ct_bergstrom

@ct_bergstrom@fediscience.org

I am a biology professor at the University of Washington. I study how information flows in biology, science, and society.

I wrote a book: Calling Bullshit: http://tinyurl.com/fdcuvd7b

I love ravens and crows.

he/him

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ct_bergstrom, to random

I don't know whether it counts as hyperventilating, but my relatively high level of concern about AI—including that LeCun put out there himself— is that not that there is some sort of hard take off.

It's that he and others are creating systems that can flood the zone with shit at a rate that will leave Steve Bannon reeling in shock and awe.

I'm not worried about AI getting too smart. I'm worried about patronizing assholes making AI so stupid that other assholes use it for ill.

ct_bergstrom, to random

In our book Calling Bullshit, Jevin West and I provide the following definition.

involves language, statistical figures, data graphics, and other forms of presentation intended to persuade by impressing and overwhelming a reader or listener, with a blatant disregard for truth and logical coherence.

Notice that this is what are designed to do. They are designed with a blatant disregard for logical coherence in that they lack any underlying logic model whatsoever.

ct_bergstrom, to random

DELETED: Unnecessary griping about people who are upset that I drove a 4x4 through a snowstorm to visit my sister in her farmhouse at 2400m altitude in rural mountain Colorado—and liked it.

NOT DELETED: two awesome geese and (next post) a picture of a barn in back range Colorado.

ct_bergstrom, to random

Borbness is more than a matter of shape. It's a matter of attitude.

ct_bergstrom, to random

For the holiday, a thread on how to befriend crows.

--

Befriending crows is a wonderful thing.

I have many crow friends at home and at work. They bring joy at unexpected moments and can rescue a miserable day even without shaking down the dust of snow that Robert Frost described.

This thread is an updated version of one I posted at the bird site in July 2019.

#birding #birdwatching #birds #urbanbirding #crows #corvids #crow #corvid #crowfriends

ct_bergstrom,

If you live in an urban or suburban area where crows are around it's not too hard to befriend them. Rural crows are harder but not impossible.

First and foremost they like food. Peanuts in the shell are a favorite treat but most anything works; crows are omnivorous. It's probably not good for them, but they adore cheetos.

Photo: not a good shot but the only one I have of my beloved Tatterwing demonstrating next-level peanut technique: five at a time by spearing. No other crow figured this out.

ct_bergstrom, to random

Perhaps at some point I'll write a thread on my deep concerns about our reliance on Google Scholar.

For now, though, why on earth does Google Scholar not let you sort your search results?

You have basically one choice: to see them in "relevance" order—and we're not even told the secret formula used to determine relevance.

You can also sort by date—for papers from the past year only.

It's really crazy that a mature tool supposedly designed to serve the community would be severely limited.

ct_bergstrom, to random

How badly is Twitter's codebase failing?

When Mar Hicks ( who is a great follow and is here at @histoftech ) tweeted behind a locked account about how badly twitter's code base was failing, twitter's code base failed and when another user shared the URL it was visible to the world—a huge security failure. Moreover their account shows up as private or public depending on the app you use to view the account.

(Link to the article that they were sharing: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/08/1062886/heres-how-a-twitter-engineer-says-it-will-break-in-the-coming-weeks/ )

ct_bergstrom,

@Nanette @histoftech

Wait, Red Hat? For real?

ct_bergstrom, to science

Intro post: I'm a professor of at the . My training is in , , , and . I did lots of work in and . I teach . These days I spend a lot of time thinking about the spread of , the , and . I do a lot of and love , , and all .

For your trouble, here's a perfect crow.

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