Mark
@maetl.bsky.social
Lecturer in Product Design at UCNZ. Tech industry dropout. Narrative systems and geoscience meddler. Old school web sectary. Frankenbike curator. Waste stream wrangler.
Pinned
Mark
@maetl.bsky.social
· Jun 25
I don’t want raytracing or photorealism, I want the lo-fi dwarfs in their fortress to be standing in grid cells backed by a fully simulated carbon cycle, atmospheric fluid flow, insolation, atmospheric chemistry, evapotranspiration, geological strata, ecological systems...
People complain about academic writing being opaque and verbose but the wanton anti-intellectualism in govt sources misquoting a literature review, ripping it wildly out of context, and using it as an example of wokeness gone too far is not something that can be solved by improved communication.
November 28, 2025 at 5:22 AM
People complain about academic writing being opaque and verbose but the wanton anti-intellectualism in govt sources misquoting a literature review, ripping it wildly out of context, and using it as an example of wokeness gone too far is not something that can be solved by improved communication.
Reposted by Mark
The full quote if anyone was curious: "Critical pedagogies recognise the importance of mathematics and statistics as tools for understanding, interpreting, and addressing issues of power and inequity, both in the classroom and in the wider world."
New Zealand's Minister of Education can't tell the difference between Mathematics and Social Studies.
November 28, 2025 at 3:33 AM
The full quote if anyone was curious: "Critical pedagogies recognise the importance of mathematics and statistics as tools for understanding, interpreting, and addressing issues of power and inequity, both in the classroom and in the wider world."
Reposted by Mark
Almost everyone who interacted with the insane husband girlies were elderly. And maga. This is what actually sent me down my research path that led to me finding an alt right AI pipeline.
(Obligatory paper link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
(Obligatory paper link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
November 28, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Almost everyone who interacted with the insane husband girlies were elderly. And maga. This is what actually sent me down my research path that led to me finding an alt right AI pipeline.
(Obligatory paper link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
(Obligatory paper link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...)
Careerism doesn‘t get a lot of direct attention in comparison to other societal problems, but is a huge contributor to all the slop and rot in academia, politics and business.
"Runctitiononal features"? "Medical fymblal"? "1 Tol Line storee"? This gets worse the longer you look at it. But it's got to be good, because it was published in Nature Scientific Reports last week: www.nature.com/articles/s41... h/t @asa.tsbalans.se
November 28, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Careerism doesn‘t get a lot of direct attention in comparison to other societal problems, but is a huge contributor to all the slop and rot in academia, politics and business.
Reposted by Mark
I think plenty of it speaks to the state of the media, but an obvious one is that Vox and Vanity Fair barely investigated her and that she managed to commit an unforgivable journalistic crime before getting a book deal and walking into another prestige job, while plenty of others are being laid off
you know, what if they aren't actually a commentary on journalism or the state of media. what if these people are just extremely weird
November 27, 2025 at 3:13 AM
I think plenty of it speaks to the state of the media, but an obvious one is that Vox and Vanity Fair barely investigated her and that she managed to commit an unforgivable journalistic crime before getting a book deal and walking into another prestige job, while plenty of others are being laid off
Reposted by Mark
My D&D book of playable New Zealand native wildlife is on sale and if you by before the 6th, should arrive in time for xmas. Includes 18 playable species, tons of monsters, and a mini-adventure to kick off a campaign.
DTRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
Lulu: www.lulu.com/shop/kelly-w...
DTRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
Lulu: www.lulu.com/shop/kelly-w...
November 26, 2025 at 10:10 PM
My D&D book of playable New Zealand native wildlife is on sale and if you by before the 6th, should arrive in time for xmas. Includes 18 playable species, tons of monsters, and a mini-adventure to kick off a campaign.
DTRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
Lulu: www.lulu.com/shop/kelly-w...
DTRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
Lulu: www.lulu.com/shop/kelly-w...
Reposted by Mark
Not only is science education going to suffer from the manufactured crisis in maths education, the science curriculum itself has also been under attack to remove components of critical thinking and epistemological foundations.
theconversation.com/nzs-draft-sc...
theconversation.com/nzs-draft-sc...
NZ’s draft science curriculum favours rote learning over critical thinking
Critical thinking is an essential skill students should be encouraged to develop as part of their science learning. NZ’s draft science curriculum fails the test.
theconversation.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Not only is science education going to suffer from the manufactured crisis in maths education, the science curriculum itself has also been under attack to remove components of critical thinking and epistemological foundations.
theconversation.com/nzs-draft-sc...
theconversation.com/nzs-draft-sc...
Hyperobject permanence and situational awareness deeply lacking in our societies.
Wow I am blown away by this new data on Australia's climate views
Highest levels of outright science denial since 2009. Highest level of 'gov't is doing too much' (!!!)
And more people afraid of 'self aware AI' than climate.
What a nightmare set of results
pca.st/episode/6577...
Highest levels of outright science denial since 2009. Highest level of 'gov't is doing too much' (!!!)
And more people afraid of 'self aware AI' than climate.
What a nightmare set of results
pca.st/episode/6577...
November 26, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Hyperobject permanence and situational awareness deeply lacking in our societies.
Austerity governmentality clueless and opposed to letting communities fund long term environment management.
I hate this feeling of speeding off a cliff, despite having so many people with the knowledge, skills and motivation to manage problems like these.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
I hate this feeling of speeding off a cliff, despite having so many people with the knowledge, skills and motivation to manage problems like these.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Wilding pines threaten Kaikōura ranges in 'looming catastrophe'
A patch of wilding trees have been found about 3km from the as-yet uninfected Inland Kaikōura Range.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 26, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Austerity governmentality clueless and opposed to letting communities fund long term environment management.
I hate this feeling of speeding off a cliff, despite having so many people with the knowledge, skills and motivation to manage problems like these.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
I hate this feeling of speeding off a cliff, despite having so many people with the knowledge, skills and motivation to manage problems like these.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Mark
Great ACCR study: Shell actively lobbies to increase demand for the stuff it sells, even though using more of it causes more destruction and damage to our lives.
ie: Suppliers create demand. And so putting a leash on supply is vital for climate.
www.accr.org.au/research/com...
ie: Suppliers create demand. And so putting a leash on supply is vital for climate.
www.accr.org.au/research/com...
November 26, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Great ACCR study: Shell actively lobbies to increase demand for the stuff it sells, even though using more of it causes more destruction and damage to our lives.
ie: Suppliers create demand. And so putting a leash on supply is vital for climate.
www.accr.org.au/research/com...
ie: Suppliers create demand. And so putting a leash on supply is vital for climate.
www.accr.org.au/research/com...
Beyond the methodological flaws and lack of evidence, the mental model of a large number of NZ adults is that mathematics is a synonym for arithmetic. Geometry and algebra are not useful for accountancy so they don’t count.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Maths professor says Education Minister's claims a school trial is 'groundbreaking' is problematic
Erica Stanford said the results showed the government's focus on fixing the basics is working.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Beyond the methodological flaws and lack of evidence, the mental model of a large number of NZ adults is that mathematics is a synonym for arithmetic. Geometry and algebra are not useful for accountancy so they don’t count.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
If the history of single use waste products is a network graph, it feeds into a supernode nexus in the 1970s where Coca Cola manipulated mass culture with glass sustainability propaganda to nod to rising environmental awareness, while planning for a mass rollout of plastic bottles.
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 AM
If the history of single use waste products is a network graph, it feeds into a supernode nexus in the 1970s where Coca Cola manipulated mass culture with glass sustainability propaganda to nod to rising environmental awareness, while planning for a mass rollout of plastic bottles.
Reposted by Mark
Wellington people: want to try a larp? A larp about a weird, 1920's magic carnival? A friend of mine is running a little game in February: carnival-arcane.lilregie.com/booking/atte...
Carnival Arcane - Wellington Parlour LARP
carnival-arcane.lilregie.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Wellington people: want to try a larp? A larp about a weird, 1920's magic carnival? A friend of mine is running a little game in February: carnival-arcane.lilregie.com/booking/atte...
Regardless of kayfabe comms and Nat equivocation in media, ACT always says the thing to its red-faced griefer audience
November 25, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Regardless of kayfabe comms and Nat equivocation in media, ACT always says the thing to its red-faced griefer audience
In two years NZ govt intervention in regional councils has gone from planning co-governance with Mana Whenua to DOGE/Rogernomics scale austerity destruction.
November 25, 2025 at 4:48 AM
In two years NZ govt intervention in regional councils has gone from planning co-governance with Mana Whenua to DOGE/Rogernomics scale austerity destruction.
Reposted by Mark
Dark pattern UX to the extreme
One of the changes that OpenAI has made to make ChatGPT safer is a "take a break" nudge. There's something quite interesting about the design here. Which thing does it make you want to click?
November 25, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Dark pattern UX to the extreme
Standing on a berm with my arms folded complaining about being silenced while the newspaper photographer snaps a picture of me
the state should not stop me from building what I want to build but should stop other people from building what i don't want them to build and also the process should be faster with more consultation of me and not cost money
November 25, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Standing on a berm with my arms folded complaining about being silenced while the newspaper photographer snaps a picture of me
One thing that NZers need to understand is that going for 100% completion on the original Rogernomics agenda is not a reversible thing. We will need to transform all this wreckage into something new. We can't just "rebuild", as has been proven many times over.
November 24, 2025 at 11:44 PM
One thing that NZers need to understand is that going for 100% completion on the original Rogernomics agenda is not a reversible thing. We will need to transform all this wreckage into something new. We can't just "rebuild", as has been proven many times over.
Your household water bill brought to you by Veolia, GE Water, and minority shareholders Coca Cola Amatil.
Your local hospital brought to you by SERCO.
Your local primary school brought to you by Crimson Education, Google and OpenAI.
Your local hospital brought to you by SERCO.
Your local primary school brought to you by Crimson Education, Google and OpenAI.
November 24, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Your household water bill brought to you by Veolia, GE Water, and minority shareholders Coca Cola Amatil.
Your local hospital brought to you by SERCO.
Your local primary school brought to you by Crimson Education, Google and OpenAI.
Your local hospital brought to you by SERCO.
Your local primary school brought to you by Crimson Education, Google and OpenAI.
Reposted by Mark
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
November 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
Reposted by Mark
Whenever I say this, people get Really Mad, but it's true. Same of any other art, too. You have to read the book, watch the film, see the painting, listen to the song, whatever.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
"you have not played the game unless you've played the game" is one of my more annoying but unshakable opinions
the whole "don't play the game, just watch a video on youtube that will explain its story to you" is so disheartening because the issue of accessibility is genuinely really important but it's always just people who want to be spoon-fed nicely quantifiable information
November 23, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Whenever I say this, people get Really Mad, but it's true. Same of any other art, too. You have to read the book, watch the film, see the painting, listen to the song, whatever.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
I'm sorry, but watching a video about it on YouTube is not enough. You have not experience the art.
At first glance this seems similar to the old narrative of overarching metaphors of scientific reality:
18C: world as mechanical clock
19C: world as heat engine
20C: world as information processor
But the overlapping waves model of disciplines here is more epistemological than metaphorical.
18C: world as mechanical clock
19C: world as heat engine
20C: world as information processor
But the overlapping waves model of disciplines here is more epistemological than metaphorical.
We can chart the rise of modern government as a series of overlapping waves, each representing the rise and fall of an influential discipline: statistics in the 18th century, civil engineering in the 19th century, and economics in the 20th century medium.com/@jamestplunk...
The disciplines theory of government
Are legacy disciplines dragging the whole operation down?
medium.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:00 AM
At first glance this seems similar to the old narrative of overarching metaphors of scientific reality:
18C: world as mechanical clock
19C: world as heat engine
20C: world as information processor
But the overlapping waves model of disciplines here is more epistemological than metaphorical.
18C: world as mechanical clock
19C: world as heat engine
20C: world as information processor
But the overlapping waves model of disciplines here is more epistemological than metaphorical.
Reposted by Mark
if you're still writing using the hero's journey, your mind is closed to all the possibilities
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 AM
if you're still writing using the hero's journey, your mind is closed to all the possibilities
Reposted by Mark
One of my API keys got hacked. The only area I could see where they may have gotten access was through a private GitHub, I am not ruling out that it was vomited up by an LLM, they have been known to regurgitate API keys.
Pretty strong evidence of LLMs being trained on private GitHub pull request threads and other corporate project management tools.
I think Claude Code has achieved AGI
November 22, 2025 at 11:41 PM
One of my API keys got hacked. The only area I could see where they may have gotten access was through a private GitHub, I am not ruling out that it was vomited up by an LLM, they have been known to regurgitate API keys.
Pretty strong evidence of LLMs being trained on private GitHub pull request threads and other corporate project management tools.
November 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Pretty strong evidence of LLMs being trained on private GitHub pull request threads and other corporate project management tools.