Ethan Plaut
@ethanplaut.bsky.social
Research: Disconnection, tech refusal & beautiful, broken media. Sometime coder & dusty journo. Now Aotearoa NZ, always Chicago, formerly Stanford, SF, Phnom Penh, Fukui. Silence when I can. Music when I can't. Tangata Tiriti, Jew, he/him.
ethanplaut.com
ethanplaut.com
Pinned
Ethan Plaut
@ethanplaut.bsky.social
· Apr 29
Surveillance on Exhibit: Using Problematic Technology To Teach About Problematic Technology | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
doi.org
🚨 New Pub! 🚨 Our augmented reality museum installation about data surveillance & rights in Aotearoa NZ used by 128,000x visitors over 2 yrs — we interviewed visitors & present conclusions on how to get the public thinking about problematic technologies!
doi.org/10.1145/3706...
#OpenAccess #chi2025
doi.org/10.1145/3706...
#OpenAccess #chi2025
ACM Tech news roundup specially dystopian today...Heds include:
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
January 3, 2026 at 12:41 AM
ACM Tech news roundup specially dystopian today...Heds include:
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
🗞️ Police Expand Use of Drones
🗞️ 'Postage Stamp' Implant Emails Thoughts to AI
🗞️ Camera Can Focus on Everything at Once
🗞️ Colin Kaepernick, MD School District Team to Push Students to Use AI
🗞️ The IT Sector Had Its Best Year Since 1996
I’ve thought about this article by @pankisseskafka.bsky.social every semester for a decade
January 2, 2026 at 2:33 AM
I’ve thought about this article by @pankisseskafka.bsky.social every semester for a decade
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
The syllabus for a course on the history of the syllabus would be a sight to behold.
Someone should write a history of the syllabus. You could learn so much about higher ed just from the changes in these documents.
In my lifetime syllabi have gone from a thing professors joked about in exasperation to a bizarre form of state surveillance equally loathed by faculty and students
January 2, 2026 at 2:18 AM
The syllabus for a course on the history of the syllabus would be a sight to behold.
"Today, it’s virtually impossible to board a cargo ship as a passenger."
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Inside the dying industry of cargo ship travel
Until 2020, it was possible to book a voyage on a cargo ship. Today, it's virtually impossible, despite being a greener, languid alternative to air travel.
thespinoff.co.nz
December 30, 2025 at 11:15 PM
"Today, it’s virtually impossible to board a cargo ship as a passenger."
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Dreams deferred, y'all 💥
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
"The sudden mechanical punctuated strike of the typewriter contrasted starkly with the ruminative flow of the pen."
h/t @zoestodd.bsky.social
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-typing-t...
h/t @zoestodd.bsky.social
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-typing-t...
How Typing Transformed Nietzsche’s Consciousness
The Malling-Hansen writing ball, with its potential and limitations, redefined Nietzsche’s philosophical and creative expression.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
December 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
"The sudden mechanical punctuated strike of the typewriter contrasted starkly with the ruminative flow of the pen."
h/t @zoestodd.bsky.social
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-typing-t...
h/t @zoestodd.bsky.social
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-typing-t...
“instinct is seen at its best in ants, bees, and Bergson”
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
December 29, 2025 at 12:21 PM
“instinct is seen at its best in ants, bees, and Bergson”
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
— Bertrand Russell (1914)
There's really nothing like old timey beef
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
I made friends and gained confidence to become a professional artist on Tumblr. It hurt to leave.
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
December 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I made friends and gained confidence to become a professional artist on Tumblr. It hurt to leave.
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
I left because I knew what had been valuable to me back then just wasn't there anymore. The site changed, it stopped being a net positive, it started actively hurting people I stayed for!
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
December 26, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Over the last few years I’ve almost completely changed the mechanics of how I write. 🧵
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Previously, I would prepare for serious writing by settling in at my desk in front of my laptop in an upright position, looking at a separate screen. There I would sit and grind it out, usually in Word.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.
December 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Best explanation of the liar's dividend that I've ever seen.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
I love a new meme format
December 21, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I love a new meme format
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
just realized only now that "graphite" means "writing rock"
December 21, 2025 at 2:05 AM
just realized only now that "graphite" means "writing rock"
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
We can haz Elsevier
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Universities strike deal to keep access to Elsevier scientific journals
Universities have announced a deal with academic publisher Elsevier that will save them money and increase public access to their research.
www.rnz.co.nz
December 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
We can haz Elsevier
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Ultimately, our graphics should tell a story about our research, whether it’s about changing media habits or shifting social norms. Here's a few of our favorite visuals from 2025, how we made them, and what makes them successful.
Our favorite data visualizations of 2025
In this post, we’ll highlight a few of our favorite visuals from 2025 and walk through how we made them and what makes them successful.
www.pewresearch.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Ultimately, our graphics should tell a story about our research, whether it’s about changing media habits or shifting social norms. Here's a few of our favorite visuals from 2025, how we made them, and what makes them successful.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Dec. 18 will mark the enforcement of a new law aimed at curtailing the dominance of technology giants and fostering competition in the Japanese market. How far is the law going, and what will change for consumers?
What will change with Japan’s first attempt at regulating Big Tech?
While a previous law urged platforms to improve business practices and regularly report their endeavors, the new bill may alter the rules of the game.
ebx.sh
December 15, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Dec. 18 will mark the enforcement of a new law aimed at curtailing the dominance of technology giants and fostering competition in the Japanese market. How far is the law going, and what will change for consumers?
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
I got visited by three ghosts last night, who were all experts in English grammar.
December 14, 2025 at 8:05 AM
I got visited by three ghosts last night, who were all experts in English grammar.
December 13, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Really enjoyed editing this @punkademic.bsky.social piece for @pghcitypaper.com about two of our city's analog repair shops.
In a digital world, Pittsburgh is an analog paradise
At places like Galaxie Electronics and Bernie's Photo Center, young people are relearning the joys of vinyl, film, and slowing down.
www.pghcitypaper.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Really enjoyed editing this @punkademic.bsky.social piece for @pghcitypaper.com about two of our city's analog repair shops.
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
This report is how I have channeled my rage as the tech industry has grown in wealth and power at the expense of workers, communities, and the environment. The old mechanisms of reform aren’t sufficient in a time of AI ascendance and data center accelerationism datasociety.net/library/turn...
December 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
This report is how I have channeled my rage as the tech industry has grown in wealth and power at the expense of workers, communities, and the environment. The old mechanisms of reform aren’t sufficient in a time of AI ascendance and data center accelerationism datasociety.net/library/turn...
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
you ever think about how buck wild it must have been to be the first European colonizer to see a hummingbird?
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
December 11, 2025 at 9:18 PM
you ever think about how buck wild it must have been to be the first European colonizer to see a hummingbird?
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
If you live in Chicago, you can just get on a train to Galesburg any time you want. If you're unemployed, you can do it on a Thursday because nothing matters!!!!
December 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
If you live in Chicago, you can just get on a train to Galesburg any time you want. If you're unemployed, you can do it on a Thursday because nothing matters!!!!
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Ikea’s opening was a deeply embarrassing time for us as a nation
Ikea’s opening was a deeply embarrassing time for us as a nation
Yesterday was the capstone to a multi-year symphony of simping....
thespinoff.co.nz
December 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Ikea’s opening was a deeply embarrassing time for us as a nation
Reposted by Ethan Plaut
Career Advice Reminder | The Good Enough Manuscript
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
December 10, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Career Advice Reminder | The Good Enough Manuscript
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough when it comes to sending your manuscript to a publisher, Laura Portwood-Stacer writes. https://bit.ly/4pZoHvV
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd