Nils Gilman
@nilsgilman.bsky.social
Historian of the intelligentsia. Adored by little statesmen, philosophers & divines. Deputy Editor @NoemaMag.com. Check out "Children of a Modest Star": https://www.sup.org/books/politics/children-modest-star. Posts my own
I found it! The conference with the greatest cognitive dissonance of all time: the 1994 Conference on “Social Suffering” (which eventuated in the Winter 1996 issue Daedalus) which took place in… Bellagio, at the Rockefeller Foundation Conference Center.
Pictures below for proof and reference.
Pictures below for proof and reference.
November 9, 2025 at 11:20 AM
I found it! The conference with the greatest cognitive dissonance of all time: the 1994 Conference on “Social Suffering” (which eventuated in the Winter 1996 issue Daedalus) which took place in… Bellagio, at the Rockefeller Foundation Conference Center.
Pictures below for proof and reference.
Pictures below for proof and reference.
The rights that Grok proposes that LLMs be granted:
November 9, 2025 at 6:27 AM
The rights that Grok proposes that LLMs be granted:
“In confidence” loolll
November 9, 2025 at 3:30 AM
“In confidence” loolll
I saw the David Hockney iPad art show at the Louis Vuitton this summer, and I must say: it was stunning news.artnet.com/market/david...
November 4, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I saw the David Hockney iPad art show at the Louis Vuitton this summer, and I must say: it was stunning news.artnet.com/market/david...
Los Angeles right now
November 2, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Los Angeles right now
Why is it that conservative dipshits are all boobmen?
November 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Why is it that conservative dipshits are all boobmen?
There’s definitely a lot of stupid going on here
October 31, 2025 at 2:14 AM
There’s definitely a lot of stupid going on here
LOL, you gotta wonder how 14-words-ish what they’ve uncovered is — because it must take a LOT for this particular set if adult supervisors to think the kids have gone too far. www.harvardsalient.com/p/statement-...
October 27, 2025 at 8:23 AM
LOL, you gotta wonder how 14-words-ish what they’ve uncovered is — because it must take a LOT for this particular set if adult supervisors to think the kids have gone too far. www.harvardsalient.com/p/statement-...
Behold these before/after photos of MAGA women.
Did someone say something about people who get elective surgery to deal with gender related body dysmorphia?
Did someone say something about people who get elective surgery to deal with gender related body dysmorphia?
October 26, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Behold these before/after photos of MAGA women.
Did someone say something about people who get elective surgery to deal with gender related body dysmorphia?
Did someone say something about people who get elective surgery to deal with gender related body dysmorphia?
Apparently there are now cheesy renderings of the future Epstein Ballroom
October 25, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Apparently there are now cheesy renderings of the future Epstein Ballroom
If you’re wondering why ICE Agents, even behind their masks, seem like a bunch of pathetic losers, it’s because that’s exactly the kinds of people who join secret police forces: people who are such failures that a repugnant job is the best they can get. Data: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
October 24, 2025 at 10:15 AM
If you’re wondering why ICE Agents, even behind their masks, seem like a bunch of pathetic losers, it’s because that’s exactly the kinds of people who join secret police forces: people who are such failures that a repugnant job is the best they can get. Data: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
As usual, what Trump says here is completely upside down of the truth www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/u...
October 23, 2025 at 7:44 AM
As usual, what Trump says here is completely upside down of the truth www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/u...
I agree with Lilla that the American Affairs crew represent the best hope for resuscitating "a consistent conservatism... that actually recognizes how our economy threatens the other values conservatives profess to care about."
But tellingly, they're utterly marginal to "really existing Trumpism."
But tellingly, they're utterly marginal to "really existing Trumpism."
October 22, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I agree with Lilla that the American Affairs crew represent the best hope for resuscitating "a consistent conservatism... that actually recognizes how our economy threatens the other values conservatives profess to care about."
But tellingly, they're utterly marginal to "really existing Trumpism."
But tellingly, they're utterly marginal to "really existing Trumpism."
A particularly sociopathic former partner of mine used to argue that if she were accused of something that she hadn’t done, the accusation itself gave her license to do that thing. MAGA appears to have a similar logic with respect to being called Nazis or fascists. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
October 21, 2025 at 6:00 AM
A particularly sociopathic former partner of mine used to argue that if she were accused of something that she hadn’t done, the accusation itself gave her license to do that thing. MAGA appears to have a similar logic with respect to being called Nazis or fascists. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Bloomberg bubble charts the Bubble:
October 10, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Bloomberg bubble charts the Bubble:
Indiana Jones is a fantasy about being a professor with no tenure clock
October 9, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Indiana Jones is a fantasy about being a professor with no tenure clock
This French cabinet lasted less long and ended as stinkily as a Brie left out on a warm day
October 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
This French cabinet lasted less long and ended as stinkily as a Brie left out on a warm day
They have an impressive capacity to continuously uncover new ways to combine creepy with cringe
October 4, 2025 at 9:30 AM
They have an impressive capacity to continuously uncover new ways to combine creepy with cringe
Leave aside the naked violation of the Hatch Act (LOL) currently on display at the HUD website, the vision in the associated picture of the ideal American housing and urban future is… a literal dead end www.hud.gov
October 1, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Leave aside the naked violation of the Hatch Act (LOL) currently on display at the HUD website, the vision in the associated picture of the ideal American housing and urban future is… a literal dead end www.hud.gov
This idea is entering the Overton Window
September 30, 2025 at 9:28 AM
This idea is entering the Overton Window
The party of small government, LOL.
Again, the things they are doing, in terms of centralizing power and using it against their political opponents, are essentially suicidal unless they are also intending never again to relinquish power to the opposition.
Again, the things they are doing, in terms of centralizing power and using it against their political opponents, are essentially suicidal unless they are also intending never again to relinquish power to the opposition.
September 28, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The party of small government, LOL.
Again, the things they are doing, in terms of centralizing power and using it against their political opponents, are essentially suicidal unless they are also intending never again to relinquish power to the opposition.
Again, the things they are doing, in terms of centralizing power and using it against their political opponents, are essentially suicidal unless they are also intending never again to relinquish power to the opposition.
For those of you who remember playing Monopoly, I’ll have you know that Lindsey Halligan literally placed second in a beauty contest (no word on whether she collected $10): www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
September 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
For those of you who remember playing Monopoly, I’ll have you know that Lindsey Halligan literally placed second in a beauty contest (no word on whether she collected $10): www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...
We are certainly entering a new phase in what could once accurately be described as a republic.
September 27, 2025 at 10:07 AM
We are certainly entering a new phase in what could once accurately be described as a republic.
In another paean to “settled history,” expect the regime to rename the third Monday of January “Orville Faubus Day” or maybe “Sheriff Jim Clarke Day”
September 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
In another paean to “settled history,” expect the regime to rename the third Monday of January “Orville Faubus Day” or maybe “Sheriff Jim Clarke Day”