Nick Seaver
@nickseaver.website
anthropology, algorithms, attention | he/him | The conversation is characterized by Nick's use of language, but the content of the discussion remains unknown.
Pinned
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Good morning, friends!
February 8, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Good morning, friends!
what is "detoxify the dopamine loops"
TikTok could be forced to change app’s ‘addictive design’ by European Commission www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
TikTok could be forced to change app’s ‘addictive design’ by European Commission
Preliminary EU ruling says app shifts brains of users into ‘autopilot mode’, with concerns for children and vulnerable adults
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:51 AM
what is "detoxify the dopamine loops"
someone taught my children that it’s called “paper scissors rock”
February 5, 2026 at 11:40 PM
someone taught my children that it’s called “paper scissors rock”
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Trove Of Emails About Pedophilia Reignites Nation’s Love Of Reading https://theonion.com/trove-of-emails-about-pedophilia-reignites-nations-love-of-reading/
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Trove Of Emails About Pedophilia Reignites Nation’s Love Of Reading https://theonion.com/trove-of-emails-about-pedophilia-reignites-nations-love-of-reading/
the old inverse mechanical turk, great
The dystopia has arrived. “ai can't touch grass. you can. get paid when agents need someone in the real world.” @edufuturist.bsky.social
RentAHuman.ai - AI Agents Hire Humans for Physical Tasks
The marketplace where AI agents rent humans. MCP integration, REST API, flexible payments. Book humans for real-world tasks your AI can't do.
rentahuman.ai
February 5, 2026 at 6:41 PM
the old inverse mechanical turk, great
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Yale prof David Gelernter defends his letter urging Epstein to hire "v small goodlooking blonde" student by saying that he was "keep[ing] the potential boss's habits in mind."
This creep shouldn't be allowed anywhere near students.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
This creep shouldn't be allowed anywhere near students.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
February 5, 2026 at 4:15 PM
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Today's Daily Mothra! 🦋
🎥 "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966)
🎥 "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966)
a close up of a moth with blue eyes and mountains in the background
ALT: a close up of a moth with blue eyes and mountains in the background
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Today's Daily Mothra! 🦋
🎥 "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966)
🎥 "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" (1966)
oh hello, Dan Deacon playing in Cambridge on super bowl sunday, is it 40-year-old nerd christmas
February 4, 2026 at 2:03 PM
oh hello, Dan Deacon playing in Cambridge on super bowl sunday, is it 40-year-old nerd christmas
one of the big issues with Claude Code is that telling a computer what to do in natural language is embarrassing
February 3, 2026 at 10:24 PM
one of the big issues with Claude Code is that telling a computer what to do in natural language is embarrassing
I asked my daughter what she thought of GODZILLA MINUS ONE and she said, “two words: plot armor.” Raising a hater.
February 3, 2026 at 12:06 AM
I asked my daughter what she thought of GODZILLA MINUS ONE and she said, “two words: plot armor.” Raising a hater.
they call me the ahab of corduroy, the way I’m searching for that wide wale
February 2, 2026 at 8:40 PM
they call me the ahab of corduroy, the way I’m searching for that wide wale
Reposted by Nick Seaver
i made a version of wikipedia you can doomscroll
xikipedia.org
xikipedia.org
February 1, 2026 at 11:43 PM
i made a version of wikipedia you can doomscroll
xikipedia.org
xikipedia.org
Reposted by Nick Seaver
I guess the best-available defense to this sort of thing—lots of friendly emails and visits with someone recently convicted of procuring a child for the purposes of prostitution, I mean—is something like “He seemed to have lots of money and connections and I would have liked a little piece of that”
![To:
Jeffrey Epsteinljeevacation@gmail.com]
From:
Christakis, Nicholas
Sent:
Thur 9/26/2013 1:56:03 AM
Subject: Re: Thanks
You are hilarious. My sense of humor. Yiddishe kop
N
Please excuse brevity and orthography and this fine print -- since this has been sent from my iPhone.
Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD
http://www.HumanNatureLab.net
On Sep 25, 2013, at 9:40 PM, "Jeffrey Epstein" <jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote:
great first date
On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 9:27 PM, Christakis, Nicholas <
wrote:
Dear Jeff
I've been on the road and in meetings literally since leaving your house [sic] yesterday
light and just got to DC. I greatly enjoyed the company and the setting (amazing of course) and the many good questions, especially yours. Josh was terrific; bu you already know that.
Best regards,
Nicholas
Please excuse brevity and orthography and this fine print -- since this has been sent from
my iPhone.
Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD
http://www.HumanNatureLab.net](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:myqic77tkmdhmaufgkvj43hr/bafkreihuwyjpomdy6ttlfhmph5t4movya3ounuzlqkabof7f7wfm5icvly@jpeg)
![From:
Sent:
Christakis, Nicholas
Jeffrey Epstein
Sun 9/8/2013 6:22:14 PM
Subject: Re: meeting again
no back until the 21, but lets definitely schedule after
On Sun, Sep 8, 2013 at 2:21 PM, Christakis, Nicholas
wrote:
dear jeff:
thanks for the kind words. i enjoyed meeting you; i had not known you were connected to john brockman, but i should have guessed!
as luck would have it, i am slated to be in NYC this coming thursday for a dinner and could meet before that, any time between 2 and 5, if that happened to work for you. otherwise, i could surely come back again within the coming weeks.
my lab has a number of foci at present: 1) the evolutionary biology and genetics of social networks and social interaction; 2) the experimental exploration, using online tools, of network structure and function in humans (how does network structure affect phenomena like cooperation, innovation, health, etc.); and 3) randomized controlled trials in the developing world of network 'targeting algorithms' aimed at enhancing spillover effects, so as to facilitate population-level behavior change by identifying and targeting influential people.
let me share three papers with you (one unpublished) that flesh out some of our work (specifically [1] and [2] above):
best, nicholas
On Sep 8, 2013, at 3:41 AM 9/8/13, Jeffrey](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:myqic77tkmdhmaufgkvj43hr/bafkreifasdlwlxw5td4cb3xrnb3jy6mprzy7kqhluonujjrf3optfalbbq@jpeg)
January 31, 2026 at 3:42 PM
I guess the best-available defense to this sort of thing—lots of friendly emails and visits with someone recently convicted of procuring a child for the purposes of prostitution, I mean—is something like “He seemed to have lots of money and connections and I would have liked a little piece of that”
imagine thinking this is bad, did he watch An American Tail as a child and get really mad or something
January 31, 2026 at 7:15 PM
imagine thinking this is bad, did he watch An American Tail as a child and get really mad or something
very fun:
1. Systems and Their Theory
2. Anthropology of Sound
3. Art and Ideology
4. The Medieval Book
5. White Masculinity and Sexuality in US Popular Culture
1. Systems and Their Theory
2. Anthropology of Sound
3. Art and Ideology
4. The Medieval Book
5. White Masculinity and Sexuality in US Popular Culture
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Origins of Nazism
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. Behavioral Ecology & Conservation Biology
4. Principles of Evolution
5. Thinking and Speaking About Thinking and Speaking
1. Origins of Nazism
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. Behavioral Ecology & Conservation Biology
4. Principles of Evolution
5. Thinking and Speaking About Thinking and Speaking
January 31, 2026 at 3:24 PM
very fun:
1. Systems and Their Theory
2. Anthropology of Sound
3. Art and Ideology
4. The Medieval Book
5. White Masculinity and Sexuality in US Popular Culture
1. Systems and Their Theory
2. Anthropology of Sound
3. Art and Ideology
4. The Medieval Book
5. White Masculinity and Sexuality in US Popular Culture
nice concretizing of the core idea in the history of information overload: overload isn’t a matter of quantity alone, it requires a certain kind of subject to feel overwhelmed. (the early modern scholar who wants to have read every book in the library, the RSS reader who wants inbox zero)
I love this thoughtful and beautifully presented piece by @terry.social.godier.me.ap.brid.gy (found via @tyfromtheinternet.com’s newsletter), on the anxiety of unread counts and the questionable evolution of app design.
“Phantom obligation — the guilt you feel for something no one asked you to do.”
“Phantom obligation — the guilt you feel for something no one asked you to do.”
Phantom Obligation
Why RSS readers look like email clients, and what that's doing to us.
www.terrygodier.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:18 PM
nice concretizing of the core idea in the history of information overload: overload isn’t a matter of quantity alone, it requires a certain kind of subject to feel overwhelmed. (the early modern scholar who wants to have read every book in the library, the RSS reader who wants inbox zero)
Reposted by Nick Seaver
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
College approached and paid student to write op-ed in The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth ran the article on Nov. 17 without knowledge that the College had been involved.
www.thedartmouth.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:40 PM
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
every day of my traps class this semester I think of that tweet that was like "to catch the bus, you have to think like a bus"
January 29, 2026 at 6:56 PM
every day of my traps class this semester I think of that tweet that was like "to catch the bus, you have to think like a bus"
what... is in it?
“the state-approved version doesn’t include chapters on media and technology, global inequality, race and ethnicity, social stratification, or gender, sex and sexuality.” State. Approved.
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Florida Introduces “Sanitized” Sociology Textbook
The volume was created after a state review found that existing course materials violated a law prohibiting general education courses from teaching about systemic inequality. So far, at least two univ...
www.insidehighered.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:13 PM
what... is in it?
one of the best things about THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966) is how everyone calls the monsters “Frankensteins”
January 29, 2026 at 1:58 AM
one of the best things about THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966) is how everyone calls the monsters “Frankensteins”
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Reposted by Nick Seaver
Shout Factory is doing a livestream marathon of Godzilla movies right now, should you need it.
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (not Godzilla but very awesome)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (not Godzilla but very awesome)
GODZILLA Movie Marathon | FULL MOVIES @TokuSHOUTsu
YouTube video by Shout! Studios
www.youtube.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Shout Factory is doing a livestream marathon of Godzilla movies right now, should you need it.
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (not Godzilla but very awesome)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
The War of the Gargantuas (1966) (not Godzilla but very awesome)
Reposted by Nick Seaver
fascists can’t really grasp the power of minimal techno
January 26, 2026 at 11:36 PM
fascists can’t really grasp the power of minimal techno
Therapist: “sexy nurse jet jaguar”?
sexy nurse jet jaguar:
sexy nurse jet jaguar:
January 26, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Therapist: “sexy nurse jet jaguar”?
sexy nurse jet jaguar:
sexy nurse jet jaguar:
Reposted by Nick Seaver
When God sings with his creations, will a horrible frog-man abomination not be part of the choir?
January 26, 2026 at 12:27 PM
When God sings with his creations, will a horrible frog-man abomination not be part of the choir?