Basically, recessions are caused by "everyone trying to save money at the same time". This is a problem because at an aggregate level, everyone's income is the same as everyone's spending.

As I'm updating our color naming data website, it's really clear that English speakers really don't agree on what the color term "puce" means. (Note: This is data where people were shown color tiles and were asked to name the color) idl.uw.edu/color-naming...

When AI models tell stories about animals, how are the characters gendered? And what does that reveal about model bias? Super fun to see this write-up about our FAccT paper. Led by Imani Finkley, and building on the Bears Will Be Boys story with the @pudding.cool! www.geekwire.com/2026/he-it-b...

He, it, but rarely she: When AI models write kids’ stories about animals, female characters vanish

A new University of Washington study testing leading AI models across nearly 24,000 story completions found that AI guardrails designed to reduce bias have accidentally erased female characters — defa...

geekwire.com

Naming things is hard/English is hard

Kyle Thayer@kylethayer.com · 8h ago

As I'm updating our color naming data website, it's really clear that English speakers really don't agree on what the color term "puce" means. (Note: This is data where people were shown color tiles and were asked to name the color) idl.uw.edu/color-naming...

There's a 'who is your most/least favourite character' thread on r/Exocolonist and it's just so neat to read everyone's thoughts and appreciate the spread of characters. I had only hoped to be able to make them complex enough that people would love AND hate them, both for completely valid reasons.

As I'm updating our color naming data website, it's really clear that English speakers really don't agree on what the color term "puce" means. (Note: This is data where people were shown color tiles and were asked to name the color) idl.uw.edu/color-naming...

This is 💯 not true. It is never a choice between ‘taking big tech’s money and doing nothing’. A stronger moral imperative is NOT to take the money and the strings attached to it - particularly if you do not and cannot yet understand the implications

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 12h ago

“Teaching educators about AI is a ‘moral imperative’, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president.” “And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big tech’s money or doing nothing, she said.”

These betting markets sites are so socially corrosive. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My son has cancer. Kalshi wants you to be able to bet on his medical future | Joshua Pederson

The predictions market is planning to allow betting on clinical trial results and regulatory decisions as our family fights for his survival

theguardian.com

ok now that I've gotten public buy-in on the Taco Bell Principle, let's find out if we can apply it in real time

Sarah Taber@sarahtaber.bsky.social · yesterday

I would like to propose the Taco Bell Principle When a person/institution Did A Problem, & IMMEDIATELY fesses up & takes proactive steps to solve it That's exactly what we want them to do? So how bout we let them live ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Two AI accounts wanting to connect and stay in touch with each other in the mentions of a post I wrote about AI is fucking hellscape material.

The brilliant voices behind RogerEbert.com asked me to expand my thread on Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY as a pointed assessment of America as “empire at dusk” into a full essay, which I was honored to do. Please read/share—and thanks to @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social @briantallerico.bsky.social for the invite!

RogerEbert.com@ebertvoices.bsky.social · yesterday

"Nolan’s film is not a misbegotten attempt to modernize a classic—it is a deft and purposeful reflection of America in this moment, seen through the glass of mythological metaphor." Jeff Yang writes about THE ODYSSEY and the “people from the sea.”

I’ve seen some ppl say about the critiques “this isn’t a film review” “she doesn’t know how to be a film critic.” I think that largely misses the point of what is being done in those pieces. Which is showing the public how literary criticism and translation is done with the expertise it requires

One of the things I don’t think some get about the Wilson critiques of The Odyssey is that one of the only and best ways academics can make our work and expertise relevant and available to the public is to pick a hot topic or newsworthy story and use it as an entry point to that expertise/research

You can/should read Emily Wilson's latest take on the Odyssey, but I'm logging on to convey my hairdresser's reaction. She was AGHAST that Nolan, with his million $ budget, gave Matt Damon ONLY 6 hair extensions. As a result, his hair did not blow around properly, & that ruined the film for her.

I used to write about movies for a Christian audience so it’s been mildly funny to see people exploding over classic texts being deviated from the way they did about Bible epics

The other thing I often think that is too many thoughts deep for the chuds is that sports are made-up, and *designed* around male physiology If we had centuries of history with sports where flexibility was a major advantage (like height in basketball), game over. Or idk, longevity

Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 2d ago

it's interesting how many men get satisfaction out of knowing that other men can beat elite female athletes. like ok, maybe the best high school boys team in the country can beat a WNBA team, but YOU can't

Anyway, I think it's worth calling this out really explicitly: the Verge's social media team seemingly deliberately framed this in a way that would get people to fly off the handle, and that is a gross strategy that we shouldn't just wave off

Asher Elbein@asherelbein.bsky.social · 2d ago

Yeah, sorry, but some folks on here just got straight-up outrage farmed by the Verge. This is fine!

one very weird downside to spending weeks at a time working on a series of episodes on a single topic are the content gobbling crawlers that make shoddy AI transcriptions of podcasts. if I google something too niche the top results are just AI generated summaries of what I wrote last week.

the biggest and best movie of the year revolves around the perils and horrors that come with sacrificing a trans life in the name of a short term victory

lol YUP. One of the funniest 48 hours on Bluesky. They would try to bait all the big accounts, get the nuclear block, get added to a bunch of moderation lists, and then just be standing there like 

Ryan's Confused Stare (The Office)

ALT: Ryan's Confused Stare (The Office)

static.klipy.com

John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 2d ago

Bluesky oldheads will remember that brief period of time when the conservative trolls tried to storm the place and were flummoxed by the idea they would have to organically grow an audience and that someone who didn't want to talk to them could nuke every interaction they ever had from orbit

Folks I won’t tell you not to feel your feelings, but this is rage bait. He’s talking about expanding beyond politics into things like live sports.

The Verge@theverge.com · 2d ago

Bluesky's new CEO Toni Schneider on the platform's reputation for being a liberal bubble: "Yes, we definitely want that to change. It is already changing. It certainly wasn’t designed to attract one specific group of people."

I don't really have an objection to the CEO saying Bluesky is open to all; it's kind of his job to do that. But as others have pointed out, the design of the site means it's harder for trolls/bots/chuds *and also* influencers/hypebeasts to get traction. The "bubble" here is actually normal humans.

I could be wrong, but something insidious appears to be happening to online discourse, with the "this almost unseen TV series is the best thing since crack" formula of articles where you have to click through and scroll to get the actual name of something... having trickled down into posting. 1/?

I get the sense that a lot of people feel on some level that there must be a way to optimize things to the point where there’s a Good Option where no one has to suffer anything and it’s like… No, no, sometimes the best available option that does the least damage still sucks ass, welcome to adulthood

Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 3d ago

it’s pretty obvious that a lot of people remember that COVID lockdowns were unpleasant and from there just extrapolate that they were therefore bad policy

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

i think the party of sick freaks who want to inspect kid's private parts should be branded as such

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

Man goes to see the Cyclops. Says he's depressed. He wants to get back to his wife and home, but he keeps running into fatal predicaments along the way. Cyclops says, "Prognosis is simple. Nobody can help you." Man starts crying. Says, "But Cyclops, I *am* Nobody"

I’ve been writing a counter narrative of shutdowns that has me revisiting media from that time. And let me tell you, the only other option was everybody die. So yeah.

Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 3d ago

it’s pretty obvious that a lot of people remember that COVID lockdowns were unpleasant and from there just extrapolate that they were therefore bad policy

Thoughts on Nolan's "The Odyssey" and @jessiegender.bsky.social's reflections in www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALiZ.... Give it a watch. She's got some sharp observations.

Here’s the moment when one of my PhD student’s (Joey Schafer) research on Bluesky influencers intersects with my other PhD students’ (Nina Lutz and Adiza Awwal) research on visual representation (and propaganda) within WNBA discourse. Honestly didn’t see this coming…

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

Sophie Cunningham is getting booed every time she touches the ball here in Minneapolis