Adam Mosley
@adamjmosley.bsky.social
historian: early modern science & scholarship | book history | collecting & museums | networks | dh-curious |🏳️🌈 |🇪🇺| ~he/him~
+ speculative fiction | games | other people's cats & dogs | octopodes | bears | personal views
+ speculative fiction | games | other people's cats & dogs | octopodes | bears | personal views
Pinned
Adam Mosley
@adamjmosley.bsky.social
· Nov 29
Currently working on: history of cosmography (yes all of it!); emergence of cosmology as a disciplinary & epistemic category.
Intermittently thinking about: retiring 'mathematical practitioners'; notions of disciplinarity; the broken model of academic publishing.
Intermittently thinking about: retiring 'mathematical practitioners'; notions of disciplinarity; the broken model of academic publishing.
From next semester, academic staff will be trusted* to set-up their own submission links on our VLE. I am hopeful** that this will allow me to add bespoke checks to the submission instructions, like 'Are you sure you've checked that's what is meant by Renaissance humanism?'...
November 25, 2025 at 3:35 PM
From next semester, academic staff will be trusted* to set-up their own submission links on our VLE. I am hopeful** that this will allow me to add bespoke checks to the submission instructions, like 'Are you sure you've checked that's what is meant by Renaissance humanism?'...
Reposted by Adam Mosley
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Adam Mosley
Finally, the recording has landed! If you missed @jontopham.bsky.social's inaugural lecture on "Science and religion from the ground up" back in April, you can now catch up online at mymedia.leeds.ac.uk/Mediasite/Pl.... @bshsnews.bsky.social @leedsprhs.bsky.social
Topham Inaugural_4/25/2025
mymedia.leeds.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Finally, the recording has landed! If you missed @jontopham.bsky.social's inaugural lecture on "Science and religion from the ground up" back in April, you can now catch up online at mymedia.leeds.ac.uk/Mediasite/Pl.... @bshsnews.bsky.social @leedsprhs.bsky.social
Reposted by Adam Mosley
Nominations are open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026, recognising the best scholarly English-language book in the history of science.
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
November 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Nominations are open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026, recognising the best scholarly English-language book in the history of science.
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
📆 Deadline: 31 Jan 2026.
Anyone may nominate (self-nominations welcome).
Submit via our online form on the BSHS website www.bshs.org.uk/the-bshs-pic...
Reposted by Adam Mosley
CALLING ALL UG STUDENTS. Awards (up to £1000) for students of classical studies at a UK University to visit classical sites and museums in Greece, Italy or the Eastern Mediterranean in the Easter or summer vacation.
Society of Dilletanti travel awards now accepting applications: shorturl.at/fxXMI
Society of Dilletanti travel awards now accepting applications: shorturl.at/fxXMI
Society of Dilettanti (2026)
Annual scholarships up to £1,000 for UK university students studying classics to visit Mediterranean sites, supporting independent travel and aesthetic appreciation of classical ar
shorturl.at
November 24, 2025 at 10:01 AM
CALLING ALL UG STUDENTS. Awards (up to £1000) for students of classical studies at a UK University to visit classical sites and museums in Greece, Italy or the Eastern Mediterranean in the Easter or summer vacation.
Society of Dilletanti travel awards now accepting applications: shorturl.at/fxXMI
Society of Dilletanti travel awards now accepting applications: shorturl.at/fxXMI
You know, just last week someone said that I was being 'too political' when I suggested that they might want to consider using something other than Grok, if they were going to use an AI at all...
November 21, 2025 at 7:47 AM
You know, just last week someone said that I was being 'too political' when I suggested that they might want to consider using something other than Grok, if they were going to use an AI at all...
The comments on this post should be required reading for every Labour MP and policy wonk.
Why aren't Labour's life-changing policies connecting with voters - and what can the party do? It's down to messaging, how it's told, and the messengers...
Why don’t Labour’s workers’ and renters’ rights reforms cut through to voters – and how should they? – LabourList
When millions of workers and renters don’t know you’re doing more to improve their rights than any government in half a century, something is going…
labourlist.org
November 8, 2025 at 8:41 PM
The comments on this post should be required reading for every Labour MP and policy wonk.
My internal rule used to be that I would stay in a shop only so long as someone didn't ask if I needed help in a way that I found intrusive and annoying.
I rarely bought anything at Gap.
I rarely bought anything at Gap.
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
Target is now requiring its employees to smile more
As the holiday season fast approaches, Target is urging its employees to add a little more “jolly” to their work routine.
www.wilx.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
My internal rule used to be that I would stay in a shop only so long as someone didn't ask if I needed help in a way that I found intrusive and annoying.
I rarely bought anything at Gap.
I rarely bought anything at Gap.
I have had a beard for over twenty years. Many people have never seen me without one. And yet, when people who I haven't met in a while fail to recognise me, they always go for the 'it's because you have a beard' gambit.
November 8, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I have had a beard for over twenty years. Many people have never seen me without one. And yet, when people who I haven't met in a while fail to recognise me, they always go for the 'it's because you have a beard' gambit.
Reposted by Adam Mosley
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
I’m going to regret asking this, but… what mechanism are people proposing whereby AI will “end scarcity”?
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
Reposted by Adam Mosley
It's #DigitalFriday ! This is my routine appeal to #skystorians and all other academics prepping for teaching to share any software, hardware, online resources (primary, secondary, teaching tools, blogs) tips and tricks that they've found useful this week! #AcademicSky 🗃️(pls boost to relevant feeds)
November 7, 2025 at 8:27 AM
It's #DigitalFriday ! This is my routine appeal to #skystorians and all other academics prepping for teaching to share any software, hardware, online resources (primary, secondary, teaching tools, blogs) tips and tricks that they've found useful this week! #AcademicSky 🗃️(pls boost to relevant feeds)
A medieval/early-modern postdoc opportunity here -- please distribute across your networks.
JOIN US: apply for a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship, researching the history of the fiefs of Jersey and the island’s seigneurial institutions and culture, from the Norman ducal period to the English Civil War.
Details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI170/p...
Details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPI170/p...
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in History at Swansea University
An opportunity for an academic position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in History is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 10:12 AM
A medieval/early-modern postdoc opportunity here -- please distribute across your networks.
And this is where I went to school...
Flaming Tar Barrels Live. probably wont be the new big jets tv but got to be better than the one show
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy...
Flaming tar barrels carried through streets of Ottery St Mary
The centuries-old tradition runs annually in Ottery St Mary on Bonfire Night.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 7:14 AM
And this is where I went to school...
I feel so out of touch with the language of research culture facilitation. I see people have moved on from sandpits and are now running fishbowls...
November 5, 2025 at 9:03 AM
I feel so out of touch with the language of research culture facilitation. I see people have moved on from sandpits and are now running fishbowls...
The best thing about the QS survey is that QS stands for Quacquarelli Symonds, a name that conjures a certain image if your research and teaching is history of medicine adjacent.
Apologies in advance if I send you an email inviting you to participate in the QS survey.
Apologies in advance if I send you an email inviting you to participate in the QS survey.
October 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The best thing about the QS survey is that QS stands for Quacquarelli Symonds, a name that conjures a certain image if your research and teaching is history of medicine adjacent.
Apologies in advance if I send you an email inviting you to participate in the QS survey.
Apologies in advance if I send you an email inviting you to participate in the QS survey.
Reposted by Adam Mosley
The tragedy of Aberfan still resonates 59 years on. Today we remember the 144 lives lost, and those who fought to save them. Read/listen to accounts of Swansea University students who helped at the disaster site: ow.ly/8fV550Lgx6c
With thanks to Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University.
With thanks to Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University.
Aberfan
At around 9.15am on the morning of October 21, 1966, a spoil tip collapsed onto the Welsh village of Aberfan, engulfing Pantglas Primary School and other buildings. The disaster resulted in the tragic
ow.ly
October 21, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The tragedy of Aberfan still resonates 59 years on. Today we remember the 144 lives lost, and those who fought to save them. Read/listen to accounts of Swansea University students who helped at the disaster site: ow.ly/8fV550Lgx6c
With thanks to Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University.
With thanks to Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University.
(a) *sigh*
(b) What's that Kemi? Regulation and not marketised competition is the key to ensuring quality?
(b) What's that Kemi? Regulation and not marketised competition is the key to ensuring quality?
'The party would introduce caps on funded courses that consistently “lead to poor graduate outcomes”, allowing it to invest further in the “apprenticeship revolution” it started, it said. Remaining funding will be used to support high-quality courses at research-intensive British universities.' 3/3
October 8, 2025 at 6:55 AM
(a) *sigh*
(b) What's that Kemi? Regulation and not marketised competition is the key to ensuring quality?
(b) What's that Kemi? Regulation and not marketised competition is the key to ensuring quality?
Reposted by Adam Mosley
MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 7, 2025 at 10:19 AM
MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Look, I'm as much of a fan of speculative fiction and casual thought experiments as the next nerdy-PhD with some training in both the sciences and philosophy. But maybe we could focus for now on respecting the rights of the persons we have, rather than those we're just imagining.
October 5, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Look, I'm as much of a fan of speculative fiction and casual thought experiments as the next nerdy-PhD with some training in both the sciences and philosophy. But maybe we could focus for now on respecting the rights of the persons we have, rather than those we're just imagining.
I'm pleased to share the news that I have recently begun a term as co-editor of the British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS), working together with the now editor-in-chief, the brilliant Amanda Rees @amandarees.bsky.social.
October 3, 2025 at 7:28 AM
I'm pleased to share the news that I have recently begun a term as co-editor of the British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS), working together with the now editor-in-chief, the brilliant Amanda Rees @amandarees.bsky.social.
October 2, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I'm pleased to share the news that I have recently begun a term as co-editor of the British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS), working together with the now editor-in-chief, the brilliant Amanda Rees @amandarees.bsky.social.
Reposted by Adam Mosley
Ebooks are HERE! uk.bookshop.org/ebooks
October 1, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Ebooks are HERE! uk.bookshop.org/ebooks
While we're waiting for growth, perhaps we could try human decency, basic fairness, empathy, familiarity with other cultures, and humanistic inquiry as antidotes to division -- facilitated by principled political leadership, ethical business practices, and a responsible media. Utopian, I know...
September 30, 2025 at 5:07 AM
While we're waiting for growth, perhaps we could try human decency, basic fairness, empathy, familiarity with other cultures, and humanistic inquiry as antidotes to division -- facilitated by principled political leadership, ethical business practices, and a responsible media. Utopian, I know...
Facebook is trash... It belongs in the bin.
Guardian investigation into Facebook groups with 600k members in which the kind of extreme dehumanising language that socialises racist violence is rife. Facebook has become more permissive towards extreme content in the last year.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
Far-right Facebook groups are engine of radicalisation in UK, data investigation suggests
Rioters were influenced by network that exposes hundreds of thousands of Britons to racist disinformation, Guardian research indicates
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Facebook is trash... It belongs in the bin.
I don't think Digital ID is the solution to the 'migration crisis', regardless of its advantages and disadvantages (few and many in number) because I don't think there is a 'migration crisis'. What there is, is the repeated and avoidable human tragedy of adults and children being placed at risk...
September 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I don't think Digital ID is the solution to the 'migration crisis', regardless of its advantages and disadvantages (few and many in number) because I don't think there is a 'migration crisis'. What there is, is the repeated and avoidable human tragedy of adults and children being placed at risk...