Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ben Adida @benadida.com · 3d

This is what Depeche Mode warned us about.

AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 5d

Virtual Jesus? People of faith divided as AI enters religion.

One app, which is called Text with Jesus, has thousands of paying subscribers. It lets people ostensibly ask questions of Mary, Joseph, Jesus and nearly all 12 apostles
u.afp.com/SmoK

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 4d

And gauging how best to play with a new doubles partner is also fascinating.

Get ready to get your butt kicked by a petite 65yo woman who can spin serve you into oblivion and volley back anything you send at her.

I'm loving it. This is a very different sports experience than anything else.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 4d

I've been playing pickleball. There's this pickup culture where you show up to open play and rotate playing doubles with different people.

The sport and the culture are fascinating. Playing strong and hard isn't necessarily the winning move. Tennis skills translate somewhat but very imperfectly.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 4d

lol, amazing. This post wins the Internet at least for the day.

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Reposted by Ben Adida

LCSSP at Caltech @caltechlcssp.bsky.social · 5d

If you missed yesterday's great session of @caltechlcssp.bsky.social Co-Director @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social's #ElectionScienceOfficeHours webinar-part of the #CaltechElectionIntegrity project-featuring @voting.works' @benadida.com, watch on YouTube here: youtu.be/MJkiWDh7igk?...

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 7d

This afternoon, 2pm eastern. Should be fun. Audience questions included.

LCSSP at Caltech @caltechlcssp.bsky.social · 7d

REMINDAR: 🟠TODAY🟠 Wednesday, 10/1 at 11am Pacific. Register NOW!

#ElectionScienceOfficeHours

@rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social of @caltech.edu / @caltechlcssp.bsky.social & @benadida.com of @voting.works #CaltechElectionIntegrity

LCSSP at Caltech @caltechlcssp.bsky.social · 12d

Join us on Oct 1 at 11 am Pacific for the next segment of the #ElectionScienceOfficeHours webinar & podcast, part of the #CaltechElectionIntegrity project. Host @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social welcomes @voting.works Exec Director @benadida.com to talk all things #ElectionTechnology. @caltech.edu

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 7d

saw Dire Straits in Paris, 1992. There are videos of the show on YouTube and it's *wild* to think I'm in that crowd somewhere.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 7d

glad Dire Straits is yet another cool thing we agree on :)

Good reminder, playing So Far Away now on the Sonos.

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Reposted by Ben Adida

R. Michael Alvarez @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social · 9d

This week's Election Science Office Hours! @benadida.com will join me to talk about election technology, voting system security, and cryptography in elections! I'll be a great conversation, join us live at 11am Pacific on Wednesday!

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 11d

I appreciate your optimism that next century is better.

Ben Adida @benadida.com · 11d

Lol, so apparently downtime on iOS devices can be defeated by kids changing the system clock? Seriously Apple?

Unfortunately for me, my kids inherited my hacker brain.

Unfortunately for them, their father still notices things like bad timestamps on Signal messages.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 12d

Looking forward to chatting with my old colleague @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social about all things voting technology next week.

LCSSP at Caltech @caltechlcssp.bsky.social · 12d

Join us on Oct 1 at 11 am Pacific for the next segment of the #ElectionScienceOfficeHours webinar & podcast, part of the #CaltechElectionIntegrity project. Host @rmichaelalvarez.bsky.social welcomes @voting.works Exec Director @benadida.com to talk all things #ElectionTechnology. @caltech.edu

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 13d

Huntington's Disease featured prominently in my medical genetics class, one of my favorite ever in grad school. Famously known to be devastating in middle age, without treatment options.

Except now, in 2025, we have treatment options that work wonders.

Medical science is incredible.

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 13d

A new gene therapy trial slowed Huntington’s Disease by an average of 75% in patients.

It involves delivery of a modified but safe virus that produces microRNA in the brain to counteract mutations in the huntingtin gene.

We can achieve amazing things when we fund science!

How does Huntington's gene therapy work?
Huntington's mutation leads to toxic proteins in brain cells
huntingtin DNA
Cell Mutant huntingtin
protein
Neuron
Messenger RNA
Gene therapy infused into the brain
- Catheter
Brain cells become their own drug factory
N Genetic material
produces therapy
Lowers levels of toxic protein in the brain

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 14d

It's important to put these conspiracy theories, like other voting conspiracy theories before it, to bed. Good article.

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 14d

After Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat, Republicans used dubious arguments to say he had been cheated. Now the left is dabbling in some of those same questionable theories to claim that Kamala Harris really won last year’s election, @dgraham.bsky.social argues. https://theatln.tc/UnBklTJL

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 18d

Yep. Total crap. I've been upset about this for a decade+. I don't understand how there aren't more PMs at Google to whom this matters.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 18d

My understanding is that this is sadly very common with Chromebooks controlled by schools. I don't think it's the school's fault. I continue to blame Google and Apple for dramatically insufficient parental controls.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 21d

Look I'm biased, but this NYT summary of Robert Redford in Sneakers feels way off the mark.

Text excerpt from NYT:

"Sneakers, a breezy caper starring Mr. Redford as a security hacker, reflected his occasional willingness to embrace popcorn cinema."

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 23d

One major reason -- maybe the most important reason -- for paper ballots and air-gapped tabulators is resilience.

Kevin Collier @kevincollier.bsky.social · 23d

"'The goal was to disrupt online voting, particularly in occupied Ukrainian regions,' the source said.

Digital services were paralyzed for a period, leaving many Russians unable to vote electronically in mayoral and gubernatorial races, the source claimed."

Ukrainian 'cyber revenge' hack disrupts Russian election systems, HUR source claims

The attack coincided with Russia's unified voting day, which included elections for 21 governors, deputies of 11 regional assemblies, and around 47,000 municipal leaders.

kyivindependent.com

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 25d

That was a deep, deep cut.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 27d

I didn't know about this one, which I find surprising given the truly excellent vuln name.

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 27d

Holy cow, this talk has me in tears.

There are so many people doing so many good things for the world.

www.ted.com/talks/david_...

How nearly dying helped me discover my own cure (and many more)

Physician-scientist David Fajgenbaum was dying from a rare disease that didn't have a cure — until he discovered a lifesaving drug that wasn't originally intended for his condition. In an astonishing ...

www.ted.com

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 28d

Wait, computers can connect to each other?

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Reposted by Ben Adida

evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28d

I have spent 18 years working with Cindy Cohn at EFF, defending digital rights. There is no one I would rather fight beside and I cannot imagine this place without her.

www.wired.com/story/eff-ci...

Cindy Cohn Is Leaving the EFF, but Not the Fight for Digital Rights

After 25 years at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cindy Cohn is stepping down as executive director. In a WIRED interview, she reflects on encryption, AI, and why she’s not ready to quit the battl...

www.wired.com

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 28d

Cindy has fought the hard bottles for digital rights – which, really, just means rights. Those are going to be some big shoes to fill.

Thank you for everything you've done for the world, Cindy.

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 28d

Exclusive: Cindy Cohn, longtime director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is leaving the group after 25 years. The decision was announced at a meeting this afternoon.

I sat down w/ Cohn to discuss her victories, unfinished battles, and the future of privacy, encryption, and corporate power.

Cindy Cohn Is Leaving the EFF, but Not the Fight for Digital Rights

After 25 years at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cindy Cohn is stepping down as executive director. In a WIRED interview, she reflects on encryption, AI, and why she’s not ready to quit the battl...

www.wired.com

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Ben Adida @benadida.com · 29d

This should be very interesting.

Joseph Lorenzo Hall, PhD @josephhall.org · 29d

Introducing Signal Secure Backups signal.org/blog/introdu...

Introducing Signal Secure Backups

In the past, if you broke or lost your phone, your Signal message history was gone. This has been a challenge for people whose most important conversations happen on Signal. Think family photos,…

signal.org

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