Sam Ladner
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sladner.bsky.social
Sam Ladner
@sladner.bsky.social
2.2K followers 2.4K following 900 posts
Industry-based sociologist. UX Strategy and Research. Enterprise Software. Future of work. Foresight. Also photography. 🇨🇦 living SF Bay Area. Working on a book on strategic foresight to be published by Routledge. More: https://www.samladner.com/
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sladner.bsky.social
If I didn’t know that Doug Ford was Canadian, for some reason, this quote would absolutely confirm it. globalnews.ca/news/1150012...
October 29, 2025 at 3:45 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Oh yes, the old "passive usage data" attempt. Not new, I'm afraid. This is from 2008
October 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Chicago Pastor Sues Trump Admin After **Allegedly** Being Shot by ICE Agents

www.newsweek.com/chicago-past...
October 8, 2025 at 5:20 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Every system has a breaking point nemiksmanifesto.wordpress.com
September 19, 2025 at 4:41 AM
sladner.bsky.social
🎶🎵This is a public service announcement! With guitars.
September 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Not just a belief but actually true. digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/wp-content/u...
September 2, 2025 at 3:25 PM
sladner.bsky.social
What do Californians think about AI? They're more concerned than you might expect. TechEquity did a study and found that qualitatively and quantitatively, Californians are worried about AI techequity.us/2025/08/19/h...
Almost half (48%) of Californians think AI is advancing too fast, whilejust one third (32% ) think it’s advancing at just the right speed, andanother 15% aren’t sure.59% are concerned that the benefits of AI will accrue only to thewealthiest households and corporations, not working people and themiddle class. This is true across Democrats and Republicans alike.
August 20, 2025 at 10:21 PM
sladner.bsky.social
So, what you're saying is "it's about rewriting the past." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...
Elizabeth Peace, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, the parent agency of the Park Service, said the Trump administration’s move “is not about rewriting the past.”
July 22, 2025 at 8:43 PM
sladner.bsky.social
I am also doubtful that AI is already causing entry-level unemployment. This Bloomberg article suggests it’s just low hiring, in general, like this chart suggests. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
A chart indicating that internship jobs are declining
July 17, 2025 at 3:39 PM
sladner.bsky.social
"When the blowoff comes, the mark finds he has no defense for not being a shrewd man." <-- Every QAnon adherent today, realizing they'll never see the Epstein Files
A mark's participation in a play, and his investment in it, clearly commit him in his own eyes to the proposition that he is a smart man. The process by which he comes to believe that he cannot lose is also the process by which he drops the de­‐ fenses and compensations that previously protected him from defeats. When the blowoff comes, the mark finds that he has no defense for not being a shrewd man. He has defined himself as a shrewd man and must face the fact that he is only an­other easy mark. He has defined himself as possessing a certain set of qualities and then proven to himself that he is miser­ ably lacking in them. This is a process of self‑destruction of the self. It is no won­der that the mark needs to be cooled out and that it is good business policy for one of the operators to stay with the mark in order to talk him into a point of view from which it is possible to accept a loss.
July 16, 2025 at 10:27 PM
sladner.bsky.social
What actor’s expression in a movie will stay with you for the rest of your life?
Sidney Poitier in The Heat of The Night
June 24, 2025 at 5:24 AM
sladner.bsky.social
I keep seeing that skeet about the yougov poll without a link or context. This is the real opinion data on bombing Iran;
46% disapprove
35% approve
19% aren’t sure today.yougov.com/topics/inter...
46% disapprove of bombing Iran 35% approve of bombing Iran 19% aren’t sure of bombing Iran
June 23, 2025 at 5:36 AM
sladner.bsky.social
I happened upon an honest to god punk show in Seattle.
June 21, 2025 at 6:06 AM
sladner.bsky.social
Finally getting around to watching Tarkovsky’s Solaris. I put it off for years but it’s so much better than I thought.
June 16, 2025 at 2:33 AM
sladner.bsky.social
Even dogs know what's right and wrong. greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item...
In one experiment, for instance, researchers asked dogs to shake hands. When the dogs did so, they were given a pat on the head and a “Good dog.” The dogs wagged their tails and seemed pleased. The first group of dogs was then sent to the other side of the room and a second group was brought in. The experiment was repeated—except that the second group of dogs got a pat on the head, a “Good dog,” and a treat to eat. The first group of dogs observed this. When the experiment was then repeated with the first group, they refused to shake hands, suggesting they were not willing to perform in a situation in which they were given second-class treatment. It was not fair, and it offended them.
June 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
sladner.bsky.social
You really don’t want the United States to look like Florida. You want it to look like California or New York.
A chart listing the productivity numbers for the top ten us states
May 29, 2025 at 10:23 PM
sladner.bsky.social
If there’s one thing we all need, it is light. The darkness of grift, lies, and hatred is almost overwhelming. Light, go to the light.
May 15, 2025 at 2:22 PM
sladner.bsky.social
It's time to share my 2014 photos from Ai Wei Wei's incredible art installation on Alcatraz. The prison was taken over with these kites of freedom.
A decorated kite that reads "my words are well intended and innocent" a sign that reads "The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill" by Ai Wei Wei A decorated kite that reads "Everyone of us is a potential convict" by Ai Wei Wei
May 6, 2025 at 9:10 PM
sladner.bsky.social
I can’t help but feel The NY Times missed a real opportunity here, quoting this economist www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/u...
April 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Have you heard of HR-1547? A bill proposed by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ) proposes to strip Green Card holders of their right to Social Security. www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
April 18, 2025 at 12:44 AM
sladner.bsky.social
So guys, there’s this thing called the bond yield and when it gets above 5… oh
April 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
sladner.bsky.social
The craziness in the bond market teaches us, once again that “money” is not inherently valuable.
April 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
sladner.bsky.social
Getting ready to give my presentation on careers for applied social scientists at USC. Looking forward to seeing LA once again.
April 9, 2025 at 1:15 AM
sladner.bsky.social
Oakland, CA
A man shops inside a record shop. There are t shirts on a rack outside.
April 8, 2025 at 11:54 PM
sladner.bsky.social
This is all such a stupid, so unnecessary, so ridiculous own goal that unfortunately also affects the entire world.
A chart showing an extreme drop in Dow Jones Industrial Average.
April 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM