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Reposted by Splakey

George Musser @georgemusser.com · 2d

The usual explanation for great music is that it's predictable but not too predictable. But there's more to it, said @frosas.bsky.social at #ALIFE2025. We prefer music when we perceive agency behind it. Improvisation trumps a prepared performance. See paper at www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy.... ⚙️🧫

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Reposted by Splakey

Andrew Digby @digs.bsky.social · 6d

Sad to report that we've lost another #kakapo, and a particularly significant one. Solstice was the last kākāpō rediscovered, found on Rakiura in 1997. She died on the weekend as a result of complications from the #disease cloacitis. There are now 237 kākāpō left. #conservation #parrots #birds

An adult female kākāpō in an underground nest next to three eggs. Credit: Andrew Digby

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 8d

All this appeasement on Gaza is really paying off.

We could probably shave a few % off that movie tariff if Luxon erased a century of social and environmental progr…

(checks feed)

… never mind.

#nzpol

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 12d

There really isn’t any moral test that Luxon can’t fail.

#nzpol

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 13d

Goebbels was a legendary raconteur with captivating charm. But history, Dear Prof Sunstein, does not unfold at dinner parties.

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 14d

Chotiner interviews Neville Chamberlain . . .

#chotiner #uspol
www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

Can Liberalism Be Saved?

The legal scholar Cass Sunstein argues for a more expansive definition of an ideology under threat.

www.newyorker.com

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 27d

It is 9/11 in the US and I can think of no better answer to the question, “25 years later, how would we know if terrorism won?” than a quick scroll through X today.

Here in Aotearoa, we already knew the answer to “who matters to David Seymour?”

It.Can.Happen.Here.
#nzpol

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · 27d

Richard Rorty knew… in 1998.

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Richard Rorty and America - ABC listen

In 1998, the American philosopher Richard Rorty predicted dark days for democracy and the rise of a Trump-like figure in the USA. This week, with the publication of a new collection of Rorty's essays,...

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Splakey

Nature @nature.com · Sep 2

After nearly a century of effort, we still don't have a theory of quantum gravity

go.nature.com/45VIwf7

Unifiying gravity and quantum theory requires better understanding of time

Textbooks give strange, imprecise explanations of where things happen in quantum mechanics. Consistency with gravity needs a fresh approach.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Splakey

Nature @nature.com · Sep 1

Researchers have identified more than 1,000 potentially problematic open-access journals using an AI tool

go.nature.com/3JGQnFT

Hundreds of suspicious journals flagged by AI screening tool

Nature - System that searches for signs of bad practice could help to weed out questionable titles.

go.nature.com

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Reposted by Splakey

Nature @nature.com · Sep 1

Researchers are studying why mitochondria are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases

go.nature.com/4fYoEwG

Cells are swapping their mitochondria. What does this mean for our health?

Researchers are studying why the energy factories are moving between cells and whether the process can be harnessed to treat cancer and other diseases.

go.nature.com

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 29

www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36080...

a man is being tortured by a group of police officers while wearing a gas mask .

ALT: a man is being tortured by a group of police officers while wearing a gas mask .

media.tenor.com

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 27

“Let them eat cake”?
#nzpol

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 25

a cartoon of a chef with a needle in his mouth is playing at 4:32

ALT: a cartoon of a chef with a needle in his mouth is playing at 4:32

media.tenor.com

Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 22

So, they just bought the butter from the pic?

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 21

No, David Seymour is a deeply unserious person who diminishes every issue he touches.
It’s like saying “Diddy is right that we have to get past this whole East Coast West Coast rivalry.”
#nzpol

thespinoff.co.nz/politics/20-...

David Seymour was right to question our compulsory helmet laws

There’s little evidence our mandatory cycle laws improve overall safety, and quite a bit of evidence suggesting they’re doing more harm than good.

thespinoff.co.nz

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 21

. . . a transfer of wealth from NZ teachers and nurses to the military industrial complex. #nzpol

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 19

Uff, the comments on this article are BRUTAL.

And finally, consensus among Kiwis. None too keen to replace the current empty suit with an equally empty “effervescent tangerine” pantsuit.

#nzpol

www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

The 'gentle whispers' in London that Nicola Willis would be NZ's next PM follow her home

The finance minister is dismissing a post from London’s New Zealand Society that her visit left the “room buzzing with excitement” with “gentle whispers” from expats that she’ll be the next prime mini...

www.stuff.co.nz

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 18

… as “willing” nurses in Auckland head into double shifts until 3 AM.

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 18

My wife and I have coined a term for this effect:

Getting “Brownleed”

#nzpol

John Clarke @johncke.bsky.social · Aug 16

Yet this absurdity is being applied relentlessly and pervasively.

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Splakey @splakey.bsky.social · Aug 18

“Kiwis travelling to the US should be concerned. Reasonableness is absent from the border scene there.”

Just. Don’t. Go.

www.stuff.co.nz/travel/36079...

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

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