Sign in

Brendan Coulson

@brendancoulson.bsky.social
162 followers 296 following 3 posts

A humanist who is bewildered by persistent irrationality in society. A firm believer in the scientific method as the best tool for gleaning truth.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Sera Markoff @profsera.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
A lovely article about the region in Namibia where we are building the Africa Millimeter Telescope w/UNAM, a single dish telescope 🔭🧪 that will operate on its own and together with @ehtelescope.bsky.social, next to the H.E.S.S. gamma-ray telescope. nightfallandelsewhere.substack.com/p/gamma-rays...
nightfallandelsewhere.substack.com
Gamma rays in the Gamsberg Highlands
Clyde's Spot, the H.E.S.S. telescope and Indigenous rock art in Namibia
1224
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Mrs. Detective PikaBOO, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 06/07/2025
They finally made the milk from that hotel
a ½ gallon of neutral milk
149134552571
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Phillip Ayoub @payoub.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban
507386948083
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Robin Ince @robinince.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
A short piece about normalising fascism thelowry.com/whats-on/382...
613631
Brendan Coulson @brendancoulson.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
My Saturday morning ritual is to read The Continent www.thecontinent.org and Mail & Guardian mg.co.za “cover to cover”. Such a pleasure to have carefully researched and edited journalism to savour and digest slowly like a good nutritious meal in this age of fast, cheap, junk “news”.
thecontinent.org
The Continent | Africa
The Continent is an award-winning African newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.
010
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 02/02/2025
🔭 Comet G3 ATLAS Disintegrates Image Credit: Lionel Majzik apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25020...
A series of comet images is shown. On the far left the image shows Comet G3 ATLAS with a bright central concentration at its head near the bottom of the frame. By the far right, this central concentration is nearly gone. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
213732
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
The Continent @thecontinent.org · 02/02/2025
A lightning advance on Goma by March 23 Movement (M23) fighters ended with the rebels declaring the “liberation” of the Congolese city on Monday – allegedly with help from Rwandan armed forces.
continent.substack.com
M23 is calling the shots
After seizing Goma, can anyone stop the rebel militia from consolidating its control?
0810
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
If anyone happens to need it this week for...reasons...this is the best graphic on the complexity of human sex determination I've ever seen. I use it in an undergrad course on gene regulatory mechanisms. Shoutout to @unamandita.bsky.social! www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyo...
scientificamerican.com
Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination
A host of factors figure into whether someone is female, male or somewhere in between
34814406
Brendan Coulson @brendancoulson.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Adam Frank on the breed of armchair "scientists" who trust the professionals enough to do research, but know better when it comes to producing theories from said research. Dunning-Kruger effect? Confirmation bias? bigthink.com/13-8/the-str...
bigthink.com
The strange paradox of modern science denialism
Astronomer Adam Frank reflects on a handful of responses to his recent appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast.
010
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Liam Thorp @liamthorp.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
One of these headlines is an accurate description of what happened. The other is a really misleading distortion.
21543170
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 10/12/2024
Today on Human Rights Day, we mark 76 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! #StandUp4HumanRights #HumanRightsDay2024
017964
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
The thread o’ tweets @threadotweets.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Rich Neville @RichNeville
Found something new to say when I
leave a room.

(Photo of a bag whose label says: 

Stay Fresh
Cheese Bags
91008212
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Scott Kardel aka Palomar Skies @palomarskies.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
I once got to meet the now late Ron Evans, the command module pilot for Apollo 17. He was very proud of this photo.
0232
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Michael Nielsen @michaelnielsen.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Or you can turn it into an awesome hobby: www.tobyord.com/earth
tobyord.com
Earth Restored — Toby Ord
The most beautiful photographs of Earth — iconic images and unknown gems — digitally restored to their full glory.
2115
Brendan Coulson @brendancoulson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
This makes a whole lot of sense!
010
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Holly Dunsworth @dunsworth.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Jordan Peterson relies on the obstetrical dilemma being fact in his latest book which describes separate male and female human natures. I would be a liar if I didn’t admit this makes me feel 😈😈😈about my upcoming book. Thank you @newscientist.bsky.social ! www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
Excerpt screenshot from link provided, discussing Jordan Peterson’s new book. 

Now, you might expect Peterson, a psychologist, to offer psychological evidence for these differences between men and women. You would be wrong. But he does try to link it to the biology of childbirth. Labour, he explains, is painful and dangerous because human babies have evolved bigger brains, which must fit through a narrow birth canal that cannot get any wider or "women would have trouble running".
5225
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
lisabug @lisabug.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
You know they make the blenders loud so you can't hear the fruit screaming.
471395268
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
ECSO - European Council of Skeptical Organisations @ecso.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
An excellent summary of the status of #astrology, written by the great @profchrisfrench.bsky.social www.skeptic.org.uk/2024/11/ever...
skeptic.org.uk
Everything you ever wanted to know about astrology – for free
The predictions of astrology have now been put to the empirical test (at least) a thousand times – the results fail to support astrology’s validity
0103
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Dr. Raphael Marschall @spacemarschall.net · 30/11/2024
One of these craters is not like the others! It was made by the impact of the 3rd stage of the Saturn V, which launched Apollo 13 towards the Moon. Can you see the crater with the S-IVB? #planetaryScience #spaceExploration #SciComm🧪🔭🚀🛰️ Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
67116
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
The Continent @thecontinent.org · 29/11/2024
All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 184 of The Continent Coup de latte: The trouble Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is brewing. Get your copy here: bit.ly/TheContinent...
Issue 184 of The Continent by illustrator Wynona Mutisi shows a bag of Ugandan coffee showing a man, wearing a safari shirt and a wide-brimmed white hat in the style of the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni. On the bag is the picture of the national bird and Ugandan flag with the words "M7 KAHAWA". M7 is President Yoweri Museveni's nickname and "kahawa" is the Swahili word for coffee. Below that is "one party estate coffee company". In the foreground are the words: "Trouble is brewing".
13733
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
You’re a stupid, worthless shopping basket holder and you’ll never amount to anything.
Shopping basket holder in Lidl witb the words “please put me in my place” above it.
633014364
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Daniel | ScienceSocks et al. @sciencesocks.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I just opened the full resolution 80 megapixel source file and it's like the matrix in there 🤯🔭 Link to file: esawebb.org/images/potm2...
Zoomed in version of the Westerlund: The open cluster Westerlund 1, showcased in this new Webb Picture of the Month, is located roughly 12 000 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar) where it resides behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust. It was discovered in 1961 from Australia by Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund. Westerlund 1 is an incomparable natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.
411015
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
This is both sad and infuriating. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
'Refused service again with my guide dog, I'm done speaking out'
Sean Dilley is inundated with abuse on social media whenever he posts about discrimination issues.
30354271242
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.social · 29/12/2023
I said “Thoughts and prayers” after someone sneezed yesterday and really liked it. I might switch.
918813
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
Today’s poem is called ‘Monetization’.
Monetization 

The advert said 
MONETIZE YOUR FOLLOWERS 
so he thought 
he would respond; 

by painting them 
in the changing light, 
like waterlilies 
in a pond.


Brian Bilston
623673
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Phil PlAIt @philplait.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
I'm with George. Beam them into space.
2637
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Sarah Kendrew @sarahkendrew.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
Great speech by Masha Gessen for the Hannah Arendt prize - “Comparison is the way we know the world” t.co/v2DIIiRU5G
131
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
CosmicRami 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @rami.spaceaustralia.com · 13/12/2023
There's a really wonderful radio telescope (well, interferometer) over in South Africa known as MeerKAT and its sensitivity is really good! The images that we get from the Galactic Plane, and supernova remnants, are just wonderful! Radio astronomy rocks! 🔭🧪📡 📸 arxiv.org/abs/2312.07275
An image of a region of the Galactic plane, featuring a central, yellow band that is the most dense in terms of gas, and surrounded above and below by diffuse blueish gas. Littered randomly across the image are spheres and globules of white shells, the supernova remnants.A grid of images in four rows and three columns. In each of the image is a spherical bubble of intense gas that is the shell of a supernova remnant.
47422
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Dr. Kelley Hess @khesser.bsky.social · 07/12/2023
The first SKA mid frequency dish has been assembled in China for testing! 🔭🧪📡 m.youtube.com/watch?v=7AY2...
Two tweets from SKA Observatory:
“#SKAconstruction milestone: the very first production dish of the SKA-Mid telescope has been assembled at a test site in China! The big lift of the 15-m wide main reflector onto the pedestal took place recently” with a YouTube video link. 
“After testing the dish will be shipped to South Africa for installation on site. It’s one of four that will comprise the first stage of the SKA-Mid construction known as Array Assembly 0.5. Congratulations to the team…”
0164
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Satan @thedevil.bsky.social · 08/12/2023
241292190
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 06/12/2023
18 digital rights groups urge Meta to stop silencing Palestine www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
eff.org
Digital Rights Groups Urge Meta to Stop Silencing Palestine
Legal intern Muhammad Essa Fasih contributed to this post.In the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing backlash on Palestine, Meta has engaged in unjustified content and account
03116
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Satan @thedevil.bsky.social · 07/12/2023
511266190
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 05/12/2023
Space Typography xkcd.com/2863
372640726
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics @leilabelkora.bsky.social · 03/12/2023
A stargazer, craving a dark night, Told his neighbor, in the form of an invite, “I’ll show you a cluster, And things of low lustre, If only you’ll turn off your porch light.” 🔭
22710
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 02/12/2023
I thought this was pretty good.
628143
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 02/12/2023
Doctors Without Borders has released a new report about the deliberate attack on its staff in Gaza by the Israeli military two weeks ago.
doctorswithoutborders.org
MSF convoy attack in Gaza: All elements point to Israeli army responsibility
Two weeks after an MSF convoy was attacked while evacuating from Gaza City, testimonies from MSF staff point to the Israeli military as responsible.
91114662
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
Biden’s statement on Kissinger is a diplomatic masterpiece. A verbal Rorschach test that allows for both a positive and negative reading. But if you’re familiar with these statements, the careful exclusion of any warmth or endorsement, and the pointed underlining of their disagreements, is striking
1630181
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Tiffany⸆⸉ @tiffanyclay.dev · 01/12/2023
+1 for The San Antonio Express News lmao
A screenshot of a tweet from San Antonio’s local newspaper, The Express News (@ExpressNews). The text reads, “Sen. Rafael Edward Cruz, who uses the preferred name Ted, has introduced a bill to limit the use of preferred names and pronouns.” Below the text is a link card featuring a photo of the aforementioned Cancun-loving demagogue, holding a microphone up to his undeniably punchable face.
118106813141
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 29/11/2023
New work with @lucylai.bsky.social on policy compression: osf.io/preprints/ps... We designed the first experiments to systematically test this hypothesis. The main result is that people will give up reward in favor of information-theoretically "simple" decision policies.
1237
Reposted by Brendan Coulson
The Serfs (youtube.com/theserfstv) @theserfstv.bsky.social · 29/11/2023
Onion going hard as usual
According to witnesses South African born Musk immediately dropped to his knees after stepping in Israeli soil, overwhelmed with joy to be back in a state segregated by race and religion
635267