iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Ben Allen

Patrick De Oliveira @plso.bsky.social · 10h

Academic freedom in the U.S. has arguably reached a new nadir—maybe worse than the 50s. This is not only due to the scale and range of the assault on higher ed, which is targeting everything (individuals' views on Gaza, DEI initiatives, the curriculum, collaborative research with other countries)...

45432

Reposted by Ben Allen

Andy Clark of the living dead @andycruns.bsky.social · 17h

I do not want it in my words I do not want it faking birds I do not like it in my mail It really is beyond the pale I do not want it stealing art I not want it whole, or part I do not want your AI spam I hate it, hate it, Sam Altman

312032

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 16h

Bad things happening to whom? Benefits to whom?

020

Reposted by Ben Allen

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We would all have better conversations about Zionism if we viewed it as a nationalism like all others, akin to diaspora Serbian nationalism from Canadian Serbs. Not a civil rights or social justice cause, but also not a way Jewish people are abnormal or ontologically evil.

22762108

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

How much money do you have to burn?

100

Reposted by Ben Allen

John C. Baez @johncarlosbaez.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

You might enjoy my very simple explanation of renormalization here, as part of my article "Struggles with the continuum" - about how our best theories of physics are all ridden with mathematical problems. johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2016/09/19/s...

johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com

Struggles with the Continuum (Part 5)

Quantum field theory is the best method we have for describing particles and forces in a way that takes both quantum mechanics and special relativity into account. It makes many wonderfully accurat…

152

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Occasionally they float the letters UBI like a spray of perfume on the breeze, and then they go back to dropping hundreds of millions on ad campaigns against corporate taxes

120

Reposted by Ben Allen

Stephen C. Rea @stevierea.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The “ceasefire” will be one year old next week. Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 1400 Gazans

71224553

Reposted by Ben Allen

Michael Caley @michaelcaley.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

the big questions of "what are LLMs" and "what is alignment" remain important but they are separable from the question of AI safety we can talk about safety as a systems process regardless of what the nature of the technology is, and AI companies are failing in those processes

315214

Reposted by Ben Allen

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 03/10/2026

Killed. NSF’s SBE was killed, in violation of law. The President does not have the power to choose to kill programs at a whim by defunding them. The imperial presidency was a mistake and we are in a separation of powers constitutional crisis.

151446528

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

That's the problem with being known for more than one thing!

020

Reposted by Ben Allen

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Courier: Here are the apples you ordered, René Descartes: But I ordered pears!

151

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Courier: Here are the apples you ordered, René Descartes: But I ordered pears!

151

Reposted by Ben Allen

Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

They're holding up a major escalation in Iran and a crackdown on abortion until after the midterms to limit political damage. To the extent that the last two years have been a right-wing smash-and-grab operation, the next two will be worse.

20262522882

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

That reporter is fishing so hard

010

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Landmark post, Sarah---a profound contribution!

040

Reposted by Ben Allen

Feena van @feenavan2099.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

People really need to understand this

why would rapists bother to pretend to be trans in a culture that treats rapists better than trans women

2307104

Reposted by Ben Allen

nick @unionnick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

On the *same day* the Cornell Seven drugged and raped Jane Doe, Cornell banned four students (including the President of Cornell JVP) from campus for three years for nonviolent, pro-Palestine protests. The same Cornell officials let the rapists off with apology essays.

5852682109

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Agreed. And the affiliations comment is extra silly because they are alumni affiliations, not current ones. This just makes it clear they are purely blustering.

110

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

For sure. I'm not sure how they plan to argue that it's against the law to sign a letter

120

Reposted by Ben Allen

Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff @concernedjfaculty.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Remarkable threat by the Deborah Project's legal director to sue and harass the students and alumni who signed this letter. These are not the words of an organization genuinely committed to combating antisemitism while protecting free speech. They are the words of a bully.

Text from Philly Inquirer article:

"Lori Lowenthal Marcus, The Deborah Project’s legal director, said in an email that accusing The Deborah Project of weaponizing antisemitism “evokes the rank racism of the pre-Civil Rights era when racists demanded the law not be used to shield Black Americans from harassment and other harms.”

The student and alumni group has no legal standing to make demands regarding the settlement, Lowenthal Marcus wrote. She added that they “could be subject to legal action if they insist on continuing on their path of tortious interference.”

“Thank them for supplying their names and affiliations, so we know how to reach them,” Lowenthal Marcus wrote. "

111

Reposted by Ben Allen

Jeremy Van Cleve @vancleve.theoretical.bio · 29/09/2026

My group is recruiting a Ph.D student for Fall 2027! We're a friendly group of mathematically-minded and computationally-inspired biologists studying topics including social evolution, host-pathogen interactions, genetics, and demography. See vancleve.theoretical.bio for more info!

vancleve.theoretical.bio

van cleve research group

Van Cleve Research Group – theoretical evolution & ecology at the University of Kentucky

05370

Reposted by Ben Allen

Amber Ying 應緣 @amberying.com · 29/09/2026

maybe the problem with college campuses weren't all the safe spaces but the rape culture

0549

Reposted by Ben Allen

Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind

1002201779

Reposted by Ben Allen

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

NEW PUBLICATION: “Adaptive Dynamics of Discriminate and Indiscriminate Mating”, with Sam Rothberg & Brian Lerch. We model and analyze the evolution of indiscriminate mating—where organisms mate with others regardless of their sex. academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

academic.oup.com

Adaptive dynamics of discriminate and indiscriminate mating

Abstract. Same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) occurs across many animal taxa. Some instances of SSB likely arise from animals’ mating indiscriminately and/or wi

1107

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My kid just defined philosophy as "meaningless questions that can be used in meaningful ways"

070

Reposted by Ben Allen

Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New paper out with @kaylastoy.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...

812458

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I recorded a general-audience podcast interview about this work as well as other topics from my research! (At one point I embarrassingly mixed up anglerfish vs clownfish, but we inserted a correction so it’s all good) www.sequoiasamanvaya.com/cooperation-...

sequoiasamanvaya.com

Cinema Ceremony and the Land: Filming an Ancestral Healing Journey — Sequoia Samanvaya

In this episode, Sara Jolena Wolcott sits down with filmmaker and spiritual innovator Nova Scott James to trace the profound arc of her film journey.

000

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Our findings support the hypothesis that indiscriminate mating in deep-sea squids is an adaptation to compensate for low population density and visibility. Mates are scarce in the deep sea--might as well take your shot in the dark! royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article...

royalsocietypublishing.org

A shot in the dark: same-sex sexual behaviour in a deep-sea squid

Abstract. Little is known about the reproductive habits of deep-living squids. Using remotely operated vehicles in the deep waters of the Monterey Submarin

100

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Which equilibrium is reached depends on the initial state, and also on factors such as rates of encounter, costs of mating, and sex ratio. This figure shows that low encounter rates favor indiscriminate mating, in order to avoid missing any potential opportunity for reproduction.

Panel of three stream plots showing that, when the encounter rate (lambda) is small (meaning organisms rarely encounter each other), selection leads to indiscriminate mating

100

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We find there are generally two equilibria: One with indistinguishable sexes and indiscriminate mating, another with perfectly identifiable sexes and exclusively different-sex mating.

Stream plot showing adaptive dynamics of signal quality, q, and discrimination strength, d. There are two equilibria, one with d=q=0 where sexes are indistinguishable and mating is indiscriminate, the other with d=q=1 where sexes are perfectly distinguishable and mating is only between different sexes.

100

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Some marine invertebrates and insects mate indiscriminately, and may have characterized the earliest sexually reproducing animals. We model not just discrimination or lack thereof, but also the traits used to signal one’s sex. Discrimination and signaling of sex coevolve in a feedback loop.

100

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

academic.oup.com

Adaptive dynamics of discriminate and indiscriminate mating

Abstract. Same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) occurs across many animal taxa. Some instances of SSB likely arise from animals’ mating indiscriminately and/or wi

1107

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

So then why not make CH a standard axiom?

100

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

What other industry or individuals would be allowed to do this without being criminally charged?

070

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

About to head back out into the Nor'easter for groceries!

030

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I assign that on the first day of my Mathematical Modeling for Social Justice class!

130

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yes we should all read Kafka! One of very few authors whose works have changed the way I think.

130

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yeah I feel like just saying "genre fiction" is painting with too broad of a brush here. Which is not to deny that a lot of fiction (and in particular a lot of genre fiction) is written to press certain enjoyment buttons. But I don't think this applies to the best work of any genre.

020

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I won't be surprised if Trump turns on Vance and endorses Hegseth instead

000

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

(I am large, I contain multisets)

070

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Mathematician says "I reduced to to a problem I know how to solve!"

191

Ben Allen @evodynamics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Related: A mathematician swotches careers to become a firefighter, trains in how to put out every kind of fire. First day on the job, encounters a house that is not on fire, and immediately lights it on fire. Fire chief says "why did you do that??"

241