Makes obvs sense that oppression, power, & hierarchy can make it hard to speak up. But maybe less obvs is how silencing happens when everyone seems bound by being all polite & agreeable- almost like an oppressive 'niceness'.

When Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social shared his article about why universities were in trouble and why they need investment, a Labour MP jumped in to say they weren’t a priority for her. She may be surprised at how many people are employed in universities and how important they are to the economy.

Who exactly do they think would switch their vote to Labour if only Wes Streeting were PM? Wes Streeting. I have never understood politics less.

A good speech today by Starmer would have started by either sacking Mahmood or saying something that triggered her resignation.

A persistent feature of Home Office messaging under Keir Starmer + Shabana Mahmood - to strongly prefer to reinforce public hunches over the principle of asylum itself. Eg: students who UK finds have valid asylum claim can't be "genuinely fleeing persecution" [not what the UK has signed up to]

I grew up in this community and I have a few thoughts I want to share. A short thread. www.jewishnews.co.uk/breaking-hat...

"My name may be forgotten when it comes, but the time will arrive when great outbreaks of cholera will be things of the past. And it is the knowledge of the way in which the disease is propagated which will cause them to disappear" Happy birthday to John Snow! His name & his work is not forgotten.

My humble submission to the new Bank of England with concepts for the new bank notes to please both sides.

We’ve reached the point in history where Telegraph and Mail headlines are praying in aid Tony Blair’s views on American wars. Where’s Graham Chapman’s army officer when you need him? m.youtube.com/watch?v=3ANu...

When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

Husband is on jury service. Bloody immigrants, coming over here and trying our criminals.

Amen

I have written a piece articulating what I believe is a reasonably new position on AI, or at least one extremely underrepresented in the discourse, and I hope people will read it. The full piece is behind the New Scientist paywall, but I will share some snippets www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

Should biology put complexity first? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... - excellent essay by @philipcball.bsky.social. I would add epistasis to polygenicity and pleiotropy as a ubiquitous and fundamental phenomenon, not some optional complication that we can try to account for afterwards

To be clear, Bart is relating points of view, not necessarily his own. But goodness, the fact that some in academia think this. It's a prima facie case for compulsory humanities courses, to learn what writing is for and how it works. (And thinking, for that matter.)

I'm SO tired of people looking for "the neuroscience of X" (meaning uninformative neuroimaging pictures) when *the psychology of X* is right there, doing a perfectly good job...

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

The drunk uncle theory. You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there

it's like we inherited our 'self' from 'ourselves'. i mean that's the 'healthy' intuition connected with feeling like a 'self'. it can be an open question. but it *is* a question. or, as you say in the book, a mystery. and it touches everything that has to do with pedagogy.

Just added this to my WordPress site, so it's free to read. homunculusmusic.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/e...

Writing a book worth reading *should* take time. It should take effort. The crafting of it and the thinking in it go hand in hand. And the rewards, for both the author and the readers, come from that effort. That the AI bros don't understand this is disturbing and revealing.

V happy with with this on @bookshelfie.bsky.social: book-shelfie.com/review/livin...

Heaven forbid anyone should be surprised, delighted, or otherwise impassioned, by something unexpected. So much mainstream book publishing works on this model too. How many books are positioned as 'for fans of [author X]' or 'if you liked [author X], you'll like this'?

No system beats First Past the Post for creating scenarios in which people inadvertently help their opponents. It's ideal if you want to strongly disincentivise talented, morally motivated people from going into politics (something Britain has successfully done for centuries).

@bexbookaholic.bsky.social Are you aware of this corner of Bloomsbury?

As promised, one aspect of what I do every day this week. I also work on 'gender mainstreaming' which is basically creating better places which are more gender equal. The great thing about this is that great examples of good practice already exist in Europe so I get to be positive.

‪It has a name now 😜 Many thanks to Ken for agreeing to put his good name to my...artwork. The image is in the public domain (CC 0), but citations to the linked documents are warmly welcomed. ✅ zenodo.org/records/1808... ✅ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24452418/

those who predicted authoritarianism were both dismissed, & deeply misunderstood, by the media my latest for @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2042...

I think the fundamental gap here is that non-creative people think that creative people make things for the end product, when in fact it’s the act of creation and not the end point that makes it worthwhile.

We've partnered with Mental Health Innovations since 2020 to help improve digital mental health services for young people. Behaviour Change MSc students gain real-world experience while their research informs service design & the wider evidence base. 🔗 mentalhealthinnovations.org/news-and-inf...

Looking for the perfect ethical #Christmas gift? Treat someone (or yourself!) to this delicious box of macaroons that supports two amazing causes: #LGBTQI refugees and young people with complex needs. A partnership between Miss Macaroon & Micro Rainbow 🔗 missmacaroon.co.uk/products/chr...

I try to be the kind of person who remembers taken-for-granted privilege: things being able to turn on a tap and have clean drinking water. But then there are the days when all I can think is: enough, finish the damn bathroom already!

@dannybate.bsky.social I had to delay starting your book but, having at last done so, am already delighted by the Introduction: “there is nothing unmanageable about precise, academic vocabulary, so long as it’s introduced and explained properly.” (Never a better judged contraction.)

Because of course Henry had got the full roll call from Dulwich College and of course Trevor Phillips couldn’t even be bothered to read the stories he’s writing about

@nickeardleybbc.bsky.social Can you do anything about headline on your (good) piece on BBC website? Should surely be: “Government to ban profiteering by taxi companies”. This is weaponised clickbait sub-editing - implying asylum seekers choose to do this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On the Expressions of Sheep

@elhammahan.bsky.social Who is the GOAT? 🐐

I know astrology is bunk but… This bird is clearly a Virgo.

So we’re at the point of using a “divided country” to justify doing what one extreme of that division want. Like the time I heard David Wilshire saying Section 28 was needed to prevent “blood on the streets”. Like Powell seeing the Tiber foaming with blood. Point of no return for Labour, I fear.

We are a long way indeed from systematically collecting and acting on the voices of patients. Abolishing Healthwatch and handing responsibility for its work to ICBs (which are themselves undergoing massive reorganisation) is in my own view a very bad move indeed by DHSC.

I wanted to repost every part of this excellent thread. This one will do. Amen.

Qualitative research isn't a consolation prize for when we can't get 'real' numbers. It's a different way of knowing; one that captures complexity, context, and meaning that statistics alone cannot provide.

Well this is very delightful. Went to the bookshop to get this - which is already exciting - and on getting home realised it’s signed by @dannybate.bsky.social himself.

How excited am I? (Clue: more than very.)

All morning R4 has been saying that this will be the first time the head of the Church of England has prayed with the Pope *certainly* since the Reformation and *possibly* ever. I, meanwhile, am screaming at the radio and reaching for the green ink…

Yep

People are not average #532. This train seat has little wings to support your head which are in fact digging into my shoulders.

Is there anything Aristotle *didn't* already think about?

Andy Street is spot on. Birmingham is a brilliant city. Vibrant, diverse, wonderful.