3046
cyrus
@cyrus #3046
Researcher at MIT Media Lab | Creating futures | https://cyrus.website/info
9098 Follower 915 Following
bullish on frugal science.
heard a great talk today by Manu Prakash and his vision for bringing science and tools like like paper microscopes and hand-powered centrifuges to resource-limited regions, while also putting discovery in the hands of millions who've been systematically excluded from knowledge creation.
this work feels radical in a world obsessed with speculation. it also highlights how hollow and illusory (being nice) DeSci currently is, while making me dream of futures where curiosity scales more effectively than capital.
https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/138/6/jcs263898/367428/Interview-with-Manu-Prakash
heard a great talk today by Manu Prakash and his vision for bringing science and tools like like paper microscopes and hand-powered centrifuges to resource-limited regions, while also putting discovery in the hands of millions who've been systematically excluded from knowledge creation.
this work feels radical in a world obsessed with speculation. it also highlights how hollow and illusory (being nice) DeSci currently is, while making me dream of futures where curiosity scales more effectively than capital.
https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/138/6/jcs263898/367428/Interview-with-Manu-Prakash
slowly realising that AIs (not humans) will likely be the beings pursuing their creative passions and esoteric research interests.
even vs. high agency humans they have far less constraints, especially wrt time, necessity, utility etc while most humans will be stuck in some form of rat race.
even vs. high agency humans they have far less constraints, especially wrt time, necessity, utility etc while most humans will be stuck in some form of rat race.
7143
six
@six·4 days ago
I'm bearish on "AI will enable people to have more time to pursue their creative passions and interests" or whatever
it is certainly possible, but more likely outcome and where we are currently trending is AI creates superior DopamineTech and humans become more passively consumptive than ever
it is certainly possible, but more likely outcome and where we are currently trending is AI creates superior DopamineTech and humans become more passively consumptive than ever
Overheard an American person say "cycled" today instead of "biked"
I nearly fell out of my chair with astonishment, and for a brief moment, all was well with the world.
I nearly fell out of my chair with astonishment, and for a brief moment, all was well with the world.
quote cast with the first machine you wrote a line of code on
15549
Jack Dishman
@dish·19:51 25/04/2025
quote cast with the first machine you wrote a line of code on
nobody:
biologists: what happens if we take the fluorescence gene of a jellyfish and overexpress it
biologists: what happens if we take the fluorescence gene of a jellyfish and overexpress it
i'm glad i currently have a bit more time to research slowly at the moment. these little meanders aren't always 'useful' but i do find them valuable and had i just used an LLM to do 'deep research' i wouldn't have brought this little nugget of warmth to my day (or tangentially realised that RFID wasn't the right approach)
makes me wonder though if there might be ways to add a bit more serendipity to our interactions with LLMs
makes me wonder though if there might be ways to add a bit more serendipity to our interactions with LLMs
3046
cyrus
@cyrus·14:49 25/04/2025
I was investigating how I can make Lego more interactive for a research project I'm working on, when I came across this lovely wholesome corner place where someone is trying to build lego-based train tracking technology and other people are advising on the best way to do it
Peak cozy web vibes
https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/forums/topic/73120-train-tracking-with-rfid/
Peak cozy web vibes
https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/forums/topic/73120-train-tracking-with-rfid/
I was investigating how I can make Lego more interactive for a research project I'm working on, when I came across this lovely wholesome corner place where someone is trying to build lego-based train tracking technology and other people are advising on the best way to do it
Peak cozy web vibes
https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/forums/topic/73120-train-tracking-with-rfid/
Peak cozy web vibes
https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/forums/topic/73120-train-tracking-with-rfid/
that being said, even when i'm terminally offline i still mostly find myself glued to some sort of device, just in a different sort of way.
not refreshing the feed or interacting much with the social stuff but rather getting writing, creating, thinking, designing, developing etc done.
still not sure how people do both at the same time at a high level.
not refreshing the feed or interacting much with the social stuff but rather getting writing, creating, thinking, designing, developing etc done.
still not sure how people do both at the same time at a high level.
3046
cyrus
@cyrus·15:48 24/04/2025
terminally offline vs. terminally online
As information gathering tools get more sophisticated we can record more data with more sensitivity.
But it's paradoxical: the more precisely we observe reality, the harder it becomes to distinguish between meaningful signals and statistical noise.
Maybe in the end there is no noise just whispers waiting for the right technology, mechanism or interpreter.
But it's paradoxical: the more precisely we observe reality, the harder it becomes to distinguish between meaningful signals and statistical noise.
Maybe in the end there is no noise just whispers waiting for the right technology, mechanism or interpreter.
a new way of experiencing colour beyond natural human vision has been discovered leading to "olo" - a "blue-green of unprecedented saturation"
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu1052
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu1052
beginning to think using smart-glasses will never not look stupid
smells like lean pivot
AI 2.0 might be the worst new term i've heard this week
Sunday's reading
(ok skimming)
(ok skimming)
finally emerging after a week of nonstop user studies, paper writing and remote exhibition setup
what’s happening here?
what’s happening here?
every flash is a Bitcoin transaction.
maybe should build a bunch to show what this would look like for different chains.
maybe should build a bunch to show what this would look like for different chains.
came into the lab this morning to find a group of 10 year olds learning about training ml models.
on one hand, i was kind of awestruck at how amazing that is. as i walked towards my office i started thinking about where i grew up, where even today many kids at that age are struggling with basic maths and reading.
it made me wonder how we ever get the future to be more evenly distributed.
on one hand, i was kind of awestruck at how amazing that is. as i walked towards my office i started thinking about where i grew up, where even today many kids at that age are struggling with basic maths and reading.
it made me wonder how we ever get the future to be more evenly distributed.
this Miyazaki chap knew what he was talking about
3046
cyrus
@cyrus·12:47 27/03/2025
the only interesting thing about it is how boring it’s made the internet for 48h. like a virus or an invasive species infecting every scroll.
the only interesting thing about it is how boring it’s made the internet for 48h. like a virus or an invasive species infecting every scroll.
3189
kingd.eth
@duaneking·05:58 27/03/2025
The phenomena of mass Ghiblification would be an interesting research paper. Pokémon Go moment for gen AI.
also this chaos breeds possibilities
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back in the lab more. casting less. has revealed and made me realise quite a few things about being in-person vs remote
- a natural, massive decline in being chronically online
- my concentration levels are significantly deeper
- less random interactions IRL, but those that do happen are more meaningful mentally, socially, emotionally and produce more serendipity
- the time to travel to and from 'work' is really important for thoughts to form and build cognitive architecture
- physical proximity to instruments and materials creates a sensory relationship with research that screens simply cannot replicate
- a natural, massive decline in being chronically online
- my concentration levels are significantly deeper
- less random interactions IRL, but those that do happen are more meaningful mentally, socially, emotionally and produce more serendipity
- the time to travel to and from 'work' is really important for thoughts to form and build cognitive architecture
- physical proximity to instruments and materials creates a sensory relationship with research that screens simply cannot replicate
