Author of "1491, "1493," and, most recently, "The Wizard and the Prophet." Podcast, co-hosted w/ Virginia Postrel, about the history of things you didn't know even *have* a history: http://bit.ly/4unQNCY
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
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"The newly released version of Meta AI removes nearly all traces of the [face-recognition] features Meta said did not yet exist."
Even by the typical standards of corporate dishonesty, it's remarkable how often this company has sought to deceive its users and the public at large.
The American Revolution Took Place in Indian Country (by me)
app.reason.com/story/838214... #shamelessplug
In 1950, Enrico Fermi famously questioned the existence of extraterrestrials by looking around the Los Alamos lunchroom and asking, "Where are they?" Meaning, if the cosmos was full of alien life, why can't we see it right here?
This is not exactly the same, but still.
Ha! Just noticed a goof. The map is credited to me, but really it should be credited to Wikimedia. I sent it to my editor, and he apparently thought I had somehow come up with it. I'll seek to correct the slip.
The former ICE commander-at-large apparently believes that the US has "106 million illegals who are here"--about 31% of the population.
One out of three US people? I mean, I'm in a crowded cafe right now and... well, where are they?
Yikes, this sounds bad. 400+ papers researching aging in cells apparently used an antibody that recognizes a completely different protein than the one they were looking for--but still many somehow got the "right" results.
We are like @theresthistory.bsky.social in one way: we have some classical allusions. A Mesopotamian imprecation against the cosmic worm that causes tooth decay. A poem by Catullus denouncing a Spanish rake for cleaning his teeth with urine. A visit to a Sumerian laundromat...
I have to admit I was inspired by @theresthistory.bsky.social w/ Dominic Sandbrook and @holland-tom.bsky.social, except somehow the result ended up with no kings, queens, or armies, but with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Child, and the heartbroken scientists who invented nylon.
In what may be the nerdiest history podcast ever, the estimable Virginia Postrel and I have teamed up to recount the history of things you didn't even know *have* a history--beginning with 3 episodes on brushing your teeth, working out, and cooking dinner. Coming soon: blowing your nose!
With Ron Charles and Becca Rothfeld laid off from WaPo, there are now only 5 full-time book critics working in the United States.
That's down from 7 when this pubbed last year, though you may find my definition of a "full-time book critic" arbitrary.
worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/septemb...
