Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by David Grinspoon

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 21h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 1d

We’ve all seen a great deal of repetitive slop written about potential existential dangers of AI.
This piece by Stephen Witt does not merely repeat what we’ve already heard but attempts to apply data to the question. Definitely worth reading, and highly concerning.
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | The A.I. Prompt That Could End the World

www.nytimes.com

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Elise Cutts @elisecutts.bsky.social · 1d

Different wavelengths ranges are... Halloween costumes for planets?

IR Jupiter is a pumpkin, a classic if maybe a little low-effort spooky look. (1/n) 🧪🔭

David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 1d

Since spooky season is here: Jupiter in the infrared looking like an angry red pumpkin planet.
(Square-root-enhanced images of Jupiter's thermal emission from cloud tops at 5.1 microns from NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility in October 2020)
🧪

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 1d

Since spooky season is here: Jupiter in the infrared looking like an angry red pumpkin planet.
(Square-root-enhanced images of Jupiter's thermal emission from cloud tops at 5.1 microns from NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility in October 2020)
🧪

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · Apr 17

Reposted by Ensign Crusher. My work on this planet is done.

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 28d

Cute little ET discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California.
(Remember “terrestrial” has two opposites, one of which is “marine”.)
Meet the bumpy snailfish!
🧪
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/s...

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

#WarRavagedPortland

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 3d

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 4d

Yes it’s frustratingly persistent.
I should have said that graphic comes from @larrynittler.bsky.social

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 4d

2) Windbaggery. Tends to create ego-monsters who believe themselves to be knowledgeable and correct about all things. The times I’ve suffered through dinner with pontificating Nobel laureates - hours I’ll never get back. (There are some lovely exceptions however)

3) Jealousy.

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 4d

A sorry record. This is one reason I don’t care for the Nobel prizes. Three others being:

1) promotes a “great man” view of scientific progress, whereas science is best understood and celebrated as a collective, community activity.
🧪

Graph showing the low and declining percentage of physics Nobel prizes awarded to women. 2.18% as of 2025, despite the fact that 15% of physics phds have been awarded to women over the last 50 years.

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 4d

Yes, by all means, they should spend their time more fruitfully. Perhaps they should sit around making snarky, petulant comments on social media. That would be more useful to humanity than pursuing history or archeology!

Atticus Thraxx (Was/Is) @atticusthraxx.bsky.social · 4d

Maybe the researcher’s time would have been better spent on something useful to humanity.
Should study that.

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Mark Marley @markmarley.bsky.social · 5d

I gave a homework assignment in my Exoplanets grad class to define what would be taught as “normal” architecture to grad students in the TRAPPIST-1 system.

David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 6d

We were also taught that (2)
the “architecture” of other planetary systems would likely resemble ours- a few rocky worlds close in and a few gas giants farther out past the “snow line”. The processes that led to that were (we thought) understood. We expected the solar system to be “normal”.
WRONG!

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 5d

I love that!

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 5d

New research suggests that Shackelton’s Endurance was not simply doomed by ice, but rather its demise came from exploring with a “faster, better cheaper” mentality?

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/s...

Wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance Tied to Culprit Other Than Ice

www.nytimes.com

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 6d

We were also taught that (2)
the “architecture” of other planetary systems would likely resemble ours- a few rocky worlds close in and a few gas giants farther out past the “snow line”. The processes that led to that were (we thought) understood. We expected the solar system to be “normal”.
WRONG!

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Reposted by David Grinspoon

David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 6d

In grad school in the 80s we were taught that most other stars *should* have planets, which we’ll hopefully be able to observe some day, since the formation of planets seems to be a normal byproduct of star formation.
This was right!

But we were also taught that (2)…

Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 9d

This week (!) is the 30th anniversary of the announcement of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet found orbiting a star like our Sun - since then, we've found over 6,000!

To celebrate, @alexwitze.bsky.social and @nature.com collected some astronomers' favourite planets:

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

These alien planets are astronomers’ favourites: here’s why

Space scientists look back on 30 years of exoplanet discoveries — from rows of massive ‘super-Earths‘ to worlds with perfectly synchronized orbits.

www.nature.com

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Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · 6d

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.

Community action works.

Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 6d

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 6d

It was clear from the beginning that ICE staffing up was going to be a full employment program for racists, barroom bullies and wife beaters

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 6d

We were also taught that (2)
the “architecture” of other planetary systems would likely resemble ours- a few rocky worlds close in and a few gas giants farther out past the “snow line”. The processes that led to that were (we thought) understood. We expected the solar system to be “normal”.
WRONG!

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David Grinspoon @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social · 6d

In grad school in the 80s we were taught that most other stars *should* have planets, which we’ll hopefully be able to observe some day, since the formation of planets seems to be a normal byproduct of star formation.
This was right!

But we were also taught that (2)…

Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 9d

This week (!) is the 30th anniversary of the announcement of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet found orbiting a star like our Sun - since then, we've found over 6,000!

To celebrate, @alexwitze.bsky.social and @nature.com collected some astronomers' favourite planets:

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

These alien planets are astronomers’ favourites: here’s why

Space scientists look back on 30 years of exoplanet discoveries — from rows of massive ‘super-Earths‘ to worlds with perfectly synchronized orbits.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by David Grinspoon

Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 6d

If you can't not pepper spray someone just for being mouthy you don't deserve to carry pepper spray (or whatever it is they carry)

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 7d

Federal officer blasts chemical spray into vocal but nonviolent Portland protester, video shows

The interaction illustrates how federal law enforcement officers do use aggressive tactics against protesters who yell and needle officers but don’t appear to present clear physical threats.

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 7d

Federal officer blasts chemical spray into vocal but nonviolent Portland protester, video shows

The interaction illustrates how federal law enforcement officers do use aggressive tactics against protesters who yell and needle officers but don’t appear to present clear physical threats.

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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 7d

ICE GOONS tear gas crowd of community members near the Broadview, IL ICE Facility near Chicago

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