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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 10h

Not to mention that all of it is propped up on ASML

Reposted by Ben Waber

Alex Hanna-ween @alexhanna.bsky.social · 10h

I'm not an economist but seems worrying that the whole US economy is seven companies in a trenchcoat, passing the same $20 up and down

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 12h

NVIDIA and OpenAi:

Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“

@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Reposted by Ben Waber

jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 15h

I will be speaking next week at CU Boulder's Access, Innovation & Disability Symposium on @data-and-design.org's work co-designing accessible data visualization tools with blind and low-vision people.

Free and open to the public

www.colorado.edu/artsandscien...

Access, Innovation & Disability Symposium

www.colorado.edu

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Reposted by Ben Waber

Shannon Vallor @shannonvallor.bsky.social · 1d

The AI revolution going exactly as expected

Clemens Vasters 🇪🇺🇩🇪 @clemens.vasters.com · 1d

Techmeme front page:

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

Last was "Pushing Cool" by @kwailoo.bsky.social, who traces the development of menthol cigarettes, tobacco companies' entanglement with academics to promote them, and the sophisticated marketing research underlying the industry. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (7/7)

Pushing Cool

Spanning a century, Pushing Cool reveals how the twin deceptions of health and Black affinity for menthol were crafted—and how the industry’s disturbingly powerful narrative has endured to this day. P...

press.uchicago.edu

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

Next was "The Wild Life of Our Bodies" by Rob Dunn. The chapters on parasites and diseases shine. Unfortunately, most of the other chapters are mostly just a summary of a few out of date popular science books

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (6/7)

The Wild Life of Our Bodies

“An extraordinary book. . . . With clarity and charm [Dunn] takes the reader into the overlap of medicine, ecology, and evolutionary biology to reveal an im...

www.harpercollins.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

Next was an important conversation with @profzeke.bsky.social (👋) on the truth about immigration and the US's recent self-destructive (not to mention unethical) policies at the New York University School of Law. Highly recommend www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7v_... (5/7)

The Truth About Immigration: Getting Beyond “Us vs. Them”

YouTube video by NYU School of Law

www.youtube.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

Next was an excellent talk by Trevor Darrell on using LLMs to guide vision and action models at MIT Robotics. Darrell advocates for the one area these models are useful where the truth matters - data labeling, demonstrating impressive results. Highly recommend www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBPI... (4/7)

Trevor Darrell: Efficient & Robust Multimodal Intelligence from "Blind" Models to 4D Representations

YouTube video by MIT Robotics

www.youtube.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

Next was a nice talk by Chuchu Fan on neural certificates for robotic system planning and control at @cmurobotics.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=boIS... (3/7)

RI Seminar: Chuchu Fan : Neural Certificates for Safe Robotic System Planning and Control

YouTube video by CMU Robotics Institute

www.youtube.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

First was an interesting talk by Tatsunori Hashimoto on data efficient language modeling at @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=pook... (2/7)

Back to the Future – Data Efficient Language Modeling with Tatsunori Hashimoto

YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University

www.youtube.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

It heated up in Boston today, and while running through it I listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist! (1/7)

A selfie of me in front of a grass field bordered by a stone wall behind me and forest beyond on a sunny day. I'm a bald, middle-aged, white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing black sunglasses and a purple adidas running shirt.

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 1d

"Back in my day NetSci was a single track!"

God I'm old

NetSci 2026 @netsciconf.bsky.social · 7d

📌 Save the Date!

The flagship conference of the Network Science Society - 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - is coming to Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭-𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.
Prepare to share ideas, discoveries & challenges in network science.

Registration opens soon! 🔗 www.netsci2026.com

Reposted by Ben Waber

Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 2d

“Trucks from the First Nation could soon be transporting food, furniture and even critical minerals south of the border along ancestral pathways once used to move buffalo hides and pemmican across the plains—without paying taxes or tariffs.“

Kevin Carson 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇹🇯 @kevincarson1.bsky.social · 2d

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border ino.to/agDxSX2

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border

“We’re not begging for crumbs anymore. We’re demanding what’s rightly ours."

ino.to

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

Last was "Speak Now" by Kenji Yoshino, who provides a legal scholar's view into the central case for same-sex marriage equality, with compelling play-by-play and personal anecdotes. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (4/4)

Speak Now | Kenji Yoshino

kenjiyoshino.com

Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

Next was "The Russian Economy: A Very Short Introduction" by Richard Connolly. More than half of this book is on the post-Soviet Economy, but as I wanted to learn more about the Soviet period the space devoted to that was disappointingly brief

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (3/4)

global.oup.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

First was "The Little Big Number" by Dirk Philipsen. The bulk of this book is a can't miss history of economic measurement and how the GDP metric came to become such an unquestioned, powerful metric across the world. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (2/4)

The Little Big Number

The story of GDP and why we need a better measurement of growth

press.princeton.edu

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

I had a lovely, mostly relaxing weekend where I was able to read a few books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist! (1/4)

A selfie of me on a grassy lawn in front of forest on a sunny day. I'm a bald, middle-aged, white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing glasses with thick, black rims and a bright blue shirt.

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

Japanese/English joke from my oldest:

What do you call the online version of the Hellenistic Republic?

イギリス

Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 2d

Anything other than a full rejection is an acceptance of government censorship and will further tarnish Penn's reputation, which is already harmed from their sacrifice of transgender student rights. If they don't fully reject, I'll encourage my collaborators to engage to not attend any Penn events

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 3d

It means "literary master" in Japanese

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 4d

I didn't say it didn't morally compromise him. But at least he didn't go insane. So, you know, there's that

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 4d

Counterexample: MySpace Tom

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 4d

Last was "Kindred" by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, who walks through the state of scientific knowledge around Neanderthals to provide a holistic picture of their biology, social practices, and relationships with Homo sapiens. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (5/5)

Kindred | Rebecca Wragg Sykes - Archaeologist & Author | UK

Kindred, published in 2020, is Rebecca Wragg Syke’s literary debut presenting a new vision of Neanderthals, synthesising huge archaeological advances of the past thirty years. Rooted in the scientific...

www.rebeccawraggsykes.com

Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 4d

Next was a great panel on high-growth entrepreneurship in developing countries with Christopher Woodruff, Eghosa Omoigui, Denis Medvedev, and Paul Gompers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-P... (4/5)

Finance and Dev-High-Growth Entrepreneurship, Large Firms, Venture Capital, and Private Equity

YouTube video by The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

www.youtube.com

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Ben Waber @bwaber.bsky.social · 4d

Next was a BLS-less review of the state of the US economy by Gregory Brown at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmYx... (3/5)

The Shutdown Edition: Economic Briefing

YouTube video by UNC Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise

www.youtube.com

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