Nathan Couch
@ngcouch.bsky.social
Cognition, Chess, Nature
www.ngcouch.com
www.ngcouch.com
Pinned
Nathan Couch
@ngcouch.bsky.social
· Jul 18
This one most humbly requests: articles in which academics are surveyed about their positions on topics central to their field. I’ll give examples in replies, but anything that seeks a sense of (non-)consensus in a domain. The more niche, old, or obscure, the better!
Thank you for any help!
Thank you for any help!
It is amusing — but not surprising — that this article's poor rigor leaves it open to simple counterexamples such as persistently hermaphroditic slugs and situationally hermaphroditic fish.
www.city-journal.org/article/sex-...
www.city-journal.org/article/sex-...
The Latest Attempt to Disprove the Sex Binary Falls Flat
A new paper relies on categories its authors seemingly want to transcend.
www.city-journal.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:43 PM
It is amusing — but not surprising — that this article's poor rigor leaves it open to simple counterexamples such as persistently hermaphroditic slugs and situationally hermaphroditic fish.
www.city-journal.org/article/sex-...
www.city-journal.org/article/sex-...
I expected a lot of intellectual dishonesty surrounding the UCSD report, but I was still shocked by this line from the linked article:
The report points to pandemic disruptions, the removal of standardized, …, and grade inflation masking academic weakness. But these are symptoms, not causes.
The report points to pandemic disruptions, the removal of standardized, …, and grade inflation masking academic weakness. But these are symptoms, not causes.
The Ideological Erosion of College Readiness
A stunning new report from the University of California, San Diego documents what many educators have feared: incoming college students are less prepared than ever. This “steep decline in t
www.realcleareducation.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I expected a lot of intellectual dishonesty surrounding the UCSD report, but I was still shocked by this line from the linked article:
The report points to pandemic disruptions, the removal of standardized, …, and grade inflation masking academic weakness. But these are symptoms, not causes.
The report points to pandemic disruptions, the removal of standardized, …, and grade inflation masking academic weakness. But these are symptoms, not causes.
Reposted by Nathan Couch
Lots of folks captioning aurora photos like "for a few minutes we didn't think about politics"
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
November 13, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Lots of folks captioning aurora photos like "for a few minutes we didn't think about politics"
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
guess I'm built different, every time I'm out trying to see night sky stuff I frequently think about how much light pollution is entirely preventable with just a tiny bit of regulation
Pome season in bloom
November 13, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Pome season in bloom
I’m failing to adapt to GenAI: my initial suspicion was that this was staged, based on the coyote’s strange, stumbling gait and overall confused demeanor. Commentators helpfully pointed to examples of how real roadrunners run.
Wonder why this scene looks so familiar...
#WildlifeWednesday 🐦🐕
#WildlifeWednesday 🐦🐕
November 6, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I’m failing to adapt to GenAI: my initial suspicion was that this was staged, based on the coyote’s strange, stumbling gait and overall confused demeanor. Commentators helpfully pointed to examples of how real roadrunners run.
Reposted by Nathan Couch
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
October 30, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
Reposted by Nathan Couch
This is probably gonna be ok
October 28, 2025 at 8:57 PM
This is probably gonna be ok
Hamilcar in Autumn.
October 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Hamilcar in Autumn.
I’m glad I stopped to take a picture here; the next pick ruptured the membrane.
October 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I’m glad I stopped to take a picture here; the next pick ruptured the membrane.
Absolutely needed but far too late. Kramnik started harassing Danya over a year ago. Kramnik should be excluded from polite society for his behavior, including chess.
Former world chess champion may face discipline for allegations against Daniel Naroditsky
Chess’s international governing body is considering disciplinary action against a Russian former world champion who persistently leveled unproven cheating allegations at Daniel Naroditsky in the year ...
apnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Absolutely needed but far too late. Kramnik started harassing Danya over a year ago. Kramnik should be excluded from polite society for his behavior, including chess.
Naroditsky’s death is an incredible shock. He was always so collected and mature, it was easy to forget he wasn’t even 30. A great loss.
October 21, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Naroditsky’s death is an incredible shock. He was always so collected and mature, it was easy to forget he wasn’t even 30. A great loss.
This admin’s good eatin’ if you crave infosec failures.
5) Months after a similar scandal, your pageant contest turned insurance lawyer turned defense attorney turned hitwoman did something very stupid on Signal.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
October 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
This admin’s good eatin’ if you crave infosec failures.
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
— Keats, To Autumn
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
— Keats, To Autumn
October 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
— Keats, To Autumn
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
— Keats, To Autumn
Reposted by Nathan Couch
I recently saw an amazing Navajo rug at the National Gallery of Art. It looks abstract at first, but it is a detailed representation of the Intel Pentium processor. Called "Replica of a Chip", it was created in 1994 by Marilou Schultz, a Navajo/Diné weaver and math teacher. 1/n
November 25, 2024 at 4:29 PM
I recently saw an amazing Navajo rug at the National Gallery of Art. It looks abstract at first, but it is a detailed representation of the Intel Pentium processor. Called "Replica of a Chip", it was created in 1994 by Marilou Schultz, a Navajo/Diné weaver and math teacher. 1/n
In Chess, the active player has a mate in N if and only if the active player can win in 5 moves, even given optimal play from the opponent. Note that given *suboptimal* play, the active player can win faster,
I wrote a program exploiting this to help study deep mates.
I wrote a program exploiting this to help study deep mates.
October 16, 2025 at 3:47 PM
In Chess, the active player has a mate in N if and only if the active player can win in 5 moves, even given optimal play from the opponent. Note that given *suboptimal* play, the active player can win faster,
I wrote a program exploiting this to help study deep mates.
I wrote a program exploiting this to help study deep mates.
This is one peculiar pollinator.
October 15, 2025 at 7:31 PM
This is one peculiar pollinator.
Reposted by Nathan Couch
Eggs of an unknown species, discovered on my lemon thyme.
October 8, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Eggs of an unknown species, discovered on my lemon thyme.
The article does not mention that these horses are not native to North America, as native populations died thousands of years ago during the North American Megafauna extinction. These horses are descended from domesticated European horses.
Majestic wild horses are trampling Mono Lake’s otherworldly landscape. The feds plan a roundup
Federal officials plan to round up wild horses roaming the Eastern Sierra, citing hazards and damage. But local tribes and others seek a different outcome.
www.latimes.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:21 AM
The article does not mention that these horses are not native to North America, as native populations died thousands of years ago during the North American Megafauna extinction. These horses are descended from domesticated European horses.
Reminds me of this fused glass dish at the Art Institute of Chicago. Not as old as the jar (1000 years younger) but brilliant and beautiful. I gasped the first time I saw it. I always make sure to seek it out when I visit.
October 6, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reminds me of this fused glass dish at the Art Institute of Chicago. Not as old as the jar (1000 years younger) but brilliant and beautiful. I gasped the first time I saw it. I always make sure to seek it out when I visit.
This man at my farmer’s market is making me reconsider my “No pictures of stranger’s rule.”
+roller blades
+ ponytail
- shirt
+roller blades
+ ponytail
- shirt
October 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This man at my farmer’s market is making me reconsider my “No pictures of stranger’s rule.”
+roller blades
+ ponytail
- shirt
+roller blades
+ ponytail
- shirt