Gnomon
@tronc.bsky.social
I support resistance to 'Cognitive Technology' (CT) especially in education but more widely wherever relationships drive social health. In its current form CT, by design, severely limits public participation in shaping futures.
Musk is sooooo stupid!
"Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts."
BBC News - X could 'lose right to self regulate', says Starmer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts."
BBC News - X could 'lose right to self regulate', says Starmer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
X could 'lose right to self regulate', says Starmer
It is currently illegal to share deepfakes, but the law against creating them has not yet come into force.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 13, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Musk is sooooo stupid!
"Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts."
BBC News - X could 'lose right to self regulate', says Starmer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"Real fascism is arresting thousands of people for social media posts."
BBC News - X could 'lose right to self regulate', says Starmer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"A world in which a US president casts aside legal restraints may seem shocking to many. But living by your own rules carries its own risks, and by unit[ing] opponents at home and abroad may simpl[y] accelerate the decline of American power."
markurban.substack.com/p/trump-make...
markurban.substack.com/p/trump-make...
Trump Makes His Own Rules
But relying on old school power politics creates plenty of jeopardy for him
markurban.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:39 AM
"A world in which a US president casts aside legal restraints may seem shocking to many. But living by your own rules carries its own risks, and by unit[ing] opponents at home and abroad may simpl[y] accelerate the decline of American power."
markurban.substack.com/p/trump-make...
markurban.substack.com/p/trump-make...
"[Trump] is only comfortable if he controls everything and everyone in his domain. Equal co-existence without subordination is simply beyond his understanding — hence his sincere bafflement at the Constitution."
Great piece from Andrew Sullivan:
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-f...
Great piece from Andrew Sullivan:
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-f...
A Viking Foreign Policy
The logic of Trump's entire approach: deploy superior force to plunder the weak. Repeat.
andrewsullivan.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:50 PM
"[Trump] is only comfortable if he controls everything and everyone in his domain. Equal co-existence without subordination is simply beyond his understanding — hence his sincere bafflement at the Constitution."
Great piece from Andrew Sullivan:
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-f...
Great piece from Andrew Sullivan:
andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-f...
Starmer coninues his drift towards the bullshit and is dooming the UK Labour Party to a future in the wasteland. It cannot now be rescued. He has squandered our faith in the possibility of revival after the years of Tory misrule ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Chris Mason: Starmer sticks to strategy of avoiding criticism of Trump over Maduro
The government's cautious response has been pounced on by its critics, writes the BBC's political editor.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Starmer coninues his drift towards the bullshit and is dooming the UK Labour Party to a future in the wasteland. It cannot now be rescued. He has squandered our faith in the possibility of revival after the years of Tory misrule ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Insanity:
Lindsey Graham: “...we’re killing all the right people and lowering your taxes...”
Lindsey Graham: “...we’re killing all the right people and lowering your taxes...”
January 6, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Insanity:
Lindsey Graham: “...we’re killing all the right people and lowering your taxes...”
Lindsey Graham: “...we’re killing all the right people and lowering your taxes...”
Trump's threats are such lousy hypocrisy ...
January 2, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Trump's threats are such lousy hypocrisy ...
Philip Roth's comments about Trump's America:
"Does Donald Trump outstrip the novelist’s imagination?"
“It isn’t Trump as a character ... the real-estate type, the callow and callous killer capitalist that outstrips the imagination. It is Trump as President of the United States."
bit.ly/3YlDlll
"Does Donald Trump outstrip the novelist’s imagination?"
“It isn’t Trump as a character ... the real-estate type, the callow and callous killer capitalist that outstrips the imagination. It is Trump as President of the United States."
bit.ly/3YlDlll
Philip Roth E-Mails on Trump
In 2004, the writer published “The Plot Against America,” about an election that upends the country. Has it happened here?
www.newyorker.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Philip Roth's comments about Trump's America:
"Does Donald Trump outstrip the novelist’s imagination?"
“It isn’t Trump as a character ... the real-estate type, the callow and callous killer capitalist that outstrips the imagination. It is Trump as President of the United States."
bit.ly/3YlDlll
"Does Donald Trump outstrip the novelist’s imagination?"
“It isn’t Trump as a character ... the real-estate type, the callow and callous killer capitalist that outstrips the imagination. It is Trump as President of the United States."
bit.ly/3YlDlll
@gmb.org.uk
Writing as a user, it's sad that something as elementary as a courier company, in this case Evri, should be so incompetent.
The poor working conditions are a significant issue.
Adding insult to injury, why is the GMB so ineffective in helping to sort out the issues?
Writing as a user, it's sad that something as elementary as a courier company, in this case Evri, should be so incompetent.
The poor working conditions are a significant issue.
Adding insult to injury, why is the GMB so ineffective in helping to sort out the issues?
January 2, 2026 at 1:38 PM
@gmb.org.uk
Writing as a user, it's sad that something as elementary as a courier company, in this case Evri, should be so incompetent.
The poor working conditions are a significant issue.
Adding insult to injury, why is the GMB so ineffective in helping to sort out the issues?
Writing as a user, it's sad that something as elementary as a courier company, in this case Evri, should be so incompetent.
The poor working conditions are a significant issue.
Adding insult to injury, why is the GMB so ineffective in helping to sort out the issues?
Perfection! Truth!
"... bosses understand that if they stopped coming to work, the business would run along just fine, but if the workers stopped showing up, the company would grind to a halt."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
"... bosses understand that if they stopped coming to work, the business would run along just fine, but if the workers stopped showing up, the company would grind to a halt."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
The Post-American Internet
My speech from Hamburg’s Chaos Communications Congress.
doctorow.medium.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Perfection! Truth!
"... bosses understand that if they stopped coming to work, the business would run along just fine, but if the workers stopped showing up, the company would grind to a halt."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
"... bosses understand that if they stopped coming to work, the business would run along just fine, but if the workers stopped showing up, the company would grind to a halt."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
"Legalizing jailbreaking, raiding the highest margin lines of business of the most profitable companies in America is a much better response to the Trump tariffs than retaliatory tariffs."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
The Post-American Internet
My speech from Hamburg’s Chaos Communications Congress.
doctorow.medium.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:34 PM
"Legalizing jailbreaking, raiding the highest margin lines of business of the most profitable companies in America is a much better response to the Trump tariffs than retaliatory tariffs."
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
doctorow.medium.com/https-plural...
Re-reading Postman's Technopoly. A good book tho already, & inevitably, a bit dated. But he was already describing the world of info-slop in which we live.
His name for it on ~p80 is 'the peek-a-boo' world. Content comes and goes, relevant or improbable, without reason or purpose ...
His name for it on ~p80 is 'the peek-a-boo' world. Content comes and goes, relevant or improbable, without reason or purpose ...
December 30, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Re-reading Postman's Technopoly. A good book tho already, & inevitably, a bit dated. But he was already describing the world of info-slop in which we live.
His name for it on ~p80 is 'the peek-a-boo' world. Content comes and goes, relevant or improbable, without reason or purpose ...
His name for it on ~p80 is 'the peek-a-boo' world. Content comes and goes, relevant or improbable, without reason or purpose ...
@ofcom.bsky.social
I am trying to locate the online complaints form on the OfCom website ... where the heck is it? ... here, Ofcom implies is one but no link is visible! Please advise.
www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-compl...
I am trying to locate the online complaints form on the OfCom website ... where the heck is it? ... here, Ofcom implies is one but no link is visible! Please advise.
www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-compl...
Get in touch by phone or post
Complain to Ofcom by phone or post
www.ofcom.org.uk
December 16, 2025 at 3:49 PM
@ofcom.bsky.social
I am trying to locate the online complaints form on the OfCom website ... where the heck is it? ... here, Ofcom implies is one but no link is visible! Please advise.
www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-compl...
I am trying to locate the online complaints form on the OfCom website ... where the heck is it? ... here, Ofcom implies is one but no link is visible! Please advise.
www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-compl...
26 months:
70,663 killed (~20K children)
171,139 wounded (~42K children)
792 days
~ 90 killed per day (~25 children per day)
~ 0 time to grieve
70,663 killed (~20K children)
171,139 wounded (~42K children)
792 days
~ 90 killed per day (~25 children per day)
~ 0 time to grieve
December 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
26 months:
70,663 killed (~20K children)
171,139 wounded (~42K children)
792 days
~ 90 killed per day (~25 children per day)
~ 0 time to grieve
70,663 killed (~20K children)
171,139 wounded (~42K children)
792 days
~ 90 killed per day (~25 children per day)
~ 0 time to grieve
#books
Reading Klein: Doppelganger. Great book! My Takeway: social media amplifies pre-existing beliefs, situated concerns, experiences etc. It does not enrol you in conspiracy - you were already thinking that way before you signed up! It may offer rewards and confirmation, but does not instil it.
Reading Klein: Doppelganger. Great book! My Takeway: social media amplifies pre-existing beliefs, situated concerns, experiences etc. It does not enrol you in conspiracy - you were already thinking that way before you signed up! It may offer rewards and confirmation, but does not instil it.
December 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM
#books
Reading Klein: Doppelganger. Great book! My Takeway: social media amplifies pre-existing beliefs, situated concerns, experiences etc. It does not enrol you in conspiracy - you were already thinking that way before you signed up! It may offer rewards and confirmation, but does not instil it.
Reading Klein: Doppelganger. Great book! My Takeway: social media amplifies pre-existing beliefs, situated concerns, experiences etc. It does not enrol you in conspiracy - you were already thinking that way before you signed up! It may offer rewards and confirmation, but does not instil it.
#edusky Dan Meyer on why it's too soon to implement AI in education:
(i) teaching is a hard job - there's so (too) much to do;
(ii) resources are very limited;
(iii) opportunity costs are high - so many goals to hit;
(iV) so far, weak evidence for educ benefits.
danmeyer.substack.com
(i) teaching is a hard job - there's so (too) much to do;
(ii) resources are very limited;
(iii) opportunity costs are high - so many goals to hit;
(iV) so far, weak evidence for educ benefits.
danmeyer.substack.com
Mathworlds | Dan Meyer | Substack
Building better worlds for learning math. Click to read Mathworlds, by Dan Meyer, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
danmeyer.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:53 PM
#edusky Dan Meyer on why it's too soon to implement AI in education:
(i) teaching is a hard job - there's so (too) much to do;
(ii) resources are very limited;
(iii) opportunity costs are high - so many goals to hit;
(iV) so far, weak evidence for educ benefits.
danmeyer.substack.com
(i) teaching is a hard job - there's so (too) much to do;
(ii) resources are very limited;
(iii) opportunity costs are high - so many goals to hit;
(iV) so far, weak evidence for educ benefits.
danmeyer.substack.com
Hyperscalers (google et al) are ensuring that the industry serves their infrastructure and "increases the moats around their lines of business." They are incentivised to develop massive, data-hungry, compute-inefficient models rather than efficient, decentralised systems.
www.ft.com/content/307d...
www.ft.com/content/307d...
AI poses a new antitrust problem
Washington cheered on the consolidation of the social web in the 2010s — it must not make the same mistake today
www.ft.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Hyperscalers (google et al) are ensuring that the industry serves their infrastructure and "increases the moats around their lines of business." They are incentivised to develop massive, data-hungry, compute-inefficient models rather than efficient, decentralised systems.
www.ft.com/content/307d...
www.ft.com/content/307d...
Nice line from a an article (can't recall where) about the FIFA boss Infantino and how he drools over Trump in various ways ...
He was elected some years back to get rid of massive corruption at FIFA where $millions of bribes were being passed under the table ... ... so he got rid of the table! 😁💥
He was elected some years back to get rid of massive corruption at FIFA where $millions of bribes were being passed under the table ... ... so he got rid of the table! 😁💥
December 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Nice line from a an article (can't recall where) about the FIFA boss Infantino and how he drools over Trump in various ways ...
He was elected some years back to get rid of massive corruption at FIFA where $millions of bribes were being passed under the table ... ... so he got rid of the table! 😁💥
He was elected some years back to get rid of massive corruption at FIFA where $millions of bribes were being passed under the table ... ... so he got rid of the table! 😁💥
Unbelievable!
And just look at the stooges standing around him - surely some of them want to tell him to shut the fuck up ... discomfort does not cover it ...
And just look at the stooges standing around him - surely some of them want to tell him to shut the fuck up ... discomfort does not cover it ...
I don’t want to be pollyannish about the past, but it was basically inconceivable twenty years ago that a president would say this publicly
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Unbelievable!
And just look at the stooges standing around him - surely some of them want to tell him to shut the fuck up ... discomfort does not cover it ...
And just look at the stooges standing around him - surely some of them want to tell him to shut the fuck up ... discomfort does not cover it ...
..."[we] no longer asks what education is for, only what it can earn...
An excellent and brutal article. I don't think the situation is quite as hopeless as some of this suggests, but the challenges are enormous. Our only chance, as ever, is to hold together: bring faculty, well-meaning administrators, and especially students together: human learning for human beings.
If ChatGPT can generate student essays, complete assignments, and even provide feedback, what remains of the educational transaction?
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
December 4, 2025 at 10:09 PM
..."[we] no longer asks what education is for, only what it can earn...
The best thing, and perhaps the only thing, you can say about the Labour Government of the UK is that it is not the Tories.
But what's where it ends. If UK Labour was a genuine Social Democrat government, then this would have been gone from day 1 ...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
But what's where it ends. If UK Labour was a genuine Social Democrat government, then this would have been gone from day 1 ...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
UN experts raise concerns over homes rented out by English social landlord
Exclusive: Letter says L&Q appears to have systematically failed in its duty to provide adequate standard of living
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
The best thing, and perhaps the only thing, you can say about the Labour Government of the UK is that it is not the Tories.
But what's where it ends. If UK Labour was a genuine Social Democrat government, then this would have been gone from day 1 ...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
But what's where it ends. If UK Labour was a genuine Social Democrat government, then this would have been gone from day 1 ...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
At least the UK Labour government is not the Tories. But that is the only difference.
November 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
At least the UK Labour government is not the Tories. But that is the only difference.
Today's reads:
Amitav Ghosh: Beyond the Apocalypse - bit.ly/3LY30hf
How colonialist outlooks affect climate change 'solutions'
Naomi Klein: Surrealism Against Fascism - bit.ly/488YS6G
It's in the title!
Deepak Dennison : Holes in the Web - bit.ly/4oQ5I6O
AI loses knowledge
Amitav Ghosh: Beyond the Apocalypse - bit.ly/3LY30hf
How colonialist outlooks affect climate change 'solutions'
Naomi Klein: Surrealism Against Fascism - bit.ly/488YS6G
It's in the title!
Deepak Dennison : Holes in the Web - bit.ly/4oQ5I6O
AI loses knowledge
Beyond the Apocalypse • EQUATOR
How visions of catastrophe shape the ‘climate solutions’ imposed by aid agencies
www.equator.org
November 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Today's reads:
Amitav Ghosh: Beyond the Apocalypse - bit.ly/3LY30hf
How colonialist outlooks affect climate change 'solutions'
Naomi Klein: Surrealism Against Fascism - bit.ly/488YS6G
It's in the title!
Deepak Dennison : Holes in the Web - bit.ly/4oQ5I6O
AI loses knowledge
Amitav Ghosh: Beyond the Apocalypse - bit.ly/3LY30hf
How colonialist outlooks affect climate change 'solutions'
Naomi Klein: Surrealism Against Fascism - bit.ly/488YS6G
It's in the title!
Deepak Dennison : Holes in the Web - bit.ly/4oQ5I6O
AI loses knowledge
On Technofeudalism - I would like to know more about medieval monastic feudalism - can anyone recommend a good book(s) on the subject?
Thanks
By the way - good article by Varoufakis in the Guardian today:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thanks
By the way - good article by Varoufakis in the Guardian today:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
How Amazon turned our capitalist era of free markets into the age of technofeudalism | Yanis Varoufakis
Amazon Web Services owns the basic infrastructure for other businesses to operate online, turning even governments into its serfs, says the leader of MeRA25, Yanis Varoufakis
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:53 AM
On Technofeudalism - I would like to know more about medieval monastic feudalism - can anyone recommend a good book(s) on the subject?
Thanks
By the way - good article by Varoufakis in the Guardian today:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thanks
By the way - good article by Varoufakis in the Guardian today:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...