Mary Branscombe
@marypcbuk.bsky.social
Omnivorous technology journalist. girl with the USB earring; author of the Cassidy At Large technomysteries. Like my writing? Buy me a ☕ https://ko-fi.com/marybranscombe. she/her. Warning: contains opinions. signal marypcbuk.44
Pinned
Mary Writes
Conveniently collecting together the different articles I write in various places
marybranscombe.leaflet.pub
at the moment I'm writing for CIO, The Stack, the New Stack and AskWoody (and this year's State of the Edge report for the Linux Foundation). I'm very slowly linking my threads about my articles on a Leaflet but it's not at all complete!
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
Yeah been wondering the same thing. You can set your watch by the bsky need to elevate a thread that goes bombastic about the idea that people's cognitive abilities are melting though. Very weird vibes about it to me
Has this really shifted that much? Is there empirical evidence that this happens at a higher rate than before, all other things considered? I know some amazing students, but also some not so great students. It’s a distribution.
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Yeah been wondering the same thing. You can set your watch by the bsky need to elevate a thread that goes bombastic about the idea that people's cognitive abilities are melting though. Very weird vibes about it to me
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
FWIW I don't think Rooney's books will be withdrawn from sale in the UK as a result of this, but she is using the possibility to highlight the absurdity of the current position, and she is absolutely right to do so. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sally Rooney books may be withdrawn from UK sale over Palestine Action ban, court told
Rooney has said she intended to use royalties from her work
www.bbc.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
FWIW I don't think Rooney's books will be withdrawn from sale in the UK as a result of this, but she is using the possibility to highlight the absurdity of the current position, and she is absolutely right to do so. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I'm impressed that Pussy Riot has survived Putin this long
Russian prosecutors asking to have Pussy Riot officially declared an "extremist" organization.
From Pussy Riot's official facebook:
"Singing in the streets is not extremism. If telling the truth is extreme, then hold my Red Bull."
From Pussy Riot's official facebook:
"Singing in the streets is not extremism. If telling the truth is extreme, then hold my Red Bull."
November 29, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I'm impressed that Pussy Riot has survived Putin this long
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
Another fun case:
The algorithms we used to find the Higgs are the same we use to find fraudulent financial transactions.
The algorithms we used to find the Higgs are the same we use to find fraudulent financial transactions.
November 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Another fun case:
The algorithms we used to find the Higgs are the same we use to find fraudulent financial transactions.
The algorithms we used to find the Higgs are the same we use to find fraudulent financial transactions.
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
A collaborator and mentor of mine used anomaly detection (homegrown models ofc) with x-rays to find manufacturing defects in munitions to prevent things like factories from exploding. Used similar tech for detecting infections in histopathology slides, bringing path to communities w/o access
November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A collaborator and mentor of mine used anomaly detection (homegrown models ofc) with x-rays to find manufacturing defects in munitions to prevent things like factories from exploding. Used similar tech for detecting infections in histopathology slides, bringing path to communities w/o access
when I say I think LLMs will be significant in healthcare/drug discovery (in ways beyond just doing transcription so your doctor doesn't spend the whole appointment typing in notes instead of every looking at you), people suggest I just mean ML and no, LLM techniques are interesting here too
They have everything to do with each other, using extremely similar attention-only architectures
Deep BI-RADS Network for Improved Cancer Detection from Mammograms
arxiv.org
November 29, 2025 at 6:37 PM
when I say I think LLMs will be significant in healthcare/drug discovery (in ways beyond just doing transcription so your doctor doesn't spend the whole appointment typing in notes instead of every looking at you), people suggest I just mean ML and no, LLM techniques are interesting here too
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
like, this is a model you could run on q PlayStation 2
November 29, 2025 at 5:47 PM
like, this is a model you could run on q PlayStation 2
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
Conference is going well then.
Independent MP Ayoub Khan has told PolHome he was once forced to kill a dog with his hands to save the life of a baby
He spoke to Tom Scotson at Your Party conference in Liverpool
He spoke to Tom Scotson at Your Party conference in Liverpool
Your Party MP Ayoub Khan Killed Dog To Save A Baby's Life
Independent MP Ayoub Khan has told PoliticsHome he once killed a dog with his hands to save a child’s life.
www.politicshome.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Conference is going well then.
while I cannot top @sbisson.com 's response of 'not mush room in here', the depiction of mushroom Jesus, Mary and Joseph taking shelter in the hollowed out corpse of another mushroom is very 'giving up your life for others/crucifixion' and also 'cannibalism/transubstantiation' foreshadowing...
ALL HAIL MUSHROOM JESUS
HE FRUITED FOR YOUR SINS
MAY HIS SPORES BLESS AND KEEP YOU
HE FRUITED FOR YOUR SINS
MAY HIS SPORES BLESS AND KEEP YOU
November 29, 2025 at 6:32 PM
while I cannot top @sbisson.com 's response of 'not mush room in here', the depiction of mushroom Jesus, Mary and Joseph taking shelter in the hollowed out corpse of another mushroom is very 'giving up your life for others/crucifixion' and also 'cannibalism/transubstantiation' foreshadowing...
since we're all doing cosmic rays discourse now, here's what NASA says about using Raspberry Pi's and other unhardened COTS kit in different orbits in space (1mm of aluminium as a cover does surprisingly good shielding but is also a lot of weight and mass to take up
November 29, 2025 at 6:22 PM
since we're all doing cosmic rays discourse now, here's what NASA says about using Raspberry Pi's and other unhardened COTS kit in different orbits in space (1mm of aluminium as a cover does surprisingly good shielding but is also a lot of weight and mass to take up
I really do wonder if we are seeing some widespread cognitive impacts from covid that aren't being attributed because I read this and I read people talking about how much more aggressive and impatient drivers are and viewing it as post-infection behaviour change
This is not a "students today" post--it's more "this is a new form of dysfunction" that doesn't look exactly like it's been in previous decades. It's more than just "first-year chaos." It's an across-the-board inability to process instructions, engage with longer texts, and *connect* with others.
November 29, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I really do wonder if we are seeing some widespread cognitive impacts from covid that aren't being attributed because I read this and I read people talking about how much more aggressive and impatient drivers are and viewing it as post-infection behaviour change
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
From the BBC's Theo Leggett:
"intense solar radiation [...] corrupted data in a computer used to help control the aircraft. [...] the majority [of planes] can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, some 900 older planes will need replacement computers"
"intense solar radiation [...] corrupted data in a computer used to help control the aircraft. [...] the majority [of planes] can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, some 900 older planes will need replacement computers"
November 28, 2025 at 9:54 PM
From the BBC's Theo Leggett:
"intense solar radiation [...] corrupted data in a computer used to help control the aircraft. [...] the majority [of planes] can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, some 900 older planes will need replacement computers"
"intense solar radiation [...] corrupted data in a computer used to help control the aircraft. [...] the majority [of planes] can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, some 900 older planes will need replacement computers"
now it's confirmed that it's single-event/bit flips, I wonder if the MASSIVE CME that gave us the great auroras recently (the strongest solar storm in 20 years) has anything to do with spotting it (I have been thinking A LOT about space hardware recently)
This is pretty massive.
There is scant detail so far but they say "solar radiation" has caused problems for some aircraft.
This *could* be related to single-event upsets, where cosmic rays trigger computer errors. I've asked Airbus if they can share more detail.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cv...
There is scant detail so far but they say "solar radiation" has caused problems for some aircraft.
This *could* be related to single-event upsets, where cosmic rays trigger computer errors. I've asked Airbus if they can share more detail.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cv...
Flight disruption warning as Airbus requests modifications to 6,000 planes
The European aerospace giant said it had found that intense radiation from the Sun could corrupt data crucial to flight controls.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 10:23 PM
now it's confirmed that it's single-event/bit flips, I wonder if the MASSIVE CME that gave us the great auroras recently (the strongest solar storm in 20 years) has anything to do with spotting it (I have been thinking A LOT about space hardware recently)
Party McPartyface
"Your Party asks members to pick between four names: Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many"
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Jeremy Corbyn and Zara Sultana’s Your Party reveals shortlist for official name
Leftwing party asks members to pick between Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Party McPartyface
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
I love stumbling across an earlier (or the original) version of some image I've encountered multiple generations and reprints later.
I found the original Sea Lion engraving in a German naturalist book. It was a research project I undertook a few months ago. A story also waiting for the right time.
I found the original Sea Lion engraving in a German naturalist book. It was a research project I undertook a few months ago. A story also waiting for the right time.
November 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I love stumbling across an earlier (or the original) version of some image I've encountered multiple generations and reprints later.
I found the original Sea Lion engraving in a German naturalist book. It was a research project I undertook a few months ago. A story also waiting for the right time.
I found the original Sea Lion engraving in a German naturalist book. It was a research project I undertook a few months ago. A story also waiting for the right time.
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
So Apple is flagging features off in the EU (using the system it built explicitly to avoid complying with the spirit of the law), blaming regulators *for it's own choices*, and using shills to promote that line.
Do I have that about right?
Do I have that about right?
Why is that bad? Because it shows how much the EC is now in control of product development and product launches in Europe.
Want to launch new features? That's at the mercy of DMA enforcers in Brussels. Try doing it around the holidays? Build that into your development timeline.
Want to launch new features? That's at the mercy of DMA enforcers in Brussels. Try doing it around the holidays? Build that into your development timeline.
November 28, 2025 at 9:24 PM
So Apple is flagging features off in the EU (using the system it built explicitly to avoid complying with the spirit of the law), blaming regulators *for it's own choices*, and using shills to promote that line.
Do I have that about right?
Do I have that about right?
hey, anyone in the @leaflet.pub ecosystem who is playing with a thread embedder that could build on this (so I could have threads not just single skeets in a leaflet?)
I've been having a bunch of fan hacking on my Bluesky thread viewing HTML+JS app using Claude Code - here's a video demo of the most recent version, you can try it out here tools.simonwillison.net/bluesky-thre...
November 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
hey, anyone in the @leaflet.pub ecosystem who is playing with a thread embedder that could build on this (so I could have threads not just single skeets in a leaflet?)
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
The Bluesky API is so much fun to work with because it works via CORS and without requiring authentication - so you can knock something out using plain HTML and JavaScript and host it anywhere you like as a static page
November 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The Bluesky API is so much fun to work with because it works via CORS and without requiring authentication - so you can knock something out using plain HTML and JavaScript and host it anywhere you like as a static page
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
GOOD NEWS! Researchers have made a HUGE breakthrough towards a UNIVERSAL antiviral. By targeting sugar molecules found on the surface of many viruses that SHARE structural similarities, they identified FOUR compounds that successfully BLOCKED infections from SEVEN different viruses.
November 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
GOOD NEWS! Researchers have made a HUGE breakthrough towards a UNIVERSAL antiviral. By targeting sugar molecules found on the surface of many viruses that SHARE structural similarities, they identified FOUR compounds that successfully BLOCKED infections from SEVEN different viruses.
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
is this where the Tories got 'I think people have had enough of experts'?
Blair, Alastair Campbell and New Labour did not want to be seen by the public as hifalutin sorts delivering intellectual speeches. Their communication was, if not lowest denominator, at least made to fit snugly into the tabloid press.
But Blair himself was not anti-intellectual.
But Blair himself was not anti-intellectual.
November 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
is this where the Tories got 'I think people have had enough of experts'?
ah, the Apple shakedown is working on some MEPs cc @infrequently.org
At the end of September a group of right-wing European Parliamentarians posed questions to the EC on the impact the DMA was having on users, and whether it was resulting in fewer innovative services or delays in product launches. www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/docum...
November 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM
ah, the Apple shakedown is working on some MEPs cc @infrequently.org
you'll be slightly less surprised about the gender claim when you see what else is getting defended by the same person and yuk
If I have enough psychologists still in my network, I just went down an incredibly dark rabbit hole needing to do some research to understand the context of some big dramatic claims in a software piece arguing that innate biological deficits explain gender gaps in CS
I need a palate cleanser 😭
I need a palate cleanser 😭
November 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
you'll be slightly less surprised about the gender claim when you see what else is getting defended by the same person and yuk
Reposted by Mary Branscombe
It's terrifying but also weirdly interesting to live in a time when all the status markers and prestige signals we used to lean on are falling apart because it's perfectly possible to imitate, infiltrate or simulate them. It's no guarantee of good science that it comes from x University, x journal
November 28, 2025 at 5:13 PM
It's terrifying but also weirdly interesting to live in a time when all the status markers and prestige signals we used to lean on are falling apart because it's perfectly possible to imitate, infiltrate or simulate them. It's no guarantee of good science that it comes from x University, x journal