Christian Wilms @ChrisWilms23@qoto.org

Hey folks, I've seen a lot of talk going around about adblockers lately. I worked in the advertising technology and security industry for five years and the one core piece of advice I have is:

Holy fuck never give an advertiser your data. You cannot believe how bad it is. Don't. I run three layers of ad block protection and I'd run more if it was feasible. If you want to support creators give them money.

We thought Google hit rock bottom with #privacy.

Its new beta feature on Google Files for #Android called “Smart Search" is the trap door.

This creepy new feature on by default & scans every file on your phone. Why is this bad? Because it could potentially ruin your life. (1/3)

Regaining your #privacy starts with learning, so we’ve started a book recommendations series focused on privacy and security.

For entry no. 2 on the #ProtonPrivacyReadingList we’ve chosen Carissa Veliz’s “Privacy Is Power”. It discusses how we, as a society, can seize back control of our data and the power that comes with it: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442343/privacy-is-power-by-carissa-veliz/9780552177719

As an intro, check our interview with Carissa here: https://proton.me/blog/carissa-veliz-data-privacy

Meanwhile the cost of creating content with the superficial appearance of well-considered text has fallen off a cliff, thanks to ChatGPT.

So filling the web with quality material is less rewarding than ever, and filling it with shit is orders of magnitude cheaper than ever.

Maybe someone unseats google before the web becomes a wasteland of ChatGPT-authored, search engine-optimized babble.

Immer mehr wechseln von X zu Bluesky. Die Plattform ist umstritten. Unter richtigen Bedingungen kann sie ein wichtiges demokratisches Instrument werden. https://taz.de/Neue-Plattform-Bluesky/!5962148/

Twitter/X is now removing headlines from links and Threads/Meta is prohibiting searches of public health terms like Covid and vaccines.

Billionaires are dangerously restricting people’s access to news.

In 🇩🇪 erheben wir eine CO2-Steuer von 30€, subventionieren aber jede Tonne CO2 weiterhin mit 100€, wollen die Autoabhängigkeit reduzieren, bauen aber neue Autobahnen und wollen mehr Menschen in die Deutsche Bahn locken, besteuern aber ihren Strom höher als das Kerosin der Lufthansa während wir ständig betonen, dass Deutschland das Klima ja nicht alleine retten könne.

A new low, even for #Google. Giving Google permission to share information about you with third-party websites is being falsely advertised as an "ad privacy feature". This is privacy washing at its most extreme. But it gets even worse.

There is a dark pattern on the second screenshot. It isn't just informing you about the fake privacy features. Clicking on "Got it" actually turns on these features that allow Google to use your recent browsing history for ads on third-party websites:

Very proud of Utrecht University @utrechtuniversity for choosing not to participate in the THE 2024 World University Ranking (by not supplying information).

That's how it can be done.

https://dub.uu.nl/nl/nieuws/universiteit-utrecht-doet-niet-meer-mee-met-ranking (in Dutch)

Foxes and hedgehogs in science?

The fox/hedgehog distinction is used to describe 2 different ways people think. The gist goes back to ancient greece and the idea that the hedgehog knows one big thing whereas the fox knows many littler things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hedgehog_and_the_Fox

For scientists, it's sometimes described as how distributed the topics are that you work on (eg mile deep, inch wide versus mile wide, inch deep):
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13437-022-00287-x

A slightly different way to think about it is more along what some call simplifiers vs complexifiers.

When individuals are forecasting elections, pundits (hedgehogs) tend to focus on one big idea and they are less good at forecasting than individuals who take a lot of data in and work to reconcile conflicts (foxes):
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691178288/expert-political-judgment

Similarly, much of this biography about Barbara McClintock can paraphrased with the notion that she was a fox who saw details that would not fit with what the hedgehogs were saying and that led her to some big discoveries about jumping genes:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805074581/afeelingfortheorganism10thaniversaryedition

At the same time, hedgehogs play an important role by keeping their eyes on the forest and connecting the dots together.

There is something powerful to the idea that there are two different but complementary ways of thinking that contribute to science. How do you think about it? Which are you?

@mhoye

The translation module is the labour of a number of European universities in partnership with the Mozilla foundation and the funding for it came from the EU.

You can read about it here: https://browser.mt/

It's a real shame this information didn't make it to the release notes.

@kevinbolding Definitely open source miniature 2P scopes have some fundemental advantages over 1P Miniscopes, specifically depth of imaging, spatial resolution, and optical sectioning. But if you are aiming for imaging within 250um of tissue, only need single cell resolution, and have a brain structure or viral expression approach that doesn't require optical sectioning (which is usually the case) then 1P Miniscopes still have a lot of advantages. These being easier to build and use, ~50x to 100x cheaper, much larger FOV for potentially an order of magnitude more cells, higher fps, ability to be wire-free (and soon to be fully wireless 😉), smaller and lighter, and more flexible cabling when wired (potentially the most important aspect for freely behaving experiments).

It is absolutely amazing to see the growth in this area of the last decade and can't even imagine what will come out over the next.

@jonahbk @waitworry the lack of masking in medical and science fields is the most surprising to me. My own background in biology is a big part of why I feel very confident that masking is the right choice based on the current science.

I went to my optometrist this morning. They don't require customers to mask anymore, but were happy to have all their staff wear masks, including receptionists.

After my appointment finished, I noticed that all the waiting patients had masks as well, which I originally thought was just good luck. However, the receptionist told me that every customer had entered without a mask, and within a few minutes they all either put on their own mask or asked for one from the receptionist, noticing that they were the odd one out.

This experience powerfully showed me that for many, the decision to mask or not is heavily influenced by peer pressure.

Dive into the tiny universe #realtimemicroscopy

@kevinbolding Pixel throughput is much higher with 1p. More pixels + faster framerate— might be critical for fast signals like GluSnFR.

Price is low; 50k - 100k USD lower— no laser. So scaling up to multiple rigs is much more feasible.

It’s possible to go completely wireless — no tether — with 1p (not yet possible for 2p).

MINI2p photonic fiber designed for just one wavelength. 1p imaging can do multiple excitation colors.

Integration with optogenetic stimulation is easier in 1p.

Given your current salary/wage, which would you prefer:

1. 𝟰-𝗱𝗮𝘆 '𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱" 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀, with 32-hour weeks and the same workload you have now.

2. 𝟴-𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 (sabbatical must be taken in 8-consecutive weeks — in addition to your usual PTO — to do whatever you want, but ideally with some goal related to personal or prof'l development).

[Boosts greatly appreciated! I don't have a lot of followers but would love to get at least 100 votes.]

Today was ... interesting. If you followed me for the past months over on the shitbird site, you might have seen a bunch of angry German words, lots of graphs, and the occassional news paper, radio, or TV snippet with yours truely. Let me explain.

In Austria, inflation is way above the EU average. There's no end in sight. This is especially true for basic needs like energy and food.

Our government stated in May that they'd build a food price database together with the big grocery chains. But..

Gov. Kristi Noem, the candidate of Christian family values, has been carrying on a secret extramarital affair with Trump’s ex campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, who urged parents to take their kids to CHURCH not DRAG SHOWS, was caught in a public performance of Beetlejuice, a children’s show, groping and getting groped by her date.

I’ve had it with their hypocritical moralizing. They have no standing to judge or constrain ANYONE else’s private life.