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markmcan.bsky.social

@markmcan.bsky.social

570 followers 1.3K following 540 posts

The Charity Engine guy. Over 1.5 billion CPU-hours donated to science and medicine so far www.charityengine.com/grants

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markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · Nov 29

Ten years ago, Charity Engine began donating computing time - over 200 million hours so far - to the Institute for Protein Design's brilliant Rosetta @ Home project.

Its founder, David Baker, won the 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Beyond proud to be a supporter! www.ipd.uw.edu/news-pages/t...

The Power of Charity for Protein Design - Institute for Protein Design

August 15, 2014 In this post we explore the power of charity to supply the massive computing capacity needed to support our protein design research. As shown in Figure 1, thanks to hundreds of thousan...

www.ipd.uw.edu

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 4h

Their statement www.icrc.org/en/article/h...

For the hostages in Gaza, the Red Cross is neutral - but we are not bystanders

Israel and Hamas cease-fire ends: 30 hostages freed, 1,510 detainees released. ICRC continues neutral efforts for hostage access and humanitarian aid.

www.icrc.org

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 5h

Always a correct statement

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 5h

Godwin's Law, updated version:

"In conversation with MAGA cultists, the probability of a comment supporting Hitler approaches 1"

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 5h

Because compliance would be as simple as a code tweak. Not the same code = not the same algorithm.

It's an unwinnable whack-a-mole.

They could ban all recommendation systems to close that loophole, but that would instantly kill all shopping sites, web advertising, search engines, etc

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 10h

What you refuse to accept is that you cannot just "ban algorithms" tho. Any attempt would be laughed out of court, with tech companies laughing loudest.

If your goal is to ban certain SM apps or services, then call for it.

That at least is possible. Banning ever-changing lines of code is not

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 13h

Seems to be a theme bsky.app/profile/mark...

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

Just me?

Time magazine cover of a horned scrotum in a red tie

1 2

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 13h

Friends and I tried the UK citizenship test. All Brits since birth, more than half with degrees.

Only 2 in 10 of us passed - and those 2 didn't have degrees either, they're just good at quizzes

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 13h

Yes, you did. You once again laid out your unshakable belief that a government can just "ban the algorithm", despite being shown many reasons why that isn't remotely plausible.

All of which you brushed off without even acknowledging, let alone rebutting.

Feel free to seek a second opinion

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 13h

Believe whatever you like. Seems to be the pattern

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 15h

Governments don't need to work out laws, okay

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 16h

*Stares in Manc, Cockney, Geordie, Brummie, Scots, Welsh, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Scouse, Essex, and another 40+ accents/dialects from this fair isle

I bet they just mean the posh one tho

Peek @peek.bsky.social · 23h

don't british people ever get tired of doing the accent

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 17h

Bet you a tenner his PIN is 1488

Simon Gosden @simongosden.bsky.social · 1d

www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/t...

Tommy Robinson told police ‘not a chance bruv’ when asked for mobile pin. He had more than £13,000 and 1,900 euros in cash with him, told officers he was driving his silver Bentley to Benidorm for a couple of days when he was stopped. As you do!

Tommy Robinson told police ‘not a chance bruv’ when asked for mobile pin, court told

Tommy Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is standing trial after being charged under the terrorism act

www.standard.co.uk

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

It's long been true, although I do think it's one thing KS himself actually has the measure of.

Perhaps to the detriment of his attention to domestic issues

1 1

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

"Invalid handle"?

Reposted by markmcan.bsky.social

Toby Earle 🇺🇦 @tobyontv.bsky.social · 18h

soz lads but if you're still on X you're feeding into Musk's wealth which is being used to fund Tommy Two Names' legal fees, and if you still continue using X, you're fine with that

4 58 170

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

Just me?

2 6

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

Imagine actually trying to ban an algorithm.

How would you word that law?

To what coding, exactly, would it apply?

How would you check and enforce it?

What if the same algo is used elsewhere for something else?

What if they change it by just one line, making it no longer the same algorithm?

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" - H L Mencken

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

At no point have I said no things can be banned. Please don't put words in my mouth.

What I've said is that "banning the algorithm" is not a feasible proposition, legally or technically.

Change one line, you have a new algorithm. Then what? Ban all algorithms?

As I said, you may as well ban maths

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 18h

Echo chambers are because of user choices, not algorithms.

Do you want to see a swarm of fascist bot accounts constantly clogging up your feed, or do you prefer being able to choose what you follow?

If the latter, then you're creating your own personalised echo chamber.

As do we all

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 19h

Better than attempting to ban what cannot be banned www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/08/...

www.cnbc.com

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 19h

The only way to not have echo chambers would be if it showed you every post, by everyone and everything, regardless of whether you follow them or not.

On Xhitter alone, that would mean you receive about 6000 tweets per second.

Literally nobody wants that

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 19h

Has this been shut down? Not seeing it any more

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 19h

Unusable is a bad thing, yes.

Without algos, it would just show you every post by anything you follow, as they appear, immediately.

Popularity, spam or importance would not matter, posts older than a few minutes would be buried. It would not affect echo chambers

techcrunch.com/2020/06/19/g...

Germany tightens online hate speech rules to make platforms send reports straight to the feds | TechCrunch

While a French online hate speech law has just been derailed by the country's top constitutional authority on freedom of expression grounds, Germany is

techcrunch.com

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 20h

Every time. He cant help himself

Dictionary definition of Duping Delight: the pleasure of being able to manipulate someone, often made visible to others by flashing a smile at an inappropriate moment

markmcan.bsky.social @markmcan.bsky.social · 21h

"The algorithm" is not one thing. All social media uses multiple sorting and newsfeed algorithms, otherwise you just get the "firehose"; every post shown as they appear. Unusable.

Germany's anti-nazi laws have an effect. Xhitter content has to follow unique rules in Germany. We should copy those