Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
@blindscholar.bsky.social
PhD in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East from Brandeis, postdoc at Stanford. Interests in disability, myth, economics, and materiality. More at www.blindscholar.com.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Because, as I have said, it’s only good universal use case is disciplining labor.
November 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Because, as I have said, it’s only good universal use case is disciplining labor.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Alt text is about accessibility, intended for people who use screenreaders. If you use it for other things, like image credits, that's like parking construction equipment in an accessible parking space. Sure, that is a convenient space for that, but it's not what it's for.
November 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Alt text is about accessibility, intended for people who use screenreaders. If you use it for other things, like image credits, that's like parking construction equipment in an accessible parking space. Sure, that is a convenient space for that, but it's not what it's for.
Paul Fairie meets the moment once again!
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
🧵
🧵
November 6, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Paul Fairie meets the moment once again!
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Tuning in (3pm PT on Nov. 6) to hear Mason Shrader (PhD student, Brown University) talk about "Digging into Disability: How Experience Affects Theory." Join me! www.youtube.com/live/5Fg_QiU...
November 6, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Tuning in (3pm PT on Nov. 6) to hear Mason Shrader (PhD student, Brown University) talk about "Digging into Disability: How Experience Affects Theory." Join me! www.youtube.com/live/5Fg_QiU...
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Annual reminder. 🩲
November 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Annual reminder. 🩲
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Has anybody out there ever taught a Disability and Religion course? Not Disability Theology, but something with a descriptive and multi-religious orientation? I'd love to take a look at syllabi.
November 4, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Has anybody out there ever taught a Disability and Religion course? Not Disability Theology, but something with a descriptive and multi-religious orientation? I'd love to take a look at syllabi.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
today’s the day!!
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 AM
today’s the day!!
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Ideas, ANE folks?
ANE folks: do we have any ancient depictions of Kingu?
November 3, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Ideas, ANE folks?
This is cool, with several major caveats.
1. This is not the first device like this, and previous iterations were bricked when the companies went under. Now they're dead tech inside people's heads.
1. This is not the first device like this, and previous iterations were bricked when the companies went under. Now they're dead tech inside people's heads.
A pinhead-sized retinal implant paired with camera glasses helped over 80% of trial participants across five countries with age-related macular degeneration regain central vision. Patients improved by about 25 letters on an eye chart after a year buff.ly/nlV15am #ShareGoodNewsToo
Tiny chip restores vision, hope for those with sight loss – DW – 10/21/2025
An implant attached to damaged retinas has helped people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) improve visual ability. AMD affects millions of people. This chip has been tested internationally.
buff.ly
November 3, 2025 at 5:17 PM
This is cool, with several major caveats.
1. This is not the first device like this, and previous iterations were bricked when the companies went under. Now they're dead tech inside people's heads.
1. This is not the first device like this, and previous iterations were bricked when the companies went under. Now they're dead tech inside people's heads.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reese's Pisces
M&As
Knickers Bar
M&As
Knickers Bar
Change one letter, ruin a candy:
StabBurst
StabBurst
Change one letter, ruin a candy:
Maim Bar
Maim Bar
October 29, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reese's Pisces
M&As
Knickers Bar
M&As
Knickers Bar
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Please repost:
We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
October 23, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Please repost:
We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
I think about this in how the guy who ran MySpace sold his company and then traveled the world doing photography, while the guy who runs Facebook never let it go and has gone out of his way to destroy democracy in order to gain more power.
The desperate need to accumulate more and more at the cost of everyone else’s wellbeing should be classified as a mental disorder, and I will absolutely die on this hill.
Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."
October 27, 2025 at 5:20 AM
I think about this in how the guy who ran MySpace sold his company and then traveled the world doing photography, while the guy who runs Facebook never let it go and has gone out of his way to destroy democracy in order to gain more power.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Look, I just don't care about defending random candidates and I don't care about destroying them. The point of politics is to improve people's lives, and for those not actually in legislatures, the most productive activity is to change the ground politicians feel comfortable standing on.
Politicians Aren’t Heroes - The American Prospect
Issues lead politicians, not the other way around. It would be incorrect to say that politicians don’t matter—they most certainly do—but they matter less than people might think, and are often better ...
prospect.org
October 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Look, I just don't care about defending random candidates and I don't care about destroying them. The point of politics is to improve people's lives, and for those not actually in legislatures, the most productive activity is to change the ground politicians feel comfortable standing on.
My favorite is always "there's not a racist bone in my body!"
Like, I don't care about your bones. I care about your words and actions!
Osteoracism is not a real condition.
Like, I don't care about your bones. I care about your words and actions!
Osteoracism is not a real condition.
The language that politicians always use to respond to allegations of racism, such as "I'm not racist in my heart," is always premised on the idea that there is a pure, stable interior self that can be abstracted from the way it acts in the world. We are all post-Enlightenment Protestants.
October 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
My favorite is always "there's not a racist bone in my body!"
Like, I don't care about your bones. I care about your words and actions!
Osteoracism is not a real condition.
Like, I don't care about your bones. I care about your words and actions!
Osteoracism is not a real condition.
This is so important.
We regularly use the word "faith" as a synonym for "religion" in everyday language, without thinking about how this language reifies a Christian norm of what "religion" actually constitutes.
October 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This is so important.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
California, don't forget to vote on Prop 50. Turnout is expected to be low, and we can't afford to unilaterally disarm while rightwingers pack congress.
October 25, 2025 at 7:25 PM
California, don't forget to vote on Prop 50. Turnout is expected to be low, and we can't afford to unilaterally disarm while rightwingers pack congress.
If I think I accidentally reported a post but I'm not sure, is it possible to check if I did and un-report it?
October 25, 2025 at 4:54 PM
If I think I accidentally reported a post but I'm not sure, is it possible to check if I did and un-report it?
Procrustes:
Look, here we have a small businessman providing hospitality to weary travelers and pioneering new approaches to standardizing customer service, and the anti-business Left still can't leave him alone.
Look, here we have a small businessman providing hospitality to weary travelers and pioneering new approaches to standardizing customer service, and the anti-business Left still can't leave him alone.
Describe a character in Greek mythology the way someone trying to defend a politician would. I’ll start.
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
Oedipus: Like you’ve never had sex with someone and regretted it later
October 25, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Procrustes:
Look, here we have a small businessman providing hospitality to weary travelers and pioneering new approaches to standardizing customer service, and the anti-business Left still can't leave him alone.
Look, here we have a small businessman providing hospitality to weary travelers and pioneering new approaches to standardizing customer service, and the anti-business Left still can't leave him alone.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
Braille for Ancient Languages | Blind Scholar
www.blindscholar.com/braille/
www.blindscholar.com/braille/
Braille for Ancient Languages
This site contains links to resources for students, scholars, and teachers who wish to study and teach ancient languages using braille. These resources are primarily aimed at those using refreshabl…
www.blindscholar.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Braille for Ancient Languages | Blind Scholar
www.blindscholar.com/braille/
www.blindscholar.com/braille/
This pattern is everywhere.
A thing is intended to achieve some purpose, but does it poorly.
Group A wants to dismandtle the thing to replace it with another thing that does the job better.
Group B wants to dismantle the thing because they do not want anything doing that job.
A thing is intended to achieve some purpose, but does it poorly.
Group A wants to dismandtle the thing to replace it with another thing that does the job better.
Group B wants to dismantle the thing because they do not want anything doing that job.
There are two critiques of virtue signaling, a) the people who find the signaling insufficient and b) those who dislike the virtues being signaled. It’s important to know that the right wingers in group b are constantly trying to form an alliance with folks in group a.
October 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM
This pattern is everywhere.
A thing is intended to achieve some purpose, but does it poorly.
Group A wants to dismandtle the thing to replace it with another thing that does the job better.
Group B wants to dismantle the thing because they do not want anything doing that job.
A thing is intended to achieve some purpose, but does it poorly.
Group A wants to dismandtle the thing to replace it with another thing that does the job better.
Group B wants to dismantle the thing because they do not want anything doing that job.
Has anyone run Gerrymandering end game calculations? Like, if every state redistricts to the maximum partisan advantage of its majority party, how does that shake out nationally?
I'd like to see this race to the bottom force a better method of allocating reps, but wonder what the road looks like.
I'd like to see this race to the bottom force a better method of allocating reps, but wonder what the road looks like.
October 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Has anyone run Gerrymandering end game calculations? Like, if every state redistricts to the maximum partisan advantage of its majority party, how does that shake out nationally?
I'd like to see this race to the bottom force a better method of allocating reps, but wonder what the road looks like.
I'd like to see this race to the bottom force a better method of allocating reps, but wonder what the road looks like.
Reposted by Eric J. Harvey, Ph.D.
The trend is real, but this NYT analysis at the Congressional district level has big ecological bias
Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican
And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem
Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican
And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem
October 24, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The trend is real, but this NYT analysis at the Congressional district level has big ecological bias
Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican
And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem
Poor *areas* vote Republican, but it's often the richer *individuals* within those poorer areas that are most Republican
And many poor *individuals* rich blue urban *areas* vote Dem