iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Meh doesn't need a sports car; my car is a lard ass SUV and will still do 0-60 in ~3.2s. 740 EV horses under there...

I have around 200 computers around the place, from Raspberry Pis to mainframes. None of them are even slightly intelligent. I don't believe any of them even *like* me.

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NEVER be worried by an Express story. They're the most notoriously sensationalist and inaccurate right-wing rag in the UK press, by far. It's like Breitbart & National Enquirer had a bastard lovechild.

Mike Ross @eruptionchaser.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I will never for the life of me understand why anyone expects American universities to "investigate" serious CRIMES. Think about it; would you expect any university to investigate a murder?! It's a ludicrous idea; why should rape be any different? Academic misconduct & plagiarism, yes. Crimes, NO!

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I'm VERY firmly in the 'we always live in the Holocene' camp. If people think what we formerly called 'Holocene' ended recently, then establish that stratigraphic marker and give the 'old' Holocene a new name, if it's now over. 'Pre-anthropocene' maybe? But we *live* in the Holocene.

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Mike Ross @eruptionchaser.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Paywalled; won't help anything if it can't be read.

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Mike Ross @eruptionchaser.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Late reply, time zones... not even remotely. When I taught history to my kids, I emphasised not memorising of facts, but looking at different sources & understanding why they differ, and being able to sift them critically. *That*, IMHO as a strictly amateur historian, is the essence of history.

I agree with that. I think part of the difference is that in the UK, exposure to different subjects happens in school, then you specialise in university. In my final year in school (aged 17-18) I did English, French, German, history, chemistry, physics, and maths. Pre-university rounded education.

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You're 100% right of course but... maybe some people need better peers? My primary peer group (early career scientists, 20s/30s, ~50% gender balance), 100% of us would instantly put the DEEP freeze on anyone coming out with that crap.

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I agree 100% - which is why, in teaching history to my kids, I stressed the importance of analysing diverse sources, and understanding why they may differ, or at least give different perspectives, over dry facts History & classics were the 'traditional' UK route into the civil service of course.

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Ugh. University is free in Scotland; no fees, no loans.

OK that's a different universe; in Scotland you picked your three subjects and studied them for a full year, to get sufficient depth. It sounds like, in the system you know, much shorter courses are offered, 'skimming' the subject. Does 'semester' = 'year'? It's that terminology disconnect again!

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That would be impossible in the UK. I had to choose THREE subjects in first year, and TWO in second year - and for most science students, those would all be science subjects. How is it possible to do more than 2/3 subjects in a year?!

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I did! My first year uni was geology + psychology + English lit. But that made me an extreme outlier; a 'normal' first year curriculum would have been geology + a science + another science. I was only able to do that because Scottish universities are less prescriptive than English tend to be.

I didn't see that comment - but I know that's true, it's part of the history of the 80-column card. I'm a bit surprised at the comments this has produced and I'm long beyond being able to reply to all of them, sorry. 1am in NZ and going to bed! I learned enough history at school, FYSA.

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It is a common semi-truism of university that "engineers have no life" - largely as a result of their professional courseload. They're notoriously hardworking.

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I'm not sure what point you think I've proved!

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As I said in my 1st post, I DID study history at school, and enjoyed it, and continue to enjoy it today (currently on an 'Imperial Japanese Navy in WW2' jag) There was just no ROOM for studying it at university. I had to pick 3 subjects for my 1st year; history was not one of them.

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I don't get how that's possible. In my university, you did 3 subjects in your 1st year, 2 in your 2nd year, and 1 in your 3rd and 4th years. It's not possible to do more; those subject choices fill your timetable. And for a science student they will generally all be science subjects of course!

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My first year actually consisted of geology, English lit, and psychology; the Scottish system was flexible enough to permit that (the English system isn't, generally). But I was an extreme outlier; the vast majority of geology students would do geology plus two other sciences in 1st year.

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There wasn't any sense in which they were "less major" than geology. My intention was always to complete a science degree, but I could have completed a degree in any of them; they were equal. A more 'normal' first year would have been geology, physics, & another science. But nothing was compulsory

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We take lots of humanities courses - in school. In universities, we generally specialise. Most scientists and pretty much all engineers have no TIME in their curriculum for humanities, even if they wanted! (University =/= college perhaps?) (Source: son has just completed an EE degree)

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And there, in that sneering "just", is exemplified a whole different problem. I'm also an admirer of German society where, for many decades, skilled and qualified tradespeople have enjoyed exactly the same social respect as degree-holding university graduates. Welder == historian.

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Hang on, what exactly IS a "non-major" course, in your terminology? Because I think a chunk of the disconnect is mutual miscomprehension of terminology.

Sorry I'm asynchronous - working shifts in Aotearoa New Zealand! Which "him" are you talking about here?

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Not sure what you mean by 'electives'? There's no *room* in most science curriculums, and virtually all engineering curriculums (that I'm familiar with) for any subjects not directly or closely related to the field of study.

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I'm a bit perplexed, honestly - I seem to have touched a raw nerve; the funny bone of the difference between UK & US approaches to higher education. The original question wouldn't even arise in the UK; it would be very rare for an engineering student to even have the option of a history class!

If you ever want a geologist to play a bass badly, I'm your guy! 😆

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To a Brit, that sounds weird. Engineering is renowned as a very demanding university subject, and engineering students have a curriculum stuffed with engineering and no room for taking anything else, voluntary or otherwise. My son just finished an EE degree is how I know!

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Same! There SO much assumption that people will know how your system works, or that all systems are similar. *I* don't really understand what's meant by 'major' either. There's a whole linguistic structure around US higher ed.

My subjects were a deeply unusual, but permitted, choice for a science student. I *could* have chosen history instead of English lit, sure. My son has just completed an EE degree - and trust me, he had NO room in his curriculum for anything not related to engineering, it's a VERY intensive course!

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That does seem to be a particularly American techbro trend, yes. Perhaps they didn't learn enough history at school. Or didn't learn the right things from it. Maybe why they seem to be fans of 'The Culture' Iain M Banks scifi - whilst *totally* missing the actual message of the books!

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It's a British/American disconnect, I've learned from replies. In UK higher education, there IS no such thing as a "liberal arts" college, so unsurprising (I'm a Brit) I don't really understand the concept!

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The American specificity was not immediately apparent. Generalising here, but in Scottish university, you *can* choose subjects not related directly to your field, but you don't *have* to. In England, you generally can't. What's "required" in USA is unusual or forbidden here. Different systems!

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That may be an English thing. I went to school in Scotland, and did English, French, German, history, physics, chemistry, and maths to 6th year (rough equivalent of A-level) standard. Either way it was a pretty broad education.

I don't know enough about the US system to compare, but that's 100% true of the UK. I did six years of secondary school finishing at 18, I did English, French, German, history, physics, and chemistry, all to an equally high level. But that's school - at university, you specialise from the get go.

THIS. My son has just completed an EE degree, and it's a LOT of hard work, all solid engineering or engineering-adjacent subjects - professional ethics etc. He had absolutely no room for anything not related to his core subject.

Is that an American thing? In Scotland, geologist, I was free to choose any courses I liked, up to a max of 3. England is more prescriptive; there it might be 'geology plus 2 from physics, chemistry, biology, & maths'. I think there's definitely a transatlantic comprehension gap in this thread!

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"Bluesky moron" is a bit hostile, don't you think? I'm a geologist; I had to choose three subjects for first year uni. I chose geology, psychology, and English lit. That was unusual but reflected my interests. Most would choose all sciences. Almost none would choose history. Such is life.

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I think this may be an American English vs. British English disconnect from the 'liberal arts' mention. I was a science student, not arts. An engineering student would be unlikely to study anything beyond engineering, their curriculum is already full. Ditto arts students; no chance for engineering

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The big downside, from what I can see, in these Meta products, is they have no eyepiece display. Apparently that's not a problem for blind/vision-impaired users (who find this technology life-changing) but that's a big NO from me. Google Glass already got it basically right; just needs improving.

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Also a geologist; my first year was geology, psychology, and English literature! But that was because I attended a Scottish university; they're a lot less prescriptive than English universities tend to be. Still can't figure out why I might have ended up doing history though.

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I can think of one right off the top of my head (no pun intended): satnav for bicycle or motorbike riders. The original Google Glass excelled at this: little screen with turn signals in your sightline, spoken directions right in your ear. If Glass still worked I'd buy another one tomorrow.

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Mike Ross @eruptionchaser.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Am I missing something here? In what universe would an engineering student ever study history?! Do many history students study engineering?! I *enjoyed* history at school, and I was *good* at it. But no way would I ever have studied it at university.

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I have often contemplated something like this - and an AMPS analogue system come to that - but lacked the round tuits to do anything about it!

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Mike Ross @eruptionchaser.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Grrr apparently I can't upload videos because I won't confirm my email address: