Nate Ledbetter
@nhledbetter.bsky.social
ABD, Princeton, East Asian Studies. Instructor, Asian History, Rider University. Perpetually writing my dissertation (warfare in 16th C. Kyushu, Japan). He/Him/あいつ/"That Nagashino Guy." At some point I'll start posting useful stuff here. Maybe.
Pinned
Since I've got double the followers from a week ago, guess it's time for an intro thread. A post per topic I habitually post about:
I'm a PhD candidate at Princeton, very slowly working on a dissertation on 16th C. warfare in southern Japan (centered around the Shimazu family). 1/
I'm a PhD candidate at Princeton, very slowly working on a dissertation on 16th C. warfare in southern Japan (centered around the Shimazu family). 1/
SO MUCH THIS.
You fucking morons have tried to push this since my days in a small intel office in Tokyo, asking why we needed translators to handle documents instead of just using Google Translate, and MOTHER FUCKER, because machine translation, even with improvements over time, is still SHIT.
You fucking morons have tried to push this since my days in a small intel office in Tokyo, asking why we needed translators to handle documents instead of just using Google Translate, and MOTHER FUCKER, because machine translation, even with improvements over time, is still SHIT.
Professional translators cannot be replaced by AI. Your attempt to translate a menu, sure, but actual translation is an art, translating things not just across languages but cultures and idioms. Only monolingual dickburgers could think it's all the same.
February 11, 2026 at 10:45 PM
SO MUCH THIS.
You fucking morons have tried to push this since my days in a small intel office in Tokyo, asking why we needed translators to handle documents instead of just using Google Translate, and MOTHER FUCKER, because machine translation, even with improvements over time, is still SHIT.
You fucking morons have tried to push this since my days in a small intel office in Tokyo, asking why we needed translators to handle documents instead of just using Google Translate, and MOTHER FUCKER, because machine translation, even with improvements over time, is still SHIT.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Tech executives have finally amassed their ultimate, long dreamed-of power: to summarily fire anyone who speaks ill of their desire to have sex with robots
OpenAI fired one of its top safety execs, on the grounds of sexual discrimination, after she voiced opposition to the controversial rollout of AI erotica in its ChatGPT product.
OpenAI told her the term was related to her sexual discrimination against a male colleague.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...
OpenAI told her the term was related to her sexual discrimination against a male colleague.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/open...
February 11, 2026 at 10:33 PM
"It's really unfortunate that people don't share my near-religious faith in the robot god, and bog my evangelism down with concerns about the robot god being an uncontrollable demon, and, like, it's totally not, I don't know why you won't just believe, no I won't address your concerns at all."
Once again: people are angry for very good reason, and this brand of post is perhaps one of the most tedious and bewildering. Practically every social media platform is rabidly pro-‘AI’ so are govts, academia, companies. This one small space being critical of AI is okay, I think.
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
"It's really unfortunate that people don't share my near-religious faith in the robot god, and bog my evangelism down with concerns about the robot god being an uncontrollable demon, and, like, it's totally not, I don't know why you won't just believe, no I won't address your concerns at all."
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Staff officer.
No, I won’t explain further.
5/🧶
No, I won’t explain further.
5/🧶
February 11, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Staff officer.
No, I won’t explain further.
5/🧶
No, I won’t explain further.
5/🧶
Gave them a geography quiz and the scores are...rough. Seriously, doesn't everyone know where the Taklamakan Desert and Amu Darya river and the Kopet Dag mountains are? Who confuses the Tian Shan and the Altai Mountains? 🙃
(they'll have plenty of chances to improve this, don't worry)
(they'll have plenty of chances to improve this, don't worry)
February 11, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Gave them a geography quiz and the scores are...rough. Seriously, doesn't everyone know where the Taklamakan Desert and Amu Darya river and the Kopet Dag mountains are? Who confuses the Tian Shan and the Altai Mountains? 🙃
(they'll have plenty of chances to improve this, don't worry)
(they'll have plenty of chances to improve this, don't worry)
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.
February 11, 2026 at 8:45 PM
I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Since I heard Penn State launched a course called "One Book Slowly" this year (Eric Hayot is teaching Madame Bovary) I can't stop thinking about it
I think the greatest gift college professors in the humanities can give to students right now is a seminar room where, for 80 minutes twice a week, nothing that happens to them is a sales pitch for an AI product.
February 11, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Since I heard Penn State launched a course called "One Book Slowly" this year (Eric Hayot is teaching Madame Bovary) I can't stop thinking about it
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Please, please get a colonoscopy. The prep kind of sucks, but it's the best sleep you'll ever have. And it could save your life.
James Van Der Beek, Dawson's Creek actor, dies aged 48
The father of six starred in multiple popular shows and films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Dawson's Creek and Varsity Blues.
www.bbc.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Please, please get a colonoscopy. The prep kind of sucks, but it's the best sleep you'll ever have. And it could save your life.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Maybe take seriously the idea that the people at the levers of implementation— the ones trying to replace people and shove "AI" into every aspect of our daily lives, whether we consent or not— will try to do that even if it's *Not Actually That Good*.
www.nobhillgazette.com/arts_and_cul...
www.nobhillgazette.com/arts_and_cul...
February 11, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Maybe take seriously the idea that the people at the levers of implementation— the ones trying to replace people and shove "AI" into every aspect of our daily lives, whether we consent or not— will try to do that even if it's *Not Actually That Good*.
www.nobhillgazette.com/arts_and_cul...
www.nobhillgazette.com/arts_and_cul...
Not worthy enough to hold Penda of Mercia's sandals.
okay, where are my ancient med and/or contemporary pagan folks
someone should cover this for @religiondispatches.org
(reminder: we pay!)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
someone should cover this for @religiondispatches.org
(reminder: we pay!)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
Opinion | Donald Trump, Pagan King
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Not worthy enough to hold Penda of Mercia's sandals.
"This study brought to you by breakfast blends"
GOOD MORNING
"Higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower risk of dementia."
☕☕☕
"Higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower risk of dementia."
☕☕☕
Coffee and Tea Intake, Dementia Risk, and Cognitive Function
This prospective cohort study investigates whether coffee and tea intake are associated with dementia risk and cognitive function in female participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and male particip...
jamanetwork.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:43 PM
"This study brought to you by breakfast blends"
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
There is nothing nuanced about this sentence:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
Final paragraph
February 11, 2026 at 6:05 PM
There is nothing nuanced about this sentence:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
NUTATION DAMPER LFG!!!
Tag yourself I'm the Despun Equipment Platform
February 11, 2026 at 5:44 PM
NUTATION DAMPER LFG!!!
But they shot it in the most manly, warfighterly way.
February 11, 2026 at 5:36 PM
But they shot it in the most manly, warfighterly way.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
These people are monsters and murderers and we must hold them accountable.
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 5:28 PM
These people are monsters and murderers and we must hold them accountable.
Islands are just the tops of undersea mountains. Checkmate, Naval Infantry.
its not every day I see someone saying mountain fighting and amphibious landings are the same
February 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Islands are just the tops of undersea mountains. Checkmate, Naval Infantry.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
china: we invented a nasal spray that cures cancer
usa: if it’s not a weight loss drug or dick pill we don’t make it, also the flu and measles are killing everyone
usa: if it’s not a weight loss drug or dick pill we don’t make it, also the flu and measles are killing everyone
can’t believe people are going to die from the flu
February 11, 2026 at 5:05 PM
china: we invented a nasal spray that cures cancer
usa: if it’s not a weight loss drug or dick pill we don’t make it, also the flu and measles are killing everyone
usa: if it’s not a weight loss drug or dick pill we don’t make it, also the flu and measles are killing everyone
Well, yes. A fetus hasn't learned to be a lib yet.
You can’t have an abortion but you can kill your grown daughter if she disagrees with you
A MAGA freak in Texas murdered his own daughter in cold blood after they had an argument about Trump.
A grand jury in the Dallas area then *declined to indict him*, and he has not yet faced charges.
Seems like many Texans believe a man has the right to kill his own child for disobedience.
A grand jury in the Dallas area then *declined to indict him*, and he has not yet faced charges.
Seems like many Texans believe a man has the right to kill his own child for disobedience.
February 11, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Well, yes. A fetus hasn't learned to be a lib yet.
I've never understood this sterotype, primarily because all the best students in my math classes in HS were the same 5-6 girls.
the people who spread the “female brains are bad at math and spatial reasoning” lies should be tried at the Hague
Another fun wrinkle from that period (that might still exist): I was good at math and loved it and then my geometry teacher told me that I'd probably struggle because female brains were bad at spatial thinking. I kept loving math & being good at it but assumed that would end so I ended it first.
February 11, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I've never understood this sterotype, primarily because all the best students in my math classes in HS were the same 5-6 girls.
Well, Jordan has lots of experience wrestling with this sort of issue.
So far, this hearing has been Bondi yelling at and berating Democratic lawmakers for asking for justice for Epstein survivors.
Chairman Jordan is allowing it.
Chairman Jordan is allowing it.
February 11, 2026 at 4:13 PM
Well, Jordan has lots of experience wrestling with this sort of issue.
Yeah, quit on junior year Trig bc no matter how hard I studied, I couldn't get more than a low C. Just didn't get it. Got a D for the course, didn't take the 2nd half Analytical Geometry course (took phil). Retook in the summer to raise grade. Senior year took Stats with same instructor, did fine.
You may not believe that pervasive cultural sneering at the humanities and those deemed Bad at Math was ever *that* bad.
Well, all I can say is it really was that bad in my experience - and I also had great parents, lots of resources, and a naturally massive ego to keep me going. Many don’t.
Well, all I can say is it really was that bad in my experience - and I also had great parents, lots of resources, and a naturally massive ego to keep me going. Many don’t.
February 11, 2026 at 5:21 AM
Yeah, quit on junior year Trig bc no matter how hard I studied, I couldn't get more than a low C. Just didn't get it. Got a D for the course, didn't take the 2nd half Analytical Geometry course (took phil). Retook in the summer to raise grade. Senior year took Stats with same instructor, did fine.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Anyway study history and you discover skills like “instantly contextualizing entire discrete narratives” and that has helped me more than calculus ever did…
February 11, 2026 at 4:59 AM
Anyway study history and you discover skills like “instantly contextualizing entire discrete narratives” and that has helped me more than calculus ever did…
They. Want. You. To. Get. Sick. And. Die.
For people who don't follow the FDA closely: this is insane. Like my jaw hit the floor when I saw this. The FDA is flat out refusing to even consider Moderna's application for a new flu vaccine? The federal health apparatus is fully compromised by anti-vax conspiracy. THIS IS NUTS! BAD
Moderna hit with FDA refusal-to-file letter for mRNA flu shot, issues sharp rebuke of agency's rationale
During the first year of the Trump administration, signs of an anti-mRNA slant within the FDA and HHS became more and more evident. | The FDA specifically took issue with the trial's control arm, whic...
www.fiercebiotech.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 AM
They. Want. You. To. Get. Sick. And. Die.
Potentially gonna get dogpiled here, but I'm watching the Ken Burns Rev War doc and its...aight?
Kinda mid, actually? I dunno. The whole stylistics of explanation over a random shot of a chessboard or an old painting seems...like it could just be a podcast.
Kinda mid, actually? I dunno. The whole stylistics of explanation over a random shot of a chessboard or an old painting seems...like it could just be a podcast.
February 11, 2026 at 4:27 AM
Potentially gonna get dogpiled here, but I'm watching the Ken Burns Rev War doc and its...aight?
Kinda mid, actually? I dunno. The whole stylistics of explanation over a random shot of a chessboard or an old painting seems...like it could just be a podcast.
Kinda mid, actually? I dunno. The whole stylistics of explanation over a random shot of a chessboard or an old painting seems...like it could just be a podcast.