This is the aspect that bothers me the most about AI, and is why I still refuse to use e.g. Claude Code for now.
It's obvious that this tech has uses (+ MANY dystopic ones too), just I also don't endorse big tech being allowed to dictate to the world that ownership of writing/music/art is over
In San Diego for a software citation workshop! Remember: scientific software is as crucial a piece of infrastructure as instrumentation and deserves such recognition :) softwarecitationworkshop.ucsd.edu
Senate Republicans refused to convict Trump after Jan 6.
Republican SCOTUS appointees gave him immunity.
Republicans in Congress today stand idly by as he unleashes death and destruction across the globe.
We are now at the whims of a mad king because GOP leaders have refused to constrain him.
Not impeachment or the 25th amendment but a secret, third thing (criticizing his tax policies) on a day he threatens to wipe out a civilization
"It's a distraction"- maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Doesn't matter if it's all an elaborate conspiracy or a desperate tantrum from a dying man who wants to nuke *something* before he goes.
What matters is that millions of people in Iran might die because of it. Don't lose sight of that.
We’re in hell
⚛️🔭 Hey physics/astronomy science communicators: apply to come to @perimeterinstitute.ca for a workshop in October on how to engage the public in science! Anyone can apply, working in any kind of scicomm (video, audio, text, live performance, whatever it is you do). Check the link for more details!
It's frequently pointed out that NASA activities (and basic/exploratory science in general) have a fantastic return on investment, contributing far more to the economy than they take. But even if they didn't, no one's actually taking from the "cure sick people" pot to put money in the "rockets" pot.
NSF FY27 budget request; mention of woke; embarrassing
Very embarrassing work from the NSF
A Table showing the number of positions posted at AAS job-registed for various categories.
Looking at the AAS jobregister lately, it seemed to me that there are less positions available in all categories than in previous years. Wanting to quantify, I used the wayback machine to check on the number of postings in the January-March window and it is quite depressing.
my basic “should I use generative AI” rules:
* the 3 D’s of automation are Dirty, Dull, & Dangerous, and Dull is the only one applicable—so stick to that
* dont use it for any task where doing it yourself would improve your skill at that task
* “hard to guess, easy to check” format + ALWAYS CHECK
This piece is about CS conferences, but it speaks to a larger trend. What are we, as individual researchers and scholarly communities, doing to prevent epistemic poison? What can we do to preserve and maintain the quality of our knowledge in this era of bullshit and slop?
⚗️ 🧪 #SciComm #Ethics
It’s infuriating and dispiriting how cozy scientists and science communicators were with Epstein. Not just creeps like Krauss and Horner, but former SciAm editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina corresponding with Epstein in 2014-2015. “He’s done so much for science, I think that deserves some fun!”
The academy continues to impress
Through detroit!!!
Here we go again
God I missed Detroit
Heading to god honoring Michigan … maybe the worst day of the year to fly (had cancellations..) but god I miss it
Me sitting with snowboard on; in pain
Traded code crashes for snowboard crashes
command line app called chat (subtitle “is this real”) that takes a number at the command line and prints yes if real false if complex
Hi #aas247 people! Just saw some slides from an education session about astronomy majors across the country that looks super relevant to the new astro program we’re trying to start in Oregon. Anyone know where the full report lives, or can share the full slides? 🔭
But it’s okay because this will make the next refactor / expansion ever so slightly easier actually
Rewrite 🤡
Rewrite substantial parts of technically functional (albeit ugly, outgrown its scope) code or implement features necessary to make a production capable product? Easy
He had slept through helms deep
Cat in cowboy hat
Cats have had a good Christmas haul
Lord of the rings
Christmas Day is finally here, and that means two things: Lord of the Rings (extended) and a day full of hobbit meals
Tamales in a pot
Christmas time
This year in GitHub: 72 merged PRs for a total of 912 commits — and more to come (and more uncounted on gitlab). Not too bad but pushing for more next year!
I’ve met a few full time nano users