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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · 8d

Just in case you ever forget that #rejectionistherule this was the ranking on a grant declined yesterday by the NSF.

Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Sep 3

They aren't screening for testicular cancer by squishing balls, though they could! Wonder why that might be?

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Sep 3

I was literally just thinking about this. You know how they could, but don't screen for testicular cancer? Wonder why? Your modern doctor doesn't mean to cause pain, but our technology is a legacy of ignoring women's pain and discomfort. AND mammograms are inaccurate and lead to painful biopsies

Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social · Sep 3

I can’t believe medicine hasn’t come up with a better way to do mammograms. That is some primitive shit right there.

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Aug 21

futurism.com/commitment-j...

People Are Being Involuntarily Committed, Jailed After Spiraling Into "ChatGPT Psychosis"

People experiencing "ChatGPT psychosis" are being involuntarily committed to mental hospitals and jailed following AI mental health crises.

futurism.com

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 25

It's good to know that this happens at places like Uchicago as well as UA. Last year we had a big whoopsiedoodle miscalculation of 250 million that led to a shortfall of 170 million. The incompetence is absolutely staggering. Insult to injury, a huge contributor was spending on sports.

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Reposted by Rachel Mitchell

Michael Wara @michaelwara.bsky.social · Jul 21

Are you a natural resource or agricultural economics PhD or postdoc interested in real world policy work? Come work with CEPP's growing food team on quantifying subsidies in the dairy and beef industry!

If not, pass the word!

careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/food-sy...

Food Systems Resource Economics Fellow, Stanford Law School in School of Law, Stanford, California, United States

*NOTE: This position has been deemed critical/has specific funding, has been approved by the Law School for posting, and is exempt from the hiring...

careersearch.stanford.edu

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 10

But does offloading these relatively easy tasks (that some might argue help you think more deeply about what you are doing) outweigh emissions/data center costs/human toll?

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 10

Cutting until you hit something vital is the capitalist way.

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 10

Who is this article kidding? Error prone, probabilistic, hallucinating AI is coming for my University job!

Heather Shearer @heather-sea55.bsky.social · Jul 9

#AcademicSky “Universities can no longer rely on scarcity setting the price for the curated and credentialed form of information that used to be hard to obtain.”

theconversation.com/ai-is-drivin...

AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer

Universities have relied on expert knowledge being scarce, but AI is changing that. Tuition now needs to focus on human skills that machines still struggle to copy.

theconversation.com

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 10

So many ecological processes are highly tied to VPD. Here, Atmospheric aridity strongly influences fire behavior.

Evan Frost @wildwoods.bsky.social · Jul 10

"Vapor pressure emerged in our analysis as the dominant predictor of burn severity, pointing up the crucial role of atmospheric moisture in influencing fire behavior, and creating conditions conducive to extreme wildfires [in CA]." www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🌏

Global burn severity in forest ecoregions: trends, climate drivers, and predictive insights - npj Natural Hazards

npj Natural Hazards - Global burn severity in forest ecoregions: trends, climate drivers, and predictive insights

www.nature.com

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 8

#terriertuesday #outoffocus Midge says "smile!"

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Reposted by Rachel Mitchell

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · Jul 6

The percentage of tasks AI "agents" are currently failing at may spell trouble for the industry... futurism.com/ai-agents-fa...

The Percentage of Tasks AI Agents Are Currently Failing At May Spell Trouble for the Industry

The best AI Agents are currently failing about 70 percent of the tasks assigned to them, as investments are expected to drop off a cliff.

futurism.com

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jul 1

You can't make this stuff up folks:
retractionwatch.com/2025/06/30/s...

Springer Nature book on machine learning is full of made-up citations

Would you pay $169 for an introductory ebook on machine learning with citations that appear to be made up? If not, you might want to pass on purchasing Mastering Machine Learning: From Basics to Ad…

retractionwatch.com

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 30

Check out it's black-bellied cousin, the Kaibab squirrel!

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 30

Had this happen with my CAREER. So heartbreaking.

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 28

A nice apricot sourdough loaf today #breadsky

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 24

Taught Fire Ecology for the first time this past semester. Just checked my course reviews: my work here is done.

Student review stating "I WILL NEVER MIX UP SEVERITY AND INTENSITY"

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 24

For me, the biggest concern with these plants in the Sonoran basin and range is their transformative nature; increased fuel loads and continuity in a fire sensitive system during the pyrocene will transform the Sonoran.

Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · Jun 24

"Once thought resistant to invasion, California’s deserts are losing native plants to aggressive weedy species like Saharan mustard. New research shows its spread is disrupting biodiversity and reducing the desert’s ability to recover from extreme climate swings."
envnewsbits.info/2025/06/24/i...

Invasive weed threatens Southern California’s deserts

Read the full story from the University of California Riverside. Once thought resistant to invasion, California’s deserts are losing native plants to aggressive weedy species like Saharan mus…

envnewsbits.info

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 23

Today a bronzed cowbird sang to me at very close quarters. One of the most bizarre bird songs I have ever heard from the gorgeous little parasite.
macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45159

ML45159 - Bronzed Cowbird (Bronzed) - Macaulay Library

macaulaylibrary.org

Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 22

I love both shows!!!

Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 22

What show? Asking for a friend...

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 21

Every time I type ratio it comes out ration. Also bouteloueaueuea....

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Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 19

Abundance-weighted traits are the mechanistic link, here!

Rachel Mitchell @funeco.bsky.social · Jun 19

Having had close encounters with one of those authors, the invasive species denialism is completely irrational, cherry-picked, and emotional. Great Science and Nature fodder though.

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Reposted by Rachel Mitchell

Foz Meadows @fozmeadows.bsky.social · Jun 18

my hottest educational take is that schools should actively, non-punitively teach students how to admit when they don't know something, aren't sure or have made a mistake, with various teaching frameworks adapted to support this ideal, because people who can't admit fault are breaking the world

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