William E. S. McNeill
@wesmcneill.bsky.social
Philosophy Lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK.
Researching -
the epistemology of perception
problems of other minds
explainability in deep neural networks
Researching -
the epistemology of perception
problems of other minds
explainability in deep neural networks
Well, that's me and (the safety of) vaccines, and (the reality of) climate change, and various other things.
I think we'll need some details here ...
I think we'll need some details here ...
June 18, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Well, that's me and (the safety of) vaccines, and (the reality of) climate change, and various other things.
I think we'll need some details here ...
I think we'll need some details here ...
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
Academic publishers make vast profits, but don’t pay royalties to academics. Instead, universities pay publishers to make the research that the universities have funded widely available, and then pay them again to access other research.
Academic publishers make vast profits, but don’t pay royalties to academics. Instead, universities pay publishers to make the research that the universities have funded widely available, and then pay them again to access other research.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
Unless you seek it out, most professors don't learn how to teach. It's not part of the job requirements. The idea is that you're an expert in your field and that's Enough.
Unless you seek it out, most professors don't learn how to teach. It's not part of the job requirements. The idea is that you're an expert in your field and that's Enough.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
Egyptologists don’t know every tiny detail of the ca. 5000 yrs of ancient Egypt. That’s why we have specializations! Language, art, archaeology, bioarchaeology, etc.
I mostly study New Kingdom period art, specifically the Amarna period
Egyptologists don’t know every tiny detail of the ca. 5000 yrs of ancient Egypt. That’s why we have specializations! Language, art, archaeology, bioarchaeology, etc.
I mostly study New Kingdom period art, specifically the Amarna period
June 17, 2025 at 10:51 AM
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
Academic publishers make vast profits, but don’t pay royalties to academics. Instead, universities pay publishers to make the research that the universities have funded widely available, and then pay them again to access other research.
Academic publishers make vast profits, but don’t pay royalties to academics. Instead, universities pay publishers to make the research that the universities have funded widely available, and then pay them again to access other research.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
May 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
On hunger as a weapon of war, a murderous attack on a Jewish museum - and the blindness of hatred. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A biblical hatred is engulfing both sides in the Gaza conflict – and blinding them to reason | Jonathan Freedland
Israel starving Palestinians, two killings at a Jewish museum: both are atrocities. But vanishingly few can see it, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
www.theguardian.com
May 24, 2025 at 7:19 AM
On hunger as a weapon of war, a murderous attack on a Jewish museum - and the blindness of hatred. Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
“Data centers in the US used somewhere around 200 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, roughly what it takes to power Thailand for a year.” A quarter to a third of which is due to #AI. #AIEthics www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard.
The emissions from individual AI text, image, and video queries seem small—until you add up what the industry isn’t tracking and consider where it’s heading next.
www.technologyreview.com
May 21, 2025 at 7:56 AM
“Data centers in the US used somewhere around 200 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, roughly what it takes to power Thailand for a year.” A quarter to a third of which is due to #AI. #AIEthics www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
No woke mind virus in Lincolnshire. It’s mostly peas.
May 4, 2025 at 6:40 AM
No woke mind virus in Lincolnshire. It’s mostly peas.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Whether it's Hillary Clinton sharing risotto tips on a private server or Pete Hegseth using the nuclear codes as his password on Pornhub, both parties have ignored our nation's security.
April 25, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Whether it's Hillary Clinton sharing risotto tips on a private server or Pete Hegseth using the nuclear codes as his password on Pornhub, both parties have ignored our nation's security.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Big sky at West Wittering.
April 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Big sky at West Wittering.
Classic 'illiberal democracy' playbook a la Orban and Erdogan.
April 14, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Classic 'illiberal democracy' playbook a la Orban and Erdogan.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
New season of Black Mirror is out, so it's time to share the tweet:
April 13, 2025 at 9:59 PM
New season of Black Mirror is out, so it's time to share the tweet:
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
The 2025 Herbert A. Simon Award goes to...
Sullivan Wins Simon Award - Daily Nous
Emily Sullivan, associate professor of philosophy at Utrecht University, is the winner of the 2025 Herbert A. Simon Award for Outstanding Research in Computing and Philosophy. The Simon Award "recogni...
dailynous.com
April 8, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The 2025 Herbert A. Simon Award goes to...
Definitely the plan!
If I were the rest of the world and I watched as the uninformed whim of 49.8% of American voters triggered a worldwide financial crisis, I would take all possible steps in the future to diminish American economic power.
April 4, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Definitely the plan!
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Today is American Liquidation Day
April 2, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Today is American Liquidation Day
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
This should be etched on the DOGE letterhead
April 2, 2025 at 12:14 PM
This should be etched on the DOGE letterhead
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
This story is amazing (& the first in which I see a friend’s name, Leon Peshkin. No doubt not the last.) A top scientist, she avoided all protest in the US. She only was a dissident in and of her native country — Russia.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Russian scientist working at Harvard detained by Ice at Boston airport
Kseniia Petrova was returning to the US from a trip to France when officials revoked her visa and detained her
www.theguardian.com
March 28, 2025 at 5:55 AM
This story is amazing (& the first in which I see a friend’s name, Leon Peshkin. No doubt not the last.) A top scientist, she avoided all protest in the US. She only was a dissident in and of her native country — Russia.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Russian, Chinese and North Korean state-sponsored hackers being issued redundancy notices.
March 26, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Russian, Chinese and North Korean state-sponsored hackers being issued redundancy notices.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Sophie Keeling - 'Standpoints, Knowledge, and Power: Introducing Standpoint Epistocracy', available open-access:
Standpoints, Knowledge, and Power: Introducing Standpoint Epistocracy | Hypatia | Cambridge Core
Standpoints, Knowledge, and Power: Introducing Standpoint Epistocracy
www.cambridge.org
March 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Sophie Keeling - 'Standpoints, Knowledge, and Power: Introducing Standpoint Epistocracy', available open-access:
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
Thoughts too cheap to matter.
March 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Thoughts too cheap to matter.
Reposted by William E. S. McNeill
I’ve been looking at some biographical material of the founders of modern physics and it’s striking how much attention they paid to philosophy: Bohr was obsessed with Kierkegaard and his followers, Einstein read Kant. Heisenberg read Plato's Timaeus.
March 7, 2025 at 6:21 AM
I’ve been looking at some biographical material of the founders of modern physics and it’s striking how much attention they paid to philosophy: Bohr was obsessed with Kierkegaard and his followers, Einstein read Kant. Heisenberg read Plato's Timaeus.