Burr Ito
@ututuy.org
Geophysicist | Astrophysicist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
Fluid Dynamics of Rotation | Helio/Asteroseismology | Planetary Fluid Cores. Mostly pics of clouds and timelapses. All media by me. He/him.
Fluid Dynamics of Rotation | Helio/Asteroseismology | Planetary Fluid Cores. Mostly pics of clouds and timelapses. All media by me. He/him.
Pinned
Burr Ito
@ututuy.org
· Nov 20
Reposted by Burr Ito
I mean we are absolutely in a place now where the only solution to this information disorder is for everyone to constantly evaluate the source of information. Never trust a chatbot, but also don't believe a video unless you know and trust where it comes from.
Unfortunately... that's a lot of work.
Unfortunately... that's a lot of work.
December 5, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I mean we are absolutely in a place now where the only solution to this information disorder is for everyone to constantly evaluate the source of information. Never trust a chatbot, but also don't believe a video unless you know and trust where it comes from.
Unfortunately... that's a lot of work.
Unfortunately... that's a lot of work.
Reposted by Burr Ito
Reposted by Burr Ito
How does global warming cause colder winter storms? whowhatwhy.org/2019/11/23/t...
The Paradox of Global Warming and Colder Winters - WhoWhatWhy
If the cold weather makes it harder for you to argue with climate change deniers about the existence of global warming, this story is for you.
whowhatwhy.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
How does global warming cause colder winter storms? whowhatwhy.org/2019/11/23/t...
Reposted by Burr Ito
just get in, I ain't got time for all that explainin shit
(donuts)
(donuts)
December 5, 2025 at 11:37 PM
just get in, I ain't got time for all that explainin shit
(donuts)
(donuts)
Reposted by Burr Ito
Wait is this really what it looks like. Why does it look like someone weeping
Like hands above the ocean tides holding onto to a shipwreck.
December 5, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Wait is this really what it looks like. Why does it look like someone weeping
Reposted by Burr Ito
New project documenting A.I. slop graphics in academic journals
neurodojo.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-...
neurodojo.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-...
New project documenting A.I. slop graphics in academic journals
The last month saw a couple of relatively high profile examples of generative A.I. slop appearing in academic journals. From my collection o...
neurodojo.blogspot.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
New project documenting A.I. slop graphics in academic journals
neurodojo.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-...
neurodojo.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-...
Reposted by Burr Ito
December 2, 2025 at 5:05 AM
The vibrations of an hypothetical planet.
December 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The vibrations of an hypothetical planet.
Reposted by Burr Ito
If scientists have some new computer code that makes their specific work more efficient then great. I don’t give a shit but go for it man. But that’s not what this is all about at all. It’s a supposed culture changing force we’re all being pressured into genuflecting in front of and paying for.
People on BlueSky: AI is useless! A stochastic parrot!
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
arxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
If scientists have some new computer code that makes their specific work more efficient then great. I don’t give a shit but go for it man. But that’s not what this is all about at all. It’s a supposed culture changing force we’re all being pressured into genuflecting in front of and paying for.
Reposted by Burr Ito
This is so disingenuous.
No one is angry about AI being used for intense processing of data for scientific and medical uses, we’re angry that the hypemen claim it can *think* or make art or replace human workers. Conflating all of this is the problem.
No one is angry about AI being used for intense processing of data for scientific and medical uses, we’re angry that the hypemen claim it can *think* or make art or replace human workers. Conflating all of this is the problem.
People on BlueSky: AI is useless! A stochastic parrot!
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
Mathematicians/biologists/physicists: It is already helping us do frontier technical research and in some cases solve open problems arxiv.org/pdf/2511.16072
(There are of course, as always, many caveats, but the paper is genuinely remarkable)
arxiv.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This is so disingenuous.
No one is angry about AI being used for intense processing of data for scientific and medical uses, we’re angry that the hypemen claim it can *think* or make art or replace human workers. Conflating all of this is the problem.
No one is angry about AI being used for intense processing of data for scientific and medical uses, we’re angry that the hypemen claim it can *think* or make art or replace human workers. Conflating all of this is the problem.
Reposted by Burr Ito
Patricia Smith just won the National Book Award for Poetry for this collection. The first couple of poems had me in a chokehold. Smith is giving me new life right now.
November 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Patricia Smith just won the National Book Award for Poetry for this collection. The first couple of poems had me in a chokehold. Smith is giving me new life right now.
Reposted by Burr Ito
Reposted by Burr Ito
'India'
1,881 images from a time-lapse sequence photographed by Don Pettit are repaired, remastered and retimed to create this 3x real time video footage, with music by Hiroshi Yoshimura.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/yDGjtg-_VUA
1,881 images from a time-lapse sequence photographed by Don Pettit are repaired, remastered and retimed to create this 3x real time video footage, with music by Hiroshi Yoshimura.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/yDGjtg-_VUA
ISS - India
YouTube video by Seán Doran
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 9:19 PM
'India'
1,881 images from a time-lapse sequence photographed by Don Pettit are repaired, remastered and retimed to create this 3x real time video footage, with music by Hiroshi Yoshimura.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/yDGjtg-_VUA
1,881 images from a time-lapse sequence photographed by Don Pettit are repaired, remastered and retimed to create this 3x real time video footage, with music by Hiroshi Yoshimura.
Credit: Don Pettit / ISS / NASA / ESRS / Seán Doran
youtu.be/yDGjtg-_VUA
Reposted by Burr Ito
I hope this deal helps, I hope my Belgian friends will forgive me for initially thinking it was a frite not a pen he is holding.
Belgium’s coalition struck a budget deal early today, allowing Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s government to avoid collapse.
Belgium avoids government collapse as Bart De Wever strikes budget deal
Months of disagreement finally come to an end.
www.politico.eu
November 24, 2025 at 11:33 AM
I hope this deal helps, I hope my Belgian friends will forgive me for initially thinking it was a frite not a pen he is holding.
Earth and planetary sciences folks, como to Vienna next year and tell us about your work! We have a really cool session on the dynamics of planetary cores and subsurface oceans:
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...
Hope to see you there! 🧪 🔭
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...
Hope to see you there! 🧪 🔭
Session GD8.1
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org
November 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Earth and planetary sciences folks, como to Vienna next year and tell us about your work! We have a really cool session on the dynamics of planetary cores and subsurface oceans:
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...
Hope to see you there! 🧪 🔭
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...
Hope to see you there! 🧪 🔭
Reposted by Burr Ito
Fun fact: November 28, 2001:
"ENRON, which had been a component of the S&P; 500, was removed at the end of trading Thursday and replaced by NVIDIA Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of computer-graphics chips."
"ENRON, which had been a component of the S&P; 500, was removed at the end of trading Thursday and replaced by NVIDIA Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of computer-graphics chips."
November 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Fun fact: November 28, 2001:
"ENRON, which had been a component of the S&P; 500, was removed at the end of trading Thursday and replaced by NVIDIA Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of computer-graphics chips."
"ENRON, which had been a component of the S&P; 500, was removed at the end of trading Thursday and replaced by NVIDIA Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of computer-graphics chips."
Reposted by Burr Ito
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
Reposted by Burr Ito
New episode! Do other planets really have diamond rain? Dr. Sabine Stanley answers.
www.listentospacepod.com/episodes/202...
#astronomy #planetsci
www.listentospacepod.com/episodes/202...
#astronomy #planetsci
Do other planets really have diamond rain? — Spacepod
Dr. Sabine Stanley answers. For more about planetary insides, check out her book, " What's Hidden Inside Planets ".
www.listentospacepod.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
New episode! Do other planets really have diamond rain? Dr. Sabine Stanley answers.
www.listentospacepod.com/episodes/202...
#astronomy #planetsci
www.listentospacepod.com/episodes/202...
#astronomy #planetsci
This weekend the Belgian government decides on the space sector budget. A harsh reduction of about 50% is being debated, with my job and many other colleagues' jobs at stake. 🧪 🔭
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
Belgische ruimtevaartsector vreest halvering budget | VRT NWS: nieuws
De Belgische ruimtevaartsector vreest dat de begrotingsimpasse op federaal niveau en de besparingsplannen van de regering-De Wever tot een halvering van het budget zal leiden. Woensdag moet bevoegd mi...
www.vrt.be
November 22, 2025 at 1:02 AM
This weekend the Belgian government decides on the space sector budget. A harsh reduction of about 50% is being debated, with my job and many other colleagues' jobs at stake. 🧪 🔭
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
Reposted by Burr Ito
JD Vance said the quiet part out loud, alluding to COVID-19:
“As we found out the hard way over the last few years,” very often that people outside the scientific mainstream “were right and all the experts were wrong”, he said, to loud cheers from the audience.
“As we found out the hard way over the last few years,” very often that people outside the scientific mainstream “were right and all the experts were wrong”, he said, to loud cheers from the audience.
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
JD Vance said the quiet part out loud, alluding to COVID-19:
“As we found out the hard way over the last few years,” very often that people outside the scientific mainstream “were right and all the experts were wrong”, he said, to loud cheers from the audience.
“As we found out the hard way over the last few years,” very often that people outside the scientific mainstream “were right and all the experts were wrong”, he said, to loud cheers from the audience.
Reposted by Burr Ito
@kapteynastro.bsky.social of @rug.nl invites applications for in total 7 PhD and 4 ERC-funded postdoc positions in our annual call. ⭐🔭
PhD positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
Postdoctoral positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
#exoplanet #astronomy #geoscience 🧪🔭⭐
[Image credit: Mark A. Garlick.]
PhD positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
Postdoctoral positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
#exoplanet #astronomy #geoscience 🧪🔭⭐
[Image credit: Mark A. Garlick.]
October 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
@kapteynastro.bsky.social of @rug.nl invites applications for in total 7 PhD and 4 ERC-funded postdoc positions in our annual call. ⭐🔭
PhD positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
Postdoctoral positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
#exoplanet #astronomy #geoscience 🧪🔭⭐
[Image credit: Mark A. Garlick.]
PhD positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
Postdoctoral positions:
aas.org/jobregister/...
#exoplanet #astronomy #geoscience 🧪🔭⭐
[Image credit: Mark A. Garlick.]
Reposted by Burr Ito
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
Reposted by Burr Ito
This is a real image of a real thing that exists in the universe! And because a bunch of humans decided to get together and build a space telescope, we get to see it! 🤯
Very excited to share the NASA/ESA/STScI press release of our team's work on Apep! It's a terrific writeup, complete with a brand new beautiful visualisation of the nebula geometry.
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
1/? ⚛️🔭🧪
science.nasa.gov/missions/web...
Webb First to Show 4 Dust Shells 'Spiraling' Apep, Limits Long Orbit - NASA Science
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding
science.nasa.gov
November 20, 2025 at 12:19 AM
This is a real image of a real thing that exists in the universe! And because a bunch of humans decided to get together and build a space telescope, we get to see it! 🤯