Tomas Linder
@yeastgenomix.bsky.social
Yeast biologist interested in metabolism and genomics. Cultivated meat skeptic. If you misuse the word "fermentation", I *WILL* come after you. Allergic to buzzwords in general. Any opinions expressed here are my own, nothing to do with my employer.
This week it will be a #FungiFriday / #SlimeMoldSunday crossover so it is only fair that I post it on a Saturday.
I don’t know if there’s a collective noun for the fruiting bodies of the wolf’s milk slime mold - but if not, I’d like to propose “a huddle”. Ergo here’s a huddle of wolf’s milk fruiting bodies from a few weeks ago. #SlimeMoldSunday
For whatever reason, it has been an exceptional summer for sightings of Fuligo septica around mid-Sweden. Attached is one of the most spectacular specimens I've come across this year – and obviously I had to make a timelapse video of it (see followup post below). #SlimeMoldSunday
New Substack: : Students should only use AI for things that they already know how to do well. dtwuva.substack.com/p/students-s...
Students should only use AI for things they already know how to do well.
AI guardrails should protect important mental work
dtwuva.substack.com
First encounter with the raspberry slime mold (Tubifera ferruginosa) this year. Hoping for many more encounters before the season is over. #SlimeMoldSunday
An eye-catching specimen of the ”dog’s vomit” slime mold (Fuligo septica) with what appears to be its emotional support twig. #SlimeMoldSunday
This why I believe genAI is essentially doomed: deliberate pollution of the scientific literature will increasingly corrupt future AI models until scientific truth becomes unknowable. Hang on to your pre-2022 textbooks!
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)@cenmag.bsky.social · 2mo agoGenerative artificial intelligence has worsened a long-standing publish-or-perish problem in the academic community by making scientific paper fabrication trivially cheap and fast. Read more: cen.acs.org/policy/publi... #chemsky 🧪
A few weeks ago I finally managed to catch Stemonitis in the act as its fruiting bodies (sporocarps) were maturing. Some light rain had smooshed the sporocarps so I didn’t get the classic upright sporocarp bundles unfortunately. Just five hours later they had already turned brown. #SlimeMoldSunday
My first encounter with what looks like the “eyelash fungus” Scutellinia scutellata. Can’t decide whether it’s more Lovecraftian or Cronenbergian. #FungiFriday
Alpha School May Be Efficient. But Is It Education? Alpha School should be regarded as a possibly promising educational experiment and not as evidence that AI can replace teachers or make conventional schooling obsolete.
Alpha School May Be Efficient. But Is It Education?
Alpha School should be regarded as a possibly promising educational experiment and not as evidence that AI can replace teachers or make conventional schooling obsolete.
kirschnered.nl
It's always a special occasion when you find a fresh specimen of the "dog's vomit" slime mold (Fuligo septica) – especially since it's still on the move and will be elsewhere in a few hours. (See time-lapse video in the follow-up post below if you don't believe me.) #SlimeMoldSunday
Let’s start by decoupling critical thinking from cognitive skills in general. Any tool that allows cognitive outsourcing (genAI, spellchecker, GPS, pocket calculator) will lead to skill erosion. Also, most of us TRY to teach critical thinking but learners tend to be unenthusiastic to say the least.
Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 3mo agoOpinion | We Have Never Taught Critical Thinking AI just makes those failures evident. By Priten Soundar-Shah and Aidan Kestigian: https://bit.ly/3Sq6j3Q
“Hah! My perfect camouflage makes me practically invisible…”
These are thalli of the lichen Candelariella coralliza. Each thallus is barely a tenth of a millimeter in diameter. I was a bit impatient to get the shot, hence some slight blurriness (and requiring a 30-second exposure doesn’t help).
Revisiting the same Stereocaulon lichens with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens. Looks better - and not even using full magnification.
Tomas Linder@yeastgenomix.bsky.social · 6mo agoFinally got around to testing the camera attachment for my stereomicroscope. I'm obviously going to have to get into focus stacking but this "rock foam" lichen (Stereocaulon) thallus looks ok-ish considering it's only one millimeter across.
The two issues that come to my mind are that (1) research universities were never really about learning and (2) generative AI is fast approaching its true singularity: increasingly being trained on its own output while users increasingly lack the competence to critically evaluate the results.
Nils Gilman@nilsgilman.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe American research university has been in serial crisis for 60 years. AI is now upending the whole applecart — but rightly seen, this is an opportunity as much as it is a threat. My latest: open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...