Sionn NicNèill

Dealbhadair/Èic-eòlaiche/Neach-stadastaireachd 🏳️‍🌈 Is e Gàidheal ioma-chinnidheach is Latina a th' annam Dealain is beachdan [Artist/Ecologist/Statistician. Queer. Multiracial (Scottish Gael/multracial Latina) I post art and hot takes]

[evenlyevi]

Here again.

[queer-scots-geordie-dyke]

Europeans acting so surprised when Africans are good at shit is racism of the highest order, BTW. The societally ingrained idea that Africa as a continent is full of backwards uneducated primitives is still very much alive and well.

Very much in evidence in European footie fans at the World Cup when their teams face African ones, and I've seen it in England fans who were expecting an easy win against the DRC and instead, we barely scraped through.

[ismisesionnachan]

[grimdr]

tumblr users love to pretend that just because they don’t care about colonialism it means no-one else who spends time analyzing, criticizing, and challenging colonialism does, either.

they couldn’t possibly be genuinely invested in Indigenous peoples’ liberation and the destruction of colonial and neocolonial systems of oppression! if it doesn’t matter to me, it obviously couldn’t really matter to anyone else; it must just be a ~virtue-signaling~ performance.

[ismisesionnachan]

How I wish this nonsense was restricted to Tumblr! People have said wild stuff to my wife IRL , implying she's invested in these issues to placate me* and not because she has an independent moral compass.

Based on my experience, I think it's a corollary of the "Indigenous people are extinct' mindset. A lot of folks IRL really struggle to understand that

living Indigenous communities and cultures exist

those peoples are currently in active conflict with colonial governments and systems

those conflicts are over our immediate material wellbeing

I think this is made worse by the fact that Indigenous rights tend to only break into mainstream awareness when a particular group of Indigenous people becomes a useful political football. So people learn the pattern 'Indigenous rights/colonialism is something you bring up to make your real point' rather than seeing Indigenous people and our/their issues as having real value.

*the mindset of 'your culture is basically just a weird hobby' lurks just beneath the surface

[cartooningsss]

[liebelesbe]

june is over... goodbye pride month, hello disability pride month!!

[an-ruraiocht]

"nothing you do as an individual will make a difference" gee it's almost like i was suggesting getting involved in larger actions and becoming part of a community movement so that individual involvement could actually add up to something bigger and empower people to take on the biggest problems

i don't care if you think you're agreeing with me, you're being a doomer and encouraging people to do nothing and to just despair because they can't personally eliminate fossil fuel corporations from existence in the space of a day, that's NOT USEFUL

no the small things don't fix everything! yes the small things do fix something! the small things are therefore worth doing! joining up with other people doing the small things will make them into bigger things! doing the small things is how you learn how to do the bigger things!

[an-ruraiocht]

"nothing you do as an individual will make a difference" every fucking tree makes a difference. does it change the global temperature? no. does it make that patch of land more livable? yes. does it provide habitat, shade, oxygen? yes.

i am talking about building community + natural resilience in the face of climate change. yes that needs to go hand in hand with the broader legislative and global changes to avert it. but I'm talking about how do we deal with it now. how do we survive long enough to do that. how do we build our towns and cities in ways that can endure.

get the fuck out with your doom and despair. if you're not going to help, don't pretend you're part of the solution

[ismisesionnachan]

I’ve noticed that there is a lot of Perfect Solution Fallacy thinking in leftist spaces, where a suggested action gets dismissed out of hand because it fails to solve the entire problem in one go, and it drives me up a wall. Because the choice here isn’t between ‘plant some trees’ and ‘fix climate change forever’. It’s a choice between ‘plant some trees*’ and ‘do fuck all’.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve spent my adult professional life working to decarbonize the power grid. A lot of that time has been me working to get renewable energy projects connected to the grid, one wind farm or solar array or tide turbine or geothermal well or battery at a time. Any given project can take two to five years to come online. Phrased this way, it sounds like spitting into the ocean. Plenty of people have told me this and scolded me for wasting my time getting renewable energy hooked up to the grid when I should be Doing Something (unspecified) to Overthrow The System.

But here’s the thing: a lot of us have been spitting into the ocean. The people physically hauling solar panels out and setting them on racks. The people planning the wind farm layout so it maximizes air flow and minimizes bird injuries. The people funding these projects…. and so on.

And it’s fucking working:

In 2023, renewable energy was over 30% of the world's energy production (with more coming onto the grid as I type this)

This spring in the United States, the output from solar panels exceeded that of coal-fired power plants thanks to distributed gen (aka 'rooftop solar' or 'community solar').

Globally, renewables are replacing coal on the grid

While we still have a LOT of work to do, every kw of fossil fuel energy displaced by renewables matters.

I firmly believe we are most effective when we pick something helpful that we can do, that we care deeply about, no matter if it seems small, and focus on doing that thing. This is not me saying we should give up on radical goals and be content with half-assed improvements because it’s better than nothing. I’m saying that radical goal is often attained because a lot of people chose to take achievable, concrete steps towards that goal.

If you are panicking about climate change (which is a completely reasonable reaction!), and want to do something to help, here is my literal professional opinion:

Go to Project Drawdown's list of climate solutions. Filter for the 'highly recommended' and 'worthwhile' ones.

Find one of the causes that you feel passionate about (there are plenty of people-centric ones— climate change is a social justice issue!)

Look for achievable actions you can do personally to support that cause. Play to your strengths and interests! Don’t worry about scale! Planting one window box of native flowers is better than zero window boxes [stats].

Do one of the achievable actions. Then do another one...

There’s a tendency in activist spaces to glorify the people who do big flashy actions or make big ideological proclamations and then neglect the people who were equally important to the success of a cause. Visionaries need people to bring that vision into reality. Remember what I said about the solar array? That was not the product of one person making a solar array happen— it involved a math nerd doing math and a slick salesperson securing funding and a factory worker and a beefy person assembling the array and all of those people were critical. If you show up for the cause and lift boxes of supplies or dig holes for trees or hand out snacks or give rides or write to local politicians or spread the word on social media or provide translation services or make cute posters or whatever you're doing... you are helping and that is fucking awesome.

Embrace your niche skills and interests instead of trying to fit into the popcultural ideal of an activist! So many social and economic and ecological issues are deeply connected, and they’re all important. Do not underestimate the power of a determined weirdo to do good -- if you, say, encounter a rare butterfly species and make it your personal mission to help save it from extinction, you are helping and that is fucking awesome. The world is a better place because we still have Palos Verdes blue butterflies.

*or something else useful!

[ismisesionnachan]

In a marine life theme with my sketches lately…

[prinnay]

+ What a Day +

[godzillabreath]

Lynx and salmon, an Ivan Bilibin-inspired piece for the Polar Lights 4 charity zine!

Check out the full zine, all proceeds go to Arctic conservation: polarlightszine.itch.io/polar-lights-4

[bi-trans-alliance]

#BWithTheT says “Black Trans Lives Matter” at Pride in London, July 2019

(source) (bi groups in the UK & Ireland) (trans groups)

[mariacallous]

www.tumblr.com/thewitchness/820611382581035009/i-did-expect-tumblr-to-talk-more-about-the

I did expect Tumblr to talk more about the Venezuelan earthquakes, though.

What with all the charity work people allegedly do on here.

Prev that is because leftist can't blame Israel or jews or America for an unfortunate natural disaster that has undeniably gotten worse for its victims thanks to a corrupt and failing socialist government. Although they definitely have tried anyway!

Plus venezuelans don't have the same framing of noble savage revolutionaries against an evil empire facing a literal genocide palestinians have been given by western lefties for the antisocial marxists to "care" about them as much and at the same time they pedal propalestinianism. Which might also explain why there's virtually no tumblr venezuela donation scams

I just also get tired of this "why is no one talking about [x]!!!!" because it's like...idk, that's your circle, girl

[prismatic-bell]

I've see a decent amount of people talking about it on my dash, but they've all just been boosting Venezuelan voices. Which isn't to say boosting Venezuelan voices is a bad thing (it's an extremely good thing), it's just to say that right now a lot of people don't seem to have any idea what to do.

But we can fix that!!

World Central Kitchen is on the ground feeding survivors. This is the direct donation link for their Caracas campaign.

Catholic Relief Services is running a rebuilding campaign for those who have lost their homes. You can donate here.

GoFundMe has created a page of fundraisers they have verified are real survivors and/or charities running global campaigns via GFM. While normally I'd say "donate to a charity directly because they can help more people with the same dollar," I'm going to advise that this may be worth a look. I see at least one person who desperately needs insulin, and unlike the "we totally vetted this guy" Tumblr posts, GFM actually has a legal obligation if they say it. They're actually doing the work with professional tools.

The United Way is a unique charity in that what it does is fund many other, smaller charities. They use their reach and size to collect money, then distribute it to the tiny local places doing a lot of good work on a budget of two nickels and a piece of chewing gum. They're collecting for Venezuela here.

Doctors Without Borders has a lot of problems that have become extremely evident in the last couple of years, but utilizing their donations appropriately is not one of those problems. They're getting trauma kits to Venezuelan hospitals so survivors can be treated. You can donate to their Venezuela campaign here.

[ismisesionnachan]

More donation options if you want to help Venezuelans in the aftermath of the double earthquake.

[processes]

minimalist pencil sketches of cats by Shou Xin (手訫)

substack

[creekfiend]

a funny thing about having conversations with people within institutions (academic in this case but also others) about gatekeeping, is that you end up having a conversation over and over in which you're like, "hey this alligator spike pit moat you have erected around your institution is keeping a lot of people out," and they're like, "well *I* navigated the alligator spike pit moat just fine," and you're like, "right. by dint of us having this conversation, you within the institution and me without, it is understood that you navigated the alligator spike pit moat. due to that being an inherent requirement of entering the institution," and they're like, "I don't think you understand the prestigious history of our alligator spike pit moat," and you're like, "is there a reason why there needs to be an alligator spike pit moat encircling the concept of higher education?" and they're like, "look, the alligator spike pit moat isn't for everyone. some people just aren't cut out for the alligator spike pit moat :)" and you're like, "right, yeah, like disabled people and people coming from poverty or unstable home environments or underserved communities or people dealing with difficult to navigate life events like pregnancy or abuse or prison or addiction or the death of a loved one, for example" and they're like, "how dare you imply that we are keeping those people out on purpose. it's their own problem if they can't wrestle the alligators and avoid the spikes while also disabled and/or poor and/or pregnant etc" and you're like, "well that seems evil," and they're like, "it sounds like maybe you're just bitter about the alligator spike pit moat because of your totally random individual experience with ONE bad alligator spike pit moat. have you considered therapy?" and you're like, "did you know that there's some patterns here in terms of how y'all are handling this stuff?" and they're like, "actually yes. we even have a department of alligator spike pit studies :)" and you're like, "that's great, how do I get access to and participate in those conversations?" and they're like, "well firstly you must cross the alligator spike pit moat"

[creekfiend]

if you can document that you have a medical condition that might make it challenging for you to navigate the alligator spike pit moat, they'll give you an extra 20 minutes to complete your navigation of the alligator spike pit moat

[creekfiend]

IMPORTANT: any injuries incurred as a result of navigating the alligator spike pit moat will be the sole responsibility of the injured parties. once you leave, the people who made you navigate the alligator spike pit moat and the institution that installed the alligator spike pit moat will never contact you again. except sometimes to ask you for more money.

[creekfiend]

iiiiii love this framing, you're so right

[ismisesionnachan]

Some thoughts I had in response to this post:

A great many people who crossed the same alligator spike pit moats as me told me it's wasn't that bad, and then casually revealed they were gifted grandpa's spike-proof suit and had alligator-charming lessons starting in toddlerhood, and mom's map of the spike layout to study. They thought this was normal, and genuinely believed they had navigated the alligator spike pit moat without an unusual amount of assistance.

As a corollary, the alligator spike pit moat does not, in fact, weed out unserious and/or terminally mediocre individuals, because many of those people have been gifted alligator-grappling tools and spike-resistant boots. Alligators and spikes deter a great many enthusiastic, hardworking, and talented people who don't have a bunch of fancy protective gear and extensive training in alligator spike pit navigation.

As a second corollary, I am very grateful for the unusual amount of assistance I received in crossing the alligator spike pit moat.

A disturbing number of people did, in fact, acknowledge that the alligator spike pit moat was intended to keep people like me away from people like them and loudly expressed their displeasure that I was not eaten by alligators. One of them used the word 'besmirch'.

An equally disturbing number of people have attempted to use my successful navigation of the alligator spike pit moat as proof that my kind are not being kept out on purpose-- if I navigated it, everyone else is clearly just being lazy. Many of these people seemed to hope that my adventure in the alligator spike pit moat would make me see their point of view re: the alligator spike pit moat being necessary to ensure meritocracy bootstraps were happening in a meritorious and bootstrappy manner. It did the opposite.

TLdr: I have two STEM degrees from institutions known for the viciousness of the alligators and sharpness of the spikes in their alligator spike pit moats. This is not sour grapes. Fuck the alligator spike pit moat.

[zvaigzdelasas]

the solution to the Mathematician's Lament is to teach calculus in early grade school if not kindergarten & i am being 100% unironic

[zvaigzdelasas]

5-Year-Olds Can Learn Calculus

Why playing with algebraic and calculus concepts—rather than doing arithmetic drills—may be a better way to introduce children t

The familiar, hierarchical sequence of math instruction starts with counting, followed by addition and subtraction, then multiplication and division. The computational set expands to include bigger and bigger numbers, and at some point, fractions enter the picture, too. Then in early adolescence, students are introduced to patterns of numbers and letters, in the entirely new subject of algebra. A minority of students then wend their way through geometry, trigonometry and, finally, calculus, which is considered the pinnacle of high-school-level math.

But this progression actually “has nothing to do with how people think, how children grow and learn, or how mathematics is built,” says pioneering math educator and curriculum designer Maria Droujkova. She echoes a number of voices from around the world that want to revolutionize the way math is taught, bringing it more in line with these principles.

The current sequence is merely an entrenched historical accident that strips much of the fun out of what she describes as the “playful universe” of mathematics, with its more than 60 top-level disciplines, and its manifestations in everything from weaving to building, nature, music and art. Worse, the standard curriculum starts with arithmetic, which Droujkova says is much harder for young children than playful activities based on supposedly more advanced fields of mathematics.

“Calculations kids are forced to do are often so developmentally inappropriate, the experience amounts to torture,” she says. They also miss the essential point—that mathematics is fundamentally about patterns and structures, rather than “little manipulations of numbers,” as she puts it. It’s akin to budding filmmakers learning first about costumes, lighting and other technical aspects, rather than about crafting meaningful stories.

[finalgirlfall]

mathematician's lament pdf on github

[ismisesionnachan]

Putting on my Statistician Hat on:

A lot of these 'advanced' concepts can be explained with manipulatives. You absolutely do not need to march people through proofs to teach calculus concepts, you can bust out some manipulatives and draw pictures and make it fun and accessible!

[sylvrndoodles]

violet-green swallow ( ˙꒳​˙ )

[pannndora]

A good life for the 99% isn’t a pipe dream: it can be done. Here’s how

Our plan is radical – but by transforming how we live on a finite planet, nearly everyone gains, says Thomas Piketty and researchers from th

A habitable, equal and prosperous 21st century is materially possible. The carbon budget allows it and history offers precedents at comparable scales: universal suffrage, the universalisation of healthcare and education, the halving of working hours and the sharp compression of inequality over the 20th century. Technical impossibility is not what is standing in the way, but rather the absence of a shared vision of social progress, at once concrete and radical. What it will take instead is political choice, and the hard work of coalition-building behind it.

I was despairing last night but Raye was right - my joy comes in the morning! This is the future I want to live in. And it is possible.

[ismisesionnachan]

I absolutely love this. LOVE IT.

I'm a "sustainability professional" ie, my personal obsession professional focus is decarbonizing the energy grid for the past fifteen years. These ideas are not new, but the packaging of everything into one cohesive plan and explicitly connecting the the social justice, economics, and environmental goals into one coherent package, with a concrete explanation of how this would improve peoples' daily lives, is a great move.

One of the problems we've had in both environmental and social justice spaces is the lack of "connecting dots". Corporate feudalism propaganda has been very effective at disseminating the message that making our economic systems fair or environmentally sustainable is a big expensive imposition when it's just the opposite.