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Gene Tracy

@genetracy.bsky.social

Physicist, sci-fi fan, news junkie. Scribblings have appeared at Aeon, Lapham’s Q, and American Scientist. he/him. Author of The Icarus Question: Essays on Science, Technology, and the Search for Home in a Changing World.

442 Posts519 Follower1603 Folgt
Chris Osieck@chrisosieck.bsky.social · 1h ago

One thing I do for my mental hygiene as an investigator is read about the beauty of nature and culture in the countries I cover. The risk of covering war is seeing these remarkable places only through the lens of violence. That's something I always try to resist.

Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · 2d ago

Can't think of a thing that will radicalize a generation faster than "you've gotta let that old man in the corner over there see what's inside those pants before you play Kindergarten volleyball."

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

The Campaign to Force Genital Exams on Girl Athletes Soon Washington State could require sex-verification tests for those playing sports in schools. Portrait of Andrea González-Ramírez By Andrea González-Ramírez, a senior writer for The Cut who covers systems of power.
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d ago

Carroll O’Connor, born today in 1924. Archie, he once said, is “basically a pretty unhappy guy. .. You people may laugh at him and enjoy him, but he’s not really making it in the modern world at all. .. His racism and his bigotry .. are basically poisoning his life.” “Sammy’s Visit” [1972] #RIP

Stephen West@stephenwest.bsky.social · last mo.

Abe Lincoln vs. the "heritage American" crowd, 1858: It doesn't matter where your ancestors were in 1776. Americans who read the Declaration and affirm its creed "have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote [it] ...and so they are."

We have besides these men—descended by blood from our ancestors—among us perhaps half our people who are not descendants at all of these men, they are men who have come from Europe—German, Irish, French and Scandinavian—men that have come from Europe themselves, or whose ancestors have come hither and settled here, finding themselves our equals in all things. If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none, they cannot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us, but when they look through that old Declaration of Independence they find that those old men say that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” and then they feel that that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration, (loud and long continued applause) and so they are.
Dorian Lynskey@dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 6d ago

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they executed Nigel Farage's poll lead/the Republican Party/Gianni Infantino/Lionel Messi/the SpaceX share price/everyone who thought The Odyssey would flop because it was too woke

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 5d ago

Any of my friends who have witnessed my mental state as I have gone through edit after edit of this book can attest that every individual letter and punctuation mark has been ripped painfully out of my very own soul 😣

Ann Leckie@annleckie.com · 5d ago

For writers worried that they won't be able to "prove" their work isn't Spicy Autocomplete--worry not. You thought about every choice and will be able to talk about those choices easily and clearly. Folks who used the slop machine didn't make choices and won't have anything to say about why

Robert McNees@mcnees.bsky.social · 5d ago

Chemist Stephanie Kwolek was born #OTD in 1923. She invented Kevlar, used in high-strength / low-weight applications like body armor and airplane parts. She also invented the Nylon Rope Trick demo! 🧪 👩‍🔬 Images: DuPont/Stephanie Kwolek

Black and white photo of Stephanie Kwolek standing in front of a microscope. She wears a dark jacket and striped blouse, with a lapel pin that looks like an umbrella. Her dark hair is worn in a short bob and she is looking at the camera. Color photo of Stephanie Kwolek. She wears a blouse with a batik patter. Her hair is still in a short bob but is more gray than the previous photo. Kwolek wears large, yellow rubber gloves and is holding a large pipette full of milky white fluid up to the camera.