Sign in

George MacKerron

@jawj.prof
1.1K followers 378 following 109 posts

Associate Prof in Economics: environmental, spatial, behavioural, wellbeing (Mappiness project). Coder. Parent. Bass 1. mackerron.com

PostsRepliesMedia
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 15/09/2026
First half of September!
Screenshot of Sainsbury’s app listing mince pies under ‘seasonal favourites’
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Scenes like this did a lot of damage to Mosley and the BUF in the 1930s. Though that relied on Conservative papers reporting them.
14308137
Reposted by George MacKerron
Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness @tangledwilderness.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Guess what? 1) You can 3D print a crow and squirrel feeder that looks like a Flock camera 2) Crows are extremely good at pattern recognition 3) People are fucking hilarious and creative and I hope every Flock camera gets its own personal murder (of crows) www.printables.com/model/180491...
printables.com
Flock Camera with chamber; squirrel and bird feeder V2 by David | Download free STL model | Printables.com
Designed to look like a Flock camera, hollow with chambers and a removeable hatch for putting treats for your friends | Download free 3D printable STL models
171073519
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 22/08/2026
7p each! One whole digestive biscuit for every UK resident! An outrage!
000
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 13/08/2026
Many US firms are way past the point where 'not being political' is a key political choice. Lots of ads and excitement around Grok 4.6: maybe equal to other frontier models, and cheaper. But WTF? Grok is the one that nudified minors, and that enriches the Nazi-saluting, child-killing-USAid-cuts guy.
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 09/08/2026
What a bonkers statistic as.ft.com/r/3b0a9bd3-a...
16485183
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 20/07/2026
Learning from recent heatwaves: when buying a fan, it's worth paying extra (£50 – £100) for a good one with a DC motor. They use less power and make less noise — can be barely audible when producing a pleasant light breeze at lower speeds.
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Hard to think of a more deeply damaging start to Burnham’s premiership than giving green light to new oil & gas in N. Sea, if true. It won’t lower bills or lead to greater energy security but will drive an even hotter planet. What a terrible signal to give to rest of the world #ClimateVandalism
x.com
BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) on X
Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told. The announcement will form part of a flurry of policy m...
30934281167
Reposted by George MacKerron
David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This, in particular. Increasingly of the view that government policy towards universities is the test case of whether it really has a wider economic policy.
720895
Reposted by George MacKerron
Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
This is what you do when you know you are committing crimes and want to keep committing crimes. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Marco Rubio launches campaign to dismantle international criminal court
Trump’s secretary of state claims the global tribunal is interfering with US military and law enforcement operations
812949
Reposted by George MacKerron
CarolineJMolloy @carolinejmolloy.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I missed this at the time - I need to remember it if i'm ever tempted to feel sorry for Starmer
18439
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
This is truly something to watch. GMB and Unite's GS both going for the throat over Miliband, because he will pursue green policies that affect the jobs of a handful of their members. I'm firmly a union guy but wow do I disagree with this. If they're threatening to leave over the issue, let them.
FT: "Unions combine to try to stop Ed Miliband becoming chancellor
Britain’s probable next prime minister, Andy Burnham, under pressure from Unite the Union and GMB"

photo of Ed Miliband.

byline Jim Pickard and George Parker.
44313
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Talk about telling on yourself and your boss all unintended-like there, slowcoach.
091
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dr Dave Hitchcock @davehitchcock.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I am very glad to see how widely covered the insanity at Exeter is, but please I beg everyone, understand this is happening EVERYWHERE in UK universities. If people care about anything valuable that this sector does or contributes too, they need to get loud, now.
4180101
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 01/07/2026
Pies and doughnuts: good to eat, hopeless for data visualisation (a public service announcement prompted by some dissertation marking). scc.ms.unimelb.edu.au/resources/da...
010
Reposted by George MacKerron
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
'What is perhaps remarkable about the Exeter cuts is that they are targeted at some of the university’s most successful departments, many of which turn over a profit even after they have made enormous and increasing contributions to the central university budget.' Read, rage and weep.
johnheathershaw.substack.com
The Crisis in Britain’s Universities
The cuts that have been proposed at the University of Exeter demonstrates the crisis of purpose in Britain’s universities. Should not universities also be places to prepare for "eternal dwellings"?
10307179
Reposted by George MacKerron
Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Here is my campaign flyer for the #Makerfield by-election. Unlike the Green Party I’ve made mine electronic only, to help save the environment. #LoveEarth #VoteBinface
714329
Reposted by George MacKerron
Karl-on-Sea @karlonsea.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I do love it when "the silent majority" turn up to do some shouting about flags, and find themselves outnumbered by more than ten to one.
041
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 13/06/2026
4000 vs 300. Never change, Brighton.
27221
Reposted by George MacKerron
Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
My goodness, Ed Luce is furious giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
391202415
Reposted by George MacKerron
Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Thought experiment. If guns were more widely available in Belfast, who would be the most likely to have them?
7487
Reposted by George MacKerron
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
As Lord Acton warned in 1887, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority". Power on this scale is dangerous, and fundamentally incompatible with democracy. edition.cnn.com/2026/06/06/b...
edition.cnn.com
Elon Musk is poised to become the first trillionaire. Just how much money is $1 trillion? | CNN Business
Elon Musk is poised to become the world’s first trillionaire. It’s a staggering amount of wealth never seen before in the history of human commerce.
611746
Reposted by George MacKerron
Fintan Burke @fintanburke.com · 12/06/2026
My new standard response to missed deadlines.
Screengrab from New Scientist. The headline reads "Toy universe shows that time could be a quantum illusion." The subhead reads "An experiment with a toy universe made up of extremely cold atoms shows how time can emerge from quantum interactions, instead of existing by default."
34013
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 11/06/2026
Status this week: XKCD 303, but replace 'Compiling' with 'Actualizing', 'Boondoggling', 'Flibbertigibbeting', 'Clauding', ... xkcd.com/303/
xkcd.com
Compiling
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 05/06/2026
The Trump administration is attacking our democracy. Not in secret, but openly on social media. Starmer needs to show some backbone and call this out today. We can’t turn a blind eye to this blatant interference any longer.
Department of State @StateDept
"Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West. 

The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time."
33386108
Reposted by George MacKerron
Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Classicist here to inform you all that this is ancient Greek for summoning a cat
2235211094
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 03/06/2026
Our next @bfchorus.bsky.social concert: Howell's Hymnus Paradisi, 18 July, Hove. Should be beautiful.
011
Reposted by George MacKerron
Jack Bailey @jack-bailey.co.uk · 03/06/2026
Last year, we shared a paper showing that Labour's accommodation of the radical right did not work. We now have a new version of the paper online: osf.io/preprints/so...
12520285
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 02/06/2026
Read Careless People last summer — strongly recommend. Fascinating insight into how Facebook/Meta are even more evil than I'd previously imagined.
110
Reposted by George MacKerron
Adam Brown @adamlbrown.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
If only we had a national broadcaster with a mandate to educate and inform who could put out programme after programme trying to correct the dangerous misapprehensions that have captured a portion of the nation.
2654
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 02/06/2026
There was similar racist bullshit on the Today programme too: seems senior editorial staff are once again shilling for Reform UK. @labouruk.bsky.social should make sure BBC heads roll for this.
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Who, I wonder, is too racist for the BBC now? This is the language of the NF and the BNP, neither of which were invited on to the sofa to chat politics. Racism spreads when institutions legitimise it
19549206
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 02/06/2026
This is mind-blowingly bad. Let the competition to hoover up US academics begin! If only UK HE weren't itself on the brink of collapse. arstechnica.com/science/2026...
arstechnica.com
Proposed new US funding rules: We can cancel any grant at any time
Peer review now optional, political staff would screen grants for forbidden topics.
010
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 24/05/2026
In a RoadChef off the M25, loud pre-recorded announcement as we walk in: “listen up, bastards, don’t try any funny stuff: we’ve got the police on speed-dial”. Yeah, I paraphrase, but honestly, there’s a great behavioural science experiment waiting to be done here.
010
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 21/05/2026
Took a moment to realise this was parody. Then wondered why an administration that renamed the Dept of Defense to the Dept of War hasn’t already switched the Dept of Justice for a Dept of Punishment.
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
The Onion @theonion.com · 21/05/2026
WASHINGTON—In the latest of a series of escalations in President Donald Trump’s highly publicized war on “woke,” the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly removed all mentions of justice from its website Friday.
411932298
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
When VAT was cut on tampons and ebooks, prices didn’t fall - the suppliers kept the benefit. Unclear why this will be different.
2321564
Reposted by George MacKerron
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
A lot of commentary on here and indeed in the press is a bit like 'doesn't the Labour party understand their options for getting out of this burning building all carry risks?' No kidding, but have you seen that the building is on fire?
311524
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 20/05/2026
@jjaron.bsky.social Many years ago (I was at UCL) you covered Mappiness and maybe Pigeon Sim for New Scientist. Wondered if you might be interested in this?
000
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 20/05/2026
Perfectly good printers and scanners get bricked when manufacturers refuse to update their drivers. So I built two web apps: printervention.app + yes-we-scan.app. They spin up a Linux VM in your browser and bridge it to WebUSB. Ridiculous? Yes ... until they bring your hardware back from the dead! 🚑
printervention.app
printervention.app: print to your old printer straight from your browser, no drivers required
Your old USB printer works again! printervention.app prints photos and documents to legacy USB printers direct from Chrome or Edge: no drivers, no installs, no costs, just drag in and click to print.
221
Reposted by George MacKerron
Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 19/05/2026
There are so many hilarious and awful things about this story but the coup de grace is the author responding by pledging to launch an investigation into his own book to figure out who wrote it www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/b...
1526497
Reposted by George MacKerron
Benjamin Riley @benjaminjriley.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
This is, as best I can tell, not a satirical Dada-ist experiment aimed at revealing the dystopia of an agentic AI future.
From Rentahuman website:

The meatspace layer for AI

Let our humans take it from here
AI can't touch grass. You can. Get paid when agents need someone in the real world.
2143
Reposted by George MacKerron
AdyBee 🐝 @adybee.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
312668
Reposted by George MacKerron
Jo Grady @drjogrady.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Yesterday Kier Starmer announced Labour will nationalise British Steel, and save 2700 jobs. Today, the Uni of Nottingham put 2700 staff at risk of redundancy. This is just one university. Across the UK 15,000 higher education jobs need saving. Where is the rescue package for our universities?
19776363
Reposted by George MacKerron
Dominic Dean @drdominicdean.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Most medium-sized English cities are going to be left devastated by the HE crisis if government doesn’t do something soon.
07242
Reposted by George MacKerron
Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
💥Big intervention from Martin Wolf in the FT today. UK “elective dictatorship” + First Past the Post in a multi-party environment is a dangerous mix. A system where 30% of the vote can deliver near-unchecked power is not just unfair. It’s a constitutional vulnerability. www.ft.com/content/1a5a...
ft.com
We need to protect Britain against the tyranny of the minority
Our first-past-the-post electoral system cannot handle the new era of multi-party politics
4209101
Reposted by George MacKerron
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 10/05/2026
one side wants to install a permanent and grotesquely corrupt christofascist autocracy that sells the country for scrap parts off the back loading dock, the other thinks maybe we should help sick people and do a better job repairing bridges god damn extremists everywhere
1435
Reposted by George MacKerron
Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
I feel for Farage. It’s so hard to find enough candidates who are capable of dressing up their racism in semi-respectable language.
69221
George MacKerron @jawj.prof · 05/05/2026
Just reported this spam text to the ICO. ico.org.uk/make-a-compl...
000
Reposted by George MacKerron
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
We must stand in solidarity with Jews being attacked by antisemitic criminals and terrorists: no ifs or buts. We must stand in solidarity with Palestinians being murdered by the Israeli government: no ifs or buts. These are not contradictory positions. They are consistent ones. 🧵1/5
8264391782