tom
@atomgardner.com
Reposted by tom
The dominant model of opinion dynamics has long assumed that people average all views, outliers included.
In a new paper, SFI's Kaleda Denton and colleagues test a different model, based on the most popular opinion, against real-world data and find it consistently beats DeGroot averaging.
In a new paper, SFI's Kaleda Denton and colleagues test a different model, based on the most popular opinion, against real-world data and find it consistently beats DeGroot averaging.
Model redefining conformity excels against real-world data
In a new paper in PNAS, SFI Complexity Postdoctoral Fellow Kaleda Denton, SFI External Faculty Fellow, and Science Board Fellow Marcus Feldman, and independent researcher Jonathan F. Johannemann offer...
www.santafe.edu
June 19, 2026 at 10:05 PM
The dominant model of opinion dynamics has long assumed that people average all views, outliers included.
In a new paper, SFI's Kaleda Denton and colleagues test a different model, based on the most popular opinion, against real-world data and find it consistently beats DeGroot averaging.
In a new paper, SFI's Kaleda Denton and colleagues test a different model, based on the most popular opinion, against real-world data and find it consistently beats DeGroot averaging.
Reposted by tom
midjourney 8 thread
June 11, 2026 at 1:19 AM
midjourney 8 thread
Reposted by tom
I went from reading a few books a year to around one a week. I wanted to write down how I got there, how it involved rethinking my relationship to attention, and why I believe reading books can heal your brain. I hope this gives you something useful! johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/how-i-lear...
How I Learned to Read Way, Way More
I had to rethink my relationship to attention
johnpaulbrammer.substack.com
June 9, 2026 at 3:08 PM
I went from reading a few books a year to around one a week. I wanted to write down how I got there, how it involved rethinking my relationship to attention, and why I believe reading books can heal your brain. I hope this gives you something useful! johnpaulbrammer.substack.com/p/how-i-lear...
Reposted by tom
Ugh, apparently neither @github.com, nor @fastmail.com, nor @slack.engineering support post-quantum TLS key exchanges, making everything sent and received over these connections vulnerable to harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks, maybe as early as 2029.
June 9, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Ugh, apparently neither @github.com, nor @fastmail.com, nor @slack.engineering support post-quantum TLS key exchanges, making everything sent and received over these connections vulnerable to harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks, maybe as early as 2029.
Reposted by tom
Some tarantulas keep frogs as 'pets'.
The frogs eat ants & other small bugs that might attack the eggs or young spiderlings of the tarantula & the tarantula provides shelter in their burrows.
What's more: the tarantula will attack predators that might threaten the frog.
(📷: Emanuele Biggi)
The frogs eat ants & other small bugs that might attack the eggs or young spiderlings of the tarantula & the tarantula provides shelter in their burrows.
What's more: the tarantula will attack predators that might threaten the frog.
(📷: Emanuele Biggi)
June 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Some tarantulas keep frogs as 'pets'.
The frogs eat ants & other small bugs that might attack the eggs or young spiderlings of the tarantula & the tarantula provides shelter in their burrows.
What's more: the tarantula will attack predators that might threaten the frog.
(📷: Emanuele Biggi)
The frogs eat ants & other small bugs that might attack the eggs or young spiderlings of the tarantula & the tarantula provides shelter in their burrows.
What's more: the tarantula will attack predators that might threaten the frog.
(📷: Emanuele Biggi)
Reposted by tom
Less than a week left to propose a talk for the Protocol Symposium.
If you’re looking for ideas, you can find some in the challenges program page this editorial talks about.
protocolized.summerofprotocols.com/p/challenges...
If you’re looking for ideas, you can find some in the challenges program page this editorial talks about.
protocolized.summerofprotocols.com/p/challenges...
Challenges: Trivial, Grand, and Whitehead
Introducing the Protocol Institute Challenges program
protocolized.summerofprotocols.com
June 9, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Less than a week left to propose a talk for the Protocol Symposium.
If you’re looking for ideas, you can find some in the challenges program page this editorial talks about.
protocolized.summerofprotocols.com/p/challenges...
If you’re looking for ideas, you can find some in the challenges program page this editorial talks about.
protocolized.summerofprotocols.com/p/challenges...
wow there are so many great people here talking to crickets
June 8, 2026 at 8:07 AM
wow there are so many great people here talking to crickets
Reposted by tom
💭 Oblivious HTTP is interesting!
the stated use cases are anonymous/stateless, and in atproto this could help with client privacy for identity lookups (eg, PLC resolution)
but seems like it could also help with pseudonymity? eg PLC op submissions.
and even PDS proxying (!)
the stated use cases are anonymous/stateless, and in atproto this could help with client privacy for identity lookups (eg, PLC resolution)
but seems like it could also help with pseudonymity? eg PLC op submissions.
and even PDS proxying (!)
RFC 9458: Oblivious HTTP
This document describes Oblivious HTTP, a protocol for forwarding encrypted HTTP messages. Oblivious HTTP allows a client to make multiple requests to an origin server without that server being able t...
datatracker.ietf.org
June 7, 2026 at 7:25 PM
💭 Oblivious HTTP is interesting!
the stated use cases are anonymous/stateless, and in atproto this could help with client privacy for identity lookups (eg, PLC resolution)
but seems like it could also help with pseudonymity? eg PLC op submissions.
and even PDS proxying (!)
the stated use cases are anonymous/stateless, and in atproto this could help with client privacy for identity lookups (eg, PLC resolution)
but seems like it could also help with pseudonymity? eg PLC op submissions.
and even PDS proxying (!)
Reposted by tom
"Poorface" is a term that will stick with me.
Survival of the Richest: Hollywood's Broken Talent Pipeline
Chloé Zhao and the Myth of the $100,000 Movie
hollywoodgadfly.substack.com
June 7, 2026 at 6:47 AM
"Poorface" is a term that will stick with me.
Reposted by tom
Super cool research from @wildcru.bsky.social - Ethiopian wolves doing pollination work. Wolfination work.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🧪 🦊 🐝 🌸
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🧪 🦊 🐝 🌸
November 20, 2024 at 8:08 PM
Super cool research from @wildcru.bsky.social - Ethiopian wolves doing pollination work. Wolfination work.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🧪 🦊 🐝 🌸
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🧪 🦊 🐝 🌸
www.kidswebservices.com flavoured nanny state tech uses such unsophisticated newspeak
KWS - Tools to help developers manage youth audiences at scale
Kids Web Services is built to enable safer digital experiences for young audiences. We help our partners navigate the complex global landscape of parental consent and verification, enabling youth audi...
www.kidswebservices.com
June 8, 2026 at 2:39 AM
www.kidswebservices.com flavoured nanny state tech uses such unsophisticated newspeak
wauu the sky is so blue @news.abc.net.au
June 7, 2026 at 11:08 AM
wauu the sky is so blue @news.abc.net.au
Reposted by tom
me: "I'm not a mathematician"
my former flatmate: "mathematician's a state of mind brother"
my former flatmate: "mathematician's a state of mind brother"
May 29, 2026 at 12:02 PM
me: "I'm not a mathematician"
my former flatmate: "mathematician's a state of mind brother"
my former flatmate: "mathematician's a state of mind brother"
Somewhat ironic that this is the only place online enforcing Australia's new laws.
December 27, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Somewhat ironic that this is the only place online enforcing Australia's new laws.
