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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Jul 3

Is it hyperbolic of me to say that “Artificial intelligence provides the hardware on which the software of totalitarianism runs most efficiently and effectively”? Maybe so, but July 4th put me in a mood.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/indistingu...

Indistinguishable

baby steps towards our brave new world

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Jun 29

The final(ish) chapter in my series on digital asymmetry, featuring ghost artists, phantom friends, and the platformization of the human psyche (that last with a major h/t to ‪@lmsacasas.bsky.social‬ )

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/asymmetry-...

Asymmetry (Part 6)

Ensloppification

cgbrooke.substack.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Jun 12

Managed my first promotion case as Chair this year, and one of the things I did this spring was to send thank you letters to each of the external reviewers (as well as the good news).

This isn't meant to be a brag, but rather an observation that this sort of basic politeness ought to be normal.

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Jun 10

I was shocked to realize that it's been 25 years since Gladwell's Tipping Point. I'd been meaning to read his update/retrospect for a while, so I finally did and wrote about it a bit.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/side-effects

Side Effects

Malcolm Gladwell, Revenge of the Tipping Point

cgbrooke.substack.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Jun 3

I wrote a bit about Vauhini Vara’s Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age. I definitely recommend it, although not without some friction.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/communion

Communion?

Vauhini Vara, Searches: Selfhood in a Digital Age

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 30

I wouldn't entirely dismiss the possibility that this is a phish. Since I became chair, I've seen a whole bunch of emails allegedly from me to my colleagues asking if they're available, if they can join a "Tasks" spreadsheet, etc. It's made me become a lot more concrete in my own email practice...

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 30

I take the long way around to a quick discussion of Bracket City, which I'm still obsessed with.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/nesting

Nesting

A backwards post about the new puzzle in my life

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 28

Spent some time this week reading and writing (more) about friction, specifically in the context of Ai.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/stronger-t...

Stronger than Friction?

against artificial intelligence

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 25

Part-review, part-reflection on Ray Nayler's latest, Where the Axe is Buried. Tried to stay spoiler-free, so I write mostly about the resonances I found with Orwell, Ai, etc. But it's a great book--Nayler's quickly becoming a fave.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/2084

2084

Ray Nayler, Where the Axe is Buried

cgbrooke.substack.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 13

Can confirm that this lecture is incredibly informative and useful. Our graduate students (and I) got a lot out of that 2022 "visit" 😉

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 12

TIL about Bracket City, a word game over at the Atlantic, and I'm more than a little obsessed with it.

www.theatlantic.com/games/bracke...

Bracket City

The Atlantic covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more, through its articles, podcasts, videos, and flagship magazine.

www.theatlantic.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 11

"I’m still searching for the words that will set my soul apart, but I’m sure they’re just around the corner."

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/summertime

Summertime

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year

cgbrooke.substack.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 7

It felt like it was time for a little change... cgbrooke.substack.com/p/unpacking-...

Unpacking my library

Notes on a name change

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · May 3

After an unfortunately light spring semester, I'm trying to rev up my writing schedule for the summer. This week, a couple of book reviews: Klein and Thompson's Abundance (cgbrooke.substack.com/p/a-bun-dance), and Wynn-Williams' Careless People (cgbrooke.substack.com/p/dirty-rott...)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Sarah Wynn-Williams, Careless People

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 19

Data retcon?

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 19

A quick post on the occasion of my Substack's 2nd anniversary

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/the-fabric...

The Fabric of our Lives

a blogiversary

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 17

Wrote a few words on the passing of Jim Leach, who was a family friend and my Representative growing up. He exemplified much of what's missing from contemporary politics. RIP

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/james-leac...

James Leach (1942-2024)

I don’t think I’ve shared this story here just yet, although some of you who read my writing have no doubt heard a version.

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 13

Some thoughts about Ai tonewashing, and the impact that it has on our ability to trust one another.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/pretty-lit...

Pretty Little Language Models

Tonewashing and its discontents

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 11

A quick review of Marie-Helene Bertino's Beautyland, which I really enjoyed.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/beautyland

Beautyland

Recommendation engine, activate

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 9

I haven't had a lot of writing time over the past couple of weeks, but what time I've had has gone to this (sorta rambling) post, about the vanishing role of productive disagreement, a trend (imho) worth reversing.
cgbrooke.substack.com/p/disagreeab...

Disagreeability

On the vanishing benefit of the doubt

cgbrooke.substack.com

Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Dec 8

I expect it's more acute as a dean, but I feel the same uncanniness as chair. One of the challenges was learning how and when I was being addressed as the office rather than the human. (I'm still not always able to tell the difference.)

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Nov 22

congratulations!

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Nov 16

In other, more personal news, my new glasses (which my ophth called "cheaters") arrived today, allowing me to see both screen and bookshelf equally well (for the first time in 2-3 years, bc cataracts) 🤓

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Nov 16

I know that it's a little redundant to share this on Bluesky itself, but I found myself doing some gentle evangelizing today, so it was what was on my mind during my writing group.

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/should-i-s...

Should I stay or should I go?

Darling, you got to let me know

cgbrooke.substack.com

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Collin G Brooke @cgbrooke.bsky.social · Nov 14

As the Legion of Doom is currently assembling, I found myself wondering why the Superfriends are so incompetent when it comes to media...

cgbrooke.substack.com/p/whats-afoo...

What's afoot in the DCU?

asking better questions in the Democrat Cinematic Universe

cgbrooke.substack.com