Val Syverson 🕷️
@vjpsyverson.bsky.social
Paleontologist, teacher, parent, biophile, UU, intellectual omnivore. Topics: natural history, nerd stuff, surviving the culture war. Tenuous professor at UC Davis. Allergic to puns. (protogynous, he/they/Þei; Dr.)
🏳️🌈🇵🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼
🏳️🌈🇵🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼
Pinned
Val Syverson 🕷️
@vjpsyverson.bsky.social
· Mar 20
There's a magnificent passage in "The Dispossessed" about this.
incorrect; personally, I don't have nearly *enough* pieces of rustic pottery
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
November 24, 2025 at 2:53 AM
incorrect; personally, I don't have nearly *enough* pieces of rustic pottery
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
[sits up in bed] The Sun is sincerely non-rival and non-excludable. The Sun is a public good.
Anti-solar NIMBYs aren't beating the accusations of being pretty dim bulbs. "Extracting from the sky" is a good one
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
[sits up in bed] The Sun is sincerely non-rival and non-excludable. The Sun is a public good.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
One of the many terrible consequences of making education impossibly unaffordable is that getting one for any reason other than making money isn't feasible for most people.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 9:40 PM
One of the many terrible consequences of making education impossibly unaffordable is that getting one for any reason other than making money isn't feasible for most people.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
“For ABA practitioners, social skills are analogous to computer programs: we are merely to carry out the tasks without protest, & the execution of the program is what counts, not the values that make those programs necessary.” Finn Gardiner, at TPGA:
thinkingautismguide.com/2021/01/teac... #autism
thinkingautismguide.com/2021/01/teac... #autism
Teach Social Skills As Values, Not Like Computer Programs — THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM
ABA taught me that social skills were context-free rules I had to follow at the expense of my happiness and overall well-being.
thinkingautismguide.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:31 PM
“For ABA practitioners, social skills are analogous to computer programs: we are merely to carry out the tasks without protest, & the execution of the program is what counts, not the values that make those programs necessary.” Finn Gardiner, at TPGA:
thinkingautismguide.com/2021/01/teac... #autism
thinkingautismguide.com/2021/01/teac... #autism
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
This, by @giacgrassi.bsky.social, remains one of the simplest and best climate visuals
November 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This, by @giacgrassi.bsky.social, remains one of the simplest and best climate visuals
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Yes, I agree with all of you. It was <great> when child poverty halved & everyone had large income spikes in 2020-21. We should make that permanent. But you, too, can imagine the debt hysteria & SOCIALISM hysteria in the media if Biden/Harris/The Democrats had made that their platform in 2024.
It's clear now that what we really meant by "Recession" & "Suffering From Inflation" in 2022-24 was "folks liked the large income spike in 2020-21 & wanted more stimulus checks & welfare spending like what came with the ARP, perhaps permanently," but we are clearly not ready for <that> discussion.
November 23, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Yes, I agree with all of you. It was <great> when child poverty halved & everyone had large income spikes in 2020-21. We should make that permanent. But you, too, can imagine the debt hysteria & SOCIALISM hysteria in the media if Biden/Harris/The Democrats had made that their platform in 2024.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Tenet Media was barely scratching the surface.
November 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Tenet Media was barely scratching the surface.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
PLEASE this.
And also to scientists writing press releases, too - calling something "AI" when it was actually your student spending 12 months fitting and validating a model is disingenuous
And also to scientists writing press releases, too - calling something "AI" when it was actually your student spending 12 months fitting and validating a model is disingenuous
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 23, 2025 at 9:12 AM
PLEASE this.
And also to scientists writing press releases, too - calling something "AI" when it was actually your student spending 12 months fitting and validating a model is disingenuous
And also to scientists writing press releases, too - calling something "AI" when it was actually your student spending 12 months fitting and validating a model is disingenuous
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
I am aware that scattered trees in grassland is just the natural landscape in some parts of the central valley, and not devoid of ecological value. But the question is not “do you want solar panels or sheep ranches?” so much as “where do we put the solar panels?”
November 23, 2025 at 5:19 AM
I am aware that scattered trees in grassland is just the natural landscape in some parts of the central valley, and not devoid of ecological value. But the question is not “do you want solar panels or sheep ranches?” so much as “where do we put the solar panels?”
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Sacramento County approved a big solar panel and grid battery site. People are complaining about cutting of trees. You might think that means there is currently a forest. These are pictures of the actual landscape in question, which is currently a sheep ranch.
I looked at where this is to be built. This is what it looks like. You’re making it sound like a forest.
November 23, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Sacramento County approved a big solar panel and grid battery site. People are complaining about cutting of trees. You might think that means there is currently a forest. These are pictures of the actual landscape in question, which is currently a sheep ranch.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Want to know the cost/benefit balance of outing 🏳️🌈 oneself* to your students? Here’s the analysis from 9 instructors, 2045 student surveys, implying mostly positive &/or beneficial to the students.
*I don’t think anyone should feel obliged to, not least bc the study features no trans/nb instructors.
*I don’t think anyone should feel obliged to, not least bc the study features no trans/nb instructors.
Nine Undergraduate Biology Instructors Revealing their LGBTQ+ Identities in Class Resulted in Benefits for their LGBTQ+ Students and Students with Other Marginalized Identities | CBE—Life Sciences Edu...
Few LGBTQ+ biology instructors reveal their identities to undergraduates, often without considering the potential student benefits. Although instructors who have revealed their LGBTQ+ identity perceiv...
www.lifescied.org
November 23, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Want to know the cost/benefit balance of outing 🏳️🌈 oneself* to your students? Here’s the analysis from 9 instructors, 2045 student surveys, implying mostly positive &/or beneficial to the students.
*I don’t think anyone should feel obliged to, not least bc the study features no trans/nb instructors.
*I don’t think anyone should feel obliged to, not least bc the study features no trans/nb instructors.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Topline: Ariana is a young journalist targeted by the Ortega regime in Nicaragua. ICE is just straight up attempting to have a journalist—who was granted asylum—executed using a single missed phone call (if it even was made and they’re not just lying) as a bogus justification
So this is someone I know who got snatched by ICE for the crime of missing a phone call while she was at work. She needs help and it would be good to help her.
Donate to Help Free Ariana from I.C.E., organized by Lisa Munyan
My name is Lisa Munyan; I'm just your average, semi-retired old woman living on a s… Lisa Munyan needs your support for Donate to Help Free Ariana from I.C.E.
gofund.me
November 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Topline: Ariana is a young journalist targeted by the Ortega regime in Nicaragua. ICE is just straight up attempting to have a journalist—who was granted asylum—executed using a single missed phone call (if it even was made and they’re not just lying) as a bogus justification
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
flip.it/6XsqjC Elon Musk’s Boring Company Caught Hiding Toxic Waste Pond in Vegas - Confronted with cameras, a worker raged that "you’re fake news."
Elon Musk's Boring Company Caught Hiding Toxic Waste Pond in Vegas
Elon Musk's Boring Company has been illegally dumping toxic waste byproduct for months, landing itself a $500k fine from local officials.
flip.it
November 23, 2025 at 4:48 AM
flip.it/6XsqjC Elon Musk’s Boring Company Caught Hiding Toxic Waste Pond in Vegas - Confronted with cameras, a worker raged that "you’re fake news."
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Begging of us also to stand in solidarity with Iranians who are fighting a corrupt regime that has mismanaged water, which has made this far far worse. We need to get better at our intersectionality in this as talking about it just from the climate perspective doesn’t help Iranians.
November 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Begging of us also to stand in solidarity with Iranians who are fighting a corrupt regime that has mismanaged water, which has made this far far worse. We need to get better at our intersectionality in this as talking about it just from the climate perspective doesn’t help Iranians.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 PM
you'd think the forced displacement of 10 million people from one of the oldest centres of civilisation in human history would get a little more news attention than beltway journalists writing essays on how Olivia Nuzzi is a genius because they want to bone her and you'd be wrong
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Chaco Canyon is one of the most important living cultural landscapes on the planet and we have long called for its permanent protection. It's not about the past–it’s about the generations to come. I’ll continue to fight for it because it is a place worth protecting.
November 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Chaco Canyon is one of the most important living cultural landscapes on the planet and we have long called for its permanent protection. It's not about the past–it’s about the generations to come. I’ll continue to fight for it because it is a place worth protecting.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
They're also looking for a Head of Communications.
After how many years?
Good luck to anyone who takes on this dumpster fire.
More info: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
After how many years?
Good luck to anyone who takes on this dumpster fire.
More info: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
They're also looking for a Head of Communications.
After how many years?
Good luck to anyone who takes on this dumpster fire.
More info: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
After how many years?
Good luck to anyone who takes on this dumpster fire.
More info: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Bluesky has finally, quietly posted a position for a one-year remote contract Policy Lead, Trust & Safety position.
Trans people who qualify, apply here: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
We need someone competent in this role if this place is going to survive.
Trans people who qualify, apply here: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
We need someone competent in this role if this place is going to survive.
November 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Bluesky has finally, quietly posted a position for a one-year remote contract Policy Lead, Trust & Safety position.
Trans people who qualify, apply here: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
We need someone competent in this role if this place is going to survive.
Trans people who qualify, apply here: jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...
We need someone competent in this role if this place is going to survive.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
"This administration is protecting you from antisemitism. Now, give us a list of the names, phone numbers, and addresses of all your Jews."
Oh sure, that sounds fine, nothing worrisome going on here at all.
Oh sure, that sounds fine, nothing worrisome going on here at all.
"Penn does not maintain information on employees’ religion"
Gift link to article. Link to petition supporting Penn's refusal to collect and hand over this information below.
Gift link to article. Link to petition supporting Penn's refusal to collect and hand over this information below.
Federal Suit Seeking Names of Some Jewish Employees at Penn Sparks Backlash
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:58 AM
"This administration is protecting you from antisemitism. Now, give us a list of the names, phone numbers, and addresses of all your Jews."
Oh sure, that sounds fine, nothing worrisome going on here at all.
Oh sure, that sounds fine, nothing worrisome going on here at all.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
I have lived through the entire rise and fall of search engines
Reskeeting with alt text
Yeah this has become the utter pain of what we once had. Used to be you'd run to Google for a trusted and quick search and now I try to avoid it when I can
Legit ruined their own product to the point of being unrecognizable
Yeah this has become the utter pain of what we once had. Used to be you'd run to Google for a trusted and quick search and now I try to avoid it when I can
Legit ruined their own product to the point of being unrecognizable
November 23, 2025 at 2:13 AM
I have lived through the entire rise and fall of search engines
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
I can't remember who said this, but a trans woman elder on TikTok answered one of her followers who asked, "Why aren't there more historical trans men?" Her response was to the effect of "Because they get misgendered when they die, and no one is there to correct the funeral procession."
November 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
I can't remember who said this, but a trans woman elder on TikTok answered one of her followers who asked, "Why aren't there more historical trans men?" Her response was to the effect of "Because they get misgendered when they die, and no one is there to correct the funeral procession."
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Shorthand: If someone expresses that US Imperialism is a stain upon the earth whose sin can never be washed clean, but Soviet or Chinese imperialism is either acceptable or just didn't happen, you're talking to a tankie.
November 21, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Shorthand: If someone expresses that US Imperialism is a stain upon the earth whose sin can never be washed clean, but Soviet or Chinese imperialism is either acceptable or just didn't happen, you're talking to a tankie.
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
Owen Jones: UK is far more like Putin’s Russia over trans people
www.thenational.scot...
#sel...e.ph/9Kwca#selection-1305.0-1305.64" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">archive.ph/9Kwca#sel...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
www.thenational.scot...
#sel...e.ph/9Kwca#selection-1305.0-1305.64" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">archive.ph/9Kwca#sel...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
Owen Jones: UK is far more like Vladimir Putin’s Russia over trans people
THE descent of the “United Kingdom” into cruelty and naked bigotry has been swift and steep ...
www.thenational.scot
November 23, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Owen Jones: UK is far more like Putin’s Russia over trans people
www.thenational.scot...
#sel...e.ph/9Kwca#selection-1305.0-1305.64" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">archive.ph/9Kwca#sel...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
www.thenational.scot...
#sel...e.ph/9Kwca#selection-1305.0-1305.64" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">archive.ph/9Kwca#sel...
#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
Reposted by Val Syverson 🕷️
i'm upgrading my assessment from "the president of the US literally does not possess a nervous system" to "the US has no president"
November 22, 2025 at 11:52 PM
i'm upgrading my assessment from "the president of the US literally does not possess a nervous system" to "the US has no president"