psi's recent activity
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Comment on Larry David: My dinner with Adolf Hitler (gifted link) in ~society
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Comment on Astronomers detect a possible signature of life on a distant planet (gifted link) in ~space
psi (edited )Link ParentI'm not an expert (maybe @gpl knows more), but I'm not sure that their modeling software makes any assumptions about the composition of the planet (other than the atmosphere). From what I gather,...I'm not an expert (maybe @gpl knows more), but I'm not sure that their modeling software makes any assumptions about the composition of the planet (other than the atmosphere). From what I gather, they consider a set of candidate models (consisting of sets of molecules that may or may not exist in the atmosphere), compute the hypothetical spectra for these candidate models (fig 4), and then compare these models with the observed spectrum (fig 6).
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Comment on Astronomers detect a possible signature of life on a distant planet (gifted link) in ~space
psi LinkThe publication is now available.The publication is now available.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 14 in ~society
psi Link"Judge Threatens Contempt Proceedings Over Deportation Flights to El Salvador." The New York Times. (gift) The ruling is available here.- "Judge Threatens Contempt Proceedings Over Deportation Flights to El Salvador." The New York Times. (gift)
[Judge Boasberg] said that if the White House did not come up with some way of giving the Venezuelans an opportunity to contest their deportations, he would order sworn declarations from Trump officials in an effort to determine who in the administration was responsible for disobeying his instructions.
If that failed to turn up the culprit, Judge Boasberg said he would then require depositions from officials or hold “hearings with live witness testimony under oath.”
If that technique was unsuccessful, too, Judge Boasberg said he would refer the case to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
And given the unlikelihood that the department under Mr. Trump’s control would bring charges, Judge Boasberg said he would avail himself of one final gambit: using a special provision of criminal contempt law that permits him, as the judge overseeing the matter, to appoint a lawyer from outside the department to prosecute the contempt.
The ruling is available here.
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Comment on Astronomers detect a possible signature of life on a distant planet (gifted link) in ~space
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Comment on El Salvador won’t return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland resident; Department of Justice will leave it up to El Salvador in ~society
psi (edited )Link ParentI'm leaning towards @skybrian's take. No courts have yet ruled on whether it's even lawful to send people to CECOT, but surely Bukele's comments are a massive strike against its legality. From...I'm leaning towards @skybrian's take. No courts have yet ruled on whether it's even lawful to send people to CECOT, but surely Bukele's comments are a massive strike against its legality. From Sotomayor's additional statement to the order:
Moreover, it has been the Government’s own well-established policy to “facilitate [an] alien’s return to the United States if . . . the alien’s presence is necessary for continued administrative removal proceedings” in cases where a noncitizen has been removed pending immigration proceedings. See U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Directive 11061.1, Facilitating the Return to the United States of Certain Lawfully Removed Aliens, §2 (Feb. 24, 2012).
But if Bukele were to preemptively blocks such requests, that would preclude possible relief.
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Comment on El Salvador won’t return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland resident; Department of Justice will leave it up to El Salvador in ~society
psi (edited )Link"‘Nothing Has Been Done’: Judge Rebukes U.S. Effort to Return Wrongly Deported Man." The New York Times. This judge continues to hold the government's feet to the fire. Meanwhile the government...“To date nothing has been done,” the judge, Paula Xinis, told a lawyer for the Justice Department. “Nothing.”
The stern words came during a hearing in Federal District Court in Maryland, where Judge Xinis said that she intended to force Trump officials to answer questions — both in writing and in depositions — about what they had done so far to get the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, out of the prison.
Noting that every passing day was another that Mr. Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old father of three, suffered harm in Salvadoran custody, the judge set up a fast schedule for officials to provide documents and sit for depositions.
“We’re going to move,” she said. “There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding.”
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In her written order, Judge Xinis said that she would allow Mr. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to make 15 requests for documents and depose as many as six administration officials.
This judge continues to hold the government's feet to the fire.
Meanwhile the government continues to equivocate over the difference between "facilitate" and "effectuate" (a distinction without a difference if there ever was one). However, the government's argument hinges on whether the Trump administration enter into any good-faith negotiations with the Salvadoran government; if there exist records of this administration negotiating to not return Mr Abrego Garcia -- a hypothetical which seems entirely plausible to me -- that would be a flagrant violation of the Supreme Court's order.
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Comment on El Salvador won’t return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland resident; Department of Justice will leave it up to El Salvador in ~society
psi (edited )LinkThe title is bullshit, even if it is an accurate summary of the byline. This administration never had any intention of letting Mr Abrego Garcia return, and now they're trying to redirect any...The title is bullshit, even if it is an accurate summary of the byline. This administration never had any intention of letting Mr Abrego Garcia return, and now they're trying to redirect any blowback to El Salvador.
It should now be clear to everyone why government lawyers were so insistent on postponing Mr Abrego Garcia's hearing until after Monday. They had hoped to be able sincerely argue that their hands were tired by foreign policy; instead they were exposed for their naked pretextual reasoning.
I hope all the government lawyers involved are sanctioned.
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Comment on Where do you all get your news from? How do you work to avoid echo chambers and propaganda? in ~life
psi (edited )LinkThere are two parts to your question, but I'll start with the second. As you have already identified, you shouldn't rely primarily on news aggregators. I don't think it's really possible to avoid...How do you work to avoid echo chambers and propaganda?
There are two parts to your question, but I'll start with the second.
As you have already identified, you shouldn't rely primarily on news aggregators. I don't think it's really possible to avoid group-think -- to some extent, it's probably built into our DNA -- but you can at least avoid algorithm-driven group-think by finding articles directly from the paper's website. The most important articles will generally be the most visible.
I would also advise people to give approximately zero weight to anecdotes on social media. I don't think people appreciate enough that journalists, especially those at preeminent papers, are experts in their field; they will generally do a much better job at summarizing a complex issue than, say, some anonymous redditor. That does not mean that journalists are faultless or unbiased. But they at least sign their names to the articles they write and can be held accountable for their words. Most social media users are just parroting information from an article anyway, so you may as well just skip the game of telephone.
Finally, consider visiting the primary source if it's available. Supreme Court decisions, for instance, are often surprisingly readable.
Where do you all get your news from?
I like the The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. I realize people complain about the first two (for valid reasons), but they're both considered newspapers of record, and their editorial boards are considerably less obnoxious than The Wall Street Journal's. That said, of the three papers I read regularly, I would say that The Atlantic has the most thought-provoking articles; it just doesn't publish as frequently as the other two. (I realize that it sounds a bit expensive to subscribe to three newspapers, but I will let you in on a secret: you can access virtually all of The Atlantic's articles for free via their RSS feed.) I also supplement my media diet with my Google news feed, predominantly for local news coverage.
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Comment on The Tiny Soapbox: a platform for small, low-stakes rants in ~talk
psi Link ParentGood point, although I'm not sure that's always true in Germany. (I can think of at least one store where the doors open inward to leave, which always struck me as a fire hazard. ) But perhaps...Good point, although I'm not sure that's always true in Germany. (I can think of at least one store where the doors open inward to leave, which always struck me as a fire hazard. ) But perhaps there is some requirement for buildings of a certain size and age? In any case, I think all the doors in my building do, in fact, open outwards along the evacuation routes (other than the bathrooms), so your suggestion is a good one.
But dammit, I don't want to think about it! Truthfully I could probably remember whether any given door opens inward and outwards if I gave it a moment's thought. But I'd rather just navigate through the building on auto-pilot while giving attention to more pressing matters (i.e. anything else).
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Comment on The Tiny Soapbox: a platform for small, low-stakes rants in ~talk
psi (edited )Linkahem Two-centicent rant #1: You know doors? In particular, how they sometimes open inwards and other times they open outwards? A visually well-designed door makes its operation obvious, e.g. maybe...ahem
Two-centicent rant #1: You know doors? In particular, how they sometimes open inwards and other times they open outwards? A visually well-designed door makes its operation obvious, e.g. maybe there's a horizontal bar on one side that indicates the door should be pushed open. My employer chose another design philosophy. I have been working in this building for nearly three years and I still struggle to remember which doors open inwards and which open outwards.
Two-centicent rant #2: I live in a decently large German city. That puts me thousands of miles closer to Belgium than most people in this thread. Yet I can find at least as many Belgian beers in any given American convenience store than the local Getränkemarkt, a grocery store dedicated specifically to selling beverages. And I make that qualification with absolute confidence because there are no Belgian beers in my local Getränkemarkt. Like, half the store is filled with bottles of water! Are people really more interested in purchasing their favorite brand of Sprudelwasser than enjoying a Belgian Tripel? And the issue is hardly limited to Belgian ales: I have an easier time finding certain German beers in America than in Germany!
Two-centicent rant #3: Why are automatically-flushing toilets even a thing? Do we really have so little faith in humanity that we can't expect someone to flush a toilet when they're finished with their business? Certainly this decision was not made for my convenience: I would much rather yank a lever than risk being kissed by Poseidon because a sensor misfired. But that's assuming it even activates at all -- I'll take the lever over having to rub-off a nub.
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Comment on Why US President Donald Trump's tariff chaos actually makes sense (big picture) in ~society
psi Link ParentI'll put it another way: there are approximately 8 billion people in the world, of which less than 5% are located in America. Why should we expect America to be better than every other country in...I'll put it another way: there are approximately 8 billion people in the world, of which less than 5% are located in America. Why should we expect America to be better than every other country in the world at every industry? Moreover, why should we expect America (GDP per capita of $87,000) to have balanced trade with, say, Angola (GDP per capita of $2,300)?
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Comment on Help me understand how half of USA is on board with the idea of creating "short term pain" in ~society
psi Link ParentYeah, this reads like textbook cognitive dissonance -- nobody votes for a candidate expressly because they think the candidate will make things worse. Presumably this gentleman voted for Trump...Yeah, this reads like textbook cognitive dissonance -- nobody votes for a candidate expressly because they think the candidate will make things worse.
Presumably this gentleman voted for Trump because he though Trump the better nominee. But by this twisted reasoning, shouldn't he have instead voted for Harris, whom we were repeatedly told would be worse for the economy, crime rates, foreign affairs, etc?
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Comment on 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving the country in ~society
psi Link ParentYup, generally all meetings are held in English -- there was no additional language requirement for my contract. I only ever hear German in the office when Germans are conversing among themselves,...Yup, generally all meetings are held in English -- there was no additional language requirement for my contract. I only ever hear German in the office when Germans are conversing among themselves, but even then they will switch to English if I join them.
That said, I did hear of one research group (with foreign students/postdocs) that insisted in holding all of their group meetings in German. That struck me as pretty shitty but also atypical.
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Comment on 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving the country in ~society
psi Link ParentI'm an American scientist doing a postdoc abroad (Germany). I think these positions have always been available for Americans who choose to pursue them; they just generally choose not to. Within...I'm an American scientist doing a postdoc abroad (Germany).
I think these positions have always been available for Americans who choose to pursue them; they just generally choose not to. Within Europe it's much more common for people to venture outside their home country for graduate studies/postdocs/permanent positions. (In my current research group, we have a single German postdoc versus four non-German postdocs.) But this arrangement mostly comes from necessity: if America has dozens of good labs for a specific research topic, the typical European country might have only two or three. It's only by taking Europe as a whole that you get something comparable to America's research output.
So yes, an American scientist could roughly double their career options by applying for positions abroad. (And frankly, if you're an American scientist who's ever fancied the idea of living abroad, I'd recommend taking the opportunity.) But living abroad is hard, the difficulty of which I don't think anyone can fully appreciate until they've experienced it themselves. Imagine yourself embedded in an unfamiliar language and culture, separated by friends and family by thousands of miles away, all while having to navigate foreign bureaucracies, housing markets, telephone contracts, etc. None of this is conducive to doing research. Why subject yourself to that when there are options at home?
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Comment on An ‘administrative error’ sends a Maryland father to a Salvadoran prison in ~society
psi Link[archive link] I can't read these articles without tearing up. This isn't "deportation"; this is state-sponsored human trafficking. This is absolutely fucked.The Trump administration acknowledged in a court filing Monday that it had grabbed a Maryland father with protected legal status and mistakenly deported him to El Salvador, but said that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction to order his return from the megaprison where he’s now locked up.
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Trump administration attorneys told the court to dismiss the request on multiple grounds, including that Trump’s “primacy in foreign affairs” outweighs the interests of Abrego Garcia and his family.
“They claim that the court is powerless to order any relief,’’ Sandoval-Moshenberg told me. “If that’s true, the immigration laws are meaningless—all of them—because the government can deport whoever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it’s done.”
I can't read these articles without tearing up. This isn't "deportation"; this is state-sponsored human trafficking.
This is absolutely fucked.
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An ‘administrative error’ sends a Maryland father to a Salvadoran prison
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Comment on An engineer says he’s found a way to overcome Earth’s gravity in ~space
psi (edited )Link ParentThere is a patent (filed in 2019). However, the mere existence of a patent proves little, and the particular physics justification does not strike me as especially rigorous (but I'm not planning...There is a patent (filed in 2019). However, the mere existence of a patent proves little, and the particular physics justification does not strike me as especially rigorous (but I'm not planning to read it carefully). Having a student debunk the proposal would probably make for a fun homework assignment for someone taking graduate E&M, but that won't be me because I'm hoping to never crack open Jackson again.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 24 in ~society
psi Link ParentNo problem. Gift link.No problem. Gift link.
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Comment on The Donald Trump US administration accidentally texted me its war plans in ~society
psi Link ParentI'm pretty sure giving the reporter a warning would protect both of them less. Everything about this situation already sounds like a crime; intentionally inviting someone to a conversation they...Including telling the reporter why he was invited in a DM, before inviting him.
This is the key, for me. Give the reporter a heads up to protect yourself a little.
I'm pretty sure giving the reporter a warning would protect both of them less. Everything about this situation already sounds like a crime; intentionally inviting someone to a conversation they weren't supposed to be privy to would make Waltz's action all the more criminal, thereby increasing the legal exposure of both Waltz and Goldberg. Much better to say nothing and feign ignorance (assuming this wasn't simply a genuine fuck-up).
I once heard Maher described something like this: