Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
@johntmurphy.bsky.social
PhD, MA Ed. Former researcher at Argonne National Lab, University of Chicago, and Northern Illinois University. Archaeology, Anthropology, and Computation. Finding complexity in the past to build a better future.
Pinned
For the BlueSky world: My (free) book is at: bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...
Imagine a world in which this kind of experimentation and customization to local conditions, and the rich variety of foods and flavors that come out of it, were the norm instead of the exception.
A growing number of bakeries, breweries and distilleries are seeking out grains cultivated with traditional farming practices.
The techniques not only help the planet but also bring more flavor to your plate or glass. https://wapo.st/4pndLbk
The techniques not only help the planet but also bring more flavor to your plate or glass. https://wapo.st/4pndLbk
November 22, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Imagine a world in which this kind of experimentation and customization to local conditions, and the rich variety of foods and flavors that come out of it, were the norm instead of the exception.
My 'one happy thing' post today: A puzzle that's been in my family since it was originally bought (for 87 cents), showing some real celebrities. Apropos of nothing.
October 31, 2025 at 8:38 PM
My 'one happy thing' post today: A puzzle that's been in my family since it was originally bought (for 87 cents), showing some real celebrities. Apropos of nothing.
Everything is hard right now, but I'm going to try to post at least one thing every day that makes me happy.
Today it's this picture I took early this morning of the leaves that fell overnight in the chilly October rain.
Today it's this picture I took early this morning of the leaves that fell overnight in the chilly October rain.
October 30, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Everything is hard right now, but I'm going to try to post at least one thing every day that makes me happy.
Today it's this picture I took early this morning of the leaves that fell overnight in the chilly October rain.
Today it's this picture I took early this morning of the leaves that fell overnight in the chilly October rain.
I had a chat yesterday about whether archaeology would accept being marginalized and retreat to a safe, "we just study old stuff," or embrace its theoretical critique of power and be assertive in current political discourse.
Careers may be at stake- but less is at stake for us than for others.
Careers may be at stake- but less is at stake for us than for others.
October 28, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I had a chat yesterday about whether archaeology would accept being marginalized and retreat to a safe, "we just study old stuff," or embrace its theoretical critique of power and be assertive in current political discourse.
Careers may be at stake- but less is at stake for us than for others.
Careers may be at stake- but less is at stake for us than for others.
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
this is what will happen if mamdani makes bus rides free
October 25, 2025 at 7:24 AM
this is what will happen if mamdani makes bus rides free
I worked on a National Lab-run project on Puerto Rico's energy grid. I was one of the authors on Energy Justice; much of the project concerned renewable energy. The results were placed in a full website at pr100.gov .
That site is now gone. Maybe it's just because of the shutdown....
That site is now gone. Maybe it's just because of the shutdown....
October 17, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I worked on a National Lab-run project on Puerto Rico's energy grid. I was one of the authors on Energy Justice; much of the project concerned renewable energy. The results were placed in a full website at pr100.gov .
That site is now gone. Maybe it's just because of the shutdown....
That site is now gone. Maybe it's just because of the shutdown....
Worth reading; discusses challenges that need to be addressed (e.g. Americans pay more but are sicker, and "... a lot of medical research is junk that can't be reproduced...").
Key quote: "The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical... It’s that his theory is naïve about power..."
Key quote: "The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical... It’s that his theory is naïve about power..."
Opinion | ‘The Power of Science to Solve Problems Is Almost Limitless’
www.nytimes.com
September 22, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Worth reading; discusses challenges that need to be addressed (e.g. Americans pay more but are sicker, and "... a lot of medical research is junk that can't be reproduced...").
Key quote: "The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical... It’s that his theory is naïve about power..."
Key quote: "The problem with Dr. Bhattacharya is not that he’s cynical... It’s that his theory is naïve about power..."
I haven't listened to this yet, but I definitely will because I think this message will be very much in line with my own thinking, which comes from years as a social scientist studying complexity while living rather uncomfortably in a computational career.
Is it possible to imagine a better future where we use less computation? The effects of AI hype almost demand it.
This week @danmcquillan.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to lay out the concept of decomputing as a different way of assessing technology.
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/286_...
This week @danmcquillan.bsky.social joins @parismarx.com to lay out the concept of decomputing as a different way of assessing technology.
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/286_...
July 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I haven't listened to this yet, but I definitely will because I think this message will be very much in line with my own thinking, which comes from years as a social scientist studying complexity while living rather uncomfortably in a computational career.
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
Or the underlying point is just the opposite.
The news that CBS had canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” prompted plenty of speculation about the network’s motivations. But “the underlying point is clear”: late-night TV has lost its value, David Sims argues: https://theatln.tc/IOcxZNKr
July 22, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Or the underlying point is just the opposite.
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
New example of "a paradise built in hell" just dropped.
Always remember, when we humans are side by side, not above or below, we are good. Love is the default under all that fear, greed and stratification.
Always remember, when we humans are side by side, not above or below, we are good. Love is the default under all that fear, greed and stratification.
Rümeysa Öztürk describes the library in the prison where she was held for 45 days for co-authoring an op-ed
July 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
New example of "a paradise built in hell" just dropped.
Always remember, when we humans are side by side, not above or below, we are good. Love is the default under all that fear, greed and stratification.
Always remember, when we humans are side by side, not above or below, we are good. Love is the default under all that fear, greed and stratification.
@kenjennings.bsky.social: re: "Candidates that don't suck," I hope you know about @katmabu.bsky.social.
www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...
www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...
July 17, 2025 at 10:18 AM
@kenjennings.bsky.social: re: "Candidates that don't suck," I hope you know about @katmabu.bsky.social.
www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...
www.katforillinois.com/issues/prote...
One day in IL my house got 2.5 inches of rain in 90 minutes. Some places got more than 9" total. A couple days later I suggested to the guy improving my downspouts that his business could tell clients that intense rainfall would be more common. He said he didn't want to get 'political'.
Exclusive: Trump officials have indefinitely suspended work on a crucial tool to predict extreme rainfall frequency, a move that experts said will make the country more vulnerable to storms supercharged by climate change.
NOAA was developing a way to predict extreme rainfall — until Trump officials stopped it
The tool would have projected how climate change could affect rainfall frequency and intensity in communities across the nation.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 16, 2025 at 12:47 PM
One day in IL my house got 2.5 inches of rain in 90 minutes. Some places got more than 9" total. A couple days later I suggested to the guy improving my downspouts that his business could tell clients that intense rainfall would be more common. He said he didn't want to get 'political'.
This is very important. From the start ChatGPT- the name, the interface- was designed to make us view it as 'like us' & capable of thought, not just a collection of numbers for text prediction. Creating a social role for an LLM is more imp. than the LLM itself, and it's where any profit comes from.
I wrote about Grok going "MechaHitler" over at X, and the need to view LLMs correctly: as remarkably powerful plausibility engines.
Their AGI marketing and the strong inclination to project human qualities to anything that can speak is misleading us.
NYT gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/o...
Their AGI marketing and the strong inclination to project human qualities to anything that can speak is misleading us.
NYT gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/o...
July 11, 2025 at 7:08 PM
This is very important. From the start ChatGPT- the name, the interface- was designed to make us view it as 'like us' & capable of thought, not just a collection of numbers for text prediction. Creating a social role for an LLM is more imp. than the LLM itself, and it's where any profit comes from.
Spoke with a friend about why social sciences and esp. anthropology are pushed aside for hard sciences and tech. I usually think of market forces & certainty/control vs. ambiguity.
She reminded me: It's not an accident. Anthropology is always a critique of power. Anthropology is dangerous.
LFG
She reminded me: It's not an accident. Anthropology is always a critique of power. Anthropology is dangerous.
LFG
June 30, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Spoke with a friend about why social sciences and esp. anthropology are pushed aside for hard sciences and tech. I usually think of market forces & certainty/control vs. ambiguity.
She reminded me: It's not an accident. Anthropology is always a critique of power. Anthropology is dangerous.
LFG
She reminded me: It's not an accident. Anthropology is always a critique of power. Anthropology is dangerous.
LFG
This scandal makes me furious. I had a work-study job checking IDs in Larkins Hall a few years during this. I worked in the new, public area; the wrestling area was in an old part that renovations left like a maze - separate, private, hard-to-find. I bet it was an easy place to hide.
Disgusting.
Disgusting.
With no publicity at all, HBO quietly released the George Clooney - produced documentary about the Ohio State scandal. Gym Jordan is an absolute disgrace.
June 21, 2025 at 10:44 AM
This scandal makes me furious. I had a work-study job checking IDs in Larkins Hall a few years during this. I worked in the new, public area; the wrestling area was in an old part that renovations left like a maze - separate, private, hard-to-find. I bet it was an easy place to hide.
Disgusting.
Disgusting.
For the BlueSky world: My (free) book is at: bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...
June 13, 2025 at 12:09 PM
For the BlueSky world: My (free) book is at: bookrxiv.com/index.php/b/...
Yes to this. Thank you, @michellegoldberg.bsky.social
'Progressives, he said, neither anticipated nor planned for how they might answer a central question of our time: “How would you do politics when the ground has shifted so dramatically from under your feet?”'
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/o...
'Progressives, he said, neither anticipated nor planned for how they might answer a central question of our time: “How would you do politics when the ground has shifted so dramatically from under your feet?”'
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/o...
June 13, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Yes to this. Thank you, @michellegoldberg.bsky.social
'Progressives, he said, neither anticipated nor planned for how they might answer a central question of our time: “How would you do politics when the ground has shifted so dramatically from under your feet?”'
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/o...
'Progressives, he said, neither anticipated nor planned for how they might answer a central question of our time: “How would you do politics when the ground has shifted so dramatically from under your feet?”'
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/o...
"... protected by congressional dysfunction..."
June 3, 2025 at 11:28 AM
"... protected by congressional dysfunction..."
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
TONIGHT AT 7: A new path forward for the Democratic party? Gen-Z Congressional candidate @katmabu.bsky.social joins to discuss her bid for the House and how she wants to change the Democratic platform.
June 1, 2025 at 8:10 PM
TONIGHT AT 7: A new path forward for the Democratic party? Gen-Z Congressional candidate @katmabu.bsky.social joins to discuss her bid for the House and how she wants to change the Democratic platform.
I'm capable of writing code that strips references out of a PDF and then automates basic searches to aid in confirming whether those references do, in fact, exist. Should I?
I really don't want to live in a world where we need it, but here we are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3e...
I really don't want to live in a world where we need it, but here we are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3e...
RFK’s Health Report Is a Mess
YouTube video by The Bulwark
www.youtube.com
May 30, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I'm capable of writing code that strips references out of a PDF and then automates basic searches to aid in confirming whether those references do, in fact, exist. Should I?
I really don't want to live in a world where we need it, but here we are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3e...
I really don't want to live in a world where we need it, but here we are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3e...
NSF's latest list of terminated programs was posted on 5/23 & so doesn't include this. My version (adding PI, abstract, and other details) is at github.com/radical-comp.... I've asked NSF how often they will update their list; when they have updated information I will regenerate my version.
Today, we received notice that our team’s last remaining NSF grant was terminated. For the first time since 2009, when I received an NSF Fellowship for Graduate Research, I have no active NSF grants.
May 29, 2025 at 10:16 AM
NSF's latest list of terminated programs was posted on 5/23 & so doesn't include this. My version (adding PI, abstract, and other details) is at github.com/radical-comp.... I've asked NSF how often they will update their list; when they have updated information I will regenerate my version.
May 27, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
And if you want $3B for trade schools, why not put it in your Big Beautiful Bill (or in the once and future PB26)??
FYI to media outlets, you're misleading your readers if you repeat this at face value.
There's no lawful way for him to redirect these grants elsewhere. It's a lie to distract from how the GOP budget guts educational funding, including Pell Grants at trade schools.
There's no lawful way for him to redirect these grants elsewhere. It's a lie to distract from how the GOP budget guts educational funding, including Pell Grants at trade schools.
May 26, 2025 at 1:36 PM
And if you want $3B for trade schools, why not put it in your Big Beautiful Bill (or in the once and future PB26)??
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
Yeah Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation will sign off on any kind of product -- jewelry, clothing, furniture, dishes, umbrellas, fricking coasters -- the problem is the products are all so good! Because his designs are still that good!
It brings me no pleasure to announce that the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation New Balances go exceptionally hard
May 25, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Yeah Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation will sign off on any kind of product -- jewelry, clothing, furniture, dishes, umbrellas, fricking coasters -- the problem is the products are all so good! Because his designs are still that good!
Reposted by Radical Complexity (John T. Murphy)
NSF just released a public list of terminated awards. It’s linked on the bottom of the FAQ page at: nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities#termination-list
Updates on NSF Priorities
nsf.gov
May 22, 2025 at 6:39 PM
NSF just released a public list of terminated awards. It’s linked on the bottom of the FAQ page at: nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities#termination-list