HISTORY OF PHYSICS Kurt Symanzik was an influential German physicist. Starting in 1962, he developed Euclidean quantum field theory, surely one of his greatest achievements. He recognized that field theory could be reduced to the structure of classical statistical mechanics 1/

Speech from the Throne > State of the Union

One of the greatest bollard walks in history. #WorldBollardAssociation

When you want to observe qubits without disturbing them.

Seeing a few "why you should not be surprised by the US Supreme Court's decision" comments that would have been much more impressive yesterday. (Also, my uninformed bet is that the tariffs will remain largely in place at the end of 2026, FWIW)

Covering my "Democracy dies in the darkness" tattoo with "Journalism is better when it's backed by live markets."

My 20-year old self would have loved to watch "Fame" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show" this way.

Maybe demystification will win. "Beyond Weird" by @philipcball.bsky.social is the best book I've read on quantum mechanics interpretation and "Decoherence and Quantum Darwinism" looks like the next thing to try. Making quantum less weird, rather than more weird, is the way forward.

Trump will go. Trumpism will stay unless it can be rooted out. And there is no reason at this time to believe it will be.

This is amazing.

That would be nice! I agree - and, in a country immersed in American English-language content, CBC and its Canadian shows would stand out on a streamer that's not FAST or SVOD... just genuinely public.

Unless I misunderstand, the "proceeds" of the tolls are meant to compensate the Canadian government, which, again, has covered the entire bill for constructing and operating this bridge — at a current cost of $6.4 billion. bsky.app/profile/atru...

As @erininthemorning.com says, Jarrett is always interesting. The comments don't all agree though, and I don't know who is more right.

“71,194 drivers who worked for Uber between 2019 and 2022 on independent-contractor agreements should have been defined as employees. The agency was seeking 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in social security contributions, a further 512 million euros in penalties.” www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Yes, but against whom?

Tangential but: there is a phenomenon I've long observed online wherein many people imagine they're talking exclusively to 24-year-olds. It's most obvious in let's say gendered situations (women are presumed young and single which is weird when you're very neither) but carries over elsewhere.

This is preying on my mind a bit. Jeffrey Epstein was not primarily a British scandal! So far we've removed a Prince from the Royal family, fired our US ambassador who was one of the most important political figures of the last few decades and banned the CEO of Barclays from the financial industry..

Interesting new statistical analysis, again confirming that mandatory electronic monitoring in trucking—ostensibly a safety measure—led to *increased* accident and fatality rates after implementation. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Quasi-narcissistically obsessed with how the Harper's letter is getting retroactively anachronistically turned into a document of loyalty to one of the signatories (not a letter organizer, not someone I'd even known was on it not that I'd have cared). phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/p/the-harper...

You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs) Good tech. Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales) Bad tech.

Finally finding that I can ignore headlines with the words "Trump says".

BOOOOORRRRRIINNNNNGGGGG

Fingers crossed that calling it “ice hockey” will be a red line for Alberta separatists

This.

And we are going to have jelly and ice cream and Viktor’s mum says we can stay up until 8 o clock in our clubhouse and there won’t be any girls allowed and you’ll be really sorry. No takesie-backsies.

Excellent observation!

Musk outlined how, even as a young boy growing up under a tyrannical Apartheid-era emerald baron, he dreamed of one day inventing a machine that would instantly generate images of unclothed underage women and post it for all the world to see. www.thebeaverton.com/2026/01/elon...

"I have a framework for doing my homework."

Shrödinger's annexation

You know what we need? Follow up. I'll be impressed when there is actually, real follow up. Not elbows half way, not repealing of policy to placate, real actual follow up.

Some open questions: 🔹 How many teleoperators does Waymo have in the Philippines? In other nations? 🔹 How does Waymo ensure it has enough teleoperators to handle an emergency? (Big fail during the SF blackout last month) 🔹 How are teleoperators vetted? 🔹 What happens if they come to work drunk?

Since Venezuela and Greenland, the limitations of Mark Carney's overall US strategy are coming into sharper focus. The big problem is that it's based on the assumption that politics is downstream from the economy. In fact, the opposite is true.

Me then: "All this dunking on the NYT is silly and mainly unfair" Me now: standoff? You call this one-sided assault a standoff? Fucking hell. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...

Happy Anniversary to all who observe. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-se...

Alberta - Independence Polling: 🔴 Remain: 75% 🔵 Leave: 19% Pollara / Dec 20, 2025 / n=1000 / Online

New York AG demands Instacart hand over information about price tests reut.rs/4qFspLn

Fucking hell. "UK confirms support to US seizure of Russian flagged oil tanker"

I saw this chart in the wild a few days ago and it's been on my mind because the longer I look at it, the more confused I become by it. 📊 I'm fairly sure it's AI generated for a few reasons... A #DataViz thread 🧵

Canada's response on Venezuela is both right, and wrong. It is right to call for all parties to adhere to international law, but the problem is that the US clearly is violating it. Canada needs to be explicit about this, because the US is not just violating Venezuela's sovereignty.

Canada, like other western states, is worried about alienating Trump. But that just invites isolation next time, when it's your turn over the barrel, and everyone else stays silent for fear of alienating Trump. Democracies worthy of the name must stand together for the rule of law, or fall apart.

Responding to what Trump did in Venezuela today is a huge challenge for @mark-carney.bsky.social…

So much chatter about Mamdani but once again I had to turn to actual media to get the real story: that Brampton rapper (and actor!) Babbulicious closed out the inauguration. www.thestar.com/news/gta/new...

It is to Canada's shame we have not spoken out or supported a Canadian judge being sanctioned by the US Her life is frozen. She cannot use credit cards, travel, move money, or access email. This is not sustainable www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...

When "the two Michaels" were being held by China, the @theglobeandmail.com had a banner every day with the duration of their detention, which was a great way to highlight an injustice. Time to do it again now, for Kimberley Prost.

Introduce yourself with what almost killed you. Hi, I'm being hit by a lorry on the way home from school (age 8). Or perhaps my Dad pulling a tablecloth with lit paraffin lamp into his pram, if "almost prevented your birth" counts.

The Beaverton's DUMB WEEK cannot be stopped!

Advocates push for advance #MAiD requests two years after Parliament recommendation. The Liberal government has given no indication of whether it intends to change the existing laws for medical assistance in dying, by Sarah Ritchie www.thestar.com/news/canada/... via @thestar.com

C'mon people it's the freakin year of quantum, vote for this one!