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Nicholas Jackson

@njj4.bsky.social

820 followers 600 following 720 posts

mathematician, depressive, agnostic, European, SF fan, ancestor. (he/him/his). Assistant Professor in Maths and Economics at the University of Warwick. Mastodon: @[email protected] Instagram: dr.nicholas.jackson

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Reposted by Nicholas Jackson

New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 29m

It's a nice wee human story, but the task is not to build a scientific culture in which a Nobel prizewinner can happily switch their phone off for a few days.

The task is to build a scientific culture in which their grad students and postdocs can happily do the same.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 27m

That start-up mentality needs to be rigorously questioned and ideally binned - 90% of start-up companies fail. And we've seen how much horrific damage can be wrought by people moving fast and breaking things. Careful, considered, incremental change is harder but works better.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 12h

AT&T: American Taco and Tortilla.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 2d

I keep thinking of Wilhoit's definition of conservatism: "there must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect". This inconsistency isn't accidental, it's fundamental and deliberate.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 3d

Nearly 30 years ago, while living in York, I went to a fancy dress party as a Vorlon. I made a version of the purple (Ulkesh) encounter suit. It was rather fragile (mostly made out of polystyrene) and unfortunately I don't have any photos of it, but I was quite pleased with the result.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 3d

Amazing!

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 3d

"I have always been here".

Ambassador Kosh Naranek, the ancient and enigmatic alien Vorlon ambassador from the TV series Babylon 5. He wears an encounter suit, consisting of a large, ornate, brownish-purple cloak, and a brown organic-looking shoulder-piece and a headpiece with a single eye. We basically don't find out what he actually looks like until the end of season 2, and it later turns out that even that is a telepathic projection.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 3d

The Dragon is like... like...
*Crash!*
Like lightning, yes, that was it.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 3d

Anál nathrach, orth' bháis's bethad...

Nicol Williamson as Merlin, in John Boorman's film Excalibur (1981). A slightly worried, bearded man wearing a black cloak and a close-fitting silver metal skull-cap. He holds a black staff topped with an ornate silver symbol including two snakes. He is just about to remark "I never saw this!" In the background stands a knight in plate armour, his face obscured by a closed helmet.

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Reposted by Nicholas Jackson

Coates is Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 4d

Today is the 63rd anniversary of the London premiere of Dr. No, which means (well, obviously) it’s time to tell you a ridiculous shaggy dog story about the theft of not one but two portraits of the Duke of Wellington

Sean Connery in Dr No’s lair, about to go up a short flight of stairs when he spots a portrait of the Duke of Wellington on a stand. The original had been stolen from the National Gallery the previous year, and this was a joke by the Bond production team

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 4d

I certainly watched a lot of random films when I lived there, but I don't think that was one of them.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 4d

From what I've seen of it, I'm not sure it's exactly my sort of humour. But I do remember enjoying Young Frankenstein. ("It's Fronkensteen, actually".)

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 5d

I've never actually seen it, but now I want to watch all four of these: Von Trier's harrowing Dogme 95 version, Fellini's baroque masterpiece, Kubrick's cinematic perfectionism, and Brooks' screwball comedy.

(From quizoftheday.co.uk)

8. Who directed the 1974 western Blazing Saddles?
* Lars Von Trier
* Frederico Fellini
* Stanley Kubrick
* Mel Brooks

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Reposted by Nicholas Jackson

Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 5d

[Scene is ANCIENT GREECE - where SOCRATES and PLATO and others are sitting round, thinking]

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SOCRATES:
Plato..

PLATO:
Yes Socrates?

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SOCRATES:
Can you tell me, are you human?

PLATO:
Why… yes, Socrates

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SOCRATES:
And would you agree, Plato, that a human knows what a chariot is?

PLATO:
Um, yep

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SOCRATES:
So you can tell me, then

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[Socrates produces a papyrus, showing a drawing of the corner of a chariot wheel]

SOCRATES:
*Is that a chariot*?

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PLATO:
Well
that’s more just a bit of wheel

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SOCRATES:
So not a *chariot*.

PLATO:
No.

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SOCRATES:
[Producing another papyrus with the full drawing of the chariot, chopped into boxes]

So if a man were challenged to “tap the boxes containing chariots to prove you’re human” when he was just trying to check his ClubCard points... *where could he tap*?

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PLATO:
Well you can’t tap any of them really

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SOCRATES:
So are we not human?

PLATO:
‘Spose not.

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[Bleak pause]

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PLATO:
I’ll get the hemlock

SOCRATES:
Yeah

[ends]

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 5d

🎶 Reach out, touch faith.
Your own virtual Jesus. 🎶

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 6d

I'm currently doing a part-time postgraduate course on curriculum design in higher education. Pudding is helping me write up my project.

Pudding, an adorable little black and white cat, standing on my desk, in front of the monitor, just about to type something on my keyboard.

Pudding, a very cute little black and white cat, sitting on my desk, in front of my keyboard and all three monitors, starting intently into the camera. I think she wants to be fed.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 7d

Absolutely. If you think you saw a trans or non-binary person using the "wrong" toilets, no you didn't.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 7d

In a sense, yes. In another sense, they haven't existed since about 2016. My dad wouldn't recognise the party he was once a member of. My mum votes LibDem now. They've lost or expelled all the small-C conservatives. They're just a bunch of far-right, hate+fuelled grifters now.

Reposted by Nicholas Jackson

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 7d

Thei did the Mash; thei did the Monstere Mash.
The Monstere Mash: beholde, sepulchral smash!
Thei did the Mash, and it kaughte on moost fast -
Hark, heare the Mash! Forsooth, the Monstere Mash!

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 7d

*revoked, not rebooked, sorry. I had a cataract surgery followup appointment today and my eyesight is still a bit blurry from the dilating eyedrops they gave me.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 7d

A senior colleague who is an FRS once remarked "basically the only thing that'll get your fellowship rebooked is if you don't pay your subscription fee". I thought he was joking, but now I realise he wasn't. Apparently even spearheading a fascist, anti-science coup of a major country isn't enough.

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Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 7d

I sometimes wonder how differently everything might have turned out if things went differently on that particular day.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 8d

I'm almost tempted to ask whether he's some sort of avant-garde conceptual art installation at this point. But sadly he's actually just a massively deranged fascist.

Nicholas Jackson @njj4.bsky.social · 9d

"Fire, walk with me!"

Killer Bob from Twin Peaks. A sinister, grinning man with long grey hair.

Reposted by Nicholas Jackson

Jam2go @jam2go.com · 10d

I’ve been training my cat to play ambient music.

Last night he hit me with this hauntingly beautiful chord change after 10 minutes of A7sus4

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