Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Black Unity Over Disagreement (he/him) @audubonballroom.bsky.social · 53m

@cnichole214 wrote:

Black... history is an essential part of [a predominantly white country's] history that has often been overlooked. By telling Black... history, we challenge historical erasure, reclaim power, fill knowledge gaps, combat racism,

(1/7)

#blackhistory #blacksky #addtoblacksky

1 2 7

Reposted

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 23h

I was delighted to hear @laurenlaverne.bsky.social celebrating #ALD25 early on BBC 6 Music. She picked 6 women who've embraced digital technology in their music, incl Imogen Heap, Laurie Anderson, Ela Minus & Marie Davidson. Listen from 37m20s, for the next 28 days:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Lauren Laverne - Lively anthems and unexpected gems for your midweek morning - BBC Sounds

Lauren gets your Wednesday going with the most magnificent music.

www.bbc.co.uk

1 2 4

Reposted

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 3d

Are you organising an event to celebrate #ALD25? Add it to our list: findingada.com/world... If you want to edit later, register or log in: findingada.com/wp-lo... Join people around the world in paying tribute to all the amazing women in STEM!

2 4

Reposted

Melissa Terras @melissaterras.bsky.social · 5h

Short BBC podcast about the history of Tippex, invented by Bette Graham 😍 - will be of interest to history of the book, and history of tech folks... www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Witness History - The secretary who made millions from her typos - BBC Sounds

In the 1950s, secretary Bette Graham invented correction fluid to cover up her errors

www.bbc.co.uk

2 9 21

Reposted

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 13h

The Senate has just passed the military NDAA containing 2 anti-trans provisions: a surgery ban using federal funds (dependents too), and a sports ban on military academy spaces.

This will be the STARTING point for negotiations with the House, which has even worse provisions.

Only 20 Dems opposed.

58 460 1.3K

Reposted

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 12h

Call your senator to let them know how you feel about their vote:

www.commoncause.org/find-your-re...

Find Your Representative

Find your representatives. Learn how to find and connect with them. Stay informed about their bills, committees, and contributions.

www.commoncause.org

4 70 210

Reposted

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 50m

MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit.
Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute
was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.

• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available
to any American with an internet
connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly
10%.
• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.

These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific
funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that tree marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences.
Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the
U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people.
We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth
CC
Ms. May Mailman
Mr. Vincent Haley

3 73 240

Reposted

Janet Lunde @janetlunde.bsky.social · 47m

Thank you to everyone who submitted comments to the EPA, yelling at them to put the new rules in effect.

WESA @wesa.fm · 1h

In July, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency put a two-year pause on implementing hazardous air pollution standards for plants that make coke, a key component in steelmaking. But environmental groups sued, and the EPA decided on October 3 that the new rules should go into effect, after all.

EPA reverses course on rule that will force U.S. Steel to monitor for cancer-causing emissions

The Trump administration has reversed course and decided it will not delay Biden-era rules limiting air pollution from the steel industry.

www.wesa.fm

2 3

Reposted

TanzPunk @tanzpunk.bsky.social · 1h

"Money can buy many things, but health is not one of them. If advanced economies are serious about tackling their frighteningly high rates of psychopathology, their governments must focus on reducing inequality, not chasing GDP growth that only makes the rich richer."

Project Syndicate @projectsyndicate.bsky.social · 4h

On #WorldMentalHealthDay, read @deschuttero.bsky.social and @profkepickett.bsky.social’s commentary examining the link between income inequality and mental-health outcomes.
bit.ly/48NOhyv

Inequality Is Destroying Mental Health

Olivier De Schutter & Kate Pickett propose raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to improve well-being in unequal countries.

www.project-syndicate.org

4 4

Reposted

QBurgh @qburgh.com · 1h

Rural America is just as queer as the rest of the US. LGBTQ people in rural regions make up at least 20% of the queer community. That’s not new. But the narratives many LGBTQ people know about queer history don’t often include those voices.

The need to preserve LGBTQ+ histories of rural America

“People think of big cities when they think about the LGBTQ community because it's just more visible there,” said Barry Loveland, co-founder of the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, explaining that it’s often easier to find and document the stories of queer urban pasts. “The more rural areas, like Central PA — when I started this project 13 years ago, nobody was telling those stories.”

qburgh.com

2 4

Reposted

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 1h

Asima Chatterjee was a pioneering organic chemist and India's first female scientist to be awarded a doctor of science degree. She helped develop drugs to treat epilepsy and malaria based on biologically active compounds in medicinal plants.
adalovelaceday.subst...

Prof Asima Chatterjee, Chemist

Asima Chatterjee was a pioneering organic chemist and India's first female scientist to be awarded a doctor of science degree. She helped develop drugs to treat epilepsy and malaria.

adalovelaceday.substack.com

1

Reposted

Retro Computers @retrocomps.bsky.social · 2h

Man, 80s computer books made even non-relational databases look fun. (Source.)

The cover to the book, "Writing Your Own Program: Creating A Database: Adventure Game." Each line is in its own font. The computer (a black affair with rainbow keys" depicts a scuba diver swimming, handcuffs in hand, as it is attacked by a giant cross octopus; the painted octopus is literally bursting out of the monitor. A tiny little banner in the corner states: "For Commodore 64 And Apple IIe Computers"

1 12 64

Reposted

taonf.bsky.social @taonf.bsky.social · 1d

What is judicial retention?
It’s when you decide whether a sitting PA judge should be kept on the bench for another 10 years

How does it work?
It’s a Yes/No vote.
Yes—The judge keeps their seat
No—Removes them

3 5

Reposted

Vintage Computer @vintage.computer · 2h

💿 Free Software Friday: XINU

eXperimental INstructional Unix: a minimalist OS by Douglas Comer, built to teach how operating systems really work. Elegant, educational, and still used today.🔗 https://xinu.cs.purdue.edu

Free Software Friday: XINU. Author: Douglas Comer, Release Date: 1981, Get it: https://xinu.cs.purdue.edu, About: The eXperimental INstructional Unix operating system is a great way to learn how a real multitasking OS works, with just a few thousand lines of readable C code.

1

Reposted

Chiitan🌈ちぃたん☆ @chiitan.love · 1d

Chiitan has a dream.
I hope that one day the term LGBT will become a thing of the past.
I will continue to spread my message until we live in a world where everyone can love freely and is free from persecution and discrimination.
Until then, let's all support each other🤍

140 3.2K 12K

Reposted

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 3h

UK, Online: Skills for the future. Suw Charman-Anderson, Kate Whyles and Sue Stack talk about the importance of continuous learning in STEM subjects, the need to adapt to career changes and the essential role human perspectives play in STEM. 14 Oct, free #ALD25 findingada.com/event...

1 1

Reposted

Carnegie Mellon University Libraries @library.cmu.edu · 1h

“Dr. Gonzalez-Espinoza was a huge help in getting me started. His support was incredibly thorough and patient, helping me build a solid foundation for my analysis. I highly recommend students to reach out!”

🧠 Read how our Data and Code Support services aided neuroscience research: bit.ly/4q48l5T

1

Reposted

matthias mprove @mprove.bsky.social · 12d

Once upon a time in Silicon Valley_
The story of General Magic (documentary 2018)

And BTW 🎉 my #ChronoMedia spot #2,000 🎉

mprove.de/chrono3d?ll=...

#ComputerHistory

1 1

Reposted

The Oasis BBS @theoasisbbs.bsky.social · 3d

Dan Sanderson VCF West Talk
#DanSanderson #VCFWest #MEGA65 #Commodore65 #Commodore64 #RobertBernardo #RetroComputing #FPGA #8BitComputing #ComputerHistory

theoasisbbs.com/dan-sanderso...

Dan Sanderson VCF West Talk - The Oasis BBS

Dan Sanderson’s VCF West talk explores remembering computers through the MEGA65, a living recreation of the legendary Commodore 65.

theoasisbbs.com

1

Reposted

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 10h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

380 4.5K 14K

Reposted

William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 4d

I was well over 30 when I wrote and published my first novel, and fully agree with you!

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 5d

When I turned 30 I had not yet written my first published book or my first published novel and did not know (or know of) some of the most important people in my life. I didn't know how much my life could still change, and did, after the age of 30. There is so much your life still yet to live.

essencesimmone.blacksky.app @essencesimmone.blacksky.app · 7d

Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?

19 100 1K

Reposted

Ada Lovelace Day @adalovelaceday.bsky.social · 5h

Mexico, Zacatecas: Día de Ada Lovelace en la UAZ-2025. A series of short talks about the work of women in science and technology. 10 Oct, 7:30am - 14 Oct, 4:30pm, free. findingada.com/event/dia-de...

3 4

Reposted

Cezary Jan Strusiewicz @ostrichson.bsky.social · 6h

DEI is when women exist.

No More Robots @nomorerobots.io · 20h

Here's how we handle manchildren on the Steam forums at No More Robots:

4 17

Reposted

beka valentine @bekavalentine.bsky.social · 1d

my loom's jacquard mechanism is working in full scale now! 20 heddles! ahaha :)

caution: loud noises

1 7

Reposted

Zenn @zennistrad.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like this should be a bigger story

Politico @politico.com · 1d

EXCLUSIVE: Democratic voting rights groups are preparing for the Supreme Court to gut a key part of landmark civil rights-era legislation, the Voting Rights Act.

Republicans could draw 19 more House seats if the court allows gerrymandering which dilutes the voting power of racial minorities.

Republicans could draw 19 more House seats after an upcoming Supreme Court ruling

Many experts are forecasting the end of a key provision of election law — enabling Republicans to shore up their advantage in the House, according to a new report.

www.politico.com

7 10