Patrick Nielsen Hayden
@pnh.nielsenhayden.com
VP and editor-at-large at the Tor Publishing Group. Series editor, Tor Essentials. Winner of three Hugos and a World Fantasy Award for editorial work. Opinions mine, not Tor’s. Happily working out of Tucson, AZ.
He, his. Anti-trans dingbats, get lost.
He, his. Anti-trans dingbats, get lost.
Introduce yourself with what almost killed you.
Hi, I’m pertussis.
Hi, I’m pertussis.
Introduce yourself with what almost killed you.
Hi, I’m Dana.
Hi, I’m Dana.
Introduce yourself with what almost killed you.
i’m decades of conversion therapy from my fundamentalist shrink parents
i’m decades of conversion therapy from my fundamentalist shrink parents
January 2, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Introduce yourself with what almost killed you.
Hi, I’m pertussis.
Hi, I’m pertussis.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
I read that crap from Yarvin and in the end it all comes to one stupid and abusive point: "See what you made Hitler do."
January 1, 2026 at 4:10 PM
I read that crap from Yarvin and in the end it all comes to one stupid and abusive point: "See what you made Hitler do."
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Another good practice for the New Year would be for all the non-fascists in America who want to opine about politics to really begin believing that urban America is Real America & that its denizens are The Authentic People. Get some self-respect & drop the volkish nationalist view that they're not
And I think liberals should stop taking the bait and ceding ground on immigration.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
January 1, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Another good practice for the New Year would be for all the non-fascists in America who want to opine about politics to really begin believing that urban America is Real America & that its denizens are The Authentic People. Get some self-respect & drop the volkish nationalist view that they're not
Thread, all true.
This set of observations is produced by my scrolling Reddit and otherwise listening to people talk about "how to write."
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
A) there is no requirement that any of your characters has any sort of "arc" let alone a redemption.
B) there is also no requirement that your fiction has a plot.
January 1, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Thread, all true.
It is not "what got us into this fucking mess in the first place."
December 30, 2025 at 7:52 PM
It is not "what got us into this fucking mess in the first place."
I mean, I myself have rising concerns about “crime among the most wealthy”
(Leaving aside the Tolkien dimbulbery)
(Leaving aside the Tolkien dimbulbery)
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for "super premium" customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos | TechCrunch
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:30 AM
I mean, I myself have rising concerns about “crime among the most wealthy”
(Leaving aside the Tolkien dimbulbery)
(Leaving aside the Tolkien dimbulbery)
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
as promised: I'm back and I have Opinions fozmeadows.substack.com/p/against-ai
December 29, 2025 at 6:54 AM
as promised: I'm back and I have Opinions fozmeadows.substack.com/p/against-ai
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Microplastics are here to stay; that's why we need to eat them responsibly in the classroom
August 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Microplastics are here to stay; that's why we need to eat them responsibly in the classroom
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
i don’t see how any of the benefits of chatgpt and other consumer-facing LLMs can possibly outweigh their incredible ability to induce suicides
Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
December 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
Yes, exactly. People promoting this garbage have a comprehensively broken idea of how meaning in language works.
AND ANOTHER THING, WHILE I'M AT IT:
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
ENOUGH WITH THESE BULLSHIT CLAIMS THAT AI CAN REPLACE HUMAN TRANSLATORS!!!
Translation is *not* the science of finding the perfect definition of a word from a foreign language and putting that definition into the text.
Translators translate, of course. But!
December 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Yes, exactly. People promoting this garbage have a comprehensively broken idea of how meaning in language works.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
My dog and two cats love to throw up on the floor and they represent 60% of the household. As a leader I can't just ignore public opinion so I also throw up on the floor sometimes to stay popular
December 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
My dog and two cats love to throw up on the floor and they represent 60% of the household. As a leader I can't just ignore public opinion so I also throw up on the floor sometimes to stay popular
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, was here as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night.
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, said two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half-sunk, a shattered visage lies
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, left from the Grey Havens and sailed to the undying lands.
December 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, was here as on a darkling plain, swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
if bari weiss had tried to do 9/11 there'd be three towers now
December 23, 2025 at 2:36 AM
if bari weiss had tried to do 9/11 there'd be three towers now
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
This seems like the most effective approach
December 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM
This seems like the most effective approach
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
So Bari Weiss’s first real editorial intervention at CBS is to repress coverage of American concentration camps.
December 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM
So Bari Weiss’s first real editorial intervention at CBS is to repress coverage of American concentration camps.
Also, a lot of descendants of slaves are, through those very ancestors, also descended from lots of high-status white American colonists of the 1600s and 1700s. Because slaveholders raped their slaves.
Angela Davis is a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Brewster. For instance. (1/4)
Angela Davis is a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Brewster. For instance. (1/4)
Every descendant of slaves has more American heritage than Trump. But I don’t imagine that figures large in the minds of most people using the phrase.
December 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Also, a lot of descendants of slaves are, through those very ancestors, also descended from lots of high-status white American colonists of the 1600s and 1700s. Because slaveholders raped their slaves.
Angela Davis is a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Brewster. For instance. (1/4)
Angela Davis is a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Brewster. For instance. (1/4)
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
the way people talk about AI is like it's a stalker you ought to be nicer to
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
the way people talk about AI is like it's a stalker you ought to be nicer to
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
This is that good shit. Straight to my veins.
BE LOUD ABOUT HOW YOU HELP PEOPLE. Signal the fuck out of your virtue. Peer pressure people into kindness. Make it cool and badass to help strangers not for clout but because it feels good for everyone to partake in their society. It rocks! Do it!
BE LOUD ABOUT HOW YOU HELP PEOPLE. Signal the fuck out of your virtue. Peer pressure people into kindness. Make it cool and badass to help strangers not for clout but because it feels good for everyone to partake in their society. It rocks! Do it!
This is my Christmas gift to my homeless neighbors, to the volunteers who get great joy from helping them…and, yes, to myself. Merry Christmas to all!
🧵 9 of 9
🧵 9 of 9
December 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
This is that good shit. Straight to my veins.
BE LOUD ABOUT HOW YOU HELP PEOPLE. Signal the fuck out of your virtue. Peer pressure people into kindness. Make it cool and badass to help strangers not for clout but because it feels good for everyone to partake in their society. It rocks! Do it!
BE LOUD ABOUT HOW YOU HELP PEOPLE. Signal the fuck out of your virtue. Peer pressure people into kindness. Make it cool and badass to help strangers not for clout but because it feels good for everyone to partake in their society. It rocks! Do it!
This is my view. On this issue, a lot of very smart people, many of whom are my friends, will “well actually” themselves into the grave.
My friends, I say this with all the love in my heart: Right now might not be the moment for “But we should be TOLERANT and NUANCED about the plagiarism machines!”
Your tolerance and “nuance” will be weaponised by the grifters and their apologists. Please respect yourselves more.
Your tolerance and “nuance” will be weaponised by the grifters and their apologists. Please respect yourselves more.
December 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This is my view. On this issue, a lot of very smart people, many of whom are my friends, will “well actually” themselves into the grave.
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
they should invent a law that protects and binds the same people
February 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
they should invent a law that protects and binds the same people
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
This essay by the author of a recent well-reviewed book about Tolkien starts modestly and then stabs you with a Morgul-blade halfway through, where you are pinioned by a twist in the telling. You may never recover. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Opinion | Why I Keep Returning to Middle-Earth
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:46 PM
This essay by the author of a recent well-reviewed book about Tolkien starts modestly and then stabs you with a Morgul-blade halfway through, where you are pinioned by a twist in the telling. You may never recover. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Reposted by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
If it was inevitable, they wouldn't work so hard to convince you.
December 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
If it was inevitable, they wouldn't work so hard to convince you.
“What they’re really saying is ‘give in and do what I tell you.’”
December 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM
“What they’re really saying is ‘give in and do what I tell you.’”