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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 5h

I disagree. If it's "greatest prize in the history of capitalism," and will be won by a race for artificial intimacy (see www.humanetech.com/ai-society) we have much more pressing problems than a potential novel bioweapon.

AI in Society

We're a nonprofit exposing the negative effects of persuasive technology and social media and empowering people to take action. Discover The Social Dilemma, our podcast, course, and more.

www.humanetech.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 5h

NYT piece is flawed, but not all wrong. To me, the bad incentives (capitalism's "greatest prize"?) are scarier than novel pathogens, but both are real threats.

ML has been useful in bio in many ways and for a long time, e.g., see my 1993 cdn.aaai.org/ISMB/1993/IS... and now we have AlphaFold, etc.

cdn.aaai.org

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 6h

I'm on the Friends of the Library, Kona (FOLK) board... folkhawaii.com

F.O.L.K. Hawaii, F.O.L.K. Hawaii Island

Become a Member Donate Apply to be on the Board of Directors Join Our Community Why does the library need friends? Hawaii Public Libraries need many additional items for which tax funding is not alloc...

folkhawaii.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 7h

So painful to witness federal attacks on public libraries, a pillar of American values since Ben Franklin.

Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 7h

“ALL of Florida lost its [interlibrary loan] services as of October 1. This, of course, most harms those in rural communities. That means those with the most to lose and with the weakest access to education and entertainment materials are now wholly dependent on what their own library owns…”

The Current State of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (October 2025 Edition)

Grant money that should be going to library projects is going to state-sponsored propaganda, among other IMLS updates.

buttondown.com

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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 7h

“ALL of Florida lost its [interlibrary loan] services as of October 1. This, of course, most harms those in rural communities. That means those with the most to lose and with the weakest access to education and entertainment materials are now wholly dependent on what their own library owns…”

The Current State of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (October 2025 Edition)

Grant money that should be going to library projects is going to state-sponsored propaganda, among other IMLS updates.

buttondown.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 1d

A sobering prospective that has held up really well in the two years since this was recorded. A “race to intimacy” is a really helpful framing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVJ...

The A.I. Dilemma - March 9, 2023

YouTube video by Center for Humane Technology

www.youtube.com

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 1d

History gives us plenty of examples of disease used as a weapon. There are fewer cases of governments deliberately using disease against their own citizens. We are living (or dying) through one right now.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2d

I have access. DM with email and I will share.

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2d

What drives test score differences in twins raised apart?

School! Invest in schools!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

IQ differences of identical twins reared apart are significantly influenced by educational differences

Over the last century, several large studies have been published exploring IQ differences amongst monozygotic (MZ) twins reared apart (TRA). By and la…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2d

A lovely and novel take on the meaning (and source) of consciousness.

Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 2d

Powerful work from Eric Markowitz @bigthink.com. "Consciousness, I’ve come to believe, is not a function of neurons alone. It is also a function of care. Of love. Of the willingness to stand at the edge of death and choose, if given the chance, to return with open eyes." bigthink.com/business/bra...

What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness

After the trauma of brain surgery, Big Think writer Eric Markowitz discovered a kind of consciousness that lives in presence.

bigthink.com

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 2d

Powerful work from Eric Markowitz @bigthink.com. "Consciousness, I’ve come to believe, is not a function of neurons alone. It is also a function of care. Of love. Of the willingness to stand at the edge of death and choose, if given the chance, to return with open eyes." bigthink.com/business/bra...

What brain surgery taught me about the fragile gift of consciousness

After the trauma of brain surgery, Big Think writer Eric Markowitz discovered a kind of consciousness that lives in presence.

bigthink.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 2d

Did volunteer conservation work at Pālamanui this morning and as a reward we hiked up into the more densely forested area mauka (which is beautiful!) to see some petroglyphs.

Petroglyph of three figures, the rightmost one larger than the other two. Black on grey rock, with some white lichens and green moss

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

Visa & Mastercard have profit margins of 55%. 55%!!!

For comparison, Big Pharma gets around 15% (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...)

merchantspaymentscoalition.com/stunning-vis...

Stunning Visa and Mastercard Profit Margins Prove Credit Card Market is Broken

Soaring profits reported by Visa and Mastercard this week are further evidence the credit card market is broken and not competitive, MPC said.

merchantspaymentscoalition.com

Ferenc Huszár @inference.vc · 3d

Is Pope Leo giving the NeurIPS keynote this year?

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you! I ordered one from them. I hope it makes it to Kona before No Kings, but will be fun regardless!

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 3d

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

Can't hurt to ask:

I would love one of those inflatable frog costumes for the Kona No Kings protest. They appear to be sold out everywhere I've looked. Even if shipping to Hawaii would take too long, I will be in Colorado next week... Anyone know of any in stock anywhere?

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

I wrote a "neuroinformatics core" proposal as part of a P01 that was submitted 1/2001. I started that job 7/1/2000 (hired in part to write that proposal), so about 6 months to write the grant. Submission dates then (as now) are about 9 months before the anticipated start date, which was 10/1/2001.

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

I am shocked that no one has mentioned whitefish yet. Is that a mayoral faux pas? Would a warm sesame bagel, untoasted, with scallion cream cheese and whitefish be acceptable? It sure is good...

Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 3d

Journalist here

I’m interested in talking to a federal agency scientist who was fired, then rehired. I can keep you anonymous. I’m on Signal ginnyg.04

Reposts are appreciated!

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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 3d

Unknown layoffs are happening at HHS. Unknown in terms of who and which agencies.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/10/h...

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HHS employees to be fired as White House enacts mass terminations it blames on shutdown

Federal health employees are being fired as the White House makes good on a promise to terminate federal employees en masse because of the shutdown.

www.statnews.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 3d

Big Cell Painting data produced a very interesting finding

Anne Carpenter @drannecarpenter.bsky.social · 3d

15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵

mitochondria from bipolar patients are closer to the nucleus in these images; control patients' are spread out further

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Anne Carpenter @drannecarpenter.bsky.social · 3d

15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 4d

For the right person, this is a dream job!

Ewan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 4d

I am hiring! - looking for a Staff Scientist to co-run my research group with me. Staff Scientist is a senior professional scientist role at EMBL. Please forward to people you might know who could be interested! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...

Staff Scientist

About EMBL-EBI EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute is a data powerhouse, utilised on a global scale to advance scientific discovery through bioinformatics and solutions to some of the world’s mos...

embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com

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Matthias Nau @matthiasnau.bsky.social · 4d

This is one of those papers that just deserves a post every now and then. Half a century old, with a message still relevant today: Cognition won't be understood one variable at the time.

You Can't Play 20 Questions with Nature and Win, by Allen Newell (1973) www.coli.uni-saarland.de/~crocker/doc...

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Ewan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 4d

I am hiring! - looking for a Staff Scientist to co-run my research group with me. Staff Scientist is a senior professional scientist role at EMBL. Please forward to people you might know who could be interested! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...

Staff Scientist

About EMBL-EBI EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute is a data powerhouse, utilised on a global scale to advance scientific discovery through bioinformatics and solutions to some of the world’s mos...

embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 4d

Baingan Bharta, tarka dal, Indian spiced green beans, naan

A white plate with green beans, red lentils & golden eggplant

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alicia-rybicki.bsky.social @alicia-rybicki.bsky.social · 4d

🚨 PhD Opportunity! 🚨

Come investigate the mechanistic role of dopamine in emotion processing with Prof Jennifer Cook - @thechbh.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social

MIBTP-funded PhD, using behavioural, computational and pharmacological approaches. Get in touch and please share!

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The Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · 4d

We're now recruiting early career group leaders at the Crick to lead ambitious research programmes and explore bold scientific questions.

Hear our Director, Edith Heard, explain why the Crick is a unique place for curiosity-driven research.

Apply now ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...

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Larry Hunter @proflhunter.bsky.social · 5d

If the pain radiates into your arms, it's a heart attack.

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