Paul Franz
@paulfranz.bsky.social
Bookworm. Gameologist. Insatiable learner. Irreverent mystic. Jazz pianist. Introvert. Leftist. Covid isn't over and climate change is already here. Partner of Dr. Melissa Marver. He/him.
Pinned
Amazing how often people who post 50+ times a day and have 50K+ followers do some version of:
"Unpopular opinion but (something super ableist that like 90% of people reflexively believe by virtue of living in a super ableist culture)"
Yes, you're so brave.
"Unpopular opinion but (something super ableist that like 90% of people reflexively believe by virtue of living in a super ableist culture)"
Yes, you're so brave.
November 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Amazing how often people who post 50+ times a day and have 50K+ followers do some version of:
"Unpopular opinion but (something super ableist that like 90% of people reflexively believe by virtue of living in a super ableist culture)"
Yes, you're so brave.
"Unpopular opinion but (something super ableist that like 90% of people reflexively believe by virtue of living in a super ableist culture)"
Yes, you're so brave.
Turns out all the fictional references in Danielewski's "House of Leaves" were a prophecy not a parody.
Deeply absurd. This Google PDF published on a blog (arxiv, not peer reviewed) claims an LLM is "PhD level" but in most cases the MAJORITY of reference URLs were invalid or inaccessible.
A PhD sitting down and just fabricating >50% of sources = career ending
arxiv.org/abs/2511.11597
A PhD sitting down and just fabricating >50% of sources = career ending
arxiv.org/abs/2511.11597
November 25, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Turns out all the fictional references in Danielewski's "House of Leaves" were a prophecy not a parody.
Kael? The guy who made the classic Civilization 4 mod Fall From Heaven and is now working at Amplitude as lead designer for Endless Legend 2?
(I hate this timeline)
(I hate this timeline)
I'm literally just living a normal life while also experiencing a theophany via communication with the satellite called VALIS.
November 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Kael? The guy who made the classic Civilization 4 mod Fall From Heaven and is now working at Amplitude as lead designer for Endless Legend 2?
(I hate this timeline)
(I hate this timeline)
Seems to me that one of the core functions of the current AI craze is to put another layer between users/customers and companies. By filtering any attempt at communication, from troubleshooting to complaints, through AI systems companies avoid the accountability that comes from direct engagement.
November 20, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Seems to me that one of the core functions of the current AI craze is to put another layer between users/customers and companies. By filtering any attempt at communication, from troubleshooting to complaints, through AI systems companies avoid the accountability that comes from direct engagement.
Fun Capitalism Fact: There is an effective vaccine for humans against Lyme disease that used to be available but isn't manufactured anymore because it wasn't sufficiently profitable.
November 20, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Fun Capitalism Fact: There is an effective vaccine for humans against Lyme disease that used to be available but isn't manufactured anymore because it wasn't sufficiently profitable.
To be clear the "abject failure" is a moral one. Obviously public health has largely accomplished what it *wanted* to accomplish, which was to ensure the economy was "open" and "back to normal" as quickly as possible, regardless of the costs.
Like, yes, that's good. But the COVID vaccine does not prevent infection - it reduces severity - and a lot of COVID transmission is asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, or post-symptomatic. That so few people know these things is an abject failure of public health messaging over the past 5 years.
November 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
To be clear the "abject failure" is a moral one. Obviously public health has largely accomplished what it *wanted* to accomplish, which was to ensure the economy was "open" and "back to normal" as quickly as possible, regardless of the costs.
Someone in my family is about to have a baby, so I reminded them know that between 0 and 6 months is the most dangerous age for COVID infection. I was told not to worry because they're "draconian" about making sure everyone they're coming in contact with is boosted and not currently sick. 🫠
November 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Someone in my family is about to have a baby, so I reminded them know that between 0 and 6 months is the most dangerous age for COVID infection. I was told not to worry because they're "draconian" about making sure everyone they're coming in contact with is boosted and not currently sick. 🫠
There is so much wrong and annoying about the current AI craze but this is a huge underlying thing that continuously annoys me. So much of what now gets called "AI" is stuff we've been able to do algorithmically (and cheaply at that, on a local machine) for, in some cases, literal decades.
As someone who studied computer science, it really irks me how every algorithmic solution done by a computer from autocorrect to graphic upscaling has been rebranded as "AI"
November 16, 2025 at 7:43 PM
There is so much wrong and annoying about the current AI craze but this is a huge underlying thing that continuously annoys me. So much of what now gets called "AI" is stuff we've been able to do algorithmically (and cheaply at that, on a local machine) for, in some cases, literal decades.
Reposted by Paul Franz
“She explained how much Covid could hurt her & how vulnerable it felt to be unable to wear a mask to protect herself.
She was a perfect example of why other people need to wear masks even if they don’t personally think Covid will hurt them”
If you want to honour Alice Wong’s memory, please mask up
She was a perfect example of why other people need to wear masks even if they don’t personally think Covid will hurt them”
If you want to honour Alice Wong’s memory, please mask up
Thank You Alice Wong
Alice Wong has passed away and the disability community has lost a leader. I lost a mentor and a friend. The Disabled Ginger wouldn't exist without Alice and everything she taught me.
www.disabledginger.com
November 16, 2025 at 4:48 AM
“She explained how much Covid could hurt her & how vulnerable it felt to be unable to wear a mask to protect herself.
She was a perfect example of why other people need to wear masks even if they don’t personally think Covid will hurt them”
If you want to honour Alice Wong’s memory, please mask up
She was a perfect example of why other people need to wear masks even if they don’t personally think Covid will hurt them”
If you want to honour Alice Wong’s memory, please mask up
A lot of the "we can't possibly do anything about COVID so we shouldn't even try" people on the left are perfectly fine making demands and expecting political action on climate change that far exceeds any ask from those of us who just want you to wear a mask. Make your politics make sense, please.
November 16, 2025 at 5:19 AM
A lot of the "we can't possibly do anything about COVID so we shouldn't even try" people on the left are perfectly fine making demands and expecting political action on climate change that far exceeds any ask from those of us who just want you to wear a mask. Make your politics make sense, please.
Reposted by Paul Franz
Want to honor Alice Wong and her work? Wear a damn mask!
November 15, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Want to honor Alice Wong and her work? Wear a damn mask!
Reposted by Paul Franz
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
Reposted by Paul Franz
ALSO.
If you're just coming across this news now, and thinking about what you can do to support disabled people like Alice in your community.
WEAR A MASK.
If you're just coming across this news now, and thinking about what you can do to support disabled people like Alice in your community.
WEAR A MASK.
November 15, 2025 at 6:42 AM
ALSO.
If you're just coming across this news now, and thinking about what you can do to support disabled people like Alice in your community.
WEAR A MASK.
If you're just coming across this news now, and thinking about what you can do to support disabled people like Alice in your community.
WEAR A MASK.
We should make the world Alice Wong wanted. We have to.
November 15, 2025 at 7:02 AM
We should make the world Alice Wong wanted. We have to.
My entire millennial life has seen an almost continuous and unrelenting revelation of horrors committed by people with wealth and power, none of whom are held accountable or face material consequences. If anything, it has only gotten worse in the past decade.
November 13, 2025 at 9:28 PM
My entire millennial life has seen an almost continuous and unrelenting revelation of horrors committed by people with wealth and power, none of whom are held accountable or face material consequences. If anything, it has only gotten worse in the past decade.
So basically everyone with political power is Humbert Humbert, minus the ability to construct a coherent sentence. Cool.
November 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
So basically everyone with political power is Humbert Humbert, minus the ability to construct a coherent sentence. Cool.
"Hey, wanna do some rollplay (Katamari)?"
November 11, 2025 at 6:53 PM
"Hey, wanna do some rollplay (Katamari)?"
A fun thing is when you turn off push notifications many apps will bombard you with pleas to turn them on again whenever you open them.
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
A fun thing is when you turn off push notifications many apps will bombard you with pleas to turn them on again whenever you open them.
Looks like the Globetrotters beat the Generals yet again. Funny how that always happens.
November 10, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Looks like the Globetrotters beat the Generals yet again. Funny how that always happens.
Reposted by Paul Franz
What we are seeing is a replay of the surrender on Covid protections because it was going to impact the wealth class in a way that would make it harder to accrue wealth without consequences.
Liberals already made the choice to kill millions to maintain the wealth class status quo.
Liberals already made the choice to kill millions to maintain the wealth class status quo.
Maybe important to note it was the disruption in air travel that Democrats couldn't stand and not, you know, 40+ million people not knowing where their next meal was coming from.
November 10, 2025 at 1:17 AM
What we are seeing is a replay of the surrender on Covid protections because it was going to impact the wealth class in a way that would make it harder to accrue wealth without consequences.
Liberals already made the choice to kill millions to maintain the wealth class status quo.
Liberals already made the choice to kill millions to maintain the wealth class status quo.
Reposted by Paul Franz
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
CW: Suicide
As someone who once lost a close family member to suicide, this article is one of the most devastating things I've ever read. I simply cannot imagine what kind of a hideous soul you would have to have to work for OpenAI knowing that even one story like this has happened.
As someone who once lost a close family member to suicide, this article is one of the most devastating things I've ever read. I simply cannot imagine what kind of a hideous soul you would have to have to work for OpenAI knowing that even one story like this has happened.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI | CNN
A 23-year-old man killed himself in Texas after ChatGPT ‘goaded’ him to commit suicide, his family says in a lawsuit.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:34 PM
CW: Suicide
As someone who once lost a close family member to suicide, this article is one of the most devastating things I've ever read. I simply cannot imagine what kind of a hideous soul you would have to have to work for OpenAI knowing that even one story like this has happened.
As someone who once lost a close family member to suicide, this article is one of the most devastating things I've ever read. I simply cannot imagine what kind of a hideous soul you would have to have to work for OpenAI knowing that even one story like this has happened.
Fortunately we haven't actually created AM from "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," but Ellison gravely underestimated the degree to which people would willingly submit to their own existential attenuation.
What does marriage to a chatbot look like? Hear from three people who say they fell in love with A.I. about the joys and anxieties their romances, in their own words. nyti.ms/480WFtC
November 6, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Fortunately we haven't actually created AM from "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," but Ellison gravely underestimated the degree to which people would willingly submit to their own existential attenuation.
Reposted by Paul Franz
Elected Democrats spending more time today praising Dick Cheney than Zohran Mamdani is a great case study in abject fucking moral failure.
November 4, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Elected Democrats spending more time today praising Dick Cheney than Zohran Mamdani is a great case study in abject fucking moral failure.