Bryan Pickel
@bryanpickel.bsky.social
Pinned
Bryan Pickel
@bryanpickel.bsky.social
· Nov 19
"Yeah, but what is truth? If you follow me." -- Lionel Hutz
'And I'm gonna tell you workers, 'fore you cash in your checks:
They say "America First," but they mean "America Next!"'.
They say "America First," but they mean "America Next!"'.
January 9, 2026 at 9:06 AM
'And I'm gonna tell you workers, 'fore you cash in your checks:
They say "America First," but they mean "America Next!"'.
They say "America First," but they mean "America Next!"'.
This morning I had a student I taught 17 years ago email to ask me a logic question and a student I taught last semester email me that they liked my courses and want to pursue philosophy of language further.
January 6, 2026 at 12:04 PM
This morning I had a student I taught 17 years ago email to ask me a logic question and a student I taught last semester email me that they liked my courses and want to pursue philosophy of language further.
It's already really weird to me morally that realists parrot the Athenian speeches to the Melians and on the Mytilenean debate in Thucydides. But, have they not read the rest of the book? Do they think the war and their conduct in it works out well for the Athenians?
January 6, 2026 at 7:21 AM
It's already really weird to me morally that realists parrot the Athenian speeches to the Melians and on the Mytilenean debate in Thucydides. But, have they not read the rest of the book? Do they think the war and their conduct in it works out well for the Athenians?
So based on the DOJ’s recent record with regard to political prosecutions, what happens when Maduro is acquitted?
January 3, 2026 at 11:01 PM
So based on the DOJ’s recent record with regard to political prosecutions, what happens when Maduro is acquitted?
I thought at least some of the lessons of the Iraq war had been learned.
January 3, 2026 at 5:12 PM
I thought at least some of the lessons of the Iraq war had been learned.
What fraction of the rest of my life will be spent turning off AI Assistants? (I'm not even a person who thinks these are utterly useless.)
January 1, 2026 at 10:18 PM
What fraction of the rest of my life will be spent turning off AI Assistants? (I'm not even a person who thinks these are utterly useless.)
Alexis de Tocqueville just absolutely rinses Andrew Jackson.
December 26, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Alexis de Tocqueville just absolutely rinses Andrew Jackson.
Students using contemporary Scots poetry to illustrate principles of Classical Indian Philosophy of Language in their essays is an interesting cross-pollination.
December 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Students using contemporary Scots poetry to illustrate principles of Classical Indian Philosophy of Language in their essays is an interesting cross-pollination.
Similarly, he notes that the senate is a dangerous mess but that nothing bad has happened because less populous states hadn’t ganged up.
Tocqueville points out how dangerous it is to have a president who can stay in office without an effective majority in the legislature, but the notes that it’s not a big deal there wasn’t much for the president to do at the time.
December 4, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Similarly, he notes that the senate is a dangerous mess but that nothing bad has happened because less populous states hadn’t ganged up.
Tocqueville points out how dangerous it is to have a president who can stay in office without an effective majority in the legislature, but the notes that it’s not a big deal there wasn’t much for the president to do at the time.
December 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Tocqueville points out how dangerous it is to have a president who can stay in office without an effective majority in the legislature, but the notes that it’s not a big deal there wasn’t much for the president to do at the time.
Is the meaning of ‘brunch’ compositionality determined?
November 29, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Is the meaning of ‘brunch’ compositionality determined?
I've been listening to Locke's Two Treatises (which I hadn't read in a long time), and some of the passages feel like the most damning criticisms of Trump I've ever heard.
November 23, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I've been listening to Locke's Two Treatises (which I hadn't read in a long time), and some of the passages feel like the most damning criticisms of Trump I've ever heard.
"Yeah, but what is truth? If you follow me." -- Lionel Hutz
November 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
"Yeah, but what is truth? If you follow me." -- Lionel Hutz
One way for Labour to improve their polling position and display their moderation might be for them to reintroduce the long parliament's ban on Christmas, imposing fines for Christmas celebrations.
November 18, 2025 at 4:42 PM
One way for Labour to improve their polling position and display their moderation might be for them to reintroduce the long parliament's ban on Christmas, imposing fines for Christmas celebrations.
My paper "Conceptual Engineering as Inquiry" with Derek Ball came out recently. It argues for a conclusion about CE that some may find *surprising*. (link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...)
Conceptual Engineering as Inquiry
This paper defends what we call the Straightforward View of conceptual engineering. Canonical examples of conceptual engineering are simply cases in which a proposition is endorsed or denied at one ti...
link.springer.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:37 AM
My paper "Conceptual Engineering as Inquiry" with Derek Ball came out recently. It argues for a conclusion about CE that some may find *surprising*. (link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...)
I saw this plaque outside the library on a recent trip to Southampton.
November 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I saw this plaque outside the library on a recent trip to Southampton.
We have finally learned what Meatloaf would not do for love.
November 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM
We have finally learned what Meatloaf would not do for love.
I am totally here for this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxTg...
Snocaps - "Coast"
YouTube video by ANTI- Records
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I am totally here for this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxTg...
My Compositionality entry is out at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: plato.stanford.edu/entries/comp...
Compositionality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
plato.stanford.edu
November 4, 2025 at 12:15 PM
My Compositionality entry is out at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: plato.stanford.edu/entries/comp...
Guys repairing the roof in the office above me are listening to "Golden" from Kpop Demon Hunters at top volume.
November 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Guys repairing the roof in the office above me are listening to "Golden" from Kpop Demon Hunters at top volume.
If a major studio were to release an AI generated animated movie, would it be copyright infringement for animators to re-draw it scene by scene with small changes and for voice actors to voice it and release it as their own work?
October 28, 2025 at 9:30 AM
If a major studio were to release an AI generated animated movie, would it be copyright infringement for animators to re-draw it scene by scene with small changes and for voice actors to voice it and release it as their own work?
I woke up at the same time this morning (in Scotland), looked out the window, and had an urge to play this song www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAEp.... Hello Darkness, my old friend indeed.
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence (from The Concert in Central Park)
YouTube video by SimonGarfunkelVEVO
www.youtube.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:05 AM
I woke up at the same time this morning (in Scotland), looked out the window, and had an urge to play this song www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAEp.... Hello Darkness, my old friend indeed.
One way to frame this is that Caldwell is proposing that the military should be an experiment in social engineering (so as to exclude people) and then writing as if that's what his opponents want to do.
the chris caldwell of 1948 would have been arguing against desegregation of the armed forces www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
Opinion | That Hegseth Speech Was Actually Pretty Good
www.nytimes.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:45 AM
One way to frame this is that Caldwell is proposing that the military should be an experiment in social engineering (so as to exclude people) and then writing as if that's what his opponents want to do.
Another use for LLMs/AIs: rather than go to the beach, and have to bring a suit and towel, and come home all sandy, you could have the AIs fabricate photos of you going to the beach, not look at them, have the AI post them on social media, and let LLMs write comments (that you don't read).
October 7, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Another use for LLMs/AIs: rather than go to the beach, and have to bring a suit and towel, and come home all sandy, you could have the AIs fabricate photos of you going to the beach, not look at them, have the AI post them on social media, and let LLMs write comments (that you don't read).