Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 6d

My masters advisor wrote a paper where they failed to train chickens to push buttons to turn on a heater. Even after they defeathered them.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 7d

"The toppings contain potassium benzoate." Whenever getting ice cream.

Willow @rockshrimp.bsky.social · 7d

what's the stupidest/randomest Simpsons quote that lives in your head rent free? Mine is the urge to say "you said go to bread" every time I am about to head to bed.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10d

Do you have a print if this available?

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Reposted by Matt Zefferman

Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · 15d

**PhD POSITIONS** I am recruiting 1-2 PhD students to work on sociality and cognition in Monk Parakeets, starting Fall 2026. Full ad is here: hobsonresearch.com/index.php/20... (please help spread the word!)

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 15d

They even had this problem with The Incredibles...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEXR...

The Incredibles Audio Commentary Full Movie

YouTube video by British Movie Commentary Collection

www.youtube.com

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 22d

By my departmental colleague.

War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 22d

When Japan’s cruisers met China’s ironclads at the Yalu River, the outcome stunned the world. What are the implications today?

The Importance of the Battle of the Yalu

Editor’s Note: This is part of a new series of essays entitled “Battle Studies,” which seeks, through the study of military history, to demonstrate how

warontherocks.com

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Aug 26

This was the most played non-kid song on my playlist last year.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · Aug 25

Lauryn Hill releases “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” this week in 1998 — making her not only the first hip-hop artist to win a Grammy for Album of the Year but also the first woman since Debbie Gibson to debut at #1 with a song she wrote, recorded and produced on her own.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)”

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Aug 25

I once wrote a sentence that stated that the iterative development of weapons technology was akin to what evolutionary biologists call an "arms race."

Canon

xkcd.com

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Aug 15

But what about all your friends who are no longer single?

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 31

48 - 50 (not counting airports or drive-bys). I'm pretty sure I have not visited Tucson or Tulsa as an adult, but maybe as a kid. Disappointing that this does not include cities in Alaska or the entire upper half of the country between St Paul and Portland.

Sneaux Man @kojotaylor.bsky.social · Jul 30

How many y’all have visited? I’m up to 14

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Reposted by Matt Zefferman

Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social · Jul 28

Applications are open for SFI's 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships

If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.

Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 27

We can use all that stuff at NPS.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 21

Here are my two for the Double Feature.

Movie poster for Attack the Block (2011).

Movie poster for They Cloned Tyrone (2024).

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Reposted by Matt Zefferman

Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · Jul 9

Dream internship for someone out there! Paid, Remote, and with @xercessociety.bsky.social 🐝 🪲 🦋 recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/J...

The Xerces Society - Science Illustration Intern

  JOB TITLE:  Science Illustration InternLOCATION:  Remote position. Candidates must have a personal office location suitable for work purposes, with broadband internet access, and...

recruiting.paylocity.com

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Reposted by Matt Zefferman

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · Jul 8

In non-lab fields, faculty typically help MA/PhD students develop solo projects that aren't part of the faculty member's research, and that the faculty won't be a coauthor on. Faculty in non-lab fields also typically increase their advising load post-tenure, limiting their own time for research. 2/

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 6

Similarly, Obra Dinn is one of the video games that gives me motion sickness. Otherwise, it seemed great!

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 6

Fair.

Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 5

I watched the whole Frozen movie with my daughter, and not once does Elsa wear a dress with her own picture on it.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jul 5

Have you played Outer Wilds or Blue Prince?

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Reposted by Matt Zefferman

Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · Jun 19

'Meredith,' some guys ask, 'why won't you shove AI into Signal?'

Because we love privacy, and we love you, and this shit is predictable and unacceptable. Use Signal ❤️

Guardian headline saying, "‘It’s terrifying’: WhatsApp AI helper mistakenly shares user’s number
Chatbot tries to change subject after serving up unrelated user’s mobile to man asking for rail firm helpline"

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jun 19

It might be easier with another libertarian/authoritarian axis.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jun 19

A) Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jun 15

We also just sorted that "princesses" are real, but "princesses with magical powers" are pretend.

Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jun 13

In the four-year-old's process of sorting out "real" from "pretend," my favorite part is discovering the fantastical, yet very real, things that she insists are pretend.

This morning's examples are "the Taj Mahal" and "bats."

The world is full of wonders.

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Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · Jun 11

I would consult with @sevenbendsnursery.bsky.social

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