Cin-Ty Lee

Next Monday @riceuniversity.bsky.social we have a panel discussion on the geopolitics of critical minerals for the energy transition. Geology does not distribute natural resources fairly. This leads to a complex web of trade and geopolitical tensions.

events.rice.edu/event/415347...

Basaltic dike crosscutting Precambrian granites and arc cumulates. Arabian Shield on the flank of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.

A Western Willet flying over me. In the fall, the Eastern Willets along the coast fly south to their wintering grounds and are replaced by Western Willets returning from the north. Willets are here year round, but the two species trade places every season. And yes, they are different species.

We r having a panel discussion on critical minerals Dec 8 @riceuniversity.bsky.social in conjunction with the French Consulate of Houston.

indeed, one needs a whole team of people to correct AI outputs! maybe that's how AI will create jobs. LOL

AI, whether we like it or not, is here to stay. And that scares me. How do we ensure that the next generation actually learns how to think if AI is too easy to access? It's already happening at the universities...

agree 100%... I am seeing so many scientists using it, so I got curious. AI is a great way to become an idiot.

AI is great for speeding certain processes up. It's a good tool for those who already have decades of domain expertise. But the race to bring AI into our world is sure to produce the most uncreative and unimaginative generation in the history of human evolution.

After seemingly disappearing for 5 days, our Allen's Hummingbird @riceuniversity in Houston, TX has returned. Where did to go to all this time?

I think it's useful for most math and facts. It's also useful for jogging one's memory or perhaps providing some rudimentary direction, but it's most useful for someone with deep domain knowledge. It is dangerous for someone who is not strong in fundamentals.

Update: well, not surprisingly, nobody can agree on this bird. We will relegate this bird to the dustbins of American Herring/Vega.

AI is a tool, often useful, but I am seeing many begin to rely on AI for their research, writing papers, ideation, etc. This is a very dangerous path we are embarking on.

so I've been playing around with AI (GPT), asking it how Pt-bearing sulfide layers form in layered intrusions. I asked critical questions, prompted it to think about physics, and after many iterations, it came up with this model. Utter nonsense, violating physics! Be very careful of AI.

Galveston, upper Texas coast this am. What appears to be a Vega Gull, the recently split Siberian counterpart of the Herring Gull complex. We had a good gull day.

Sure go ahead

Another Allen’s Hummingbird @riceuniversity.bsky.social in Houston. Amazing we’ve now had two. Our garden is working!

Wow not bad. I tend to underestimate

I need help! Scaly-breasted Munias. How many birds in this photo? Trying to estimate how many birds we have, but they keep moving around. Curious how much variance there might be between observers. So first, give me your quick estimate and then count them carefully. How do your numbers compare?

Billion year old shallow water stromatolitic carbonates contact metamorphosed. Green layers with diopside and occasional grossular garnet. Sedimentary layers are preserved, including ripples! Franklin Mountains, El Paso, Texas.

A view of the mid-Tertiary andesitic porphyry of Cristo Rey in El Paso, straddling the Mexican-US border. The laccolith intruded into Cretaceous sediments, pushing them apart. @riceeeps.bsky.social @riceuniversity.bsky.social geology field trip to west texas

In search of pegmatites in the Precambrian Arabian shield. These dikes show the more fine-grained nature of the dike margins and the coarse-grained nature of the dike core due to differential cooling rates. Saudi Arabia.

Here in Houston @riceuniversity our soccer fields attract migrating meadowlarks in late October and early November. One might assume they are the expected Easterns but most have turned out to be Westerns. They r difficult to identify: subtle differences in face, tail and tertial patterns and vocals

And it continues. a winter wren in our urban little patch. One cannot restore urban spaces to their original state, but one can build a diversity of microhabitats that provide cover for migrating birds.

Our little bird habitat @riceuniversity is still on fire. And migration is still on. Yesterday, an Ash-throated Flycatcher showed up. First record for my local patch, making this the 276th species documented for an urban hotspot.

Birds, birds, birds. Showing Christian Cooper the birds of Houston Audubon’s Bolivar flats bird sanctuary on the upper Texas coast and learning from him how to tell stories.

Cedar waxwings are not here yet. But I’m waiting for them. When they come, I know it’s winter. Pen and ink.

800 Wood Storks flew over @riceuniversity.bsky.social at noon today. on their way back south to Mexico for the winter. A magical sight that happens every year, but largely unnoticed because they fly high.

I have emptied out my lab. 25 years. We will soon tear it all down and rebuild for new faculty. The lab looks much bigger without the mass spectrometer. Some of the most critical parts are in my office now. A new chapter awaits.

A little rain in Texas would be nice. It’s been quite dry.

I have a few interesting bricks.