iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nick Foster

@weknow0.bsky.social

142 followers 207 following 154 posts

Writer, rather primitive cartoonist and blogger at weknow0.co.uk. Treasurer of @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social

Posts Replies Media

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 5h

We need to be careful not to be part of the mob urging their clients to adopt AI faster than they would otherwise. AI in some form will survive the inevitable crash, but the shape and scope of the resultant wreckage is currently hard to predict. Let's be careful what we wish for weknow0.co.uk?p=3314

The IFoA’s AI Manifesto – a response – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

OCTOBER EVENT: We are excited to welcome Brum group committee member @theresaderwin.bsky.social as our speaker for Fri 9th Oct. Come and join us at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social, Birmingham Friends of the Earth, or online via Zoom. Tickets on the door or via Eventbrite: eventbrite.com/e/2002382732...

Birmingham SF Group welcomes Theresa Derwin

BSFG discussion with author Theresa Derwin

Reposted by Nick Foster

The Warehouse - Birmingham Friends of the Earth @inthewarehouse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Yet another of the huge diversity of cultural, activist, community or just downright fascinating events we host here!

Reposted by Nick Foster

Carol Goodwin @jupitersghost.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Looking forward to hearing @theresaderwin.bsky.social talking about her writing and her new novella GOD’s VENGEANCE (@crystallake.bsky.social) as guest speaker at @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social on October 9th at @birminghamfoe.bsky.social.

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My review of Picks and Shovels by Cory Doctorow weknow0.co.uk?p=3273

Nuns on the Run – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

When 3 different groups of people come at the same idea from 3 different directions, it may be worth exploring further weknow0.co.uk?p=3298

Three names for the same idea – We Know Zero

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Reposted by Nick Foster

Carol Goodwin @jupitersghost.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Reminder - Tomorrow night (Friday 11th September) @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social hosts SF author @justinarobson.bsky.social. Talk and Q&A at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social or via Zoom. Tickets available on the door or via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998349464...

eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by Nick Foster

The Warehouse - Birmingham Friends of the Earth @inthewarehouse.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Our Heritage Week event is happening this Sunday from 11-3. We will have artefacts from the past 50 years of BFoE activities, long-term volunteers with stories to share and tours to show what we've done to retrofit our Victorian buildings. Get tickets here: actionnetwork.org/events/creat...

actionnetwork.org

Creating an Eco-Friendly Space for Social Change at The Warehouse

Explore how Birmingham Friends of the Earth retrofit our Victorian buildings to create an energy-efficient, community-owned hub for social change. Birmingham Friends of the Earth got the keys to “The...

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We depend on models to understand the world and are often unable to look outside them. But there are models behind those models which determine what models of the first kind we create. These are the organisations and institutions we look at the world from weknow0.co.uk?p=2271

Models of the first and second kind – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Only one week to go until we welcome SF author @justinarobson.bsky.social to @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social on Fri 11 Sept. Come explore the impact of technology on humanity at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social or via Zoom. Tickets available on the door or via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998349464...

eventbrite.co.uk

Birmingham SF Group welcomes Justina Robson

BSFG interview with SF author Justina Robson

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The future is all of ours to make, but we really need to think about it independently and not necessarily along the tracks that the political class funnel all discussions down. That is a 1% world they are discussing weknow0.co.uk?p=3280

The 1% view will kill us all – We Know Zero

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The Warehouse - Birmingham Friends of the Earth @inthewarehouse.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Lovely video about our open day on Saturday from photographer Hayley Salter. Reminder that the consulation closes THIS FRIDAY so this week is the last chance to have your say about why community spaces like the Warehouse matter. mrhalliance.co.uk/consultation

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Getting back to normal as a strategy after a disaster comes unstuck when: 1. The disaster, or change-event more generally, is not a one-off but a continuing process; and 2. The way we were living before the disaster made the disaster more likely weknow0.co.uk?p=3253

Normals: new and otherwise – We Know Zero

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Birmingham Science Fiction Group @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

SEPTEMBER EVENT: We look forward to welcoming SF author @justinarobson.bsky.social as our next guest on Fri 11th Sept. Come and join us at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social, B'ham Friends of the Earth, or online via Zoom. Tickets available on the door or via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/1998349464041

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

What The Grand High Triangle Lover can teach us about our politics weknow0.co.uk?p=3265

Banging the triangle – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A plea for the future of @inthewarehouse.bsky.social

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A plea for the future of the Friends of the Earth Warehouse in Digbeth from one of its tenants, @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social. We are Mostly Harmless weknow0.co.uk?p=3244

The Vogons are coming for Birmingham Science Fiction Group! – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Some musings about different experiences of redundancy and the consequences of this, with an inexplicable focus on boots weknow0.co.uk?p=3232

The inequality of redundancy – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Stumbling into some new topics on my blog: what we learn, what we learn to ignore and the asymmetric costs of adapting to it all weknow0.co.uk?p=3224

Professions, triangulation and the costs of adaptation – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Time travel the slow way weknow0.co.uk?p=3215

55 years – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The phrase "A week is a long time in politics" is all tosh. The place where a week can be a really long time is football weknow0.co.uk?p=3198

A week in football – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

An Oxford novel dressed in post apocalyptic clothes weknow0.co.uk?p=3177

What we can’t know – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Poor weather for running in Mexico City right now apparently. That's unfortunate

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

With trans rights under attack as never before, we need to show our support for the trans community. Will you join us? goodlawproject.org/s/d23a8a

goodlawproject.org

I stand with trans people | Good Law Project

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Why does the IFoA insist on detailed accreditation of university courses on basic maths, stats and business and are so concerned about what assessment methods they use? It surely makes sense that the expertise within the profession and the university system are pooled weknow0.co.uk?p=2974

Nutted by Newton – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

It would appear that reservoir management in England and Wales is playing catch up on the whole concept of risk management weknow0.co.uk?p=3161

Reservoirs: this raises the question of what is meant by “safe” – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Our actuarial education system needs to change to give students a fighting chance of being centaurs in the world awaiting them, masters of the technology and opportunities available, rather than the reverse-centaurs that our education system is currently preparing them to be weknow0.co.uk?p=3147

How Not To Be A Reverse-Centaur – Part 2 – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Trying to plan your future at the moment is like playing chess on a rollercoaster weknow0.co.uk?p=3121

The AI Rollercoaster – We Know Zero

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Reminder that @antonyjohnston.bsky.social joins us at @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social THIS FRIDAY! Our last guest speaker until September. Hope to see you there! 😊

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The most impactful experiences we have are frequently at a distance from our credentials. Whether or not OpenAI and Anthropic are proved right, we need to answer the question of what to learn when the future is uncertain weknow0.co.uk?p=3109

Answering a better question – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

My short review of @rfkuang.bsky.social 's deliciously wicked academic satire about following your PhD supervisor into Hell weknow0.co.uk?p=3004

Katabasis – following your PhD supervisor into Hell – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Excited to announce next @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social meeting on Friday 12 June 2026 with award-winning, New York Times bestselling graphic novelist, author and games writer, @antonyjohnston.bsky.social Location: FoE Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street from 7.45pm. Further details attached below:

Poster for Antony Johnston with brief bio, pic of Antony and cover of Stealing Life

Reposted by Nick Foster

Birmingham Science Fiction Group @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

JUNE EVENT: We're very excited to welcome award-winning writer @antonyjohnston.bsky.social as our guest on Fri 12th June. Come and join us at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social, B'ham Friends of the Earth, or online via Zoom. Tickets available on the door or via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/1990418163307

Reposted by Nick Foster

Carol Goodwin @jupitersghost.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Happy Book Birthday to @theresaderwin.bsky.social. Her dystopian Novella, #GodsVengenace is published today (22nd May) from #CrystalLakePublishing. Best of luck and congratulations on making it to print🎉🥂📚

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Save the date and start thinking of some questions for @antonyjohnston.bsky.social when he visits us at @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social on 12 June! A master of storytelling in all its forms, from Atomic Blonde to SF to crime to westerns to rom coms to YA. Further details soon youtu.be/dzY0a7p2vXw?...

AdventureX 2025 – Keynote: Antony Johnston "How to Write a Great Story"

YouTube video by AdventureX

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

If actuaries want to protect the pipeline of future actuaries, the education syllabus will need to be reviewed. Universities may need to plug people in at a different career point. The alternative is an ageing profession withering on the vine it refused to nurture weknow0.co.uk?p=3084

The meatspace layer for actuaries – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

I had my head exploded by Hamnet last night weknow0.co.uk?p=3070

Emotional Truth – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

The arrival of the latest report from the IFoA and Anglia Ruskin - Planetary Solvency:Tipping into the wild unknown - is a chance to view the world from the POV of the flora and fauna we share it with. A fig tree for instance weknow0.co.uk?p=3062

The world according to the fig tree – We Know Zero

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Reposted by Nick Foster

Leon Simons @leonsimons.com · 30/04/2026

The ice loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet is hard to grasp! This is what the 30 million tonnes of ice that Greenland loses every hour looks like, if it were positioned next to the Eiffel tower before melting:

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Perhaps, instead of obsessing over GDP growth, we should be focusing on what countries like Iceland, Norway, Australia and New Zealand have been doing in recent years to tackle population health. I think it would make us all feel better weknow0.co.uk?p=3047

Healthy life expectancy is unwell – We Know Zero

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Reposted by Nick Foster

Birmingham Science Fiction Group @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Congratulations to BSFG Committee member on the publication of her first novel. Wishing you lots of success

Reposted by Nick Foster

Theresa Derwin @theresaderwin.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Here follows the pre-order link: geni.us/GodsVengeance

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

This week's piece is all about monsters and their creators, from Mary Shelley to Anthropic weknow0.co.uk?p=2698

The monsters we create – We Know Zero

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Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

MAY EVENT: @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social are very excited to welcome Hugo Award winning author Ray Nayler as our next guest on Friday 8th May. This event will be held over Zoom - free for members, £6 for non-members. Tickets and further info here: eventbrite.com/e/1987709792...

Birmingham SF Group welcomes Ray Nayler

BSFG online interview with award-winning SF author Ray Nayler

Reposted by Nick Foster

Birmingham Science Fiction Group @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

MAY EVENT: We are very excited to welcome Hugo Award winning author Ray Nayler as our next guest on Friday 8th May. This event will be held over Zoom - free for members, £6 for non-members. Tickets and further info here: eventbrite.com/e/1987709792497

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

My review of Claire North's Slow Gods, a polycrisis in the form of wonderful rich space opera weknow0.co.uk?p=2969

The Slow, The Shine and The Darkness – We Know Zero

…and we would get on a lot better if we admitted as much

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Great session with Oliver Bettis at @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social last night, despite a few technical difficulties. A very engaged discussion about the choices facing us on climate action and how to discuss them constructively from different perspectives

Description of the effect of aerosol cooling from sulphates in fossil fuels

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

We'll be talking about terraforming with Oliver Bettis in Birmingham this Friday night at 8pm. Hope you'll be able to join us weknow0.co.uk?p=3028

Talking Terraforming in Birmingham – We Know Zero

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Reposted by Nick Foster

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

On 10 April @birminghamsfgroup.bsky.social welcome Oliver Bettis, ESG actuary and co-author of Climate Scorpion and Parasol Lost. Come and discuss the real terraforming going on and its risks at @inthewarehouse.bsky.social or via Zoom. Tickets on the door or via eventbrite.co.uk/e/1985958692911

eventbrite.co.uk

Birmingham SF Group welcomes Oliver Bettis

BSFG meeting with environmental, social and governance actuary Oliver Bettis

Nick Foster @weknow0.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Calling it a cost-of-living crisis is a bit like calling the Black Death a labour market crisis weknow0.co.uk?p=3008

It feels like deja vu all over again – We Know Zero

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