David Tallan (he/him)
@david-tallan.bsky.social
Retired public servant. Likes long walks in Spain. Also medieval culinary research, calligraphy and illumination, and other forms of creative anachronism. Shares a collection of comics, sf and fantasy, and board games.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
The 2025 Headline of the Year Nominees
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December 22, 2025 at 11:48 PM
The 2025 Headline of the Year Nominees
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Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
"Not all AI use is bad, why, scientists are using AI to diagnose cancer more successfully than humans!"
Errr...
futurism.com/health-medic...
Errr...
futurism.com/health-medic...
Doctors Catch Cancer-Diagnosing AI Extracting Patients' Race Data and Being Racist With It
A new study reveals an alarming bias present in four leading AI cancer screening tools, related to race, gender, and age.
futurism.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
"Not all AI use is bad, why, scientists are using AI to diagnose cancer more successfully than humans!"
Errr...
futurism.com/health-medic...
Errr...
futurism.com/health-medic...
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
You cannot train people in job-specific tasks for future jobs. You don’t have the tools they will use and you don’t know what uses those tools will be put to.
The way we have always trained people for future work is to make sure they are literate, numerate, creative, and able to solve problems.
The way we have always trained people for future work is to make sure they are literate, numerate, creative, and able to solve problems.
Five seconds’ reflection reveals that what this really means is “every student should have access to an education that is about nothing and changes every five seconds at the whim of rich airheads”
still thinking about this
December 20, 2025 at 2:02 AM
You cannot train people in job-specific tasks for future jobs. You don’t have the tools they will use and you don’t know what uses those tools will be put to.
The way we have always trained people for future work is to make sure they are literate, numerate, creative, and able to solve problems.
The way we have always trained people for future work is to make sure they are literate, numerate, creative, and able to solve problems.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Today in "Don't Trust AI to Tell You Facts": How several different "AI" programs messed up the simple fact of to whom I dedicated a book, and what that means for how much you should trust "AI" to tell you the truth about things (spoiler: not much at all):
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
“AI”: A Dedicated Fact-Failing Machine, or, Yet Another Reason Not to Trust It For Anything
I search my name on a regular basis, not only because I am an ego monster (although I try not to pretend that I’m not) but because it’s a good way for me to find reviews, end-of-the-yea…
whatever.scalzi.com
December 13, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Today in "Don't Trust AI to Tell You Facts": How several different "AI" programs messed up the simple fact of to whom I dedicated a book, and what that means for how much you should trust "AI" to tell you the truth about things (spoiler: not much at all):
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated, nor Pixar.
December 8, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated, nor Pixar.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Mark Carney is quietly giving sweeping new powers to his ministers
#Opinion from @althiaraj.bsky.social
#Opinion from @althiaraj.bsky.social
Althia Raj: Mark Carney is quietly giving sweeping new powers to his ministers
Sneaking a change of this magnitude into a 600-page bill that will not get parliamentary scrutiny raises a red flag, Althia Raj writes.
www.thestar.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Mark Carney is quietly giving sweeping new powers to his ministers
#Opinion from @althiaraj.bsky.social
#Opinion from @althiaraj.bsky.social
Accommodations don't do the work for you.
Something my son didn't really appreciate until he started meds is that meds don't do the work for you. Extra time on tests, doesn't do the work for you. Wearing glasses--the most widespread accommodation of all, so common that we don't even think about it--doesn't do the fucking work for you.
Balancing "no person with a disability should be denied accommodations" with "it's important to discourage non-disabled people from pretending to be disabled to take advantage of these accommodations" is really difficult and I don't have a great answer for what anyone should do about it.
December 4, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Accommodations don't do the work for you.
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
Simon and Garfunkel
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Rolling Stones
Pete Seeger and Arnold Guthrie
Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span
Simon and Garfunkel
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Rolling Stones
Pete Seeger and Arnold Guthrie
Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen.
Steeleye Span
Spirit of the West
Sex Pistols
Billy Bragg
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Steeleye Span
Spirit of the West
Sex Pistols
Billy Bragg
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen.
The Prodigy
Rammstein
Madness
Nickelback
Electric Six
The Prodigy
Rammstein
Madness
Nickelback
Electric Six
November 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
Simon and Garfunkel
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Rolling Stones
Pete Seeger and Arnold Guthrie
Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span
Simon and Garfunkel
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Rolling Stones
Pete Seeger and Arnold Guthrie
Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span
You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you?
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
November 25, 2025 at 10:12 PM
You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you?
I'm afraid.
I'm afraid.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Hey, you! Yeah, you! Are you looking to fail to get work done because you just keep on scrolling a thread? Well, have I got a thread for YOU!
this is a post where you (yes, YOU) can and should reply with underrated comic strips or other comic-y jokes. could be an unheralded entry from a classic strip or maybe a lesser-known strip altogether.
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Hey, you! Yeah, you! Are you looking to fail to get work done because you just keep on scrolling a thread? Well, have I got a thread for YOU!
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
London Calling by The Clash, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Diamond, Regatta de Blanc by The Police, Highway to Hell by AC/DC, all came out the year I turned 16.
What I remember listening to:
London Calling by The Clash, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Diamond, Regatta de Blanc by The Police, Highway to Hell by AC/DC, all came out the year I turned 16.
What I remember listening to:
November 17, 2025 at 2:02 AM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
London Calling by The Clash, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Diamond, Regatta de Blanc by The Police, Highway to Hell by AC/DC, all came out the year I turned 16.
What I remember listening to:
London Calling by The Clash, The Wall by Pink Floyd, Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Diamond, Regatta de Blanc by The Police, Highway to Hell by AC/DC, all came out the year I turned 16.
What I remember listening to:
A lot of this makes a lot of sense to me. That may say something about my identity.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A lot of this makes a lot of sense to me. That may say something about my identity.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
I was there in spirit.
Thank you to everyone who came out for Saturday's launch of Year's Best Canadian F&SF Vol 3 at @bakkaphoenix.bsky.social. It was standing room only and featured readings from 13 of our wonderful authors and poets. If you're looking for a copy of the anthology, Bakka has a bunch!
November 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I was there in spirit.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
On Remembrance Day I think of Charles M. Schultz, who was a veteran and, because of this, a pacifist. As a symbol of this, he was absolutely fine with servicepeople making and wearing Peanuts fanart, but the only (semi)military institution he would allow to officially use his characters was NASA.
November 9, 2025 at 3:32 PM
On Remembrance Day I think of Charles M. Schultz, who was a veteran and, because of this, a pacifist. As a symbol of this, he was absolutely fine with servicepeople making and wearing Peanuts fanart, but the only (semi)military institution he would allow to officially use his characters was NASA.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Today's the day! Join us at 3:00pm to celebrate the release of YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION VOL. 3! There'll be readings, signings, and snacks!
November 8, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Today's the day! Join us at 3:00pm to celebrate the release of YEAR'S BEST CANADIAN FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION VOL. 3! There'll be readings, signings, and snacks!
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
OTTAWA - Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has launched a petition to "end DEI programs and restore merit", just months after losing his own heavily-favoured seat before running in an even more hea...
www.thebeaverton.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:32 PM
“Restore merit, end DEI” says man who could only get elected in Canada’s safest Conservative stronghold
THIS is MY dance about how much transports suck.
October 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
THIS is MY dance about how much transports suck.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Canadians, a worthy petition to sign!
Sign the new House of Commons e-petition calling on the Government of Canada to strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ people worldwide and reaffirm Canada’s role as a safe haven.
Thank you to MP Rob Oliphant for sponsoring this important petition.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
Thank you to MP Rob Oliphant for sponsoring this important petition.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
October 8, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Canadians, a worthy petition to sign!
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
A very good idea indeed. Canadians, please sign.
wake up, hosers
new petition just dropped
e-6818 is calling to strengthen the Canada Health Act to stop provinces from privatizing health care and to force provinces to account for how and where they used health transfer money
new petition just dropped
e-6818 is calling to strengthen the Canada Health Act to stop provinces from privatizing health care and to force provinces to account for how and where they used health transfer money
Sign this Petition - Petitions
www.ourcommons.ca
October 6, 2025 at 3:21 PM
A very good idea indeed. Canadians, please sign.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
We blundered into a lot of problems because we were so impressed by the potential upsides of something that we didn't pay enough attention to the perils.
But that's not the case here. The perils are so obvious and the upsides so minuscule.
We are doing this because it feels inevitable. That's it.
But that's not the case here. The perils are so obvious and the upsides so minuscule.
We are doing this because it feels inevitable. That's it.
The Sora AI disinfo nightmare is here
For more like this:
tiktok.com/@drewharwell
instagram.com/bydrewharwell
For more like this:
tiktok.com/@drewharwell
instagram.com/bydrewharwell
October 6, 2025 at 5:42 PM
We blundered into a lot of problems because we were so impressed by the potential upsides of something that we didn't pay enough attention to the perils.
But that's not the case here. The perils are so obvious and the upsides so minuscule.
We are doing this because it feels inevitable. That's it.
But that's not the case here. The perils are so obvious and the upsides so minuscule.
We are doing this because it feels inevitable. That's it.
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours without prep;
1. The Camino de Santiago
2. Western European Culinary History, 1300-1500
3. The works of Terry Pratchett
1. The Camino de Santiago
2. Western European Culinary History, 1300-1500
3. The works of Terry Pratchett
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours without prep:
1. English middle class cooking (techniques or recipes) from 1500-1650
2. Cosy mystery tropes
3. Event planning
1. English middle class cooking (techniques or recipes) from 1500-1650
2. Cosy mystery tropes
3. Event planning
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours without prep:
1. Utopian societies collapsing in funny ways (mostly seasteading let’s be honest)
2. Master & Commander: the greatest movie franchise that never was
3. Fiber and textile arts (LOOOOOOOOM)
1. Utopian societies collapsing in funny ways (mostly seasteading let’s be honest)
2. Master & Commander: the greatest movie franchise that never was
3. Fiber and textile arts (LOOOOOOOOM)
September 26, 2025 at 3:28 AM
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours without prep;
1. The Camino de Santiago
2. Western European Culinary History, 1300-1500
3. The works of Terry Pratchett
1. The Camino de Santiago
2. Western European Culinary History, 1300-1500
3. The works of Terry Pratchett
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Report: At this point we are just trying to figure who Canadian Parliament WON'T give a standing ovation to
Report: At this point we are just trying to figure who Canadian Parliament WON'T give a standing ovation to
OTTAWA - After members of the Canadian Parliament earlier today gave a standing ovation to recently deceased far-right agitator who touted white supremacist theories, Charlie Kirk, we here at The Beaverton are stuck trying to figure out if there’s literally anyone our elected officials won’t celebrate.
www.thebeaverton.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Report: At this point we are just trying to figure who Canadian Parliament WON'T give a standing ovation to
A shout out to the hardworking public servants in our federal government who enabled this.
I've just completed a to-do list task that I put off for a few days only to find that it was incredibly easy thanks to super-supportive systems from the federal government. Seriously, Canada - you rock!
a man in an orange shirt is standing with his hands on his hips and says `` who 's awesome ? you are '' .
Alt: Comedian Colin Mochrie, wearing an orange shirt and standing with his hands on his hips, raises one hand to point at the camera, with the text: "who 's awesome? you are!"
media.tenor.com
September 4, 2025 at 9:13 PM
A shout out to the hardworking public servants in our federal government who enabled this.
Reposted by David Tallan (he/him)
Just a few days to go! Join us this Saturday afternoon for an epic fight* between @decastell.bsky.social and @phokion.bsky.social!
*Ok, there shouldn't actually be any fighting, but we can't guarantee that. It'll at least be an epic conversation.
*Ok, there shouldn't actually be any fighting, but we can't guarantee that. It'll at least be an epic conversation.
September 4, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Just a few days to go! Join us this Saturday afternoon for an epic fight* between @decastell.bsky.social and @phokion.bsky.social!
*Ok, there shouldn't actually be any fighting, but we can't guarantee that. It'll at least be an epic conversation.
*Ok, there shouldn't actually be any fighting, but we can't guarantee that. It'll at least be an epic conversation.