Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ

CEO Amsterdam Scientific Instruments: Detectors for #electrons, #xrays, #photons, #neutrons and #ions. Endorsing: #betacodex #wardleymaps #humanocracy

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@RaminNasibov And just saw that @UridiumAuthor is on X, too. Good moment to appreciate your work. I loved Uridium, too. Amazing what people could squeeze out of a 6502 processor

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@RaminNasibov Paradroid by Andrew Braybrook on C64.

[Idza Hajar @Idzerqq1]

As someone who has implemented a Work from Wherever (WFW) policy for their team, I am telling you if you or your team can do work from a laptop, there is no reason for you to insist that your employees/team be at the office 100% of the week. It's honestly counter productive.

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@simongerman600 And neutron imaging can be used to visualise the process in situ.
Unlike X-rays neutrons are heavily absorbed by water, making it possible to see the water and steam in the aluminium Bialetti:

https://t.co/0H5W7KwfRA

(Video by Anders Kaestner, Paul Scherrer Institute)

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@stephen_taylor And what if you can’t sell your position because it’s shares of a non publicly traded company? Only virtual gains, where you need a real bank loan to pa tax debt.

When joining a startup: taking <5% of shares as part of remuneration will be a huge liability risk. Crazy shit.

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@bslagter De grootste ironie is dat de nieuwe wet 'wet werkelijk rendement' heet, terwijl het eigenlijk het tegenovergestelde is: belasting op fictief geld.

Dit is Orwelliaanse newspeak op z'n best.

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@robbertleusink You can love both Dutch and Indian food - and it seems that you don’t appreciate the contribution of Indonesian cuisine to the Netherlands?

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@Porkchop_EXP Indeed, everyone I know has a trading account or ETF plan. And everyone at young age already starts investing in concrete gold aka house - where the value increase outweighs the interest by far.

(But here we already pay the unrealized gain tax called WOZ)

[Investing visuals @InvestingVisual]

The Dutch government is destroying long term compounding by introducing a 36% tax on unrealized gains.

As a Dutch citizen and long term investor, I’m at a loss for words about the lack of vision behind this new tax. I normally don’t post anything politically related, but what our government is planning to do is disastrous for long term investors.

This is the sad truth.

Most people here start investing to protect themselves against inflation and ever rising pension ages. They’re trying to put hard earned money to work, hoping they can retire before the age of 71. And they had a real shot at that before this bill.

If you started at 25 with €10,000 and contributed €1,000 every month, you could compound to €3,320,000 over 40 years. If you lived prudently, you could retire early and live off it for the rest of your life.

With the new capital tax? After 40 years of compounding, you’d end up at €1,885,000. That’s a €1,435,000 difference.

This tax denies generations the chance of early retirement, punishes those who take risks, and introduces severe liquidity issues for people who have been compounding successfully for years. And to what end? To fill a €2.4 billion tax hole.

I’m beyond words.

If you’re Dutch like me, please share this visual with fellow investors to increase awareness.

Hopefully we can make our politicians understand the severity of this tax, and the breadth and depth of its destructive implications.

~ Jan

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@CryptopepperP We should probably hurry up with the exodus before they add an exit tax.

[Andrew Akbashev @Andrew_Akbashev]

Postdoc time is often harder than PhD.

You have little time. Competition is higher. And you MUST stand out.

+ Your contract may end any moment.

+ Your salary is often low (for your age/education).

+ You’ve just relocated and prepare to relocate again.

No wonder that Max Planck Society survey showed that depression and anxiety of postdocs is rising.

Interestingly, Max Planck Institutes have substantial internal funding. So, in theory there should be less pressure to apply for grants, and everyone should be enjoying science. And yet the pressure on postdocs is immense.

📍 Many postdocs want to stay in academia.

They want to apply for faculty positions or become senior scientists.

Some of them achieve it. Others don’t.

❗️Why things don’t work out:

In a recent workshop Q&A session, I discussed various scenarios and behind-the-scenes processes that PhD students should keep in mind if they’re considering a postdoc:

“Postdocs: Competition, Hardship and Faculty Positions”

Watch it on here: https://t.co/nlwF8WaLJP

(I’ll appreciate if you ‘like’ this video - you will GREATLY help it reach more students.)

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@nymoen_ole Ich fange an, mein Heimatland zu verachten. Niemals hätte ich gedacht dass die Kriegsverherrlicher wieder Oberwasser bekommen. Eine Schande!

Dazu noch reine Symbolpolitik - mehr Sicherheit wäre nur mit einer besser ausgebildeten Spezialisten-Armee zu schaffen.

[European Synchrotron @esrfsynchrotron]

The ESRF congratulates the winners of the 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work on metal–organic frameworks!
Among them is Prof. Yaghi, with whom the ESRF proudly collaborated on a study featured as an ESRF Highlight in 2023 on high-porosity MOF glasses.

[Naned_project @NanedP]

A new paper from the @NanedP @IITalk_projects @_MoussaFaye group in collaboration with @MilenaArcinieg6 #3DED revealing the crystal structure of hybrid perovskites
https://t.co/CmPbFmMGCo

[Alexander Steffen @Alex__Steffen]

„In der Fleischtomate ist kein Fleisch, im Leberkäse kein Käse…“

Starke Rede von @AnnaSturgkh für Vertrauen in mündige Bürger und eine EU, die endlich Probleme löst statt welche zu schaffen.

[Marc Randolph @marcrandolph]

FYI. Voice memos drive me crazy. They shift all the work from sender to receiver.

You hit record and ramble for 3 minutes while I’m stuck listening with no way to skim.

You’re trading YOUR efficiency for MY time, and if you keep choosing your convenience over mine, don’t be surprised when I stop opening your messages altogether.

[Disabled Doctor @DisabledDoctor]

Just heard a psychiatrist on NPR argue that remote work increases social isolation and, honestly, fuck that.
Stop assuming that work being a primary source of socialization is in any way appropriate or healthy.

Your boss doesn’t love you.
Your coworkers are not your community.
If you died your office would just send out an email, at most do a brief office meeting, and then replace you and move on.

Work is not for socializing. It is a job.
And you know what people can do with the hour or two that they get back from not having to commute to work?
SPEND IT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Forcing people back to the office backfires.

Data on >3M tech & finance workers: After return-to-office mandates, firms lose stars and struggle to attract new talent. The most likely to quit are senior, skilled, & female employees.

Flexibility is a feature of a great workplace.

[Thorbjörn Schönbeck Ⓥ @cosmotb]

@Porkchop_EXP Same vibe as ‚belasting‘ for taxes. it resembles the German word for ‘burden’ (Last, Belastung). Dutch directness in perfection!

[George from 🕹prodmgmt.world @nurijanian]

Confession: I've never successfully "managed" a stakeholder.

Not once. Not a single time in my career.

Every time I tried to "manage" someone, they pushed back harder. Every framework I used made things worse.

🧵