Steve Senior
@stevensenior.bsky.social
Consultant in Public Health. Recovering civil servant. Lapsed neuroscientist. Ex-paper boy and former donut stand operator. Ultracrepidarian. Elaborate food pipe. Denizen of West Yorkshire. Opinions my own, re-posts are not endorsements.
Reposted by Steve Senior
Oh blimey, here we go again. Time to vote in the National Trust AGM to keep so-called 'Restore Trust' off the council. Use the quick vote to ensure we don't split the anti-Restore vote. Or.... 1/2 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
Annual General Meeting
Your Annual General Meeting will take place online and in person on Saturday 7th November 2026 at the STEAM Museum, Swindon.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
September 11, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Oh blimey, here we go again. Time to vote in the National Trust AGM to keep so-called 'Restore Trust' off the council. Use the quick vote to ensure we don't split the anti-Restore vote. Or.... 1/2 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
Reposted by Steve Senior
Christening a baby is nothing like christening a ship. I know that now. Once again I can only apologise.
September 20, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Christening a baby is nothing like christening a ship. I know that now. Once again I can only apologise.
Reposted by Steve Senior
The tells for this tend to be (a) the event is in the next 1-10 days and (b) the email includes the line, "if you are unable to attend, please suggest other people in your network" (or variants thereof) which is definitely code for pLs sEnD WiMmiN
September 20, 2026 at 1:13 PM
The tells for this tend to be (a) the event is in the next 1-10 days and (b) the email includes the line, "if you are unable to attend, please suggest other people in your network" (or variants thereof) which is definitely code for pLs sEnD WiMmiN
As someone with a little knowledge of neuroscience and a passing interest in philosophy of mind, this is a great illustration of why I'm not going anywhere near these arguments online. Even getting to agreement on basic terminology involves a bloodbath.
It’s somehow even dumber. They’re arguing that when I said “there’s no evidence of non-mechanical basis for cognition,” I meant mechanical in the sense of literal solid machinery. “No you idiot, it’s chemicals and electricity!” has been the rebuttal.
Dumbest people alive
Dumbest people alive
Lol that Stancil-haters are going to reinvent the Cartesian role of the pineal gland just to spite him.
September 20, 2026 at 1:45 PM
As someone with a little knowledge of neuroscience and a passing interest in philosophy of mind, this is a great illustration of why I'm not going anywhere near these arguments online. Even getting to agreement on basic terminology involves a bloodbath.
Reposted by Steve Senior
spiciest quadrant: "souls are real but *only* AI has them"
September 20, 2026 at 7:00 AM
spiciest quadrant: "souls are real but *only* AI has them"
The youngest has made consent forms...
September 20, 2026 at 8:07 AM
The youngest has made consent forms...
They do. But they don't half moan when you propose closing roads.
September 19, 2026 at 3:46 PM
They do. But they don't half moan when you propose closing roads.
This is also true of influencers and other assorted heavily online types.
September 19, 2026 at 11:56 AM
This is also true of influencers and other assorted heavily online types.
Medical AI has a proof problem
Really good and important article. Echoes a lot of issues I come across in practice.
Really good and important article. Echoes a lot of issues I come across in practice.
Medical AI has a proof problem
The technology’s advances have not yet translated into big improvements in real-life care
www.ft.com
September 18, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Medical AI has a proof problem
Really good and important article. Echoes a lot of issues I come across in practice.
Really good and important article. Echoes a lot of issues I come across in practice.
Reposted by Steve Senior
Reposted by Steve Senior
I don't know what the Blockbusters board has got to do with state fiscal conditions but ok.
Tightening state fiscal conditions — combined with other budgetary pressures, like federal Medicaid spending cuts in the 2025 reconciliation law — may increase the likelihood of states enacting Medicaid restrictions: https://on.kff.org/3SVUbIB
September 18, 2026 at 3:27 PM
I don't know what the Blockbusters board has got to do with state fiscal conditions but ok.
Reposted by Steve Senior
Delete delete delete! None if it is my problem. I’m here for all the best parenting tips
September 18, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Delete delete delete! None if it is my problem. I’m here for all the best parenting tips
This is one reason* why I hate the barrage of emails from school telling me when my son has been set homework, when it's due, reminders, and when he's done it.
He needs to learn how to manage this stuff himself, even if that means getting it wrong and getting in trouble for it.
He needs to learn how to manage this stuff himself, even if that means getting it wrong and getting in trouble for it.
Why are Gen Z more anxious and less workplace ready? It’s a mystery.
This one’s for you @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
September 18, 2026 at 9:52 AM
This is one reason* why I hate the barrage of emails from school telling me when my son has been set homework, when it's due, reminders, and when he's done it.
He needs to learn how to manage this stuff himself, even if that means getting it wrong and getting in trouble for it.
He needs to learn how to manage this stuff himself, even if that means getting it wrong and getting in trouble for it.
Reposted by Steve Senior
holy shit, this is the whole ballgame in a single paragraph
gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway
gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway
Eye popping. Court just unsealed Summary Judgment motions in New York Times v OpenAI / Microsoft.
Easy to see why the AI companies had so many redactions (pink). Their own people wrote the lede for NYT, the "largest theft of labor in human history"... "more and more substitutive..." /1
Easy to see why the AI companies had so many redactions (pink). Their own people wrote the lede for NYT, the "largest theft of labor in human history"... "more and more substitutive..." /1
September 17, 2026 at 10:26 PM
holy shit, this is the whole ballgame in a single paragraph
gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway
gAI systems require mass theft of copyrighted works, for the explicit purpose of replacing the market for the people they stole from, and the people in charge knew what they were doing ahead of time, and did it anyway
Reposted by Steve Senior
Documented health outcomes vs. vibes: which will resonate?
September 18, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Documented health outcomes vs. vibes: which will resonate?
Reposted by Steve Senior
Toxicologist here. If you have a working liver and kidneys then you are already “detoxing.” Supplement use is one of the leading causes of liver and kidney failure. The only thing you’re getting rid of when you fall for these predatory wellness grifts is your money.
“Detoxing” now actively dangerous. Incredible work, supplement industry ghouls. 🧪
IV drips used for "detoxification" actually filled with toxins; dozens poisoned
The IV drips included glutathione, which was not made to be injected.
arstechnica.com
September 17, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Toxicologist here. If you have a working liver and kidneys then you are already “detoxing.” Supplement use is one of the leading causes of liver and kidney failure. The only thing you’re getting rid of when you fall for these predatory wellness grifts is your money.
Gentle parenting is complete nonsense isn't it?
The little sods just use it to run rings round you.
The little sods just use it to run rings round you.
September 17, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Gentle parenting is complete nonsense isn't it?
The little sods just use it to run rings round you.
The little sods just use it to run rings round you.
Reposted by Steve Senior
NEW WRITING 👀
I finally got my shit together and wrote a little newsletter about the Spectrum of Allies which is a helpful exercise and a better theory of change than "nobody with a bad point of view can ever change their mind"
Please read and use and share the links within!!!
I finally got my shit together and wrote a little newsletter about the Spectrum of Allies which is a helpful exercise and a better theory of change than "nobody with a bad point of view can ever change their mind"
Please read and use and share the links within!!!
The Spectrum of Allies is Better than Pessimistic Binaries
A theory and tool that can help you rethink the work head
news.chanda.science
September 17, 2026 at 5:05 PM
NEW WRITING 👀
I finally got my shit together and wrote a little newsletter about the Spectrum of Allies which is a helpful exercise and a better theory of change than "nobody with a bad point of view can ever change their mind"
Please read and use and share the links within!!!
I finally got my shit together and wrote a little newsletter about the Spectrum of Allies which is a helpful exercise and a better theory of change than "nobody with a bad point of view can ever change their mind"
Please read and use and share the links within!!!
Also this is what Oxbridge PPE graduates are for.
if i needed someone to be confidently wrong i'd ask my mum
September 17, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Also this is what Oxbridge PPE graduates are for.
Reposted by Steve Senior
mortality data are sacred. counting deaths accurately is a recognition of the inherent value of every human life. few actions are more anti-public health than fudging these numbers.
September 14, 2026 at 5:28 AM
mortality data are sacred. counting deaths accurately is a recognition of the inherent value of every human life. few actions are more anti-public health than fudging these numbers.
Reposted by Steve Senior
i want to just remind people that california has been a cultic center since spanish colonization and in particular over the last 150 years
September 17, 2026 at 12:47 PM
i want to just remind people that california has been a cultic center since spanish colonization and in particular over the last 150 years
Reposted by Steve Senior
DOGE’s efforts "have backfired, creating bottlenecks and confusion... hundreds of new hires are waiting on administrative processing before they can begin work." Yet "longtime career staff have continued to flee... a net loss of more than 700 staff in the first half of 2026, despite the hiring push"
The FDA’s rebuilding effort is running into a new challenge
The FDA's plan to hire thousands of new workers is being slowed by an overwhelmed HR center.
www.statnews.com
September 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM
DOGE’s efforts "have backfired, creating bottlenecks and confusion... hundreds of new hires are waiting on administrative processing before they can begin work." Yet "longtime career staff have continued to flee... a net loss of more than 700 staff in the first half of 2026, despite the hiring push"
If I were an investor and I saw executives spouting incoherent babble like this I might reconsider my investment.
#BBCNews - Tech treating AI like humans is mistaken and misguided, Microsoft boss tells BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Tech treating AI like humans is mistaken and misguided, Microsoft boss tells BBC
Mustafa Suleyman says he believes the AI giant is in effect teaching Claude it "may be conscious".
www.bbc.co.uk
September 17, 2026 at 7:11 AM
If I were an investor and I saw executives spouting incoherent babble like this I might reconsider my investment.
Reposted by Steve Senior
Every time an editor assigns a journalist a story about how climate change is making some disease worse before there's any god damn evidence (cough cough hantavirus) I lose about a month off my lifespan from how high my blood pressure goes
September 17, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Every time an editor assigns a journalist a story about how climate change is making some disease worse before there's any god damn evidence (cough cough hantavirus) I lose about a month off my lifespan from how high my blood pressure goes