protections, consumer protection, public safety, environmental law, and corporate oversight
I wish journalists would go a bit lighter on the legalese and a bit heavier on the real-world impact
I wish journalists would go a bit lighter on the legalese and a bit heavier on the real-world impact
Reposted by Christopher Little
I had to look for the Onion tag. But no...
December 10, 2025 at 1:05 AM
I had to look for the Onion tag. But no...
Reposted by Christopher Little
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Reposted by Christopher Little
This is actually a good example of why the customer model is wrong.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
If you are providing me with an education that is low utility in the world then it’s a disservice. My composition class spent four weeks on poetry. I’m sorry, but that only would’ve been useful if I wanted to be a poet. I don’t need to know iambic pentameter in order to be a victim advocate.
December 9, 2025 at 7:17 PM
This is actually a good example of why the customer model is wrong.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
I wouldn't have chosen poetry writing, but UNC made me take a class. And it absolutely made me become a much better writer, with an eye to concision and an ear now trained to the rhythm of words. I'm a better historian as a result.
Reposted by Christopher Little
Reposted by Christopher Little
One of my fave niche history facts is how many loaded pistols your average highwayman had during a hold up.
We're talking four minimum on his saddle, then at least two in his belt. Ideally three or four.
Because fuck trying to reload a 17th century pistol on horseback that's why.
We're talking four minimum on his saddle, then at least two in his belt. Ideally three or four.
Because fuck trying to reload a 17th century pistol on horseback that's why.
Man arrested, accused of robbing Tulsa liquor store with antique gun
Man arrested, accused of robbing liquor store with antique gun
The Tulsa Police Department arrested a man accused of robbing a south Tulsa liquor store with an antique gun on Friday night.
www.fox23.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
One of my fave niche history facts is how many loaded pistols your average highwayman had during a hold up.
We're talking four minimum on his saddle, then at least two in his belt. Ideally three or four.
Because fuck trying to reload a 17th century pistol on horseback that's why.
We're talking four minimum on his saddle, then at least two in his belt. Ideally three or four.
Because fuck trying to reload a 17th century pistol on horseback that's why.
Reposted by Christopher Little
this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
So similarly, when we see people who prefer ChatGPT or a similar synthetic text extruding machine as a source of medical information, that means those are people who are under-served in the current system.
December 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
this is similar to what I've come to think of as the "reverse turing test"
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
when people find synthetic text is "good enough" to complete a task (homework, business report, email) it doesn't mean the machine is smart. it means they were asked to produce something that didn't matter
it's diagnostic
Reposted by Christopher Little
Reposted by Christopher Little
Google is on record denying this story, but we all know the question is not if but when, and also, if anything is going to make me less inclined to use "AI" than I already am, it'll be the attempt to shove ads into it
www.adweek.com/media/google...
www.adweek.com/media/google...
EXCLUSIVE: Google Tells Advertisers It’ll Bring Ads to Gemini in 2026
The discussions mark the first time advertisers have heard directly from Google about monetizing its Gemini AI chatbot
www.adweek.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Google is on record denying this story, but we all know the question is not if but when, and also, if anything is going to make me less inclined to use "AI" than I already am, it'll be the attempt to shove ads into it
www.adweek.com/media/google...
www.adweek.com/media/google...