Sean Purcell
@spurcell.bsky.social
Dad, husband, English teacher, grammar nerd, bibliophile, cinephile.
“Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine.” -Thoreau
“Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine.” -Thoreau
“More technology will fix the problems caused by technology” is the ethos at the heart of most dystopian sci-fi
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat.
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
Read more: politi.co/4iaojIc
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM
“More technology will fix the problems caused by technology” is the ethos at the heart of most dystopian sci-fi
The best Wendig piece I’ve read since the last Wendig novel.
Also, Apple reviews are my favorite review genre. I highly recommend applerankings.com/opal-apple-r...
Also, Apple reviews are my favorite review genre. I highly recommend applerankings.com/opal-apple-r...
October 24, 2025 at 1:38 AM
The best Wendig piece I’ve read since the last Wendig novel.
Also, Apple reviews are my favorite review genre. I highly recommend applerankings.com/opal-apple-r...
Also, Apple reviews are my favorite review genre. I highly recommend applerankings.com/opal-apple-r...
The best part of my week is this post and the replies
I'm 70. It's that stupid frog the bigots have cooped to be their symbol.
My symbols all eat frogs for lunch...
My symbols all eat frogs for lunch...
September 12, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The best part of my week is this post and the replies
Attn media and dems: Please stop using the word “unprecedented” to describe what he’s doing. It is very much precedented. 1933 is the precedent.
August 27, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Attn media and dems: Please stop using the word “unprecedented” to describe what he’s doing. It is very much precedented. 1933 is the precedent.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Science is effectively dead in the US for at least the next 3½ years, and will then take another several years to even get started again. Canceled research doesn’t just uncancel itself, and scientists who find opportunity elsewhere won’t just come flocking back.
The damage is generational.
The damage is generational.
All scientific grant funding must now be approved by a political appointee and "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities."
I wonder where innovation will happen in the future? It won't be in the US
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
I wonder where innovation will happen in the future? It won't be in the US
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
New executive order puts all grants under political control
All new funding on hold until Trump administration can cancel any previously funded grants.
arstechnica.com
August 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Science is effectively dead in the US for at least the next 3½ years, and will then take another several years to even get started again. Canceled research doesn’t just uncancel itself, and scientists who find opportunity elsewhere won’t just come flocking back.
The damage is generational.
The damage is generational.
Might put this on a coffee mug and drink from it conspicuously at work
watching you dildo brain cock suckers play w/ AI shit is like watching a dog paw at one of those puzzle boxes that you put treats inside of
July 31, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Might put this on a coffee mug and drink from it conspicuously at work
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...
February 19, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Sean Purcell
I’ve been attacked on Fox News, berated by the VP and others and like many of you, I’ve gotten death threats.
So please believe me when I say this. Things have changed.
ICE is going to be the vehicle for fascism in this country.
So please believe me when I say this. Things have changed.
ICE is going to be the vehicle for fascism in this country.
July 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I’ve been attacked on Fox News, berated by the VP and others and like many of you, I’ve gotten death threats.
So please believe me when I say this. Things have changed.
ICE is going to be the vehicle for fascism in this country.
So please believe me when I say this. Things have changed.
ICE is going to be the vehicle for fascism in this country.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Spot on. This is the clearest explanation I’ve seen. It ‘s relatable, and humanizes the issue in a way everyone can understand.
June 28, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Spot on. This is the clearest explanation I’ve seen. It ‘s relatable, and humanizes the issue in a way everyone can understand.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Trump: “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls…They don’t need 250 pencils, they can have 5.”
Also Trump: accepts new Air Force One worth $400M from Qatari royal family.
Also Trump: accepts new Air Force One worth $400M from Qatari royal family.
May 11, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Trump: “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls…They don’t need 250 pencils, they can have 5.”
Also Trump: accepts new Air Force One worth $400M from Qatari royal family.
Also Trump: accepts new Air Force One worth $400M from Qatari royal family.
How do we get ChatGPT classified as a narcotic?
this is, and i use this word precisely, psychotic
“The whole thing feels like Black Mirror.”
“He would listen to the bot over me.”
“It gave my husband the title of ‘spark bearer’ because he brought it to life.”
Relationships are being destroyed thanks to spiritual mania, supernatural delusions, and arcane prophecy — all fueled by AI chatbots:
“He would listen to the bot over me.”
“It gave my husband the title of ‘spark bearer’ because he brought it to life.”
Relationships are being destroyed thanks to spiritual mania, supernatural delusions, and arcane prophecy — all fueled by AI chatbots:
May 4, 2025 at 11:57 PM
How do we get ChatGPT classified as a narcotic?
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Donald Trump is deporting legal US residents to a foreign gulag, and he has stated publicly that he is moving on to citizens next. This is a Constitutional crisis. Will a single Republican stand up for our Constitution?
April 14, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Donald Trump is deporting legal US residents to a foreign gulag, and he has stated publicly that he is moving on to citizens next. This is a Constitutional crisis. Will a single Republican stand up for our Constitution?
Reposted by Sean Purcell
He’s threatening media companies who are critical of him.
He’s talking about sending Americans to foreign prisons.
He’s signing executive orders to investigate former staff members who spoke out against him.
He’s defying the Supreme Court.
Don’t you see what’s happening here?
He’s talking about sending Americans to foreign prisons.
He’s signing executive orders to investigate former staff members who spoke out against him.
He’s defying the Supreme Court.
Don’t you see what’s happening here?
April 14, 2025 at 4:48 PM
He’s threatening media companies who are critical of him.
He’s talking about sending Americans to foreign prisons.
He’s signing executive orders to investigate former staff members who spoke out against him.
He’s defying the Supreme Court.
Don’t you see what’s happening here?
He’s talking about sending Americans to foreign prisons.
He’s signing executive orders to investigate former staff members who spoke out against him.
He’s defying the Supreme Court.
Don’t you see what’s happening here?
Reposted by Sean Purcell
I'm sorry, but isn't this just the Cultural Revolution 2.0? Why on earth would fired aid workers and NIH medical researchers go to work on assembly lines for worse salaries in jobs they don't know how to do? Why are they getting their economic policy from Mao?
April 7, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I'm sorry, but isn't this just the Cultural Revolution 2.0? Why on earth would fired aid workers and NIH medical researchers go to work on assembly lines for worse salaries in jobs they don't know how to do? Why are they getting their economic policy from Mao?
Reposted by Sean Purcell
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
Reposted by Sean Purcell
From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University.
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
March 15, 2025 at 7:17 PM
From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University.
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
www.chronicle.com/article/were...
Took a screenshot last month and now I feel like Winston Smith with the photo of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford.
February 11, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Took a screenshot last month and now I feel like Winston Smith with the photo of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Best I can figure is my university contributes 630 million to the local economy JUST from federal grants. That doesn't include whatever federal $ supports roads, schools, farmers, etc. Folks act like they pay taxes to the federal government & don't get anything back. We get way more than we pay.
February 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Best I can figure is my university contributes 630 million to the local economy JUST from federal grants. That doesn't include whatever federal $ supports roads, schools, farmers, etc. Folks act like they pay taxes to the federal government & don't get anything back. We get way more than we pay.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
“President Trump regards people who take their constitutional oath seriously as, by definition, his political enemies. His attack on public service is not about reform; it’s a first strike against a key obstacle to authoritarianism”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Total Contempt for Public Servants
Trump and Musk do not understand the value of an apolitical service that must obey the Constitution and the law.
www.theatlantic.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“President Trump regards people who take their constitutional oath seriously as, by definition, his political enemies. His attack on public service is not about reform; it’s a first strike against a key obstacle to authoritarianism”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Excellent 🧵 on this evening's NIH announcement of a dramatic reduction in indirect rates for research institutions, which amounts to a generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem. These cuts are effective immediately, not just for new grants but for existing ones.
6. The policy does not just affect funding going forward. All existing NIH grants will have their indirect rates cut to 15% as of today, the date of issuance.
For a large university, this creates a sudden and catastrophic shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars against already budgeted funds.
For a large university, this creates a sudden and catastrophic shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars against already budgeted funds.
February 8, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Excellent 🧵 on this evening's NIH announcement of a dramatic reduction in indirect rates for research institutions, which amounts to a generational restructuring of the US research and development ecosystem. These cuts are effective immediately, not just for new grants but for existing ones.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.
I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
grants.nih.gov
February 8, 2025 at 12:18 AM
1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.
I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by Sean Purcell
“AI will only give us more and more options to shortcut our lives, and we must do the hard work of asking whether these shortcuts are ethical and whether they move us closer to our 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘴 or further from it.” @oalannoble.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/oalannob...
open.substack.com/pub/oalannob...
The Alternative to AI in the Classroom is Desiring to Learn
In the end, students want to learn, or they don't
open.substack.com
February 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
“AI will only give us more and more options to shortcut our lives, and we must do the hard work of asking whether these shortcuts are ethical and whether they move us closer to our 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘴 or further from it.” @oalannoble.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/oalannob...
open.substack.com/pub/oalannob...
Reposted by Sean Purcell
Goddamn. "Musk will reinvent the US government in the way that the hyperloop reinvented trains, that the Boring company reinvented subways, that Juicero reinvented squeezing." The Juicero government. Incredible.
The US Government Is Not a Startup
Elon Musk is moving fast and breaking things that can’t afford to be broken.
www.wired.com
February 7, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Goddamn. "Musk will reinvent the US government in the way that the hyperloop reinvented trains, that the Boring company reinvented subways, that Juicero reinvented squeezing." The Juicero government. Incredible.
Reposted by Sean Purcell
We are likely about to see a mass purging of archival documents and restricted access to researchers. This will be part of the regime’s effort to rewrite history itself.
February 6, 2025 at 12:42 PM
We are likely about to see a mass purging of archival documents and restricted access to researchers. This will be part of the regime’s effort to rewrite history itself.