Ron Belmont
@ronbelmont.bsky.social
High energy nuclear physicist who likes beer and death metal
he/él/il/er/він/他
Views are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
he/él/il/er/він/他
Views are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer
Reposted by Ron Belmont
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 3, 2025 at 2:58 AM
“The math is brutal and the juxtaposition stark: millions for OpenAI while pink slips go out to longtime lecturers. The CSU isn’t investing in education—it’s outsourcing it, paying premium prices for a chatbot many students were already using for free.“
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Check out @aaup.org's recently published report, "In Defense of an Independent and Representative Faculty Voice: The Case of Faculty Senates."
December 2, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Check out @aaup.org's recently published report, "In Defense of an Independent and Representative Faculty Voice: The Case of Faculty Senates."
Reposted by Ron Belmont
I left Gmail 8 years ago and for not a ton of money you can replace these features with a non-Gmail address by using Spark email and SaneBox:
www.sanebox.com/signup/a8b31...
www.sanebox.com/signup/a8b31...
November 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
I left Gmail 8 years ago and for not a ton of money you can replace these features with a non-Gmail address by using Spark email and SaneBox:
www.sanebox.com/signup/a8b31...
www.sanebox.com/signup/a8b31...
A lot of universities would benefit from understanding this, including my own.
Neither undergrad nor graduate physics degrees are job-training programs, and that’s part of what makes them so valuable on the job market.
so yeah, your students should learn basic physics, not just what's immediately required for their specialty
November 21, 2025 at 11:19 PM
A lot of universities would benefit from understanding this, including my own.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
20 years ago there was huge pressure to train for “financial physics”, then computer science, now AI. And while a good physics program will give exposure to tools relevant for the area of the day, it will strongly resist focusing on that area and instead focus on the fundamentals.
November 20, 2025 at 6:10 PM
20 years ago there was huge pressure to train for “financial physics”, then computer science, now AI. And while a good physics program will give exposure to tools relevant for the area of the day, it will strongly resist focusing on that area and instead focus on the fundamentals.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Neither undergrad nor graduate physics degrees are job-training programs, and that’s part of what makes them so valuable on the job market.
so yeah, your students should learn basic physics, not just what's immediately required for their specialty
November 20, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Neither undergrad nor graduate physics degrees are job-training programs, and that’s part of what makes them so valuable on the job market.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
It was an honor to write this article.
Very cool news coming out of Greensboro NC aka Comic Book City USA! @comicsbeat.bsky.social @graphicpolicy.com @bleedingcool.com
Triad city commemorates comics legend Murphy Anderson
Recently, at a meeting of the Greensboro City Council, Mayor-elect Marikay Abuzuaiter announced a resolution honoring the life of comic book artist Murphy Anderson, who grew up in Greensboro in
www.yesweekly.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:27 PM
It was an honor to write this article.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:01 AM
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
I'm so happy that I have to spend so much time re-writing emails that just randomly disappear. It's really great, and such a productive use of time. I'm so, so grateful that we switched to... products. Setting all that time on fire is just a very smart decision that really suits our academic vision.
October 4, 2025 at 3:12 AM
I'm so happy that I have to spend so much time re-writing emails that just randomly disappear. It's really great, and such a productive use of time. I'm so, so grateful that we switched to... products. Setting all that time on fire is just a very smart decision that really suits our academic vision.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
In my book I talk about how, as part of the culture industry, late night shows have helped neutralize (via laughter) various dissatisfactions/frustrations with the political/economic regime. Those seeking to cancel these shows may come to regret losing such a ‘safe’ release valve for such tensions.
September 17, 2025 at 11:48 PM
In my book I talk about how, as part of the culture industry, late night shows have helped neutralize (via laughter) various dissatisfactions/frustrations with the political/economic regime. Those seeking to cancel these shows may come to regret losing such a ‘safe’ release valve for such tensions.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
but, what do i know. i'm nobody and nothing, i can't put arrows on spreadsheets and sort them independent of external context
September 18, 2025 at 11:02 PM
but, what do i know. i'm nobody and nothing, i can't put arrows on spreadsheets and sort them independent of external context
Reposted by Ron Belmont
wild to me that admins haven't spent enough of a fraction of a minute with our students to realize dogging them like they're children isn't what helps them succeed. my students withdraw because they get sick, they have kids, jobs, they're caretakers. we can't midterm grade report our way out of that
September 18, 2025 at 11:00 PM
wild to me that admins haven't spent enough of a fraction of a minute with our students to realize dogging them like they're children isn't what helps them succeed. my students withdraw because they get sick, they have kids, jobs, they're caretakers. we can't midterm grade report our way out of that
Reposted by Ron Belmont
my papers are in there, I wonder if academic journals have anything to say about it? or if open access means they don't have a stance on it
September 9, 2025 at 11:19 PM
my papers are in there, I wonder if academic journals have anything to say about it? or if open access means they don't have a stance on it
Reposted by Ron Belmont
In April, the AAUP & our Harvard chapter sued the Trump admin for demanding that Harvard censor speech & restructure core operations or else face $8.7 billion in funding cuts.
We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.
We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.
September 4, 2025 at 12:36 AM
In April, the AAUP & our Harvard chapter sued the Trump admin for demanding that Harvard censor speech & restructure core operations or else face $8.7 billion in funding cuts.
We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.
We hope this decision clarifies to Harvard’s administration that bargaining w/ tyrannical authoritarians is unacceptable.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Pritzker: "Any rational person who has spent even the most minimal amount of time studying human history has to ask themselves one important question: once they get the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law, what comes next?"
September 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Pritzker: "Any rational person who has spent even the most minimal amount of time studying human history has to ask themselves one important question: once they get the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law, what comes next?"
Reposted by Ron Belmont
debating what's worse: bad people who are incompetent, or bad people who are competent? i'm tired of dealing with them, either way.
September 3, 2025 at 8:36 PM
debating what's worse: bad people who are incompetent, or bad people who are competent? i'm tired of dealing with them, either way.
Joining the AAUP is one of my proudest professional accomplishments. You'll be glad you did.
Join the AAUP
September 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Joining the AAUP is one of my proudest professional accomplishments. You'll be glad you did.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Join the AAUP
September 3, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Join the AAUP
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Wild to me that the thing that finally resulted in the anti-vaxxers winning was a deadly pandemic that demonstrated the true magic of vaccines in front of everyone’s eyes
September 4, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Wild to me that the thing that finally resulted in the anti-vaxxers winning was a deadly pandemic that demonstrated the true magic of vaccines in front of everyone’s eyes
Reposted by Ron Belmont
On this day in 1955, two white men abducted and murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi.
Aug. 28, 1955 | Emmett Till Abducted and Murdered in Mississippi Delta
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
August 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
On this day in 1955, two white men abducted and murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
“So, when somebody comes & tells us, ‘No, you can’t say these words, you can’t teach this book…this class…it’s basically like saying to a doctor, ‘You’ve trained for years to become a doctor, but we’re not going to let you see patients. You’ll have to do office work.”
— Isaac Kamola, AAUP CDAF
— Isaac Kamola, AAUP CDAF
The US used to be a haven for research. Now, scientists are packing their bags.
A recent survey of U.S. professors found that 75% were looking for work outside the country. The result is an exodus that has not been seen since European scientists sought refuge on U.S. shores durin...
www.csmonitor.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
“So, when somebody comes & tells us, ‘No, you can’t say these words, you can’t teach this book…this class…it’s basically like saying to a doctor, ‘You’ve trained for years to become a doctor, but we’re not going to let you see patients. You’ll have to do office work.”
— Isaac Kamola, AAUP CDAF
— Isaac Kamola, AAUP CDAF
Reposted by Ron Belmont
seems weird how little we talk about the fact that over a million americans died from COVID
August 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
seems weird how little we talk about the fact that over a million americans died from COVID
Reposted by Ron Belmont
No one, and I mean no one, gives a crap about the normal bipartisan budget negotiations. People DO care about troops in the streets, tariffs, ICE raids, vaccine unavailability, etc.
August 28, 2025 at 5:44 PM
No one, and I mean no one, gives a crap about the normal bipartisan budget negotiations. People DO care about troops in the streets, tariffs, ICE raids, vaccine unavailability, etc.
Reposted by Ron Belmont
Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University and longtime US permanent resident, has been in ICE detention for OVER one month. The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding Mr. Kim’s release.
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...
AAUP Statement on Continued Detention of Tae Heung “Will” Kim
The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding the release of Tae Heung "Will" Kim from ICE detention.
www.aaup.org
August 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University and longtime US permanent resident, has been in ICE detention for OVER one month. The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding Mr. Kim’s release.
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...
Reposted by Ron Belmont
um. anybody else noticing faculty being disappeared? h1b visas just magically non-renewed, names disappearing off doors, and no one talking about it? i know sometimes stuff happens with visas, but even to teaching prize-winning colleagues? and right now? seems deeply sus.
August 26, 2025 at 4:36 PM
um. anybody else noticing faculty being disappeared? h1b visas just magically non-renewed, names disappearing off doors, and no one talking about it? i know sometimes stuff happens with visas, but even to teaching prize-winning colleagues? and right now? seems deeply sus.