Jen Whyte 🍁
@whyjenwhy.bsky.social
Thinker about old stuff at Duke University. I have a website and this is a link to it: https://www.jenniferlwhyte.com/
Pinned
Jen Whyte 🍁
@whyjenwhy.bsky.social
· Nov 21
Epiphenomenalists dni
Thinking of this story, today, for no particular reason:
www.npr.org/sections/kru...
www.npr.org/sections/kru...
Dissolve My Nobel Prize! Fast! (A True Story)
It's 1940. The Nazis have taken Copenhagen, and physicist Niels Bohr has just hours, maybe minutes, to make two Nobel Prize medals disappear.
www.npr.org
January 15, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Thinking of this story, today, for no particular reason:
www.npr.org/sections/kru...
www.npr.org/sections/kru...
Reposted by Jen Whyte 🍁
Just don’t think my government should be creating largely exclusive content for this guy. Put another way, if your constituents had to buy Ernst Zündel’s zine to read your latest policy position, that’d be a policy position in itself. And “but his circulation numbers are high” isn’t a good defence.
It takes a few clicks to ultimately see the post Elon Musk is talking about. But the original post is about Rhodesia.
“What they once did to Rhodesia, they now attempt to the whole world. Resist.”
“What they once did to Rhodesia, they now attempt to the whole world. Resist.”
January 11, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Just don’t think my government should be creating largely exclusive content for this guy. Put another way, if your constituents had to buy Ernst Zündel’s zine to read your latest policy position, that’d be a policy position in itself. And “but his circulation numbers are high” isn’t a good defence.
RAM shortage? More like an REM shortage! (I don't think anyone's getting enough sleep right now)
January 11, 2026 at 2:56 PM
RAM shortage? More like an REM shortage! (I don't think anyone's getting enough sleep right now)
One of the big questions I keep writing a little bit about and then backing away from is 'what happens if a privately-funded space project announces that they have discovered alien life or detected an alien signal? How could we possibly believe them?'
Bigger than Hubble and launching as soon as 2029, the Lazuli Space Observatory would be the first-ever full-scale private space telescope
Lazuli, a Billionaire-Funded Private Space Telescope, Signals a New Strategy for Astronomy
Bigger than Hubble and launching as soon as 2029, the Lazuli Space Observatory would be the first-ever full-scale private space telescope
www.scientificamerican.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:38 PM
One of the big questions I keep writing a little bit about and then backing away from is 'what happens if a privately-funded space project announces that they have discovered alien life or detected an alien signal? How could we possibly believe them?'
Everyone going to the APA today, have fun, and be very grateful to me personally for choosing not to give you the flu.
January 6, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Everyone going to the APA today, have fun, and be very grateful to me personally for choosing not to give you the flu.
"New artists won't be able to find an audience anymore because everyone's listening to AI" New artists can't find an audience right now because everyone's listening to Fleetwood Mac.
New music has never accounted for as small a proportion of what people listen to. Why would that change?
New music has never accounted for as small a proportion of what people listen to. Why would that change?
I think a big issue with content slop evolving in general is that I am already in a place where I’m not going to get caught up with every game in my Steam library and every movie and tv show I have on various watch later lists. Like who the fuck is going to pay real life money for an AI movie
January 5, 2026 at 2:36 PM
"New artists won't be able to find an audience anymore because everyone's listening to AI" New artists can't find an audience right now because everyone's listening to Fleetwood Mac.
New music has never accounted for as small a proportion of what people listen to. Why would that change?
New music has never accounted for as small a proportion of what people listen to. Why would that change?
What happens if you do SAT-based faculty hiring and a candidate was educated in one of the dozens of countries that don't administer the SAT? I know the real answer is 'we don't hire foreigners', but I like the idea of a bunch of 30-somethings having to sit a teenager test to be hired to a TT job.
January 2, 2026 at 7:55 PM
What happens if you do SAT-based faculty hiring and a candidate was educated in one of the dozens of countries that don't administer the SAT? I know the real answer is 'we don't hire foreigners', but I like the idea of a bunch of 30-somethings having to sit a teenager test to be hired to a TT job.
I love the hockey World Juniors for a lot of reasons, but possibly the main one is that the sponsors are so much worse. Nobody looks cool with 'Chipotle' plastered across their forehead.
December 29, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I love the hockey World Juniors for a lot of reasons, but possibly the main one is that the sponsors are so much worse. Nobody looks cool with 'Chipotle' plastered across their forehead.
To the department that sent out their 'thanks but no thanks' job application responses early this morning: at this point I just have to admire the commitment to the role of the heel. Nobody's in the office today. You had to fucking schedule that one.
December 25, 2025 at 11:27 PM
To the department that sent out their 'thanks but no thanks' job application responses early this morning: at this point I just have to admire the commitment to the role of the heel. Nobody's in the office today. You had to fucking schedule that one.
Maybe this is unique to my players, but the most surprising part of being a GM to me has been the degree to which I've had to be able to come up with an astonishing array of meals, cocktails, and unusual beers completely on the spot. They really want the full menu every time.
December 7, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Maybe this is unique to my players, but the most surprising part of being a GM to me has been the degree to which I've had to be able to come up with an astonishing array of meals, cocktails, and unusual beers completely on the spot. They really want the full menu every time.
I admire the ambition, but it's hardly a beginner-friendly distro. I think he'd be better off starting with Ubuntu or something.
‘We’re doing arch’ Trump says in update on latest construction project
‘We’re doing arch’ Trump says in update on latest construction project
‘We’re doing arch’ Trump says in update on latest construction project
www.independent.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I admire the ambition, but it's hardly a beginner-friendly distro. I think he'd be better off starting with Ubuntu or something.
The first email I get after setting up Thunderbird on my lovely new Linux Mint install is 'Windows 10 support has ended - choose how you stay protected'. Buddy, I think I figured that one out already.
December 3, 2025 at 3:57 PM
The first email I get after setting up Thunderbird on my lovely new Linux Mint install is 'Windows 10 support has ended - choose how you stay protected'. Buddy, I think I figured that one out already.
Counterpoint:
Leonard Nimoy's "Spock Thoughts" vs. John Pertwee's "I Am the Doctor"
Leonard Nimoy's "Spock Thoughts" vs. John Pertwee's "I Am the Doctor"
Star Trekkin' vs. Doctorin' the Tardis
December 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Counterpoint:
Leonard Nimoy's "Spock Thoughts" vs. John Pertwee's "I Am the Doctor"
Leonard Nimoy's "Spock Thoughts" vs. John Pertwee's "I Am the Doctor"
I guess I should do a promo with a bit more information: if you want to hear me talk about alien contact, prime numbers, a Doritos commercial from 2008, and what any of that has to do with the Vienna Circle, this is your opportunity to do that!
Please join us on 12.01.25, at 9:30 am, for our next Foundations Seminar.
bit.ly/3Mg7ZK5
Please register here: bit.ly/4n8Hwvu
#bhi #blackholeinitiative #bhifoundationsseminar #foundationseminar #JenniferLWhyte #harvard @pittofficial
#harvarduniversity @universityofpittsburgh
bit.ly/3Mg7ZK5
Please register here: bit.ly/4n8Hwvu
#bhi #blackholeinitiative #bhifoundationsseminar #foundationseminar #JenniferLWhyte #harvard @pittofficial
#harvarduniversity @universityofpittsburgh
November 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I guess I should do a promo with a bit more information: if you want to hear me talk about alien contact, prime numbers, a Doritos commercial from 2008, and what any of that has to do with the Vienna Circle, this is your opportunity to do that!
Hey look who it is!
Please join us on 12.01.25, at 9:30 am, for our next Foundations Seminar.
bit.ly/3Mg7ZK5
Please register here: bit.ly/4n8Hwvu
#bhi #blackholeinitiative #bhifoundationsseminar #foundationseminar #JenniferLWhyte #harvard @pittofficial
#harvarduniversity @universityofpittsburgh
bit.ly/3Mg7ZK5
Please register here: bit.ly/4n8Hwvu
#bhi #blackholeinitiative #bhifoundationsseminar #foundationseminar #JenniferLWhyte #harvard @pittofficial
#harvarduniversity @universityofpittsburgh
November 29, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Hey look who it is!
Update: turns out that when you manually back up all your files in anticipation of Doing the Thing you learn that your files needed a good clean a long time ago. Why is the entire Final Fantasy IX soundtrack in the folder for the philosophy of math course I took in 2018
Part of me really wants to try switching to Linux right now, knowing full well that I will get very Into It almost immediately, part of me thinks I should save it as a good, safe option for a midlife crisis down the line.
November 27, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Update: turns out that when you manually back up all your files in anticipation of Doing the Thing you learn that your files needed a good clean a long time ago. Why is the entire Final Fantasy IX soundtrack in the folder for the philosophy of math course I took in 2018
Part of me really wants to try switching to Linux right now, knowing full well that I will get very Into It almost immediately, part of me thinks I should save it as a good, safe option for a midlife crisis down the line.
November 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Part of me really wants to try switching to Linux right now, knowing full well that I will get very Into It almost immediately, part of me thinks I should save it as a good, safe option for a midlife crisis down the line.
I hate how discussions of Alberta pipelines frame the debate as Alberta economics vs. BC environmentalism, as if there's nothing economic about BC's desire to not have oil spills in it.
November 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I hate how discussions of Alberta pipelines frame the debate as Alberta economics vs. BC environmentalism, as if there's nothing economic about BC's desire to not have oil spills in it.
One of my favorite historical facts is that I could have a conversation with a Roman in late antiquity using the idioms 'lingua franca' and 'it's all Greek to me', and he would completely understand both idioms but assign them opposite meanings
November 27, 2025 at 5:53 PM
One of my favorite historical facts is that I could have a conversation with a Roman in late antiquity using the idioms 'lingua franca' and 'it's all Greek to me', and he would completely understand both idioms but assign them opposite meanings
I love saying 'greetings'. So precise. So specific. No need for me to pick a suitably greetings-ish phrase and for you to interpret it as a greeting. No ambiguity. Just getting my intention right out there. I'm greeting you. You're being greeted. That's what's happening right now. Greetings.
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I love saying 'greetings'. So precise. So specific. No need for me to pick a suitably greetings-ish phrase and for you to interpret it as a greeting. No ambiguity. Just getting my intention right out there. I'm greeting you. You're being greeted. That's what's happening right now. Greetings.
This is why I never engage with any media that gets described as 'a love letter to [genre x]'. Why would I want to read genre x's love letters? Why would I want to read any love letter that isn't addressed to me?
Have I ever listened to Hey Jude by The Beatles? Absolutely not. It's addressed to Jude, not me. What about Annie's Song by John Denver? Nope. Not my song so none of my business. Everyone should treat the private communications of musicians with the same level of respect as I do.
November 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
This is why I never engage with any media that gets described as 'a love letter to [genre x]'. Why would I want to read genre x's love letters? Why would I want to read any love letter that isn't addressed to me?
Reposted by Jen Whyte 🍁
Discourse surrounding “AI” these days often feels like a guy showing you his shovel and you say, “that’s a nice shovel” and he says “I am going to perform surgery on my mother with this shovel” and you say “Oh God please don’t that is not what a shovel is for.”
November 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Discourse surrounding “AI” these days often feels like a guy showing you his shovel and you say, “that’s a nice shovel” and he says “I am going to perform surgery on my mother with this shovel” and you say “Oh God please don’t that is not what a shovel is for.”
Guy whose favourite sports teams are the Rangers, Golden Knights, Magic, Warriors, and Wizards: hey, so this sports game is fun, but I have this other game at home I like better if you want to go play that
November 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Guy whose favourite sports teams are the Rangers, Golden Knights, Magic, Warriors, and Wizards: hey, so this sports game is fun, but I have this other game at home I like better if you want to go play that
"It's for the good of the students" It would be good for the students to live in a society that had institutions that were not at the beck and call of their government.
November 12, 2025 at 4:17 AM
"It's for the good of the students" It would be good for the students to live in a society that had institutions that were not at the beck and call of their government.
Probably my most unpopular academic opinion is that you're not in a position to make the case against plagiarism to your students (or anyone else) if you don't even bother to check the license on the images you put in your slide decks, let alone credit them correctly.
November 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Probably my most unpopular academic opinion is that you're not in a position to make the case against plagiarism to your students (or anyone else) if you don't even bother to check the license on the images you put in your slide decks, let alone credit them correctly.