Sam Kastner
@docslaw.bsky.social
way too online oceanographer (he/him)
Reposted by Sam Kastner
I spent the most formative years of my political life reading headlines like this seemingly every week.
January 25, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I spent the most formative years of my political life reading headlines like this seemingly every week.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
Truly what are these books even ABOUT, man
“What happened then?” asked Toad.
“I had to save my life,” said Frog.
“I had to save my life,” said Frog.
January 25, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Truly what are these books even ABOUT, man
Reposted by Sam Kastner
I keep thinking “my god the people they’ve killed seem like exceptionally good folks” and I think the lesson there is that they’re not exceptional, but that wonderful people abound and that a baseline distrust in humanity is a shitty conservative trope that privileges power over collective strength
you don't become a martyr because you were a saint, you become a saint because you were martyred
I agree that we can’t make Alex Pretti a Benedictine monk because that’s a trap, but we can talk about the good things we did because people will see and hear them and think “I do those things too”
January 25, 2026 at 12:27 AM
I keep thinking “my god the people they’ve killed seem like exceptionally good folks” and I think the lesson there is that they’re not exceptional, but that wonderful people abound and that a baseline distrust in humanity is a shitty conservative trope that privileges power over collective strength
Reposted by Sam Kastner
It is a giant illegal plagiarism machine monetizing all of our intellectual property, & like every tech/finance grift before it, the business model is built on breaking the law & malfeasance. And the rush of university leaders & administrators to embed it in every aspect of our work is shameful.
Seems like the companies pushing this tech are not being strictly v honest with anyone about how it works.
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Researchers Just Found Something That Could Shake the AI Industry to Its Core
Researchers found compelling evidence that AI models are actually copying copyrighted data, not "learning" from it.
futurism.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:15 PM
It is a giant illegal plagiarism machine monetizing all of our intellectual property, & like every tech/finance grift before it, the business model is built on breaking the law & malfeasance. And the rush of university leaders & administrators to embed it in every aspect of our work is shameful.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
Matt Prater is millennial excellence
January 18, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Matt Prater is millennial excellence
Reposted by Sam Kastner
I think it’s important to insist on recalling, at all available opportunities, that this was specifically an attack on a trans instructor over an assignment about gender. Neither of those details are incidental; they are the center of the story
If you’re wondering why your friends in academia are a little on edge right now, it’s because an eighteen-year-old who hasn’t done the reading, doesn’t look at the assignment, and has does no critical thinking skills more complex than “because I think it’s in the Bible” can literally end your career
The University of Oklahoma has removed an instructor who was accused by a student of religious discrimination over a failing grade on a psychology paper in which she cited the Bible and argued that promoting a “belief in multiple genders” was “demonic.” https://cnn.it/4b6g3rd
December 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I think it’s important to insist on recalling, at all available opportunities, that this was specifically an attack on a trans instructor over an assignment about gender. Neither of those details are incidental; they are the center of the story
Reposted by Sam Kastner
"Changes to centers and institutes were initially projected to save $4.8 million."
Bill Belichick's annual salary is $10 million.
Bill Belichick's annual salary is $10 million.
America First, at America’s first public university.
UNC cuts all six area studies research centers, effective 2026
As part of the University's plan to make $70 million in budget cuts across the institution, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Nate Knuffman projected that cutting 14 centers and institutes in...
www.dailytarheel.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:51 AM
"Changes to centers and institutes were initially projected to save $4.8 million."
Bill Belichick's annual salary is $10 million.
Bill Belichick's annual salary is $10 million.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Longer statement from Brown University:
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
"We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition. They have been transported to local hospitals."
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
AS A PROFESSOR, I AM ASKING
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN IN THESE CONDITIONS?
HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TAKE EXAMS KNOWING SOMEONE MIGHT JUST SHOW UP WITH AN EASY TO ACQUIRE AUTOMATIC WEAPON?
HOW??????????
Reposted by Sam Kastner
not only am I reposting this but I am doubling Tony's emphasis on "hard *cannot*"
i mean, we have learned (Gödel, Church, Turing, et al) that we cannot—hard *cannot*—automate the process of proving *mathematical* truths.
general knowledge? forget it
general knowledge? forget it
December 9, 2025 at 11:50 PM
not only am I reposting this but I am doubling Tony's emphasis on "hard *cannot*"
Reposted by Sam Kastner
The Enrollment Cliff is a Miff
We first note that hand-wringing about the decline in US college enrollments has mistakenly linked such declines to the price of four-year colleges.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
December 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The Enrollment Cliff is a Miff
Reposted by Sam Kastner
LLMs like ChatGPT aren't like the AI machine learning that enables better weather forecasts (& search engines, translation etc)
@ftrain.bsky.social explained the difference on our recent @flaminghydra.com podcast: Machines shouldn't be pretending to be human beings
flaminghydra.com/podcast-how-...
@ftrain.bsky.social explained the difference on our recent @flaminghydra.com podcast: Machines shouldn't be pretending to be human beings
flaminghydra.com/podcast-how-...
November 30, 2025 at 2:21 PM
LLMs like ChatGPT aren't like the AI machine learning that enables better weather forecasts (& search engines, translation etc)
@ftrain.bsky.social explained the difference on our recent @flaminghydra.com podcast: Machines shouldn't be pretending to be human beings
flaminghydra.com/podcast-how-...
@ftrain.bsky.social explained the difference on our recent @flaminghydra.com podcast: Machines shouldn't be pretending to be human beings
flaminghydra.com/podcast-how-...
Reposted by Sam Kastner
god i love the little breakdown when they very shittily play old time religion lmao i wish that existed as a whole track somewhere! i’d never stop listening to it!
November 23, 2025 at 8:32 PM
god i love the little breakdown when they very shittily play old time religion lmao i wish that existed as a whole track somewhere! i’d never stop listening to it!
Reposted by Sam Kastner
Really sad.
Following on from the senate report last month,
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/B1CC17F2-50CE-4C0B-89C9-B713FE76E146
Reporting today about nasa is devastating.
Following on from the senate report last month,
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/B1CC17F2-50CE-4C0B-89C9-B713FE76E146
Reporting today about nasa is devastating.
#nasa is shuttering the Goddard #space #flight center in a move that may not be entirely legal, according to critics. For months, our #staff #writer @joshdinner.bsky.social interviewed NASA #employees, read #senate reports and more to give you the deepest dive yet.
www.space.com/space-explor...
www.space.com/space-explor...
October 31, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Really sad.
Following on from the senate report last month,
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/B1CC17F2-50CE-4C0B-89C9-B713FE76E146
Reporting today about nasa is devastating.
Following on from the senate report last month,
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/B1CC17F2-50CE-4C0B-89C9-B713FE76E146
Reporting today about nasa is devastating.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
Just think of how many TT faculty lines, graduate stipends, and resources for teaching and research this kind of money could buy...
the more things change, the more they stay the same in college football (coaches being showered in cash for not working)
October 13, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Just think of how many TT faculty lines, graduate stipends, and resources for teaching and research this kind of money could buy...
Reposted by Sam Kastner
baseball is the best preparation for death because it does not come with a clock that tells you when your suffering will end one way or the other
October 11, 2025 at 3:04 AM
baseball is the best preparation for death because it does not come with a clock that tells you when your suffering will end one way or the other
Reposted by Sam Kastner
"Even if your personal circumstances make it difficult for you, where and when you can, do not obey. Find ways to be intransigent; a pain in the ass."
September 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
"Even if your personal circumstances make it difficult for you, where and when you can, do not obey. Find ways to be intransigent; a pain in the ass."
Reposted by Sam Kastner
🌊With the Fall semester upon us, it's time to start thinking about recruiting/applying to grad school for 2026.
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
Oceanography MS/PhD Positions for Fall 2026
This is an effort to collect the **contact information of potential advisors** for MS/PhD students in Oceanography.
Please note that if you answer **you are agreeing to have your contact information...
docs.google.com
August 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
🌊With the Fall semester upon us, it's time to start thinking about recruiting/applying to grad school for 2026.
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Please share widely! (1/2)
Reposted by Sam Kastner
The thing about this is, a HUUUUUGE amount of what NASA does is earth science. Most of the reason we are able to see Earth and what’s happening here is because of NASA. This would be like blinding us to our own planet.
NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency
NASA’s charter clearly states the agency should study planet Earth, however.
arstechnica.com
August 15, 2025 at 10:14 PM
The thing about this is, a HUUUUUGE amount of what NASA does is earth science. Most of the reason we are able to see Earth and what’s happening here is because of NASA. This would be like blinding us to our own planet.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
Imagine writing this in a world where the miracle of MRNA vaccines is deemed untrustworthy.
In which a Yale prof calls for jettisoning humanities to make way for science-only universities.
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
“scientists… are being punished for the sins of [humanities scholars] because we all live under one roof. I cannot see a compelling reason for our continued cohabitation.”
Unyoke the Sciences From the Humanities
Arts and sciences typically cohabitate. Should they?
thedispatch.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Imagine writing this in a world where the miracle of MRNA vaccines is deemed untrustworthy.
Reposted by Sam Kastner
well. at least there's new worms
Chinese submersible has discovered thousands of worms and molluscs nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the deepest colony of creatures ever observed
u.afp.com/Sg9Z
u.afp.com/Sg9Z
July 31, 2025 at 4:59 AM
well. at least there's new worms