ProfT @ProfT@qoto.org

My wife and many of her friends are sociologists. She forwarded me this text that one of her friends found. Apparently it was also written by a sociologist. I found it helpful. Maybe you will too.

"As a sociologist, I need to tell you that your being overwhelmed is the goal.
1/ The flood of 200+ executive orders in Trump's first days exemplifies Naomi Klein's "shock doctrine" - using chaos and crisis to push through radical changes while people are too disoriented to effectively resist. This isn't just politics as usual - it's a strategic exploitation of cognitive limits.
2/ Media theorist McLuhan predicted this: When humans face information overload, they become passive and disengaged. The rapid-fire executive orders create a cognitive bottleneck, making it nearly impossible for citizens and media to thoroughly analyze any single policy.
3/ Agenda-setting theory explains the strategy: When multiple major policies compete for attention simultaneously, it fragments public discourse. Traditional media can't keep up with the pace, leading to superficial coverage.
The result? Weakened democratic oversight and reduced public engagement.
What now?
1/ Set boundaries: Pick 2-3 key issues you deeply care about and focus your attention there. You can't track everything - that's by design. Impact comes from sustained focus, not scattered awareness.
2/ Use aggregators & experts: Find trusted analysts who do the heavy lifting of synthesis. Look for those explaining patterns, not just events.
3/ Remember: Feeling overwhelmed is the point. When you recognize this, you regain some power. Take breaks. Process. This is a marathon.
4/ Practice going slow: Wait 48hrs before reacting to new policies. The urgent clouds the important. Initial reporting often misses context
5/ Build community: Share the cognitive load. Different people track different issues. Network intelligence beats individual overload.
Remember: They want you scattered. Your focus is resistance.”

UPDATE: it seems that this Threads post is the origin of the above sentiment: https://www.threads.net/@itsjenniferwalter/post/DFIu3Q2q-5P

While I don't love linking to Threads, I think it's important to give credit where credit is due.

#resist #trump

Dear Everybody,

PLEASE for the love of god stop posting your events only on Facebook.

Thanks,
Me

Astronomer Georg Busch on the great comet of 1577:

“…the comet was composed of a sort of obnoxious gas generated by human sin, which floated heavenward until ignited by the wrath of God. As it burned the comet became a prolific celestial polluter, showering its effluence widely over Earth and thereby causing pestilence, Frenchmen, sudden death, bad weather…”

I got this from an interesting blog article by @rmathematicus:

https://thonyc.wordpress.com/2019/02/27/the-emergence-of-modern-astronomy-a-complex-mosaic-part-v/

map of the winds looks terrifying right now
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=357.19,57.29,1870/loc=-29.759,56.569 #StormEowyn #IrishSea #atlantic #eowyn

Daily life in 2025.

#AI #Tech #JustLetMeBe #FFS

@Bundesregierung
@bundestag @ulrichkelber
@bfdi
mit dringender Bitte um Weiterleitung an entsprechende Dienste
https://theconcernedbird.substack.com/p/elon-musks-and-xs-role-in-2024-election

Here’s a list of ActivityPub services that are not Twitter-like, along with a description of what each service does:

Pixelfed - image sharing
Peertube - video sharing
NodeBB - forums
Lemmy - forums
WriteFreely - blog
Friendica - Facebook-like macroblog
Hubzilla - macroblog / CMS
Funkwhale - audio
ActivityPub for WordPress (Plugin) - CMS
ActivityPub for Drupal (Plugin) - CMS
ActivityPub for xwiki (Plugin) - wiki
ActivityPub for Discourse (Plugin) - forums
Kbin - forums
Mbin - forums
Bookwyrm - book reviews
Owncast - video streaming
Pinetta - pins
Nextcloud - data storage
Plume - blog
Castopod - podcasts
Mobilizion - events
Flohmarkt - classifieds
Loops - video sharing
Gancio - events
Piefed - forums
wafrn - Tumblr-like blog
Lotide - forum / link aggregator
Postmarks - social bookmarking
Manyfold - 3D print sharing
Ghost - CMS
Brutalinks - link aggregator

There’s a lot more stuff, so let me know what I may have missed.

Science not silence!

Can a headline alone be eligible for a Pulitzer?

CONFIRMED: Facebook has *banned* anyone from linking to Pixelfed. #MetaBlockingPixelfed I just tried posting a message on Facebook that reads: "Anyone here using Pixelfed?" with a link to Pixelfed.Social Within *seconds* I got a post saying my post was banned. Screenshots below.

Happy New Year.

Adopt the French work ethic.

RT by @daniel_freund: Elon #Musk ist ausgestattet mit Milliarden u. ungebändigter Kommunikationsmacht. Sein Aufruf für die AfD hat System: Er will Europa schwächen.

Es braucht Begrenzung von Macht: Kein Geschäftsmodell darf unsere Demokratie zerstören.

#Europa muss seine Macht nun konsequent nutzen.
---
https://nitter.privacydev.net/AnAudretsch/status/1874036426561773824#m

Elon Musk's vicious attacks on Wikipedia are only the latest in right-wing fear and loathing campaign against open, accurate information. See this @molly0xfff newsletter post on this -- the context is essential.

https://www.citationneeded.news/elon-musk-and-the-rights-war-on-wikipedia/

(Please donate to Wikipedia, too!)

Hilarious article from my friend Amanda Marcotte on how tyrannical MAGA influencers are trying to ruin heterosexuality https://www.salon.com/2024/12/27/tradwives-incels-and-cat-ladies-the-year-maga-broke-heterosexuality/