Thomas House
@tah-sci.com
Professor of Mathematical Sciences, working mainly on epidemiology although partial to a bit of non-commutative algebra, social science and basic biology.
https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/thomas.house/about.html
https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/thomas.house/about.html
Tesla is often quoted as saying, "You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension." And who can say he wasn't prophetic?
November 23, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Tesla is often quoted as saying, "You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension." And who can say he wasn't prophetic?
Reposted by Thomas House
Heat pumps are the most efficiency heating technology ever invented.
That's because they harvest, compress and transport pre-existing heat from the air, the ground or the water.
Compared to a gas boiler heat pumps deliver ~4x more heat for each unit of energy inout.
That's because they harvest, compress and transport pre-existing heat from the air, the ground or the water.
Compared to a gas boiler heat pumps deliver ~4x more heat for each unit of energy inout.
November 21, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Heat pumps are the most efficiency heating technology ever invented.
That's because they harvest, compress and transport pre-existing heat from the air, the ground or the water.
Compared to a gas boiler heat pumps deliver ~4x more heat for each unit of energy inout.
That's because they harvest, compress and transport pre-existing heat from the air, the ground or the water.
Compared to a gas boiler heat pumps deliver ~4x more heat for each unit of energy inout.
Reposted by Thomas House
Anyone who's read me ranting about screening will know I'm all for thinking critically about health care. But there's a reason maternal mortality has more than halved in the last 40 years. There's a reason maternal mortality is used as a proxy for health care quality globally.
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Anyone who's read me ranting about screening will know I'm all for thinking critically about health care. But there's a reason maternal mortality has more than halved in the last 40 years. There's a reason maternal mortality is used as a proxy for health care quality globally.
Reposted by Thomas House
Elon Musk’s anti-woke version of Wikipedia, Grokipedia, cites neo-Nazi forums in multiple places as source.
A great validation of the notion that when people say they’re anti-woke, they just mean they’re hyper racist.
A great validation of the notion that when people say they’re anti-woke, they just mean they’re hyper racist.
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia cites Stormfront — a neo-Nazi forum — dozens of times, study finds
An analysis by researchers at Cornell University is the first comprehensive look at Grokipedia since Musk launched his project last month.
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Elon Musk’s anti-woke version of Wikipedia, Grokipedia, cites neo-Nazi forums in multiple places as source.
A great validation of the notion that when people say they’re anti-woke, they just mean they’re hyper racist.
A great validation of the notion that when people say they’re anti-woke, they just mean they’re hyper racist.
Discovered via faculty group chat; the possibilities for making undergraduates squirm by using it and having them think it's an attempt to make our teaching more relevant to youngsters seem endless.
hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
`genzplyr` is an alternative syntax for `dplyr` that replaces boring old function names with GenZ slang. Your data wrangling is about to hit different.
hadley.github.io
November 20, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Discovered via faculty group chat; the possibilities for making undergraduates squirm by using it and having them think it's an attempt to make our teaching more relevant to youngsters seem endless.
hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
Reposted by Thomas House
How much statistical sleight of hand can you spot in this paragraph on the new CDC website, which is now littered with muddled and flawed claims about vaccines and autism? www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe... 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 9:58 AM
How much statistical sleight of hand can you spot in this paragraph on the new CDC website, which is now littered with muddled and flawed claims about vaccines and autism? www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe... 🧵
Reposted by Thomas House
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
November 18, 2025 at 10:49 AM
AI slop gracing the cover of Royal Society B. Not only in AI yellow but scientifically nonsensical. Come on. I'm certain human photographs and artworks were ignored to platform ... this.
Reposted by Thomas House
It's sad that AI conference reviewers use "incremental" as reason to reject a paper -- e.g., "the contribution of this paper is incremental; reject". Where do they think most progress in science comes from, and what eventually fuels big discoveries?
November 19, 2025 at 9:54 PM
It's sad that AI conference reviewers use "incremental" as reason to reject a paper -- e.g., "the contribution of this paper is incremental; reject". Where do they think most progress in science comes from, and what eventually fuels big discoveries?
There's a lot to unpick here, but what jumped out at me was Altman: "Ads on a Google search are dependent on Google doing badly. If it was giving you the best answer, there’d be no reason ever to buy an ad above it." >
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
Sam Altman on Trust, Persuasion, and the Future of Intelligence - Live at the Progress Conference (Ep. 259)
How hard is it to change someone's mind, and could AI do it accidentally?
conversationswithtyler.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:59 AM
There's a lot to unpick here, but what jumped out at me was Altman: "Ads on a Google search are dependent on Google doing badly. If it was giving you the best answer, there’d be no reason ever to buy an ad above it." >
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
I was just internal examiner for a passing PhD viva; it's one of the bits of my job I absolutely love. Someone's put a few years into really achieving at the high end of what humans do, and the viva works to get them to demonstrate mastery of that work over a few hours.
November 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I was just internal examiner for a passing PhD viva; it's one of the bits of my job I absolutely love. Someone's put a few years into really achieving at the high end of what humans do, and the viva works to get them to demonstrate mastery of that work over a few hours.
One other thing I realised is I'm now up to about one request to review something per day. If I said yes to all and did them well I'd do nothing else and still probably end up behind.
"Dear Prof. House, Will you review <Review paper with abstract obviously written by an LLM> by <Researchers who never published in the area> for <Journal that doesn't usually carry papers from the area>? Please send us your review in 5 working days."
This is how scientific publishing dies.
This is how scientific publishing dies.
November 18, 2025 at 8:35 AM
One other thing I realised is I'm now up to about one request to review something per day. If I said yes to all and did them well I'd do nothing else and still probably end up behind.
Reposted by Thomas House
#3157 A helpful tutorial
November 17, 2025 at 11:40 PM
#3157 A helpful tutorial
I have had cause to use professional graphical design services at work a couple of times and the quality you receive is night and day compared to anything even the most enthusiastic amateur can cook up, which is in turn usually much better than AI. >
I do not understand authors, broadcasters, voice artists, YouTubers, ANY creative artists using quick and cheap AI for their cover images and not realising: it will be you next.
November 18, 2025 at 8:26 AM
I have had cause to use professional graphical design services at work a couple of times and the quality you receive is night and day compared to anything even the most enthusiastic amateur can cook up, which is in turn usually much better than AI. >
"Dear Prof. House, Will you review <Review paper with abstract obviously written by an LLM> by <Researchers who never published in the area> for <Journal that doesn't usually carry papers from the area>? Please send us your review in 5 working days."
This is how scientific publishing dies.
This is how scientific publishing dies.
November 17, 2025 at 10:09 AM
"Dear Prof. House, Will you review <Review paper with abstract obviously written by an LLM> by <Researchers who never published in the area> for <Journal that doesn't usually carry papers from the area>? Please send us your review in 5 working days."
This is how scientific publishing dies.
This is how scientific publishing dies.
It's hard not to feel that at this stage LLM product development is mainly based on workshopping ideas with a teenage intern who was too high when he watched Black Mirror to get that it was satire.
"Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model by default...tests repeatedly showed that the AI toy dropped its guardrails the longer a conversation went on, until hitting rock bottom on incredibly disturbing topics."
AI-Powered Stuffed Animal Pulled From Market After Disturbing Interactions With Children
FoloToy says it's suspended sales of its AI-powered teddy bear after researchers found it gave wildly inappropriate and dangerous answers.
futurism.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:06 AM
It's hard not to feel that at this stage LLM product development is mainly based on workshopping ideas with a teenage intern who was too high when he watched Black Mirror to get that it was satire.
Reposted by Thomas House
Maybe somewhere in the world there's a really smart pigeon who reinvented calculus, proved the Riemann hypothesis, solved quantum gravity and knows exactly how to cure cancer, but we'll never know because it can't write, is surrounded by idiots, and will get eaten by a buzzard.
November 16, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Maybe somewhere in the world there's a really smart pigeon who reinvented calculus, proved the Riemann hypothesis, solved quantum gravity and knows exactly how to cure cancer, but we'll never know because it can't write, is surrounded by idiots, and will get eaten by a buzzard.
Reposted by Thomas House
Some good news
New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the 2025/26 vaccine is currently 70 to 75% effective at preventing hospital attendance in children aged 2 to 17 years and 30 to 40% effective in adults.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the 2025/26 vaccine is currently 70 to 75% effective at preventing hospital attendance in children aged 2 to 17 years and 30 to 40% effective in adults.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Flu vaccine providing important protection despite new subclade
UKHSA’s early season data shows vaccination remains best defence alongside good respiratory hygiene as flu activity rises.
www.gov.uk
November 15, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Some good news
New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the 2025/26 vaccine is currently 70 to 75% effective at preventing hospital attendance in children aged 2 to 17 years and 30 to 40% effective in adults.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the 2025/26 vaccine is currently 70 to 75% effective at preventing hospital attendance in children aged 2 to 17 years and 30 to 40% effective in adults.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
😀😐🥲🙂
In John Kelly’s animated short film, narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, nothing’s off limits when it comes to thinking about the future—particularly when there’s so much left to do. Watch it here. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/dSCTX3
The Dream of Finishing One’s To-Do List in “Retirement Plan”
In John Kelly’s animated short film, narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, nothing’s off limits when it comes to thinking about the future—particularly when there’s so much left to do.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM
😀😐🥲🙂
Happy Partially Muscled Skeleton Day!
November 14, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Happy Partially Muscled Skeleton Day!
Reposted by Thomas House
Today is #WorldDiabetesDay.
#Diabetes can affect anyone, at any stage of life.
Support at home, school, work and during pregnancy makes a real difference.
Listen, learn and show up for those living with diabetes. More info 🔗 bit.ly/4hUOjY0
#Diabetes can affect anyone, at any stage of life.
Support at home, school, work and during pregnancy makes a real difference.
Listen, learn and show up for those living with diabetes. More info 🔗 bit.ly/4hUOjY0
November 14, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Today is #WorldDiabetesDay.
#Diabetes can affect anyone, at any stage of life.
Support at home, school, work and during pregnancy makes a real difference.
Listen, learn and show up for those living with diabetes. More info 🔗 bit.ly/4hUOjY0
#Diabetes can affect anyone, at any stage of life.
Support at home, school, work and during pregnancy makes a real difference.
Listen, learn and show up for those living with diabetes. More info 🔗 bit.ly/4hUOjY0
The *minimum* price per non-profit researcher per project per year to use the "Public Data for Public Good" SAIL data bank is £1500, no exceptions. Does anyone think charging well above marginal costs in this way is remotely acceptable?
November 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM
The *minimum* price per non-profit researcher per project per year to use the "Public Data for Public Good" SAIL data bank is £1500, no exceptions. Does anyone think charging well above marginal costs in this way is remotely acceptable?
It's shameful that this headline is appearing in 2025, primarily a result of grotesque global inequalities.
Africa CDC: Africa experiencing worst cholera outbreak in 25 years
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Africa experiencing worst cholera outbreak in 25 years, health agency warns
Africa CDC said it had recorded about 300,000 cases of cholera this year, with more than 7,000 deaths
www.independent.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 9:37 PM
It's shameful that this headline is appearing in 2025, primarily a result of grotesque global inequalities.
Reposted by Thomas House
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Reposted by Thomas House
Most people have an intuitive sense of "genetic determinism" that isn't shared by most geneticists.
Your 'genes' play a part in who you are, but in a chaotic, unpredictable way because of their interactions with each other, your choices & the environment.
Your 'genes' play a part in who you are, but in a chaotic, unpredictable way because of their interactions with each other, your choices & the environment.
Genetic determinism, essentialism and reductionism: semantic clarity for contested science - Nature Reviews Genetics
In this Perspective, Harden reviews the terms genetic determinism, genetic essentialism and genetic reductionism to provide consensus and clarity about the meaning of these terms. She discusses common...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Most people have an intuitive sense of "genetic determinism" that isn't shared by most geneticists.
Your 'genes' play a part in who you are, but in a chaotic, unpredictable way because of their interactions with each other, your choices & the environment.
Your 'genes' play a part in who you are, but in a chaotic, unpredictable way because of their interactions with each other, your choices & the environment.