Dale Fields
@dalefields.bsky.social
I'm grading midterms and a student spelled the planet "Murcury". And my first thought was if we make Mercury great again by restarting its iron core. Maybe we keep those dirty Venusians from coming in and stealing all our mining and solar powered antimatter factory jobs.
October 25, 2025 at 9:42 PM
I'm grading midterms and a student spelled the planet "Murcury". And my first thought was if we make Mercury great again by restarting its iron core. Maybe we keep those dirty Venusians from coming in and stealing all our mining and solar powered antimatter factory jobs.
The reason why the Protestant Work Ethic so strongly hits my disgust emotions, is that it is *almost* right. The PWE says that there is meaning in work. Yes. But there is meaning in anything we choose to do. Work *can* be that choice, but it is not the *only* choice.
October 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
The reason why the Protestant Work Ethic so strongly hits my disgust emotions, is that it is *almost* right. The PWE says that there is meaning in work. Yes. But there is meaning in anything we choose to do. Work *can* be that choice, but it is not the *only* choice.
The shift from being hunter-gatherers to farmers was the single most negative health event in human history. But, as much as it made humans more miserable, it is the event that gave humans more agency over their own lives than any other. That's powerful. The question is was it worth it.
October 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The shift from being hunter-gatherers to farmers was the single most negative health event in human history. But, as much as it made humans more miserable, it is the event that gave humans more agency over their own lives than any other. That's powerful. The question is was it worth it.
Hegseth said to our generals "Move out and draw fire."
Patton said "Your job is not to die for your country, it's to make the other poor bastard die for his."
When did we lose the ability to know how to military? But hey, I guess since this admin doesn't like veterans his comments are on message.
Patton said "Your job is not to die for your country, it's to make the other poor bastard die for his."
When did we lose the ability to know how to military? But hey, I guess since this admin doesn't like veterans his comments are on message.
October 1, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Hegseth said to our generals "Move out and draw fire."
Patton said "Your job is not to die for your country, it's to make the other poor bastard die for his."
When did we lose the ability to know how to military? But hey, I guess since this admin doesn't like veterans his comments are on message.
Patton said "Your job is not to die for your country, it's to make the other poor bastard die for his."
When did we lose the ability to know how to military? But hey, I guess since this admin doesn't like veterans his comments are on message.
I laughed at the idea of people organizing their books by size. Then I got to the point I had a lot of board games.
August 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I laughed at the idea of people organizing their books by size. Then I got to the point I had a lot of board games.
Remember that there are two types of horrible people in the world. There are those who are commit the injury, and there are those who allow the injury to happen.
July 14, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Remember that there are two types of horrible people in the world. There are those who are commit the injury, and there are those who allow the injury to happen.
Reposted by Dale Fields
Bet all those people who said Suetonius was making shit up "because emperors didn't really act that way" are feeling pretty fucking stupid tonight
June 5, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Bet all those people who said Suetonius was making shit up "because emperors didn't really act that way" are feeling pretty fucking stupid tonight
So folks know, the claims that LLMs are now at "Ph.D." level is more propaganda. The Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A test (GPQA) that is the metric...
is multiple-choice.
is multiple-choice.
May 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
So folks know, the claims that LLMs are now at "Ph.D." level is more propaganda. The Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A test (GPQA) that is the metric...
is multiple-choice.
is multiple-choice.
Movies and TV have one starting state and one end state while video games have one starting state and multiple end states. Therefore, video games have entropy and are thus physical systems.
May 20, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Movies and TV have one starting state and one end state while video games have one starting state and multiple end states. Therefore, video games have entropy and are thus physical systems.
A fundamental issue with the marketing for LLM chatbots is that they claim to be able to turn unskilled labor magically into skilled labor when the research is clear that any productivity gain is directly proportional to the original skill.
Sorry students.
Sorry corporate managers.
Sorry students.
Sorry corporate managers.
May 13, 2025 at 7:24 PM
A fundamental issue with the marketing for LLM chatbots is that they claim to be able to turn unskilled labor magically into skilled labor when the research is clear that any productivity gain is directly proportional to the original skill.
Sorry students.
Sorry corporate managers.
Sorry students.
Sorry corporate managers.
Catholic Church:
Child abusers: not excommunicated
Turning in child abusers: excommunicated
Child abusers: not excommunicated
Turning in child abusers: excommunicated
May 9, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Catholic Church:
Child abusers: not excommunicated
Turning in child abusers: excommunicated
Child abusers: not excommunicated
Turning in child abusers: excommunicated
At the end of the semester, I guess if students get anything from my science class it is that their choices are only as good as the information they're basing them on.
May 6, 2025 at 2:49 AM
At the end of the semester, I guess if students get anything from my science class it is that their choices are only as good as the information they're basing them on.
I make my students do an analysis of their exam performance. What worked, what didn't, and therefore what they will do next time, and what they won't do next time. I often get the response that the one thing they did didn't work with the analysis that therefore they need to do it *more* next time.
April 28, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I make my students do an analysis of their exam performance. What worked, what didn't, and therefore what they will do next time, and what they won't do next time. I often get the response that the one thing they did didn't work with the analysis that therefore they need to do it *more* next time.
What used to be:
www.nist.gov/how-do-you-m...
If I remember correctly, the cartoon figures accompanying some of the explanations were not white.
www.nist.gov/how-do-you-m...
If I remember correctly, the cartoon figures accompanying some of the explanations were not white.
April 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
What used to be:
www.nist.gov/how-do-you-m...
If I remember correctly, the cartoon figures accompanying some of the explanations were not white.
www.nist.gov/how-do-you-m...
If I remember correctly, the cartoon figures accompanying some of the explanations were not white.
When I was a kid and read archaeology texts about the growth of states, it *always* claimed that specialization and urbanization inevitably led to wealth inequality.
A massive study of 50,000 households over 1,000 archaeological sites provides ample evidence that inequality is not a "natural" outgrowth of sophistication. Instead, it is a political choice. Which means, kids, that we don't have to choose it.
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/stud...
archaeologymag.com/2025/04/stud...
New study reveals wealth inequality was never inevitable
A recent study published in the journal PNAS is overturning traditional wisdom regarding the origins and inevitability of wealth inequality
archaeologymag.com
April 27, 2025 at 4:25 AM
When I was a kid and read archaeology texts about the growth of states, it *always* claimed that specialization and urbanization inevitably led to wealth inequality.
You either die a hero or live long enough to evolve into a stealth archer.
April 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
You either die a hero or live long enough to evolve into a stealth archer.
On this day I think to the practice of washing another's feet. Besides the practice of humility, it is also the mammal thing of mutual grooming, or forming bonds with another creature. Beware those who will not connect to the poor and minoritized for they do not consider you a fellow being.
April 20, 2025 at 7:39 PM
On this day I think to the practice of washing another's feet. Besides the practice of humility, it is also the mammal thing of mutual grooming, or forming bonds with another creature. Beware those who will not connect to the poor and minoritized for they do not consider you a fellow being.
I have a quote from Primo Levi up on my door: "It happened, therefore it can happen again". Listen to people like Takei.
I see it. I have lived it. 83 years ago, the U.S. government turned upon a group of its own citizens and residents and sent them to internment camps without due process. I was there among them. American fascism is back. It is here. It is now.
April 20, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I have a quote from Primo Levi up on my door: "It happened, therefore it can happen again". Listen to people like Takei.
"All social justice work is science fiction. We are imagining a world that doesn't yet exist." - adrienne maree brown
April 18, 2025 at 7:27 AM
"All social justice work is science fiction. We are imagining a world that doesn't yet exist." - adrienne maree brown
The Great Debate of 1920 between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis is something that holds not just fact for me, but also truth. Shapley (left) argued that our solar system is off to one side of the Milky Way Galaxy (correct) and that our galaxy is the entirety of the Universe (incorrect).
April 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The Great Debate of 1920 between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis is something that holds not just fact for me, but also truth. Shapley (left) argued that our solar system is off to one side of the Milky Way Galaxy (correct) and that our galaxy is the entirety of the Universe (incorrect).
Reposted by Dale Fields
Breaking news: The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China www.ft.com/content/20d0...
April 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Breaking news: The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China www.ft.com/content/20d0...
Reposted by Dale Fields
“Maned lionesses”. Fascinating! www.newscientist.com/article/2106...
Five wild lionesses grow a mane and start acting like males
This lion king (pictured above) is a queen. And she's not the only one. Five lionesses in Botswana have grown a mane and are showing male-like behaviours. One is even roaring and mounting other female...
www.newscientist.com
April 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
“Maned lionesses”. Fascinating! www.newscientist.com/article/2106...
Reposted by Dale Fields
I know they mean “more men trust AI than women do”, but it’s also the case that they’re trusting it more than the trust the opinions and insight of women in general.
See also: “if you’re trying to catch a fish, you don’t ask the fish for advice”
See also: “if you’re trying to catch a fish, you don’t ask the fish for advice”
April 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I know they mean “more men trust AI than women do”, but it’s also the case that they’re trusting it more than the trust the opinions and insight of women in general.
See also: “if you’re trying to catch a fish, you don’t ask the fish for advice”
See also: “if you’re trying to catch a fish, you don’t ask the fish for advice”
Reposted by Dale Fields
Ursula Vernon is the second-youngest author to have done so. She was just a bit older than 47 when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Ursula K. Le Guin was 45 years and nine months when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Fritz Leiber was 65. Connie Willis was 47 years and eight months old.
Ursula K. Le Guin was 45 years and nine months when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Fritz Leiber was 65. Connie Willis was 47 years and eight months old.
In 2024, @tkingfisher.com became only the second author named Ursula to have won a Hugo Award in each of the four prose categories (novel, novella, novelette, short story).
Short: Metal Like Blood in the Dark
Novella: What Moves The Dead
Novel: Nettle & Bone
Novella Thornhenge
1/4
Short: Metal Like Blood in the Dark
Novella: What Moves The Dead
Novel: Nettle & Bone
Novella Thornhenge
1/4
April 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Ursula Vernon is the second-youngest author to have done so. She was just a bit older than 47 when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Ursula K. Le Guin was 45 years and nine months when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Fritz Leiber was 65. Connie Willis was 47 years and eight months old.
Ursula K. Le Guin was 45 years and nine months when she got her fourth Hugo category.
Fritz Leiber was 65. Connie Willis was 47 years and eight months old.