John Provis
@johnprovis.bsky.social
Talks too much about cement. Talks too much in general. More than 10 views on YouTube; some were even intentional. 🇦🇺 in 🇨🇭, via Yorkshire; escaped after 11y in UK academia. Views obviously(!) nobody's official policy. Often bitten by cats.
Reposted by John Provis
"Academic" is just a fancy job title for Elsevier's content creators.
October 13, 2025 at 8:56 AM
"Academic" is just a fancy job title for Elsevier's content creators.
Reposted by John Provis
That’s Elon Musk, Fellow of the Royal Society, I’ll have you know. Because the Royal Society can only seem to come up with throat-clearing noises as a response to these sorts of statements instead of actually throwing him out.
Elon Musk: "It is time for the English to ally with the hard men, like Tommy Robinson, and fight for their survival or they shall surely all die" 29th October 2025. 2 million views in its first hour.
October 29, 2025 at 11:22 AM
That’s Elon Musk, Fellow of the Royal Society, I’ll have you know. Because the Royal Society can only seem to come up with throat-clearing noises as a response to these sorts of statements instead of actually throwing him out.
...tweaking the abstract of a paper to try to catch the attention of the editor of VeryShinyJournal...
@katewagner.wehwalt.net No idea where this is, as I stole it off of Facebook, but I feel like you need to see this. It is indeed legit, apparently.
October 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
...tweaking the abstract of a paper to try to catch the attention of the editor of VeryShinyJournal...
Reposted by John Provis
At an academic conference, it is inevitable that the worst talk will be by a late career Professor who not only think the rules don't apply to them, but will have not even noticed the rules in the first place.
October 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
At an academic conference, it is inevitable that the worst talk will be by a late career Professor who not only think the rules don't apply to them, but will have not even noticed the rules in the first place.
Reposted by John Provis
This -official Conservative policy - is essentially identical to the Reform policy that the Prime Minister described as "racist and immoral" and would "rip out country apart".
Would be good if media and politicians pointed this out .
Would be good if media and politicians pointed this out .
Lam's proposal is to refuse future grants of ILR but to cancel past grants of permanent status to anyone who is not likely to be a fiscal net contributor, and anyone "who has accessed state support" once they got permanent status. That will revoke pledges to those told this was their permanent home.
October 19, 2025 at 7:39 AM
This -official Conservative policy - is essentially identical to the Reform policy that the Prime Minister described as "racist and immoral" and would "rip out country apart".
Would be good if media and politicians pointed this out .
Would be good if media and politicians pointed this out .
Reposted by John Provis
This is known as a false dichotomy, friends.
There’s also “I learned a lot about this tool, I tested various versions on things I was an expert on, the results were highly dubious, & that’s before we even address the mental, ethical & environmental injuries it causes.”
There’s also “I learned a lot about this tool, I tested various versions on things I was an expert on, the results were highly dubious, & that’s before we even address the mental, ethical & environmental injuries it causes.”
There are basically only two positions in the debate about AI.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
1. I’ve barely invested any time in learning how to use it effectively. AI sucks.
2. I’ve invested in learning how to use this tool. Holy cow, it’s transformational.
Position #1 has lower barriers to entry.
October 17, 2025 at 7:36 AM
This is known as a false dichotomy, friends.
There’s also “I learned a lot about this tool, I tested various versions on things I was an expert on, the results were highly dubious, & that’s before we even address the mental, ethical & environmental injuries it causes.”
There’s also “I learned a lot about this tool, I tested various versions on things I was an expert on, the results were highly dubious, & that’s before we even address the mental, ethical & environmental injuries it causes.”
Reposted by John Provis
Reposted by John Provis
"I support things like civil rights, access to education, and medical research. You could never imagine me sitting in the front row at the inauguration of a far-right ruler who promised to destroy those things."
Hi, I’m an Early 2010s Tech CEO
I wear the same T-shirt every day, and I have a relatably unkempt haircut. I remind you of the smart kids from high school, so I give you hope that...
buff.ly
October 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
"I support things like civil rights, access to education, and medical research. You could never imagine me sitting in the front row at the inauguration of a far-right ruler who promised to destroy those things."
Reposted by John Provis
Just to be clear, an English degree - learning to critically assess texts - is actually one of the most dangerous for people such as Badenoch.
An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.
An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.
So, the plan is to cut English, the arts, and sociology - the degrees that actually study culture - while on another part of your platform claiming to “defend” British culture.
It’s performance nationalism with a reading age of seven.
It’s performance nationalism with a reading age of seven.
October 8, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Just to be clear, an English degree - learning to critically assess texts - is actually one of the most dangerous for people such as Badenoch.
An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.
An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.
Reposted by John Provis
Reposted by John Provis
The Ghost of Suppressed Protests Past.
September 10, 2025 at 1:33 PM
The Ghost of Suppressed Protests Past.
Other than the tedious tone of "USA good, Europe bad", this article misses the key point: we mainly don't have "robotaxis" here because we don't want hundreds of them bumbling around the place like the idiotic car equivalent of a Roomba..
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
Robotaxis will be the Sputnik Moment for a declining Europe
A slow-motion car crash on Europe’s roads
www.economist.com
September 5, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Other than the tedious tone of "USA good, Europe bad", this article misses the key point: we mainly don't have "robotaxis" here because we don't want hundreds of them bumbling around the place like the idiotic car equivalent of a Roomba..
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
Reposted by John Provis
"In this bedroom are fourteen light switches. Ten of them do nothing. One turns on the television. One sounds an alarm in the home of your grouchy next-door neighbor who hates Americans and will let his French bulldog poop on your doorstep. Can you choose the right one in time?"
Escape Room Challenge: Your European Airbnb
Welcome to this tiny fifth-floor Airbnb, your home for the next four days in a major European city. Can you escape without incurring additional fee...
buff.ly
August 30, 2025 at 1:46 AM
"In this bedroom are fourteen light switches. Ten of them do nothing. One turns on the television. One sounds an alarm in the home of your grouchy next-door neighbor who hates Americans and will let his French bulldog poop on your doorstep. Can you choose the right one in time?"
Very well put!
The same is true for an engineering degree, with the added consequences that the roof of the restaurant may also fall down on your head while you're in it.
The same is true for an engineering degree, with the added consequences that the roof of the restaurant may also fall down on your head while you're in it.
Trying to figure out a way to impress upon my students that using AI to skip course work in order to get a music degree is like ordering food at a restaurant and immediately throwing it out the window in order to get to pay the check
August 29, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Very well put!
The same is true for an engineering degree, with the added consequences that the roof of the restaurant may also fall down on your head while you're in it.
The same is true for an engineering degree, with the added consequences that the roof of the restaurant may also fall down on your head while you're in it.
Reposted by John Provis
As we seem to be talking ECHR again, here’s my Venn Diagram from more than a decade ago.
August 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM
As we seem to be talking ECHR again, here’s my Venn Diagram from more than a decade ago.
Reposted by John Provis
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
August 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
Reposted by John Provis
Sadly our idea of charging people £7.99 for a blue tick to put on their experimental results didn’t pan out
August 18, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Sadly our idea of charging people £7.99 for a blue tick to put on their experimental results didn’t pan out
I'm not exactly sure how many people are making decisions on purchasing a new XRF spectrometer based on seeing ads in Youtube videos... but at least their algorithm has figured out that it seems a better match for my interests than either perfume or funeral plans?
August 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM
I'm not exactly sure how many people are making decisions on purchasing a new XRF spectrometer based on seeing ads in Youtube videos... but at least their algorithm has figured out that it seems a better match for my interests than either perfume or funeral plans?
Reposted by John Provis
Australia Admits All Those Animals Made Up
theonion.com/austral...
theonion.com/austral...
Australia Admits All Those Animals Made Up
SYDNEY—Saying the ruse began as a harmless prank about the continent’s mammals having pouches, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted Tuesday that all those animals like wallabies, numbats, quokkas, and bandicoots were completely made up. “We just assumed everyone would have caught on by now, because these creatures are clearly imaginary,” said Albanese, adding that […]
theonion.com
August 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Australia Admits All Those Animals Made Up
theonion.com/austral...
theonion.com/austral...
Reposted by John Provis
'Vacations.'
The word is 'vacations.'
The word is 'vacations.'
July 7, 2025 at 5:53 PM
'Vacations.'
The word is 'vacations.'
The word is 'vacations.'
By the way, this is the paper 🧪: doi.org/10.1617/s115...
June 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
By the way, this is the paper 🧪: doi.org/10.1617/s115...
There are various milestones in a scientific career🧪:
PhD✔️
Permanent job✔️
PhD student graduates✔️ several
Paper published✔️ several
Paper in Science/Nature... not yet
Paper featured in the media✔️a few
But the pinnacle of it all: Paper featured on the news screen on the bus ✔️
(translation in alt-text)
PhD✔️
Permanent job✔️
PhD student graduates✔️ several
Paper published✔️ several
Paper in Science/Nature... not yet
Paper featured in the media✔️a few
But the pinnacle of it all: Paper featured on the news screen on the bus ✔️
(translation in alt-text)
June 25, 2025 at 7:11 AM
There are various milestones in a scientific career🧪:
PhD✔️
Permanent job✔️
PhD student graduates✔️ several
Paper published✔️ several
Paper in Science/Nature... not yet
Paper featured in the media✔️a few
But the pinnacle of it all: Paper featured on the news screen on the bus ✔️
(translation in alt-text)
PhD✔️
Permanent job✔️
PhD student graduates✔️ several
Paper published✔️ several
Paper in Science/Nature... not yet
Paper featured in the media✔️a few
But the pinnacle of it all: Paper featured on the news screen on the bus ✔️
(translation in alt-text)
Take my money, Mel Brooks.... I must see this movie!
June 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Take my money, Mel Brooks.... I must see this movie!
Reposted by John Provis
Feels like just in my lifetime the tech industry went from solving problems to pretending to solve problems, to creating problems
May 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Feels like just in my lifetime the tech industry went from solving problems to pretending to solve problems, to creating problems
Reposted by John Provis
"Demonstrate through scientific, psychological, philosophical, legal, and historical principles that the assistant dean has the moral high ground in his contentious divorce."
Introducing Our University’s New, Totally Reasonable Criteria for Promotion and Tenure
Since the founding of our august institution, we have awarded promotion and tenure based on how many pages of your research we could read before fa...
buff.ly
May 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"Demonstrate through scientific, psychological, philosophical, legal, and historical principles that the assistant dean has the moral high ground in his contentious divorce."