Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyJo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026The fallacy that University leaders pushing AI are falling into is thinking that the point of undergraduate research is to find things out. It isn't. What students find out is typically already generally known. The point of undergraduate research is to learn how to find things out. 351442412
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyTobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 14/09/2026I would not like an AI summary, I would not like it on a boat, I would not like the email bloat, I do not like it on a chair, I would not like it anywhere! I do not like them on a phone, I do not like them in my home, I do not want them on a search, I do not like them in a church 227570
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyProf Richard Betts @richardabetts.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Nope, it’s the weeks of hot, dry weather made more severe by global heating due to fossil fuel burning that has increased the risk of wildfires. The landscape is so dry that any ignition can start a fire that becomes uncontrollable. Fields of crops and grasses are not “rewilded” but have burned 1317564
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyDr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 28/06/2026Wildfire season has started - and that's not a sentence I ever expected to be typing about the UKtheguardian.comMajor wildfire rips through moorland close to Greater ManchesterBlaze on Tintwistle Moor, Glossop, has burned more than 500 square metres, forcing road closures and smoke warning 05132
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyOwen Davies @odavies9.bsky.social · 04/08/2026As thousands of research academics are made redundant the whole system of free/cheap peer review will collapse. 47216
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyMonkeyMan @monkeymanska.bsky.social · 20/07/2026I don't mind the occasional KFC; I really like Linger by The Cranberries. But KFC using a melancholy acoustic cover of Linger on their latest advert is so very very very wrong. 011
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyGavin Hinks @mrgavhinks.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Got to say, using the Cranberries’ Linger in a KFC ad is a disgrace. 011
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyKate Bevan @katebevan.com · 20/07/2026Nothing is sacred: I have just seen an advert for KFC that murders the Cranberries' glorious, brilliant Linger, for God's sake. Bloody vandals. 3273
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyProf. Anders Levermann, PhD @alevermann.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I think we, climate physicists, have overlooked something with respect to climatic instabilities... their effect on weather variability... I believe this will be the main problem for our society and economy for the next three generations to come... at least... www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.com‘Climate free fall’: why the biggest risk to our economies is yet to be recognizedIncreasing instability of the ocean, ice and atmosphere threatens farming, finance and society. We all need to wake up to that fact. 314488
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleySheldrick Wildlife Trust @sheldricktrust.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Do elephants remember who was kind to them? Yes – and across decades. Our ex-orphans return to the stockades long after they've gone wild, recognise specific Keepers by name, and bring their wild-born calves home to introduce them. They even come back for help. 944897
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyByline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 14/05/2026Toxic Pesticides Could Be Banned From UK Farms as Government Urged to Align With EU Rules Ministers are considering a new report by a cross-party body which recommends closer alignment with European rules on limiting the use of harmful chemicals in our agriculturebylinetimes.comToxic Pesticides Could Be Banned From UK Farms as Government Urged to Align With EU RulesMinisters are considering a new report by a cross-party body which recommends closer alignment with European rules on limiting the use of harmful chemicals in our agriculture 212650
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyThomas Penny @thomaswpenny.bsky.social · 12/05/2026If anyone in government has a few minutes to run the country in between plotting leadership challenges, could they please cast their eye over the devastation of Higher Education in the UK. www.theguardian.com/education/20...theguardian.comThousands of University of Nottingham staff told they are at risk of redundancyInstitution says it could run out of money by 2031 and wants to cut more than 600 academic and support posts 2267132
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyOtto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 02/05/2026So we're all just letting Farage get away with the £5 million "gift" huh. 1471715512
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyRage Against the Miocene @organiccarbon.bsky.social · 30/04/2026Global peatland experts share their top 50 research needs. Many of these are obvious (better mapping) and many should be obvious (centre local and indigenous communities), but some might surprise you (there is a lot that we do not know about what the microbes in peat are up to). 1116
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyFrankenwolf WRITING COMMS OPEN!!! @frankenwolf1.bsky.social · 19/03/2026It is ENDLESSLY loathsome. The insistence with which it is shoved into my face, the way it is sneakily slid into too many of the things I enjoy. The actual garbage it produces, that invokes revolt and disgust. The way I am forced to second guess so much of what I see. I hate it. Hate, hate, HATE. 0264
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyCasey W. Coller @caseywcoller.bsky.social · 17/03/2026I hate AI so much. So. Much. Please stop trying to make me use AI. I will never use your ChatGPT, your Copilot, your Grok 🤮 I will die on this hill. It is unethical. It is error prone. It is predatory. It is destroying us. I hate it. I hate it all. I will hate it forever. 3928021201
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyJames Harland @jmharland.bsky.social · 31/03/2026An article last year claimed that tree-ring data shows a link between drought and late Roman conflicts such as the "Barbarian Conspiracy" of 367. We show problems with such claims and appeal for interdisciplinary palaeoclimatic research to respect historical method. link.springer.com/article/10.1...link.springer.comDrought, Conflict and the Use of Historical Data and Methodologies in Interdisciplinary Palaeoclimatic Research - Climatic ChangeClimatic Change - A major challenge in the interdisciplinary study of past climates is ensuring that evidence and data relating to different disciplines are analysed effectively using appropriate... 412437
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 10/03/2026I expected so much more support for British Universities from this government www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.comHome Office refuses to exempt exceptional students from tough immigration rulesExclusive: Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper concerned about student visa ban on female Chevening scholars from volatile countries such as Afghanistan 033
Reposted by Prof. Simon Blockleyjane phượng, Ph.D (she/her) Ngunnawal Country @janephuong.bsky.social · 03/03/2026“You understand your place in the universe very quickly when you look at something 1 billion light-years away … and realise that those photons, they predate dinosaurs, they predate humans, they predate the continents,” www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...abc.net.auWe are losing stars one streetlight, one neon sign, one suburb at a timeFor most of human history, the night sky has been a shared inheritance, a source of wonder. Now, more than a billion children see barely any stars in the night sky above their homes. So what does that... 29614120
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleySaddletramp🇪🇺 @saddletramp.bsky.social · 18/02/2026The question for me that seems to have been forgotten or passed over is why did the Queen pay £12m to Virginia Giuffre if she believed Andrew was innocent? 081
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyDr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 09/02/2026I’m fine with *exploring* the solar system, with robotic probes and some crewed vehicles. But that’s not the same as trying to live there… 6623
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 06/01/2026www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe Guardian view on universities: Labour needs a clearer plan | EditorialEditorial: Ministers promised a ‘change of approach’, but their new tax could tip weaker institutions over the edge 020
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleySheila the Thief @sheila-the-thief.bsky.social · 28/12/2025Weird how this, the ultimate 'rape gang', isn't making the front page of the Daily Mail - especially since almost all of the redacted documents can be read. 25412
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleySonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 24/12/2025No one says to legit business owners, "hey I see there's an underground market selling toxic knock-offs of your product: how will you incorporate the toxic product AND protect your customers against its harms?" But apparently it's fine to make this suggestion to educators with respect to AI. 132092594
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyProf MNP @nushpowell.bsky.social · 19/12/2025I know disciplinary standards differ, but I've been at this for decades and I've never cited a paper I didn't read. Didn't like, sure; didn't understand, often; kind of drifted off in the middle there, it happens. But didn't read at all? Nah. Come on. 311152106
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyLeon Simons @leonsimons.com · 20/12/2025"how can someone not at least find it interesting watching a whole planet shift geological ages in the blink of an eye?" Hear, hear! 9565201
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyOtto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/12/2025Lots of kids speak 2 languages at home - including presumably his own when they were young. 1118713
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyOtto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/12/2025Also... stirring up hatred of kids. What a delightful party. 526822
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleySheldrick Wildlife Trust @sheldricktrust.bsky.social · 03/12/2025When Apollo outgrew our Kaluku Nursery and moved up to Rhino Base, it marked a pivotal step on his path back to the wild. This secure sanctuary gives him the space to build independence while still benefiting from expert care and close monitoring. www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.o... 317228
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyDr Matt Lodder @mattlodder.com · 29/11/2025It costs TWO HUNDRED POUNDS to get a morning train from Manchester to London???!!! 52310
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyOlga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 25/11/2025BBC censors a lecture removing author’s remarks on Trump that refer to him a the most openly corrupt American president. 58989432
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyCNN @cnn.com · 24/11/2025Child poverty has reached a record high in the United Kingdom as the country’s cost of living soars and its social security safety net falters following years of government austerity.cnn.itBritain is one of the world's richest countries. So why do a third of its children live in poverty? | CNNChild poverty has reached a record high in the United Kingdom as the country's cost of living soars and its social security safety net falters following years of government austerity. 126022
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyElli Leadbeater @ellileadbeater.bsky.social · 06/11/2025PhD project on the evolution of animal memory now available in my research group, through the TREES DLA: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo.... Come and join us if you're interested in the evolution of animal minds and you want to do some cool experimental evolution!trees-dla.ac.ukEvolutionary ecology of animal memory | TREES DLAThis project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment. Associative memory exists in some form in almost all animal species... 02824
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyThe English Association @englishassociation.bsky.social · 05/11/2025This ⬇️ 094
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyI Am Incorrigible @imincorrigible.bsky.social · 24/08/2025bsky.app/profile/sund... 122
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 24/08/2025It's not asylum seekers who jack up rents, undermine the NHS, hold down wages and keep people insecure. It's capital. The role of the far right is to shift the blame for decades of economic attacks by the rich and powerful onto powerless people who have only just arrived here. 10948741592
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyChris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 24/08/2025This is just getting ridiculous. Nothing that has happened (or is reported below the headline to have happened) this weekend remotely justifies talk of an explosion or mass protests. The media are confecting a crisis, and, in some sections of it, hoping to provoke one. 1/3 57806297
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyPalm Oil Detectives | #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect.bsky.social · 21/08/2025Intelligent and gentle, Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus ❤️🐒🐵 is critically endangered in #Ghana 🇬🇭🇨🇮 #Ivory Coast in #Africa mainly due to #palmoil 🌴🪔 #cocoa 🍫 #deforestation. Don't let them vanish! #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4wildlife @palmoildetect.bsky.social palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/15/m... 063
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyLiz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 12/08/2025This is maybe the worst part about being an educator in the AI era. AI companies are *stealing your time* by making you work around it/find it/adjudicate it. Time that, 4 years ago, you would have used to improve your materials, or stay up-to-date on some area of research. 8427163
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyProf. Rhiannon Stevens @nannonstevens.bsky.social · 06/08/2025Now with correct link: doi.org/10.1038/s415...doi.orgMajor excursions in sulfur isotopes linked to permafrost change in Eurasia during the last 50,000 years - Nature GeoscienceSulfur isotope excursions in skeletal collagen samples from Eurasia suggest rapidly changing biogeochemical processes across the region from about 30,000 to 15,000 years ago, potentially related to ch... 22313
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyKenan Malik @kenanmalik.bsky.social · 03/08/2025“It is less that AI is the cause of degradation in reading and thinking, and more that the creation of a culture that views knowledge primarily in an instrumental manner has made it easier to misuse AI.” My @theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...observer.co.ukAI thrives where education has been devalued | The ObserverA culture that views knowledge as a means to an end invites the misuse of new technology 27636
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyShoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 29/07/2025The depressing, awful reality of where we are as a society. People are made to feel guilty for literally saving human lives. 827469
Reposted by Prof. Simon BlockleyKevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 30/06/2025New paper. I wish this wasn't the case, but most progress on reducing US greenhouse gas emissions is likely spurious. Why? EPA underestimates methane emissions from oil and gas. Relevant today as Repubs vote to gut IRA's methane monitoring/mitigation program. 🧵 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lL4K_6se4... 21438200
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 26/07/2025Really Labour get a grip you are alienating your own members and supporters 030
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 25/05/2025www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...theguardian.comIsraeli strikes over past 24 hours killed at least 38 people in Gaza, Palestinian officials sayCivil defence agency says some people are still under rubble after attacks on Deir al-Balah and Jabaliya 130
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 23/05/2025www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling | EditorialEditorial: Without bold reform which makes the rich pull their weight, rising inequality risks eroding public trust and fracturing social stability 020
Prof. Simon Blockley @simon-blockley.bsky.social · 22/05/2025www.theguardian.com/environment/...theguardian.comChris Packham calls sea bass labelling in UK supermarkets a ‘dereliction of duty’The TV naturalist’s comments come after a Guardian investigation into the complex supply chain behind the fish on sale on Britain’s high streets 020