#plural futures lab

[extremely-nervess]

So, what’s the story with Fae? Why is her (?) face turning into rock?

Faelyn is a her indeed, and its not rock, its actually keratin, and its the result of a gene editing retrovirus she contracted resucing someone from a (morally ambiguous) lab. Its not just her face, honestly her face is doing better than most of her.

Never sure how much context to give haha so if you just wanted the short version stop reading here... Said virus (plural actually) was designed with the intention of force evolving genetically similar species into a presumed extinct alien, and its not really something that should affect humans. Fae managed to contract it when wounded likely because she is the daughter of a heavily gene-modded pop star, and her genetic code is designed to be easily modified and extended, and is full of dormant 'designer' viral strains which have interacted with these newcomers. As a result, Fae is very sick. The Keratin growths precede withering of the affected areas, and at this point she's more or less lost the use of her extremities. She's an emotionally robust person, and modern (Far far future from our perspective) medicine, and robotic assistive technology has helped keep her active thus far, but its not looking good. Alecto has had to handle some missions solo, and while Fae has pushed herself to join in one some that she felt were important she's really on her last legs both physically and emotionally.

[official-megumin]

alright

So I have seen a few people talking about uterus transplants on this site and other places.

And other than the obvious(transphobes) not fully understanding how it works, it seems to be treated as almost some magical miracle treatment we'll get one day, which almost certainly boils down to how taboo the topic is.

I have personally read up on it as much as I can(specifically to shut up transphobes spreading misinformation)

So I felt like I had to set some reasonable expectations so we don't all set ourselves up for disaster once the technology fully arrives(which it will soon)

So first off, yes. Trans women and other AMAB people will be able to get uterus transplants. There isn't some mystical "maleness" that prevents trans women from being able to have a uterus transplanted into them or from being able to get pregnant. But it does have its limits.

This technology has already been successfully performed on cis women(note plural), and there is no reason to believe it won't be able to be done on a trans woman sooner rather than later(I am no expert, but I would still hazard to guess that the biggest hurdle for that right now is public perception and bigotry)

This means that we also more or less know what it will be able to accomplish.

There has been at least one successful pregnancy borne to term with a transplanted uterus, so yes. Trans women will be able to bear children sometime in the near future.

But, there is a big caveat. You won't be able to keep the transplanted uterus post pregnancy. This has nothing to do with AGAB or anything like that, it is the exact same thing for cis women.

Unfortunately organ transplants are very complex, and even in other less particular organs, you still need to be on immunosuppressants for the rest of your life to prevent your body from attacking the new organ.

The same sadly also goes for a uterus. You will essentially only be able to have a uterus transplanted into you, go through your pregnancy whilst immunosuppressants, and then get a hysterectomy when you've given birth.

Again, this complications arrise with any organ transplant, so it has NOTHING to do with trans women not being "real women" and anyone trying to tell you that a uterus would "wither away in a male body" is lying to you.

A womb doesn't need two x chromosomes to form to begin with. There are plenty of intersex AMAB people born with uteri(myself most likely included).

I don't mean to crush any dreams or bring down the mood, I just don't want anyone to stay waiting for some ideal future that likely never will arrive.

I can't predict the future, I am not a doctor or biologist. I can't say for sure that we will never develop a technology that removes all the risk of organ transplants. It is also very possible that we develop a way to make you grow a uterus or other organs in your body after being born, or even just lab grown organs using your own DNA.

All I know is how organ transplants work currently and for the forseeable future.

[martletfan64]

Yapping about Chujin and Martlet's relationship

This is just a jumble of thoughts I've had about Martlet and Chujin's relationship in Undertale Yellow.

Aside from Clover, Chujin is Martlet's most important relationship. He taught her woodworking for free, and was always kind to her. She clearly idolized the man, to the point of trusting in his words enough to break into the True Lab and steal a Determination serum out of the fear of humanity his warnings gave her. Indeed, although her anti-human beliefs are clearly not as strong as Chujin's, and completely disappear in Pacifist or low-LV Neutral, but she does have some anti-human sentiment ("You're a human through and through" in Vengeance, though she follows this with "I want you to know, I don't hate your kind," and she'd clearly never say something as strong as that they're "incapable of decency in any form", except for maybe the very end of a Vengeance route; even in that route she says she longs for eventual peace between humans and monsters, and, of course, she is deeply unwilling to intentionally kill Clover1, much like Clover is very unwilling to kill her; part of which makes Vengeance a tragedy). Martlet also states that Chujin was "almost like a father" to her (which leads me to believe she didn't really have a father figure before, though that's getting into headcanon territory). And, given she doesn't really mention having friends besides him, I do believe it's unreasonable to believe Chujin was Martlet's best friend too.

Of course, her relationship isn't as perfect as Martlet thought it was (in True Pacifist, Martlet she once saw Chujin as "the perfect monsters"); Chujin is very secretive by nature, and he didn't even reveal her the tapes, unlike what she did with Ceroba with the tapes, there's no evidence she ever met Kanako, and though she did meet Ceroba, as confirmed in Neutral, she only refers to her as an acquaintance (though interestingly, the final Pacifist boss fight includes the flavor text "Ceroba tries to ignore the condition of her friends," plural).

And when Martlet watches the tapes, she posthumously learns his secrets, his experiments (and she didn't even watch the secret tape! Imagine how she'd feel if she learned his mentor unintentionally killed a child and didn't really feel that much remorse, from it, and instead that child's SOUL for his experiments.) And, in contrast to Ceroba's devotion to the goal, harmful as it is to her and everyone to herself, because she can't bear failing him, realizing her beloved husband might have been wrong, Martlet realizes what the serum means for Clover, someone whose protection she is dedicated to at this point, an innocent child, human or not2, and is immediately opposed to it. She is immediately critcal of him, and although I imagine post-Pacifist he'd still be fond of him and the positive aspects of his legacy (small acts of kindness, helping others; I do believe Martlet starts mentoring others in the future), his memories would be tainted by his plan, the plan that led to his death, the destruction of a family, Clover nearly getting murdered and Starlo and her being badly injured, for a serum that was never proven to work. And, of course, she'd realize both humans and monsters can be good... and flawed. By the end of Vengeance, the cycle of vengeance continues, Clover has killed Martlet and Chujin has been vindicated. By True Pacifist, Martlet and Clover overcome their prejudice against the other race, the cycle of vengeance can be broken, and Chujin has been proven wrong: humans can be good people too. Difficult as it is, the cycle can end, there can be peace between the two races.

Though it's a shame Martlet never got a happy ending with Clover. Well, Undertale Yellow was always going to be a tragedy. It's ironic, but in a game about justice, the pair never truly get it. Thanks to Flowey, thanks to the unjust anti-human law, Clover was never allowed the happy childhood they deserved, the one Martlet would have tried their best to give them. In the end, the anti-human law ended harming monsters too. Martlet always tries to do the right thing, and yet she's too powerless to win in any ending. She didn't deserve the fates her universe gave her. Poor bird... and yet, she'd never stop trying to do the right thing, and never forget Clover... and Chujin, the man who taught her woodworking, who was always kind to her... and the man who taught not to put others on a pedestal.

1: Though she can totally unintentionally kill even a Pacifist Clover lol. Definitely would feel an immense amount of guilt about it if Flowey didn't reset.

2: Incidentally, one of my favorite Martlet moments is when she states that no, the future children would not deserve to be murdered.

[plum-petals]

Hi Rosie!! Firstly I adore this world you created! The story literally lives rent free in my head! But I had a question. Now we know that most of the marked ones have secondary signets in canon, we aren’t told when Liam figures his out but it is mentioned that he has the ability to create ice. My question is will our precious assistant be telling his boss about this if you decide to keep this bit of canon intact. If so, will this lead to her figuring out that Xaden potentially has a second signet? (And will adorable Ivan be getting one as well?) Because I feel, if Violet and Liam have that conversation it would only be fair for her to share what she can about the time stopping. And she could tell him. There’s no reason for her to divulge everything about how the signet works just what she can do temporarily. Of course she would have to get permission from the grump first, but still Liam would probably figure it out left to his own devices. Our boy is little too smart and perceptive for his own good sometimes.

As a side note! I just adore the relationship that Violet and Liam have in your story so much! Not to say I don’t love how Violet interacts with her whole squad, but these two have a special place in my heart. If you ever find the time it would be really cute to maybe get a snippet of their late night talks. You could call Conversations from the Lab. 😆! I can see these two theorizing some outlandish shit for sure!!

Ok enough out of me! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing world with us! This story hits just right in every way. I can’t wait for what you have coming up next!!

Thank you, this is so kind 🥹 I love sharing it with everybody! A lot of your questions would be spoilers, so I'm just going to put some of my canon-adjacent assumptions and let you know how it'll inform Spyverse.

I think Liam manifests before the final battle because Xaden knew what his second signet was when Violet asked about it.

There is some disagreement whether or not all marked ones have second signets or if it's down to the dragons they bond with... I understand Sgaeyl bonded to Xaden's grandfather and that would explain his, but that doesn't fit for me... like I just don't buy dragon riders in your family tree are that common in Tyrrendor. I blame Xaden's "our dragons picked us for a reason" shit... like that implication that every single marked one that have been revealed to have a second signet so far (Xaden, Garrick, Liam, Imogen) had to have bonded with a dragon their ancestor bonded to? Dragons appear to live like ~two centuries (Tairn being a little over 100 and described as middle-aged for dragons) so I guess it could be that way but only Xaden and Liam are mentioned to have dragon riders in their family at all. I understand dragons can lie about their names to Basgiath, but this makes less sense to me than the second signets being a consequence of their relics. It's why I think Bodhi definitely has a second signet + Xaden might even have a third one idk don't quote me on that

I could 1000% be wrong and Bodhi actually doesn't have a second signet + it's because he's the one (1) dude unlucky enough not to have a dragon alive who bonded with an ancestor... but since that's not what I think and Spyverse is a roundabout way to shove my theories and favorite stuff at you, we're going to go with the assumption that all marked ones will have second signets! That means Ivan will likely get one but I'll avoid speculating too early haha maybe I'll just make up another new signet. For funsies.

Whether or not Liam tells Violet about the ice wielding and this leads to her finding out, or she tells him about Andarna, we'll have to see! Liam is kind of going through a rough time right now after everything with War Games so they are definitely overdue for a talk in general.

I also love Violet and Liam's friendship. He's the one who puts the plural in life of spies 🥹 And I would love to write more of just the two of them in the future!

You're welcome 🥰 I'm glad you're excited!

[estavionpira]

hold on im creating future tumblr discourse in a lab.

"it's disrespectful to creators for plural people to have fictives that are inaccurate to that character's canon characterization"

how about that i think that could do numbers in 2-3 years time

[erikiara80]

Analysis of the Hawkins Post article in S3: twelvegate, Willel, gates and more

I just love analyzing the newspapers.

Finalmoondragon pointed out that in the article Larry is reading in S3, the name of the Mayor is different: Brian Williams. This is like when Hopper says that Martin Brenner runs the lab (1x03), but the name in the article is Richard Brenner. Like the different articles in 1x08 and 2x01, or when Robin reads Vengeful demon killed family, but the title is "Ancient demon", after she and Nancy mention Elvis cloned by aliens. Imo, another hint at different timelines/time loop. Like Henry's line: 'Each life a lesser copy of the one before'. Or the Horoscope in 4x01: 'in the year following your birthday, sending your copy...'

When Steve, Dustin and Lucas talk about Vecna, they even show both the titles. That's why I think these are hints, not errors.

Ok. So, there are so many interesting things in the S3 article. Many mentions of 11 and 12, doors (gates), heat and water, the elements associated with Will and El. Nancy, and even Clarke.

First line: the country's 209th birthday. Birthday, 209= 11

Then the Mayor's name: Brian Williams, not Larry Kline. Plural, like the name engraved on the grandfather clock. Williams is the judge of the competitive Float Contest, and the winners will be announced around 12 noon. So, the article starts with a mention of 11, then Williams and 12. This is really about Willel.

And there are other possible connections. The other judges are: Sherry Milbourne and Robert Franklin. Milbourne-> "mill near a stream" -> the Forever Clock that Dustin gives to Will looks like a mill. And Franklin is also mentioned along with a man named Martin.

Williams, twelve, a mill (Forever Clock), Martin (Brenner), (Upside) Down. And re-elected Judge Franklin might also be a hint at both time loop and powers. Franklin-> Benjamin Franklin-> lighting, electricity, powers. The lifeguard in 3x03: "No one in the pool until 30 minutes after the last strike. You wanna get electrocuted, go climb a tree."

Secretive task... had to move the location... creating new locations for the launch point... Hint at the new gate beneath the Mall?

This is even more interesting. There are two people with the same last name, Fuchs. They must be related, and they both mention kids. I think they represent Joyce, Hopper and their kids, Will and El. Nancy(*) Fuchs and the frequent pool-goer Jeff Fuchs, who says about the pool: 'The pool water did look a little murky, but I figured it was just from kids tracking dirt into the water.'

Fuchs is a german last name that means fox. EDIT: This could be a reference to Michael J. Fox, who plays Marty in Back to the future. Will wears Marty outfit in S1-> so the Fuchs could really represent Willel's parents, Joyce and Hopper. But the fact that it's a german name could be a reference to BTTF as well. Doc's family immigrated from Germany in 1908 and changed their name from Von Braun to Brown in WWI.

(*) If Nancy and her family are related to the Creels... another connection to time.

Also, possible reference to the experiments conducted by Nazi doctors on twins, and a connection to Dr Brenner? There's a mention of a german name connected to him in S1. Interestingly, the english variant of that name is Shepard, the guy killed in the UD that Brenner calls son. I don't think he was really his son, but it's an interesting detail, and that scene in a flashback in 4x08, when El and Brenner talk about Henry.

Anyway, sometimes the name Fuchs is used to describe someone with red hair. A possible connection to Barb, Nancy's friend, who has many parallels with El. Barb died in a pool, El is associated with water. And there are many hints throughout the show that something bad might have happened to her in a lake in the past (my car crash theory)

Nancy Fuchs works for Parks and Recreation. Here a mention of 11 and family. I really think the Fuchs represent the Hoppers, and their life is really an Obstacle Course, lol

But back to the pool, the owners are also related, and one of them is named Steve. In S3, Steve and Robin are the "twins", Tweedledee and Tweedledum. They're too connected to water (the sailor outfits), they're the ones who talk about Back to the future and time travels, and they get stuck beneath the town (the UD). Here some hints at the UD and One, and mentions of doors and leaks.

I'm also intrigued by these mentions of 1-2 (1-2 days, 1-2 surprises) because Murray seems confused about how many keys they need to close the gate. One, no, sorry, two keys. I think this could mean that everybody knows about El's powers but Will is the big surprise. The other key to save the world. Also, firework? Willel are associated with fireworks. They are the Satan's babies...

Mother of two, hm

Other 11 and 12 mentions: 39 still in Beirut... 6:15 am and 11 am... Precautions should be taken to prevent heat stroke among people over the age of 65 and under 12...

...Take time to partecipate in indoor or outdoor activities, like the pool and the Riverforest Zoo (UD?)... Explore your backyard (like the shed? Or is it a reference to the past?) Remember your Hawkins pride...

There is a mention of Lover's Lake and the library, which I'm sure will be important in S5.

And a mention of a girl, Stacey Clarke. S. Clarke. Interestingly, she's 13, like Georgie, the kid mentioned in 3x01 (I'm thinking about Henry "George Smith" Creel) S. Clarke has her whole routine planned out to audition for one of the fifteen spots...

Talent show, kids who have to prove their skills, 15 spots. This reminds me of the lab kids. Yeah, I have some thought about Mr Clarke and his role in the story...

So much to think about

[lemurzsquad]

I gave my d&d group a puzzle written in nyctography to solve, which they were somehow able to completely translate in less than 2 hours

So obviously the only logical solution is to create my own brand new writing and numerical systems to write new puzzles in

This writing system includes symbols for:

The standard alphabet

Specific doubled letters

Some common two letter pairs (th, st,, ck, ea, etc)

A ton of suffixes (but no prefixes)

Indicators for plurality, possessiveness, title/name, tone, dates, number ranges, agreement/disagreement

Common words (the, and, or, if, so, because, etc)

Past and future tense indicators for some common word symbols (like turning "is" into "was" or "will be")

Punctuation

A base 9 numerical system

Is this a little overkill when I haven't even started the campaign? Haha no 😀 absolutely not

Makes me feel like I'm giving enrichment to lab rats (which, technically, they are in the campaign)

[rapidlycrimsonscribe]

Deep Dive into Tones & Sound System – Understand Punjabi’s tonal distinctions (high, mid, low) and how tone changes meaning—sharp, gentle, and level tones accompany every lesson (ling-app.com).

Explore the Gurmukhi & Shahmukhi scripts—learn not only Gurmukhi (common in India), but also get introduced to Shahmukhi (used in Pakistan), for well-rounded literacy (mnsikhs.com).

Comprehensive noun morphology—gender (masculine, feminine, some dual), number (singular, plural), and all six cases: direct, oblique, vocative, ablative, locative, instrumental—fully explained with tables and drills (en.wikipedia.org).

Extended vs unextended noun types—learn which nouns undergo special declensions, like those ending in -ā and -ī, and their oblique forms (en.wikipedia.org).

Detailed noun declension tables allow easy practice—e.g., ghṑṛā (stallion), sakhī (girlfriend), gall (matter), ghàr (house) (en.wikipedia.org).

Verb conjugation across tenses—master present, past, future with mood and aspect variations, plus subject-verb agreement across persons.

Learn postpositions, not prepositions—use words like “vich” (in), “naal” (with), and their grammatical interactions.

Pronouns system covered: singular/plural, respectful forms (“tusi” vs “tu”), and case changes.

Adverbs, conjunctions & prepositions—connect ideas, express time, manner, place through structured examples (ling-app.com).

Linguistic comparisons with Hindi/Urdu/French/English, teaching phonology and syntax side by side for clarity .

Phonetics labs with IPA, audio drills, visual vowels/consonant mapping, and tone markings .

Hands-on grammar sessions—sentence formation, transformation, error correction, and dialogue completion.

Real world audio—listening units include interviews, folk tales, Q&A segments to build listening comprehension naturally .

Interactive flashcards and spaced-repetition quizzes help retention, vocabulary, and grammar points—built-in and adaptive.

One-on-one tutoring options available through partnered platforms, allowing personalized guidance and instant feedback (pimsleur.com).

Mid-course checkpoints and assessments—evaluations both written and oral, with actionable feedback.

Culture-infused lessons—connect with Punjab's festivals, folk music, local sayings, poetry, and proverbs in grammar context.

Specific modules on exam preparation: PPSC, PSSSB, and other competitive tests structured like Unacademy’s PPSC Punjabi series (unacademy.com).

Business & Travel Punjabi—specialized vocabulary, polite/formal register, email writing, and meeting dialogues.

Project-based learning—record cultural narrations, write travelogues, or create dialogues for practice.

Community forum & peer feedback—learn socially by correcting others, sharing audio/video practice in a supportive setting.

Course includes certification—official proficiency credential valued by employers and academic programs .

Flexible pacing—for self-learners, lessons are bite-sized; for intensive learners, 10–20 weekly lessons available .

Supportive teacher base—native Punjabi instructors with linguistics or teaching credentials ensure clarity of grammar points.

By course end, students will not just recite grammar—they’ll think, speak, read, and write Punjabi confidently, connecting meaningfully with Punjab’s linguistic legacy.

[incorrectcoldflashblog]

WIP Guessing game:

Star/stars

Hi, friend! Thank you so much for the ask <3

I only found the plural “stars” in two of my WIPs and one was literally just the sentence “He sees stars.” XD The other was from my future fic again, so might be a sign that I need to actually finish this:

The ground is under him and then it’s gone. He knows he didn’t stumble, because he felt it: his foot landing solidly, the floor taking his weight. But now he is weightless, slipping through space, the squares of darkness eating up everything in sight. Within it, he can’t even see stars, only the kaleidoscopic insides of something unknowable.

Anyway, out of curiosity, I also looked up “star” singular and found a lot of “Star Labs” and even a couple of “Star Wars” lol, but also this sentence from my Vegas fic:

Barry nips at a spot just above the hollow of Len’s hip, wishing he could map each place they’re touching, mark it with a star, like they do for important landmarks, natural wonders.

Fanfiction Work-In-Progress Guessing Game

[industrynewsupdates]

Payment Gateway Market Size, Share And Trends Analysis Report

The global payment gateway market is expected to reach USD 132.24 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 22.2% from 2023 to 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increase in online transactions, coupled with the advancements in payment methods, such as cash pooling, cashless transactions, and token systems, is expected to fuel the market growth. Moreover, rapidly increasing internet penetration across the globe is anticipated to fuel market growth over the forecast period.

Retailers and e-commerce merchants across the globe are focusing on expanding their businesses in other regions and are partnering with payment service providers. These partnerships are allowing merchants to benefit from the opportunities generated by the globalization of the e-commerce sector. Payment gateways help merchants that manage a large volume of transactions automate the complete money transfer process with faster processing speed and error-free computations.

The financial service providers focus on incorporating technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in their payment gateway systems for process automation and fraud detection. Financial service providers are also focusing on developing innovative payment gateway solutions for merchants. For instance, in October 2021, Pine Labs, a software development company, announced the launch of Plural, a payment gateway platform, to offer merchants an integrated solution for all kinds of payments.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Payment Gateway Market

Payment Gateway Market Report Highlights

• In terms of type, the hosted segment is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period owing to features such as easy payment integration, built-in compliance capabilities, and the ability to integrate more diverse methods

• In terms of enterprise size, the small and medium enterprise segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Payment gateways are used by small and medium enterprises to increase their profitability by delivering better customer experiences and reducing transaction costs

• In terms of end-use, the retail and e-commerce sector dominated the market in 2022. Factors such as better shopping experience and increased smartphone penetration are expected to increase the adoption of payment gateway systems in the retail and e-commerce sector

• North America dominated the market in 2022 and is expected to show similar trends in the near future. Growing e-commerce sales and the rapidly changing retail market in North America are the primary factors propelling the demand for fast payment solutions in the region

Payment Gateway Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global payment gateway market based on type, enterprise size, end-use, and region:

Payment Gateway Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2030)

• Hosted

• Non-hosted

Payment Gateway Enterprise Size Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2030)

• Large Enterprises

• Small & Medium Enterprises

Payment Gateway End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2030)

• BFSI

• Media & Entertainment

• Retail & E-commerce

• Travel & Hospitality

• Others

Payment Gateway Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2030)

• North America

o U.S.

o Canada

• Europe

o Germany

o U.K.

• Asia Pacific

o China

o India

o Japan

• Latin America

o Brazil

• Middle East & Africa

Order a free sample PDF of the Payment Gateway Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

[sunaleisocial]

New MIT-LUMA Lab created to address climate challenges in the Mediterranean region

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/new-mit-luma-lab-created-to-address-climate-challenges-in-the-mediterranean-region/

New MIT-LUMA Lab created to address climate challenges in the Mediterranean region

The MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and the LUMA Foundation announced today the establishment of the MIT-LUMA Lab to advance paradigm-shifting innovations at the nexus of art, science, technology, conservation, and design. The aim is to empower innovative thinkers to realize their ambitions, support local communities as they seek to address climate-related issues, and scale solutions to pressing challenges facing the Mediterranean region.  

The main programmatic pillars of the lab will be collaborative scholarship and research around design, new materials, and sustainability; scholar exchange and education collaborations between the two organizations; innovation and entrepreneurship activities to transfer new ideas into practical applications; and co-production of exhibitions and events. The hope is that this engagement will create a novel model for other institutions to follow to craft innovative solutions to the leading challenge of our time.

The MIT-LUMA Lab draws on an establishing gift from the LUMA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Zurich formed by Maja Hoffmann in 2004 to support contemporary artistic production. The foundation supports a range of multidisciplinary projects that increase understanding of the environment, human rights, education, and culture.

These themes are explored through programs organized by LUMA Arles, a project begun in 2013 and housed on a 27-acre interdisciplinary campus known as the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France, an experimental site of exhibitions, artists’ residencies, research laboratories, and educational programs.

“The Luma Foundation is committed to finding ways to address the current climate emergencies we are facing, focusing on exploring the potentials that can be found in diversity and engagement in every possible form,” says Maja Hoffmann, founder and president of the LUMA Foundation. “Cultural diversity, pluralism, and biodiversity feature at the top of our mission and our work is informed by these concepts.” 

A focus on the Mediterranean region

“The culturally rich area of the Mediterranean, which has produced some of the most remarkable civilizational paradigms across geographies and historical periods, plays an important role in our thinking. Focusing the efforts of the MIT-LUMA Lab on the Mediterranean means extending the possibilities for positive change throughout other global ecosystems,” says Hoffmann. 

“Our projects of LUMA Arles and its research laboratory on materials and natural resources, the Atelier Luma, our position in one of Europe’s most important natural reserves, in conjunction with the expertise and forward-thinking approach of MIT, define the perfect framework that will allow us to explore new frontiers and devise novel ways to tackle our most significant civilizational risks,” she adds. “Supporting the production of new forms of knowledge and practices, and with locations in Cambridge and in Arles, our collaboration and partnership with MIT will generate solutions and models for the future, for the generations to come, in order to provide them the same and even better opportunities that what we have experienced.”

“We know we do not have all the answers at MIT, but we do know how to ask the right questions, how to design effective experiments, and how to build meaningful collaborations,” says Hashim Sarkis, dean of SA+P, which will host the lab. 

“I am grateful to the LUMA Foundation for offering support for faculty research deployment designed to engage local communities and create jobs, for course development to empower our faculty to teach classes centered on these issues, and for students who seek to dedicate their lives and careers to sustainability. We also look forward to hosting fellows and researchers from the foundation to strengthen our collaboration,” he adds.

The Mediterranean region, the MIT-LUMA Lab’s focus, is one of the world’s most vital and fragile global commons. The future of climate relies on the sustainability of the region’s forests, oceans, and deserts that have for millennia created the environmental conditions and system-regulating functions necessary for life on Earth. Those who live in these areas are often the most severely affected by even relatively modest changes in the climate. 

Climate research and action: A priority at MIT

To reverse negative trends and provide a new approach to addressing the climate crisis in these vast areas, SA+P is establishing international collaborations that bring know-how to the field, and in turn to learn from the communities and groups most challenged by climate impacts.

The MIT-LUMA Lab is the first in what is envisioned as a series of regionally focused labs at SA+P under the conceptual aegis of a collaborative platform called Our Global Commons. This project will support progress on today’s climate challenges by focusing on community empowerment, long-term local collaborations around research and education, and job creation. Faculty-led fieldwork, engagements with local stakeholders, and student involvement will be the key elements.

The creation of Our Global Commons comes as MIT works to dramatically expand its efforts to address climate change. In February 2024, President Sally Kornbluth announced the Climate Project at MIT, a major new initiative to mobilize the Institute’s resources and capabilities to research, develop, deploy, and scale-up new climate solutions. The Institute will hire its first-ever vice president for climate to oversee the new effort. 

“With the Climate Project at MIT, we aim to help make a decisive difference, at scale, on crucial global climate challenges — and we can only do that by engaging with outstanding colleagues around the globe,” says Kornbluth. “By connecting us to creative thinkers steeped in the cultural and environmental history and emerging challenges of the Mediterranean region, the MIT-LUMA Lab promises to spark important new ideas and collaborations.”

“We are excited that the LUMA team will be joining in MIT’s engagement with climate issues, especially given their expertise in advancing vital work at the intersection of art and science, and their long-standing commitment to expanding the frontiers of sustainability and biodiversity,” says Sarkis. “With climate change upending many aspects of our society, the time is now for us to reaffirm and strengthen our SA+P tradition of on-the-ground work with and for communities around the world. Shared efforts among local communities, governments and corporations, and academia are necessary to bring about real change.”

[jcmarchi]

New MIT-LUMA Lab created to address climate challenges in the Mediterranean region

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/new-mit-luma-lab-created-to-address-climate-challenges-in-the-mediterranean-region/

New MIT-LUMA Lab created to address climate challenges in the Mediterranean region

The MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and the LUMA Foundation announced today the establishment of the MIT-LUMA Lab to advance paradigm-shifting innovations at the nexus of art, science, technology, conservation, and design. The aim is to empower innovative thinkers to realize their ambitions, support local communities as they seek to address climate-related issues, and scale solutions to pressing challenges facing the Mediterranean region.  

The main programmatic pillars of the lab will be collaborative scholarship and research around design, new materials, and sustainability; scholar exchange and education collaborations between the two organizations; innovation and entrepreneurship activities to transfer new ideas into practical applications; and co-production of exhibitions and events. The hope is that this engagement will create a novel model for other institutions to follow to craft innovative solutions to the leading challenge of our time.

The MIT-LUMA Lab draws on an establishing gift from the LUMA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Zurich formed by Maja Hoffmann in 2004 to support contemporary artistic production. The foundation supports a range of multidisciplinary projects that increase understanding of the environment, human rights, education, and culture.

These themes are explored through programs organized by LUMA Arles, a project begun in 2013 and housed on a 27-acre interdisciplinary campus known as the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, France, an experimental site of exhibitions, artists’ residencies, research laboratories, and educational programs.

“The Luma Foundation is committed to finding ways to address the current climate emergencies we are facing, focusing on exploring the potentials that can be found in diversity and engagement in every possible form,” says Maja Hoffmann, founder and president of the LUMA Foundation. “Cultural diversity, pluralism, and biodiversity feature at the top of our mission and our work is informed by these concepts.” 

A focus on the Mediterranean region

“The culturally rich area of the Mediterranean, which has produced some of the most remarkable civilizational paradigms across geographies and historical periods, plays an important role in our thinking. Focusing the efforts of the MIT-LUMA Lab on the Mediterranean means extending the possibilities for positive change throughout other global ecosystems,” says Hoffmann. 

“Our projects of LUMA Arles and its research laboratory on materials and natural resources, the Atelier Luma, our position in one of Europe’s most important natural reserves, in conjunction with the expertise and forward-thinking approach of MIT, define the perfect framework that will allow us to explore new frontiers and devise novel ways to tackle our most significant civilizational risks,” she adds. “Supporting the production of new forms of knowledge and practices, and with locations in Cambridge and in Arles, our collaboration and partnership with MIT will generate solutions and models for the future, for the generations to come, in order to provide them the same and even better opportunities that what we have experienced.”

“We know we do not have all the answers at MIT, but we do know how to ask the right questions, how to design effective experiments, and how to build meaningful collaborations,” says Hashim Sarkis, dean of SA+P, which will host the lab. 

“I am grateful to the LUMA Foundation for offering support for faculty research deployment designed to engage local communities and create jobs, for course development to empower our faculty to teach classes centered on these issues, and for students who seek to dedicate their lives and careers to sustainability. We also look forward to hosting fellows and researchers from the foundation to strengthen our collaboration,” he adds.

The Mediterranean region, the MIT-LUMA Lab’s focus, is one of the world’s most vital and fragile global commons. The future of climate relies on the sustainability of the region’s forests, oceans, and deserts that have for millennia created the environmental conditions and system-regulating functions necessary for life on Earth. Those who live in these areas are often the most severely affected by even relatively modest changes in the climate. 

Climate research and action: A priority at MIT

To reverse negative trends and provide a new approach to addressing the climate crisis in these vast areas, SA+P is establishing international collaborations that bring know-how to the field, and in turn to learn from the communities and groups most challenged by climate impacts.

The MIT-LUMA Lab is the first in what is envisioned as a series of regionally focused labs at SA+P under the conceptual aegis of a collaborative platform called Our Global Commons. This project will support progress on today’s climate challenges by focusing on community empowerment, long-term local collaborations around research and education, and job creation. Faculty-led fieldwork, engagements with local stakeholders, and student involvement will be the key elements.

The creation of Our Global Commons comes as MIT works to dramatically expand its efforts to address climate change. In February 2024, President Sally Kornbluth announced the Climate Project at MIT, a major new initiative to mobilize the Institute’s resources and capabilities to research, develop, deploy, and scale-up new climate solutions. The Institute will hire its first-ever vice president for climate to oversee the new effort. 

“With the Climate Project at MIT, we aim to help make a decisive difference, at scale, on crucial global climate challenges — and we can only do that by engaging with outstanding colleagues around the globe,” says Kornbluth. “By connecting us to creative thinkers steeped in the cultural and environmental history and emerging challenges of the Mediterranean region, the MIT-LUMA Lab promises to spark important new ideas and collaborations.”

“We are excited that the LUMA team will be joining in MIT’s engagement with climate issues, especially given their expertise in advancing vital work at the intersection of art and science, and their long-standing commitment to expanding the frontiers of sustainability and biodiversity,” says Sarkis. “With climate change upending many aspects of our society, the time is now for us to reaffirm and strengthen our SA+P tradition of on-the-ground work with and for communities around the world. Shared efforts among local communities, governments and corporations, and academia are necessary to bring about real change.”

[sophieinwonderland]

Hi @reddiscourse. I see you're back! Long time no see!

Anyway, first point, Blue Beetle is canonically plural.

That is to say they are, canonically, two self-conscious agents sharing a body. The technological origin is beside the point, just as Venom's biological origin is. Plural is plural.

Also, BB is good, but I don't want to put it on a sliding scale and just say it's great because the other DC movies tend to be so much worse.

A SENTIENT artificial intelligence. It's explicitly stated in the movie that Khaji-Da is sentient. (I believe the line is when they're in Ted's lab.)

If you're unclear about the line about asking it to change, I meant to activate the suit power and transform him into Blue Beetle.

The fact that Jaime doesn't try communicating is the problem.

There could have been a fantastic scene here where Jaime explains why he wants to save his family, and shows Khaji what they mean to him. This would play in excellent with the themes of the film, and show off more of the dynamic of both halves of the Blue Beetle.

And then this scene could have gone in one of two ways. One is that Khaji agrees to help, and this shows Kahji's growth. The other is that Khaji refuses, Jaime pleads with Khaji, Khaji doubles down, and the movie plays out similarly with Jaime making the leap. This ends showing Khaji having more to learn about the meaning of family. Both would have been pretty good ways to go.

Just jumping off the roof was, frankly, lazy writing that robbed Khaji of agency.

Again, it's a SENTIENT AI.

Khaji is more like Marvel's Vision or Ultron, a person who can learn and grow, than a static AI like JARVIS or FRIDAY.

We see this in the movie with it learning the value of life and no longer wanting to kill at the end.

Exploring what emotions Khaji feels, if any, is pretty valid.

I mean, if the parasitic entity is a completely sentient being that links to the mind of the host... yeah, that is a form of plurality. At least, in the way that it meets my definition I posted at the beginning.

A shame I'll probably be dead before I get to see the real life future debates about whether cyborgs with sentient AIs in neural implants should be allowed in the plural community. But the fact is that it's plural by definition.

If the word plural is too uncomfortable for you though, let's break down what my issue is here.

The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle isn't one character. They're two characters sharing a body.

But the writers weren't interested in writing one of those characters. Khaji should have been treated as a co-lead. Like a murderous Baymax to Jaime's Hiro. But they didn't care about Khaji, and it felt like they wrote Khaji's part in as an afterthought, only doing the bare minimum.

Common ground!

Last I heard, there's a Blue Beetle animated series in development. Hopefully it gets the green light!

You guys are coming off as really obtuse... Is The Blue Beetle multiple sentient agents sharing a body?

Yes or no?

If yes, they're plural! End of discussion!

But they're plural though... 🤷‍♀️

See! u/0MeikoMeiko0 gets it!

Glad to have your support u/0MeikoMeiko0!

Grace...

I swear to the gods...

Genuinely? If I could introduce plurality to even one or two people who might need to see it using this article, I consider that a win.

But... can you actually take a step back and question what you're actually saying here? "The ramblings of someone who needs to be institutionalized?"

Why? Because you think I'm going to physically hurt myself or others? Is that the impression you get from this post?

Or is it that it's strange. That you don't understand it? I need my rights stripped away and confined to an institution because me discussing the Blue Beetle's plurality make you uncomfortable.

Fundamentally, this is the most egregious and disgusting sort of ableism out there. Cheering for people to have their civil rights stripped away from them by force so you can feel better.

Shame on you, u/pdzxhybun. And everyone in your hatesub who upvoted this piece of trash.

The Plurality of... Blue Beetle! (Movie)

Plurality: A state of multiple self-conscious agents, or "headmates," sharing a single body.

Oh, this one is going to be a little rough!

If you know the Blue Beetle, it shouldn't be surprising that they're a plural character. We've never read Blue Beetle comics, but my host was pretty familiar with Blue Beetle from Young Justice, where Jaime had a pretty big role in season 2.

I went into Blue Beetle with high hopes and, if I'm honest, ended up a little disappointed.

But before we can get into why I felt that way, let's first talk about their plurality!

Spoilers for the Blue Beetle movie ahead:

Jaime Reyes and Khaji-Da as plural characters

In the movie, Khaji-Da, often referred to as just "The Scarab," is a world-destroying weapon that found its way to Earth.

It bonds with Jaime Reyes when he touches it, fusing to his flesh and turning him into the Blue Beetle in an elaborate body horror sequence.

Khaji is established as a sentient being, and is able to communicate with Jaime mentally. Now, it's not actually clear if Jaime can communicate back mentally like many real headmates can. Every time he talks to Khaji is aloud, which I think was also how it was in Young Justice too. It's possible that while the Scarab can send messages to Jaime's mind, it can't read it. But that seems kind of a strange limitation when the movie shows it gaining access to a person's full memory after connecting with them, and is at least able to figure out Jaime's name through their connection.

It would seem weird to me if talking out loud to Khaji was necessary to be heard, but that's how the movie presents it. (This could be a comfort thing too. As part of a plural system, I'll admit we'll often talk out loud through the body when nobody is around to hear us. Words can be clearer than pure thoughts.)

A small part of the movie is dedicated to the two learning to get along, with there being some conflict around Khaji wanting to kill an enemy, and Jaime saying that they aren't killers.

This leads to an important moment later in the movie where Jaime is enraged, believing he's lost multiple family members, and is going to execute the villain.

The word "execute" is important here, because while other good characters have no problem killing (their nana took great joy in it, in fact), it's always against active combatants. Not someone who was disarmed. The movie doesn't make this distinction directly, but I think it's an important one.

It's one thing for superheroes to kill to protect themselves and others, most heroes are willing to these days, but it's another for them to kill someone who isn't actively a threat anymore.

Kahji takes just enough control to hold Jaime back from doing something he would regret, repeating back that they aren't killers, showing itself capable of learning from Jaime.

It's a cool moment, and I appreciated this little character growth.

Despite Khaji being sentient and capable of learning though...

Khaji isn't treated as a character

This was my disappointment with the movie.

Blue Beetle should have been more of a plural story, but Khaji is hardly ever treated as a character by the narrative or the other characters.

Yes, Khaji gets some funny lines here and there, ("Host overreacting" being a favorite of mine) but doesn't seem to have any real motivation, interests or really anything going for it.

And what's worse... there's not even a REAL CONVERSATION between Jaime and Khaji. Even when they really should be discussing things.

Like...

The Rooftop Scene

At one point, the bad guys have found Jaime's family. Jaime tried to activate his powers. They don't work. What's a Beetle to do?

Well, Jaime decided that since the Scarab will try to protect him, the best bet will be to JUMP OFF THE ROOF!

And while this is sorta well-reasoned, I found myself internally screaming this entire to time to just ask it to change.

Like, Khaji can talk. They literally said in the scene right before that Khaji was sentient.

And while jumping off the roof made for a dramatic scene, it eliminated what could have been a great moment with Jaime explaining the importance of his family and his need to protect them to Khaji.

It forced Khaji to help, when Kahji may have been perfectly willing to help if Jaime just talked to it, instead of trying to make Kahji to do what he wanted.

And you might wonder, does Khaji get offended at Jaime risking his life to force Khaji into doing what he wants? I wonder that too, because this moment is never mentioned again in the movie.

For a film so much about family, Khaji is never part of that

Blue Beetle is a movie centered around family.

It's about Jaime's relationship with his family who is very close, almost suffocating but in a good way. Jaime is driven to protect and fight for his family at every turn, and his family will do anything to protect him.

This is contrasted with the Kord family which is dysfunctional and broken, and Carapax who lost his family and sees familial love as a weakness.

These themes are intricately woven into the narrative.

So it is so disappointing how utterly divorced from that theme Khaji-Da ended up.

There is a great story to be told about this extraterrestrial machine that crashes to Earth, never having a family of its own or a concept of what family means, only to be bonded to Jaime and go from being treated as something to be gotten rid of to be welcomed as another member of Jaime's family.

That would be really cool. And they seemed willing to tell a similar story with Jenny Kord, being brought into the family group hug after everything was over.

But Khaji is treated less like a valued member of the family and more like an accessory. And even when Jaime fully bonds with Khaji, it's not about agreeing to integrate and share a mind so much as it's accepting his heroic destiny.

This feels like a huge missed opportunity for the type of story they were telling, and a betrayal of that story's central themes.

Jaime's Mother Addressing Khaji

This is the one exception where a character who wasn't Jaime actually treated Khaji as a person.

She first asks what Khaji's name was. Then says...

I know you can hear me, Khaji-Da. I want you both to get it together. Find your strength, mijito. Use the pain we’re feeling and turn it into power. I want you to go back in there… And kick their asses!

I love this so much. I love the mother's character for thinking to acknowledge Khaji as its own person and talk to it directly, giving her pep talk to both of them at once.

It's a fantastic scene. An incredible moment.

But it's also still treating Khaji as a weapon. The one and only time a character who isn't Jaime talks to Khaji, it's telling Khaji to go fight people.

I'm glad to have gotten this. But I feel they could have done so much more.

Khaji's feelings are never explored

We're told that the Scarab is a planet-destroying super weapon. How does Khaji feel about that?

We don't know. It never comes up.

Does Khaji have memories of worlds it's destroyed?

Does it know why it was created or who created it?

If it doesn't know those things, does the lack of awareness scare it?

Can it feel fear, and if Jaime asked if it was scared, would it understand the emotion?

The fact that these things weren't explored at all leaves me with one important and sad conclusion.

The writers weren't interested in writing a plural character

Blue Beetle's plurality is an afterthought.

The Scarab was sentient and Blue Beetle would use "we" pronouns occasionally because Khaji is sentient in the comics. But the relationship between the two wasn't a priority of the writers.

And in my opinion, the film suffered for it. Not just from a plural perspective but from a writing perspective. The film would have been so much better had Khaji been treated more like a character rather than just a weapon and plot device.

Khaji stopping Jaime from killing needed more build-up, and Khaji needed and deserved to be better integrated with the story's central themes of family.

Conclusion

All in all, I feel that Blue Beetle was a good movie. But I also feel its treatment of Khaji held it back from being a great movie.

I hope I don't come off as too hard on this particular movie. There's a lot of media that, when less explicitly plural, I might be more forgiving of. I once wrote a whole post about why I thought Kronk was plural based on his angel and demon Kronks who never get any sort of character arcs. But those aren't intended to be sentient people by the writers. Instead, they're plural by happenstance, simply by being more developed than other shoulder angels and demons in cartoons.

Meanwhile, Khaji Da is supposed to be a full character, I went in expecting a lot, and I feel Khaji just didn't live up to its potential in this movie.

I look forward to seeing what DC does with the character in the future, and if Khaji can get more development.

And I'm sad that, given the box office, it's probably not going to get a sequel of its own. I'm sure the planned Reach story would have given Khaji some much needed character development.

For more of me rambling about the plurality of DC superheroes, see: The Plurality of... Batman (Failsafe).

[ailtrahq]

A plurality of experts believe the United States should create a new federal agency dedicated to artificial intelligence governance, according to a survey AI-pt1#fullscreen&from_embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">conducted by Axios, Generation Lab, and Syracuse University.The survey polled 215 computer science professors across 65 of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. on topics related to AI. we polled 213 computer science professors on A.I.w/ @axios + @SyracuseU pic.twitter.com/mEDFabWkZy— The Generation Lab (@Generation_Lab) September 5, 2023 According to the data, when asked “What is the best entity to regulate AI,” the majority of respondents answered either “new “Department of AI” Government agency” (37%) or “global organization or treaty” (22%).Only 16% answered “congress,” just two percent higher than the number of respondents who chose “irrelevant: AI cannot be regulated.” The final 10% of respondents split their answers between “the White House” (4%), “the private sector” (3%), and “none: AI should not be regulated” (3%).Image source: Axios-Generation Lab-Syracuse University AI Experts SurveyThe survey also contained questions about how the AI sector will affect the future of employment. The majority of respondents indicated that they would advise a young person to pursue a career in AI, engineering, and data science. At the other end of the spectrum, 31% of the professors polled said they’d advise against seeking a career in media and 19% said the same about the arts when asked which fields young people should avoid. “None of the above'' was the most common response with 42%. When asked if the respondents think there’s “a threshold in the evolution of AI after which humans cannot take back control,” the answers were split between “no, probably not” (41%), “yes, probably” (35%), “no, definitely not” (19%), and “yes, definitely (6%).The overall sentiment of the experts seemed in juxtaposition with the general public and business leaders. Where the latter tends to poll bombastically about the potential for AI technology to rapidly change the economic and employment landscape in the near future, 73% of the professors said they believed that AI will be capable of performing less than 20% of tasks that humans do today at or above human-level. Source

[libraryfuture]

Speculative Futures SF is hosting this event about The Future of Work and Reinventing the performance review on March 14. The workshop will be led by local design futurists Shar Shahfari and Frank Gallivan, founders of Plural Futures Lab. 

[kewpie-girl]

Orientalism vs Asiaticism

If the Orientalism described by Said was consolidated in the age of European, especially British, empire, then Asiaticism belonged to the American century. Within this racial form, Lye writes in America’s Asia, the distinguishing trait of East Asian peoples has been excessive economic efficiency. Certainly this belongs within the Orientalist tradition of exoticization, but the temporal assumptions stand in stark contrast to those of earlier modes. As a shorthand, we can distinguish between the traditional “Oriental,” fit for conquest by the West, and the hypermodern “Asiatic,” feared for its conquest of the West.

Whereas classic Orientalism understood the East by foregrounding its despotic rulers, the “Asiatic” is represented through a plural figure, coolies, who — from railroad workers in Utah to sweatshop workers in Guangdong — are seen as a faceless mass and personify the logic of capitalist exploitation. Whereas the “Oriental” was traditional, the “Asiatic” is postmodern; whereas the “Oriental” was irrational and superstitious, the “Asiatic” is calculating. The “Oriental” referred to a geographically contained culture; the “Asiatic” points toward a transpacific, even global, flow of goods, capital, and people. The “Oriental” was archaic and conservative; the “Asiatic” is future-oriented and progressive. If, in short, the “Oriental” meant exclusion from the march of progress of capital, then the “Asiatic” represents its full realization as well as its dark excesses.

Lab Leak Theory and the Asiatic Form (https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-42/politics/lab-leak-theory-and-the-asiatic-form/)