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Tom Chivers

@tomchivers.bsky.social

13K followers 88 following 140 posts

"Far too nice to be a journalist," per Terry Pratchett. Lead writer on Semafor's Flagship newsletter. DMs open; chiversthomas(a)gmail. Latest book, Everything is Predictable: geni.us/EIPBook Podcast, The Studies Show: https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com

www.thestudiesshowpod.com

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 19

We really need to dial down the anti-free speech bullshit in this country. Police should almost never detain people over their choice of T-shirt! (And I would say the same if the political valence was reversed.) www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsan...

From the ThatsInsane community on Reddit: Scotland police detain a man wearing an anti-Al shirt because it sounds similar to "Palestine Action"

Explore this post and more from the ThatsInsane community

www.reddit.com

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Reposted by Tom Chivers

Mike Bird @birdyword.bsky.social · Aug 15

BIG NEWS: My book, The Land Trap, is coming out on Nov 4! I've been fascinated by this topic for years. The book tells the story of why land still occupies such a huge role in finance, economics and politics globally, and why that's a source of huge risk. You can preorder NOW!

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 14

this is top stuff

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 14

It's just the Claire's Accessories, the simple Claire's Accessories, where you could buy a bracelet for your wife

Farewell then Claire's Accessories, your retail staff can rest at ease, as you collapse in economic strife www.ft.com/content/b32d...

Jewellery chain Claire’s UK business appoints administrators

High-street brand’s move puts more than 2,000 jobs at risk and comes after parent group filed for bankruptcy protection

www.ft.com

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

yes. It was that they assumed all my warplanes were examples of me bottling out of commenting on the gender wars. Which, to be clear, quite often they were! But women didn't have the luxury of bottling out because it was their rights under threat, was the theory.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

I had quite a few on here! x.com/TomChivers/s...

x.com

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

quick, add one to your take thread alex

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

well, quite. It seemed so odd.

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

I know from being the subject of twitterstorms that having a few hundred people ganging up on you is not pleasant, and I sympathise, but if they're being polite then, frankly, you're on the internet having opinions, and people will disagree with them, so either defend them or use the mute button.

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

it was male privilege, because women didn't have the option of not engaging in online arguments. (I know I sound like I'm making it up, but I swear I am not, and I really did find it very deflating)

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

this is "no true scotsman" though. The reason I dislike that comic was that it was employed to say "stop asking me to back up my point/stand by my inflammatory claim about Not All Men" etc. I disagree that's not "really" what sealioning is; that's how it was used, in a large number of cases.

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

🤝 I nicked the idea from Jesse Singal but his was really boring (sorry Jesse); just posting a picture of a pineapple each time. I felt it was ripe for improvement

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

this is like when I had a thread of beautiful British warplanes, to which I would add an image every time I resisted the temptation to reply grumpily to someone's tweet. But then someone said it was [bad for culture war reasons], and that took all the fun out of it, so I stopped.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

the implication that politely asking people to back up their position is abusive. And, yes, "sealioning" was a popular term, but in my experience it often meant "yes I made a controversial claim, but I don't like you asking me to support it with facts and it is bigoted that you continue to do so"

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Reposted by Tom Chivers

Nelson Amaya Durán @nelsonamayad.bsky.social · Aug 3

Just finished @tomchivers.bsky.social “Everything is predictable”.

5 stars because it manages history of science and intuition better than any other book on Bayesian analysis.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Aug 4

thank you!

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 31

that is true although that wasn't specified in your tweet (if you had said "the wrongest historical cartoon" I would have stayed silent) and so I assumed you'd wandered off the original topic

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 31

honorable mention for this, which I don't think I can exactly say is "wrong" because it doesn't make any factual claims but I strongly dislike its implications

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 31

counterpoint

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 25

thanks Julia!

Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 22

what a nice thing to read!

Reposted by Tom Chivers

Mike Leipe @mleipe.bsky.social · Jul 22

"A confident, precise prior that is contradicted by precise information from the world should result in a radically changed posterior probability" - @tomchivers.bsky.social, "Everything is Predictable"

One of those delightful books that will change how I live in this world. Thanks.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 16

thank you!

Reposted by Tom Chivers

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · Jul 9

My most core political opinion - generic liberalism aside - is that the left on both sides of the Atlantic will never truly recover until it is honest with the public and explains that taxes on the middle classes have to rise to pay for public services, not just those on the super rich

Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · Jul 4

I’m supporting the nationwide day of action calling on the richest to PAY UP.

In 2024, UK billionaires added £35 million per day to their wealth. Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Council has an estimated funding gap of £17.2 million.

The money is there - time to tax it fairly.

Graphic reads: as little as 2% tax on wealth over £10 million would raise £22 billion every year.

On a black background, a neon yellow sign reflect the statistic.

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Tom Chivers @tomchivers.bsky.social · Jul 9

close enough