I have learned linear algebra in a few different contexts now, and each one I learned made it easier. When I first learned it, it was in a pure maths context and I found it tricky. It began to make more sense in university, when I learned it in the context of x-ray crystallography. I think more so than most topics, linear algebra really needs the context of it’s usefulness for it to really make sense, but also, I think I’d have struggled with the x-ray crystallography if I hadn’t already got a grounding in linear algebra from a pure maths angle.

I’m in academia. I like how many vibrant and wonderful people I meet. I love asking PhD students to tell me about their research areas, which are often so absurdly niche that I have no idea what it means, but I love being made aware of my own relative smallness. And I love being challenged to think about my own privilege in being here, how the ivory tower of research has been and is still a force of oppression in the world, especially in the context of colonialism. I like being challenged in this way because it prevents me from becoming comfortable in my ideology and challenges me to think of what science would look like in a fair and just world, and indeed, whether it would exist at all. These might seem like odd things for me to count as my favourite aspects but it’s because I love science, and I firmly believe that if you have to lie about something in order to love it, that love is no true love.

I think a lot about how to reach other people, to share the love that I feel for my subject, and though I haven’t done much teaching yet, I look forward to being able to learn from my students as they learn from me.

I’m currently playing Bloodborne bit by bit, when I visit some friends. Sometimes I’m not sure whether I’m there more for the game, or their (always delightful company). I think they know this though, and we’re all good with it.

However, at this rate, there’ll be a PC port by the time I’ve completed the game

Big respect to the McBriens of the world, your lit reviews make a lot of things easier

I can’t help but wonder whether there may be some reverse correlation going on too — less secure financial circumstances contributing to greater prevalence of alzheimers

Even if the Seine isn’t ready in time for the games, the progress made has been incredible. I’ve found the infrastructure aspects especially interesting, given that the UK’s rivers have been struggling under privatised underinvestment.

This article has some photos and more details of the overflow tank mentioned briefly in the OP.

Good luck on this final push; take care of yourself where possible and stay angry at the things that deserve it

Oh yeah, what an incredible game. I usually don’t mind spoilers for media, but I was careful to avoid them for this one, because everyone swore down how important it was to go in blind, and now I’ve played it, I completely agree. Sometimes I wish I could erase it from my memory so I could play it for the first time again, but actually, I don’t want that, because then I’d be a person who had never played Outer Wilds. It’s probably the most sublime game I’ve ever played.

And now I’m partaking in a key cultural touchstone amongst Outer Wilds fans: being aggravatingly cryptic when talking about one of my favourite games, what fun.

As a biochemist who is better at stats than the average biochemist (which is concerning, because I’m not that great), I greatly appreciate statisticians telling us off when we’re fools.

That’s great, I love it.

Thanks. I’m not likely to take you up on it because talking about things isn’t generally helpful for me, but I appreciate the offer

I mean, I’m not religious but I’m excited to die ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

(This is a half serious joke. I have a long history of suicidal feelings and whilst I generally do want to live and am not in any acute risk, I wont lie — many days are a struggle. )

Edit: escaped a backslash so my shrug could have both arms.

I used to do tutoring when I was in school and this pun was actually great for helping students remember. They all hated it, and that’s why they remembered it.

(Cat-ions are paw-sitive)

Something I haven’t seen mentioned here yet is that a good chunk of the beef isn’t necessarily caused by old age pensioners themselves, but the perception that they are the demographic who the Conservative government (and by extension, Labour, who seem to have lost all originality and soul of their own) are attempting to court.

Others have highlighted part of why this perception exists, such as the triple lock pensions, or the fact that older people are more likely to own property, but also there’s a heck ton of Tory policies that are harmful to many older people too. I think that most of the Tory pals are probably older, but also that they’re a small fraction of the whole demographic.

My opinion is that this perception that the Tories favour pensioners is greater than the degree to which they actually do. I don’t have any sources for that though, this part is vibes based speculation from a UK leftist.

My brother once got so tangled in a duvet cover, we had to cut him free.

My friend died before he was able to get a vaccine dose. He was young and fit and healthy, enough so that his death was covered in a local newspaper. He’d have probably have gotten his first vaccine dose if we’d caught COVID a couple weeks later, and that might have been enough to save him. I’ll never know, and maybe he’d have still died, but I’ll always resent people who have/had the choice to be vaccinated but choose not to.

I don’t know what your goal is in being this persnickety about someone else’s wording, but you should probably be sure that you’re right before you go around correcting people. For example, if we replaced “female model” with “woman”, it would make OP’s comment way less clear, because a photographer works with people other than just models and that wouldn’t be clear with just “woman”.

Regarding “male-type person”, I would ask you to take a moment to try to imagine a world where “male-type person” is a more appropriate and correct phrasing than “man”. Arguing in good faith means temporarily setting aside your belief that “man” is more correct in order to better understand OP’s point and their overall point. As an example, OP may not actually be a man at all, but may be perceived as male by people within the hobby, in which case, “male-type person” may not be elegant phrasing, but it’s more correct and informative than “man”.

You claim your corrections aren’t discriminatory, but that’s besides the point, because a comment can be “not discriminatory” and also impolite and unconstructive to the discussion.

I laughed at your joke, because as a scientist, my interactions with Philosphy are often concerned with epistemology and wobbly wobbly words.

I learned about this a while ago and meant to check it out, but forgot to. Thanks for the reminder!

“analyse your scan for content to suggest a file name”

That’s a ‘Yikes’ from me