Vera Tobin
@vtobin.bsky.social
Cognition, language, literature, occasional possums, potatoes. Being difficult. Elements of Surprise: Our Mental Limits and the Satisfactions of Plot.
Pinned
Vera Tobin
@vtobin.bsky.social
· Oct 22
the Tobin Unit is the unit of minimal forward progress on a project. if you do a Tobin Unit on your thing, you moved it forward and are good. feeling anxious and avoidant about a project? open that sucker up and do a Tobin Unit. maybe you moved a comma. great! now you are in good standing
And for readers who like the sound of that: "If you want to see a wide variety of schlongs, come to Line Eyewear!"
Machine translation of the day: "Speaking of schlongs,
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
And for readers who like the sound of that: "If you want to see a wide variety of schlongs, come to Line Eyewear!"
Machine translation of the day: "Speaking of schlongs,
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
December 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Machine translation of the day: "Speaking of schlongs,
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
A masterpiece blow that only those in the know will know!"
(≈ "Speaking of Shuron brand eyeglasses, here's a pair in a style that real aficionados will recognize!")
extremely same
I daydream, like, pretty often about being able to write about the brain and the shapes of thought with the clarity and sense of space and geometry John McPhee had writing about literally anything
oh man there is nobody better. nobody has ever described complex 3D geometry in prose as well as he can.
December 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
extremely same
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Nipple clamps are a necessary tool in veterinary science 🧪
November 29, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Nipple clamps are a necessary tool in veterinary science 🧪
My child woke up with a cold, so we had to bail on our plans, and I am now genuinely enjoying the adventure of putting Thanksgiving together out of the dishes we'd make to bring with us + what we happen to have on hand. PSA: you 100% can make good cranberry sauce from dried cranberries!
November 27, 2025 at 10:29 PM
My child woke up with a cold, so we had to bail on our plans, and I am now genuinely enjoying the adventure of putting Thanksgiving together out of the dishes we'd make to bring with us + what we happen to have on hand. PSA: you 100% can make good cranberry sauce from dried cranberries!
Reposted by Vera Tobin
y'know, if tech companies weren't so fired up to call every single thing "AI" it would be a lot easier to distinguish "ML spam filter that is well-sandboxed and tuned on your emails" from "giant context and IP-eroding foundation model that makes people paranoid and unhappy"
since the "google is now training gemini on your email contents" thing keeps bumping around here: it's _not happening_. I say this not to defend google but because I know a lot of people that have broken their filtering and made their lives much more annoying from sheer misinformation.
The malwarebytes Google opting-your-emails-into-ai-training thing is not true. The post is based on one bad tweet.
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
I know anti-tech lamenting is a Bluesky core principle, but please use the same judgement you would for any other clickbait.
www.theverge.com/news/826902/...
November 23, 2025 at 12:58 PM
y'know, if tech companies weren't so fired up to call every single thing "AI" it would be a lot easier to distinguish "ML spam filter that is well-sandboxed and tuned on your emails" from "giant context and IP-eroding foundation model that makes people paranoid and unhappy"
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
Finally, Magic the Gathering quit congress.
November 22, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Finally, Magic the Gathering quit congress.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
no but this time I mean it: oh my God
He said "Amen" straight into the drop
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
Lmao Pope Leo threw a rave for an archbishop's 75th birthday this is kind of incredible
November 22, 2025 at 1:49 AM
no but this time I mean it: oh my God
Reposted by Vera Tobin
It’s more that in a big group chat like the one the FBI was spying on, there are just more people who could be FBI moles than, say, the one person you are talking to who presumably you trust more not to be an FBI mole.
Is a chat between just two ppl more secure than a group chat if theyte both using Signal or other msging apps?
November 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
It’s more that in a big group chat like the one the FBI was spying on, there are just more people who could be FBI moles than, say, the one person you are talking to who presumably you trust more not to be an FBI mole.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
This guy at my house hanging some artwork, & he was chatting about how hotels (& hospitals apparently) bolt down the paintings on the wall, rather than hang w/ wires or D-rings. He said one of his favorite things to do when staying in a hotel is use his special wrench & change the paintings around
November 21, 2025 at 6:46 PM
This guy at my house hanging some artwork, & he was chatting about how hotels (& hospitals apparently) bolt down the paintings on the wall, rather than hang w/ wires or D-rings. He said one of his favorite things to do when staying in a hotel is use his special wrench & change the paintings around
Reposted by Vera Tobin
They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)
November 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)
adrift on a semiotic sea of ads resolutely resisting giving the least hint that it might be in any way odd to refer to any old wednesday (or tuesday) (or week) (or who knows what) as "black friday"
November 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM
adrift on a semiotic sea of ads resolutely resisting giving the least hint that it might be in any way odd to refer to any old wednesday (or tuesday) (or week) (or who knows what) as "black friday"
Reposted by Vera Tobin
like nine years ago I said to my friends "somebody should make a picture of Eliezer Yudkowsky as the paperclip optimizer as MODOK" and they said "why not commission our friend @john13.bsky.social" and I did and he put in the kirby krackle and a million little details and it has given me SO MUCH joy
November 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
like nine years ago I said to my friends "somebody should make a picture of Eliezer Yudkowsky as the paperclip optimizer as MODOK" and they said "why not commission our friend @john13.bsky.social" and I did and he put in the kirby krackle and a million little details and it has given me SO MUCH joy
Reposted by Vera Tobin
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management
Grab your umbrella and your tights.
neorsd.medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
i mean. he didn't grant it to ME.
women are always saying “lord grant me the confidence of a mediocre man.” ok well he did. now what. is the world a better place? look at what you’ve wrought.
Olivia Nuzzi's 'American Canto': Read the Exclusive Excerpt
She flamed out and she faded away. 'Vanity Fair'’s West Coast Editor returns to the written word to survey scorched earth.
www.vanityfair.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:03 PM
i mean. he didn't grant it to ME.
Reposted by Vera Tobin
We should at least have a culture that doesn't make a sensible person continually DIE inside. Is that too much to ask? (Yes, when I think about it--it's probably everything. It would be huge.)
November 17, 2025 at 7:54 PM
We should at least have a culture that doesn't make a sensible person continually DIE inside. Is that too much to ask? (Yes, when I think about it--it's probably everything. It would be huge.)
“They call what they are doing ‘spiritual science,’ ” Almqvist said, sighing. “A friend of mine has been ‘researching’ the color orange for forty years. What does this mean? It means he paints in orange.” 🧡
The Strange Afterlife of Hilma af Klint, Painting’s Posthumous Star
As af Klint’s fame has grown, so have the questions—about what she believed, whom she worked with, and who should be allowed to speak in her name.
www.newyorker.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“They call what they are doing ‘spiritual science,’ ” Almqvist said, sighing. “A friend of mine has been ‘researching’ the color orange for forty years. What does this mean? It means he paints in orange.” 🧡
Reposted by Vera Tobin
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
They pulled the lion by the hair
They hit him with the folding chair
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
They pulled the lion by the hair
They hit him with the folding chair
November 12, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
They pulled the lion by the hair
They hit him with the folding chair
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
They pulled the lion by the hair
They hit him with the folding chair
fun times!
November 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
fun times!
Reposted by Vera Tobin
After a full year of work, this book is out! Cooking in Maximum Security, compiled by Matteo Guidi, is our latest Half Letter Press book and it's beautiful. How do people in Italian prisons cook? This book will show you their recipes and tools used to make them. halfletterpress.com/cooking-in-m...
November 8, 2025 at 1:35 PM
After a full year of work, this book is out! Cooking in Maximum Security, compiled by Matteo Guidi, is our latest Half Letter Press book and it's beautiful. How do people in Italian prisons cook? This book will show you their recipes and tools used to make them. halfletterpress.com/cooking-in-m...
Reposted by Vera Tobin
“It gives me no joy to admit that there are certain kinds of professors who love little more than seeing their names in the paper.…But I like to think even they would’ve been able to spot the coiled wires and rusty springs of this particular trap.”
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
“It gives me no joy to admit that there are certain kinds of professors who love little more than seeing their names in the paper.…But I like to think even they would’ve been able to spot the coiled wires and rusty springs of this particular trap.”
Reposted by Vera Tobin
i can’t believe a good thing happened we should do this more often
November 5, 2025 at 2:26 AM
i can’t believe a good thing happened we should do this more often