John Sands

Three schematic diagrams. The first illustrates selective publishing of internal resection, the second selective causal focus, and the third selective access and funding for researchers.

1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.

There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.

America Is Sliding Toward Illiteracy Declining standards and low expectations are destroying American education.

American students are falling behind, and the most common explanations overlook the main problem, Idrees Kahloon argues.

west coast of mexico, near nayarit. sublime.

song of the chachalaca

mexico lindo

A C.I.A. Secret Kept for 35 Years Is Found in the Smithsonian’s Vault

New copyright scenario: lawyers threaten researchers over cryptographic solution found in Smithsonian archive

🍊

Lunch today: Taqueria El Califa de León, CDMX

Even without jobs data, Google Search Results for "Unemployment Benefits" being at a post-Covid high is probably —and I hate to use such labor econ/technical jargon here, but it's probably— "not good."

#EconSky

Bluesky Jobs Bluesky Jobs

Are you a lawyer? Do you enjoy working on small teams tackling big things? We’re hiring a senior counsel.

jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned to raise money for public TV stations after funding cuts Thirty paintings by Bob Ross are set to be auctioned to support public television stations after federal funding cuts.

Thirty paintings created by the bushy-haired, soft-spoken Bob Ross will soon be up for auction to defray the costs of programming for small and rural public television stations suffering under cuts in federal funding.

Governing Babel: John Wihbey on Platforms, Power, and the Future of Free Expression | TechPolicy.Press Wihbey is the author of Governing Babel: The Debate over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech—and What Comes Next, a book from MIT Press.

For this week's podcast, I spoke to John Wihbey, an associate professor at Northeastern University and the author of a new book titled Governing Babel: The Debate Over Social Media Platforms and Free Speech—And What Comes Next. Listen here:

The Comma Queen’s Lesson on “Who” Versus “Whom” Does civilization depend on the proper use of “who” and “whom”?

An absurdly simple trick for choosing between “who” and “whom.”

Signal Protocol and Post-Quantum Ratchets We are excited to announce a significant advancement in the security of the Signal Protocol: the introduction of the Sparse Post Quantum Ratchet (SPQR). This new ratchet enhances the Signal Protocol’s...

"This new ratchet enhances the Signal Protocol’s resilience against future quantum computing threats while maintaining our existing security guarantees of forward secrecy and post-compromise security." Fascinating @meredithmeredith.bsky.social!

This was such a great convo and thrilled to be part of a whole series on scams and schemes. Thanks @alixdunn.com !

Bluesky's Patent Non-Aggression Pledge - Bluesky Bluesky develops open protocols. We're taking a short and simple patent non-aggression pledge to ensure that everybody feels confident building on them.

Bravo 👏 to @jay.bsky.team, @pfrazee.com and the other folks behind @bsky.app!

They just released the Bluesky software SDKs and reference implementations under open source licenses and are also making a patent non-aggression pledge. bsky.social/about/blog/1...

A small fluffy dog sits outside at a European cafe. They are surrounded by classical architecture. In front of them is a small cup of coffee, designer sunglasses, and a designer purse.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett walking with each other. Gates is wearing a peach colored short sleeve button-up shirt with tan chinos. Buffett is wearing a bright green, short sleeved shirt with geckos all over it. He also has stone colored pants.

online style accounts that try to look rich vs actual rich people

Can we install updated versions of this on all of Philly’s surface parking lots?

Tune in as I live tweet @stanfordcyber.bsky.social’s Trust and Safety Research Conference!! #TSRConf

How Signal’s Meredith Whittaker Remembers SignalGate: ‘No Fucking Way’ The Signal Foundation president recalls where she was when she heard Trump cabinet officials had added a journalist to a highly sensitive group chat.

I loved talking to Signal's @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, who is such a consistent, clear voice of sanity (and always a great interview).

We talked about (of course) SignalGate, what AI means for Signal, why tech bros continue to be such a disappointment, and much more. Read, listen, etc!

Appreciate these insights from @emollick.bsky.social.

But the "wizard problem" isn't that AI is too opaque. It's that we're designing systems that hide their processes. We could build AI that shows its work, explains, and lets us intervene. Instead we're choosing black boxes and calling it magic.

How Wikipedia Can Save the Internet With Advertising | TechPolicy.Press Robin Berjon explores how principled advertising on Wikipedia could fund a democratic digital future.

The internet's in a bad place. We're not winning. How can we turn things around? We need money.

What parts of the internet 1) are still under democratic control and 2) are in a position to produce significant revenue? It's mostly down to Wikipedia.

But there's more… 🧵

Marilyn Hagerty, Herald reporter and columnist for nearly 70 years, dies at age 99 She wrote for the Herald for more than 60 years and became nationally famous for her work as a food critic.

In a kinder, gentler time, Marilyn Hagerty’s very earnest review of the Olive Garden was an internet sensation. The internet used to bring us joy.

RIP to one of the greats: www.grandforksherald.com/news/marilyi...