Every now and then on NextDoor, I get accused of writing 'war and peace' style essay or accused of using AI to write for me because I wrote a comment that was three or more paragraphs long... and I think that says something bad about many people's reading level.

I like to think of these as my 'butch' and 'femme' looks

Random modern board game evangelism: modern board games are to Risk, Monopoly, & Cluedo what modern computer games are to Pong, Space Invaders, & Pac-Man. If you only know the classics, then you'd be surprised at what modern games have to offer. boardgamegeek.com/browse/board...

People persistently believe that crime is going up, but it actually peaked in the UK (and also the USA) in the 1990s, and has been falling since. This is actually a pretty good era of British history in terms of violent crime, burglaries, and similar policinginsight.com/feature/anal...

People who dislike AI have a variety of reasons for doing so. The water/energy waste objection specifically does not make sense when you dig into the numbers though. Other objections require their own discussion, but the environmental objection is misplaced. andymasley.substack.com/p/a-short-su...

A short summary of my argument that using ChatGPT isn't bad for the environment

To share with anyone still worried

andymasley.substack.com

(In the UK): From 1968 to 1988, the richest in society got more rich quicker than the poorest of society. From 1988 to 2024, the poorest got richer faster than the richest. ourworldindata.org/grapher/thre...

Some people are using the flag as a symbol for being anti-refugee and anti-migrant, but there's nothing inherently hateful or callous about the flag. The flag is nothing more or less than the choices that we make as a nation, so let's make choices that we can be proud of.

Modern life could and should be better. We've put too many roadblocks in the path of our own success. However, modern life is also better than what we had before. Pre-industrial society was a nightmare of death, misery, and poverty.

Thanks google AI but I meant to type “shut”…

Calculating national/global scale consumption/emissions and then comparing it to something human scale seems really common in environmental messaging, but it distorts our perceptions of what is and us not high impact andymasley.substack.com/p/my-can-of-...

I've seen multiple content creators on YouTube complain about the environmental cost of ChatGPT and I suspect they are unaware that the are throwing stones in glass houses? Streaming is much more energy intensive than ChatGPT? andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sh...

'there is a special place in hell for politicians who object to solar farms & other renewable projects. But perhaps the hottest part is reserved for those who seek to slow pylons and other forms of electricity transmission, they keep us on course for a burning world. bright-green.org/2023/11/07/g...

Greens need to fall on the right side of the coming pylon wars

The energy transition will need major infrastructure. It's vital Greens don't oppose it.

bright-green.org

Absolutely brilliant graphic 👏👏👏👏

Toby Nangle@tobyn.bsky.social · last yr.

Politicians shouldn't rage-bait chart geeks. on.ft.com/4jrlz8h

Some think that being pro-bike is about being anti-car and 'forcing' people to give up their car and get on a bike... but, if you pay attention to the language commonly used, it's actually about encouraging people to ~choose~ to walk, bike, or take public transport by making those attractive options

Fietser@americanfietser.bsky.social · last yr.

Hate car traffic? Support legislation that will make it more attractive for many of those people to walk, bike, or take transit. That's how you evaporate "traffic".

Things people recognise increase housing prices: (1) Increased demand from migrants, students, & tourists (2) Reduced supply due to homes being used as AirBnBs (instead of being rented/sold) Things people don't recognise as decreasing housing prices: (3) Increasing supply by building more homes

Oh The Urbanity!@ohtheurbanity.bsky.social · last yr.

It’s funny how people say there’s no point building new housing if it’s going to be market-rate. But nobody says there’s no point putting AirBnBs back on the market. A recognition that more market supply means more availability and lower prices.

Gen Z, a much maligned and panicked-about generation, are behind a remarkable collapse in weekend violence. Great reporting from @fransham.bsky.social www.economist.com/britain/2025...

If you feel inclined to criticise and disagree with someone online, it's always best to try to do so without mockery, insult, or hostility. The more angry you are in your attack, the more embarrassing it will be if you make an error, and the harder it will be to admit that error.

Good video about underappreciated policies and laws that save hundreds of thousands of lives, but don't have emotional impact because we can't say which lives were saved. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndeB...

No One Knows When They Don't Die

YouTube video by vlogbrothers

youtube.com

The NHS is no longer providing me with free covid vaccinations, so I just got home from a private vaccination from Boots. Bit pricey at ~£100, but I suspect that I'd gladly pay that to reduce the severity of the symptoms if I were ever to catch Covid again www.boots.com/online/pharm...

I don't know why this is funny, but somehow it is. It surprises me that there's an Insta account that is popular just by posting it every single day. I guess more people know more philosophy than I imagine? www.instagram.com/p/DFbuxuLObG...

France stands out as an example of what can be achieved in reducing fossil fuel dependence. We should all be looking at replicating their success lowcarbonpower.org/chart

This is worse when you consider sample bias: if we expect people who apply to and are accepted into university to be at least a little more bright and ambitious (on average) than the median non-graduate, then we'd expect them to get higher salaries regardless www.ft.com/content/cd13...

Is the UK failing its graduates?

Young people are bearing the brunt of a long-term slowdown in the labour market, data shows

ft.com

I'm seeing a lot of criticism online about how awful Net Zero is, so I thought I'd check public opinion... and it turns out that it's actually very popular? yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

Hamas surely belongs on the proscribed organisations list given that it has: (a) has committed terrorist attacks (b) is a major impediment to peace between Palestine and Israel www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

Non-philosophers are sometimes surprised at how popular compatibilism is with academics, but it helps to 'free will' and instead ask whether causation/necessity/determinism is incompatible with decision/choice/responsibility and it becomes clearer? survey2020.philpeople.org/survey/resul...

If this prediction were true (still too early for anything to be reliable) then it would seem unlikely that a majority government could be formed? • Conservative (156) + Reform (167) = 323 seats • Labour (199) + Lib (84) + SNP (43) = 326 seats www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/prediction_m...

This likely won't translate into the same distribution of seats (the Reform vote is split over too many constituencies) but it's not good news.

YouGov@yougov.co.uk · last yr.

Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (27-28 April) Ref: 26% (+1 from 21-22 Apr) Lab: 23% (=) Con: 20% (=) Lib Dem: 15% (-1) Green: 9% (-1) SNP: 3% (=) yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

There may be other reasons to not approve of ChatGPT, but the energy use argument doesn't seem to have a lot of merit... it doesn't use much energy compared to other common energy uses? andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sh...

I'm really hoping that the attempt to whitewash right-wing bigotry and politics under the guise of feminism and concern for women doesn't work as well for other right-wing causes as it has for transphobia.

In fairness to the Reform candidate, there's no sensible reason to complain about student migration into the UK, which basically acts to subsidise education for UK students. Without International students, we would have to look at hiking student fees for UK students.