Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 3d

[nyc rat czar]: these vermin are a scourge on the city and must be eliminated
[bluesky user]: this is actually eugenics and i think you should consider why you’re so comfortable with bigotry

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 3d

You’ve been in a safe seat for years, building your own political capital. Now’s the time to take a stand and burn some of it. Unless you’re more interested in preserving your personal power than representing your constituents.

sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 3d

How is it not clear that Republicans have been negotiating in bad faith for decades. Nobody in your party wants compromise right now, Marcy. Not when the president is unilaterally canceling congressionally approved funds he doesn’t agree with. The “Big Middle” get real and read the room.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 3d

Appeasing and conceding points to openly authoritarian Republicans to find the “Big Middle” legitimized fascism and is a big part of how we got here. I cannot say this enough, for the love of all that is good, someone please primary Marcy Kaptur.

Marcy Kaptur @repmarcykaptur.bsky.social · 7d

Internet insults won’t reopen government. Speaker Johnson needs to do his job, call us back, and work in good faith to find the 'Big Middle.' The only way to reopen government is through bipartisan compromise—otherwise premium increases and hospital closures will put more stress on working families.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 4d

I bartend and carry liquid bandage and finger cots in my purse at all times. Lifesaver.

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Peter Tennant @pwgtennant.bsky.social · 5d

'What is your research question?

- a sardonic new drama about a group of jaded medical statisticians who each week must explain the same issues over and over again to their arrogant clinical colleagues. All while receiving minimum recognition or reward.

I'd watch that!

Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · Sep 27

14 new shows a year about medical doctors. Zero shows ever about medical statisticians. WTF!?

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Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 12d

The amount of drivers who absolutely lose their shit when asked to keep pedestrians safe is infuriating.

You're driving fucking tanks that can obliterate the human body. You should be held to far higher safety standards than currently exist, and you're still whining. Grow the fuck up.

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 13d

Tomorrow's premium newsletter: on analysis of their partnerships and projections, I estimate that OpenAI needs ~$1 trillion over the next 4 years, with at least $500bn needed for company operations.

Here's a $10 off discount off annual.
edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo...

Compute Costs - At least $456.9 Billion Over Five Years
Let’s run through this one more time:

OpenAI has committed to spending $300 billion on compute through 2030 with Oracle.
OpenAI has said it plans to spend an additional $100 billion on backup compute over the next four years.
It’s unclear whether this figure includes the commitments stated previously, or are something distinct. Based on the wording of the coverage I’ve read, I’m inclined to think it’s a separate commitment — which is not good!
OpenAI has agreed to buy $11.9 billion, $4 billion and $6.5bn in compute from CoreWeave over the next five years.
Per The Information, OpenAI expects to spend at least $13 billion in 2027 and $28 billion in 2028 on compute with Microsoft.
This also matches up with The Information’s reporting — though I actually think it’s going to be higher, as OpenAI fudges its numbers and “rounds” them (see the diagram).

OpenAI Will Need To Raise At Least $500 Billion Just To Fund Its Operations, And Another $432.5 Billion Or More To Fulfil Its Obligations - Which Is More Than The Available Capital Of The Top 10 Private Equity Firms and US Venture Capital Combined
So, I am repeating myself a little, but I really, really do not trust OpenAI’s revenue projections, and think they are at best unrealistic or, at worst, a deliberate attempt to mislead investors using the media.

Nevertheless, even if OpenAI is in a position where it is making $200 billion by the year 2030, it will need to have raised at least $500 Billion to get there, and when you add its obligations — including those given to NVIDIA — it will have to raise (or have partners raise) another $400 or so billion.

This is more than the projected available supply of US venture capital at the end of 2025 ($164 billion), and the combined available capital of the top 10 private equity funds ($477 billion), as well as the $50 billion of available direct lending capital from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs (about $35 billion across two closes).

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petey @peteypayless.bsky.social · 15d

the US if Tylenol actually caused autism

A map titled United States High Speed Rail System showing a theoretical high speed rail system in the United States. Some lines also connect north to Vancouver or the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, or south to Tijuana or Monterrey. The map is credited to First Cultural Industries AKA Alfred Twu, dated from February 2013, and is downloadable at www.californiarailmap.com

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CG Partridge @partridgecg.bsky.social · 16d

I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to see the data, along with the effect sizes.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 15d

I was trying to explain this to my husband the other day and I sounded like this.

A still from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia showing the character Charlie in khakis, a blue button down, and striped tie smoking a cigarette. He’s standing in front of a cork board with papers haphazardly pinned all over it. Circles and red lines suggest connections between these items. Charlie is smoking a cigarette and ranting like a conspiracy theorist.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 15d

The only studies that show links are correlative. The huge Swedish study, which uses the better methodology of sibling vs. healthy out-group controls, found none. Really critical to understand when you’re reporting on science that it’s the QUALITY of the study not the quantity of studies.

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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @hayao.lol · 18d

I'm here *trying* to enjoy autumn, the best season, but the rampant fascism is really FUCKING UP THE VIBE

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Jamie Cummins @jamiecummins.bsky.social · 20d

Can large language models stand in for human participants?
Many social scientists seem to think so, and are already using "silicon samples" in research.

One problem: depending on the analytic decisions made, you can basically get these samples to show any effect you want.

THREAD 🧵

The threat of analytic flexibility in using large language models to simulate human data: A call to attention

Social scientists are now using large language models to create "silicon samples" - synthetic datasets intended to stand in for human respondents, aimed at revolutionising human subjects research. How...

arxiv.org

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 17d

My dad’s birthday falls during food & wine fest at Epcot. We’ve been going every few years for it. We also drank around the world for my sister’s 21st. I must try all the new snacks I pass in the parks, to my family’s chagrin. “How can you still be hungry?” How can you not be??

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 17d

I make every person who asks me to take a picture follow up the picture they requested with a silly shot as well. Most people love it, but some people hate fun.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 17d

same

A black cat with yellow eyes on the top shelf of a cabinet peeking out of the dark. The bottom shelf contains many board games.

A black cat with yellow eyes peeking out from a shelf beneath a coffee table next to a basket full of papers.

A black cat with yellow eyes sunning herself on the bottom shelf of a book case. She has emptied the shelf of its contents to make space. There is also a bird of paradise plant next to the open window letting the sun in.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 18d

My family members and I have done some sort of Disney trip about once every 3 years or so since I was 5 years old. We always stay at Disney properties too. We just canceled our planned trip in December.

Micah @rincewind.run · 20d

cancelling Disney+ and Hulu is well and good but it’s not a huge hit on an individual level

but Disney adults? people who spend real money at the parks? you guys can make a dent, call ‘em up and tell them your vacation is postponed until they pull their heads out of their asses

River_Tam @rivertam.bsky.social · 20d

Heard from a friend at Disney+ that there are multiple levels of freakout internally, both from internal dissatisfaction, concerns about subscription cancelations, and of course the big one: concern about a boycott spilling over into parks and cruises.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 19d

BUT BUT now it can eavesdrop on all sorts of other activity that’s not possible through a browser! This is clearly an excellent outcome for the end user.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 19d

I’m a former biologist turned biostatistician. Literally my job to rapidly grasp unfamiliar biological/medical concepts in order to critically evaluate literature/methods & design/analyze a study. Doctors STILL dismiss me even when I lead with this. I appreciate this strategy/thank you for sharing.

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rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 23d

But the key elements of the "polite request for reassessment" are:

1. Remind the doctor of your specific Weird;
2. Identify the link between your Weird and the symptoms;
3. Provide a (brief!) summary of why you think they should pay more attention to the thing they're ignoring;

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 20d

And yet missed the numerous ways in which it dissected the morality of sentient artificial life.

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 20d

I keep feeling that a big part of the push for AI and robotic assistants, especially those that have faces and/or imitate humanity, really just stems from people’s desire to legally have slaves without any accountability.

Adam Kellogg (he/him) @adambuckled.bsky.social · 20d

I think there’s an element of “I just want to experience what it’s like to tell someone to do something and have them just do it.”

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sarah @thegreatsarini.bsky.social · 20d

A man who is described by those who knew him as conservative and evangelical, had previously registered as a Republican, railed against abortion, and attended Trump rallies assembled a hit list of Democrats, murdering one and injuring another, and the Republican Party bears no responsibility?

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 21d

Some killings you're allowed to joke about.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21d

Vance on Trump's strikes on boats: "I wouldn't go fishing right now in that area of the world."

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