This is your friendly reminder that although there is evil, most people are decent and the internet and social media lets us view the worst of humanity 24/7 and that’s probably not best for us.

Somehow we got the world’s worst poker player as senate minority leader. If you’re already planning on caving, at least try to fucking bluff!

I wish people wouldn’t make metaphorical claims (“He will once again be a presence…”) which imply there is any value to this. But “Fans of Lee will be able to talk at a machine which misleadingly uses his likeness (in a way that he probably didn’t consent to)” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Our cheap vacuum is 10 years old and has had a couple parts break. Instead of getting a new one, I’ve found replacements parts. Finally it stopped sucking. I was ready to toss it but googled repair ideas. Found out clogs happen in hard to reach places. Took it apart and found a clog. It works now!

“Hey students, we’re paying money so you get the premium cheating service” is certainly a choice.

Leaked FBI photo of Tom Homan

And now I know birds standing upright makes me uncomfortable

Kids and I got our Covid vaccines. Fuck you, RFK jr!

When I correct someone and they say “I bet you’re fun at parties,” I explain what a terrible bet that would be.

Love that we call it “pumpkin bread” and “lemon loaf” to pretend like we’re not just eating cake for breakfast.

Since I quit nicotine, every time I sit down to write, I feel like I chugged one of these.

Academia dot edu licensing agreement says it can use your likeness and voice and publications in any manner they want, world wide.

I guess I can’t fault my students for blaming their missed homework on bad WiFi when even a billionaire exec at a live tech demo thinks it passes for an excuse.

This was my contribution to the culture war debate about IQ.

The Fed’s stuck: tariffs mean weaker growth (cut rates?) and higher inflation (raise rates?). With this one simple trick you can solve both problems: Scrap the tariffs.

So many of the half-baked AI implementations are happening in professional arenas that have been hollowed out by extraction and divestment. No journalist needs a writing aid unless they’re being paid too little to write too much, no teacher needs a commenting tool unless they’re overextended.

If you’re in education and contribute to a 403(b), check out this podcast. Lots of schools don’t offer vendors with low fees where you can invest in mutual funds or index funds (e.g. Vanguard) but instead are limited to high-fee annuities. People invest for years before realizing the true cost.

people *always* see Superman and Clark Kent in the same place

A lot of great Robert Redford films being mentioned, but a later one that’s excellent is Spy Game.

As a 40yo who still games, I feel seen.

Postdoc appreciation week makes me think of when I was a postdoc and I could barely support my family, so I was volunteering for medical experiments (nothing serious--just giving blood) in order to get modest giftcards. Did I mention my postdoc was in medical ethics at a med school / hospital?

You're going to see a lot of performative appreciation by departments this Postdoc Appreciation Week. Just remember: unless you put out to-go boxes with your catering 👏 year 👏 round, your institution isn't really anti-anti-postdoc.

Another pet peeve related to this in educational contexts: in-class debates tend to favor good performers instead of well backed claims. Teachers without formal training in argumentation theory tend to be biased towards theatrics over research. Tl;dr con-men and bullshitters tend to do good at it.

'Debate' has always felt like a colonial era duel: trying to shoot the other position down in order to be considered the better man (and I mean 'man' literally here, given the way the discourse is often coded). I find it very aversive and believe there are better ways of understanding.

In “debate”, admitting “I don’t know” is tantamount to admitting defeat. In real life, it’s the heart of wisdom and the first step towards knowledge. A total inversion of good thinking!

I was going to re-grout my shower. I thought I could knock it out in a weekend. It’s still in progress. This is weekend #3.

It's postdoc appreciation week eve, so make sure to leave out some extra pens and a travel coffee mug from an institution you didn't even know they were affiliated with.

AI as epitome of debate cultur.

Me turning my chair backwards as I sit in it: “Ya know what’s totally rizz? Epistemic humility.”

Another problem with debate culture is that it prioritizes quick responses over slower, more careful thinking. It punishes saying “I don’t know. I need to look into that.” And it rewards unwarranted confidence.

I’m no fancy big city lawyer. But “involuntary lethal injection” sounds a lot like what us simple folk call “murder.”

I wonder what Limp Bizkit is doing these days?

I’m tired of hearing about “the Left” as if that term has a meaningful referent.

People are dunking on this guy but I watched a documentary that actually had footage of this:

Presuming it’s political violence, what scares me is I’ve already heard many rightwing pundits (and the president) attribute the attack to “The Left” or “Liberals” or “Democrats” as a whole. They also say “It’s only coming from the Left” and fail to mention recent attacks on democrats. This is bad.

There's a certain type of 15 year old who built an identity around consuming media and believes they are therefore owed free and immediate access to media forever. The same people also reach for high-minded justifications when they offer to pay artists with "exposure". Get a library card!

"If a cow had tools, we could not understand them" Wittgenstein

AI Exec: Only lazy luddites call it AI-slop. Same Al Exec: We’re going to flood the market with cheap AI content in the hopes of tricking at least 20 people into listening.

I think *every* relativity is special actually

The number of people who read your philosophy article, regardless of where you publish it:

They’re just finally appreciating the problem of induction. When the sun goes down we have no way of knowing if/when it’ll come back.

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

I’m renaming our dept of philosophy to the dept of really cool smart good looking people

And who does the FBI often use as informants??

Who’d have thought that being a cancelled anti-woke maverick outsider would be so lucrative???

Doing philosophy of religion by making my students write “God is dead.” Will some brave student dare to debate me, perhaps revealing me secret resentment toward God??

I’ve noticed a common misunderstanding in students when discussion objective vs subjective/relative morality. They take generic moral statements (e.g. “killing is wrong”), point out exceptions, and conclude that morality isn’t objective.