Reposted by Jay Alt
in which, I reveal an exciting new intellectual luxury goods market! backofmind.substack.com/p/read-it-in...
read it in the original
a call for indications of interest
backofmind.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
in which, I reveal an exciting new intellectual luxury goods market! backofmind.substack.com/p/read-it-in...
Reposted by Jay Alt
#OtD 3 Dec 1946 100,000 workers downed tools in support of a strike by 400 mostly women department store workers in the Oakland general strike. Strikers took over the city which had a "carnival spirit" for 54 hours until called off by union officials shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/str...
December 3, 2025 at 1:40 PM
#OtD 3 Dec 1946 100,000 workers downed tools in support of a strike by 400 mostly women department store workers in the Oakland general strike. Strikers took over the city which had a "carnival spirit" for 54 hours until called off by union officials shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/str...
Imagine if Mad Men stuck with the freudian psych from the pilot
December 3, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Imagine if Mad Men stuck with the freudian psych from the pilot
Reposted by Jay Alt
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Jay Alt
Justice Kagan (???) is laying into Cox, saying they left a lot of options on the table--including enlisting landlords to pressure families in multi-family units to stop piracy.
I'm not sure that's... even remotely possible
I'm not sure that's... even remotely possible
December 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Justice Kagan (???) is laying into Cox, saying they left a lot of options on the table--including enlisting landlords to pressure families in multi-family units to stop piracy.
I'm not sure that's... even remotely possible
I'm not sure that's... even remotely possible
The great novel of the American trente glorieuses [George Romero's Knightriders (1981)] of course relates both these themes in the automotive context to even older Arthurian imagery
And without some darkness they would not be able to mediate real escapes from bad situations (also a theme in songs about rail)
December 1, 2025 at 6:34 PM
The great novel of the American trente glorieuses [George Romero's Knightriders (1981)] of course relates both these themes in the automotive context to even older Arthurian imagery
Incidentally re-reading Man a Machine and of course it is very funny and warm and the point is not that people are clocks but that observation and the principle of mechanism tell us that animals are conscious!
Reading Kingsnorth's "Against the Machine" and trying very hard to be receptive to his views, but I find it deeply frustrating to hear people talk about science and scientists as people who want to machine-ify and rigorize Nature. If you would simply read Darwin's diaries, you wouldn't say this.
December 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Incidentally re-reading Man a Machine and of course it is very funny and warm and the point is not that people are clocks but that observation and the principle of mechanism tell us that animals are conscious!
Reposted by Jay Alt
When you see stuff like this, you should ask yourself: what would happen if a PM was ever elected who was not 100% reliably One Of The Lads, and he or she asked to see the Northern Ireland files from the 1970s? What then.
Special forces chief tried to cover up concerns about SAS conduct in Afghanistan, inquiry told
Whistleblower says chain of command failed to stop extrajudicial shootings, including of children, after alarm was raised
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:28 AM
When you see stuff like this, you should ask yourself: what would happen if a PM was ever elected who was not 100% reliably One Of The Lads, and he or she asked to see the Northern Ireland files from the 1970s? What then.
Reposted by Jay Alt
Everyone is getting upset about the data centers. They pollute a lot and use a lot of energy and will eventually be very ugly/huge vacant buildings. And I understand being mad about that. Until you consider the state of the lazer tag industry at this moment, and how much help that sector needs.
December 1, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Everyone is getting upset about the data centers. They pollute a lot and use a lot of energy and will eventually be very ugly/huge vacant buildings. And I understand being mad about that. Until you consider the state of the lazer tag industry at this moment, and how much help that sector needs.
Reposted by Jay Alt
Indeed: Huntington was an early warning sign of how, amidst skyrocketing inequality, a small coterie of unpatriotic super elites would seek to tear down state structures while shouting racist narratives of blood and soil into the media that they control
Amid the liberal internationalist optimism of the late 1990s, Samuel Huntington foresaw a world marked by continued conflict.
Samuel Huntington Is Getting His Revenge
The idea of a global “clash of civilizations” wasn’t wrong—it was just premature.
foreignpolicy.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Indeed: Huntington was an early warning sign of how, amidst skyrocketing inequality, a small coterie of unpatriotic super elites would seek to tear down state structures while shouting racist narratives of blood and soil into the media that they control
Reposted by Jay Alt
Hours from December, isn’t that crazy?
The first week of meteorological winter in Northern Hemisphere is marked by overheating continents. North America appears lonely with temperatures significantly below average in Northern Plains. (1/2)
The first week of meteorological winter in Northern Hemisphere is marked by overheating continents. North America appears lonely with temperatures significantly below average in Northern Plains. (1/2)
November 30, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Hours from December, isn’t that crazy?
The first week of meteorological winter in Northern Hemisphere is marked by overheating continents. North America appears lonely with temperatures significantly below average in Northern Plains. (1/2)
The first week of meteorological winter in Northern Hemisphere is marked by overheating continents. North America appears lonely with temperatures significantly below average in Northern Plains. (1/2)
Reposted by Jay Alt
fuck it, for the people in the back:
the jeff bezos owned washington post is the outlet responsible for making sure the primary complaint about AI was water. this may have been in part because jeff knew it was bullshit, so when amzn gets blowback they can easily prove their water footprint is small
the jeff bezos owned washington post is the outlet responsible for making sure the primary complaint about AI was water. this may have been in part because jeff knew it was bullshit, so when amzn gets blowback they can easily prove their water footprint is small
not to be conspiratorial but the outlet that successfully pushed this line and made it the primary complaint was wapo
December 1, 2025 at 1:44 AM
fuck it, for the people in the back:
the jeff bezos owned washington post is the outlet responsible for making sure the primary complaint about AI was water. this may have been in part because jeff knew it was bullshit, so when amzn gets blowback they can easily prove their water footprint is small
the jeff bezos owned washington post is the outlet responsible for making sure the primary complaint about AI was water. this may have been in part because jeff knew it was bullshit, so when amzn gets blowback they can easily prove their water footprint is small
A separate hypertext layer that is copyleft licensed so that commercial firms can't use it would solve so many problems
November 30, 2025 at 9:14 PM
A separate hypertext layer that is copyleft licensed so that commercial firms can't use it would solve so many problems
When I started paying attention to DSA conventions they all seemed like shitshows that would end in collapse, but it turns out not to actually work that way for DSA, and enough YP factions seem to be taking explicit inspiration to pull it off imo.
November 30, 2025 at 5:30 PM
When I started paying attention to DSA conventions they all seemed like shitshows that would end in collapse, but it turns out not to actually work that way for DSA, and enough YP factions seem to be taking explicit inspiration to pull it off imo.
"All this knowledge, with which vanity fills the balloon-like brains of our proud pedants, is therefore but a huge mass of words and figures, which form in the brain all the marks by which we distinguish and recall objects" -- valuable business insight
November 29, 2025 at 9:41 PM
"All this knowledge, with which vanity fills the balloon-like brains of our proud pedants, is therefore but a huge mass of words and figures, which form in the brain all the marks by which we distinguish and recall objects" -- valuable business insight
Reposted by Jay Alt
also might indicate who should really be replaced by ai
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
also might indicate who should really be replaced by ai
Reposted by Jay Alt
Reposted by Jay Alt
Ok, so the Traveller 5e news is… well it’s whatever. Not really worth getting too exercised about I’d say about BUT thanks to looking up previous d20 iterations of Traveller my life has been #blessed to discover what may be hands down the single greatest piece of RPG art I’ve ever seen.
November 27, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Ok, so the Traveller 5e news is… well it’s whatever. Not really worth getting too exercised about I’d say about BUT thanks to looking up previous d20 iterations of Traveller my life has been #blessed to discover what may be hands down the single greatest piece of RPG art I’ve ever seen.
It is really strange how many educated americans pay real world cash dollar money to publications that clearly have some fundamental opposition to mass education, literacy and numeracy as concepts.
ruin your thanksgiving by reading new york magazine's take on mathematics
![The Ten Most
Ridiculous-Sounding
Math Classes Currently
Offered at Liberal-Arts
Colleges
By Jessica Pressler, Janelle Zara, and Emily Watkins Rachel Stein andAviva Shen OCT. 19, 2010
Every year, liberal-arts majors anxiously scour their college's course listings looking for classes that will fulfill their math requirement but aren't so, you know, math-y. Here's what they're signed up for this year.
10. Topology: The Nature of Shape and Space: "In geometry we ask: How big is it? How long is it? But in topology we ask: Is it [Sarah Lawrence
9. The Mathematies of Chance: "Most topics are introduced ina case-study fashion, usually by reading an article in a current periodical such as the New York Times. [Bard]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5itm7jsyrdqdxizkb4cufqxl/bafkreieq6gmwmropzlvjkaaxk6d2smd4tv4dy7qar66uoyv6mhs6naa3fu@jpeg)
![8. Mathematics in Many Cultures: "Mathematical ideas are found in many cultures, among both literate and non-literate peoples. This course examines both mathematics and the role it plays in the cultures. Examples chosen from the mathematical ideas of present-day peoples of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, as well as historic Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Islam and China." [Pomona]
7. The Magic of Numbers: "This course will explore the beauty and mystery of mathematics through a study of the patterns and properties of the natural numbers 1, 2, [and] 3." [Harvard
6. Models of Life: In particular, we will ask such questions as: How do you model the growth of a population of animals? How can you model the growth of a tree? How do sunflowers and seashells grow?" [Kenyon]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5itm7jsyrdqdxizkb4cufqxl/bafkreic3c4ox53ouwr3ij3wsmvetmuknu2u2jai7hlvuigco3ahppeoabi@jpeg)
![5. Mathematical Origamist's Toolkit: "Topics include modular origami and how this models the creation of polyhedra and coloring of graphs, comparison of origami-axiomatic constructions to straight-edge and compass constructions, the combinatorics of possible crease patterns, the mathematics of origami design (circle packing, optimization), matrix models for paperfolding, spherical geometry, Descartes' Theorem, and Gaussian curvature." [Hampshire]
4. Mathematics and Narrative: "Many literary works (Arcadia, Proof, and Uncle Petros and the Goldbach Conjecture) use mathematics as an integral part of their narrative. Movie and television narratives such as Good Will Hunting and Numb3rs are also mathematically based. Nonfiction works about mathematics and mathematical biographies like Chaos, Fermat's Enigma, and A Beautiful Mind provide further examples of the connection between mathematics and narrative." [Vassar]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5itm7jsyrdqdxizkb4cufqxl/bafkreigyk5tqjszw3fodt7ivmszq7mozpta55o7c552oyzpbqyphl26x7m@jpeg)
![3. Borges and Mathematics: "Jorge Luis Borges was one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Many of his short stories and essays were concerned with philosophical, metaphysical, and mathematical questions. The thesis motivating this course is that if we know the mathematies that Borges referred to, then we will read him differently, and we will read him better." [Bennington 2. Mathematics and Science as Art in Contemporary Theatre: "Playwrights such as Tom Stoppard, Rinne Groff, Michael Frayn, and others have effectively explored mathematical and scientific themes for artistic purposes. Through readings and exercises, and by conducting labs and staging scenes, this class will gain some first-hand insight into the complementary ways in which science and art aim to seek out their respective truths." [Middlebury]
1. Meaning, Math, And Motion: "Quoting a charming articulation by Kinsman (a mathematician-turned-oceanographer, in the preface to Wind Waves): "To the beginner, science is a conversation that has been in progress for a very long time. Our collective work is to catch up on the conversation. [Evergreen]
This is why Asia is winning, by the way.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5itm7jsyrdqdxizkb4cufqxl/bafkreihglx3kxej43i22j4vggyoutp2oyomivtmmvgp6uvslqemm4hhpci@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It is really strange how many educated americans pay real world cash dollar money to publications that clearly have some fundamental opposition to mass education, literacy and numeracy as concepts.
Reposted by Jay Alt
This explains some corners of Bsky...
From the AMA community on Reddit: I was paid to discredit veganism online. AMA
Explore this post and more from the AMA community
www.reddit.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This explains some corners of Bsky...
Reposted by Jay Alt
I’d never really experienced it much before but holy shit now I know what people mean when they say the Illuminati has a world hunger problem
November 27, 2025 at 6:10 AM
I’d never really experienced it much before but holy shit now I know what people mean when they say the Illuminati has a world hunger problem
Reposted by Jay Alt
Reposted by Jay Alt
Not a fan so far of "sovereign" displacing "open" in all things AI/tech in the EU.
November 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Not a fan so far of "sovereign" displacing "open" in all things AI/tech in the EU.
"Consider like, just how much energy is basically going into working within the constraints of that bottleneck. All of modernity's armies of little bureaucrats, all the schools and the libraries and the academies and the conferences and the writing writing writing constant writing..."
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
"Consider like, just how much energy is basically going into working within the constraints of that bottleneck. All of modernity's armies of little bureaucrats, all the schools and the libraries and the academies and the conferences and the writing writing writing constant writing..."
Reposted by Jay Alt
Public opinion between rearmament and crisis of the nuclear taboo
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20475
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20475
November 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Public opinion between rearmament and crisis of the nuclear taboo
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20475
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20475