Britt Lundgren

@brittlundgren

quasar gazer | science & education policy wonk | prof. of physics & astronomy at a public liberal arts college | Illinoisan

1,325 Following2,976 Followers1,874 Posts

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Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 5d

It's syllabus time again, and I'm seeing a lot of example AI policies that tell students: "It's OK to use AI to help your thinking; but you shouldn't use it to DO your thinking."

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 6d

Ross Douthat's latest: "I can no longer recognize right or wrong. See you at CBS"

NYTimes Opinion column byline: "Ross Douthat - Who Are the Good Guys and the Bad Guys? I'm No Longer Sure."

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 8d

From the GAO report: Colleges subsidized sports by a total of $7.2 billion in 2023–24, using tuition and fees paid by students, as well as other unrestricted funds from the college. These subsidies **include federal funds students receive in federal student aid to pay their tuition and fees**

Median college contribution per undergraduate student across 4 years: $8,500 (estimated). Source: GAO-26-108640

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 9d

<taps the sign> "The general reaction to this situation borders on fantasy: it is to propose widespread extension of vocational training. In short, the cure for the disease of no jobs is training for them." - Robert M. Hutchins, "University of Utopia", 1964

"The association of education with earning a living, and developing industrial power, which was a legitimate subject of debate when this book was written, is a decade later, patently absurd. Everybody is now aware that the official rate of unemployment among young people is double that among adults. The actual rate is undoubtedly higher, because many young people have thought it useless to apply for work. The general reaction to this situation borders on fantasy: it is to propose widespread extension of vocational training. In short, the cure for the disease of no jobs is training for them." - Robert Maynard Hutchins, "University of Utopia" foreword, 1964

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 10d

I've just started reading this fun and beautiful new book by my talented friend and former college roommate, Deirdre Loughridge. The first chapter is on Cosmic Instruments and has a 17th century artistic rendering of "fine-tuning" that I'm excited to share in my cosmology class this semester! 🔭🎶

Cover of the book: "The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments" by Deirdre Loughridge and Thomas Patteson. The background image "Musica solar" (Solar Music, 1955) by the Spanish-Mexican artist Remedios Varo. As described by Loughridge and Patteson: "In a mossy forest clearing, a barefoot musician draws a bow across the rays of sunlight peeking through a densely clouded sky. A seedling sprouts from the spot where the beam hits the ground, and arcs of energy extend from the bow to shatter the cages of red birds in the trees overhead."

The macrocosmic monochord - early 17th century physician Robert Fludd, which he described as the "natural harmony of the universal machine". Loughridge and Patteson describe his diagram from 1617: "The monochord maps out a cosmic space in which the sun appears midway between Earth and the heavenly 'heights of the Empyrean'... the sonorous proportions mapped by the monochord are at the same time cosmological measures; music mirrors the movements of the heavenly orbs in a different ontological register."

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 21d

Love to meet a new moth! A Jersey Tiger in Borehamwood, UK

A black and white striped moth with orange accents, at rest on a bush

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 23d

What a photo.

A photo of Kratsios at a congressional hearing, with him in the foreground, and in focus in the distance, a screen showing the 55% decrease in total grants from FY 2024. Caption: "Mr. Kratsios did not directly defend the Trump administration's proposal for political oversight grans. - Eric Lee/ Reuters"

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 25d

And here's Trump, trying to stand next to our piece:

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 26d

I literally don't even know what this is saying.

An AI generated image of some sort of balance or bridge in a street or river, with two different spheres on either side, not tipping the balance. The lesson in this section on "AI for Managers" reads: "Decisions: An AI can help you weigh up options. But the more serious a decision is, the more important it is to understand the different arguments and share transparent information on them."

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 26d

This is the most dystopian thing I've ever been exposed to at work.

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 26d

Yikes.

A training module on AI in HR, with a little robot in a green space with papers floating all around them. The text reads: "AI in HR.. Application Documents: The applicants' personal data contained in their applications must be protected during processing. Unfortunately, AI systems tend to favor one gender when making selections for certain professions, [bold] so you should always check the results. [bold]

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· 26d

A new set of required IT training modules just dropped at my university... and some design choices were made.

A cartoon of a green pill with a face and open arms, standing over a red box where the user is invited to "Add your name"

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 11

Saw some great art today at @balticgateshead.bsky.social - with a bonus viewing of a kittiwake nursery from the observation deck!

Two nesting kittiwakes and their chicks.

The exterior of the top floor of the Baltic Flour Mill building, with rows of kittiwakes nesting on the ledges, overlooking the River Tyne.

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 9

The local guide this morning before our small group day hike on the Isle of Mull: "If you can push a shopping cart, you'll have no problem with this hike!" My spouse at the end: "It would have been more accurate to say: if you can push a shopping cart *7 miles through a peat bog*, you'll be OK!" 😂☠️

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 8

Pretty pleased to have just seen a nice Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in Lord Kelvin's natve Scotland! 🥰

A sunset over a Scottish loch, with clouds forming a wave pattern

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 7

Though, tbh, these linear fits don't give me a great deal of confidence in the working paper, either! www.nber.org/system/files...

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 7

A near-perfect linear trend seems to fit 1st year college GPA vs. SAT scores from ivy-plus universities in the NYTimes Editorial Board piece. But the cited working paper reveals (to everyone's shock!) that if you account for family income or first-gen status the SAT is a far worse predictor.

Plot shown in the NYTimes Editorial Board's piece, showing "SAT scores strongly predict college grades". A near-perfect linear trendline fits to the data of first year GPA at college vs. SAT score for ivy-plus students

Oh wait, for students who are first-gen, SATs are a terrible predictor of first-year college GPA

Also, if you look at low-income students, the trend is even worse! Weird!

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 5

Same day, on the other side of the street...

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 5

New kids on the block! 🦝🦝🦝(Time to lock the cat flap..)

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 5

Lovely astrological detailing on this 16th century German crossbow cranequin! (Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow)

Detail on the cranequin, decorated with the Western zodiac

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jul 3

This new feature of the NC State Employee Heath Plan sounds so sus.

"High quality surgery at no cost to you..

* Select non-emergency surgeries are covered when coordinated through Lantern
* Access top-rated surgeons with complication rates under 1%-- far below the national average
* Your Care Advocate handles everything from scheduling to paperwork, making it easy to get started

We'll connect you with the right surgeon. Surgeons in the Lantern network are board-certified with extensive experience.

"Lantern was tremendously helpful. There were NO out of pocket costs until the surgery was completed. The cost at the end was significantly lower than it would have been had I gone directly through our insurance." Lantern Member

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 30

Yale strikes again.

Quick facts returned from a Google search of Michael Knowles... Born 1990, married, yadda yadda ... Yale

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 29

The review noted that the indoor portion of the exhibition was "blessedly air-conditioned".. Yes! And it was incredible, too! Here is one view of Moore's large wood "Reclining Figure" (1959-64) mentioned in the piece.

Wooden abstract sculpture by Henry Moore of a person reclining, shown displayed on a red platform.

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 29

And a bonus fox!

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 29

Some photos of sculptures I enjoyed, that were not featured in the review:

Large green weathered bronze sculpture by Henry Moore outside, with passing visitors for scale

Large bronze sculpture by Henry Moore outdoors

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 22

Happy solstice!! The best day of the year for our little solar array 🌞⚡ 🥰

Plot of solar energy production (blue), household energy use (orange) and the net exported (gray)... Showing 50kwh produced, with 33.6 kwh exported to the grid

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 20

The Morgan House at Yerkes Observatory, now beautifully refurbished for housing visiting astronomers, has a Verlo mattress. Guy Day, one of Verlo's co-founders, was my grandmother's cousin. As a marine in WWII. Guy was assigned the terrible task of recovering bodies after the Battle of the Bulge 🇺🇸

The corner of a mattress, with the label reading "Verlo mattress"

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 20

A turtle enjoying UChicago's wonderfully restored Botany Pond.

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 19

PSA: in Waunakee WI an Old Fashioned can be ordered "sour"... which means it's topped off with Squirt

An old fashioned with its ingredients, including Squirt

Britt Lundgren@brittlundgren· Jun 19

Please enjoy these fur babies that I saw today in WI 🥰