soildoc
@soildoc.bsky.social
I try to teach #soilculture @montanastateuniversity, including tips for sorting if you're being #greenhousegaslit. Fueled by soilninjas.
Reposted by soildoc
How do scientists push back against autocratic, anti-science ideologies?
The "Anti-Autocracy Handbook: The Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding" provides some insights on what can be done, from lower risk to extreme risk groups:
(1/11)
The "Anti-Autocracy Handbook: The Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding" provides some insights on what can be done, from lower risk to extreme risk groups:
(1/11)
August 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
How do scientists push back against autocratic, anti-science ideologies?
The "Anti-Autocracy Handbook: The Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding" provides some insights on what can be done, from lower risk to extreme risk groups:
(1/11)
The "Anti-Autocracy Handbook: The Scholars’ Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding" provides some insights on what can be done, from lower risk to extreme risk groups:
(1/11)
I needed these foodfacts
What’s your favorite food fact that is true but sounds totally made up?
I’ll start: about half of the mushrooms produced across the United States of America each year (more than 300 million pounds of mushrooms in recent years) are produced in *one county* in Pennsylvania.
I’ll start: about half of the mushrooms produced across the United States of America each year (more than 300 million pounds of mushrooms in recent years) are produced in *one county* in Pennsylvania.
August 11, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I needed these foodfacts
Reposted by soildoc
We've arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science and technology.
And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.
- Carl Sagan
And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.
- Carl Sagan
August 6, 2025 at 1:51 AM
We've arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science and technology.
And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.
- Carl Sagan
And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces.
- Carl Sagan
Reposted by soildoc
What would your pedantry bot be, friends?
I'm trying to think of what sort of pedantry account I'd run if i got into that game
August 12, 2024 at 9:22 PM
What would your pedantry bot be, friends?
Reposted by soildoc
I'll just add that in the Dauphin experiment, eliminating poverty with basic income reduced emergency hospitalizations by 8.5%. As one doctor described the finding, if this were something we could put in the water, we would.
Also, the richest 10% of the US live 11 years longer than the poorest 10%.
Also, the richest 10% of the US live 11 years longer than the poorest 10%.
It has taken medical science 200 years to advance humans to the point where people are so healthy and living so long that they can deny that science and medicine is what got us here.
July 30, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I'll just add that in the Dauphin experiment, eliminating poverty with basic income reduced emergency hospitalizations by 8.5%. As one doctor described the finding, if this were something we could put in the water, we would.
Also, the richest 10% of the US live 11 years longer than the poorest 10%.
Also, the richest 10% of the US live 11 years longer than the poorest 10%.
Reposted by soildoc
Serendipitously, this just showed up on my feed: bsky.app/profile/nich...
'Cows just replaced the methane from wild bison'
Not even close.
At their peak, wild ruminants incl. bison emitted ~15 Tg CH₄/yr
Today’s 4+ billion farmed ruminants emit over 100 Tg CH₄/yr
That’s nearly 7x more methane.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Not even close.
At their peak, wild ruminants incl. bison emitted ~15 Tg CH₄/yr
Today’s 4+ billion farmed ruminants emit over 100 Tg CH₄/yr
That’s nearly 7x more methane.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Global Methane Budget 2000–2020
Abstract. Understanding and quantifying the global methane (CH4) budget is important for assessing realistic pathways to mitigate climate change. CH4 is the second most important human-influenced gree...
essd.copernicus.org
July 30, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Serendipitously, this just showed up on my feed: bsky.app/profile/nich...
If you don't know these 4 "laws of data minimization," why not?
The debacle with the vibe-coded Tea app linking women’s PII to 4chan is yet another reminder about why “collecting as little data as humanly possible to achieve your goal” is really, really important.
In other words, let’s talk about data minimization:
little-flying-robots.ghost.io/a-brief-ode-...
In other words, let’s talk about data minimization:
little-flying-robots.ghost.io/a-brief-ode-...
A Brief Ode to Data Minimization
Data is real, and it can hurt you.
Conversely, data cannot hurt you if you do not pluck it from the ether and rudely force it into existence in the first place.
Let's talk, briefly, about data minim...
little-flying-robots.ghost.io
July 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
If you don't know these 4 "laws of data minimization," why not?
Reposted by soildoc
1. Here's a fish swimming upstream. Nothing unusual about that.
What's unusual is that this particular fish is *dead*. Vortices in the water as it flows past the fish cause the fish's body to flex, maintaining orientation and actually propelling it forward.
(D. N. Beal et al 2006 J. Fluid. Mech.)
What's unusual is that this particular fish is *dead*. Vortices in the water as it flows past the fish cause the fish's body to flex, maintaining orientation and actually propelling it forward.
(D. N. Beal et al 2006 J. Fluid. Mech.)
July 26, 2025 at 7:34 AM
1. Here's a fish swimming upstream. Nothing unusual about that.
What's unusual is that this particular fish is *dead*. Vortices in the water as it flows past the fish cause the fish's body to flex, maintaining orientation and actually propelling it forward.
(D. N. Beal et al 2006 J. Fluid. Mech.)
What's unusual is that this particular fish is *dead*. Vortices in the water as it flows past the fish cause the fish's body to flex, maintaining orientation and actually propelling it forward.
(D. N. Beal et al 2006 J. Fluid. Mech.)
Reposted by soildoc
Go read The Water Knife, people
Or, if you're someone who makes movies or prestige TV, make it into a damn feature
Or, if you're someone who makes movies or prestige TV, make it into a damn feature
A looming global water crisis may be under appreciated as climate change takes hold. Today I report on a new study that finds the planet is quickly drying, with mega-regions of water loss now stretching across continents. www.propublica.org/article/wate...
“Staggering” Water Loss Driven by Groundwater Mining Poses Global Threat
A new study finds that freshwater resources are rapidly disappearing, creating arid “mega” regions and causing sea levels to rise.
www.propublica.org
July 25, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Go read The Water Knife, people
Or, if you're someone who makes movies or prestige TV, make it into a damn feature
Or, if you're someone who makes movies or prestige TV, make it into a damn feature
Reposted by soildoc
I've learned so much from Melanie Mitchell's thoughtful columns. During a pivotal period when AI discourse generated more heat than light, her essays provided wise, evidence-based analysis covering remarkable breadth. This compelling column on role-playing's impact on LLM performance is an exemplar.
In my latest (and last!) column for Science’s Expert Voices series, I write about the reasons behind AI chatbots’ “deceptive” behaviors (and why Claude threatened a fictional CEO with blackmail).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Why AI chatbots lie to us
A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine needed to collect and format some data from a website, and he asked the latest version of Anthropic’s generative AI system, Claude, for help. Claude cheerfully agr...
www.science.org
July 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I've learned so much from Melanie Mitchell's thoughtful columns. During a pivotal period when AI discourse generated more heat than light, her essays provided wise, evidence-based analysis covering remarkable breadth. This compelling column on role-playing's impact on LLM performance is an exemplar.
Reposted by soildoc
👍🏻
(Pew research from this week, my article from May 2023)
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
(Pew research from this week, my article from May 2023)
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
July 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM
👍🏻
(Pew research from this week, my article from May 2023)
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
(Pew research from this week, my article from May 2023)
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Robots vs robots ugh
ICML found hidden prompts in accepted papers. They have released a statement icml.cc/Conferences/...
Yes, it’s unacceptable. So is using an LLM to review a paper. Peer review is so broken.
Yes, it’s unacceptable. So is using an LLM to review a paper. Peer review is so broken.
July 24, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Robots vs robots ugh
Reposted by soildoc
One of my favorite genres of science news, the unexpected animal friendship 🥰
Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship
www.nytimes.com
July 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM
One of my favorite genres of science news, the unexpected animal friendship 🥰
Congrats Sophie!! Well-deserved.
Meet @sophievf.bsky.social our featured AGU B-section early career scientist of the week!
July 22, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Congrats Sophie!! Well-deserved.
Reposted by soildoc
I don't know who made this but 10/10.
![In this meme, a young John Connor is talking to the Terminator.
Wait a second, you re saying you're from the future?
Great question! Thanks so much for asking. Let's think about the answer...hmm! The current year is 1983. Working backwards logically. I'm from the year 1965, which is 300 years in the future. Anything else you'd like to know?
[Blank stare]
I'm sorry, I can see that was not the right answer. I actually came from the year 829392 AD, which is 10 years in the past from this year, which is](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qhc5hk27hzotcxv7cehkqvpd/bafkreidzwql5qqyhv26bfqgc2mh46lbkopr5mwf6k3vkbggrijqz3xd4am@jpeg)
July 17, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I don't know who made this but 10/10.
Reposted by soildoc
College son just texted mnemonic for geologic periods. “…hopefully”— so real bro
July 13, 2025 at 3:53 PM
College son just texted mnemonic for geologic periods. “…hopefully”— so real bro
Reposted by soildoc
Today's reading: Nature should be the model for microbial sciences journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... by @brettbakker.bsky.social @emilyraehyde.bsky.social and @pedroleao.bsky.social
Looks ideal for a talk I am working on on model organisms ...
Looks ideal for a talk I am working on on model organisms ...
Nature should be the model for microbial sciences | Journal of Bacteriology
Historically, our understanding of microbes has been based on laboratory cultures.
Much of what we know at a mechanistic level is based on “model organisms” which are
species that readily grow in labo...
journals.asm.org
July 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Today's reading: Nature should be the model for microbial sciences journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/... by @brettbakker.bsky.social @emilyraehyde.bsky.social and @pedroleao.bsky.social
Looks ideal for a talk I am working on on model organisms ...
Looks ideal for a talk I am working on on model organisms ...
Reposted by soildoc
🇨🇭The #ETH in #Zürich is looking for an Assistant Professor in #Soil (Bio-/Geo-) Chemistry!
Deadline to apply is September 30th!
Please Share!
#AcademicSky #Biochemistry #biogeochemistry #soilscience
ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Deadline to apply is September 30th!
Please Share!
#AcademicSky #Biochemistry #biogeochemistry #soilscience
ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Soil Chemistry
ethz.ch
July 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM
🇨🇭The #ETH in #Zürich is looking for an Assistant Professor in #Soil (Bio-/Geo-) Chemistry!
Deadline to apply is September 30th!
Please Share!
#AcademicSky #Biochemistry #biogeochemistry #soilscience
ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Deadline to apply is September 30th!
Please Share!
#AcademicSky #Biochemistry #biogeochemistry #soilscience
ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Great 12/2022 "Against automated plagiarism" blogpost, but it seems a bit twee ~2.5 years later--especially when you write "LLMs cannot legitimately be used to write academic essays." We know LLMs are getting articles past peer review. My students (and I!) are using the bullshitmachines. What next?
Since I 1st released this short blog post, many seem to have found it useful. I have now obtained a doi to facilitate citing it.
van Rooij, I. (2022) Against automated plagiarism. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
(Thanks to @olivia.science for encouraging me to do so).
van Rooij, I. (2022) Against automated plagiarism. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
(Thanks to @olivia.science for encouraging me to do so).
Against automated plagiarism
Originally published here: https://irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2022/12/29/against-automated-plagiarism/ Cite as: van Rooij, I. (2022) Against automated plagiarism. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15866638
doi.org
July 12, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Great 12/2022 "Against automated plagiarism" blogpost, but it seems a bit twee ~2.5 years later--especially when you write "LLMs cannot legitimately be used to write academic essays." We know LLMs are getting articles past peer review. My students (and I!) are using the bullshitmachines. What next?
Reposted by soildoc
Adding dots to glass yields a conservation success for birds (lots of birds!)
An Illinois Building Was a Bird Killer. A Simple Change Made a World of Difference.
www.nytimes.com
May 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Adding dots to glass yields a conservation success for birds (lots of birds!)
Reposted by soildoc
Never contributing to another Springer book again. “Human-Machine Collaboration” is a euphemism for replacing authors and their unique perspectives / skills with an LLM.
May 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Never contributing to another Springer book again. “Human-Machine Collaboration” is a euphemism for replacing authors and their unique perspectives / skills with an LLM.
Eerie to be eastbound to Livingston over Bozeman Pass just as all traffic *westbound* is stopped oy. #montanaspring
May 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Eerie to be eastbound to Livingston over Bozeman Pass just as all traffic *westbound* is stopped oy. #montanaspring
Reposted by soildoc
It is a little weird to me countries aren’t more aggressively, formally trying to take advantage of the U.S. science brain drain. Once in a lifetime opportunity to buy low on Non-Dumbass Americans with PhDs who just wanna look into microscopes and quietly cure ass cancer as our country eats shit.
May 4, 2025 at 8:54 PM
It is a little weird to me countries aren’t more aggressively, formally trying to take advantage of the U.S. science brain drain. Once in a lifetime opportunity to buy low on Non-Dumbass Americans with PhDs who just wanna look into microscopes and quietly cure ass cancer as our country eats shit.
Reposted by soildoc
Dr. Anthony Fauci urges Americans not to accept "Normalization of Untruths".
May 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Dr. Anthony Fauci urges Americans not to accept "Normalization of Untruths".
Why I required my students this semester to work thru thebullshitmachines.com/index.html
May 2, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Why I required my students this semester to work thru thebullshitmachines.com/index.html