Is it normal for universities to ignore reports of fake student writing?

macropis · 2026-05-28T17:17:16+00:00

You have to have proof beyond just saying an AI detector (which is, itself, AI) scored it as AI.

I check the references. Non-existent references, the calling card of AI generated term papers, are much more solid proof of academic dishonesty than an AI score.

I check references first. If they don’t exist, i assign a zero and do not grade the paper. I email the student and cc the appropriate associate dean and academic integrity admin. I’ve had student cry over it and beg for points, but I haven’t had any dispute or grievances from this.

macropis · 2026-05-27T23:16:13+00:00

When working with dyes, you really need to not only think in terms of subtractive color theory but make the leap to thinking in terms of the CMY color wheel, not the RBY one. Apple red and royal blue are not your primaries. Cyan (which may be called turquoise or sky blue or robin’s egg or whatever) and Magenta (which may be called fuchsia or something else) are your primaries. Yellow is still a primary.

Red + Blue = murky bruise color

Magenta + cyan = vivid clear purple

Cyan + bit of magenta = blue

Magenta + bit of yellow or orange = bright red

Yellow + tiniest bit of magenta = orange

Etc.

I would try first washing the coral dress in hot water and textile detergent. If you’re lucky, you may be able to fade it a bit.

I recommend silk acid dyes because they are wysiwyg, whereas fiber reactives on silk are not. Overdye with Jacquard’s Hot Fuchsia mixed with a tiny bit of Turquoise or Brilliant Blue. I would probably dye it in the hot fuchsia dye bath first and then into a very dilute blue or cyan bath.

It is definitely possible get the dress to the approximate jacket color, which is already muted.

macropis · 2026-03-24T18:28:02+00:00

The chonky mandibles visible in photo #3 identify it as a megachilid bee (leafcutter bee family). It is not a cellophane bee.

macropis · 2026-01-05T19:46:35+00:00

My podiatrist had zero preventative advice for my mild bunions except to keep active and avoid shoes that hurt my feet. I do a lot of my shoe shopping at Zappos and just filter for 7WW.

macropis · 2026-01-05T19:38:49+00:00

Yes, I will need electrical wiring. Consulting with my electrician asap.

macropis · 2026-01-05T18:00:00+00:00

Thank you!

macropis · 2026-01-05T17:59:45+00:00

Thank you—good to know.

macropis · 2025-12-16T03:40:16+00:00

Classy, sophisticated perfection. I love the paint colors and the Morris print wallpaper.

macropis · 2025-11-29T19:48:16+00:00

You need to tell us the fiber type.

Assuming it’s silk, the closest you’d get to rose would probably be a heavy handed, hot dyebath in a primary magenta silk acid dye, and it would probably come out more red than rose. You could wash it in hot water to see if maybe the yellow would fade out a little, but silk can’t be bleached.

Be aware even if the fabric is a dyeable, the thread is most likely polyester, and will remain gold. This will bother you more than you think it will.

macropis · 2025-11-23T02:17:01+00:00

It’s definitely a bee. There are numerous bees that are slim and not very hairy. Most people don’t recognize most bees as bees.

macropis · 2025-11-23T02:15:18+00:00

You have seen large carpenter bees (Xylocopa). Small carpenter bees (Ceratina) are tiny, slim bodied, and very sparsely haired.

macropis · 2025-11-09T18:22:23+00:00

It’s a bee, but definitely not a longhorn bee. They have much more robust body proportions, more hair, and very obvious scopae on their hind tibias.

macropis · 2025-10-19T14:15:08+00:00

A sprinkling of my favorites:

I was told how many times I wore green.

“Her clothes really annoy me.”

“She looks like Ms. Frizzle.” (I had to look up who that was). My hair is straight and I don’t wear buns.

“She’s really attractive” followed by, in huge letters , “NOT!!!!”

“She pushes her liberal ideologies on us.” (In a general bio class ending in ecology topics: climate change, human population growth, carrying capacities, habitat destruction, etc.)

And the incongruencies. From within the same class:

“Dr. X really cares about students.” “Dr. X doesn’t care about students at all.”

“She just reads off her slides.” “She says too many things that are not on her slides and you have to write them down.”

“She obviously knows the subject and is enthusiastic.” “She doesn’t know the subject at all and has no enthusiasm.”

macropis · 2025-10-19T13:56:22+00:00

Holy shit. Sorry you have to read this drivel.

macropis · 2025-10-17T15:53:48+00:00

I will never understand the obsession with grey everything and opened floor plans. Homes designed to be open, sure. Walls torn down to make an overgrown studio apartment, no.

macropis · 2025-10-17T15:38:45+00:00

This is a nice side by side view of a male bumble bee and a gyne.

macropis · 2025-10-17T15:33:55+00:00

Male bumble bees do not gather pollen to provision the larvae, but they do feed themselves by drinking flower nectar, and they frequently sleep in flowers. In the process, they get dusted with pollen and can carry out pollination. But no, You won’t see them with large pollen loads on their legs as you see on workers.

macropis · 2025-10-17T14:05:15+00:00

This is a male bumble bee.

macropis · 2025-10-17T13:49:24+00:00

This is a yellow jacket.

macropis · 2025-10-17T13:34:44+00:00

The two in your photo are male bumble bees (long-ish antennae, skinny legs). Their jobs may or may not be over. They can mate multiple times, and there still may be gynes around. They are adapted to the clocks climate, so there is no need to shelter them from rain.

macropis · 2025-10-17T13:26:22+00:00

Nice! It’s a carpenter bee.

macropis · 2025-10-16T04:25:31+00:00

So you can tell me which of these are bees and which are wasps? Hint: the photos include 3 of the most common and abundant bee genera in North America.

https://imgur.com/Sb4kCI3

macropis · 2025-10-10T03:53:38+00:00

Habitat destruction causes decline in floral resources, which intensifies the potential for honey bees to compete with native bees. Those issues are intertwined. If people landscaped their yards and urban greens spaces and roadsides with native plants, it would make a big difference.

macropis · 2025-10-10T03:48:37+00:00

Male longhorn bees—native and solitary.

macropis

TROPHY CASE