so much of our reality glides on the surface of a thin veneer of rhetoric
so much of our reality glides on the surface of a thin veneer of rhetoric
Can you imagine what we could do in this country if we actually started caring about each other?
Kevin Drum (RIP) wrote extensively over the years about lead poisoning and crime
I agree—but in the US this is already true. I got my BS in physics from RPI, where we were essentially required to take one humanities or social science course every semester. Just took my kid on a college tour at MIT. Same there for every major. We can mandate the courses. Doesn’t mean ppl learn.
There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know. - Harry S. Truman
Lotta good luck/fortune wished for at that house.
Yes it is. More excellent writing from Professor Throckmorton.
If hopelessness has made a home in your heart, it cannot be dislodged easily or all at once. Chip away at it with small victories, moments of hope and defiance. It is not easy and it will take time and effort, but strive to make it an uncomfortable home, a place where despair is no longer welcome.
YES! THIS! Let's talk about what we need to do to get our democracy back! Don't waste your time and ours!
It’s a winner in my book 🙂
And no ice. 🙁
Because they are envious and scared of those who actually know things.
With Bill Kristol leading the opposition.
Wait … THE John Dean? Watergate/Nixon? Jeez, I remember watching his testimony. Wow.
Sherry Turkle’s “The Second Self” is also a classic.
it's been getting worse for years. Here are two good articles on the decline. uxdesign.cc/did-apple-ab... modelessdesign.com/backdrop/204
can't argue with that. :-)
specific, yes. I viewed it as "reply to pull out to stock attack # 68"
more on individual themes than history of debates: www.ucpress.edu/books/the-co... The Wikipedia article for Kitzmiller v Dover has quite a few links for further reading. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitzmil...
RFK may be the one human I trust less than ChatGPT for factual information.
Thanks for the block suggestion! Done. :-)
They are the same that think Plato's Republic or Hobbes' Leviathan are ideal forms of governance. They are unserious.
Thucydides reports Nicias used to tell Athenian sailors: a polis is not its walls but its people (7.77.7). Accusations of “politicizing” issues misses the fact that most issues come down to whether or not you support human rights & the polis as a whole rather than just a part. It’s all “political.”
It should go without saying, but the intelligence that goes against one's expectations and preferences is the intelligence that is most important.
i'll say it again, my loud and vigorous support for any democrat who calls for televised hearings and criminal charges for everyone involved in DOGE. this guy should never be able to live in peace again.
Republican jurisprudence comprehensively described in one graf
Your story made me think of Larry Niven’s short story “For a Foggy Night”, where people walking through the fog can cross through dimensions to other worlds.
In 1977, Disabled activists occupied the Federal Building in San Francisco to demand the passage of Section 504— legislation to protect against disability discrimination.When the building was cordoned off, in an effort to starve activists out, The Black Panthers *Broke In* to deliver them hot meals.
great thread, great research. what I love is that this continues to show "It's not just one thing", there are cascading effects. Consequences such as inflammation are often proven to be of equal or greater importance to the final outcome. We see this both in trauma and infectious disease.
Indeed.
accessibility helps more than the people it was intended for. for example, sidewalk ramps help delivery people and bicyclists, not just wheelchair users.
@xkcd.com now has a post on this. 😆 xkcd.com/3131/
The kid was 6 went I met him, I don't think he had gotten out enough yet to pick up a local "unofficial" language.
I had a coworker who lived in Shanghai. His son spoke Cantonese (from the mom), English (dad), and Mandarin (from school).
To follow on with this excellent thread, this would never be a “one and done” thing since mutations occur. “Ever vigilant “ would be their motto in perpetuity. Brave New World and all that.
as appropriate now as it was then. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5J...
The VMS operating system created by DEC had a variable with the units measured in "microfortnights"
They really know nothing.
Another set of words that denote wisdom is to finish any statement of faith with the words: "...but I could be wrong." It would avoid all fundamentalism.
Neighbors to the north set the standard: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ozb...
I think it’s high time we take back the national narrative. For centuries Americans of all races, genders, religions, and abilities have worked to create a more perfect union, and we should shout from the rooftops that WE are America. Not these idiot white supremacist authoritarians.
Thank you very much, Dr. Bond! I deeply appreciate the guidance.
Thank you. I had read Krautheimer several years ago. I was thinking of Wickham's Medieval Rome as a follow up.
How does it compare to Krautheimer?
9 out of 10. 🙁
The wisest words in society are “I don’t know” and we need to really emphasize that. If someone you respect says “you know what, I don’t know but let me help you figure this out or help you find someone who may know,” you’ve found yourself a winner. That’s true wisdom.
HFS!!! This is wrong in so many ways. Truly evidence of where our society’s values lie. Just like teachers. 🙁
This says caring for kids isn’t important at all! 8 out of the bottom 10 are specifically pediatric specialities. 😡😮😢
The Kurt Vonnegut letter to those high school kids is never wrong -
Get behind the program or STFU! Big strong man afraid to drive in DC!
Well said, thank you.
I'm surprised you didn't include "How the Irish saved Civilization"
I drew this on my lunch break your excuses are fucking pathetic
Life is not always fair, and there are many who will take advantage of this for their own benefit. Treat others fairly, but just as importantly, be willing to step in and balance the scales for the exploited. Life may not be fair, but a true warrior strives always to make it a bit more so.
Uniformitarianism might not have been to blame for holding back American support of continental drift, but it was a powerful force in American science. Look what Harlen Bretz had to go through before general acceptance of the Missoula floods.
this is a beautiful thread.
didn't the Philippine ship render SAR assistance at the time of the collision?
She’s perfect.
Patties for future salmon burgers?
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said." It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy. I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
Can you build off this? www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lcz...
See what I did? I didn't quote his words, just put forth what I see as the situation. We have to be more assertive in framing.
Let's not forget that DEI stands for Diversity Equity Inclusion So the anti-DEIs are for Homogeneity (white male version) Unfairness Rejection of others
Just stop being dicks about health, food, weight, appearance, etc. Bodies are what they are and this has zero to do with morality.
Every office, from top to bottom, is an office of trust from the American public, not a reward for good service.
Something that I have been thinking about with attribution of "PhD level intelligence" or "PhD level expertise" to a machine is that it reflects an increasing trend among these AI bros and their sycophants to want the products of highly skilled training without actually doing any of the work.
Checking in with the boss. No translators allowed.
We have failed Big Bird.
Vaccine weekends for northeasterners. Toronto and Montreal are fun places to visit.
From them, every accusation is a confession.
"don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" motherfucker show me a good and i'll be happy. all you're giving me is chaotic evil and lawful evil.
Figure out your principles and defend them. Mine are: 1) bodily autonomy for all 2) fuck off you Nazi piece of shit Covers a lot of bases anyway.
#IPAM (the institute for pure and applied mathematics) is facing a critical shortfall for operating expenses due to an unexpected suspension of NSF funding www.ipam.ucla.edu/news/nsf-fun... . Donations for emergency continuity of operations funding can be made at giving.ucla.edu/Campaign/Donat
New money versus old money.
very information article, thank you for sharing! I was originally thinking of the passages in The Iliad.
doesn't it also depend on which side you see them on and which direction they are going? or is that just eagles?
Don’t forget George Box’s saying, “All models are wrong, but some are useful”
stay cool. do you have AC or a swamp cooler?
Do these people even want to be alive?
Much as Garak faced his claustrophobia.
Any proposal for using AI needs to answer 2 fundamental questions: 1. What is the problem we're trying to solve? 2. Is AI the right tool for solving it? I have yet to see a single proposal that starts with these. Instead they start with "stusents are using them anyway" or "inevitable"
The answer to “how to use AI responsibly” is “don’t.”
once again revisiting @adamkotsko.bsky.social 's fantastic essay here itself.blog/2025/07/27/c...
I am really sick of all these pieces about the DOGE boys who uncritically and unthinkingly repeat the claim that they're "geniuses." We have to stop regurgitating out the label of "genius" exclusively for a certain type of special white little boy.
Private and charter schools have always been about segregation. if the public school isn't perfect, work to make it better, don't destroy it by abandoning it.
Crush the charter school movement. It grows directly from the white-only schools developed in response to Brown v. Board of Education, and it is destroying the public schools that have raised up some of the best people in the United States. Make our public schools great again!
The smallest acts may have oversized effects on someone's life. Over time, everyone will accumulate countless harsh words, hurtful experiences... but also small kindnesses, moments of support and inspiration. Live honorably, and fill the lives of those around you with the latter.
Being a woman in the U.S. in 2025 is being a second-class citizen with no bodily autonomy and no pay equity and spending 10 years writing an essay about how casually men destroy women’s lives and not one day later, some fucker publishes a piece about how men not getting laid is a crisis
Weird being alive long enough to remember the 'olden days' people are trying to cultural relativism. No it wasn't cool for grown ass adults to have sex with teenagers in the 1990s. It was and is rape and they knew they were raping children.
Librarian is close. As is bookstore employee or owner.
Love the alt text for the last one “a punk shirt”
Two resources I use: experience.arcgis.com/experience/6... wasmoke.blogspot.com Amusingly, the Wildfire Intel Dashboard shows "Thermal Activity" at the Nucor Steel plant. 😆
Motherfucking wind farms…
all i want are televised congressional hearings forcing every doge chud to confront their role in killing hundreds of thousands of people
You are an inspiration! Thank you for making the world better.
remember the difference with this analogy:
