Heresiarch of Uqbar
@smeraldina.bsky.social
Various art projects, current events, science and mathematics (He/him)
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Post 15 books you read in 2025 that you recommend. One book per day for 15 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no expectations, just covers.
4/15
#15booksin2025challenge
#Booksky #bookchallenge
#readingchallenge #readersky
No explanations, no expectations, just covers.
4/15
#15booksin2025challenge
#Booksky #bookchallenge
#readingchallenge #readersky
December 20, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Post 15 books you read in 2025 that you recommend. One book per day for 15 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no expectations, just covers.
4/15
#15booksin2025challenge
#Booksky #bookchallenge
#readingchallenge #readersky
No explanations, no expectations, just covers.
4/15
#15booksin2025challenge
#Booksky #bookchallenge
#readingchallenge #readersky
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
President Trump struggled to stay awake while discussing his order reclassifying marijuana. trib.al/aikjE4O
But don’t tell Dozy Don that his age, cognitive ability, or health may be an issue: The president gets very upset
But don’t tell Dozy Don that his age, cognitive ability, or health may be an issue: The president gets very upset
December 19, 2025 at 1:55 AM
President Trump struggled to stay awake while discussing his order reclassifying marijuana. trib.al/aikjE4O
But don’t tell Dozy Don that his age, cognitive ability, or health may be an issue: The president gets very upset
But don’t tell Dozy Don that his age, cognitive ability, or health may be an issue: The president gets very upset
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
sometimes it will just hit me that over a million americans died from covid in a short period of time and we never had a national mourning. we never collectively grieved. we never honored the dead. this feels like a failure
November 15, 2025 at 11:23 AM
sometimes it will just hit me that over a million americans died from covid in a short period of time and we never had a national mourning. we never collectively grieved. we never honored the dead. this feels like a failure
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
I really struggle to describe just how utterly insane it is that the California's crew kept her in the air.
They had to work out how to fly a plane designed ONLY for military-grade fuel on the same stuff you get at a petrol pump.
And they had to work that out MID AIR OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN.
They had to work out how to fly a plane designed ONLY for military-grade fuel on the same stuff you get at a petrol pump.
And they had to work that out MID AIR OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN.
A sneak look at the next in our series on the extraordinary round-the-world flight of the California Clipper during WW2.
Our crew must work out how you can fly a Boeing 314 on regular grade gasoline.
And they must work it out over the Indian Ocean.
Start here: theupfront.media/the-long-way...
Our crew must work out how you can fly a Boeing 314 on regular grade gasoline.
And they must work it out over the Indian Ocean.
Start here: theupfront.media/the-long-way...
November 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I really struggle to describe just how utterly insane it is that the California's crew kept her in the air.
They had to work out how to fly a plane designed ONLY for military-grade fuel on the same stuff you get at a petrol pump.
And they had to work that out MID AIR OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN.
They had to work out how to fly a plane designed ONLY for military-grade fuel on the same stuff you get at a petrol pump.
And they had to work that out MID AIR OVER THE INDIAN OCEAN.
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
In my new interview with the author currently known as qntm, he talks about the new version of his previously serialized online supernatural #ScienceFiciton thriller novel, "There Is No Antimemetics Division."
paulsemel.com/exclusive-in...
📖🧠
paulsemel.com/exclusive-in...
📖🧠
Interview: "There Is No Antimemetics Division" Author qntm ... .
Exclusive Interview: "There Is No Antimemetics Division" Author qntm \ In which he talks about this supernatural sci-fi thriller novel.
paulsemel.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
In my new interview with the author currently known as qntm, he talks about the new version of his previously serialized online supernatural #ScienceFiciton thriller novel, "There Is No Antimemetics Division."
paulsemel.com/exclusive-in...
📖🧠
paulsemel.com/exclusive-in...
📖🧠
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Pennsylvania Republicans are aiming to erase Democrats' majority on the state supreme court in November.
But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.
A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.
A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts
The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.
boltsmag.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Pennsylvania Republicans are aiming to erase Democrats' majority on the state supreme court in November.
But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.
A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.
A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Jess Waters recycling the same guy over and over to represent “former” different enemies
October 6, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Jess Waters recycling the same guy over and over to represent “former” different enemies
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop
October 6, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Robin Williams' daughter has some quality thoughts on AI slop
"As the end approaches," wrote Cartaphilus, "there are no longer any images from memory—there are only words." Words, words, words taken out of place and mutilated, words from other men—these were the poor pittance left to him by the hours and the centuries.
I'd argue "bullshit" is actually LESS anthropomorphic. It indicates that at the deepest level there is no concern for "truth" or "falsity." There are only words, and the question "Do the words sound good?"
September 15, 2025 at 11:06 AM
"As the end approaches," wrote Cartaphilus, "there are no longer any images from memory—there are only words." Words, words, words taken out of place and mutilated, words from other men—these were the poor pittance left to him by the hours and the centuries.
Everyone complains about the dentist but the manicurist is so much worse?? Comes to your house. Won't give his name.
September 1, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Everyone complains about the dentist but the manicurist is so much worse?? Comes to your house. Won't give his name.
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
cishet abled white guy melting down over “how awful this place is” because at-risk folks said, “don’t demand people prepare to sacrifice us today because of a half baked idea of what political expediency looks like in a future we may not make it to” makes me so violently angry i’m queasy.
September 1, 2025 at 1:01 AM
cishet abled white guy melting down over “how awful this place is” because at-risk folks said, “don’t demand people prepare to sacrifice us today because of a half baked idea of what political expediency looks like in a future we may not make it to” makes me so violently angry i’m queasy.
Rachael and Vilray continue to imply that the narrator of their songs is an absolute freak. This is very important to me.
youtu.be/4d8tZN4KqSI
youtu.be/4d8tZN4KqSI
Is it Jim?
YouTube video by Rachael & Vilray - Topic
youtu.be
August 9, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Rachael and Vilray continue to imply that the narrator of their songs is an absolute freak. This is very important to me.
youtu.be/4d8tZN4KqSI
youtu.be/4d8tZN4KqSI
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
it can't be explained by mere incompetence or cowardice. our elite institutions have been, for decades, infiltrated by conservatives who want to destroy them from within and now that trump is president again, they're all executing the final part of their plan.
We are seven months in, and the speed with which vital civic institutions are capitulating to authoritarian demands we once would have regarded as inconceivable in an established liberal democracy is jawdropping. I hadn't thought I was polyannaish about America, but it's really stunning.
July 26, 2025 at 1:38 AM
it can't be explained by mere incompetence or cowardice. our elite institutions have been, for decades, infiltrated by conservatives who want to destroy them from within and now that trump is president again, they're all executing the final part of their plan.
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Oh i hate this a LOT
Humans can be tracked with unique 'fingerprint' based on how their bodies block Wi-Fi signals - www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/w... "Observers could therefore track a person as they pass through signals sent by different Wi-Fi networks – even if they’re not carrying a phone." #surveillance #privacy
WhoFi: Unique 'fingerprint' based on Wi-Fi interactions
: Wi-Fi spy with my little eye that same guy I saw at another hotspot
www.theregister.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Oh i hate this a LOT
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
lmao ok reposting w/ alt text bc we all deserve to see this burn
July 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
lmao ok reposting w/ alt text bc we all deserve to see this burn
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
Every 4th of July, I take the time to read "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July." Let us begin:
"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."
"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."
(1852) Frederick Douglass, "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July"
Explore the speech "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" delivered by Frederick Douglass in 1852, including full text and historical context.
www.blackpast.org
July 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Every 4th of July, I take the time to read "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July." Let us begin:
"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."
"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
I wrote a sonnet about Jonathan Chait's hypothetical vote.
June 25, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I wrote a sonnet about Jonathan Chait's hypothetical vote.
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
I wrote a very personal essay about two conversations—one with my father decades ago and one with a stranger a few weeks ago amid the upheaval of Trump 2.0.
Remembering My Father and Talking to Strangers on Planes
"I believe we're good enough to do better."
organizingmythoughts.org
June 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I wrote a very personal essay about two conversations—one with my father decades ago and one with a stranger a few weeks ago amid the upheaval of Trump 2.0.
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
June 10, 2025 at 12:17 AM
BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.
"the perfect metaphor for a campaign announcement doesn't exist"
please scrub your reddit before announcing your run for mayor
June 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
"the perfect metaphor for a campaign announcement doesn't exist"
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
NSF budget would close down one of LIGO's sites. This would be, to put it lightly, a catastrophe for gravitational wave astronomy.
"In FY 2026 NSF will operate only one of the two sites
and will support a reduced level for technology development."
bsky.app/profile/hast...
"In FY 2026 NSF will operate only one of the two sites
and will support a reduced level for technology development."
bsky.app/profile/hast...
May 30, 2025 at 8:47 PM
NSF budget would close down one of LIGO's sites. This would be, to put it lightly, a catastrophe for gravitational wave astronomy.
"In FY 2026 NSF will operate only one of the two sites
and will support a reduced level for technology development."
bsky.app/profile/hast...
"In FY 2026 NSF will operate only one of the two sites
and will support a reduced level for technology development."
bsky.app/profile/hast...
I recognize that voice
May 7, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I recognize that voice
Reposted by Heresiarch of Uqbar
I used to tell student organizers that one thing they had going for them was "everybody loves students." It used to be that criticism of student protest was typically good-natured, even friendly.
That's no longer true, and "Free Speech Warriors" telling endless lies is a big reason why.
That's no longer true, and "Free Speech Warriors" telling endless lies is a big reason why.
worrying that years of “campuses are dangerous hotbeds of intolerance,” “students are the enemies of academic freedom,” type narratives have been useful in massaging the public so we will more readily accept that snatching and renditioning students for speech is okay
March 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I used to tell student organizers that one thing they had going for them was "everybody loves students." It used to be that criticism of student protest was typically good-natured, even friendly.
That's no longer true, and "Free Speech Warriors" telling endless lies is a big reason why.
That's no longer true, and "Free Speech Warriors" telling endless lies is a big reason why.