Katie Mack+

😅

😅

but then it will never be clear to everyone if it is Sep 5 or May 9

but then it will never be clear to everyone if it is Sep 5 or May 9

I think yes, he has to. And even more extra yes if they're stored on anything th

I think yes, he has to. And even more extra yes if they're stored on anything that's ever connected to the internet in any way.

2 and 3 seem irrelevant tbh, unless we’re talking about mandates, which we’re us

2 and 3 seem irrelevant tbh, unless we’re talking about mandates, which we’re usually not (though somehow someone always pretends we are??)

She didn't stay neutral about her actions or beliefs; people who liked her becau

She didn't stay neutral about her actions or beliefs; people who liked her because she fit their ideas of their own cultural identity just quietly ignored the things they didn't agree with and liked that she didn't force them not to.

It's exhausting

It's exhausting

That’s one of the pieces I’m most proud to be quoted in

That’s one of the pieces I’m most proud to be quoted in

💯

💯

Thank you!

Thank you!

When I’m in European cities with good bike infrastructure I often rent bikes to

When I’m in European cities with good bike infrastructure I often rent bikes to get around but there are never helmet rentals (that’s logistically a really difficult thing to set up) and I don’t pack one. If there were mandates in those places, I just wouldn’t ride.

Not the main barrier sure but one that has been documented.

Not the main barrier sure but one that has been documented.

Even the angry Streetblogs article makes it very clear that wearing a helmet dra

Even the angry Streetblogs article makes it very clear that wearing a helmet dramatically reduces your chance of head injury in certain kinds of accidents. It’s broadly accepted that a personal choice to wear a helmet helps you, statistically.

Like 50% of his videos are about infrastructure

Like 50% of his videos are about infrastructure

Because helmet mandates tend to reduce uptake of cycling as transportation, and

Because helmet mandates tend to reduce uptake of cycling as transportation, and reducing volume of cyclists reduces safety overall in a few ways. It's one of those weird things where it's 100% better to do it individually, but requiring it makes the average cyclist a little less safe.

I think people who yell at others based on videos like this are making their own

I think people who yell at others based on videos like this are making their own choices that are utterly bizarre to me, and I don't think we can blame the very sensible mayor for those decisions.

Videos like this encourage people to wear helmets? Yes, that is true and good.

Videos like this encourage people to wear helmets? Yes, that is true and good.

It was more common than I expected when I was there two years ago. Maybe like 10

It was more common than I expected when I was there two years ago. Maybe like 10-20% of cyclists?

It's all good -- please do read both of them! 😃

It's all good -- please do read both of them! 😃

Tbh I don't think people should HAVE to wear helmets, but I absolutely think peo

Tbh I don't think people should HAVE to wear helmets, but I absolutely think people should wear helmets when they can make that choice.

My earlier book? Cool!

My earlier book? Cool!

All this stuff about "focusing" on bike helmets is utterly baffling to me. He's

All this stuff about "focusing" on bike helmets is utterly baffling to me. He's not focusing; he made a short video showing himself doing something that is unquestionably a good thing, because people were concerned about him! That's good!

This is presumably why he is working on improving bike and bus infrastructure in

This is presumably why he is working on improving bike and bus infrastructure in the city. It WAS a cute video and at no point did he say anything about it being the only or best way for a person to be protected from a car collision. He didn't mandate helmets or even tell people to wear them.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo wrote up my interview with them from last week about my b

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo wrote up my interview with them from last week about my book! See link for interview and short video :)

You're welcome! I found it really enlightening, and also kinda depressing!

You're welcome! I found it really enlightening, and also kinda depressing!

omg he's not "focusing" on helmets, he made a cute video because he's doing some

omg he's not "focusing" on helmets, he made a cute video because he's doing something helpful for his personal safety and he's ALSO, as THE MAYOR, working to make the city safer for all cyclists in other ways! good lord

Perhaps she'll lose the farm, but she'll still get to think she's a good (blamel

Perhaps she'll lose the farm, but she'll still get to think she's a good (blameless) person doing the right things for the right reasons, in service of the greater good. (Which is really unfortunate because she'll be wrong about at least some of those things!)

Found the podcast episode I was mentioning: bsky.app/profile/volt...

Found the podcast episode I was mentioning: bsky.app/profile/volt...

This woman is feeling alienated and attacked, and can’t identify with people who

This woman is feeling alienated and attacked, and can’t identify with people who make her feel bad, so she’s going to alter her understanding of the facts of the world to protect her sense of identity and belonging. I think a lot of people do some version of that all the time!

I think so much of this stuff comes down to identity and community. There was a

I think so much of this stuff comes down to identity and community. There was a really good episode of @volts.wtf podcast a while back about this, about how almost no one forms their views based on objective analysis, but rather on identity and trust.

I’ve gotten several AI scams (written in English) about specifically the Italian

I’ve gotten several AI scams (written in English) about specifically the Italian translation of my first book. It’s always so bizarre.

Welcome Nobel Prize! I can only assume you’re here so you can DM the winner when

Welcome Nobel Prize! I can only assume you’re here so you can DM the winner when the time comes 👀

The USA continues to work hard to become an isolated global pariah by degrees.

The USA continues to work hard to become an isolated global pariah by degrees.

My sister put a blanket on her bed for the same reason and later sent me the att

My sister put a blanket on her bed for the same reason and later sent me the attached photo of her cat making good use of it.

Thank you!

Thank you!

I am not in the Chicago area, alas

I am not in the Chicago area, alas

Thank you 🙏🏼

Thank you 🙏🏼

If they thought that they wouldn’t be constantly congratulating themselves for b

If they thought that they wouldn’t be constantly congratulating themselves for being brave iconoclasts, standing up to the sheeple. They know we’re all repulsed by them. They get off on it, like shock jock comics.

No but to be fair I do actively avoid looking at him when possible

No but to be fair I do actively avoid looking at him when possible

This is the first I’ve heard about it

This is the first I’ve heard about it

Oh no 😬

Oh no 😬

If you’re not potty trained by now you don’t get to be in the pool with the rest

If you’re not potty trained by now you don’t get to be in the pool with the rest of us and we’re not gonna have a civilized debate about it while the water fills up with your filth.

Sometimes society at large rejects certain ideas because they’ve been thoroughly

Sometimes society at large rejects certain ideas because they’ve been thoroughly shown to be wrong and also because they suck and the people who espouse them suck and when someone comes around arguing those ideas should be part of some edgy modern debate we can and should shun them and move on.

As should we all

As should we all

I don’t have a go-to article but this one might be helpful

I don’t have a go-to article but this one might be helpful

I think that’s a silly complaint. Dark matter is 85% of the matter in the univer

I think that’s a silly complaint. Dark matter is 85% of the matter in the universe and the best prospect we have for discovering physics behind the Standard Model. No one is stopping anyone from writing “risky” papers or having brilliant insights. Complaints about being an oppressed genius get old.

Pheno papers are important if we want to figure out what it is though?? What’s t

Pheno papers are important if we want to figure out what it is though?? What’s the complaint?

If there were an alternative model with as much weight of evidence, then the que

If there were an alternative model with as much weight of evidence, then the question might be interesting, but as of now (and continuously for the last couple decades) it’s kind of not.

If the complaint about dark matter is “we haven’t detected the particle” it’s no

If the complaint about dark matter is “we haven’t detected the particle” it’s not a particularly interesting or relevant complaint, because 100% of the evidence for dark matter is from astrophysics and that evidence is so strong today that really does take conspiracist thinking to write it off.

In my experience, particle physicists of today talk about dark matter as an inte

In my experience, particle physicists of today talk about dark matter as an interesting problem that might lead to new theories and for which there are interesting potential experimental and observational signatures. Astrophysicists talk about it as an essential element of the cosmological model.

Are you a particle physicist?

Are you a particle physicist?

Her comments about dark matter get pretty close to conspiracy thinking tbh. (I s

Her comments about dark matter get pretty close to conspiracy thinking tbh. (I say this as an expert in the subject, who is very familiar with these conversations. She has physics expertise in some areas but is not well versed in the evidence for dark matter or the status of our understanding of it)

You are very interesting!!

You are very interesting!!

Naps don’t work for me at all. Every time I wake up from a nap I feel like I’ve

Naps don’t work for me at all. Every time I wake up from a nap I feel like I’ve just been hit by a truck

Jesus

Jesus

I love how getting up really early gives me way more time in my workday and more

I love how getting up really early gives me way more time in my workday and more room for productivity! And then once in a while on a weekend I’ll sleep in until 9 and feel like a functional human for once and realize that my body clock is completely at odds with my preferred workflow 😐

If anyone can make the case, though, it’s him

If anyone can make the case, though, it’s him

At this point you gotta wonder if he can get political asylum in Canada or Europ

At this point you gotta wonder if he can get political asylum in Canada or Europe or something to have a chance at a normal life

Christ they are never going to let that man live are they

Christ they are never going to let that man live are they

Yay thank you!

Yay thank you!

Hey just FYI, Bluesky doesn’t suppress posts with links in them; you don’t have

Hey just FYI, Bluesky doesn’t suppress posts with links in them; you don’t have to hide the link in the reply here. (Also image posts here do better when they have alt text!)

At some point it’s going to be easier for the FDA to just list the foods that AR

At some point it’s going to be easier for the FDA to just list the foods that AREN’T known to be contaminated

Thank you!

Thank you!

Every such article should trigger an automatic follow-up on the stated date, lik

Every such article should trigger an automatic follow-up on the stated date, like the preregistration of a clinical trial

I have taken a water taxi in Brisbane 😁

I have taken a water taxi in Brisbane 😁

I’m glad!

I’m glad!

Of course! Who doesn't?

Of course! Who doesn't?

Thank you!

Thank you!

That is all to-be-determined but if you know a venue that would be particularly

That is all to-be-determined but if you know a venue that would be particularly interested in hosting me, you can reach out to them!

There is more information in the thread and on the linked pages!

There is more information in the thread and on the linked pages!

Whoa!! That's so cool!!

Whoa!! That's so cool!!

Thank you!!

Thank you!!

Woo thank you!!!

Woo thank you!!!

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

Relatedly, after the first couple of early reader comments came back, I had this

Relatedly, after the first couple of early reader comments came back, I had this text exchange with my mom, who is a wonderful and loving person but also absolutely brutal

It is very weird to be in this moment where the book is written and there's a to

It is very weird to be in this moment where the book is written and there's a ton of promotion happening but almost no one has read it yet and you're just really really hoping that people will like it 🥺

Had a chat today with a @perimeterinstitute.bsky.social communications guy about

Had a chat today with a @perimeterinstitute.bsky.social communications guy about my new book (video coming at some point) which was fun because by my count he is only the 6th person other than me to have read it! (He liked it!) More book info here: www.astrokatie.com/book-htbau

"The idea that anything other than my needs should factor into the generation of

"The idea that anything other than my needs should factor into the generation of text for me is patently offensive." lolllll

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

Yeah it only counts as “tough love” when it’s from a parent to a (frequently dep

Yeah it only counts as “tough love” when it’s from a parent to a (frequently dependent/helpless) child, not the other way around. Very weird.

I think lack of infrastructure investment in low-income neighborhoods is a peren

I think lack of infrastructure investment in low-income neighborhoods is a perennial problem everywhere. And this is especially salient to this discussion because statistically, low-income people are more likely to bike commute than higher-income people.

I agree we should do things holistically but I don't think there's ever been a c

I agree we should do things holistically but I don't think there's ever been a city council in America that has built bike lanes as a status symbol.

Every time that same portion of the press decries "cancel culture" they claim th

Every time that same portion of the press decries "cancel culture" they claim that it's out of concern for the targets, "what if they're driven over the edge by the cancelation," etc. I'm sure they'll find some excuse to speak differently about this.

"The message is that COVID vaccine and flu vaccine will be available, they're co

"The message is that COVID vaccine and flu vaccine will be available, they're covered by insurers, they're recommended by medical societies. People should get them and get them for their kids.” -Claire Hannan, MPH, Association of Immunization Managers

OMG. 😳 First a bomb, then an arson attack, all to try to stop the scientists fr

OMG. 😳 First a bomb, then an arson attack, all to try to stop the scientists from building a gravitational wave detector. “A local opposition group says a legally protected quiet zone for the project could constrain industrial development across central Sardinia”

Yeah, I mean, I didn't have to see the caption to know. Fine to declare it. But

Yeah, I mean, I didn't have to see the caption to know. Fine to declare it. But if I see an AI image as the social image on a post, my first (and often last) instinct is to scroll past and assume the source can't be trustworthy or serious.

Ugh I wish they hadn't used gen-AI for the image there. Immediately screams chea

Ugh I wish they hadn't used gen-AI for the image there. Immediately screams cheap / unreliable.

I find online-only talks more convenient of course but as an experience it’s lik

I find online-only talks more convenient of course but as an experience it’s like 1/10th as fun and probably two or three times more difficult, on account of the lack of feedback and having to be extra animated with your voice because you can’t rely on other body language.

Man I’m not just clicking some random YouTube link

Man I’m not just clicking some random YouTube link

Uh I don't think it's helpful to advertise the content thief's product for them

Uh I don't think it's helpful to advertise the content thief's product for them here

In a sensible world, a bot impersonating a human on the phone would be straightf

In a sensible world, a bot impersonating a human on the phone would be straightforwardly prosecutable as fraud!

Shame liars out of public life; prosecute white-collar crime; regulate away all

Shame liars out of public life; prosecute white-collar crime; regulate away all the business practices built on cheating people. Or just let society decay into incurable anomie and cynicism.

I feel like an issue that would connect well with voters would be doing anything

I feel like an issue that would connect well with voters would be doing anything at all to slow the current progression toward "absolutely everything now is a scam"

Infuriating. And weirdly side-steps the issue that there IS no cure for measles

Infuriating. And weirdly side-steps the issue that there IS no cure for measles (either better or worse than soup and vitamins) -- we didn't used to need one, because the vaccine is that effective!!

Doesn’t even matter what the weather is like. I show up at any restaurant in Ont

Doesn’t even matter what the weather is like. I show up at any restaurant in Ontario when it isn’t June, July, August or September and they tell me the patio is closed. Even September is pushing it at some places.

I have had no luck at all getting Toronto restaurants to let me sit outside betw

I have had no luck at all getting Toronto restaurants to let me sit outside between October and May 😐