ProfT @ProfT@social.cleverlibre.org

Vielen dank to the 300 or so folk who came to my talk on #JWST last night in the Stadttheater Mainz, as part of the university’s “Physik im Theater” series 🔭

Pretty tiring groping around inside my brain for the right German words & phrases for two hours of presentation & questions, but it’s always kind to have my dubious grammar praised as “charming” 🇩🇪

At least I think that’s the way it’s intended 🤨

#SciComm #Astrodon

RT @Europarl_HR: Jedna od najmlađih zastupnica u EP-u @TerryReintke, dolazi nam na Greencajt festival, čiji smo i ovogodišnji partner. Razgovarat će s Nevenom Rendeli o vlastitim iskustvima kao žena u politici.

🗓️ 24. svibnja.
📍Stara tvornica žarulja TEŽ, Rougemarin park
🕛 12:10h-12:40h https://t.co/zebE5AVbVU

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/TerryReintke/status/1657381341954965505

On the list of new weather words we need: a word for the feeling of security when a day actually feels 'right' for the season, combined with the niggling worry that it won't last. Whatever that word is, here's a photo from a day like that.

As Jeff Wood of @TheOverheadWire points out: "Japan taxes vehicles by size and engine displacement annually which has led to a lot of these smaller work trucks and vans. I often wonder what would happen if we taxed vehicles by weight or size as trucks and cars are getting ridiculously huge and dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians."

https://jalopnik.com/cost-of-driving-in-japan-taxes-tolls-parking-inspection-1849878881

This month, Lisbon will become the latest European city to bar thru-traffic from its city centre. The plan, to be introduced for a 3-month trial period, will see cars barred from driving thru (but not driving to) the heart of #Lisbon’s downtown. Via CityLab.

#Portugal #cities #cars #downtown #traffic
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-24/lisbon-car-ban-limits-through-traffic-in-city-center

RT @GDelbosCorfield: (1/6) In 🇭🇺, the #Fidesz government is once again attacking freedom of expression & #LGBTIQ rights.

What are these new laws about? https://t.co/Z567llPsu9

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/daniel_freund/status/1650519977542184965

I joined 18000 cyclists today for the hugely successful cycling demo today. I'm in this picture as we ride along the Autobahn (Motorway)
#bike #cycling #Radsternfahrt #adfc #Munich #Muenchen #München

Good long-read in The Guardian on the history, hype, dangers and promises of AI, by James Bridle. It’s from March 16 but I hadn’t read it yet.

”The belief in this kind of AI as actually knowledgeable or meaningful is actively dangerous. It risks poisoning the well of collective thought, and of our ability to think at all. If, as is being proposed by technology companies, the results of ChatGPT queries will be provided as answers to those seeking knowledge online, and if, as has been proposed by some commentators, ChatGPT is used in the classroom as a teaching aide, then its hallucinations will enter the permanent record, effectively coming between us and more legitimate, testable sources of information, until the line between the two is so blurred as to be invisible. Moreover, there has never been a time when our ability as individuals to research and critically evaluate knowledge on our own behalf has been more necessary, not least because of the damage that technology companies have already done to the ways in which information is disseminated. To place all of our trust in the dreams of badly programmed machines would be to abandon such critical thinking altogether.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/16/the-stupidity-of-ai-artificial-intelligence-dall-e-chatgpt

You can also listen to this long read as a podcast, and I’ve added the episode to my AIHype playlist:

https://axbom.com/aihype-playlist/

#AIHype #DigitalEthics

Truly astounding how many of my critics have like 2 digit follower counts and leave Mastodon within a couple days of clapping back in my mentions cause they're not getting any engagement.

It's almost like the guys who control the algorithms are lying to you about what's popular and way more of the folks around you are sick of this fascist/reactionary/appeaser bullshit than the capitalists would like you to know...

Yes, the climate has always changed.

But, the speed of recent change is unprecedented.

More importantly, we understand why.

Burning fossil fuels & deforestation adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which warms the planet.

Simple physics. Understood for more than a century.

#EarthDay

This #EarthDay2023 remember that patriarchy, white supremacy & extraction from the earth are all fractal self-similar patterns rooted in worldviews of domination and separation. They mutually support each other. They rise (and fall) together. Equity and justice are ecological.

“… the question is not whether a demand for high-speed driving exists for pleasure reasons, but whether governments have an obligation to serve those demands on publicly-subsidized facilities.” 🎯

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923001131 #dktrp #dkgreen

This is how it works. Again and again. In the US, Europe, Australia, you name it.
Lawmakers start well-intended initiatives; special interest lobbyists get clever small-print wording into it that basically destroys the intended benefits for the general public.
---
RT @curious_founder
In the last few decades, the SUV market in America has exploded.

Automakers say the reason for this growth has been "changing consumer preferences."…
https://twitter.com/curious_founder/status/1649404462056783872

Riding bikes increases serotonin levels supporting happiness, promotes brain growth, improves sleep quality, and supports general mental health and well-being, writes @MomentumMag.

And that’s just some of the personal and public benefits to urban biking.

#cities #bike #MentalHealth #happiness #cars
https://momentummag.com/cycling-can-make-you-happier-healthier-and-even-smarter/

Special bike section of #bicycle garage at #train station Driebergen-Zeist is fully occupied. Since opening of the new train station the quality of parked bicycles has improved dramatically. A lot of bikes with child seats, cargo bikes and even bike trailers.
#BikeTooter

Here's an incomplete and unscientific explanation of why Mastodon is safe from Elon-style shenanigans, according to one of our writers. https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/whats-happening-to-twitter-could-never-happen-to-mastodon

Hi folks! I'm a journalist in Montreal covering the climate and environment beat (and sometimes other stuff too). I work for the CBC News online interactive team, but I also regularly report for our national TV and radio shows. #Journalism #CdaPoli #CBC #Mtl

As any physicist will tell you: a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind.

How harmful does a chatbot need to be for people to stop using it? How much do you yourself need to benefit to choose to ignore the harm done to others?

When I left Facebook some years ago I emphasised how it was the (very late) acknowledgement of harm done to others that was the final straw.

Being complicit in the use of tools that enforce bias is an active choice. I honestly don't think many people think of this as being complicit – but I believe future historians won't let anyone off easy.

What can matter in the moment - and for your future wellbeing - is living true to your values. I often encourage my students to start there, because we so rarely are given time and space to validate and reflect on our own values.

We won't always get it right, but that can't stop us from working to get it right more often.