iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A lot of the issue is conflation of criminal activity with mundane social interaction. It can be simultaneously true that we don't go far enough re the former AND are sometimes too cynical re the latter.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Topic is not numerical. If the graph is like _⎰‾ it means you either don't care about a topic or you want to know everything, if the graph is smoothly accelerating it means you're motivated to investigate a few topics thoroughly and vaguely curious about many more.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Recently I've been reading old (2002) science magazines, and articles sometimes evoke curiosity about how a field has evolved since then, whether a prediction panned out, etc. What method would you turn to in that case?

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Hmm. Picture a graph with curiosity on the Y axis and topic on the X axis. Rate your curiosity highest if you want to know everything there is to know, lowest if you don't care. What does that graph look like to you?

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The interesting thing to me is: how do you acknowledge that difference _and at the same time_ acknowledge the difference between "X isn't political" versus "X _shouldn't be_ political"?

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I have the same question. As far as I can tell it doesn't deviate in the slightest from the problem as generally known. Sometimes the framing is "what's the correct answer", and sometimes the framing is "why do people *think* X is the correct answer", but the underlying problem is the same.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"it has been an article of faith in some media and political circles that transphobic ads won the election for Trump" — OMG the flashbacks.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I hope so, Americans. I really hope so.

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Reposted by @apm77.bsky.social

Evan Urquhart @evanurquhart.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

There's a lot worth reading closely here

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Sending appreciation ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ (for you and your work, the fact that you are good and right all the time is just a happy bonus)

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Followup: here's an informative thread by @jtimmer.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/jtim... correcting some of the more overblown hype/PR. As I've said elsewhere, what caught *my* interest was the idea that it opens the door to new questions (about brain evolution etc). That is enough.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I asked philosopher of biology John Wilkins for his take (I first encountered John via online Terry Pratchett fandom years ago). His response, which is more than a tad snarky, is here: fediscience.org/@jswilkins/1...

fediscience.org

John S. Wilkins (@jswilkins@fediscience.org)

@apm77@mastodon.online Saints preserve us from medical PR… The novelty in this work is a slender base on which to hang such a hypothesis. It may very well be that hindbrain and forebrain arise develo...

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Of course, what makes it interesting is not contingent on any particular explanatory hypothesis, but on the fact that it gives us new questions to ask. I hope to see coverage from publications better positioned to explore the most interesting aspects than Medical Xpress.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Fascinating indeed, but in my opinion, here is the better pull quote. This isn't about humans and should not centre us.

Quote from linked article on medicalxpress dot com:

Finally, the researchers looked back over 550 million years of evolutionary time. They found the same two-origin brain pattern in chickens, zebrafish and, remarkably, acorn worms, tiny creatures living on the ocean floor that share a distant common ancestor with humans. Jellyfish, which diverged from humans about 600–700 million years ago, have two nervous systems at different ends of their bodies.

"Our research suggests that evolution took two existing neural systems and pushed them together spatially," Loh said. "Having the brain as one organ would probably be more efficient, but we rely on this primordial way to make the brain as two separate pieces."

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I whimsically made some art last night, and decided that I like it. The title "Goblins' Secret" seems apt.

An abstract, kaleidoscopic composition, fully symmetric vertically and partially symmetric horizontally, featuring a complex interplay of colourful, textured shapes that blend from organic to crystalline to something resembling a laser light show as the eye moves from the periphery of the to a central horizontal cavity. The overall effect is like a hidden treasure within a mysterious enchanted forest.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

My #1 feature I wish Bluesky would implement: Mastodon style lists.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

As a non-American I can't tell you how weirded out I am by the revelation that VBNMW isn't an exclusively grassroots slogan.

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Reposted by @apm77.bsky.social

Evan Urquhart @evanurquhart.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

We've lost so much, so fast, it's absolutely breathtaking. And people act like us expecting Democrats to clearly say that nothing was wrong with the rights trans people had 5 years ago is an unreasonable activist demand.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

They've given you a very young avatar and apparently there are two Africas...

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Terminology wise, of course, AI agents are old hat, my 1995 copy of Russell and Norvig goes on and on about them.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I buy two different brands of granola and mix them in a 2:1 proportion (Jordan's crunchy oat granola bursting with berries and Brookfarm nutty granola maple vanilla). I add psyllium, a drizzle of honey, and milk.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Doctor Who fans are thinking metebelis crystal. I have no idea what it is in context, but I recommend keeping an eye out for giant spiders.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The video provides only a brief summary for each presentation at a multi-day conference. There's no grand conclusion, just different scientists with different approaches. I can't predict which would interest you most. One mentions a possible correspondence between markings and social structure.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

My sister is raising my niece & nephew to be Potter fans, and I don't know how to talk to them about it. Meanwhile I have a fundamental issue with articles like this, which fail to acknowledge that "separating the art from the artist" is simply the unquestioned norm for the vast majority of people.

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

“If you set out to design from scratch a tool to facilitate authoritarian rule, it would look exactly like AI. You would cherish it for its ability to destabilise our shared reality and its creation of disinformation on a scale unprecedented in human history.” Brilliant piece by Katherine Rundell:

theguardian.com

‘I hate what AI is doing to the minds and happiness of the young’: Katherine Rundell on the view from the classroom

Education is at a crossroads, argues the author and academic. Should we embrace new technology in the name of efficiency, or is it time to fight back?

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Speaking of the Odyssey, have you heard the partial recontruction at www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4I... ? (I linked to it a few days ago.) You can listen to as much or as little of it as you like.

youtube.com

The Odyssey's Opening - Ancient Greek Music feat. Luke Ranieri

YouTube video by Farya Faraji & World Musicians

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I've sampled the first few minutes and look forward to listening to the rest. I first encountered the idea of lucid dreaming back when Beyond 2000 was on the TV. They did an episode once about a device that was meant to help people achieve it.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

💯 On an interpersonal level, we've probably all been hurt at some time or other by the tendency of people to conflate superficial proxies of injustice with injustice itself. On a societal level, not so much.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Am 18 minutes in (end of the first ethics question), will definitely continue listening another day.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

@lynne-kelly-42.bsky.social A video you may wish to share with Damian: Useful Charts on bird taxonomy www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1k.... Includes a request for feedback before the final printed version is published, I've queried the exclusion of songbirds that are neither passerides nor corvides.

youtube.com

Family Tree of Birds | Expanded Tree of Life Launch

YouTube video by UsefulCharts

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I figured it was something like that, and hopefully my cunning plan to increase by one the number of random threads in which those who browse it are gently exposed to the possibility they've been misinformed makes the world a marginally better place. One fairy gets her wings back, sort of thing.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Is Katelyn wrong? I haven't listened to the thing but I'd be surprised. bsky.app/profile/kate...

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Wait. I never heard anything about Ben Goldacre being privileged media class? He has been completely off the radar for quite a few years, though.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I don't like how the article kind of implies that it always manifests in the classic stereotypical way in boys.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

As for the rest, I haven't seen the movie. I have some thoughts on your pushback against Wilson's critique specifically, but that is too nuanced a topic for this space. I do think "why are we still arguing so passionately about it" is an odd question to ask in the circumstances.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Very much disagree with the claim that "most of us read some version of The Odyssey in high school". That sounds very much like universalising the experience of your specific demographic.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I was going to go to bed a while ago, but instead I've been sitting in my chair for 30 minutes feeling angry with the world. I won't link to the Bluesky posts that fuel this anger by reporting on bigotry and injustice. That would not do me any good right now.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Hi Ciara, I just want to offer you some moral support from the other side of the world (I'm in Australia). I don't know how to say anything about Amy without it being a pure rage post, but to you, and others with you, I say: 👍🏳️‍⚧️👍🏳️‍⚧️👍🏳️‍⚧️👍🏳️‍⚧️👍

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

If Trump was a snake, he would deserve a guilty conscience AND sore feet.

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Reposted by @apm77.bsky.social

Helen 🏳️‍⚧️✊🏻💕 @mimmymum.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

‘Gender critical’ transphobes are the ultimate ‘I demand to speak to the manager’ Karen’s!… Seeking authoritarian rule, to step in and ‘punish’ those they dislike! 😣 They did the same to Mermaids, then Stonewall, now Amnesty…climbing ever higher to stamp down harder! 😖 They are PRIVILEGED BULLIES!

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

On the topic of useful starting points . . . "The path to wisdom does, in fact, begin with a single step. Where people go wrong is in ignoring all the thousands of other steps that come after it." — Terry Pratchett

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Appreciate your insights. I quickly skimmed through the paper you're critiquing last night and had some thoughts but today I can't access it because the Cloudfare security verification is stuck in an endless loop.

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apm77.bsky.social @apm77.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Eh, I dunno, I feel like there's a _little_ bit more nuance than that? I like the bit where they say "sex is not a fixed property of individuals", at least. Anyway, I'm about to transition from an "awake" state to an "asleep" state via some combination of non-binary intermediate states.

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