David Sepkoski
@hallucigenia.bsky.social
Historian of Science, author, eukaryote, synth dabbler, Radical Leftist™
Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross
YouTube video by worldsgreatestmusic
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Hive mind: I'm teaching a history of film and AI course next semester. Is there any kind of good, accessible history of AI you know of that could be a companion to the class? I've been underwhelmed with what I've found.
November 12, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Hive mind: I'm teaching a history of film and AI course next semester. Is there any kind of good, accessible history of AI you know of that could be a companion to the class? I've been underwhelmed with what I've found.
The Information School at the U of Illinois is hiring a historian of culture and information! It's open rank. It's outside my unit and I'm not involved, but I have great colleagues in the iSchool and there's a lively community at UIUC in history of tech/info!
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Information, Culture & Society- School of Information Sciences
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
The Information School at the U of Illinois is hiring a historian of culture and information! It's open rank. It's outside my unit and I'm not involved, but I have great colleagues in the iSchool and there's a lively community at UIUC in history of tech/info!
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Turing, 1950:
"‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words... will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking.”
Really bad piece.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
"‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words... will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking.”
Really bad piece.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
Opinion | A.I. Is on Its Way to Something Even More Remarkable Than Intelligence
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Turing, 1950:
"‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words... will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking.”
Really bad piece.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
"‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion. Nevertheless I believe that at the end of the century the use of words... will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking.”
Really bad piece.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
I can't believe everyone is missing it: It's obviously Luigi Mangione!
October 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I can't believe everyone is missing it: It's obviously Luigi Mangione!
So a Federal judge just ordered that ICE must issue "at least two warnings" before deploying tear gas in Chicago. So now does she call Dan Bovino in for contempt charges?
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...
ICE Is Cracking Down on Chicago. Some Chicagoans Are Fighting Back.
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:05 AM
So a Federal judge just ordered that ICE must issue "at least two warnings" before deploying tear gas in Chicago. So now does she call Dan Bovino in for contempt charges?
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...
ICE is in Hyde Park (Chicago) where I live, circling the local public HS. Because they love abducting kids.
October 14, 2025 at 11:39 PM
ICE is in Hyde Park (Chicago) where I live, circling the local public HS. Because they love abducting kids.
Greetings from the war zone on the South Side of Chicago:
October 9, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Greetings from the war zone on the South Side of Chicago:
Most "journalists" these days are 20-something interns with communications degrees from mid schools. Don't expect much from them.
And sorry not sorry "actual" journalists. You have your moment right now and you're fucking the dog. Don't bite back: literally *anyone* could do your job. Fuckwits.
And sorry not sorry "actual" journalists. You have your moment right now and you're fucking the dog. Don't bite back: literally *anyone* could do your job. Fuckwits.
October 5, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Most "journalists" these days are 20-something interns with communications degrees from mid schools. Don't expect much from them.
And sorry not sorry "actual" journalists. You have your moment right now and you're fucking the dog. Don't bite back: literally *anyone* could do your job. Fuckwits.
And sorry not sorry "actual" journalists. You have your moment right now and you're fucking the dog. Don't bite back: literally *anyone* could do your job. Fuckwits.
Very happy to announce that the Handbook of the Historiography of Earth and Environmental Sciences I coedited with Elena Aronova and Marco Tamborini is now available, for free (open access) via this link:
link.springer.com/referencewor...
link.springer.com/referencewor...
Handbook of the Historiography of the Earth and Environmental Sciences
This open access handbook assesses the historiography and the future of major themes and approaches within the history of the earth sciences.
link.springer.com
October 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Very happy to announce that the Handbook of the Historiography of Earth and Environmental Sciences I coedited with Elena Aronova and Marco Tamborini is now available, for free (open access) via this link:
link.springer.com/referencewor...
link.springer.com/referencewor...
It's the cowboy hat dude again on the latest NYT article about fascist crackdown in Chicago. I hope he didn't tear his hamstring the last time! 🤣
October 2, 2025 at 1:48 AM
It's the cowboy hat dude again on the latest NYT article about fascist crackdown in Chicago. I hope he didn't tear his hamstring the last time! 🤣
Bovino 100% needs to be called in to congress to explain this. Also, this should invalidate 100% of ICE arrests going back to when he took over.
Gregory Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. #BorderPatrol, claims a @wbez.org/@chicago.suntimes.com report about his comments Sunday in downtown #Chicago was "grossly inaccurate" and taken out of context. So we've posted the interview's unedited AUDIO and TRANSCRIPT:
www.wbez.org/immigration/...
www.wbez.org/immigration/...
Transcript: Gregory Bovino says arrestees in downtown Chicago chosen partly based on ‘how they look’
WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell spoke with U.S. Border Patrol commander about a deportation blitz downtown and in the upscale River North neighborhood. Here is the transcript and unedited audio interview.
www.wbez.org
October 1, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Bovino 100% needs to be called in to congress to explain this. Also, this should invalidate 100% of ICE arrests going back to when he took over.
If this isn't grounds for immediate impeachment, I don't know what is.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Tells Top Brass U.S. Cities Should Be Military ‘Training Grounds’
www.nytimes.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:04 PM
If this isn't grounds for immediate impeachment, I don't know what is.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...
Harvard Dean Was Paid $150,000 as an Expert Witness in Tylenol Lawsuits
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
In a stupendous feat of timing, Disney/Hulu just announced this! So sorry that I cancelled my subscription last week!
September 23, 2025 at 11:21 PM
In a stupendous feat of timing, Disney/Hulu just announced this! So sorry that I cancelled my subscription last week!
@djbduncan.bsky.social Bra-freaking-vo! That was a very measured, cutting takedown of Pinker's latest attempt to package his grievance and ego as "scholarship."
"A book can be bad without its thesis being untrue. That, at least, should be common knowledge."
Indeed!
"A book can be bad without its thesis being untrue. That, at least, should be common knowledge."
Indeed!
September 23, 2025 at 12:12 AM
@djbduncan.bsky.social Bra-freaking-vo! That was a very measured, cutting takedown of Pinker's latest attempt to package his grievance and ego as "scholarship."
"A book can be bad without its thesis being untrue. That, at least, should be common knowledge."
Indeed!
"A book can be bad without its thesis being untrue. That, at least, should be common knowledge."
Indeed!
Trump "hates us"? Will the SCOTUS decide that "hatred" for half of the American population is pretext to dismember the Constitution?
September 21, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Trump "hates us"? Will the SCOTUS decide that "hatred" for half of the American population is pretext to dismember the Constitution?
Hey historians: let H-Net know job ads for the University of Florida's new Hamilton School (a Western chauvinist program) violate their terms of service. The U of F is a public university, and not entitled to exceptions that private religious schools get.
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69136/u...
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69136/u...
University of Florida - AST/ASO/PROF OPEN-RANK FACULTY POSITION IN HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES | H-Net
networks.h-net.org
September 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Hey historians: let H-Net know job ads for the University of Florida's new Hamilton School (a Western chauvinist program) violate their terms of service. The U of F is a public university, and not entitled to exceptions that private religious schools get.
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69136/u...
networks.h-net.org/jobs/69136/u...
Cancelled Hulu and Disney+ today! Fuck those fascist lickspittles!
September 19, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Cancelled Hulu and Disney+ today! Fuck those fascist lickspittles!
Quick, everyone: burn your ANTIFA membership cards!
September 18, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Quick, everyone: burn your ANTIFA membership cards!
Translation: nothing to see here, Emperor Trump! We fully support your completely legal and democratic reign!
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...
Opinion | Barnard President: Charlie Kirk Challenged College Students. We Need More Like Him.
www.nytimes.com
September 17, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Translation: nothing to see here, Emperor Trump! We fully support your completely legal and democratic reign!
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/o...
Hmm... 11 million years ago there was a major impact? That would seem to align very well with 26 my periodicity, since we're only about halfway through a cycle....
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/s...
A Forgotten Cosmic Impact Was Hidden in a Museum’s Glass Shards
www.nytimes.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Hmm... 11 million years ago there was a major impact? That would seem to align very well with 26 my periodicity, since we're only about halfway through a cycle....
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/s...
Me responding to my wonderful Gen Z son:
September 16, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Me responding to my wonderful Gen Z son:
Let's get one thing clear: only one side on the "trans issue" is violent or hateful--the one denying the existence and humanity of trans people.
Trans people--like my son--and the people who support them are begging for empathy and respect. There is no part of "trans ideology" that endorses murder.
Trans people--like my son--and the people who support them are begging for empathy and respect. There is no part of "trans ideology" that endorses murder.
September 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Let's get one thing clear: only one side on the "trans issue" is violent or hateful--the one denying the existence and humanity of trans people.
Trans people--like my son--and the people who support them are begging for empathy and respect. There is no part of "trans ideology" that endorses murder.
Trans people--like my son--and the people who support them are begging for empathy and respect. There is no part of "trans ideology" that endorses murder.
(Spoken in a German accent): "I was just asking questions!"
September 13, 2025 at 10:53 PM
(Spoken in a German accent): "I was just asking questions!"