iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by David Adger

Ryan M. Nefdt @ryannefdt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

My Philosophy of Theoretical Linguistics (shorturl.at/l4i4G) @cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org is finally in paperback. It covers new territory and boldly goes... well, maybe not boldly. More like cautiously shuffles forward while clutching a notebook and hoping for the best. Discount below!

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

‘It is young UK performers, and in particular those from a working-class background, who have been most hit by the loss of the EU for work and experience.’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

‘Catastrophic for creative industries’: Brexit barriers shut UK actors out of EU jobs

Casting shifts to EU talent as paperwork delays and visa limits make hiring British crews less viable

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

wee poem that recently appeared in the 2026 Resonance Anothology. Thanks so much to the Resonance crew for selecting it! #poetry #snails #ritual

David Adger
Snail Ritual

You always moved the snails to someplace
safe, lifting them from flower pots and the path
of the wheelie bin, tucking them under vinca
where they'd pace their careful roads, waiting
for the wet dark to rise, like little gods of time.

Each morning as you dreamed your oxycodone
dreams, I'd leave our bed in a ritual I kept from you:
I'd dip an empty shell in the pond we'd dug together
and carry it to the silver birch to pour a libation
to whatever god would give us more time.

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Really sad news. Ronnie taught me at Edinburgh 1985-1989, and was one of the sharpest minds, most interesting thinkers, and kindest people I came across there. I'm very sad he's no longer with us.

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Mark Dingemanse @markdingemanse.net · 13/03/2026

We've revamped the Futures of Language website! Read about the project, team, papers, and other news at futuresoflanguage.org Also, our weekly updates are collated in the Futures Library, a growing collection of short pieces on ideas & people that drive the project: futuresoflanguage.org/library/

Screenshot of Futures of Language landing page at https://futuresoflanguage.org, with tagline "Human interaction is too important to be left into the hands of merchants of hype."

Text continues: "We study artisanal and artificial ways of languaging to better understand language + technology, and to reimagine our linguistic futures."

Features a tricolour image of strands representing the three lines of work in the project.

Screenshot of Futures of Language library page with two recent posts. One by Samira Ibnelkaïd: Sara Ahmed & the Killjoy Ethics. One by Mark Dingemanse: The Stories we weave around "Technology".

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Mahmoud's policy itself is abhorrent, but it's also profoundly stupid in terms of the UKs long term interests

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

A little marginalia. Dragonlet, Book of Hours, Paris c.1410.

Little red dragon with blue horns and golden wings, surrounded by gold foliage, illustration from illuminated MS.

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

March Hares, Vicky Yeates, 2012.

Hares boxing surrounded with leaves, painting.

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Pascal Mamassian @mamassian.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

A nice shift in perceived colour between central and peripheral vision. The fixated disc looks purple while the others look blue. The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea. From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt: arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...

An array of 9 purple discs on a blue background. Figure from Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt.

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Hannah Spencer walking into Westminster, sucking her teeth, tutting, and muttering "tell you what, you've had some cowboys in here."

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Terri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

"These centuries-old connections between language and the environment challenge dominant views of how best to protect habitats. Scottish Gaelic’s vitality as a living language would surely suffer if fishing were to be curtailed, and much of the knowledge bound up in it...would be lost too."

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Ruth Graham @ruthgraham.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I imagine it was extremely disturbing

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Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

To accompany all those Bluesky science/academia #starterpacks, how about we also share introductions to the literature of our different fields. I present here a handy guide to main types of papers in the language sciences (inspired by the amazing @xkcd.com). #language #linguistics #science #academia

Comic depictions of the first page of research papers in the language sciences, with titles that include the following:
Just what the hell is a word anyway?
See how this single cognitive process or brain area or neural oscillation or gene explains language!
Based on the shapes of these old bones, Homo erectus could sing .... don't @ me.
A baby looked at one thing more than the other, now we know the secret to grammar.
If you think about it, every language is fundamentally the same, amirite?
We taught a load of undergrads a made-up language, lol.
On the staggering diversity of the many languages across the world.
Remember the thing you said only humans could do, here's a video of a monkey / dolphin / corvid / octopus / honeybee doing it.
I trained this AI with 80 billion tweets and it became head-writer for phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 13/02/2026

We know the Code of Practice is wrong in law. But we need your help to make sure it gets sent back. Write to your MP with our quick and easy tool, here 👇

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

The most insane thing is that "British (and Irish) citizens who are also citizens of another country will be ineligible for an ETA, meaning they can no longer use a foreign passport to enter the UK."

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Reposted by David Adger

Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

When AI was added to a tool for sinus surgery: “Cerebrospinal fluid leaked from one patient’s nose. In another… a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient’s skull. In two other cases, patients suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured” www.reuters.com/investigatio...

reuters.com

As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts

Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Reading @tashwalker.bsky.social and @adamzmith.bsky.social ‘s amazing new book The Logbooks and this call to Gay Switchboard they quote had me in hysterics #lgbthistories

10 January 1993
Caller (w): 'Can you tell me about Clone Zone?'
Me: 'yes it's a shop selling everything from lycra shorts + underwear to leather harnesses + nipple clamps. Predominantly
gay boys but some women use it. Why, what do you want?' (thinks she's looking to buy a dildo)
Caller: Well I've just found an access receipt in my husband's pocket!'
！！：

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Omg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 29/01/2026

What we all need to see is a red squirrel in a power pose. You're welcome.

A red squirrel on the ground. It almost looks like it is in superhero pose with one front paw and one back paw on the ground. The other front and back paws are raised in the air, its head is forward ready to run towards the camera.

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Illustrations from the beguiling Clavis Artis, a German alchemical manuscript which claims to hail from the 13th century and have pages made from dragon skin: publicdomainreview.org/collection/c…

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Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

One more time, syntax matters. I do hope the snake had a good time, though.

Photo of Lindsay Lohan with jungle background

Below, Entertainment--Lindsay Lohan bitten by snake on holiday in Thailand

Above, I don't understand how a snake even begins to organiseva trip like that.

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Dorothy Bishop @deevybee.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I reckon it would be a good move for cinemas in the US to be showing the original Downfall film now. Magnificent film with huge relevance for today

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Dirk Puehl @wunderkammertales.eurosky.social · 26/01/2026

“When it draws near to witching time of night.” (Robert Blair) 🎨 Charles Livingston Bull #owlishmonday

A large snowy owl glides across a washed-blue night sky, wings outstretched and head angled downward as if hunting. Far below, a dark, blocky city skyline fades into mist, with scattered points of light suggesting windows and streetlamps. The contrast between the silent, ghost-white bird and the smudged urban haze gives the scene a quiet, watchful mood—night made visible as a single hovering presence.

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langscipress.bsky.social @langscipress.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

New blog post "Achievements 2025" userblogs.fu-berlin.de/langsci-pres...

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Reposted by David Adger

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

I really understand very little about the current version of reality.

Sajid Javid: why I wouldn’t let people like my parents into the UK now.

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Adam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Same story over and over. These larpers - Kirkegard, Pesta et al - pumping out the same effluence with their strategy - exposed by @harryshukman.bsky.social + @hopenothate.org.uk - to normalise and spread scientific racism. They KNOW it's bullshit too. Read this: www.theguardian.com/world/2024/o...

theguardian.com

Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss

Group promoting ‘dangerous’ scientific racism ideology teamed up with rightwing extremist, recordings reveal

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Andrew Perfors @perfors.net · 22/01/2026

I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊 Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.

youtube.com

Part 1: How do LLMs work?

YouTube video by Andrew Perfors

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Do love some syntactic ambiguity in the morning

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

You can find me in the Times flying the flag for humanities and social sciences in this story about changes to funding at @ukri.org www.thetimes.com/article/be92...

Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, said: "Whatever form it takes, whether foundational, mission-led or focused on innovation, research is vital to the UK's prosperity and international standing. The humanities and social sciences are central to this, helping us understand people, places and systems so new ideas can have real-world impact."

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Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I feel I should bang the drum for this post, which hasn't received the love it deserves. It helps to know that Jenrick's constituency is Newark.

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Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

“The United States will not let men steal trophies from women…” - says guy who happily took the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a woman

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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

The Doomsday Machine that is our university funding system will destroy everything in the end. First it destroys individual lives, then social mobility, then most universities, followed by the structure of income tax and the pension system. In the end it could threaten to destroy the economy itself.

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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

The new chair of EHRC within first week seeking to meet with transphobic group about how to collaborate 🤮 So much for Stephenson wanting to build relationships with LGBTQI+ community again and to be judged on her actions. The fight continues. Wonder what @commonswec.parliament.uk can do?

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

great post by @dingemansemark.bsky.social on predatory publishers in academia, some of whom are quite well established and reputable ideophone.org/on-plagiaris...

ideophone.org

On plagiarism, predatory publishers and creating the future we want – The Ideophone

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research. We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...

International Fellowships 2026
The International Fellowships Programme enables researchers to work for two years at a UK institution with the aim of building a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce.
Funding status
Open for applications
Career stage
Early-career

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langscipress.bsky.social @langscipress.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Just published "The (in)transparency of meaning change and variation: A study of the indefinite cualquiera in European and Argentinian Spanish" by Olga Kellert #openaccess #ahl langsci-press.org/catalog/book...

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Remi van Trijp @remivantrijp.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Excited to share that our book "History of Ideas in the Science of AI" (co-authored with Luc Steels and Ann Dooms) is now freely available as #OpenAccess! #OpenScience, #AIResearch, #HistoryOfAI doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

our profile of Nadhim Zahawi from 2023, including - his friendship with author-turned-jailbird Jeffrey Archer - his HMRC settlement of nearly £5mn, made up of £3.7mn of unpaid taxes, a £1.1mn fine and some interest - his work as an oil industry fixer *while* a Tory MP www.ft.com/content/9a49...

ft.com

From Iraqi oilfields to Tory HQ: how Nadhim Zahawi mixed business and politics

The UK Conservative party chair’s tax travails are the latest chapter in a career that has brought him great wealth

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

a decade is a long time in politics

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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

very disappointing. There is a code of conduct for Royal Society fellows - it's not a value judgement to say that Musk has contravened it! see relevant bits of code and the Royal Society stated values below.

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David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

My new book is available open access from MITPress. It's a pretty new take on syntax, with some cool consequences for long-distance syntactic dependencies, and I think it should also appeal to non-minimalist syntacticians (since there isn't really any movement!) direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...

direct.mit.edu

Mereological Syntax: Phrase Structure, Cyclicity, and Islands

An argument for replacing Chomsky’s set-theoretic Merge view of syntax with a theory of syntax based on mereological objects.Mereology is the study of part

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Anson Mackay (they/them) @ans.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Dot-watching link is now live for @spinerace.bsky.social I'm the 🔵 (#195: non-binary category), so easy to spot 😂 Remember that messages of encouragment / kicks up the arse can also be left on this site 😉 #spinerace #pennineway #ultramarathon live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/

live.opentracking.co.uk

Live Tracking

Montane Spine Race 2026 - Live Event Tracking

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Lauren "Hope is Praxis" Lastname @verbingnouns.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Hey #linguistics check out this headline. The human language faculty is truly miraculous.

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