Ben Gross
@bhgross144.bsky.social
John Merritt Associate Director for Research Services at the Harry Ransom Center; Author of The TVs of Tomorrow-How RCA's Flat-Screen Dreams Led to the First LCDs (Chicago 2018). Posting in a personal capacity.
Breaking news from @texasstandard.bsky.social: @mulaney.bsky.social plans to break into @ransomcenter.bsky.social to consult the #LorneMichaels Collection.
Rest assured, Mr. Whatever...no heist is required to view those papers! Just stop by while you're in Austin. www.hrc.utexas.edu/lorne-michae...
Rest assured, Mr. Whatever...no heist is required to view those papers! Just stop by while you're in Austin. www.hrc.utexas.edu/lorne-michae...
November 10, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Breaking news from @texasstandard.bsky.social: @mulaney.bsky.social plans to break into @ransomcenter.bsky.social to consult the #LorneMichaels Collection.
Rest assured, Mr. Whatever...no heist is required to view those papers! Just stop by while you're in Austin. www.hrc.utexas.edu/lorne-michae...
Rest assured, Mr. Whatever...no heist is required to view those papers! Just stop by while you're in Austin. www.hrc.utexas.edu/lorne-michae...
Slightly surprised that I heard about this investigation of mathematicians & blackboards from someone other than @mbarany.com.
(Although in fairness, this @sciam.bsky.social piece--and the @pnas.org article it discusses--are more focused on #CogSci than #MathHistory...)
#histSTM #psychology 🗃️📜
(Although in fairness, this @sciam.bsky.social piece--and the @pnas.org article it discusses--are more focused on #CogSci than #MathHistory...)
#histSTM #psychology 🗃️📜
Mathematicians’ Chalkboard Writing Shows When Inspiration Strikes www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...
Scientists See ‘Eureka’ Moments in Mathematicians’ Chalkboard Writings
Researchers spot the “tipping point” before mathematicians’ moments of discovery
www.scientificamerican.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Slightly surprised that I heard about this investigation of mathematicians & blackboards from someone other than @mbarany.com.
(Although in fairness, this @sciam.bsky.social piece--and the @pnas.org article it discusses--are more focused on #CogSci than #MathHistory...)
#histSTM #psychology 🗃️📜
(Although in fairness, this @sciam.bsky.social piece--and the @pnas.org article it discusses--are more focused on #CogSci than #MathHistory...)
#histSTM #psychology 🗃️📜
"The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind."
50 years ago today...
#OnThisDay #MaritimeHistory
#EdmundFitzgerald #GordonLightfoot 🗃️⚓
(cc: @thelongestjohns.bsky.social)
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind."
50 years ago today...
#OnThisDay #MaritimeHistory
#EdmundFitzgerald #GordonLightfoot 🗃️⚓
(cc: @thelongestjohns.bsky.social)
The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald | The Longest Johns
YouTube video by The Longest Johns
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind."
50 years ago today...
#OnThisDay #MaritimeHistory
#EdmundFitzgerald #GordonLightfoot 🗃️⚓
(cc: @thelongestjohns.bsky.social)
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind."
50 years ago today...
#OnThisDay #MaritimeHistory
#EdmundFitzgerald #GordonLightfoot 🗃️⚓
(cc: @thelongestjohns.bsky.social)
It’s trivia time, #HSS24…
Join @k8shep.bsky.social and me in Celestún for the @historyscience.bsky.social Centennial Pub Quiz!
Join @k8shep.bsky.social and me in Celestún for the @historyscience.bsky.social Centennial Pub Quiz!
November 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Margaret Mitchell, the author of #GoneWithTheWind, was born #OnThisDay in 1900.
In 2014, @ransomcenter.bsky.social organized an exhibition that explored the making of the 1939 film adaptation of Mitchell's book using documents & artifacts from the David O. Selznick Collection. #booksky #filmsky 🗃️📜📽️
In 2014, @ransomcenter.bsky.social organized an exhibition that explored the making of the 1939 film adaptation of Mitchell's book using documents & artifacts from the David O. Selznick Collection. #booksky #filmsky 🗃️📜📽️
The Making of "Gone With The Wind"
YouTube video by Harry Ransom Center
youtu.be
November 8, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Margaret Mitchell, the author of #GoneWithTheWind, was born #OnThisDay in 1900.
In 2014, @ransomcenter.bsky.social organized an exhibition that explored the making of the 1939 film adaptation of Mitchell's book using documents & artifacts from the David O. Selznick Collection. #booksky #filmsky 🗃️📜📽️
In 2014, @ransomcenter.bsky.social organized an exhibition that explored the making of the 1939 film adaptation of Mitchell's book using documents & artifacts from the David O. Selznick Collection. #booksky #filmsky 🗃️📜📽️
November 8, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by Ben Gross
The pope has signed on to the STS agenda.
November 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The pope has signed on to the STS agenda.
Happy birthday to the only two women with elements named after them on the periodic table: #MarieCurie & #LiseMeitner.
As I do every year, I will once again repeat my proposal that November 7 should be International #WomenInSTEM Day!
#histSTM #chemistry #physics
#OnThisDay #OTD #PeriodicTable👩🔬🗃️📜
As I do every year, I will once again repeat my proposal that November 7 should be International #WomenInSTEM Day!
#histSTM #chemistry #physics
#OnThisDay #OTD #PeriodicTable👩🔬🗃️📜
November 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Happy birthday to the only two women with elements named after them on the periodic table: #MarieCurie & #LiseMeitner.
As I do every year, I will once again repeat my proposal that November 7 should be International #WomenInSTEM Day!
#histSTM #chemistry #physics
#OnThisDay #OTD #PeriodicTable👩🔬🗃️📜
As I do every year, I will once again repeat my proposal that November 7 should be International #WomenInSTEM Day!
#histSTM #chemistry #physics
#OnThisDay #OTD #PeriodicTable👩🔬🗃️📜
To expand on this further, I've been thinking a lot about the relevance of #libraries, #archives, #museums & other collections-based institutions in the age of #AI.
As more people outsource their thinking to machines, primary sources documenting the creative process become increasingly valuable. 🗃️📜
As more people outsource their thinking to machines, primary sources documenting the creative process become increasingly valuable. 🗃️📜
"Assignments are AI-generated w/the help of a learning-management system; AI-generated content is submitted by an agentic browser on behalf of the student; & AI-driven metrics then evaluate work on behalf of the instructor."
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
November 6, 2025 at 10:38 PM
To expand on this further, I've been thinking a lot about the relevance of #libraries, #archives, #museums & other collections-based institutions in the age of #AI.
As more people outsource their thinking to machines, primary sources documenting the creative process become increasingly valuable. 🗃️📜
As more people outsource their thinking to machines, primary sources documenting the creative process become increasingly valuable. 🗃️📜
"Assignments are AI-generated w/the help of a learning-management system; AI-generated content is submitted by an agentic browser on behalf of the student; & AI-driven metrics then evaluate work on behalf of the instructor."
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
November 6, 2025 at 10:21 PM
"Assignments are AI-generated w/the help of a learning-management system; AI-generated content is submitted by an agentic browser on behalf of the student; & AI-driven metrics then evaluate work on behalf of the instructor."
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
Can the #humanities help higher ed avoid becoming an #AI fueled ouroboros?
Rectangle pizza gets a bad wrap, but it did win @sciencehistory.org's School Lunch Bracket!
(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️
(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️
November 6, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Rectangle pizza gets a bad wrap, but it did win @sciencehistory.org's School Lunch Bracket!
(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️
(This contest was held in connection w/the Institute's exhibit, Lunchtime: The History of Science on the School Food Tray, open until Jan. 2026 www.sciencehistory.org/visit/exhibi...) #histSTM #FoodHistory 🗃️
“Oh! How the family affections combat
Within this heart; and each hour flings a bomb at
My burning soul; neither from owl nor from bat
Can peace be gained, until I clasp my wombat!” -Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pre-Raphaelite poet, illustrator, and #wombat aficionado
#poetry #booksky #wombats 🗃️📜
Within this heart; and each hour flings a bomb at
My burning soul; neither from owl nor from bat
Can peace be gained, until I clasp my wombat!” -Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pre-Raphaelite poet, illustrator, and #wombat aficionado
#poetry #booksky #wombats 🗃️📜
156 years ago #onthisday, Top the wombat died. He was the pet of the poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti who, upon Top's passing, created this self-portrait in mourning. More on Rossetti and co’s curious but longstanding fixation with the #wombat here: publicdomainreview.org/essay/o...
November 6, 2025 at 1:11 PM
"I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink. And when I came to, I had a revelation. A vision. A picture in my head. A picture of this. This is what makes time travel possible."
70 years ago today, Dr. Emmett Brown invented the flux capacitor!
#BackToTheFuture #OnThisDay #histSTM #histsci
70 years ago today, Dr. Emmett Brown invented the flux capacitor!
#BackToTheFuture #OnThisDay #histSTM #histsci
Here's a red letter date in the history of science, November 5th 1955...
YouTube video by shihjayang
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 11:12 PM
"I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink. And when I came to, I had a revelation. A vision. A picture in my head. A picture of this. This is what makes time travel possible."
70 years ago today, Dr. Emmett Brown invented the flux capacitor!
#BackToTheFuture #OnThisDay #histSTM #histsci
70 years ago today, Dr. Emmett Brown invented the flux capacitor!
#BackToTheFuture #OnThisDay #histSTM #histsci
"Do not taunt Carnivorous Death Ball."
November 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
"Do not taunt Carnivorous Death Ball."
"How and why do new techniques of economic reasoning...take hold in certain historical moments?"
Today's #histSTM lunchtime read: @calculatedvalues.bsky.social's award-winning article on mathematical tables & financial calculation in early modern England.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Today's #histSTM lunchtime read: @calculatedvalues.bsky.social's award-winning article on mathematical tables & financial calculation in early modern England.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
November 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"How and why do new techniques of economic reasoning...take hold in certain historical moments?"
Today's #histSTM lunchtime read: @calculatedvalues.bsky.social's award-winning article on mathematical tables & financial calculation in early modern England.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Today's #histSTM lunchtime read: @calculatedvalues.bsky.social's award-winning article on mathematical tables & financial calculation in early modern England.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Spooky season may be over, but at UCSC, they're still doing the Monster Match...
(Presumably, it will be a graveyard smash!)
#BadPun
(Presumably, it will be a graveyard smash!)
#BadPun
Bring the 2026 Festival of Monsters to life! It's Giving Day at UC Santa Cruz and monster matches magically turn $1 into $2. bit.ly/monstergive Your support means the monsters live to lecture another day, #give2ucsc @dsas #monsters
November 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Spooky season may be over, but at UCSC, they're still doing the Monster Match...
(Presumably, it will be a graveyard smash!)
#BadPun
(Presumably, it will be a graveyard smash!)
#BadPun
Boosting the signal for any #histsci & #histSTM friends with an interest in #PublicHistory or #EnvironmentalHumanities!
The Greenhouse @unistavanger.bsky.social is launching an international Masters Program in Public Environmental Humanities from fall 2026! Taught in English.
Please share with all your students, #envhist #envhum colleagues!
Learn more about the program here: www.uis.no/en/studies/t...
Please share with all your students, #envhist #envhum colleagues!
Learn more about the program here: www.uis.no/en/studies/t...
November 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Boosting the signal for any #histsci & #histSTM friends with an interest in #PublicHistory or #EnvironmentalHumanities!
OK, friends---Only a few hours remain to submit research proposals for @ransomcenter.bsky.social's 2026-2027 #fellowships!
We will accept applications until 5:00 PM CST (UTC-6) this afternoon.
www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities #SpecColls 🗃️📜
We will accept applications until 5:00 PM CST (UTC-6) this afternoon.
www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities #SpecColls 🗃️📜
homer simpson is holding a bell and a sign that says the end is near
ALT: homer simpson is holding a bell and a sign that says the end is near
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:06 PM
OK, friends---Only a few hours remain to submit research proposals for @ransomcenter.bsky.social's 2026-2027 #fellowships!
We will accept applications until 5:00 PM CST (UTC-6) this afternoon.
www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities #SpecColls 🗃️📜
We will accept applications until 5:00 PM CST (UTC-6) this afternoon.
www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities #SpecColls 🗃️📜
#ICYMI: Tonight at 7 PM, ET (6 PM, CT), @zephoria.bsky.social & Cory Doctorow discuss the #enshittification 💩 of the Internet on a special live edition of @leev.bsky.social's Peoples & Things podcast!
#histSTM #histsci #histtech #STS 🗃️📜
#histSTM #histsci #histtech #STS 🗃️📜
Join us on Monday November 3 at 7pm ET for a Peoples & Things livestream featuring Cory Doctorow @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy on his book, _Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It_, with special guest host @zephoria.bsky.social!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjFv...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjFv...
November 3, 2025 at 2:19 PM
#ICYMI: Tonight at 7 PM, ET (6 PM, CT), @zephoria.bsky.social & Cory Doctorow discuss the #enshittification 💩 of the Internet on a special live edition of @leev.bsky.social's Peoples & Things podcast!
#histSTM #histsci #histtech #STS 🗃️📜
#histSTM #histsci #histtech #STS 🗃️📜
These panels from @smbccomics.bsky.social's latest hit a bit close to home...
www.smbc-comics.com/comic/consil...
#OhTheHumanities
www.smbc-comics.com/comic/consil...
#OhTheHumanities
November 2, 2025 at 7:42 PM
These panels from @smbccomics.bsky.social's latest hit a bit close to home...
www.smbc-comics.com/comic/consil...
#OhTheHumanities
www.smbc-comics.com/comic/consil...
#OhTheHumanities
A reminder to any procrastinating humanists in the audience: The deadline for @ransomcenter.bsky.social's 2026-2027 #fellowships is tomorrow (Nov. 3).
On the other hand, that means you have more than a day to revise & submit your research proposal! www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities 🗃️📚📜
On the other hand, that means you have more than a day to revise & submit your research proposal! www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities 🗃️📚📜
a bald man is sitting in a chair and says " there 's still time "
ALT: a bald man is sitting in a chair and says " there 's still time "
media.tenor.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:28 PM
A reminder to any procrastinating humanists in the audience: The deadline for @ransomcenter.bsky.social's 2026-2027 #fellowships is tomorrow (Nov. 3).
On the other hand, that means you have more than a day to revise & submit your research proposal! www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities 🗃️📚📜
On the other hand, that means you have more than a day to revise & submit your research proposal! www.hrc.utexas.edu/fellowships/
#humanities 🗃️📚📜
Reposted by Ben Gross
It’s basically Deep Space Nine.
Hello welcome to bluesky. We have every kind of anti-government radical left of center, and also, baseball
November 2, 2025 at 3:54 AM
It’s basically Deep Space Nine.
In honor of #DiaDeLosMuertos, @ransomcenter.bsky.social shared some artwork in our collection by José Guadalupe Posada, who regularly featured skeletons in his satirical illustrations.
Learn more & sign up for the HRC IG feed: www.instagram.com/p/DQhX0jGDYi...
#DayOfTheDead #ArtHistory 🎨🗃️📜💀
Learn more & sign up for the HRC IG feed: www.instagram.com/p/DQhX0jGDYi...
#DayOfTheDead #ArtHistory 🎨🗃️📜💀
November 2, 2025 at 2:14 AM
In honor of #DiaDeLosMuertos, @ransomcenter.bsky.social shared some artwork in our collection by José Guadalupe Posada, who regularly featured skeletons in his satirical illustrations.
Learn more & sign up for the HRC IG feed: www.instagram.com/p/DQhX0jGDYi...
#DayOfTheDead #ArtHistory 🎨🗃️📜💀
Learn more & sign up for the HRC IG feed: www.instagram.com/p/DQhX0jGDYi...
#DayOfTheDead #ArtHistory 🎨🗃️📜💀
Welcome to another edition of "Bill Swerski's Superfans." I'm Ben Swerski, coming to you live on #Halloween from @ransomcenter.bsky.social, where people come to tour exhibits, attend public programs, and study #RareBooks in our reading room. (Da Books!)
#SaturdayNightLive #SNL
#SuperFans #DaBears 🎃
#SaturdayNightLive #SNL
#SuperFans #DaBears 🎃
October 31, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Welcome to another edition of "Bill Swerski's Superfans." I'm Ben Swerski, coming to you live on #Halloween from @ransomcenter.bsky.social, where people come to tour exhibits, attend public programs, and study #RareBooks in our reading room. (Da Books!)
#SaturdayNightLive #SNL
#SuperFans #DaBears 🎃
#SaturdayNightLive #SNL
#SuperFans #DaBears 🎃
Favorite new release this week
Yes she named the album Hooke’s Law
and I desperately want to discuss this with her
keiyaa.bandcamp.com/album/hooke-...
Yes she named the album Hooke’s Law
and I desperately want to discuss this with her
keiyaa.bandcamp.com/album/hooke-...
hooke’s law, by keiyaA
19 track album
keiyaa.bandcamp.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:42 PM