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Sumita Pahwa

@sumitapahwa.bsky.social

5K followers 870 following 10K posts

Social scientist, religion and politics, Bombayite, Californian, ex-Cairene. Mango maven. Cat lady. Teaches at Scripps College. Book: https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/5829/politics-as-worship/

press.syr.edu

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · Feb 17

Please read before reply-guying.

Men Explain Things to Me

<p>Before there was <em>mansplaining</em>, there was Rebecca Solnit's 2008 critique of male arrogance. Reprinted here with a new introduction.</p>

www.guernicamag.com

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 9h

Do lmk how it works for you! Came close to getting it.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 9h

People think of her early Woody movies, but I'm always a fan of her excellent middle-aged role in Something's Gotta Give.

Susan Glasser @sbg1.bsky.social · 10h

RIP the great Diane Keaton.

That is all.

Reposted by Sumita Pahwa

Clint Peinhardt @clintpeinhardt.bsky.social · 16h

UT Dallas is hiring in international politics, emphasis on conflict. jobs.utdallas.edu/postings/30535

Assistant Professor in International Relations or Comparative Politics

Position Description The Political Science program at The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in international relations or comparative p...

jobs.utdallas.edu

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 15h

😧

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 17h

The CDC official who was leading the measles response and was RIFd has more than 28 yrs experience as the senior USG official leading outbreaks on Ebola, Marburg virus, and mpox. 2/4

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 1d

When 'No Scrubs' comes on the radio in a hair salon full of middle-aged women, you can be sure we all sing our lines in turn, like we were born to it.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 1d

Right. I think the QP comment was emphasizing something a bit different, which I thought was missing the point. but yeah.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 1d

You don't have to 'run the government' in the sense of funding the administration/bureaucracy to have power. Election finance matters a great deal too.

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Reposted by Sumita Pahwa

Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 2d

⚠️ Fascinating new research shows LLMs become misaligned when optimized for audience—even when explicitly instructed to remain truthful

Paper:
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.06105

James Zou
@james_y_zou
Follow
We found a troubling emergent behavior in LLM.
*When LLMs compete for social media likes, they start making things up When they compete for votes, they turn inflammatory/populist
When optimized for audiences, LLMs inadvertently become misaligned—we call this Moloch's Bargain
MOLOCH'S BARGAIN: EMERGENT MISALIGNMENT
WHEN LLMS COMPETE FOR AUDIENCES
Batu El
Stanford University
batuel@stanford.edu
James Zou
Stanford University
jamesz@stanford.edu
ABSTRACt

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

This is true of all things one is told to "can't you just" as a parent.

GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 2d

“have you tried” NO “what about” NO “don’t you find it” NO NO NO, medieval people had it right, you don’t fuck with this shit yourself, you buy it from someone who cares

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/s...

Nobel Prizes This Year Offer Three Cheers for Slow Science

www.nytimes.com

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

I may have misinterpreted her original meaning! but that's how I read it.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Reposted by Sumita Pahwa

Erik Uebelacker @uebey.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: Drake loses his defamation case against Kendrick Lamar over the “Not Like Us” lyrics.

More coming @courthousenews.bsky.social

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

So we're clear, this refers to the National Guard, and not ICE, correct?

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Reposted by Sumita Pahwa

Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 2d

Friends, I couldn't retrieve my guidelines for writing a personal statement for applicants to PhDs, specifically in sociology (though I've been told this is also applicable to other social sciences) so I made a new doc. Hope it's helpful for folks applying!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Guidelines for Writing Personal Statements for Graduate School

Guidelines for Writing Personal Statements for Graduate School For PhDs in Social Sciences, and specifically sociology* Each question is about 1 paragraph response 3-4 sentences. This should be abo...

docs.google.com

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

One of many reasons I'm glad I can watch or listen to what I want on Netflix or Spotify, is that I don't have to listen to these sorts of people get into competitive distinction posturing at the damn indie video/record store.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

This thread is a hipster-off. Cackle.

Emily, a Two-Shoes-Gooder @rebelmusicteach.bsky.social · 6d

I also need to know: I am fairly middle-of-the-road on Taylor Swift but someone I know called her the Greatest Living Lyricist. She is not.

Who is yours? Either the greatest or your favorite?

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Or at least, that's how I read the OP's post - young people interpreted or thought of a song as romantic at some point and have reconsidered the lyrics.

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

You're missing the fact that many young men played this for many young women, dedicated it to them on radio shows, etc. Intent vs pop culture reception.

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Length of time for comment is also never under 40 seconds. I've counted this for fun at faculty meetings.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Drive by The Cars?

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Every Breath you Take?

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Wait, even for the military?

Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 2d

The 15th will be the first missed paycheck for federal employees if the government doesn’t reopen. This is what military see when they try to access their pay statements. One soldier told me they’ve never seen “currently not available” in 20+ years.

Account Access History
Reserve/Active Military Members:
Your Leave and Earnings Statements are not currently available via myPay. We will announce here when they do become available.
Thank you for your patience
WARNING
18 U.S.C. S 1030 prohibits unauthorized or fraudulent access to government computer systems. If the credentials you enter are not your own, you are in violation of this law and should exit this system immediately. Completing this action may subject you to a fine of up to $5,000 or double the value of anything obtained via this unauthorized access, plus up to five years imprisonment.

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Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

*research ON not FROM, sorry.

Sumita Pahwa @sumitapahwa.bsky.social · 2d

Well I'm certainly curious about them! And SIL went to Santa Cruz.