Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
@struthious.bsky.social
Applied scientist working on LLM evaluation and publishing in AI ethics. Formerly: technical writing, philosophy. Urbanism nerd in my spare time. Opinions here my own. he/they 🏳️⚧️. https://boltzmann-brain.github.io/
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
The MTA is negligent in making no effort to install these, but massive jury verdicts are the worst way to do cost-benefit analyses. Platform screen doors are complex to retrofit, and the lack of them is tied to political pressure to never cut crew staffing (which are a major benefit of screen doors)
MTA has started to pay the price for procrastinating on the three-station pilot for platform screen doors, first announced in 2022. ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn...
MTA ordered to pay $81.7 million to woman struck by subway in Brooklyn
The jury determined that the MTA had failed to install safety barriers or other protective devices.
ny1.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The MTA is negligent in making no effort to install these, but massive jury verdicts are the worst way to do cost-benefit analyses. Platform screen doors are complex to retrofit, and the lack of them is tied to political pressure to never cut crew staffing (which are a major benefit of screen doors)
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
The full time job of the modal person with the title of "city planner" in the US is to be a steward of segregation.
November 25, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The full time job of the modal person with the title of "city planner" in the US is to be a steward of segregation.
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
Good morning to everyone who has had the thought, "Everything is awful but at least my state hasn't passed a law banning the reallocation of road space from cars to bicycles."😬😢
This province is becoming such trash that the people of Ontario are thinking about moving to the US.
November 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Good morning to everyone who has had the thought, "Everything is awful but at least my state hasn't passed a law banning the reallocation of road space from cars to bicycles."😬😢
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
this is a story about farming that they have decided to make about datacenters. the amazon rep called them liars directly and they just print it and then return to insinuating all sorts of shit
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 AM
this is a story about farming that they have decided to make about datacenters. the amazon rep called them liars directly and they just print it and then return to insinuating all sorts of shit
I’ve always called it “no bedtime leftism”
Just for completeness sake, the now correctly named “reverse bors” is when someone says they hate capitalism but actually reveals they just hate living in a society with responsibilities to other people
November 25, 2025 at 5:10 AM
I’ve always called it “no bedtime leftism”
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
There are currently at least 7 automated bots on the network, posting the same fundraising link. They've posted the same link well over 100 times today. Yesterday it was 4 with over 300 posts to the same link in a single day
Nearly every single one has "✅Verified by #Molly_Shah" in the bio.
Nearly every single one has "✅Verified by #Molly_Shah" in the bio.
November 19, 2025 at 1:33 AM
There are currently at least 7 automated bots on the network, posting the same fundraising link. They've posted the same link well over 100 times today. Yesterday it was 4 with over 300 posts to the same link in a single day
Nearly every single one has "✅Verified by #Molly_Shah" in the bio.
Nearly every single one has "✅Verified by #Molly_Shah" in the bio.
*whispers* google search was already bad long before llms
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 AM
*whispers* google search was already bad long before llms
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
sick of bitching about the atlantic? put your money where your poast is:
To fight fascism we need opposition media with a backbone. 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 is that. Help us grow our voice. www.gofundme.com/f/the-libera...
Donate to The Liberal Currents Startup Fund, organized by Adam Gurri
To fight fascism we need opposition media with a backbone. Liberal Currents is that. Help… Adam Gurri needs your support for The Liberal Currents Startup Fund
www.gofundme.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
sick of bitching about the atlantic? put your money where your poast is:
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
If you have been sharing that Malwarebytes article on the Gmail thing, you should note the giant correction up top.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
November 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
If you have been sharing that Malwarebytes article on the Gmail thing, you should note the giant correction up top.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
The shoppers at my local aldi are extraordinarily good at letting shoppers with a few items in their arms ahead of them, if they have a large cart full of stuff
November 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The shoppers at my local aldi are extraordinarily good at letting shoppers with a few items in their arms ahead of them, if they have a large cart full of stuff
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
Ok, pretty funny of Zohran’s people to put out the absolute model of the sort of statement that drives Bluesky absolutely *insane* to be studiously ignored On Here because of the source
November 22, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Ok, pretty funny of Zohran’s people to put out the absolute model of the sort of statement that drives Bluesky absolutely *insane* to be studiously ignored On Here because of the source
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
like, any time Graeber's work touches on something I know about (Chinese or Cold War history), it's wrong about two-thirds of the time, either mildly wrong or grossly wrong, and this seems to be the case across a variety of fields.
November 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
like, any time Graeber's work touches on something I know about (Chinese or Cold War history), it's wrong about two-thirds of the time, either mildly wrong or grossly wrong, and this seems to be the case across a variety of fields.
I have different frustrations with pimsleur and with duolingo
the latter is more flexible because you can pass tests to skip ahead but they are still tedious
I should probably look into those apps that pair you with a real instructor
the latter is more flexible because you can pass tests to skip ahead but they are still tedious
I should probably look into those apps that pair you with a real instructor
November 21, 2025 at 11:09 PM
I have different frustrations with pimsleur and with duolingo
the latter is more flexible because you can pass tests to skip ahead but they are still tedious
I should probably look into those apps that pair you with a real instructor
the latter is more flexible because you can pass tests to skip ahead but they are still tedious
I should probably look into those apps that pair you with a real instructor
It’s reflective of my life that I heard the phrase “single agent” while on a work call and my brain translated it to “single stair”
November 21, 2025 at 10:02 PM
It’s reflective of my life that I heard the phrase “single agent” while on a work call and my brain translated it to “single stair”
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
November 21, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Insane but true fact: making US roads as safe as Canadian, Australian, or European roads would save more lives than eliminating murder from the US.
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
self-portrait by Helene Schjerfbeck. her enduring fear of aging produced fascinating self-portraits
May 29, 2025 at 10:43 AM
self-portrait by Helene Schjerfbeck. her enduring fear of aging produced fascinating self-portraits
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
Probably up past my bedtime but if someone insists that there's A Radical Identity that exempts you from needing to make sure you and others identifying as said identity are not being reactionary, you're being sold a lie
"The Faggots That Reject Hegemony" are more than content fighting to establish their own comfort-levels/anti-'cringe' based hegemony in social spaces they are active in
There is no magical queer radical identity that, by any means, exempts you from needing to constantly look out for this.
There is no magical queer radical identity that, by any means, exempts you from needing to constantly look out for this.
November 21, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Probably up past my bedtime but if someone insists that there's A Radical Identity that exempts you from needing to make sure you and others identifying as said identity are not being reactionary, you're being sold a lie
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
People who don’t ride public transit love to be like “look, this small Midwestern city where the bus doesn’t run at all on Sundays and public transit has a zero point two percent mode share PROVES that you can make buses free! If you don’t support this then you are a neoliberal ghoul.”
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
People who don’t ride public transit love to be like “look, this small Midwestern city where the bus doesn’t run at all on Sundays and public transit has a zero point two percent mode share PROVES that you can make buses free! If you don’t support this then you are a neoliberal ghoul.”
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
things happening on the other site you wouldn’t believe
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 AM
things happening on the other site you wouldn’t believe
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
the Epstein files have been trending on HuggingFace.
> This dataset is provided for...
> Evaluating information retrieval and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) systems.
> It is not intended for: Fine-tuning language models.
??
> This dataset is provided for...
> Evaluating information retrieval and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) systems.
> It is not intended for: Fine-tuning language models.
??
November 20, 2025 at 9:49 PM
the Epstein files have been trending on HuggingFace.
> This dataset is provided for...
> Evaluating information retrieval and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) systems.
> It is not intended for: Fine-tuning language models.
??
> This dataset is provided for...
> Evaluating information retrieval and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) systems.
> It is not intended for: Fine-tuning language models.
??
NPIC is a real problem
This piece is based on research showing that since 2018 major foundations have given more than a quarter of a billion dollars to nonprofits that went on to oppose YIMBY legislation in California
New from me for Inside Philanthropy: California foundations need to decide whether they genuinely want to improve housing affordability or would rather keep funding NIMBY obstructionism in Sacramento. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...
November 20, 2025 at 11:35 PM
NPIC is a real problem
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
My town's Facebook page is full of people absolutely irate that our extremely broke city cannot fix potholes in the hundreds of miles of six lane arterials that are driven on primarily by SUVs and large pickup trucks. Local government was a mistake.
November 20, 2025 at 10:33 PM
My town's Facebook page is full of people absolutely irate that our extremely broke city cannot fix potholes in the hundreds of miles of six lane arterials that are driven on primarily by SUVs and large pickup trucks. Local government was a mistake.
Reposted by Leif Hancox-Li, PhD
This is rich. Connie Chan says she “built real affordable housing, not the Sacramento version that destroys our neighborhoods.”
She points to new affordable housing on Geary: housing that she didn’t build but that *was* built using “Sacramento version” housing laws & $52M in state funds. 🧵
She points to new affordable housing on Geary: housing that she didn’t build but that *was* built using “Sacramento version” housing laws & $52M in state funds. 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This is rich. Connie Chan says she “built real affordable housing, not the Sacramento version that destroys our neighborhoods.”
She points to new affordable housing on Geary: housing that she didn’t build but that *was* built using “Sacramento version” housing laws & $52M in state funds. 🧵
She points to new affordable housing on Geary: housing that she didn’t build but that *was* built using “Sacramento version” housing laws & $52M in state funds. 🧵
LA has the most suburban culture and many LAers identify strongly with 'we're not like new york we can all live in houses with orange groves the whole point is to not be new york'
Why is LA leadership seemingly still so NIMBY when NYC and Chicago progressive leadership has largely embraced a zoning reform agenda?
Or am I mischaracterizing things?
Or am I mischaracterizing things?
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
LA has the most suburban culture and many LAers identify strongly with 'we're not like new york we can all live in houses with orange groves the whole point is to not be new york'
If you want a “corporations are ok with killing people” narrative this has been happening for decades, unlike your made up stats about waymo
New study finds that "vehicles with large driver-side blind zones are much more likely to strike crossing pedestrians while turning left."
Which vehicles have big driver-side blind zones? Those with thick A-pillars, bulky side mirrors, and tall hoods—i.e., big SUVs and trucks.
Which vehicles have big driver-side blind zones? Those with thick A-pillars, bulky side mirrors, and tall hoods—i.e., big SUVs and trucks.
Vehicles with big blind zones spell danger to pedestrians during left turns
A large driver-side blind zone raises the risk of striking a pedestrian during a left turn by 70%, a new IIHS study shows.
www.iihs.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:22 PM
If you want a “corporations are ok with killing people” narrative this has been happening for decades, unlike your made up stats about waymo