iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Karen Poole

Related sentiment from the Association for Human Mathematics: "Releasing over 700 files at once is not a demonstration of scholarship, but a demonstration of power. We urge mathematicians to discontinue their work with OpenAI and to return to a vision of science that centers human understanding."

ahmath.org

Statements — AHM

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James Lamsdell, PhD @fossildetective.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Has a museum with staff whose whole job is to understand the legal and ethical treatment of fossil collections. "wE HeARd a DuDe oN a PoDCaSt"

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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I spent a year watching school administrators do their jobs—and interviewing the students most impacted. I spoke to @thecut.com in a long-form Q&A about what I saw. Mainly, a system designed to protect perpetrators and punish victims in each and every case.

thecut.com

The Reason Why Colleges Still Fail to Address Sexual Violence

The “Cornell Seven” case highlights what’s wrong with Trump’s Title IX rules — and how the system was always designed to fail.

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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

a little louder for the cheap seats in the back

One of the biggest myths is that men rape by mistake. Like, "Oh, they need consent training." But research is very clear: Sexual violence is not a mistake. It is an intentionally made decision by people who know they don't have consent. They just don't prioritize consent over things like status, power, domination, and sexual gratification.
For my research, I got a certificate of confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health, so my notes couldn't be subpoenaed. One of the reasons I call them perpetrators in my work is because every single person I interviewed confessed in that context. The first question I would ask them was, "When you received that email from Title IX that you were under investigation, did you know what it was about?" Every perpetrator I interviewed said "yes." If sexual assault were a miscommunication, you would be wondering, What have I possibly done wrong? That is not the way that any of them reacted because they knew.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Earlier this year the scientific community successfully fought back on dramatic changes in Federal funding proposed by the Trump Administration.Now another RFI is proposing substantial changes that would damage peer review. This letter from SDB President Helen McNeill lays out the issue clearly 1/n

Dear SDB Members,

I am writing you now to ask everyone to respond to a proposed change to the way that grant review information at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is communicated to grant applicants, institutions, and NIH program staff. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the process that selects our grants for funding.

The proposed change means that individuals, institutes and NIH staff will no longer receive the final overall impact score or percentile score that reflects the scientific opinion of a panel of experts. Currently, three reviewers provide their detailed opinion of a grant, and then the entire panel asks questions, can examine figures, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a grant, and then members all independently score. The final overall impact score reflects this discussion and careful consideration of the entire scientific panel.

The proposed change is to now simply divide the scored grants into three categories: Scored applications would be grouped into three broad categories - “Most Competitive (top 25%),” “Competitive (26%-50%),” and “Not Discussed”. The motivation for the change is that decisions would now focus on the comments of reviewers, not the score of the grant to determine which grants to support. However, the current mechanism allows for scores and comments to be considered. Thus, removing the score component from NIH staff makes selection of which grants to fund more burdensome for NIH staff.

The loss of detailed scores will also make it more difficult for researchers to assess how competitive an application was and determine whether to revise and resubmit it. An application ranked top 2% and one ranked 24th% would receive the same label, even if the scientific panel viewed them quite differently. Meanwhile, applications ranked 25th%and 26th% would be placed in different categories because of a tiny difference that NIH itself says should not be treated as meaningful. The proposal would erase potentially important differences while creating arbitrary new dividing lines.

This is a dramatic loss of transparency in the scientific review process. Under the new plan, principal investigator(s), applicant institutions, NIH program staff, ICO leadership, and the relevant NIH Advisory Council will no longer have access to the final overall score.

NIH is explicitly asking for input on this particular question.

This is a Request for Information (RFI), not simply an announcement of a policy that has already been finalized. NIH says comments will be used to inform the final recommendation, including implementation and communication.

Please comment here: https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=6a2b1c22c3fcfda46e0badd2

Deadline for response receipt is October 13, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.

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Cornbread Countess @breadbae.blacksky.app · 06/10/2026

I know everybody is outraged about the Cornell case, but this rape at LSU isn’t getting the same attention it deserves. And the school did find the student guilty of forcible rape. youtu.be/SI35s6GKbL0?...

youtu.be

EXCLUSIVE: LSU student says university failed her after Title IX finding in alleged sexual assaul...

YouTube video by WAFB

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 06/10/2026

What is the IceCube neutrino observatory? Neutrinos are elusive particles that rarely interact, but can create flashes of light when they do. Most neutrino detectors are giant water tanks surrounded by light detectors. IceCube is kilometer-long strings of detectors embedded in the Antarctic ice.

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Dr. Emma E. Bird @dremmabird.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

For years, 💀MorphoSource💀 has given researchers, educators, and students 🚨free access🚨 to 3D data on museum specimens from around the world. 🔆Now it is asking for some help to continue its work🔆 www.morphosource.org/donate/

morphosource.org

Why Give | Support MorphoSource

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Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 05/10/2026

Spooky bird stories. My Halloween comic from 2024.

A comic titled Spooky Bird Stories. In panel 1, a turkey vulture is telling stories to other vultures, and it says, "She walked toward the source of the terrible smell. She got closer and closer, and then, to her horror, she saw... No dead body." A black vulture says "No!" and a turkey vulture says "Did someone already eat it??" In panel 2, a northern cardinal is telling a story to some songbirds. It says "They peered through the windows of the house at the gory scene. Zombies had smashed through the door in the night. The homeowner was dead. But worst of all... He hadn't refilled the feeders." An eastern bluebird says "Aaah!" and an American goldfinch says "It can't be!". In panel 3, A screech owl is telling a story to other owls. It says "And then the ghost fluffed itself up really big to appear scarier." A saw-whet owl gasps, and a long-eared owl says "Horrifying!". In panel 4, a downy woodpecker is telling a story to other woodpeckers, and says "The eerie sound rang through the dark woods. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. It was the distinctive two-part knock of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The species had returned from the dead... FOR REVENGE." A red-cockaded woodpecker says "Yesss".

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I would add that teaching to the test, within the context of science, has overemphasized knowing “correct” answers at the expense of evaluating data and creativity in formulating and testing hypotheses. Not to downplay the effect on the arts, but teaching to the test has been bad for science, too!

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 05/10/2026

This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/09/2026

Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc

nyti.ms

Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)

An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The banshee in Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Saw it when I was maybe 5, didn’t sleep well for weeks. www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/...

reddit.com

From the nostalgia community on Reddit: Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959)

Explore this post and more from the nostalgia community

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

It also plays into their conception of masculinity: men eat steaks, salads are for women. Listen to how much they try to imply Talarico isn’t a ”real” man.

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Schroedinger’s TV: Can’t know if a show will be perceived as reality or fiction until people watch it.

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Olivia Just Wants Tech To Be Fun Again @kingdomfantasy6.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This is what I'm talking about when I bring up that genAI bots are making it impossible for an open web to actually exist. It becomes expensive, a pain, and domain providers like cloudflare are profiting off both the people making bots and the people who don't have the tech skills to fight them off

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I know it’s not at all the biggest problem here but: WHY IS HE DRINKING DIRECTLY FROM THE CROCK WHEN IT HAS A SPIGOT? You dispense it into a glass to drink, you radium-addled fuck.

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I would say we’re currently experiencing backlash against the MeToo movement. Which is evidence it didn’t go far enough in establishing real systemic change, but it DID make a bunch of powerful, handsy men scared. Good. They should be. Let’s make it stick this time.

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.

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Jean-François Cudennec @limpetnerd.eurosky.social · 03/10/2026

« Two Earthlings » John Brosio (2009)

Oil painting by John Brosio of a dimly lit museum. A massive dinosaur (T-rex ?) skull stands tall inside a towering glass display case, while a solitary feminine human figure stands besides looking up.

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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

All of this. I also want to add that, in my research, I found that a lot of “inconsistencies” in a victim’s story actually came from gender bias affecting investigators’ record keeping and interview methods.

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Spacey Kacey @kaceyisspacey.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Im glad my rapist wasn't a YouTuber so that I dont have to see a bunch of takes about if it morally okay to hate him

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Spacey Kacey @kaceyisspacey.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I dont actually think it's that hard to hold both "rehabilitation and forgiveness is possible" and "maybe a rapist shouldn't get to have the kind of dream job and audience that next to 0 women like me are ever going to achieve even if he says he's sorry"

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Understandable! And we’ll see. But right now they simply don’t think they’ll face consequences. Start sending people to prison for contempt and we *may* see changes.

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

(And while there are certainly some true believers among ICE, most people don’t want to risk going to prison for their job.)

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Yeah, but they can’t detain anyone while they’re in prison themselves. Even if it doesn’t change a single ICE employees‘ behavior, it’s still a form of harm reduction.

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Hemry, Local Bartender @bartenderhemry.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

the response should be immediate contempt proceedings all the way up the chain of command to the ICE/ERO directors including escalating fines and orders to personally appear in court. if that doesn't do the trick, criminal contempt, throw them in jail. play stupid games, win stupid prizes

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

There are a lot of Trump officials who need to be impeached, but Russell Vought -- the quarterback of all the Project 2025 fuckery and a central player in the administration's overreach -- really needs to be at the top of the list.

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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

TikTokers are doing an “I am Spartacus!”deal with this. Buncha young women outing themselves as Jane Doe. At least some of the kids are alright.

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Ausarchosaur @ausarchosaur.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The Sternberg Museum is now also in danger of closing. So today here are old photos of a small Pteranodon from the George F. Sternberg collection. #FossilFriday

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Andrew D Wilson @adw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Phenomenal question, revealing answer. Love to see it

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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Out today: We show that Westlothiana lizziae or "Lizzie," described 35 years ago as the world's oldest reptile - is not a stem amniote at all, but a stem tetrapod. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The part and counterpart of the holotype specimen of Westlothiana.

Paleoartistic reconstruct of Westlothiana by Jacob Schick based on our new data

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“…one of the most serious interstate aggressions in our Nation’s history”. Yup, mailing abortion pills is AS BAD AS THE CIVIL WAR.

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Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 30/09/2026

Breaking News! The preliminary Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature anomaly for Sept. 29th came in at 3.18°C above the 1991-2020 baseline. This marks yet another record all-time high and the 123rd consecutive record daily high at 1.1°C above the previous daily record set in 1997.

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Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is *the* piece. Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell, speaks truth to the totality of failures at the university — and why students protesting the war in Gaza have faced far harsher consequences than any of the Cornell 7: www.thecut.com/article/what...

thecut.com

What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now

As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We took the protest to an event where we knew the Drexel board would be tonight and I blasted a bullhorn directly into the door crack of the gathering, disrupting the event 💅 Drexel President Anthony Merlo was supposed to be there but a person slipped to us that he canceled 👀 gosh I wonder why.

Sarah is smug as fuck on public transportation

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This! The federal government holds a lot of sway over universities. They could create a better academic culture by requiring shared governance (e.g. faculty senates with actual power), capping ratios of higher admin vs teaching faculty, limiting adjuncts, etc. in order to receive federal funding.

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Ben Alpers @benalpers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Democrats do not only need to "go all in" on higher education. The party needs a genuine reset on its understanding of it. The last three Democratic administrations contributed to creating the crisis that higher ed is facing today.

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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Having real #MeToo flashbacks today, what with various news stories going around, and thinking a lot about how women were encouraged to rip themselves open and show off our trauma, in all its Technicolor glory, so that men might begin to believe us

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Well this is bleak. And why did they wait a week after the news leaked just to say "we have no plan?"

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Wonderful thread showing off the historic fossil mammal collections at the (currently closed) Academy of Natural Sciences. #SaveTheAcademy @savetheacademy.bsky.social

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Chris Widga @widga.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Although I can't be with those of you who are out in the rain advocating for your museum today...I thought I might be a good idea to post some Academy of Natural Sciences fossils to keep you warm and dry on the inside. @savetheacademy.bsky.social

An ammonite scultpure outside the side entrance of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Academy of Natural Sciences is the oldest Natural History Museum in the America’s, and it houses incredibly important research collections as well as public displays. Drexel decided to close it. This thread has links to more info and petitions to keep it open.

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aberrantologist @aberrantologist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The holotype and countless other specimens are currently held in collections at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the oldest natural history museum in the Americas. Drexel has recently publicized their intention to close the academy after over 200 years.

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aberrantologist @aberrantologist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Of great historical and scientific importance, the closure of the academy would not only be a disservice to the public and staff but also put at risk the vast collections reposited there. Drexel has yet to provide sufficient justification for the decision. youtu.be/nxyfBfCrbDw?...

youtu.be

The Plan To Destroy America's Oldest Natural History Museum

YouTube video by Miniminuteman

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Karen Poole @renpoole.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If you did not get a broad base of classes in different topics during college, then what you got is a tech degree. There’s nothing wrong with a tech degree, but you should recognize the goal of that is job training rather than educating a well-rounded citizen.

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