I write for the people whose names get underlined in red by Microsoft Word
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Doctora Malka Older
@m_older
Nerd w narrative disorder◦ Humanitarian◦ Sociopunk◦ Evidence-based creativity◦ #SpeculativeResistance◦ Predictive Fictions◦ INFOMOCRACY ◦Opinions: NYT, FP, etc
malkaolder.wordpress.com/publications/Joined June 2009
Doctora Malka Older’s Tweets
The arrangement on the left is a more efficient packing of 49 circles into a square than the one on the right.
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That little gap is an essential feature of this proven optimal packing. We can say for certain that no more efficient arrangement exists.
Also, even for many numbers where a 'nice' symmetrical arrangement is possible, there's a funky looking one which beats it:
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The optimal known packing of 17 equal squares into a larger square - i.e. the arrangement which minimises the size of the large square.
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I like drawing explicit links between topics when you have students who are all following particular curriculum!
The tweak I might suggest is "as we covered in week 2/the intro course" which is a pointer to info but doesn't assume they still remember
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Replying to @GretchenAMcC
I use this in my university teaching to try and help people integrate different parts of their learning. “You’ll recall from last term’s cell biology lectures that XYZ: well the consequences for this aspect of genetics are…”
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I'm reminded of a remark I heard at a #scicomm panel that's stuck with me, about not telling the audience about themselves in big sweeping statements that might not actually include everyone
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"When we're trying to be inclusive, we often make big sweeping statements like "We all used to watch Saturday morning cartoons as a kid, right?"
But we're trying to think more about who's not included in these big sweeping statements"
-@RabiahMayas #AAASmtg
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evaluating punditry its good to wonder
(1) who - or what abstract position - does this intervention ask you to identify with, or presume identification with; who or what does it foreclose?
(2) is this really about litigating whose pain should matter, and whose is illegitimate?
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Terrible. Mercenaries everywhere. The Miami “security firm” involved was called “Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy.” Subtle as a brick.
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The U.S. arrested and filed criminal charges against the owners of several South Florida companies in connection with the 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on.wsj.com/3jVrolT
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The posted this photo as something heartwarming re the Valentine’s Bandit. Says a lot that the human being under the tarp, using cardboard as a bed, is completely ignored, invisible. This is #PortlandME
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i am shaking rn. i can barely tweet this.
i am at this public safety forum at Henry w/ MPD Chief O’Hara & CM Vetaw & the Chief said the most pressing issue is getting more Mpls kids to become cops. He is adamantly pushing this narrative as the solution at this meeting.
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How to Find Your Dragon - a baby Green Iguana being foliage 🐉
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Stop Romanticizing the Hays Code, You Ahistorical Dorks!
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Okay but this is the first time I’m seeing a shot of me and my dad next to each other in uniform 😭🖖🏽💛🖤
📸: Paramount+
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Okay but this is the first time I’m seeing a shot of me and my dad next to each other in uniform 
@levarburton
: Paramount+
@levarburton
: Paramount+Show this thread
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The phenomenal works by
& Laurel Beckley-Jackson
IT'S SO GOOD!!!!
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"Believe the private sector," [the mayor] said. "They just grew Miami by 12 percent, which is the second-most growth in reported history, so they are themselves betting on the long-term future prospects of our city."
Um. They're going to flip their investments & cash out.
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Indeed, as I argued in my Nation piece, we have to both/and this—in Miami, in California, in NYC, everywhere in the US & beyond that's vulnerable to climate change: help the folks who are hurting the most now *and* plan for the looming movements.
thenation.com/article/enviro
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If you want to help Miamians right now, I wouldn't "trust the private sector," as Miami's mayor is suggesting on Fox. Instead, focus on poor and working class ppl's needs for local housing and enviro justice. lays out some of the basics.
secure.everyaction.com/DSJGAM3Y90m8Dc
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I hope Fox News & Republicans lose their war on science & normal ppl. With enough green investment in workers & communities, we could slow sea level rise; Miami could continue to thrive. Also: we should help ppl who aren't rich to move to nice new homes.
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There's no controversy about Miami's extreme vulnerability to climate change. The question: Do we help poor & working class communities stay safe? I think we should—by helping tenants in Miami rn, and also planning for the climate displacement to come.
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Love to see the mayor of Miami hit back at my piece in the Nation. What do Miami's climate scientists say?
According to Dr. Harold Wanless, a Geologist at the University of Miami, by the year 2060, nearly 60% of Miami-Dade county will be underwater.
cbsnews.com/miami/news/sci
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What happened in January after the Biden administration started expelling Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelan asylum seekers into Mexico:
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“Since Peter, the reign of every adult Russian or Soviet ruler who lasted more than 15 months began or ended with a coup, an assassination, or a revolution.” Insightful reflection on Russia’s centuries-old leadership succession problem wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/puti
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Replying to
There is a semi truck that crashed and caught fire. Diesel fuel is pouring onto the freeway, ran across the lanes of traffic, and now the fuel fire has spread to the south side of the freeway. Homes evacuated as a precaution
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What has happened in the past 40 years that could possibly explain Americans mysteriously taking half as much vacation? I guess we'll never know. Huge mystery. Unknowable, really.
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Americans are about half as likely to be taking vacation in any given week as they were 40 years ago — and that's especially true for full-week vacays. (by @andrewvandam) washingtonpost.com/business/2023/
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On the isolated glacial lagoons of remote Patagonia lives a freshwater diving bird called the hooded Grebe,
This is its courtship dance caught on film for the first time
📹 BirdLife International
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I think some of the impetus to say "as you already know" comes from a similar well-intentioned place as telling people that a potential new skill is "easy"
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This is your periodic reminder that it's often better to treat acquiring a new skill as "hard" (so let's break it down into lots of tiny subskills and practice them separately) rather than "no really, I swear, it's easy!"
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By avoiding assuming what readers have seen/read/experienced and what they know/remember about it, we've bypassed a lot of potential emotional reactions
People get reminded of info they already know loads of times in a given day, it's fine, you don't need to hedge about it!
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Something I keep noticing lately is that telling people what they may or may not already know is a communicating complex topics strategy that is rarely as effective as the writer is hoping
"You probably learned in school..."
"As I'm sure you recall..."
"If you've read X..."
No!
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Retraites : les renseignements prévoient 450 000 à 650 000 manifestants jeudi 16 février à travers la France
francetvinfo.fr/economie/retra
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What is "engrossing and creative, with beautiful writing + nuanced, 3D characters?" Our #CYBILS2022 Elementary #MiddleGrade #SpeculativeFiction winner!
THE MIRRORWOOD
by @DevaFagan
publisher @SimonSchuster
nominated by @SheilaRuth
#BookLoveDay
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"It’s hard to pull off a novel that attempts to have equal footing in two genres—never mind three—and typically one of the genres ends up taking on a minor role . . . but The Mimicking of Known Successes. . . is a walloping success." — First Clue, starred review⭐️
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Keep in mind, these are people who would have dismantled the EPA if given the chance, so their sudden “concern” for environmental safety is laughably disingenuous and clearly part of a propaganda campaign that is just using the environment as a topical issue to hide behind.
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To be clear, there could be legitimate concerns about contamination, but these tweets are pure speculation, and they’re using an old/existing map that has nothing to do with the Ohio train derailment in an effort to make the speculation look more scientific and official.
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There's a weird coordinated right-wing campaign surrounding claims of poisonous chemicals in the Mississippi River following the train derailment in Ohio.
These are all right-wing disinfo accounts; note the repetitive content without a single link to a source or news article.
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We've kicked off our 2023 Novella Series crowdfund! Come check it out and pre-order the six novellas (plus SKIN THIEF by Suzan Palumbo) we're putting out in 2023!
kickstarter.com/projects/daver
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happy valentines day to those who celebrate! its also RELEASE DAY for Beloved: Love Letters to the Beauty of ButchFemme () which includes my story "The Hunt of the Unicorn, Displayed in Reverse"
you can pick up a copy (and merch!) at belovedzine.com/shop 💕🦄🖼️
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