Martin Cope

Air quality modeller doing science for CSIRO. The views expressed here are my own.

[Javier Davalos @javierdavalos]

Your own AI agent in Figmin XR 👍

It can control the app, has vision & speech and can write spatial computing apps for you.

About a 1.5 years of work to get here, the foundation was the Scripting API, MCP was the icing on the cake.

[Figmin XR @FigminXR]

🚀 First look at AI Agents in Figmin XR!

I showed Claude a photo of a cabin and it rebuilt it as a fully editable 3D sketch! 🤯

Claude vs Codex. 👀 Watch till the end.

[Yohan @yohaniddawela]

Most climate risk assessments treat 2°C of warming as a 'moderate' scenario. A new study in Nature shows this is a mistake.

2°C could produce outcomes worse than the average projection at 4°C.

The standard approach to worst-case climate planning: run dozens of climate models, average them, study what happens at high warming levels. That average becomes the benchmark for "bad." The problem is that averaging hides the range. At any given warming level, individual models diverge by enormous margins.

A team at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research took 42 CMIP6 models, the same ones used in IPCC reports, and instead of averaging them, ranked them by projected impact on three sectors: heavy rainfall over populated areas, droughts across global breadbaskets, and fire weather in forests.

The food security results are the most striking. Across the world's major maize, wheat, soy, and rice regions, drought frequency at 2°C could increase by more than 50% or stay completely unchanged, depending on which model you believe. Ten of 42 models produce drought outcomes at 2°C that exceed the model average at 4°C. The spread between models at a single warming level is larger than the difference between the average at 2°C and the average at 4°C. The warming level matters less than which model turns out to be right.

For heavy rainfall in populated areas, the worst-case models at 2°C exceed the average at 3°C. For fire weather in forests, same pattern. In every sector they tested, the tail risk at moderate warming was worse than the central estimate at high warming.

The uncertainty comes almost entirely from structural differences between models, not natural climate variability. They tested this with large ensembles from individual models. Internal spread within a single model is small. Spread between models is enormous. The uncertainty could shrink with better models. But we currently don't know which model is closest to reality.

The conventional framing treats warming levels as a ladder. 1.5°C is manageable, 2°C is the guardrail, 3°C is dangerous, 4°C is catastrophic. This paper breaks that ladder. A 2°C world where the wrong model turns out to be right looks worse, for specific sectors, than a 4°C world described by the average model.
One finding offers some relief. Simultaneous worst cases across all sectors are unlikely, because the sectors depend on different climate variables and regions. But within any single sector, the range of plausible futures at 2°C is far wider than the gap between 2°C and 4°C averages.

The Paris Agreement targets 1.5°C, with 2°C as the upper bound. Global warming is approaching 1.5°C now. The assumption embedded in most planning is that staying below 2°C buys meaningful safety margin. This study suggests the margin may not exist.

The outcome is one draw from a distribution, and the tails at 2°C reach further than most risk frameworks account for.

[David Gilmour @davidgilmour]

My dear friend Dick Parry died this morning.

Since I was seventeen, I have played in bands with Dick on saxophone, including Pink Floyd.

His feel and tone make his saxophone playing unmistakable, a signature of enormous beauty that is known to millions and is such a big part of songs such as Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here, Us and Them and Money.

He played in the last band I had that included Rick Wright for the On An Island Tour and at Live 8 with Pink Floyd.

Here are some pictures of him, including one of him and me playing for the ABC Minors at the Victoria Cinema in Cambridge in 1963.

[Everyday Astronaut @Erdayastronaut]

Ever wonder why Starship HLS lunar lander will require a dozen or more tanker launches for ONE lunar landing? Or why is it so tall? Won't it tip over? Or why are they using Methalox which is cryogenic and not hypergolic? Well... here you go! Enjoy! - https://t.co/F1FvGttkeA

[priyanshu.sol @priyanshudotsol]

someone wrote a 680 page interactive book on cs algorithms

[Meta Quest @MetaQuestVR]

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a more beautiful singing voice 🥹

[Martin Cope @mdfusion]

@TeamBeefVR @chvjak @SideQuestVR Such good memories of this game. Used to play this multiplayer with our kids, and I always remember their response as we had to try and escape the exploding base. 😊

[Martin Cope @mdfusion]

@DJSnM Have you visited? Highly recommended 🚀

[Javier Davalos @javierdavalos]

This is what Grok thinks about the next #FigminXR update.

I've been quiet on social media for a reason, (working my ass off)

[Martin Cope @mdfusion]

@MarcusHouse So Marcus- what would you do to protect kids from cyberspace bullying and online predators?

[David Pocock @DavidPocock]

The more than 1000 job losses at CSIRO reflect a long pattern of underfunding by govt, who have treated science as optional.

We need research to build resilience and future industries.

Reversing the slide in national research investment has to start now.
https://t.co/SXrA5Shd4s

Sign the petition to save our CSIRO: https://t.co/KSUQ1JgTn6

[Jane Caro @JaneCaro]

Ahhhhhhh! So this is why the fossil fuel fans are hyperventilating about net zero. The writing is on the wall.

[Really American 🇺🇸 @ReallyAmerican1]

BREAKING: After the release of an ad that caused Trump's tantrum ending trade talks with Canada, the original video of Ronald Reagan slamming tariffs has resurfaced. He called the new ad "fake."

The original destroys Trump on tariffs.
Share this widely.

[David Pocock @DavidPocock]

The CSIRO, the agency that gave the world Wi-Fi, among other world-leading research, has never been more important to Australia’s future.

Successive governments have failed to invest.

We need to turn that around and value the science and scientists that are key to our future.

https://t.co/XGRVwc6hXt

[🤍𝕁𝕆🤍 @jomickane]

Copied from fb....
My daughter came home from school and said,
“Mom, you’re not going to believe what happened in history class today.”
Her teacher told the class they were going to play a game.
He walked around the room and whispered to each kid whether they were a witch or just a regular person. Then he gave the instructions:
“Form the biggest group you can without a witch. If your group has even one, you all fail.”
She said the whole room instantly lit up with suspicion.
Everyone started interrogating each other. Are you a witch? How do we know you’re not lying?
Some kids clung to one big group, but most broke off into smaller, exclusive cliques. They turned away anyone who seemed uncertain, nervous, or gave off even the slightest hint of being guilty.
The energy shifted fast. Suddenly everyone was suspicious of everyone.
Whispers. Finger-pointing. Side-eyes. Trust dissolved in minutes.
Finally, when all the groups were formed, the teacher said,
“Alright, time to find out who fails. Witches, raise your hands.”
And not one hand went up.
The whole class exploded. “Wait! You messed up the game!”
And then the teacher dropped the bomb:
“Did I? Were there any actual witches in Salem, or did everyone just believe what they were told?”
My daughter said the room went dead silent.
That’s when it hit them. No witch was ever needed for the damage to happen. Fear had already done its work. Suspicion alone divided the entire class, turning community into chaos.
And isn’t that exactly what we’re seeing today?
Different words, same playbook.
Instead of “witch,” it’s liberal, conservative, vaxxed, unvaxxed, pro-this, anti-that.
The labels shift, but the tactic is the same.
Get people scared. Get them suspicious. Get them divided.
Then sit back while trust crumbles.
The danger was never the witch.
The danger is the rumor. The suspicion. The fear. The planted lies.
Refuse the whisper. Don’t play the game. Because the second we start hunting “witches,” we’ve already lost.

[DiscoVR Tetiana 🇺🇦 @DiscoVRTetiana]

First video in over a month! I'm slowly getting out of a rut😅Please show some support to a struggling momma!
---- Watch: https://t.co/Eg7s2GbTTe
I finally reviewed PLAY FOR DREAM - a stand-alone VR headset that supports wireless PCVR, and it's got sooo many surprises up its sleeve!! I'm genuinely impressed, even though not everything is perfect...

@PlayForDreamJP #virtualreality #playfordream #playfordreammr #vrgaming

[DrDemetre @dr_demetre]

My resignation letter from CDC.

Dear Dr. Houry,

I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business.   I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested.

This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people.  This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.

I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.  The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.   The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership.  This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors.  Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC.  The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense.  Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function.  Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC.

The recent term of reference for the COVID vaccine work group created by this ACIP puts people of dubious intent and more dubious scientific rigor in charge of recommending vaccine policy to a director hamstrung and sidelined by an authoritarian leader.   Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.  Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc.

I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again.  I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season.  Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.”  We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary.  I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us.  Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources.  At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him.  To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information.

The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer.  I believe in nutrition and exercise.  I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability.  Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning.  My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so.  I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud.   I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur.  I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics.  I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision.

Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically.

Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution.  If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.

Sincerely,

Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)

[Rohan Fisher @RohanFisher4]

In case anyone asks:
-2.1 million ha of wildfire so far in August
-267,200 ha burnt in the NT over the last 3 days
-570,000 ha burnt across North Aust over the last 5 days

Total area burnt in Spain so far this year 343,000 ha. Spain is being helped with firefighting aircraft

[Martin Cope @mdfusion]

@ZandyXR So MR in the meantime? This is looking increasingly robust.