Brian Thill
@brianthill.bsky.social
Author, WASTE (Bloomsbury) | PhD from UCI | Writer @ The Atlantic, Guardian, Salon &c. | Just finished a novel; now writing a better one
Reposted by Brian Thill
I could choose a lot of books in translation but this is one that I endlessly recommend by Uruguayan journalist , political prisoner, and writer Eduardo Galeano.
Mark Fried truly captures the cadence, meaning and poetry of his words.
Mark Fried truly captures the cadence, meaning and poetry of his words.
November 21, 2025 at 2:00 AM
I could choose a lot of books in translation but this is one that I endlessly recommend by Uruguayan journalist , political prisoner, and writer Eduardo Galeano.
Mark Fried truly captures the cadence, meaning and poetry of his words.
Mark Fried truly captures the cadence, meaning and poetry of his words.
Reposted by Brian Thill
"Is this fancy-footed, sloppy garbage written by AI or just a technically polished but empty-headed bloviator?" Don't care, don't need to read it.
November 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Is this fancy-footed, sloppy garbage written by AI or just a technically polished but empty-headed bloviator?" Don't care, don't need to read it.
Reposted by Brian Thill
The closest thing to a "silver bullet" for spotting AI writing is that it's lazy, vacuous, and impressive-sounding while avoiding any commitment. Conveniently, applying this rule means that you also avoid a lot of generally bad writing, meaning that false positives aren't really a problem.
people keep looking for silver grammar bullets for detecting ai writing, but there's not really a single one that doesn't get get you a ton of false positives. "x, not y" is probably the closest you can get.
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The closest thing to a "silver bullet" for spotting AI writing is that it's lazy, vacuous, and impressive-sounding while avoiding any commitment. Conveniently, applying this rule means that you also avoid a lot of generally bad writing, meaning that false positives aren't really a problem.
Reposted by Brian Thill
I barely use Gmail these days, but I'm gonna switch off AI, even though Google penalizes users for doing so. Happy to do extra work to thwart these bastards even a tiny bit.
Turning off the AI in Gmail causes your account to no longer slit your emails up through Primary, Promotions, and Social. That's because Google is a petulant little bitch who doesn't like that you told them to fuck off with their bullshit slop scam.
November 21, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I barely use Gmail these days, but I'm gonna switch off AI, even though Google penalizes users for doing so. Happy to do extra work to thwart these bastards even a tiny bit.
Reposted by Brian Thill
Turning off the AI in Gmail causes your account to no longer slit your emails up through Primary, Promotions, and Social. That's because Google is a petulant little bitch who doesn't like that you told them to fuck off with their bullshit slop scam.
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Turning off the AI in Gmail causes your account to no longer slit your emails up through Primary, Promotions, and Social. That's because Google is a petulant little bitch who doesn't like that you told them to fuck off with their bullshit slop scam.
Reposted by Brian Thill
I fucking resent having to deal with it in any shape or form. I have a bazillion other things I want to research and read and teach and engage with but no I now have to try and get people to maybe consider not using this piece of shit product that is destroying everything
November 20, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I fucking resent having to deal with it in any shape or form. I have a bazillion other things I want to research and read and teach and engage with but no I now have to try and get people to maybe consider not using this piece of shit product that is destroying everything
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for real. I've been at two different conferences over the last two or so weeks and even when they know my position on it and we have a conversation about how problematic it is, people just volunteer information to me about how they use it and I'm like...
November 20, 2025 at 11:56 PM
for real. I've been at two different conferences over the last two or so weeks and even when they know my position on it and we have a conversation about how problematic it is, people just volunteer information to me about how they use it and I'm like...
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me when people start casually telling me about how they use genAI products and how it's fun
November 20, 2025 at 11:53 PM
me when people start casually telling me about how they use genAI products and how it's fun
Reposted by Brian Thill
NEW: at long last, it’s #BQT #BookQuestionTime again:
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
NEW: at long last, it’s #BQT #BookQuestionTime again:
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
there should be some kind of program or “school” where people could learn how to read and how to write, and what certain words mean, and to learn how to think critically about language and culture more generally, so that people could reflect on their life choices and their moral values
A senior ICE official just admitted in an evidentiary hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case that someone else drafted his declaration in the case and he didn’t know what certain words meant.
November 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
there should be some kind of program or “school” where people could learn how to read and how to write, and what certain words mean, and to learn how to think critically about language and culture more generally, so that people could reflect on their life choices and their moral values
Reposted by Brian Thill
Reposted by Brian Thill
Natasha Wimmer’s Roberto Bolaño, specifically 2666.
November 20, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Natasha Wimmer’s Roberto Bolaño, specifically 2666.
NEW: at long last, it’s #BQT #BookQuestionTime again:
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
NEW: at long last, it’s #BQT #BookQuestionTime again:
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) you’ve read in translation, and what is the name of the human being who translated the edition of that book into English?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
1) Liberation: The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko. The revolutions that take place in the background are truly inspiring
2) Mealtime: hmmm... Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3) Cartography?! Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.
4) Snow: The Left Hand of Darkness
2) Mealtime: hmmm... Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3) Cartography?! Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.
4) Snow: The Left Hand of Darkness
It's #BQT #BookQuestionTime again! This time we're doing something new to #BQT methodology: word association. Name four of your favorite books (in any genre) brought to mind by these four words:
1) Liberation
2) Mealtime
3) Cartography
4) Snow
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
1) Liberation
2) Mealtime
3) Cartography
4) Snow
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
November 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
1) Liberation: The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko. The revolutions that take place in the background are truly inspiring
2) Mealtime: hmmm... Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3) Cartography?! Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.
4) Snow: The Left Hand of Darkness
2) Mealtime: hmmm... Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3) Cartography?! Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.
4) Snow: The Left Hand of Darkness
Reposted by Brian Thill
Isaac Fellman's Notes From a Regicide.
Izzy Wasserstein's These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart
Anya Johanna DeNiro's City of a Thousand Feelings & also OKPsyche
Izzy Wasserstein's These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart
Anya Johanna DeNiro's City of a Thousand Feelings & also OKPsyche
November 20, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Isaac Fellman's Notes From a Regicide.
Izzy Wasserstein's These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart
Anya Johanna DeNiro's City of a Thousand Feelings & also OKPsyche
Izzy Wasserstein's These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart
Anya Johanna DeNiro's City of a Thousand Feelings & also OKPsyche
Reposted by Brian Thill
Hill House, not sane...
November 20, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Hill House, not sane...
Reposted by Brian Thill
It's #BQT #BookQuestionTime again (Trans Day of Remembrance edition)
What are your favorite books (in any genre) written by transgender authors?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) written by transgender authors?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
November 21, 2024 at 12:46 AM
It's #BQT #BookQuestionTime again (Trans Day of Remembrance edition)
What are your favorite books (in any genre) written by transgender authors?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What are your favorite books (in any genre) written by transgender authors?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
I will stay on everybody's neck about how obsessed with these books I am
November 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I will stay on everybody's neck about how obsessed with these books I am
Reposted by Brian Thill
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
1) What’s your favorite non-fiction book that engages seriously with collective action in theory and praxis?
2) Which novel engages with collective action in the most artful, insightful, or challenging way?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
1) What’s your favorite non-fiction book that engages seriously with collective action in theory and praxis?
2) Which novel engages with collective action in the most artful, insightful, or challenging way?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
April 28, 2024 at 6:03 PM
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
1) What’s your favorite non-fiction book that engages seriously with collective action in theory and praxis?
2) Which novel engages with collective action in the most artful, insightful, or challenging way?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
1) What’s your favorite non-fiction book that engages seriously with collective action in theory and praxis?
2) Which novel engages with collective action in the most artful, insightful, or challenging way?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
What’s the best novel you’ve read in which a house, dwelling, or building is itself something closer to a “character” or dominant force in the book, rather than being chiefly a “setting” in the conventional sense?
As always, feel free to include cover images!
What’s the best novel you’ve read in which a house, dwelling, or building is itself something closer to a “character” or dominant force in the book, rather than being chiefly a “setting” in the conventional sense?
As always, feel free to include cover images!
March 19, 2024 at 6:57 PM
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
What’s the best novel you’ve read in which a house, dwelling, or building is itself something closer to a “character” or dominant force in the book, rather than being chiefly a “setting” in the conventional sense?
As always, feel free to include cover images!
What’s the best novel you’ve read in which a house, dwelling, or building is itself something closer to a “character” or dominant force in the book, rather than being chiefly a “setting” in the conventional sense?
As always, feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
It’s Book Question Time ( #BQT) again:
What’s the best “collective biography” you’ve ever read? (By that I mean something like Saidiya Hartman’s WAYWARD LIVES, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS, to take one excellent example.)
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What’s the best “collective biography” you’ve ever read? (By that I mean something like Saidiya Hartman’s WAYWARD LIVES, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS, to take one excellent example.)
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
May 16, 2024 at 7:01 PM
It’s Book Question Time ( #BQT) again:
What’s the best “collective biography” you’ve ever read? (By that I mean something like Saidiya Hartman’s WAYWARD LIVES, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS, to take one excellent example.)
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What’s the best “collective biography” you’ve ever read? (By that I mean something like Saidiya Hartman’s WAYWARD LIVES, BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS, to take one excellent example.)
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
It's #BQT #BookQuestionTime again (another four-poster):
What four favorite works of fiction come to mind based on each of the following keywords?
1) Forest
2) Prairie/pampas/grasslands
3) Cave (natural or otherwise)
4) Port, harbor, or quay
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What four favorite works of fiction come to mind based on each of the following keywords?
1) Forest
2) Prairie/pampas/grasslands
3) Cave (natural or otherwise)
4) Port, harbor, or quay
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
September 3, 2024 at 9:07 PM
It's #BQT #BookQuestionTime again (another four-poster):
What four favorite works of fiction come to mind based on each of the following keywords?
1) Forest
2) Prairie/pampas/grasslands
3) Cave (natural or otherwise)
4) Port, harbor, or quay
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What four favorite works of fiction come to mind based on each of the following keywords?
1) Forest
2) Prairie/pampas/grasslands
3) Cave (natural or otherwise)
4) Port, harbor, or quay
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
What’s your favorite book (in any genre) that prominently features a sideshow, carnival, parade, circus, mummery, or other form of related pageantry and flimflam?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What’s your favorite book (in any genre) that prominently features a sideshow, carnival, parade, circus, mummery, or other form of related pageantry and flimflam?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
April 3, 2024 at 9:32 PM
It’s #BQT (Book Question Time) again:
What’s your favorite book (in any genre) that prominently features a sideshow, carnival, parade, circus, mummery, or other form of related pageantry and flimflam?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
What’s your favorite book (in any genre) that prominently features a sideshow, carnival, parade, circus, mummery, or other form of related pageantry and flimflam?
As always, please feel free to include cover images!
Reposted by Brian Thill
Book question time (over there I would've just called this #BQT):
What's your favorite book of history that covers an extremely odd or esoteric subject?
What's your favorite book of history that covers an extremely odd or esoteric subject?
December 7, 2023 at 11:45 PM
Book question time (over there I would've just called this #BQT):
What's your favorite book of history that covers an extremely odd or esoteric subject?
What's your favorite book of history that covers an extremely odd or esoteric subject?