Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 1h

Looking forward to talking at the Basic Principles of Cognition meeting tomorrow! 😊https://basicprinciplesofcognition.wordpress.com/programme/

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greg_j_davis @gregorydavis.bsky.social · 1h

poor lad's not even got a linked-in page

Aristotle is patron saint of people who don't get their dream job..

and end up smashing it anyway :)

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Huw Swanborough @huwroscience.bsky.social · 2h

Gonna read the Silmarilion and ask it to refresh me on the lineage of a given character, forcing it to use up all the remaining fresh water in Virginia.

lindsey adler @lindseyadler.bsky.social · 1d

...

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Dr Nick @nmwilkinson.bsky.social · 2h

Asking homeowners for permission would kill the burglary industry

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 2h

Dr. John Gurdon, a British biologist and Nobel laureate who in the early 1960s introduced a paradigm-shifting method of cell manipulation that led to the world’s first cloning of a large mammal, a sheep named Dolly, died on Tuesday at 92.

John B. Gurdon, 92, Dies; Nobelist Paved Way for Cloning of Animals

His work in the manipulation of cells laid the foundation for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and led to the first cloned large mammal, a sheep named Dolly.

nyti.ms

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Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 2h

This is a good game.

I have an English degree and boosted a major publishing house’s share price, and saved a high street retail chain from closure.

If a Mickey Mouse degree lets you create actual Mickey fucking Mouse, it’s probably easily as good “for the economy” as business studies.

Patrick Ness @patricknessbooks.bsky.social · 2h

*deep sigh* Again, I have an English degree and have contributed rather extensively to the British economy, including writing a show that pumped £10 million into Wales. But the stupidity is the point here, of course.

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 3h

Badenoch and Co see education only as a means to a massive income in some soul destroying career.

Devoid of imagination and the power of knowledge they view life entirely through the prism of the CV.

My advice always is to study what interests you and the rest will follow

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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 1h

I wonder what it is... 🤔

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Huw Swanborough @huwroscience.bsky.social · 3h

Can't even go like "ah well in the past discoveries or creativity where easier because there was more stuff to discover" because the Nicomachean Ethics is an extraordinary work by any standards.

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PessoaBrain @pessoabrain.bsky.social · 3h

Very few things. Unfortunately he rejected evolutionary thinking by other scholars. Had her sided with them where would we be today!!

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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 3h

Is there anything Aristotle *didn't* already think about?

Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 5d

Aristotle noticed that when bees returned to the hive, they shook or "danced" in front of a group. Millennia later, scientists debated whether it was a form of "language" amid shifts in scientific methods and philosophies in the 20th century.

#histsci 🗃️ #bees

daily.jstor.org/the-bee-danc...

The Bee Dance Debate - JSTOR Daily

Can insects communicate? In the middle of the twentieth century, scientists disagreed on whether bees could possess a “language” expressed through motion.

daily.jstor.org

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Danny Robb @inverting-vision.bsky.social · 5d

Aristotle noticed that when bees returned to the hive, they shook or "danced" in front of a group. Millennia later, scientists debated whether it was a form of "language" amid shifts in scientific methods and philosophies in the 20th century.

#histsci 🗃️ #bees

daily.jstor.org/the-bee-danc...

The Bee Dance Debate - JSTOR Daily

Can insects communicate? In the middle of the twentieth century, scientists disagreed on whether bees could possess a “language” expressed through motion.

daily.jstor.org

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Andrea Matranga @andreamatranga.bsky.social · 4h

We have to all learn Navajo so we can talk without AI unserstanding

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Alex Hanna-ween @alexhanna.bsky.social · 9h

I'm not an economist but seems worrying that the whole US economy is seven companies in a trenchcoat, passing the same $20 up and down

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11h

NVIDIA and OpenAi:

Concerns that their “increasingly complex and interconnected web of business transactions is artificially propping up the trillion-dollar AI boom.“

@bloomberg.com $NVDA 👀
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Jennifer Kretchmer @dreamwisp.bsky.social · 12h

Because it feels relevant as we continue to evaluate the media and our representatives’ statements, my favorite way to identify the active vs. passive voice.

A post by Rebecca Johnson:
“I finally learned how to teach my guys to ID the passive voice. If you can insert "by zombies" after the verb, you have passive voice.”

A tumblr respond from mightymur:
“The final, brilliant word on passive voice.
"She was killed [by zombies.]"<--passive
"Zombies killed [by zombies] her." <-- active”

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Dr Nick @nmwilkinson.bsky.social · 4h

Deport the illegal migrants!

No, not like that!

Frédéric Moreau @goodclimate.bsky.social · 17h

This lurid headline is about British tourists no longer getting away with overstaying in Schengen. Or being 'illegals', as it's often called in the UK.

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Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 3h

Today at 19.30 in Trinity College. I think you could still choose to come along...

Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 20h

Looking forward to this debate with the @tcddublin.bsky.social Historical Society tomorrow. The motion is: "This house regrets free will". I will be speaking in opposition! 😊

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Ian Carrillo @iansociologo.bsky.social · 6h

Why Underachievers Dominate Secret Police Organizations: Evidence from Autocratic Argentina
Adam Scharpf and Christian Gläßel

Autocrats depend on a capable secret police. Anecdotal evidence, however, often characterizes agents as surprisingly mediocre in skill and intellect. To explain this puzzle, this article focuses on the career incentives underachieving individuals face in the regular security apparatus. Low-performing officials in hierarchical organizations have little chance of being promoted or filling lucrative positions. To salvage their careers, these officials are willing to undertake burdensome secret police work. Using data on all 4,287 officers who served in autocratic Argentina (1975-83), we study biographic differences between secret police agents and the entire recruitment pool. We find that low-achieving officers were stuck within the regime hierarchy, threatened with discharge, and thus more likely to join the secret police for future benefits. The study demonstrates how state bureaucracies breed mundane career concerns that produce willing enforcers and cement violent regimes. This has implications for the understanding of autocratic consolidation and democratic breakdown.

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Courtney Vaughn @courtneyvaughn.bsky.social · 7h

Streets are still closed off in front of the Portland ICE facility at 8:30pm. Protesters have gathered on a side street. Dance party in progress.

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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 15h

“Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this. But the profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored.”

Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr.

We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

wapo.st

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Joshua G. Schraiber @jgschraiber.bsky.social · 1d

Just an absolutely horrific self own, depleting the US of amazing students from all over the world who contributed to what used to make America great: its diversity, its openness, and its leadership in education.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 1d

The number of international students arriving in the U.S. in August fell by 19% this year compared with last year — the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

nyti.ms

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Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 1d

I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Letter Regarding Compact

MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...

docs.google.com

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David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 5h

i can say with confidence that this is how most faculty senate meetings discussing the 'compact' would go down. it's terrible and seen for what it is - trump's effort to end university autonomy in favor of rw dominance.

faculty get it. the question is whether administrators do.

USC faculty members denounce Trump compact that would shift university to the right

The USC Academic Senate held a special meeting to discuss the Trump administration's education compact, which was presented to the school last week.

www.latimes.com

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 15h

This has nothing to do with crime. This is an attempt to crush political dissent.

Never before, in our entire 250 year history, has the military or immigration agents been used like this. It's dystopian, illegal, and it should stop.

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John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 16h

“Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this. But the profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr.

We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

www.washingtonpost.com

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 1d

Vaccine disinformation/misinformation is as damaging as banning vaccines because it accomplishes the same thing i.e. fewer people get vaccinated as a result.
RFK. Jr's agenda doesn't need to explicitly take vaccines off shelves to meet its goals pseudoscience and misinformation are doing the job.

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