Thwompthwomp

https://preview.redd.it/therealreasonwhylinuxissaferthanotheros-v0-dwprcgitkejb1.png?auto=webp&s=2d0165184ffac435b7dec0c5b46c5e5b152b4870

Not sure how to actually post an image, but this I think is one.

Gripping the bitcoin wallet and paying $5 out of pity is my favorite part :)

It’s over already. It’s going to take decades to come back from this, if at all since the reputation is shaken at the core, and that is very difficult to rebuild.

The funding cuts and uncertainty and stifling is speech is shocking, but this is already affecting young scientists. There are cuts to summer research stipends, grant pausing means no work for some researchers. It’s the future that will really hurt when we don’t have those scientists since they either didn’t pursue science or went to other countries.

America has held a very central seat of science for quite some time, but that’s done. Europe is going to replace is—and already is. It’s a shame too since American higher Ed is structurally setup to be much more agile in how it pursues inquiry.

I dunno, there was some pretty cool stuff going on in central/south america in the 60s. Ernest cardenal and solentiname come to mind.

Oh this touches close to him. I got into pgfplots since it would generate plots in latex at compile time and keep fonts consistent, etc. plots looked amazing though.

The worst was when a colleague couldn’t get a pdf to upload into a google doc, so he just made an ugly ass bar chart in excel for the final draft since that was easier. The only reason he could do that so quickly was because he could read the data so easily from the plot I made. Ugh. Still burns

Pointless?? Really? We should have just stuck with postscript? I’m pretty happy with pdf for almost anything as there’s a good chance it’ll render how whoever sent it to me was seeing it. What would you suggest/do different?

I teach undergrads, and every year basic computer skills get worse and worse. I guess it’s not entirely their fault, but things like just asking them to save a file to their computer is insanely difficult. Lots of universities are starting to get task forces to figure out how to teach (or where to teach rather) basic digital skills, it it’s all going to hit the workforce really soon en masse.

My heart goes out to those who suffer with poor editors where this is a problem. I do empathize with them. It’s important to love others and help. That’s the code for my life: love others. Except vim users. Straight to jail.

You can hold to an ethical code while breaking your moral code. This seems to be an example of that, and my frustration with ethics codes of many professional societies/organizations. You can be entirely ethical yet still spend your life crating efficient life ending tools.

Why do you think so? I know post docs basically only looking for jobs outside of the US, and several friends who got funding for grad or summer students cancelled, and know if one case getting pressure to change titles of dissertation to better align with the administration stance.

Science is getting hit hard here, the damage is done, and this could take decades to recover from. And that’s assuming things are able to shift back to where things were.

I think you’re right — body armor of some kind. He’s scared.

I have a much longer response, but I’ll try to make a short one. I think there’s a lot more a college degree does (should?) offer/signal, but over the last 50 ish years, that has largely eroded away to just being a professional training program or a gatekeeper to a job. Higher ed in society he mostly turned to social efficiency as its guiding principle instead of several other curricular philosophies. Combine that with the increasing and intense research pressure and it’s the exact situation you describe. Neoliberalism has pushed away long term thinking and risk from corporations, so that burden of risk is taken now by universities (and young people in the form of graduate students) which can be subsidized by government grants. This funding scenario pushes professors to focus on grants and research and to not care about their teaching. It’s not good.

Im no expert either, but he did try the beer ball putsch which landed him a trial and jail time, before his actual rise to power. So his plans for a coup were definitely there.