Archive for immigration

Nature tidbits [18 June]

Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2026 by xi'an


A personal tribune (by a Vatican advisor) on why scientists should learn from the Pope’s AI message, not the first time Nature caters to religious views! Not that his (Leon’s) concerns about unregulated AI and the abdication of States in that matter are misplaced. But it seems unlikely (as the author concedes in his conclusion) that the Catholic Church or his leader will manage to make a dent on the spiraling impact of AIs. As suggested in the next tribune, a coordinated approach at a massive increase of taxes on tech companies (unsurprisingly resisted by the Orange Menace) is more likely to happen. And yet another tribune on AI and math(ematician)s, related to the recent Leiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics, following several entries in the previous issue.

An introductory (general public) article as to why cancer occurrences in young people is rising so quickly in the US, with no single explanation. Environmental factors are certainly to blame, like the consumption of ultra–processed foods, but the article does not say much, adding to the uncertainty.

A rather unhelpful representation of human migration in 2023, appart from showing a majority of migrations are local (to the continental scale). Connected to an article of 10 June I missed. Partly based on a deep learning model to achieve a country-level granularity.

A research article (and the cover) on a plague outbreak near Lake Baikal—over which I could have flown when reading this issue, except that flights to Japan now contour the territories of the invader of Ukraine—that occurred about 5,500 years ago and impacted a community of hunter-gatherers, In a sparsely populated area, marmots being the likely primary vectors, and a close phylogenetic proximity to current strains.

Nature tidbits [23 October 2025]

Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Running, Travel, University life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 27, 2025 by xi'an

In this October issue of nature, plenty of the “usual” topics, namely AI and Trump.2.0 wrecking balls, along with two cosmology entries that related to my trip to the early universe last week, and a pros-and-cons opposition about animal testing,

a discussion on the nature of the “little red dots” that have been recently observed and whose nature remains open, the most popular explanation (I was given during lunch) being black holes surrounded by gas (even though I cannot understand why the gas is not attracted by the black hole!) [and would have produced a more exciting cover!]

a review of the recent book Discordance: The Troubled History of the Hubble Constant by Jim Baggott, entitled Why we still don’t understand the Universe — even after a century of dispute! A review that regrets that more time is spent on the Hubble “constant” (which varies with time!) rather than more controversial issues like dark matter and dark energy (And strangely bemoans that the book is focussed on scientific developments, missing sociological ones. Duh?! (Bonus for a picture of suit-and-tie Edwin Hubble sitting at the centre of a telescope),

two entries on the well-being [or lack thereof] of PhD students, with nothing particularly surprising (eg, inclusivity and respect help!), and Brazil, Australia and Italy ranking top locations but in a comparative study that does not mention France (as often in international comparisons found in Nature) despite the place being in the top 10 countries delivering PhD degrees, not that I believe PhD students are particularly well-treated in French academia!, the (unexplained) surprise being Italy ranking so high given the close resemblance between the two countries (low stipends, shortage of postdoc and permanent positions, high teaching loads for the advisor, limited travel budgets),

a conference (purposedly) made of AI-written papers reviewed by AI referees, Agents4Science 2025, how universities are rushed into adapting to AI-fluent students, whose skills are changing, and the rise in fake authors produced by paper mills, with a limited range of acceptable solutions,

why Trump 2.0‘s blackmail on pharmaceutical companies is counter-productive and likely to slow down progress, and why his massive increase of highly qualified scientists is shooting (or nuking) USelf in the foot, given the huge proportion) of im/emigrated Nobel prize winners (for physics, chemistry, and medicine), along the (post-) Nobel prize in economics is a direct or indirect reply to this regression by awarding the Prize to economists who worked on the importance of creativity and science on growth (not very surprising at first look!)

Trump emmerde le Monde [cover]

Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2025 by xi'an

Choice [book review]

Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Travel, University life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2025 by xi'an

I first got attracted by this book thanks to its beautiful cover (in a Seattle bookstore last year)! The book is an aggregate of three stories, loosely related around the themes of altruism and disastrous good intentions. I did not like the first story, about the disintegration of a gay couple by ways of (OCD) psychiatric issues as well as an increasing radicalism towards Ayush’s societal choices, with some shocking episodes as when he shows illegal filming from pig abattoirs to their young children. I saw some worth in the second story, when a classic academic gets obsessed with the migration of a Sudanese child-soldier to the point of obsession, removing herself from her job and civic duties, as in not reporting a possible hit & run, and eventually gifting a kidney to the refugee’s brother. As a dubious reparation for her grand-parents’ involvement in the British Raj colonialism. I mostly enjoyed the third one, where Sabita, a rural Bengali or Bangladeshi woman, receives a cow from experimental economists (in the spirit of Esther Duflo’s school), a stupendous gift that is slowly unraveling her family and her precarious finances. However, my overall impression is one of an overly ideological posture, tending to caricatures (esp. of academics) and compartmentalisation of individuals, to the detriment of the book per se and to the depth of its characters. The last story is further strongly condescending towards the main character who proves unable to manage the cow (and her family), again forcing the trait for the sake of the political argument. The Guardian is more appreciative of the book, however.

and it only gets worse [the return]

Posted in Kids, pictures, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2025 by xi'an

“The EU has been very tough over the years and was formed to really do damage to the United States in trade through a little bit of a monopoly situation to create a unified force against the United States.” DJ Trump

“We need to get better at treating [deportation] like a business, like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings.” ICE Director Todd Lyons

“The EU make [sic] it so difficult, the standards and the tests as they drop a bowling ball on the top of your car from 20 feet up in the air and if there’s a little dent, they say no, I’m sorry, your car doesn’t qualify.”DJ Trump

“We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture” JD Vance

“I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass.” DJ Trump

“The implications of the [Trump] government’s position [are] that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress if judicial review is denied unlawfully before removal. History is no stranger to such lawless regimes, but this nation’s system of laws is designed to prevent, not enable, their rise.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor

“I think [the Russian missile bombing of Sumy] was terrible and I was told [the Russian attackers] made a mistake, but I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. This war would never have started if I were president. That war is a shame.” DJ Trump