David Spurrett

@doctorspurt.bsky.social

1.9K followers 1.3K following 620 posts

Philosopher, working on evolution of mechanisms of action selection, and their variously situated subversion. https://davidspurrett.com/

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David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · Oct 20

Hello new followers. I'm a philosopher of cognitive science working on a book called 'Engines of Hostility'. Recent papers that inform the book are:
(1) "Hostile Scaffolding" (Timms & Spurrett)
(2) "Fashioning Affordances" (Spurrett & Brancazio)
(3) "On Hostile and Oppressive Affective Technology."

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 8h

Thank you!

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 9h

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT43...

Geese - Trinidad (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Geese

www.youtube.com

Reposted by David Spurrett

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 21h

Just occurred that the BBC is the most literal example of Conquest's third law in that it is actually run by a cabal of its enemies.

Reposted by Ken Caldeira, Jacob Montgomery, Alan Richardson , and 7 more Ken Caldeira, Jacob Montgomery, Alan Richardson, Jelena Subotić, Mark Rice, Seth Masket, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David R. Shumway, David Spurrett, David Darmofal

The Onion @theonion.com · 1d

Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage

Reposted by David Spurrett

Sridhar Ramesh @radishharmers.bsky.social · 1d

What has she ever done? Has she ever made the Hyperloop? You did. Has she ever invented self-driving cars? You did that. Has she ever taken humanity to Mars? That is an accomplishment you have pulled off, that she never will.

Reposted by Holger Hestermeyer, Ann Bartow, Federica Genovese , and 2 more Holger Hestermeyer, Ann Bartow, Federica Genovese, Richard M. Carpiano, David Spurrett

Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 2d

My old pal Pete Coviello — one of the best writers and thinkers I've ever known — wrote the piece of the moment

lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...

Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani

It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…

lithub.com

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Jonathan Hopkin, Alan Richardson , and 4 more Shannon Vallor, Jonathan Hopkin, Alan Richardson, McKenzie Wark, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Brooke Harrington, David Spurrett

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 2d

Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID

Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely. Although some days I'd put "Fantastic Mr Fox" in the second spot.

Reposted by David Spurrett

flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 3d

What’s happened here is that, by sticking to their guns and refusing to be intimidated and shitehoused, the club and police have thankfully prevented Parliament and the press inciting rioting and running battles in the streets of a major city.

Sarah Vine • @WestminsterWAG• •9h g
Islamists screaming allahu Akbar outside villa park - and the person who gets arrested is a 17-year-old boy who goes to debate them.
Meanwhile, a woman is condemned for 'face-crime'.
What is going on?

Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 3d

The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

It is truly glorious.

Reposted by Margot C. Finn, David Spurrett

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 4d

AI letters are flooding the medical literature. (gift link)

Thanks, Altman.

The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.

www.nytimes.com

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

I sometimes give pretty roundabout and digressive answers to questions. I acknowledge Thile as a true master.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

Anyone in need of a soul-cleanse, the latest Rick Beato interview is with Chris Thile. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRm...

The INSANE Musical Mind of Chris Thile

YouTube video by Rick Beato

www.youtube.com

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

Charles Darwin was born in 1809. He'd have been 7 years old the year the two poets, Mary Shelley and others were writing 'ghost stories', and 9 years old when the novel was published. I guess it was more likely that the two discussed Erasmus Darwin (whose poem on evolution was published in 1803).

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

I was struck by the claim that Mary Shelly drew inspiration for "Frankenstein" from listening to Percy Shelley and Byron discuss Charles Darwin one night. Since "Frankenstein" (novel) was published in 1818 (and the short story version written in 1816) that seems ... unlikely.

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 4d

I just read and enjoyed "Blood in the Machine: : The origins of the rebellion against big tech" by @bcmerchant.bsky.social
I didn't know enough about the Luddites, and this was a good start. The parallels between industrial revolution & Silicon Valley are striking.

Book cover of "Blood in the Machine: The origins of the rebellion against big tech" by Brian Merchant.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Greg Linden, David Spurrett

Sean O’Kane @seanokane.bsky.social · 4d

“the documents indicate that Meta’s own research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 2025 presentation by its safety staff estimated that the company’s platforms were involved in a third of all successful scams in the U.S.”

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show

Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.

www.reuters.com

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 6d

That sucks. There used to be a Kindle over browser option that might be a temporary workaround.

Reposted by Kori Schake, Joanna Bryson, Meredith Broussard , and 46 more Kori Schake, Joanna Bryson, Meredith Broussard, Katharine Hayhoe, Christian Odendahl, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Richard S.J. Tol, Brendan Nyhan, Richard J. Butler, Steve Peers, Steven French, Melissa Terras, Simon J. Greenhill, Harvey J. Miller, Philippe Huneman, Simon Otjes, Dustin Mulvaney, Mirco Tonin, Janne Tukiainen, Paul Matthews, Rachel C. Nethery, Lilian Edwards, Julia Lynch, Caroline T. Schroeder, Bessma Momani, Brian Keegan, Olivier Morin, Peter D. Howe, José Antonio Noguera, Alberto Corsín Jiménez, Lex Heerma van Voss, Catherine J. Frieman, Mauro Gatti, Anthony Burke, Jack Stilgoe, Raúl Pacheco-Vega, Brooke Harrington, Christopher Zorn, Alexander Woywodt, James A. Benn, Charles T. Mathewes, Seth Frey, Jani Erola, Aidan O’Sullivan, Catherine Spooner, Will M. Gervais, David Spurrett, José Pina-Sánchez, Valeria Mazza

Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 7d

Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

Reposted by David Spurrett

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 8d

This is only the latest version of a recurring pattern. In the 1930s it was ‘if they are so poor how can they afford to go to the cinema?’ The response is that poverty is revealed not in choices but the cost of choices. What do they have to sacrifice to do or have things others take for granted?

Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 9d

Never take seriously those who ridicule low income people for having a smartphone or laptop.

“If they’re so poor how did they buy an iPhone???”

Because they’re trying to escape poverty, not the 1700s, genius. If you think basic tech access is luxury, survive a month without it.

Reposted by Christian Göbel, Jen Nelles, David Spurrett

con questi nuovi ritmi americani (she/her) 🏳️‍⚧️🇵🇸🏳 @racheledini.bsky.social · 10d

I'm excited to share my piece in Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, which examines OpenAI's claims about ChatGPT's creative writing skills, Big Tech's weaponisation of grief and nostalgia, and the collapse of the academic humanities. lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...

Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books

Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.

lareviewofbooks.org

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 10d

I installed the Wikipedia app on my phone, so for a whole range of everyday queries I can entirely bypass the slop & shilling cocktail that search has turned into. Strongly recommend giving it a try if you aren't way ahead of me.

Reposted by Andrew Scott, Ben Barr, Michael H. Whitworth , and 2 more Andrew Scott, Ben Barr, Michael H. Whitworth, Jae-Young Son, David Spurrett

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11d

I can answer this. I interviewed Peterson's tailor a few years ago, although the interview was never published because I fell behind on work. Here is the story of this suit. 🧵

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 11d

What is happening with this outfit?

Reposted by Ben Barr, Jae-Young Son, David Spurrett

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 11d

What is happening with this outfit?

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 11d

(This is, I confess, a recycled gag. I think I heard Jeremy Hardy say it of white South Africans living in London in the late 1990s.)

David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 11d

Accepting limited numbers of those fleeing from freedom and democracy. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US will limit number of refugees to 7,500 and give priority to white South Africans

Low number represents a dramatic drop after US previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by David Spurrett

Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 12d

"It’s a scandal the U.S. is pulling back from efforts to address environmental challenges,” said Peter Gleick. “The rest of the world should ignore efforts by the US to delay progress on these problems… and I’m hopeful that other countries will continue to step up.”
www.latimes.com/environment/...

Humanity is on path toward 'climate chaos,' scientists warn

Global use of fossil fuels rose to a new record last year, releasing even more greenhouse gases. Humanity is 'hurtling toward climate chaos,' scientists warn.

www.latimes.com

Reposted by Henry Jones, David Spurrett

Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 13d

I wrote about how Border Patrol taking the lead in immigration operations mirrors a shift that happens often in concentration-camp regimes, including Nazi Germany, and some ways we can respond.

When bad things get worse

Border Patrol, ICE, and the repetition of grim history.

degenerateart.beehiiv.com

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, American Library Association, Juan Cole , and 4 more Rosemary A. Joyce, American Library Association, Juan Cole, Michael W. Kraus, John Hogan, David Spurrett, Southern Africa

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 13d

The government of Jamaica has set up a portal for contributing to official relief efforts. I will update this thread if anything analogous opens up for Haiti, Cuba, or the DR

supportjamaica.gov.jm

Support Jamaica

supportjamaica.gov.jm

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