Nick Fleisher
@nickfleisher.bsky.social
Linguist at UW-Milwaukee. Syntax & semantics, higher ed, Wisconsin politics &c.
Pinned
okay, time for a prompt post to distract us all from the horrors. quote this post with your areas of expertise, interest, hyperfixation and/or obsession and invite your audience to ask you questions about them.
Grammar/syntax/semantics
Wisconsin politics
Academic freedom and shared governance
Philadelphia and Philadelphia sports
Modular synthesizers
Open source software
Stockholm, Sweden
All things Donald Fagen
Wisconsin politics
Academic freedom and shared governance
Philadelphia and Philadelphia sports
Modular synthesizers
Open source software
Stockholm, Sweden
All things Donald Fagen
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
It's impossible to overstate how horrendous this feels to most academics in the US, esp those working at state unis. Higher ed is busy slashing humanities programs allegedly b/c of a lack of popularity (tho they tend to make $$) while paying football coaches US$53 million not to work there
LSU terminates Brian Kelly without cause, clearing way for full buyout
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It's impossible to overstate how horrendous this feels to most academics in the US, esp those working at state unis. Higher ed is busy slashing humanities programs allegedly b/c of a lack of popularity (tho they tend to make $$) while paying football coaches US$53 million not to work there
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
ICYMI AAUP is starting a PAC news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Professors Launch PAC to Fight Back Against Trump’s Attacks
The American Association of University Professors, a union whose members are fighting policies from the Trump administration and GOP Congress, launched a PAC this week to spend in federal elections.
news.bgov.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM
ICYMI AAUP is starting a PAC news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Yesterday while pardoning the condemned turkeys Trump joked that he should call them Chuck and Nancy, and quickly added that he would never pardon them, and it was less than a non-story
November 27, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Yesterday while pardoning the condemned turkeys Trump joked that he should call them Chuck and Nancy, and quickly added that he would never pardon them, and it was less than a non-story
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
Black Cow
All I Want
Gimme Shelter
Tears of Rage
Mass Romantic
All I Want
Gimme Shelter
Tears of Rage
Mass Romantic
November 27, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Black Cow
All I Want
Gimme Shelter
Tears of Rage
Mass Romantic
All I Want
Gimme Shelter
Tears of Rage
Mass Romantic
The number of bugs in macOS Preview tabbed move is truly stunning. Sidebar, scaling, nothing works on the first try
November 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The number of bugs in macOS Preview tabbed move is truly stunning. Sidebar, scaling, nothing works on the first try
Canvas doesn't need AI, it needs a scripting interface
Let computer be good at being computer, not bad at being human
Let computer be good at being computer, not bad at being human
November 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Canvas doesn't need AI, it needs a scripting interface
Let computer be good at being computer, not bad at being human
Let computer be good at being computer, not bad at being human
Make phonotactics great again
November 26, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Make phonotactics great again
OpenAI's position seems to be that its own terms of service have legal force but the entirety of US copyright law does not
Incredible stuff here. "We offer you the Necronomicon, a font of Terrible and Forbidden Knowledge. Any harm that results from peering into the abyss is due solely to the unauthorised use, unintended use, unforeseeable use, and/or improper use of the Necronomicon."
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
OpenAI's position seems to be that its own terms of service have legal force but the entirety of US copyright law does not
Inspired by Anthology 4, some Bluesky holiday engagement bait: George Martin said that not including Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields on Sgt. Pepper was his greatest regret. Would definitely like to have that one back, as Troy Aikman might say. Where on the album would you put them?
November 26, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Inspired by Anthology 4, some Bluesky holiday engagement bait: George Martin said that not including Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields on Sgt. Pepper was his greatest regret. Would definitely like to have that one back, as Troy Aikman might say. Where on the album would you put them?
I think we are pretty cleared owed a Rian Johnson-directed Walter Becker biopic
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.
November 26, 2025 at 2:24 AM
I think we are pretty cleared owed a Rian Johnson-directed Walter Becker biopic
The idea that the limitations of language-based AI models—relative to their purely business-driven hype—should somehow provide a line of attack on generative linguistics is maybe the most bitterly ironic development of my professional lifetime
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The idea that the limitations of language-based AI models—relative to their purely business-driven hype—should somehow provide a line of attack on generative linguistics is maybe the most bitterly ironic development of my professional lifetime
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
"as ubiquitous and useful as Microsoft 365" is a very funny phrase
To bear out this rosy projection, HSBC assumes that OpenAI will become "as ubiquitous [...] as Microsoft 365" (345mm users worldwide) while bringing in 10x the number of users (3bn).
November 25, 2025 at 11:39 PM
"as ubiquitous and useful as Microsoft 365" is a very funny phrase
A pseudonymous snacks blog, call that Nom Nom Nom De Plume
November 25, 2025 at 11:15 PM
A pseudonymous snacks blog, call that Nom Nom Nom De Plume
I am no expert here but it seems like you need a *lot* of internal dissension and infighting to produce leaks on the level of the Witkoff thing
November 25, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I am no expert here but it seems like you need a *lot* of internal dissension and infighting to produce leaks on the level of the Witkoff thing
Fun fact: Ziegler won her current 10-year term on the court running unopposed for reelection in spring 2017, at the height of Trump 1 backlash, when literally any opponent would have beaten her by double digits
Question about the dissent by (the far-right) Justice Ziegler: Does this quote actually appear in Moore v. Harper? Did Moore say that state courts' role in congressional redistricting is "exceedingly limited"? I don't think it did! vhdshf2oms2wcnsvk7sdv3so.blob.core.windows.net/thearp-media...
November 25, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Fun fact: Ziegler won her current 10-year term on the court running unopposed for reelection in spring 2017, at the height of Trump 1 backlash, when literally any opponent would have beaten her by double digits
CBS News aka Chilmark Library Reject Bin
"elevate charismatic figures such as Alan Dershowitz"
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November 25, 2025 at 4:49 PM
CBS News aka Chilmark Library Reject Bin
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
Of all the explanations for why Pete Hegseth would perceive things being in reverse order, them actually being in reverse order is like the least plausible one
November 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Of all the explanations for why Pete Hegseth would perceive things being in reverse order, them actually being in reverse order is like the least plausible one
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video
September 29, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Please wear your suit and bowler hat when queuing at the Southwest stanchion
Sean Duffy puts the peasant serfs on notice: "A pair of jeans, a decent shirt, dress a little better, which encourages us all to behave better, let's not wear slippers and pajamas at the airport."
November 25, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Please wear your suit and bowler hat when queuing at the Southwest stanchion
Reposted by Nick Fleisher
I will add the following: our students lack the research skills required to audit an LLM essay for errors. They don’t arrive on campus with these skills; we teach it to them over four long years. So throwing freshmen in the deep end and saying “swim your way to a shore of rectitude” is folly.
November 24, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I will add the following: our students lack the research skills required to audit an LLM essay for errors. They don’t arrive on campus with these skills; we teach it to them over four long years. So throwing freshmen in the deep end and saying “swim your way to a shore of rectitude” is folly.