Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 2d

Putting in my annual vote for Granovetter for the Econ Nobel as it maximizes the size of the set of annoying people it would annoy.

2 4 42

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Brendan Cantwell @cantb.bsky.social · 4d

Here’s a dissertation topic for an ed policy / higher ed student: right-wing tech and finance plutocrats as ‘policy entrepreneurs’

2 10 72

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 7d

Are you sure this isn’t a Goffman-esque social experiment to reveal unspoken social norms. Did you sign any IRB forms when you went into the restauran?

1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 9d

This would be a great time to revist Arjun Appadurai's Modernity at Large. He writes about how people feel nostolgic for things they did not experience (I believe he was looking at Elvis impersonators in Indonesia). Still very relevent.

www.upress.umn.edu/978081662793...

1 4

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 9d

there was a good point made in NYMag's Erewhon on how gorcery stores have shifted as people cook less. Bulk good sales at Whole Foods dropped frmo 20% of sales in the 90s to less than 1% now. Hell of a lot fewer people cooking lobster from scratch nowadays.

1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 12d

Agreed. We still use stuff from that box 4 years on, and we've got the poem framed on my kid's wall.

4

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 13d

This is genuinely so, so bad lol
www.theinformation.com/articles/ai-...

Some startups continue to use ever-more-creative definitions of ARR. One venture capitalist told us some startups are calculating ARR by guessing what their product usage will be if a customer starts having all of its employees use a product. Yikes.

19 40 410

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 16d

Zotero did a big update (at least on macs) last week. Maybe that's driving it?

1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 19d

The best part of the paper is the dip in performance for companies founded by someone 40 years old; because so many of them are mid-life crisis companies.

1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 19d

The entrepreneur you want to back: is 41, has worked in a niche industry for more than a decade, and who hates their boss.

1

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 21d

You know, it's hard to outdo previous Trump scandals, but not even pretending to follow the law in order to practice a system of cronyism entirely inconsistent with the American tradition of free enterprise has a strong case for number 1.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 22d

To sum up: the President is not enforcing the law about TikTok access in order to structure the timing and sale of another giant social media platform to his political allies.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 22d

* ORACLE, SILVER LAKE, ANDREESSEN TO CONTROL TIKOK IN US: WSJ

$ORCL

6 42 190

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 26d

Entrepreneurship is counter-cyclical so it really depends on how bad the economy gets.

1

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Grig "Punkie" Larson @griglars.bsky.social · 27d

94 3K 11K

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 28d

Missed opportunity to emperically validate the furry spectrum tbh.

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 28d

Gutted that I wasn't the first person to publish on furries in a respected business and innovation journal. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

1 1

Reposted by Ben Spigel

404 Media @404media.co · 29d

"The real kick in the teeth is no matter how much manufacturing is brought back to the US these items will never be made in the USA. There is no upside."

As we predicted, the end of de minimis has made every hobby that requires the purchase of items more expensive.
🔗 www.404media.co/its-just-a-m...

‘It's Just a Mess:' 23 People Explain How Tariffs Have Suddenly Ruined Their Hobby

"The real kick in the teeth is no matter how much manufacturing is brought back to the US these items will never be made in the USA. There is no upside."

www.404media.co

16 300 630

Reposted by Ben Spigel

American Association of Geographers @geographers.bsky.social · 29d

Thanks to sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, AAG is pleased to offer two annual awards (for a student & practitioner/faculty) for research in #geography and #entrepreneurship. Awardees receive a $1,000 prize and registration to #AAG2026 to present their research. buff.ly/K6dI06T

Graphic promoting the AAG Best Paper, Student Paper Awards in Geography & Entrepreneurship.

3 5

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · 29d

As a business school professor, I give you permission to call this "value-driven software"

1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · Sep 8

I just noticed that a journal I edit for has started asking reviewers if they used GenAI in the review, but mostly about if you uploaded the paper to an AI system that can use it for training.

1 1

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · Aug 28

When I ask students what music I should play for pre-class warm up, I get safe boring choices. When I ask them what's the last song they played on their phone, I get much more interesting choices.

1 2

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Clive Thompson @clivethompson.bsky.social · Aug 20

This is really fascinating

Wikipedia's list of linguistic and stylist "tells" of AI writing, the better to help editors recognize it

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

A Wikipedia-style guideline page on avoiding exaggerated wording by LLMs, with two sections titled Undue emphasis on symbolism and importance and Promotional language. Each section lists “words to watch” in a beige box, such as "stands as a testament", "plays a vital role", "rich cultural heritage", "breathtaking", and "must-see". Below, example sentences are shown with problematic phrases highlighted in yellow, including "enhancing its significance", "captivates both residents and visitors alike", "stands as a symbol", "reflects the evolving identity", "vibrant town with a rich cultural heritage", "fascinating glimpse into the diverse tapestry", and "value-driven experiences".

16 200 500

Reposted by Ben Spigel

The Authors Guild @authorsguild.org · Aug 19

A federal court ruled that ANTHROPIC illegally copied MILLIONS of books to train its AI.

All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work.

For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...

28 1.9K 2.7K

Reposted by Ben Spigel

Rachel Cole @rmartincole.bsky.social · Aug 19

Book cover titled "The Story of Cement: The Magic Powder" by Earl J. Hadley. The illustration shows a large, stylized figure bending over and pouring white powder from their hands, which streams down into a cityscape with tall buildings and a bridge.

2 36 120

Ben Spigel @benspigel.bsky.social · Aug 19

Hard work doesn't lead to being a billionaire. Having the ability to create lasting ties with customers and employees in a way that generates substantial value (along with a lot of luck and structural advantages) can create the opportunity for massive wealth creation. fin

1