Terry McGlynn

the spectral is safer but creepier than silently sneaking up. How about a soft but funky bass line instead?

The best advice I have for writers is: the harder you try to impress people with your prose, the worse your prose will be. Sit down and try to communicate honestly, you will find the places for your flourishes and metaphors that actually serve greater meaning rather than your own ego.

I think this story is a really good example for people to look at when it comes to understanding bias at NYT. It's not that the reporter, Dana Rubinstein, says anything outright false. But the framing, word choices, etc., add up to an unprofessional and biased account.

Concern over US travel visas prompts Ig Nobels to move its awards to Europe Organizers of an annual satirical award for scientific achievement are shifting for the first time from the United States to Europe due to concerns about winners and others being able to get visas.

Having the Ig Nobels leave the US for safety reasons is a pretty on point example of the situation here apnews.com/article/ig-n...

Professional rates vary substantially depending on the work and who is doing it! I was just pointing out that it’s quite possible to pay an artist their going rate and it is often more affordable than folks realize.

🥴

Listen, @lataco.bsky.social set the stage for how to report on ICE. They deserve the backup!

Guild of Natural Science Illustrators GNSI advances scientific illustration and visual science communication through education, community, and professional support.

The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (gnsi.org) has a job board they update regularly for requests like this. Researchers can contact news@gnsi.org with specs and GNSI will post it if it fits their guidelines. Paying work only, no spec work, but other than that, no job is too small #sciart

When someone uses AI art to promote their work, be a friend and let them know it looks bad. Just like a big piece of spinach between their teeth. It's an act of kindness.

If want something that requires labor and you don't have the money for it, then you should think about it like a sandwich. A sandwich costs money. No money, no sandwich.

You want artwork? fieldwork? Someone to wash dishes in the lab? It costs money.

You get what you pay for. And what you don't pay for, you don't get. But a lot of students with skills are glad to take on work at relatively low cost. I've paid 100 bucks (out of pocket when not funded for it) for illustration before, and it was worth every cent.

There are a lot of scientific illustrators and graphic designers who are building their portfolios and will take on work for less than you might imagine. It's not out of reach.

Hey fellow scientists, I'm just letting you know that if you're promoting something with some junky AI image, I'm not gonna click. You've got a workshop, a conference, a new paper?

Just not gonna bother. You want a bespoke image? Hire an illustrator.

Just a reminder that mental health is health. Which means that taking a "mental health day" from work is exactly the same as calling in sick. It's important to take care of yourself.

The internet, on scientists: They're secretive gatekeepers, they hoard esoterica/the truth, they don't want anyone in their ivory tower little clubs

Actual scientists: LOOK, WE FOUND A 300 MILLION YEAR OLD FOSSILIZED CLOACCAL IMPRESSION AND THE VENT IS HORIZONTAL! PLZ READ MY 67-PAGE PAPER ABOUT IT

I was assuming that this wasn't a Whedon thing?! and that they somehow are able to do this without him profiting from it or being involved? I don't know who own the rights?

“We bombed a school and killed all 100+ students inside because an AI chatbot said it was a military facility” is yet another true thing you can’t say to offline normies without sounding like a crazy person

It doesn’t help that the BLM Desert Advisory Council is effectively disbanded since the Dept of Interior is failing to make new appointments. No public meeting to even address the situation.

This is so well said!

I have several mentees that are so passionate and smart and curious but won’t be competitive for grad school because they didn’t go to a rich undergrad program that allowed them to get their name on a paper, and live in the middle of nowhere. It makes me so mad.

Now more than ever, we need the creative problem solving powers we can only get from diversity.

Knowing when to take risks Risks are necessary for transformative science, and to transform our community of scientists

When resources are tight, it's tempting to recruit grad students based on their productivity and polish as undergrads. This is exactly what the Bad Guys cutting back on science 🧪 funding want us to do.

[this link is not substack!]

One of the things I least anticipated about being a lab PI is how often it appears to be actually impossible to exchange money for goods.

Cal State campuses battle enrollment, money losses. How one is trying to turn it around Several Cal State campuses are caught in a spiral of declining enrollment, threatening their budgets and programs. One in LA is focused on retention and re-enrolling students who dropped out.

Hey folks, is it a good sign when your university is in a "doom loop of declining enrollment?" Asking for a friend.

calmatters.org/education/hi...

Ecological theater, evolutionary play, and collective behavior At the southern end of Balboa Park in San Diego lies the Starlight Bowl, where the Civic Light Opera staged summertime musicals for more than 65 years. The

A couple years ago, I wrote a review of Deborah Gordon's book The Ecology of Collective Behavior.

While cleaning up my desktop, I came on the file and gave it a re-read. I so happy with this review that I want to share it with you.

(And also Gordon's book is great!)

The approximate cause of death for Anne Frank was the Nazis. The specific cause of death was the outbreak of Typhus at Bergen-Belsen camp, which overtook her (and others) from chronic malnutrition and medical abuse. These conditions are not, in character, unlike our system of immigration camps today

Enabling Fieldwork for All (EFFA) Framework: Supporting physical, social, financial, and psychological safety in the field Comprehensive review of fieldwork safety literature across disciplines yields synthesized recommendations.

Excited to share a new paper written by a AAAS Policy Fellow I mentor, Dr. Lisa Walsh.

“This review synthesizes literature on fieldwork safety across scientific disciplines, highlighting four facets of safety for leaders and researchers to address: physical, social, financial, and psychological.”

To counteract the SOTU vibes….can I tell you about some shenanigans currently happening in my building that have nothing to do with the HVAC?

Knowing when to take risks Risks are necessary for transformative science, and to transform our community of scientists

When resources are tight, it's tempting to recruit grad students based on their productivity and polish as undergrads. This is exactly what the Bad Guys cutting back on science 🧪 funding want us to do.

[this link is not substack!]

uld you support or oppose abolishing ICE? (%) Somewhat or strongly supportNot sureSomewhat or strongly oppose U.S. adult citizens 39 Party ID Democrats 14 Independents 35 Republicans 68

Per The Economist/YouGov, half of Americans support ABOLISHING ICE.

Literally, "abolishing."

yougov.com/en-us/articl...

I think data analysis and coding will be MUCH easier and standardized with AI, but it will still take knowledge and expertise to implement it properly. But expecting trainees to be able to do this without *some* training will be a mistake, so I don’t think the apprenticeship model is dead.