Zach Vander Veen
@edlighten.net
Husband, adoptive father, entrepreneur, and educator. Cofounder of the Abre Platform. Really into aphorisms.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Again, most people do not work in the fields they studied between 18 and 22.
This is a *good* thing.
This is a *good* thing.
Isn't it just a matter of practicality? There aren't that many jobs/careers in liberals arts, not to mention well-paying jobs, famously.
February 13, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Again, most people do not work in the fields they studied between 18 and 22.
This is a *good* thing.
This is a *good* thing.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
I'd like at add a few things to this. (1) humanists have not been able to convince any political party that curiosity-driven humanities research is a public good that should be funded using tax dollars. Republicans don't believe this, but neither do Democrats.
It's possible to do a non-reactionary critique of the current landscape of humanities research funding: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Does humanities research matter anymore? (opinion)
The rapid collapse in available research funding is one crisis in the humanities we aren’t talking enough about, Asheesh Kapur Siddique writes.
www.insidehighered.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I'd like at add a few things to this. (1) humanists have not been able to convince any political party that curiosity-driven humanities research is a public good that should be funded using tax dollars. Republicans don't believe this, but neither do Democrats.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Terrified Conservatives Lose Ability To Speak English After Exposure To Bad Bunny Performance https://theonion.com/terrified-conservatives-lose-ability-to-speak-english-after-exposure-to-bad-bunny-performance-dios-mio-cry-millions-of-panicking-republicans/
February 9, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Terrified Conservatives Lose Ability To Speak English After Exposure To Bad Bunny Performance https://theonion.com/terrified-conservatives-lose-ability-to-speak-english-after-exposure-to-bad-bunny-performance-dios-mio-cry-millions-of-panicking-republicans/
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
![Comic. [Person talking to person with black hat.] PERSON 1: Historically, it refers to a ceremony to predict the weather using a rodent. But nowadays people often use it to mean “a time loop experienced by one person.” PERSON 2: …What. [caption] Easily our weirdest holiday.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreidknpywgj44ox6nphuyzs6si6lozn77jyx75nbh7v67wsjr6dssl4@jpeg)
February 4, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Is The Tetris Company going to celebrate what should be "Tetris Month"?
In February 2026, the four weeks are lined up perfectly as four lines - which is exactly what a Tetris is!
The last time this happened was in 2015, and the next two times will be in 2037 and 2043.
#Tetris
In February 2026, the four weeks are lined up perfectly as four lines - which is exactly what a Tetris is!
The last time this happened was in 2015, and the next two times will be in 2037 and 2043.
#Tetris
February 1, 2026 at 4:52 AM
Is The Tetris Company going to celebrate what should be "Tetris Month"?
In February 2026, the four weeks are lined up perfectly as four lines - which is exactly what a Tetris is!
The last time this happened was in 2015, and the next two times will be in 2037 and 2043.
#Tetris
In February 2026, the four weeks are lined up perfectly as four lines - which is exactly what a Tetris is!
The last time this happened was in 2015, and the next two times will be in 2037 and 2043.
#Tetris
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
The new system is defined by information abundance and attention scarcity. It is fast, peer-to-peer, and real time. This shift is structural, not political. The public are not just recipients of information, but creators and distributors, competing for attention in the same spaces as institutions.
January 23, 2026 at 9:21 AM
The new system is defined by information abundance and attention scarcity. It is fast, peer-to-peer, and real time. This shift is structural, not political. The public are not just recipients of information, but creators and distributors, competing for attention in the same spaces as institutions.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Jack Smith: "My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted. The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends on our collective commitment to apply it."
January 22, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Jack Smith: "My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted. The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends on our collective commitment to apply it."
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Fight and help win a world war.
Establish a global order that cements your national power for 80 years.
Blow it all up.
What am I missing?
Establish a global order that cements your national power for 80 years.
Blow it all up.
What am I missing?
January 18, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Fight and help win a world war.
Establish a global order that cements your national power for 80 years.
Blow it all up.
What am I missing?
Establish a global order that cements your national power for 80 years.
Blow it all up.
What am I missing?
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
“Sometimes public service requires standing firm in the face of threats, which is what this unambiguously is”
How did the banker dude get here before the leaders of every self-mythologizing media organization or even Congress
How did the banker dude get here before the leaders of every self-mythologizing media organization or even Congress
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:06 AM
“Sometimes public service requires standing firm in the face of threats, which is what this unambiguously is”
How did the banker dude get here before the leaders of every self-mythologizing media organization or even Congress
How did the banker dude get here before the leaders of every self-mythologizing media organization or even Congress
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Also: "This year, 422 newly opened stores joined the American Booksellers Association — nearly a hundred more than joined last year. Barnes & Noble added 55 stores around the country and Books-A-Million added 18. By comparison, Books-A-Million opened seven new stores in 2024."
December 31, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Also: "This year, 422 newly opened stores joined the American Booksellers Association — nearly a hundred more than joined last year. Barnes & Noble added 55 stores around the country and Books-A-Million added 18. By comparison, Books-A-Million opened seven new stores in 2024."
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
December 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
How many terrible policies and social ills can be attributed to the pervasive idea that “At any moment I could suddenly become rich!”
December 29, 2025 at 1:28 PM
How many terrible policies and social ills can be attributed to the pervasive idea that “At any moment I could suddenly become rich!”
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
love that software developers are advertising AI functionality in every single app now and it's up to you to try to figure out if they mean "this has spellcheck" or "everything you create in this app will sync in real-time to sam altman's personal laptop" or something in between
December 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
love that software developers are advertising AI functionality in every single app now and it's up to you to try to figure out if they mean "this has spellcheck" or "everything you create in this app will sync in real-time to sam altman's personal laptop" or something in between
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
It is so essential for People In Charge to remember that, when it really comes down to brass tacks, they actually don’t have a CMS login
December 23, 2025 at 1:40 AM
It is so essential for People In Charge to remember that, when it really comes down to brass tacks, they actually don’t have a CMS login
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
This is true. And honestly, in 2026, the best reasons to play around with AI will be:
1. To figure out if you can use it to do less of the most tedious and toilsome work
2. To know its limitations so you can push back when someone says you "have" to use it
1. To figure out if you can use it to do less of the most tedious and toilsome work
2. To know its limitations so you can push back when someone says you "have" to use it
So the “figure out how to use it lest you be left behind” replies about ‘AI’ that have been popping up here strike me as inauthentic but also kind of funny because they grant the point that rather than an automation panacea these technologies are quite difficult to figure out how to use effectively
December 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
This is true. And honestly, in 2026, the best reasons to play around with AI will be:
1. To figure out if you can use it to do less of the most tedious and toilsome work
2. To know its limitations so you can push back when someone says you "have" to use it
1. To figure out if you can use it to do less of the most tedious and toilsome work
2. To know its limitations so you can push back when someone says you "have" to use it
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
tech bro: i have made Artificial General Intelligence
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
tech bro: i have made Artificial General Intelligence
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
November 25, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
Every technology problem is three social problems in a trench coat
ok one last post -- oldheads are always going to "why is the web dying.... how can we get the kids invested in the free and open web"
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
bro the kids can't read. that's why the web is dying. first things first
November 11, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Every technology problem is three social problems in a trench coat
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
a tyrant is ignoring the constitution, firing live artillery at americans, invading our cities, and tearing down the white house to build himself a palace
our institutions won't react because they're lost in a digital dreamstate, unable to decide what is true because of social media poisoning
our institutions won't react because they're lost in a digital dreamstate, unable to decide what is true because of social media poisoning
October 20, 2025 at 9:41 PM
a tyrant is ignoring the constitution, firing live artillery at americans, invading our cities, and tearing down the white house to build himself a palace
our institutions won't react because they're lost in a digital dreamstate, unable to decide what is true because of social media poisoning
our institutions won't react because they're lost in a digital dreamstate, unable to decide what is true because of social media poisoning
Reposted by Zach Vander Veen
My friend Matt Inman made a great comic about AI…
A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal
This is a comic about AI art.
theoatmeal.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:47 AM
My friend Matt Inman made a great comic about AI…