@yasha@sciences.social avatar

yasha

@yasha@sciences.social

Evolutionary biologist studying cultural evolution, mental health advocate, personal knowledge management wonk, former caretaker, and writing/journalist instructor.

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suswatibasu, (edited ) to NoStupidQuestions
@suswatibasu@mstdn.social avatar

Quick of the day.

Do you read books that you know you're going to hate, or think you're going to hate? Feel free to add comments below on why - will add a few of these to an article. Also, if you could please share, that would be most helpful.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@suswatibasu, I'm a scholar, and that means sometimes you have no choice but to read books you know you aren't going to like.

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

The moment you've busted a gut to get to a 10:00 am meeting...

...that isn't scheduled until 11:00 am.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@purplepadma

And then the meeting got canceled! 🤪

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Them: What is the book that impacted your life the most and why?

Me: The dictionary. Everything else since then has been a remix.

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

I prefer to leave delegation to other people.

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Pro tip: If you find your Zotero libraries aren't synching, check your storage limits online. You may be at your limit and need to purge some references or purchase more storage space.

As far as I can tell, Zotero doesn't notify you when you're at your limit. It just stops synching.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@odr_k4tana

That's great to know!

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

Why do humans have to do everything the hard way.🙄

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@StillIRise1963

It's baked into our DNA. Take our spines, for example. We've turned what every other vertebrate species uses as a suspension bridge into a support column. Pretty dodgy stuff!

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Fellow professors, if you're teaching an introductory course in graduate school, set aside some class time early in the semester for students to discuss their transition to your program. You'll find that they're struggling far more than you probably realized. You won't be able to solve all their problems, but opening space for them to voice their issues is more powerful than you can imagine.

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Sometimes, you just have to play with your data with no particular goal in mind.


yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Them: Could I get the title of the talk you’re giving next week so we can complete your itinerary?

Me: Bold of you to assume I have any idea what I’ll be talking about!

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

I don't believe we are put here for some divine purpose. Each of us does, however, fill a niche.

lowqualityfacts, to random
@lowqualityfacts@mstdn.social avatar

Obviously.
https://patreon.com/lowqualityfacts

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@lowqualityfacts

Just the fax, ma'am. Just the fax.

yasha, to random
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

Some people say there's no magical formula for avoiding negativity. To those calloused cynics, I say: f(x) = |x|

ttpphd, to random
@ttpphd@mastodon.social avatar

Neurons are exciting!

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@ttpphd

And often excited!

dgar, to random
@dgar@aus.social avatar
yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@dgar

And all this time I thought he could only play the Vulcan lute!

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Ants, bees and wasps share a common wasp-like ancestor. So, the most remarkable thing about ants is that they are the most notable largely flightless members of a class of flying insects.

Why did ants give up the skies? The current theory is it was to increase their strength. Ants are famous for being very strong for their size-- and this isn't a myth. Worker ants have stronger limbs than queens (who are born with wings) Both are stronger in the limbs than bees.

yasha,
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@evan @futurebird

Relevant to this discussion is E.O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth." It discusses a lot of these issues in a comprehensive and accessible way.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@futurebird @evan

Later in life? I'd say the sociobiology controversies, assuming those are what you're referring to, happened sort of mid-career. He had a long time after that to redeem himself, and I think he largely did.

Chronomyst, to random

I know my way around firearms but I don't like them. Crossbow and big hunting knives instead? Also, guns make noise.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@Chronomyst

People focus far too much on weapons if society collapses, I'd be far more worried about what skills I can nurture that will make me useful to a cooperative group in survival mode. Being able to forge an axe, brew beer, bake bread, grow vegetables... These will offer you far more protection than a crossbow or knife.

hollows, to random

Incredibly disappointing stance from the OTW on AI fanworks. Welcoming them implies that AI fanworks are legitimate art worth preserving, and sets a precedent that AI fanworks are acceptable in fandom. The hours we've spent on our fannish labors of love have already fed into those algorithms without our knowledge or consent, and now AO3 wants to allow the products created from our (and others) stolen work to be spat back at us and be called "art"? https://www.transformativeworks.org/ai-and-data-scraping-on-the-archive/

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

Couldn't you say the same thing about a chissel, a paintbrush, a musical instrument, or a camera?

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve swung back and forth over the issue. I just can’t meaningfully draw the line between AI art and every other new tool that’s come on the art scene. I’m old enough, for instance, to remember similar arguments being leveled against Photoshop. Historically, painters weren’t too keen on photography.

In the end, I see AI as just another tool. Disruptive as hell, yes. But just a tool.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

To me, the harm lies in how it gets used. As for the purpose, there are many who can't develop the skills needed to express their artistic impulses through other media. AI provides them with opportunities they've never had before. I'm among that group and, having failed to realize my vision using AI as often as I've succeeded, I will attest that there is more than a little skill involved.

I suspect we can both agree that this is a precarious time, not to be taken lightly.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

I, too, am in a creative field (writing) so I'm deeply concerned about how AI is going to impact my job and the jobs of my students. At the same time, I have to acknowledge the access this technology will provide for, say, people with disabilities or economically disadvantaged groups who are often excluded from participating in visual arts.

However we feel about AI, though, it has been thrust upon us, and I fear there's no putting it back in the bottle--or even slowing it down.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

We're in agreement on that point! I'm especially concerned about algorithmic bias. AI has a nasty way of codifying and amplifying societal prejudices.

Another aspect that floors me is how all-encompassing AI is. With almost no public input, it is now integrated into nearly every aspect of society, from the mundane to the profound. I can't think of another technology that has exploded this quickly and completely into our lives.

yasha,
@yasha@sciences.social avatar

@hollows

I was talking to a colleague about this yesterday. Neither of us remembers a technology that has exploded onto the scene as quickly or as completely as AI. The internet was, arguably, as transformative and disruptive, but it took over a decade for it to really squirrel its way into everyday life. AI, by contrast, really sneaked up on everyone but the researchers working on it.

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