Ted McCormick
@tedmccormick.bsky.social
Historian of scientific, economic and colonial projects in early modern Britain, Ireland, and the Atlantic; books http://bit.ly/3HYwNiA & http://bit.ly/3rKdAvt; http://memoriousblog.com; views mine; he/him. Montrealer in Philly, except when I’m in Montreal
Pinned
re: putting QR codes on PowerPoint slides in lectures/presentations. PLEASE do not do this. I am a slow note taker already and drawing the whole code accurately takes forever and uses a ton of ink
the musical chairs model of citizenship
Gonzales on Liam Ramos and his family: "They're not gonna qualify for asylum. So what do you do with all the people that go through the process and do not qualify for asylum? You deport them. I understand that 5-year-old and it breaks my heart. I also think, what about that 5-year-old US citizen?"
February 8, 2026 at 5:28 PM
the musical chairs model of citizenship
the thing is that we have known this the whole time, and there has never been a counter-argument beyond “it fools people better than it used to,” and it looks increasingly unlikely that there ever will be
h/t @robertfreundlaw.bsky.social
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
February 8, 2026 at 5:17 PM
the thing is that we have known this the whole time, and there has never been a counter-argument beyond “it fools people better than it used to,” and it looks increasingly unlikely that there ever will be
The honest thing for “radical centrists” and anyone who ever breathed the phrase “divisive concepts” to do is to celebrate this as a win, since it’s very much what they worked for
FAMU can't use the word Black on anything posted around campus related to Black History Month, to stay in compliance with Florida state laws against DEI. Black students can't use the word Black at their Historically Black College during Black History Month.
February 8, 2026 at 4:58 PM
The honest thing for “radical centrists” and anyone who ever breathed the phrase “divisive concepts” to do is to celebrate this as a win, since it’s very much what they worked for
there’s a word for something most people generate about once a day and it’s not “book”
I'm going to win.
February 8, 2026 at 3:09 PM
there’s a word for something most people generate about once a day and it’s not “book”
Ah, well. Generative AI makes 51st states of us all
Canada did a consultation on a new national AI strategy, formed an expert task force to write 32 reports, then used AI to analyze the responses & reports. The result is a summary that strings together 100s of vague action items & flattens nuance and policy trade-offs into false consensus
February 6, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Ah, well. Generative AI makes 51st states of us all
seems like at some point even a certain proportion of convinced racists and xenophobes are going to need to face the possibility that racist trolling and unprovoked state violence do not by themselves constitute an adequate government
February 6, 2026 at 5:26 PM
seems like at some point even a certain proportion of convinced racists and xenophobes are going to need to face the possibility that racist trolling and unprovoked state violence do not by themselves constitute an adequate government
Waymo Democrats in Disarray Amid Predictable Revelations
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Waymo Democrats in Disarray Amid Predictable Revelations
My elite university isn’t hiring white men to teach European history anymore. 1-2 historians got hired recently but not white male Europeanists. So I regretfully announce I’m leaving my job here (as a white male Europeanist) as soon as I retire in 2043.
PS please put in the Chronicle that I got mad
PS please put in the Chronicle that I got mad
February 5, 2026 at 5:29 PM
My elite university isn’t hiring white men to teach European history anymore. 1-2 historians got hired recently but not white male Europeanists. So I regretfully announce I’m leaving my job here (as a white male Europeanist) as soon as I retire in 2043.
PS please put in the Chronicle that I got mad
PS please put in the Chronicle that I got mad
Reposted by Ted McCormick
Recently the @historians.org Council vetoed member resolutions that would have committed AHA to defense of academic freedom. In doing so, the org relayed their stance that its federal underwriters-not historians themselves-determine our discipline's limits. 🔗⬇️
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Historians Must Reclaim AHA (opinion)
Two recent vetoes by the association’s governing council raise the question of who defines what counts as “history.”
www.insidehighered.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Recently the @historians.org Council vetoed member resolutions that would have committed AHA to defense of academic freedom. In doing so, the org relayed their stance that its federal underwriters-not historians themselves-determine our discipline's limits. 🔗⬇️
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
why not Texas? too woke, I assume, based on higher ed reporting
Is this piece a parody? Every time I read an interview with one of these Fabergé martyrs who retreat to their Western Civ havens, I think — half-facetiously — does anyone want to interview *me* after leaving the academy + a presidential professorship bc of astronomical conservatism + dysfunction?
After 40 Years at Harvard, James Hankins Is Disillusioned. He’s Starting Over in Florida.
The Renaissance scholar on tensions with the conservative reform movement, his sanguine view of academic freedom in Ron DeSantis’s Florida, and the role of wine in Western civilization.
www.chronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:04 PM
why not Texas? too woke, I assume, based on higher ed reporting
there was a viral tweet about Rogan years ago that was basically saying this too, but meaning it as praise
one of my strongest beliefs is that we're in our situation right now bc some of the most prominent talking heads (e.g. joe rogan, andrew schulz) are learning about politics in their 40s and 50s, instead of their teens and early 20s, and we have to go along for the ride as they learn basic things
February 5, 2026 at 12:08 AM
there was a viral tweet about Rogan years ago that was basically saying this too, but meaning it as praise
where we’re going, we don’t need facts
It'd be ironic if it was because of this (which is actually really bad!)
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell - CIA
www.cia.gov
February 5, 2026 at 12:04 AM
where we’re going, we don’t need facts
teaching a course with time and space for discussion makes most classroom technology unnecessary
February 4, 2026 at 4:54 PM
teaching a course with time and space for discussion makes most classroom technology unnecessary
Administration survives by not being irrevocably committed to anything except its own preservation, and all initiatives from it — or undertaken with its blessing — that purport to touch on academic freedom, free speech, free enquiry, civility, or indeed censorship, have to be viewed in this light
Administrators hinting about dire policy - but never having the courage to put it in writing - sounds pretty familiar.
February 4, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Administration survives by not being irrevocably committed to anything except its own preservation, and all initiatives from it — or undertaken with its blessing — that purport to touch on academic freedom, free speech, free enquiry, civility, or indeed censorship, have to be viewed in this light
Reposted by Ted McCormick
a detailed look at the mechanics of the new American censorship regime
It runs on threats of accusations, administrative ambiguity, and pervasive, amorphous fear of sudden termination.
It runs on threats of accusations, administrative ambiguity, and pervasive, amorphous fear of sudden termination.
Texas Tech struggles with new policy on gender, race
The system’s chancellor meant to instill clarity and accountability, but three weeks into the spring semester, some instructors say the standards have led to “censorship.”
www.texastribune.org
February 4, 2026 at 1:31 PM
a detailed look at the mechanics of the new American censorship regime
It runs on threats of accusations, administrative ambiguity, and pervasive, amorphous fear of sudden termination.
It runs on threats of accusations, administrative ambiguity, and pervasive, amorphous fear of sudden termination.
Being an American journalist in 2026 means seriously asking what somebody’s “best argument” is that masked gangs shouldn’t kill and kidnap whomever they choose with impunity
February 4, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Being an American journalist in 2026 means seriously asking what somebody’s “best argument” is that masked gangs shouldn’t kill and kidnap whomever they choose with impunity
if your job appears redundant to business because genAI can now produce *a slide deck*, the problem isn’t genAI
February 4, 2026 at 1:55 PM
if your job appears redundant to business because genAI can now produce *a slide deck*, the problem isn’t genAI
I for one demand commonsense reform of the execution squads
Democrats want commonsense reform for ICE:
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
February 4, 2026 at 4:11 AM
I for one demand commonsense reform of the execution squads
It’s only anti-wokisme if it comes from the Anti-Wokisme region of Quebec. Otherwise it’s just sparkling MAGA
quebec separatist, part of the social democratic turned anti-woke online bullying party
therover.ca/opinion-the-...
therover.ca/opinion-the-...
February 3, 2026 at 4:43 PM
It’s only anti-wokisme if it comes from the Anti-Wokisme region of Quebec. Otherwise it’s just sparkling MAGA
there are going to be a whole lot of cathartic demolitions when he’s gone
Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."
February 1, 2026 at 11:43 PM
there are going to be a whole lot of cathartic demolitions when he’s gone
I am losing my mind
February 1, 2026 at 10:18 PM
I am losing my mind
oh, so you’re *just noticing* this event that happened today? I assume without either looking or asking that you have never noticed earlier events of a similar type, as I have
February 1, 2026 at 9:47 PM
oh, so you’re *just noticing* this event that happened today? I assume without either looking or asking that you have never noticed earlier events of a similar type, as I have
Don’t think of generative AI as a plagiarism tool. Think of it as a knowledgeable friend!
❌ “The plagiarism tool researched and wrote this paper for me”
✅ “My friend researched and wrote this paper for me”
👍👍👍
❌ “The plagiarism tool researched and wrote this paper for me”
✅ “My friend researched and wrote this paper for me”
👍👍👍
February 1, 2026 at 12:08 AM
Don’t think of generative AI as a plagiarism tool. Think of it as a knowledgeable friend!
❌ “The plagiarism tool researched and wrote this paper for me”
✅ “My friend researched and wrote this paper for me”
👍👍👍
❌ “The plagiarism tool researched and wrote this paper for me”
✅ “My friend researched and wrote this paper for me”
👍👍👍
I don’t know if anyone’s written on this but, particularly in light of generative AI, it would be interesting to look at the effects on learning, pedagogy, shared governance, and institutional transparency of that much older enemy among us, the PowerPoint slide
January 31, 2026 at 8:07 PM
I don’t know if anyone’s written on this but, particularly in light of generative AI, it would be interesting to look at the effects on learning, pedagogy, shared governance, and institutional transparency of that much older enemy among us, the PowerPoint slide