Between #Matlab and #Python, which one would you recommend to learn, for a student who wants to learn programming (from scratch) to do data analysis? And why?

I am conflicted because I think Matlab is maybe slightly more straightforward to learn, but Python should be more useful in the long term (I know both and need to decide which one to teach my student).

I think answers might differ depending on whether you're in academia or not so I'm also asking about your occupation in the poll:

#Academia #AcademicChatter #Coding #Programming #Neuroscience (in this case)

• I recommend Matlab (as an academic) (1%, 3 votes)
• I recommend Python (as an academic) (54%, 90 votes)
• I recommend Matlab (as a non-academic) (0%, 1 vote)
• I recommend Python (as a non-academic) (38%, 64 votes)
• don't know / see results (4%, 7 votes)

A somewhat stereotypical and weird interaction I have now seen several time with several people:

Them: "I and my collaborators like your project/idea/code, could you privately share all details with us please?"

Me: "Ok, that might work, but can you tell me a bit more about what you want to do with it?"

Them: "No way, you need to sign a non-disclosure-agreement with us first".

😱 😱 😱 😱 😱

Anyone else...?

#Academia #astrophysics #science

@Elisa @steveroyle

The amount of money spent by university administrators to prevent academics from spending their own grant money is ... concerning, and even more so since a significant chunk of the administrators' salaries is funded from the overheads of our own grants.

#academia

Hi academic hive mind, particularly in the UK: what's the approach to fund PhD viva celebrations? We spent £75 total (not exactly a splurge) for about 12 people to celebrate a viva, and no grant wants to reimburse that. It's not a lot but it also means I end up paying it myself out of pocket, which is kind of silly given the massive salary cut in real terms I've experienced in the last 5 years.

#academia

RE: neuromatch.social/@MolemanPete…

What really makes me wonder is the fact that many people are not even reading what the chatbot generates. It's not that AI is a tool used for brainstorming or improvement, but just a shortcut to cheat. I'm unsure whether the solution is to ban it completely or to better regulate its use in academia.
One thing that could certainly help is standardized rules among academic institutions, but right now we are seeing different policies here and there.

(... And I guess this is only the tip of the iceberg of the more general crisis affecting education)

#ethics #academia #education #generativeAI

Peter Moleman

2025-11-22 10:31:55

I don’t use AI for anything in my academic or personal life. I value almost nothing more than my ability to think and to freely express myself. Even when I make mistakes, at least they are my mistakes.
huffpost.com/entry/history-pro…

I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.

"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."

^{Will Teague (HuffPost)}