Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 1hJust clicked that beta = ((X’X)^-1)X’y is the same as beta = Cov(X, Y)/Var(X). (Yes I know this is obvious but my mind does this sometimes). 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 4hPointing out the absurdity of these ludicrous, clearly self-defeating planning enormities is good praxis actually. 000
Reposted by Tom JamesDan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 07/10/2026in which I highlight an important essay by @sifu.tweety.fish and muse on the weird parallels between AI models and corporate forms. backofmind.substack.com/p/the-manage...backofmind.substack.comthe managerial machineial revolutionontogeny doesn’t recapitulate phylogeny, but it rhymes 1197
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 10hThis stuff isn't rocket science, and even if it was, the optimal number of rockets blown up isn't zero. 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 10hMore seriously, there needs to be a feedback loop between what you're doing and organisational value. If that feedback loop is crisp enough, what are you reviewing code for? Get another AI to do it. 100
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 10h*sweating* Yeah man, it just takes too long to review all the code, you know what I mean? Aha. 100
Reposted by Tom Jameslastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 07/10/2026It is actually interesting to see a real life early modern Mecantalist monarch, to see someone who actually just sincerely believes that worldview. Bit odd that he graduated from one of the most prestigious business schools in the world tbh. 1836549
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 12h“The role of the state is to reduce risk for individuals and their projects.” 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 12hI'm glad Andy Burnham is going to put petrol prices on Google Maps, because it will be another great entry in the fascinating literature on petrol station tacit price collusion. 120
Reposted by Tom JamesRobin Hawkes @robhawkes.bsky.social · 14h642 MW being output from Dogger Bank A today, the highest level it has output at to date. Good to see that number finally going up. Looking forward to the day we see it hit the full 1,200 MW! 2233
Reposted by Tom JamesSam Wilson @samwilson.bsky.social · 05/08/202516. William of Orange was named after a place that had an entirely different etymology from the word for the colour and fruit. But it made for a good colour for a coat of arms 3162
Reposted by Tom James👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Once again thinking back to how this is the entire thesis that David Graeber came up with for Bullshit Jobs, which should have really been subtitled "Administrators at the London School of Economics who really annoy me". 36411
Reposted by Tom JamesIndy @indy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026So @dsquareddigest.bsky.social 's piece in staffordbeer100.com/festschrift is very good - highly recommend it to all those interested in the critique of New Public Management. (Free PDF on the site.)staffordbeer100.comStafford Beer Centenary | Conference, Book and DocumentaryCelebrating 100 years since the birth of Stafford Beer. A centenary documentary film and commemorative book. 031
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 07/10/2026It's kind of like Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable in the sense you can pick it up and just read something really interesting. 000
Reposted by Tom Jamesambrosen @ambrosen.eurosky.social · 07/10/2026Goes to a genuinely delightful Anglo-Italian caffè, orders the blandest thing on the menu, dunks on it. caffetropea.co.uk/family/caffetropea.co.ukFamily | Caffè TropeaWe opened our first London cafe in 1968! To this day we continue to provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the heart of Russell Square. 1615418
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The British parliament only “worked” when it was just understood that local councils handled domestic stuff and local representation was a meaningless formality. 030
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I think ditching the “local link”, meaning MPs become full time legislators/ministers rather than turbo social workers for their constituency would help a lot in improving MPs’ working conditions. It might even improve the quality of legislation! 130
Reposted by Tom JamesCelestial M Weasel @celestialweasel.bsky.social · 07/10/2026youtu.be/0-w-pdqwiBwyoutu.beSELL THE HOUSES TO WHO AQUAMAN?YouTube video by Kokutan Shi 041
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Kind of amazing that Dom’s Number 10 control room was basically just a modern open-plan office. 1272
Reposted by Tom JamesElectoral Reform Society @electoralreform.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This is an essential step to rebuilding trust in our politics, which is currently at record lows. buff.ly/mBZRACSbuff.lyAndy Burnham to fight next election on pledge to change voting systemThe prime minister says he wants other parties to take part in a national commission on electoral reform. 1124
Reposted by Tom James#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 05/10/2026*Book people claim that Bluesky "sells books" *You might buy this one. People who get this novel totally get it, while those who don't are utterly bewildered by it #HolyFire *The passage of time doesn't seem to make any difference there 4347
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I can't actually do it. It's like writing like Trump speaks: actually quite tricky. 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026There was a post on the Times about how much some Londoners earn, which I read because it was on the iOS news app, and it is *fascinating* 210
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026This way voters would have clarity on what parties would do in office, and what kinds of coalition governing programmes are likely. It would also increase the salience of policy issues over personalities. 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026A solution to this would be to replace manifestos by spreadsheets, where parties would detail clearly their position on any given issue, and if a party proposes something, all other parties have to indicate if they would support this or reject it in coalition negotiations. 100
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 05/10/2026One of the defences of FPTP is that it gives a clear endorsement to a particular manifesto, whereas in contrast PR leads to coalitions where the governing programme is negotiated by politicians. 100
Reposted by Tom James👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Listening to an interview with Alan Milburn on Radio 4 and it’s so telling about the ocean of difference in attitudes between people who think they were in the New Labour government and people who were actually in the New Labour government. 2477
Reposted by Tom JamesJim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 04/10/2026Different nations of the UK have different policies but - starting with Welsh-based politicians - MPs with young children will begin losing their free nursery hours from 2028 onwards when their salaries hit £100k. So, yknow, this might suddenly become a policy of mysterious cross-party appeal. 3589
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Something that has got a lot better in the last few years is AI autopopulation of career history from a CV in job applications. 000
Reposted by Tom Jamesironeconomist.bsky.social @ironeconomist.bsky.social · 04/10/2026The really bad thing about these changes is they don’t engage with the real reason for self-employment and subcontracting - tax. There are no employers NI contributions on self employed sub contractors! Painting this as about rights misses why it’s good for both sides! 1203
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026When was the last time you took your favorite edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable off the shelf and just opened it to a random page, readers? 110
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I can't believe you would break my balls in a matter such as this. 000
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Exactly. It’s an endless circus of whether some measure of productive capacity matters more than another. 000
Reposted by Tom JamesSmall Robots @smolrobots.bsky.social · 03/10/2026JRR Tolkien: You paint that picture of the key scene from the Two Towers where Frodo and Sam fight Gollum? Donato Giancola: Sure did, Ron, real fuckin' sexy just like you asked. JRRT: What. 5486122708
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I strongly suspect that British people have higher living standards than Russian people. But this is an extremely acute case study in the deficiencies of GDP. 100
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026“Is the British economy larger than the Russian economy”, - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate, 100
Reposted by Tom JamesCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026I have absolutely wondered about this. Amazing. 311800322
Reposted by Tom Jamesae @aelkus.bsky.social · 03/10/2026its because bringing in people from outside the cult turns it into a normal systems safety problem 131029
Reposted by Tom Jamesae @aelkus.bsky.social · 03/10/2026this is the first one of these "the alarm must be raised" pieces that actually makes sense, largely because he says something obvious: no one at the company has any clue about how safety engineering works 5705152
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Nah it’s all Malfoid for me too. Must be a cunning plan by Elon. 010
Reposted by Tom Jamesironeconomist.bsky.social @ironeconomist.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The ur sin of this Labour Party is that it’s got so polarised against the Tories that it didn’t really comprehend that the Tories and Boris Johnson in particular governed like a Labour government. Tax rises on the rich, liberalised immigration, higher spending on welfare (pensions) and the NHS. 141
Tom James @tacj.bsky.social · 03/10/2026What is it with PR and people introducing completely irrelevant things that aren’t PR? 011
Reposted by Tom James𓅭𓅮𓅭𓅮𓅭𓅮 @atepomegranates.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Can’t help feeling that the future is bright… ☺️🫶 ⓘ This user is sensitive to tachyons that travel back in time from nuclear explosions 011
Reposted by Tom Jamesae @aelkus.bsky.social · 01/10/2026the issue is not what AI can do, but rather that there are a finite amount of people, ever shrinking attention spans, and already way too much media for even an immortal being to consume over centuries 151297
Reposted by Tom JamesDr Hannah M. Rowland @hannahmrowland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago 202100212461
Reposted by Tom JamesStephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Latest Badenoch: “If [Andy Burnham]’s not calling an election, why’s he talking about things happening in 2030?” - alarming the extent to which so much of our political class cannot process the idea of “planning for events four years in the future”. 4062175
Reposted by Tom James#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 02/10/2026*Fabre also thinks that even "the smallest fly" is so black-boxy and complex that the entire attention of human civilization couldn't exhaust its mysteries *As a living thing the tiny fly is ultimately beyond analysis, you can never reduce it to simplistic billiard-ball physics 081
