Witness my descent into madness

if i look back, i am lost
Today's Document

tannertan36
trying on a metaphor

Janaina Medeiros
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

oozey mess
tumblr dot com
Jules of Nature
$LAYYYTER
styofa doing anything

pixel skylines

Discoholic 🪩
occasionally subtle
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
sheepfilms
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
cherry valley forever

Andulka
dirt enthusiast
seen from Ukraine
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@mag3-1415
Witness my descent into madness

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Like this probably sounds super obvious, but I am just now realizing that when I take notes on resources, I do not have to make my notes structured, easy to read on their own. I have the resource, and the resource itself is structured, so my notes only have to help me make sense of relationships and concepts and they do not need to be a new type of clear resource. This makes note taking so much easier and better. Now I can use my notes, not as a record, but as a tool for understanding.
Today I finished this Linux terminal commands tutorial. I started it yesterday, but only got halfway through it then, and I only finished it today because at this point some of the sections at the end are irrelevant for me, so I just read through them.
Recap/summary:
Stopped at the move/rename 'mv' command yesterday, and started with the copy 'cp' command today, so this was straightforward to use. For both of these it is recommended to use the -i option so it warns you of existing files, so you don't accidentally permanently overwrite something important.
And for directories if you want to copy/move in full, with all files within, you need to use the -R recursive option, otherwise it will only copy/move the directory as a file and not as a directory. Here's an explanation I found.
I found it confusing that sometimes -r means different thing, but in these commands at least -R is always referencing resistivity. -r however can be many many different things in different commands, and I do not know if only this tutorial loves to use these options or if these options are always particularly important (because if so then it seems to be always a good idea to check the manual before assuming what the -r option is doing for a particular command).
remove direcotry (rmdir) and remove (rm) explanations were clear.
As I worked through the tutorial, more and more explanations were neglected that I felt like they should be included. I still think the tutorial is good, you just have to be prepared to look up more things because the pace picked up and (IMO) essential parts were not explained.
One such example is the choice for explaining the use of 'locate' instead of 'find', especially so because, as I learned, 'locate' is not included as default in many Linux distributions (like mine). It would have been nice if this is mentioned in the tutorial, with at least a link to steps to install -- or if 'find' were explained, regardless if it's more complex or not.
The quick tip about the documentation symbols for regular user executing commands vs root user commands ($ and # respectively) was something really important, that I could have used previously but never seen explained before anywhere.
The bit about installing was also useful, and the side note about 'piping a command' was also something that could have used a paragraph worth of explanation of what it is, and not just be assumed you know what it means on an basics tutorial... Here's an article for it.
After this point, the only other section of interest for me right now was the one about file compression, but here too were many things that I needed to look up because of lack of explanation, that I think would have made the tutorial better if included.
For example here's a site about the tar (tape archive) command that explains the options that were used in the tutorial but not explained why they are used... huge oversight IMO.
Overall I recommend the tutorial, it started off really good, and it was good all the way, just needed more looking up towards the end. I guess the article was getting too long and maybe the author did not want to make it even longer, who knows. Now I just need to come up with some ideas to use this knowledge in the near future, so it doesn't just disappear out from my brain with time.
Today I started learning... some basic terminal commands.
My very first confusion was from terminology around the terminal/command line and shell, bash and things. Anyway, thankfully I have a smart partner who is good at explaining things, so I learned that Konsole (in KDE Linux, Command Prompt on Windows) is the program, console/terminal/command line is like the concept and shell (or any variant like bash) is what runs in the program. So that cleared some things up, which was needed since every tutorial used different words and none of them explained their word choices...
By the way I am working through this tutorial
Step-by-step Linux commands tutorial for beginners. Master essential terminal commands from scratch with practical examples and exercises.
I link it because it was really good at the beginning in explaining the basics for the difference in arguments, commands, options and parameters, as well as the directory system, which was really good help with the navigation examples afterwards.
While I am new to the terminal, I do have some programming knowledge, which did help me contextualize for myself the difference between commands, options and parameters by comparing them to functions, methods and (pre-set) parameters respectively. I have no idea if it makes sense in general or just to me, but it doesn't matter.
I love coming up with insane roundabout ways to remember commands, cuz apparently manual is hard to remember for the man command, so if I need to recall how to get information about a command and its options, I know I can just ask the "man" (or a more deranged alternatively I can think of it as asking the computer to "man"splain me the command --- if I try to ignore that mansplaining is a completely different thing).
I only got to making directories so far, barely through 1/3rd of the tutorial.
I progressed a bit more today. Honestly I got a little angry about the naming of things with apparent no logic but I know this is an old thing, and I cannot approach it from my logic that was developed around computers that were nothing like the computers this thing was developed for.
I got mad that creating a new file you use 'touch' which is not for creating new files but it can do that too... But inkeeping with my bullshit ideas to make me remember these commands for this I imagine I am like God and with my touch I can create new life(file).
The 'cat' command for reading files was another that made me work for the connection between name and function, but I realized if I think of reading a file as something that appends each line of a file after each other then I can connect concatenate to it.
The 'nano' word editing was interesting, I heard of vim, though never used it, but I never heard of nano. It is definitely something you need to learn to use but it seems perfectly learnable with a little practice.
The 'less' and 'more' and less being more than more made no sense to me. This is a part I did not manage to wrap my head around.... I'll have to revisit this section at some point.
However, the fact that to move or rename a file is done by the same command is a stroke of genius. It makes so much sense, I would never have thought of it if I had to create these, but it makes sense. I love it.
That was all the progress for today.
Today I started learning... some basic terminal commands.
My very first confusion was from terminology around the terminal/command line and shell, bash and things. Anyway, thankfully I have a smart partner who is good at explaining things, so I learned that Konsole (in KDE Linux, Command Prompt on Windows) is the program, console/terminal/command line is like the concept and shell (or any variant like bash) is what runs in the program. So that cleared some things up, which was needed since every tutorial used different words and none of them explained their word choices...
By the way I am working through this tutorial
Step-by-step Linux commands tutorial for beginners. Master essential terminal commands from scratch with practical examples and exercises.
I link it because it was really good at the beginning in explaining the basics for the difference in arguments, commands, options and parameters, as well as the directory system, which was really good help with the navigation examples afterwards.
While I am new to the terminal, I do have some programming knowledge, which did help me contextualize for myself the difference between commands, options and parameters by comparing them to functions, methods and (pre-set) parameters respectively. I have no idea if it makes sense in general or just to me, but it doesn't matter.
I love coming up with insane roundabout ways to remember commands, cuz apparently manual is hard to remember for the man command, so if I need to recall how to get information about a command and its options, I know I can just ask the "man" (or a more deranged alternatively I can think of it as asking the computer to "man"splain me the command --- if I try to ignore that mansplaining is a completely different thing).
I only got to making directories so far, barely through 1/3rd of the tutorial.

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i was waiting for something in the lab for like 25 minutes and i did not take my adhd meds so this shitty notebook paper zine thing happened and i decided you need to see it too
***this is not scientific advice***
As you can tell. I have had more productive work days in my life. Oh well.
do you have any advice for reading journal papers? sometimes the material is so dense I find them difficult to read!
some of these coincide with general study tips but here's a list from my experience:
Printing out papers—I tried using a computer and it just doesn't work for me
Reading in the order of abstract—introduction—conclusion—results/discussion—methods. Reading the conclusion towards the beginning helps me connect things more easily
Having a "scrap" notebook to just jot down thoughts—It can be important stuff or just figuring out basic concepts or doodling. Allowing my brain to wander helps me process what I'm reading. Nothing needs to be neat or organized since I write up notes after anyways
Having a "scrap" notes doc for citations or links with brief descriptions of what it is. You can also use this to copy/paste important quotes and put a link/pg #. I get overwhelmed having too many tabs open—if you are not reading for a specific research project this is not usually necessary and can be too much if you are just starting to read journal papers
I recommend looking up things you are unsure of, even if they seem elementary—however if it's taking too long, just put a question mark and come back to it... Its a process to know your limits
Having a pomodoro-like timer—mine is set to 32m, with 8-16m breaks. Reading continuously makes it harder (at least for me). Sometimes I'll put it down and restart the next day if it feels like a bunch of jumble
Changing environment, being in public study spaces (e.g. library) helps me focus and other people studying puts pressure on me to not constantly check my phone
Check if your school has a journal club in your subject area. It can seem like a lot at first but it exposes you to the language and eventually you'll be able to connect the dots. Also don't be afraid to ask questions, journal clubs are specifically made for discussion of papers!
You can also ask questions to professors in that field, whether in class or by email (although a lot of professors tend to not be great at answering emails)
Trying to do too many things at once will overwhelm me so its mostly me finding ways to organize my brain. It's going to be different for everyone but hopefully some of these helps!
My current reading is centered around the same topic so I started with an overview paper (like a "review" paper) then I started reading more specific papers. Reading about the same topic goes faster since you are familiar with the language / concepts.
I will say some physicist (or some STEM people) are not... the greatest writers so it does make it a little bit more difficult to read. It's okay if it takes you a few days to read a paper, as with most things you'll get better/faster with practice.
Most of the time timers for study sessions do not work for me. I find them startling, and if a timer goes off there is almost no way for me to ignore that and keep working, I will 99% of the time get pulled out of whatever I was doing and will have trouble continuing (however I can use this for breaks when it is advantages to get pulled out of whatever I am doing).
Anyway an alternative way I found to use pomodoro-style sessions but with less distracting timer ending is to find a background music video with length you want your study/work session to be (30-60 minutes usually for me) and put that on. If I am deep in work I might not notice that the music has stopped, but if I am not I will and then I can take a break since I was not deep in work. This works wonders*
I think a key moment that early career researchers need to learn is to shake off the fear of looking stupid when you're giving a presentation and actually explain the background
I am guilty of this myself so don't take this as me scoffing from a high horse because I'm very much not but I see a lot of our undergraduates, masters students, and even the new phd students who assume the audience knows the context
and I'm not even talking about the science context, I'm talking explain what you're doing!!
if you're talking about how you've coded scripts to do the complex mapping then explain all the parts and how to use it
or if you've done selection cuts on a dataset explain how you came to those cuts, whether it theory driven or empirical
explain your terminology on your slides, even if it's a note at the side because I bet even if this is just a talk to your own research group there's gonna be at least one person who's missed the definition and doesn't wanna speak up!
peace and love and do good science
I have to send out reminders for this since this is an issue for a conference I'm helping organize. We love hearing what early career people are doing! But please explain the jargon! It really helps clarify ideas for your own sake, too.
Exploratory research is vital for discovery, but often undervalued. Here I argue it is key to scientific progress & needs defending.

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Interesting Reviews for Week 25, 2025
Chaotic recurrent neural networks for brain modelling: A review. Mattera, A., Alfieri, V., Granato, G., & Baldassarre, G. (2025). Neural Networks, 184, 107079.
The computational perspective: A catalyst for research questions in cognitive neuroscience? Trapp, S., Whitney, D., & Pascucci, D. (2025). Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 169, 105966.
Principles governing the effects of sensory loss on human abilities: An integrative review. Kolarik, A. J., & Moore, B. C. J. (2025). Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 169, 105986.
Excitation–Inhibition Balance, Neural Criticality, and Activities in Neuronal Circuits. Liang, J., Yang, Z., & Zhou, C. (2025). The Neuroscientist, 31(1), 31–46.
readings: essays, articles & short stories pt. 2
the winter of civilisation
fruits we'll never taste, languages we'll never hear: the need for needless complexity
emily dickinson and the creative solitude of space
the lost art of looking at nature
the bowl, the ram and the folded map: navigating the complicated world
ada limón on preparing the body for a reopened world
before it was 'bittersweet', nostalgia was seen as a parasite
why alien languages could be far stranger than we imagine
the fig leaf, benjamin shane evans
cat pianos, sound-houses, and other imaginary musical instruments
of shark moves, shell shocks, and trash landings on the moon
as bright as a feather — ostriches, home dyeing, and the global plume trade
getting ahead, jonas karlsson
do these florida dolphins have a language?
the form of a demon and the heart of a person: kitagawa utamaro's prints of yamauba and kintarō (ca. 1800)
who needs ai text-generation when there's erasmus of rotterdam
when memories from fiction become part of who you are
how do transgender people remember their earlier selves?
"these researchers published a paper on something that literally any of us could have told you 🙄" ok well my supervisors wont let me write something in my thesis unless I can back it up with a citation so maybe it's a good thing that they're amplifying your voice to the scientific community in a way that prevents people from writing off your experiences as annecdotal evidence
they did the research in the first place because they believed you and wanted to tell people about it. they are not our enemies.
it doesn’t have to be good it just has to be done
Damn photos of notes aren't doing it for me anymore, which is sad since they brought me joy. I just want to read about what people are learning and how they interact with the material.
How do you study in your field?

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journals + americano
I'm already 1/3 done with this new notebook and I only started it in May :S
With how difficult I find it to find one with a proper page count and blank paper pages, it's worryingly fast. I have a couple empty ones still but at this rate I'll be out of them by the end of the year...
Maybe I should look into bulk buying somewhere and buy like 60 of them ... And that would last me maybe.. 10 years. That sounds insane.