Eric Dawson
@edawson.bsky.social
Work: Southern Appalachian history and culture, film archives, writer
Life (that often bleeds into work): film, music, books, too many magazine subscriptions
I really should spend more time outdoors
Life (that often bleeds into work): film, music, books, too many magazine subscriptions
I really should spend more time outdoors
Reposted by Eric Dawson
I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
February 18, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
You can watch Frederick Wiseman's filmography and see how the bureaucracy and inanity of so many American institutions over the last 60 years led us to where we are today, but you'll also see a lot of people working within those systems trying to help make life better for others
February 17, 2026 at 4:29 AM
You can watch Frederick Wiseman's filmography and see how the bureaucracy and inanity of so many American institutions over the last 60 years led us to where we are today, but you'll also see a lot of people working within those systems trying to help make life better for others
Reposted by Eric Dawson
This is how you live a life
February 17, 2026 at 2:32 AM
This is how you live a life
Reposted by Eric Dawson
"In lieu of flowers, the family and Zipporah Films kindly request that you support your local PBS affiliate or independent bookstore in Frederick Wiseman’s memory."
February 17, 2026 at 1:04 AM
"In lieu of flowers, the family and Zipporah Films kindly request that you support your local PBS affiliate or independent bookstore in Frederick Wiseman’s memory."
Reposted by Eric Dawson
Right, another key thing that historians do is working with important records that have not been digitized.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
February 11, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Right, another key thing that historians do is working with important records that have not been digitized.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
And the vast majority of the world’s records *have not been digitized* and thus do not exist in any format that LLMs/AI can work with.
Reposted by Eric Dawson
Six years of Zoom meetings and people still haven't learned to mute themselves, and I'm still finding out things about people I never wanted to know
January 22, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Six years of Zoom meetings and people still haven't learned to mute themselves, and I'm still finding out things about people I never wanted to know
Reposted by Eric Dawson
I’ll never get tired of this ad at our local indie theater 😂
January 19, 2026 at 1:45 AM
I’ll never get tired of this ad at our local indie theater 😂
Reposted by Eric Dawson
It has come to my attention that things are bad and people may be in need of a sublime 42 minute long instrumental version of Wichita Lineman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Morg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Morg...
Dick Slessig Combo - Wichita Lineman
YouTube video by NojaRecordings
www.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 PM
It has come to my attention that things are bad and people may be in need of a sublime 42 minute long instrumental version of Wichita Lineman
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Morg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Morg...
Me: I'm going to make it a point to make it out to hear more live music this year.
The Local Spot: We booked this act you like.
Me: Great! This is going to be easy.
TLS: They're last on a four band bill.
Me: 😩
The Local Spot: We booked this act you like.
Me: Great! This is going to be easy.
TLS: They're last on a four band bill.
Me: 😩
January 5, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Me: I'm going to make it a point to make it out to hear more live music this year.
The Local Spot: We booked this act you like.
Me: Great! This is going to be easy.
TLS: They're last on a four band bill.
Me: 😩
The Local Spot: We booked this act you like.
Me: Great! This is going to be easy.
TLS: They're last on a four band bill.
Me: 😩
Reposted by Eric Dawson
13 years ago today.
December 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
13 years ago today.
If you see this repost with your model of positive masculinity
December 6, 2025 at 2:45 AM
If you see this repost with your model of positive masculinity
1970s home movies so often look like scenes from horror films
November 20, 2025 at 10:17 PM
1970s home movies so often look like scenes from horror films
Reposted by Eric Dawson
WOW. 81% of women 18-29 voted for Mamdani, 80% for Sherril, and 78% for Spanberger.
Gen Z women aren't playing around.
Gen Z women aren't playing around.
November 5, 2025 at 4:07 AM
WOW. 81% of women 18-29 voted for Mamdani, 80% for Sherril, and 78% for Spanberger.
Gen Z women aren't playing around.
Gen Z women aren't playing around.
Reposted by Eric Dawson
i think it's nice that so many flags will be at half-mast for donna.
November 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
i think it's nice that so many flags will be at half-mast for donna.
Reposted by Eric Dawson
super cool video
The Weird History of Archival Film Formats
YouTube video by Adam Savage’s Tested
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 4:09 PM
super cool video
Reposted by Eric Dawson
These in game interviews have got to stop, no one wants this.
November 2, 2025 at 1:23 AM
These in game interviews have got to stop, no one wants this.
Reposted by Eric Dawson
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
October 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
A stat we don't talk about enough: Newspapers have lost 77% of their jobs over the last 20 year, more than any of the 532 other industries tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Reposted by Eric Dawson
A moth got into the shelter tonight and it was the event of the season.
October 24, 2025 at 1:03 AM
A moth got into the shelter tonight and it was the event of the season.
So much raw talent on those albums but you can tell how much work and effort and thought and imagination went into making them. There's also no denying, he had a presence and power like few others
A post on ILX a little earlier about D’Angelo and this strikes me as so very correct. - www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSe...
October 15, 2025 at 12:21 AM
So much raw talent on those albums but you can tell how much work and effort and thought and imagination went into making them. There's also no denying, he had a presence and power like few others
Reposted by Eric Dawson
If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.
October 13, 2025 at 5:58 PM
If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.
Normally I would never suggest engaging with Klein at all, but what is apparent here is that he is spinning out because his imagined idea of America butts up against Coates' sober and historically grounded view of it. You're watching an avatar of the privileged pundit class fall apart in real time
it's a great interview, and what's striking is that at the end of the day both klein and coates believe in winning people over. the difference is that coates thinks you do this by telling them the truth, and klein thinks you do it by empathizing with them and recognizing their concerns as Real
This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
September 30, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Normally I would never suggest engaging with Klein at all, but what is apparent here is that he is spinning out because his imagined idea of America butts up against Coates' sober and historically grounded view of it. You're watching an avatar of the privileged pundit class fall apart in real time
Great piece on a great album. Obviously such a transitional record. Over time I've come to love Washing Machine/ Thousand Leaves/Murray Street as much as Evol/Sister/Daydream. What a singular, fantastic band who were never afraid to embrace change and challenge themselves
"That’s how Sonic Youth found themselves in Memphis, Tennessee during the first half of 1995, reeling, grieving and asking themselves where they could go next. Washing Machine is the answer, and it is one of their very greatest records."
Good Grief — Sonic Youth’s Washing Machine at 30:
Good Grief — Sonic Youth’s Washing Machine at 30:
Good Grief: Sonic Youth's Washing Machine at 30 | The Quietus
Stevie Chick celebrates what might be the best Sonic Youth album of them all plus the influence of Nirvana and Neil Young
thequietus.com
September 29, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Great piece on a great album. Obviously such a transitional record. Over time I've come to love Washing Machine/ Thousand Leaves/Murray Street as much as Evol/Sister/Daydream. What a singular, fantastic band who were never afraid to embrace change and challenge themselves
I been saying
September 24, 2025 at 1:07 AM
I been saying