Marc Segers
@marcseg.bsky.social
Working on innovation in #scholcomm @AIPP by day; obsessed with history, cultural criticism, food, and music by night; family work throughout
Reposted by Marc Segers
Today, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider collided its last ions. I grew up nearby, in the era when RHIC switched on. It played a huge role in establishing my fascination with physics. I was lucky to tour the facility at @brookhavenlab.bsky.social, on the last day it collided gold ions, in December
February 6, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Today, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider collided its last ions. I grew up nearby, in the era when RHIC switched on. It played a huge role in establishing my fascination with physics. I was lucky to tour the facility at @brookhavenlab.bsky.social, on the last day it collided gold ions, in December
Reposted by Marc Segers
Real opening for Dems to run as the law and order party.
So much corruption. So much abuse of individual rights. So much battery. So much contempt of court. Chaos, disorder.
Run as party that will enforce the law against criminal goons.
Of course Dems would need to stop funding the criming, too.
So much corruption. So much abuse of individual rights. So much battery. So much contempt of court. Chaos, disorder.
Run as party that will enforce the law against criminal goons.
Of course Dems would need to stop funding the criming, too.
NEW: The top Trump-appointed proseutor in MN says his office is dropping "pressing priorities" to manage crushing immigration workload.
His short-staffed office is doing constant overtime and bouncing between contempt hearings.
The bleak assessment:
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
His short-staffed office is doing constant overtime and bouncing between contempt hearings.
The bleak assessment:
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 5, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Real opening for Dems to run as the law and order party.
So much corruption. So much abuse of individual rights. So much battery. So much contempt of court. Chaos, disorder.
Run as party that will enforce the law against criminal goons.
Of course Dems would need to stop funding the criming, too.
So much corruption. So much abuse of individual rights. So much battery. So much contempt of court. Chaos, disorder.
Run as party that will enforce the law against criminal goons.
Of course Dems would need to stop funding the criming, too.
Reposted by Marc Segers
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
February 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
As the Clash sang:
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway
absolutely insane to see Musk feted at Davos as the icon of a boldly "optimistic" future in 2026, as if he hadn't just spent the last year buying elections for fascists, making Nazi salutes, condemning millions in Africa to death, and building "Mechahitler," and a nonconsensual porn/CSAM generator
January 22, 2026 at 5:42 PM
As the Clash sang:
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway
Reposted by Marc Segers
This sign, "The Gospel Is Anti-Fascist," is at the First Baptist Church in America, in Providence, R.I.
Link to the church's FB post of the photo: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
Link to the church's FB post of the photo: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
![A sign at the First Baptist Church in American that reads "THE GOSPEL IS ANTI-FASCIST." A white church is visible in the background. Next to the sign are lawn signs that reads "PVD [heart] BROWN" and "HATE HAS NO PLACE HERE."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qihxhxlsmo7gak74npeoy3ct/bafkreigf3goarkw3ugyhp232nzjkh2g7ixl7wqxz74hcudwtwuz232e5fy@jpeg)
January 15, 2026 at 3:05 PM
This sign, "The Gospel Is Anti-Fascist," is at the First Baptist Church in America, in Providence, R.I.
Link to the church's FB post of the photo: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
Link to the church's FB post of the photo: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
Reposted by Marc Segers
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Reposted by Marc Segers
This details the costs of buying AI subscriptions at universities. Co-pilot, which my university subscribes to, is around $30 per month per user.
No wonder budgets are tightening. Imagine if we took that money back from the slop peddlers and their boosters…
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
No wonder budgets are tightening. Imagine if we took that money back from the slop peddlers and their boosters…
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
OpenAI Inks Deals With Colleges, Seizing Early Lead in Education Market
OpenAI has established a beachhead at many US colleges, overcoming university administrators’ wariness of artificial intelligence and giving ChatGPT a headstart on becoming the go-to assistant for the...
www.bloomberg.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This details the costs of buying AI subscriptions at universities. Co-pilot, which my university subscribes to, is around $30 per month per user.
No wonder budgets are tightening. Imagine if we took that money back from the slop peddlers and their boosters…
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
No wonder budgets are tightening. Imagine if we took that money back from the slop peddlers and their boosters…
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Marc Segers
Food for thought publishers! All of the major submission platforms support @orcid.org reviewer credit... #researchsky
I’m turning down journal reviews if the journal doesn’t update activities to ORCID. I get a lot of requests and I need to prioritize somehow. I ain’t collecting “reviewer certifications” from Genome biology and scientific reports, etc., when Nature Family and ACS give me credit for my time.
December 16, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Food for thought publishers! All of the major submission platforms support @orcid.org reviewer credit... #researchsky
Reposted by Marc Segers
🧵 NSF is reducing external review requirements and eliminating routine expert panels, citing staff shortages that this administration implemented. This change expands program officer authority. But the solution to flawed accountability isn't less public accountability.
NSF plans to streamline merit review to heal self-inflicted staffing wound www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists
Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities
www.science.org
December 16, 2025 at 12:33 AM
🧵 NSF is reducing external review requirements and eliminating routine expert panels, citing staff shortages that this administration implemented. This change expands program officer authority. But the solution to flawed accountability isn't less public accountability.
Reposted by Marc Segers
If they deregulate business and radically reduce access to real health care, which they are doing, while opening up to all kinds of quacks, which they are doing, then we should expect a class dimension to what follows: prevention and medicine for the richer, ill health and quackery for the poorer.
December 14, 2025 at 3:39 AM
If they deregulate business and radically reduce access to real health care, which they are doing, while opening up to all kinds of quacks, which they are doing, then we should expect a class dimension to what follows: prevention and medicine for the richer, ill health and quackery for the poorer.
Reposted by Marc Segers
Okay, as promised, here are my 25 boardgames that would make good presents for historians or the historically-inclined.
- I've played them and enjoyed them
- They have to have a historical theme or be related to the practice of history
- They were within the first 25 I thought of...
- I've played them and enjoyed them
- They have to have a historical theme or be related to the practice of history
- They were within the first 25 I thought of...
December 11, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Okay, as promised, here are my 25 boardgames that would make good presents for historians or the historically-inclined.
- I've played them and enjoyed them
- They have to have a historical theme or be related to the practice of history
- They were within the first 25 I thought of...
- I've played them and enjoyed them
- They have to have a historical theme or be related to the practice of history
- They were within the first 25 I thought of...
I wonder how tomorrow’s meeting with Mamdani will go.
oh we're breaking out the classics
November 20, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I wonder how tomorrow’s meeting with Mamdani will go.
Reposted by Marc Segers
This is what happened when AI acted as both author and reviewer - a study found AI peer-reviewers accepted fake AI-generated papers 4 out of 5 times. We need #PeerReview to be better, and human oversight is more vital than ever!
#ResearchIntegrity #AI #AcademicPublishing #ResearchSky #AcademicSky
#ResearchIntegrity #AI #AcademicPublishing #ResearchSky #AcademicSky
AI peer reviewers are fine with AI-fabricated papers
Study finds artificial intelligence reviewers accept AI-generated scientific studies 4 out of 5 times
cen.acs.org
November 15, 2025 at 7:16 PM
This is what happened when AI acted as both author and reviewer - a study found AI peer-reviewers accepted fake AI-generated papers 4 out of 5 times. We need #PeerReview to be better, and human oversight is more vital than ever!
#ResearchIntegrity #AI #AcademicPublishing #ResearchSky #AcademicSky
#ResearchIntegrity #AI #AcademicPublishing #ResearchSky #AcademicSky
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 AM
DNC should be funding Lex and investing in media rather than paying consultants to tell them to adopt more conservative policies. Democrats have a communication problem not a policy problem. MAGA owns its own media bubble.
November 3, 2025 at 9:44 PM
DNC should be funding Lex and investing in media rather than paying consultants to tell them to adopt more conservative policies. Democrats have a communication problem not a policy problem. MAGA owns its own media bubble.
Reposted by Marc Segers
NOT ALL BAD - five major factors impacting scholarly communication - from @coar-repositories.bsky.social Kathleen Shearer
October 17, 2025 at 12:02 AM
NOT ALL BAD - five major factors impacting scholarly communication - from @coar-repositories.bsky.social Kathleen Shearer
Hopeful data
“52% of all autocratization episodes become U-Turns, which increases to 73% when focusing on the last 30 years. The vast majority of U-Turns (90%) lead to restored or even improved levels of democracy”
V-Dem data
V-Dem data
When autocratization is reversed: episodes of U-Turns since 1900
The world is in a “wave of autocratization.” Yet, recent events in Brazil, the Maldives, and Zambia demonstrate that autocratization can be halted and reversed. This article introduces “U-Turn” as ...
www.tandfonline.com
September 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Hopeful data
Really starting to understand hypocrisy as an expression of power.
September 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Really starting to understand hypocrisy as an expression of power.
Reposted by Marc Segers
South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker are storytelling geniuses! I highlight their remarkably simple but effective "but/therefore rule" in every science communication lecture I give.
July 25, 2025 at 9:16 PM
South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker are storytelling geniuses! I highlight their remarkably simple but effective "but/therefore rule" in every science communication lecture I give.
Reposted by Marc Segers
Worth a watch:
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
June 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Worth a watch:
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.
Reposted by Marc Segers
Just learned NEW piece of info:
Effective yesterday, NSF's chief financial officer Janis Coughlin-Piester has left the agency "to pursue other opportunities".
Why this matters: Though there is a new acting head, this leadership shake-up doesn't bode well for spending all FY25 appropriations.
Effective yesterday, NSF's chief financial officer Janis Coughlin-Piester has left the agency "to pursue other opportunities".
Why this matters: Though there is a new acting head, this leadership shake-up doesn't bode well for spending all FY25 appropriations.
June 26, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Just learned NEW piece of info:
Effective yesterday, NSF's chief financial officer Janis Coughlin-Piester has left the agency "to pursue other opportunities".
Why this matters: Though there is a new acting head, this leadership shake-up doesn't bode well for spending all FY25 appropriations.
Effective yesterday, NSF's chief financial officer Janis Coughlin-Piester has left the agency "to pursue other opportunities".
Why this matters: Though there is a new acting head, this leadership shake-up doesn't bode well for spending all FY25 appropriations.
Reposted by Marc Segers
NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
June 24, 2025 at 10:20 PM
NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
Reposted by Marc Segers
I am once again pitching my romantic comedy:
- two academics start dating
- discover they are each other's terrible reviewer
- hijinks ensue
Working title: Love is Double-Blind
- two academics start dating
- discover they are each other's terrible reviewer
- hijinks ensue
Working title: Love is Double-Blind
June 18, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I am once again pitching my romantic comedy:
- two academics start dating
- discover they are each other's terrible reviewer
- hijinks ensue
Working title: Love is Double-Blind
- two academics start dating
- discover they are each other's terrible reviewer
- hijinks ensue
Working title: Love is Double-Blind