Dr Kat Day (she/her)

@thecidershedpod.bsky.social BADGER!

Really. Who is advising her? Of all the utterly ridiculous fights to pick.

😆

*Animal designs. Dammit.

Wildlife to feature on next series of Bank of England banknotes Images of the UK’s wildlife are to feature on the next series of banknotes following a public consultation run by the Bank of England.

Link to source of screenshot:

www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2026/ma...

News release Images of the UK's wildlife are to feature on the next series of banknotes following a public consultation run by the Bank of England. The nature theme received the highest proportion of nominations in last year's consultation, as well as support in focus groups commissioned by the Bank. Within the nature theme, much of the feedback from respondents referred to wildlife that is native to the UK. The Bank has also judged that wildlife images would be most effective for developing banknotes with security features that are easy for the public to recognise and distinguish.

Kemi Badenoch says putting animals on banknotes follows a pattern of: “constantly being ashamed of our history and seeking to erase it in many forms.”

Except.

There was a *public* consultation. Anima designs were the public favourite. So who is “lost their deposit” fighting, exactly?

There was. A. Public consultation.

So who, exactly, is “ashamed” of British history?

Precisely!

I recall she said she was a Pratchett fan, and I can’t help wondering if she actually paid any attention because putting animals on money instead of venerating old dead people feels extremely Terry.

When I said 'Kemi Badenoch is so partisan, under her the Tories would oppose puppies and kittens if Labour said something nice about them', I didn't mean it literally.

Born #OTD 11th March 1952, Douglas Adams:

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”
— Mostly Harmless

This is surely reputational damage and/or misleading the public. A little “not actually endorsed by [name]” cannot possibly make it okay.

Advertisers are not allowed to say: “famous person loves our product!*” with (*not really) at the bottom, and I fail to see how this is any different.

The latest is Grammarly's "expert review" tool, which allows you to have your work reviewed by virtual versions of a list of real academics and authors, rather than a nameless LLM. A few of the names include Stephen King, Neil deGrasse Tyson, William Zinsser, Carl Sagan, and more. "Our Expert Review agent examines the writing a user is working on, whether it's a marketing brief or a student project on biodiversity, and leverages our underlying LLM to surface expert content that can help the document's author shape their work," says Jen Dakin, senior communications manager at Superhuman. "The suggested experts depend on the substance of the writing being evaluated. The Expert Review agent <HIGHLIGHT> doesn't claim endorsement or direct participation from those experts; <END HIGHLIGHT> it provides suggestions inspired by works of experts and points users toward influential voices whose scholarship they can then explore more deeply."

www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com/artificial-i...

According to some reports, Stephen King and other famous names are in there. I sincerely hope the people with money and lawyers take Grammarly to hell over this.

A red and black-spotted ladybird/ladybug on a wall, covered in water droplets bigger than its spots

Raindrops keep falling on my head…

Evolution Keeps Reinventing The Appendix. Here's Why It May Be Important. Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don't need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast.

Really interesting new findings about the human appendix, an organ which most people know very little.
Evolution Keeps Reinventing The Appendix. Here's Why It May Be Important. : ScienceAlert share.google/jRnSs6hLLXA9...

Secret of hedgehog hearing discovered at far beyond human range Researchers played a sountrack to hedgehogs to identify the frequency of sounds they can hear

Secret of hedgehog hearing discovered at far beyond human range. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Hey Bluesky, guess what’s coming….
🐛

Crying a bit at the red button 😩

2-panel SMBC comic update. A woman is writing on paper, sitting at a table with a knitting ball and a spool placed in front of her. A man walks by, holding an open laptop. The women says "I wish I could make a living on crafting. People should appreciate the human touch" to which the man replies, smugly "learn to code." The second panel starts with a narrative box saying "later, when all cognitive tasks have been automated." The man is flabbergasted, saying "people only want to pay workers for the human touch." The woman, now seated on a comfortable chair, holding a knitting ball, wearing sunglasses, responds "learn to knit artisanal socks biiiiiiiitch!"

The alternative was artisanal soap biiiiiitch.

COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/learn-2
PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm...
STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com

This particular study looked at memory consolidation. That IS important for learning: you can’t think critically if you have no base to work from. The discussion in the paper also considers creativity, problem solving and originality (all reduced over time with Ai use).

A small sample size, so interpret with caution. It’s worrying, though.

ChatGPT as a cognitive crutch: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial on knowledge retention The rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence into higher education has outpaced empirical understanding of its effects on fundamental l…

Students who used ChatGPT scored significantly lower on the retention test (57.5 % correct) compared to those who studied traditionally (68.5 % correct) … while AI assistance may ease initial learning, it appears to undermine the effortful processes needed for robust learning.
(120 students)

I see they also do not care 😄

A large ginger fellow lying on a dark pink duvet with an “I don’t care” expression on his face

Cat who is not allowed to be on beds is unrepentant

Most economists agree that by the time you're 50, you should be living in a book-filled cottage at the edge of the forest and solving minor mysteries in your village with the aid of a curious ghost cat.

Scientists Discover Way To Reverse Chemical Process Linked With Alzheimer’s Disease By watching Alzheimer’s-related protein clumping unfold second by second, researchers have uncovered new clues about the role of metal ions.

This amazing scientific advance may one day lead to either more effective treatments or dare I say perhaps a cure.
This is why it is vitally important to fund basic scientific research.
Scientists Discover Way To Reverse Chemical Process Linked With Alzheimer’s Disease share.google/Vm0hfSMfkGIc...

Today's #BirdofTheDay them is Corvids. Here are my favorite corvids, ravens!

Evaluating Sources & Fact Checking: Crash Course Scientific Thinking #6 YouTube video by CrashCourse

Are you consuming a credit card’s worth of misinformation every week? In this episode of Crash Course Scientific Thinking, we’ll learn how to check facts and evaluate sources, so we can figure out what science coverage to believe, and what to ignore. youtu.be/Fm0MpfKIs5w

We're thrilled to announce the Ctrl-Z Award, a US$2,500 prize for researchers “who discover substantial errors in their published work and take meaningful steps to correct the scientific record."
Covered by @nature.com today; read more here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/2026/03/10/a...