Nahyan Fancy
@fancynahyan.bsky.social
Professor; University of Exeter; Historian of Science and Medicine in Premodern Islamic Societies; Love Urdu poetry
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
"Peace is not what you ask for when the boot is already on someone else's neck. Peace is what the powerful ask for when they don't want to be interrupted." Also relevant re: Palestine.
January 26, 2026 at 8:51 AM
"Peace is not what you ask for when the boot is already on someone else's neck. Peace is what the powerful ask for when they don't want to be interrupted." Also relevant re: Palestine.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
One problem with advocating for censoring unwanted political content on TikTok is that you might get your way
January 26, 2026 at 2:30 AM
One problem with advocating for censoring unwanted political content on TikTok is that you might get your way
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Following up with the first 2 adverts for our new @wellcometrust.bsky.social funded project on the history of smallpox and measles. The ads are linked below along with a write-up on the project. Both are effectively a fully funded PhD position, for those so inclined. 1/4 bsky.app/profile/fanc...
I am very pleased and grateful to share this announcement of our recent award from the @wellcometrust.bsky.social for a project on history of smallpox and measles #histmed #histsci news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h... The project will be based @exeter.ac.uk @cceh-u24.bsky.social led by ... 1/2
Exeter scholars secure significant research funding to investigate the early history of Smallpox and Measles
The early histories of smallpox and measles – and the insight they might offer to contemporary health and medicine – will be under the microscope of a new research project. Pustules, Palaeogenetics an...
news.exeter.ac.uk
January 23, 2026 at 10:35 AM
Following up with the first 2 adverts for our new @wellcometrust.bsky.social funded project on the history of smallpox and measles. The ads are linked below along with a write-up on the project. Both are effectively a fully funded PhD position, for those so inclined. 1/4 bsky.app/profile/fanc...
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
I know we're all seeing 87 unhinged things per day, but "guys if our multi billion dollar product doesn't start being useful for something, literally anything, the people might not appreciate us wrecking the planet over it anymore" is a truly bananapants thing to say out loud
Delicious to me
January 22, 2026 at 6:29 AM
I know we're all seeing 87 unhinged things per day, but "guys if our multi billion dollar product doesn't start being useful for something, literally anything, the people might not appreciate us wrecking the planet over it anymore" is a truly bananapants thing to say out loud
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
🧵Yesterday, we filed a first-in-the-nation class action against Eightfold AI—a company most people have never heard of, but that plays a hidden role in deciding who gets hired at some of the biggest companies in the country. /1
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...
Job Applicants Sue to Open ‘Black Box’ of A.I. Hiring Decisions
www.nytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:27 PM
🧵Yesterday, we filed a first-in-the-nation class action against Eightfold AI—a company most people have never heard of, but that plays a hidden role in deciding who gets hired at some of the biggest companies in the country. /1
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Everyone is quick to celebrate a hero the moment someone presents a glimmer of that possibility. It’s worth tempering the enthusiasm by noting that Carney mentioned lowering taxes on capital gains, increasing defense spending, & mining in more places. It was Davos and he’s of Goldman Sachs pedigree.
January 21, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Everyone is quick to celebrate a hero the moment someone presents a glimmer of that possibility. It’s worth tempering the enthusiasm by noting that Carney mentioned lowering taxes on capital gains, increasing defense spending, & mining in more places. It was Davos and he’s of Goldman Sachs pedigree.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
We have just published a newly discovered 1493 Arabic letter written by Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, addressed to the Catholic Monarchs. It is the only known Arabic letter produced after the fall of Granada and documents his attempt to renegotiate the terms of his departure to North Africa.
January 21, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
were not real (by governments, universities and news outlets) is as damaging to the public sense of trust in institutions as anything Ruper Murdoch has ever accomplished, perhaps worse.
This attempt to dismiss reality as documented and understood by thinking ppl helped usher in "AI" & Trump 2.0
This attempt to dismiss reality as documented and understood by thinking ppl helped usher in "AI" & Trump 2.0
January 21, 2026 at 10:32 AM
were not real (by governments, universities and news outlets) is as damaging to the public sense of trust in institutions as anything Ruper Murdoch has ever accomplished, perhaps worse.
This attempt to dismiss reality as documented and understood by thinking ppl helped usher in "AI" & Trump 2.0
This attempt to dismiss reality as documented and understood by thinking ppl helped usher in "AI" & Trump 2.0
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.
What did we think Trump was going to do, if Europe showed him we would fully collaborate on the total destruction of the Gaza Strip and ferociously repeat even the most absurd lies about it to our citizens? Did we think he would decide: best to not push the law breaking and war crimes, be sensible.
January 21, 2026 at 10:28 AM
I've been thinking about this a lot, for months: Gaza was a breaking point between verifiable reality and liberal governance. "AI" sparks fears ppl will believe things that aren't true, but Gaza SHOWED things that WERE true—& western governments, universities & news outlets pretened they were not.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
When they failed to apply the same logic to Palestine as they were applying to Ukraine, they helped blow up NATO.
When they failed to take seriously marginalized people's concerns about Trump, they helped Trump to come for them one day.
When they failed to take seriously marginalized people's concerns about Trump, they helped Trump to come for them one day.
January 21, 2026 at 11:18 AM
When they failed to apply the same logic to Palestine as they were applying to Ukraine, they helped blow up NATO.
When they failed to take seriously marginalized people's concerns about Trump, they helped Trump to come for them one day.
When they failed to take seriously marginalized people's concerns about Trump, they helped Trump to come for them one day.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Unsaid: a major point of rupture was Gaza!
When the US, EU, UK, Canada and Austrailia ignored the video evidence, ignored journalists on the ground, ignored the ICJ, ignored the UN, and ignored the ICC, they took a bitg shit on the international rules-based order and flushed it down the toilet.
When the US, EU, UK, Canada and Austrailia ignored the video evidence, ignored journalists on the ground, ignored the ICJ, ignored the UN, and ignored the ICC, they took a bitg shit on the international rules-based order and flushed it down the toilet.
January 21, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Unsaid: a major point of rupture was Gaza!
When the US, EU, UK, Canada and Austrailia ignored the video evidence, ignored journalists on the ground, ignored the ICJ, ignored the UN, and ignored the ICC, they took a bitg shit on the international rules-based order and flushed it down the toilet.
When the US, EU, UK, Canada and Austrailia ignored the video evidence, ignored journalists on the ground, ignored the ICJ, ignored the UN, and ignored the ICC, they took a bitg shit on the international rules-based order and flushed it down the toilet.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
'Urgent Appeal🚨
I am Nema, a mother of three children
My young children are suffering from severe cold and hunger.
Life in the tent is extremely difficult and cold
My children need your kindness
I need 150$ to buy blankets and food for them💔
✅ Verified By Molly Shah'
I am Nema, a mother of three children
My young children are suffering from severe cold and hunger.
Life in the tent is extremely difficult and cold
My children need your kindness
I need 150$ to buy blankets and food for them💔
✅ Verified By Molly Shah'
January 20, 2026 at 2:36 PM
'Urgent Appeal🚨
I am Nema, a mother of three children
My young children are suffering from severe cold and hunger.
Life in the tent is extremely difficult and cold
My children need your kindness
I need 150$ to buy blankets and food for them💔
✅ Verified By Molly Shah'
I am Nema, a mother of three children
My young children are suffering from severe cold and hunger.
Life in the tent is extremely difficult and cold
My children need your kindness
I need 150$ to buy blankets and food for them💔
✅ Verified By Molly Shah'
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
If this particular iteration of desi techbro is worried enough about this to make this statement at Davos it does suggest things aren’t going well, though. Doing my part at least, by being a hater extraordinaire
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:55 PM
If this particular iteration of desi techbro is worried enough about this to make this statement at Davos it does suggest things aren’t going well, though. Doing my part at least, by being a hater extraordinaire
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
#JobOpening #PhDPosition #CfA
The Academy project "Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus" is looking for a doctoral researcher with a prior degree in Latin or Arabic:
The Academy project "Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus" is looking for a doctoral researcher with a prior degree in Latin or Arabic:
PAL: Jobs
ptolemaeus.badw.de
January 20, 2026 at 8:14 AM
#JobOpening #PhDPosition #CfA
The Academy project "Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus" is looking for a doctoral researcher with a prior degree in Latin or Arabic:
The Academy project "Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus" is looking for a doctoral researcher with a prior degree in Latin or Arabic:
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Gilles Deleuze, slamming his fist on the table: "no! You're describing societies of control!"
Shabana Mahmood here, whose “ultimate vision” is to turn the world into a prison
January 20, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Gilles Deleuze, slamming his fist on the table: "no! You're describing societies of control!"
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
WestExec is Blinken’s outfit. These people are vile.
The author of a controversial memo from centrist think tank Searchlight telling Democrats to abandon the slogan “Abolish ICE” is a senior advisor for WestExec, a D.C. shadow lobbyist for corporations in the defense, surveillance, and immigration enforcement industries.
prospect.org/2026/01/19/a...
prospect.org/2026/01/19/a...
Author of ‘Don’t Say Abolish ICE’ Memo Is a Corporate Consultant - The American Prospect
Blas Nuñez-Neto is a senior adviser to WestExec, a shadow lobbyist for defense and tech firms.
prospect.org
January 19, 2026 at 3:09 PM
WestExec is Blinken’s outfit. These people are vile.
Thinking out aloud: would a strategy to stop this crap be that we highlight that AI can give just as reasonable advice on financial consultancy, strategic planning, and other consultancies as the millions those groups charge? So let's save monies there....i.e. lay off top brass!
Anyone remember that paper by a bunch of computational social scientists working for Microsoft (lol) that proclaimed happily that a wide range of professions would find that gAI would be "applicable" to their professions, and it included everything from historian to customer service staff?
Anyway.
Anyway.
January 17, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Thinking out aloud: would a strategy to stop this crap be that we highlight that AI can give just as reasonable advice on financial consultancy, strategic planning, and other consultancies as the millions those groups charge? So let's save monies there....i.e. lay off top brass!
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Anyone remember that paper by a bunch of computational social scientists working for Microsoft (lol) that proclaimed happily that a wide range of professions would find that gAI would be "applicable" to their professions, and it included everything from historian to customer service staff?
Anyway.
Anyway.
January 17, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Anyone remember that paper by a bunch of computational social scientists working for Microsoft (lol) that proclaimed happily that a wide range of professions would find that gAI would be "applicable" to their professions, and it included everything from historian to customer service staff?
Anyway.
Anyway.
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
This is surreal. 4 Oglala Lakota men kidnapped by ICE in Minneapolis have finally been located. One of them was released but the other 3 are being held at Fort Snelling, a former concentration camp used to imprison Native people incl. the Dakota 38 during Dakota Wars.
ictnews.org/news/north-c...
ictnews.org/news/north-c...
Four Oglala detainees located, three still in ICE custody - ICT
The four Lakota detainees were reportedly sent to a former concentration camp used during the Dakota Wars
ictnews.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM
This is surreal. 4 Oglala Lakota men kidnapped by ICE in Minneapolis have finally been located. One of them was released but the other 3 are being held at Fort Snelling, a former concentration camp used to imprison Native people incl. the Dakota 38 during Dakota Wars.
ictnews.org/news/north-c...
ictnews.org/news/north-c...
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
The average salary among Russell Group leaders increased above £350,000 last year, despite these universities losing almost 7,000 staff members due to cost-cutting. Patrick Jack crunches the numbers #highered #academicsky
https://ow.ly/gJK850XU77K
https://ow.ly/gJK850XU77K
January 12, 2026 at 7:15 AM
The average salary among Russell Group leaders increased above £350,000 last year, despite these universities losing almost 7,000 staff members due to cost-cutting. Patrick Jack crunches the numbers #highered #academicsky
https://ow.ly/gJK850XU77K
https://ow.ly/gJK850XU77K
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
Dilip K. Das introduces an interdisciplinary framework for epidemic narratives in India by drawing on methods from literature, social theory, and public health. He explores how communities, writers, and scholars make sense of outbreak narratives.
thepolyphony.org/2026/01/09/e...
thepolyphony.org/2026/01/09/e...
Epidemic Narratives
Dilip K. Das introduces an interdisciplinary framework for epidemic narratives in India by drawing on methods from literature, social theory, and public health. He explores how communities, writers…
thepolyphony.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Dilip K. Das introduces an interdisciplinary framework for epidemic narratives in India by drawing on methods from literature, social theory, and public health. He explores how communities, writers, and scholars make sense of outbreak narratives.
thepolyphony.org/2026/01/09/e...
thepolyphony.org/2026/01/09/e...
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
She also has a great scientific blog dedicated to Constantine.
constantinusafricanus.com
constantinusafricanus.com
Constantinus Africanus
constantinusafricanus.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM
She also has a great scientific blog dedicated to Constantine.
constantinusafricanus.com
constantinusafricanus.com
Reposted by Nahyan Fancy
That's really nice of Monica, but you'll find a much better introduction in this podcast episode with her.
open.spotify.com/episode/61hn...
open.spotify.com/episode/61hn...
Episode 3 - in conversation with Monica Green (USA)
open.spotify.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:28 PM
That's really nice of Monica, but you'll find a much better introduction in this podcast episode with her.
open.spotify.com/episode/61hn...
open.spotify.com/episode/61hn...