Eric Brown
@sophisteuein.bsky.social
I teach philosophy, mostly ancient Greek philosophy, at Washington University in St. Louis. I’m here for the zeitgeist.
Pinned
Eric Brown
@sophisteuein.bsky.social
· Nov 22
As an undeserved break from grading, I made a starter pack. I've no doubt made lots of mistakes, and I hope you'll help me correct them. But I also hope it's helpful to some people who are interested in ancient Greek philosophy.
Lorraine Daston's "Necrophilia" is a fascinating introduction to the "erotics" of disciplinary scholarship, how desire and kinship identification have shaped the disciplines and ensured their reproduction. 1/
View of Necrophilia
www.hcsjournal.org
November 27, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Lorraine Daston's "Necrophilia" is a fascinating introduction to the "erotics" of disciplinary scholarship, how desire and kinship identification have shaped the disciplines and ensured their reproduction. 1/
Reposted by Eric Brown
Excellent piece on what's happening in Texas and why it shouldn't happen: www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Professor: Texas used to have universities
Former Texas Tech professor takes issue with the actions of Texas universities to restrict what topics can be discussed. Doing so makes them something other...
www.dallasnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Excellent piece on what's happening in Texas and why it shouldn't happen: www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Reposted by Eric Brown
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Eric Brown
This may be old news for other people, but is a real "today I learned..." for me... Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft is freely available as scans (some of the articles have been transcribed as well, but for everything I need it's scans). de.wikisource.org/wiki/Paulys_...
Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft – Wikisource
de.wikisource.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
This may be old news for other people, but is a real "today I learned..." for me... Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft is freely available as scans (some of the articles have been transcribed as well, but for everything I need it's scans). de.wikisource.org/wiki/Paulys_...
Reposted by Eric Brown
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
I feel very fortunate that when I open the solitaire app, my MacBook tells me, "Game mode on."
November 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I feel very fortunate that when I open the solitaire app, my MacBook tells me, "Game mode on."
Is it too early to be talking about. Xmas movies? Yes. Should you read this thread anyhow? Also yes.
Home Alone makes changes to the Die Hard formula that render it hard for me to enjoy. The McClain character should feel overawed. And in theory having Kevin be a child versus adults achieves that. But the thing is: Kevin is a god. It's not just Tom & Jerry. This is some random punks versus Anansi.
November 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Is it too early to be talking about. Xmas movies? Yes. Should you read this thread anyhow? Also yes.
This song will make you eager to hear the whole record.
We the Would-be-goods shall release a new album on 13 February, *Tears Before Bedtime*. At our Bandcamp page you can listen to ‘The Gallopers’, a single from the album, and watch the first ever Would-be-goods video . . .
would-be-goods.bandcamp.com/album/tears-...
would-be-goods.bandcamp.com/album/tears-...
Tears Before Bedtime, by Would-Be-Goods
14 track album
would-be-goods.bandcamp.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This song will make you eager to hear the whole record.
This is the way to mock our tendency to rationalize our lives and make a success narrative of it.
Just love that they choose to put this above a toilet, of all places
(at the Center for Contemporary Art in Prague)
(at the Center for Contemporary Art in Prague)
November 22, 2025 at 3:35 PM
This is the way to mock our tendency to rationalize our lives and make a success narrative of it.
Reposted by Eric Brown
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Eric Brown
This boy shouting "I need you!" as he performed CPR on his dead mom broke me. His mother died for the crime of being pregnant in Texas. www.propublica.org/article/texa...
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
This boy shouting "I need you!" as he performed CPR on his dead mom broke me. His mother died for the crime of being pregnant in Texas. www.propublica.org/article/texa...
Teaching on the meaning of life again, and it dawns on me (I'm a slow learner) that the way in which the question of life's meaning can be asked in a cosmic register (can any human life have meaning?) or in a quotidian register (why are some human lives more meaningful than others?) recurs. 1/
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Teaching on the meaning of life again, and it dawns on me (I'm a slow learner) that the way in which the question of life's meaning can be asked in a cosmic register (can any human life have meaning?) or in a quotidian register (why are some human lives more meaningful than others?) recurs. 1/
Reposted by Eric Brown
1/ Egalitarianism should begin at home. I link to this article by @bencasselman.bsky.social in light of the communications between Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein that have just been released. The released emails and the fact of friendship are vile.
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open (Published 2021)
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
1/ Egalitarianism should begin at home. I link to this article by @bencasselman.bsky.social in light of the communications between Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein that have just been released. The released emails and the fact of friendship are vile.
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
Reposted by Eric Brown
Authors -- you are entitled to a payment for the books of yours that Anthropic stole for its AI. It's about $1,500 per book. I just filed - you should too!
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com?_gl=1*1ersia....
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com?_gl=1*1ersia....
Homepage | Bartz v Anthropic Settlement Site
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Authors -- you are entitled to a payment for the books of yours that Anthropic stole for its AI. It's about $1,500 per book. I just filed - you should too!
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com?_gl=1*1ersia....
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com?_gl=1*1ersia....
Reposted by Eric Brown
I am particularly proud of this snippet that they pulled
November 11, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I am particularly proud of this snippet that they pulled
Reposted by Eric Brown
Loved the words of Mamdani’s field director about their incredible 104,000 volunteers:
“Every number is in a way an act of bravery. Door knocking is not the easiest thing. For many, including myself, it takes a moment of bravery at the beginning. Asking a stranger something about their lives…” 1/
“Every number is in a way an act of bravery. Door knocking is not the easiest thing. For many, including myself, it takes a moment of bravery at the beginning. Asking a stranger something about their lives…” 1/
November 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Loved the words of Mamdani’s field director about their incredible 104,000 volunteers:
“Every number is in a way an act of bravery. Door knocking is not the easiest thing. For many, including myself, it takes a moment of bravery at the beginning. Asking a stranger something about their lives…” 1/
“Every number is in a way an act of bravery. Door knocking is not the easiest thing. For many, including myself, it takes a moment of bravery at the beginning. Asking a stranger something about their lives…” 1/
Looks like the Great Schism will be with us for a while longer.
Pope Leo Gets Cubs Jersey from Mar Awa III
Mar Awa III gifts Pope Leo XIV a Cubs jersey, poking fun at the pontiff’s loyalty to White Sox. Baseball meets Vatican diplomacy.
ewtnvatican.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Looks like the Great Schism will be with us for a while longer.
Reposted by Eric Brown
St Louis Halloween is probably better than your town’s Halloween, because the kids here tell a joke to get their treat.
November 1, 2025 at 12:55 AM
St Louis Halloween is probably better than your town’s Halloween, because the kids here tell a joke to get their treat.
Reposted by Eric Brown
Good morning, faculty colleagues of all ranks and types of employment. By show of hands, comments, puke emoji, etc., how many of of you are experiencing claims that your institution is in a “budget crisis,” that is going under- or unexplained, yet has resulted in austerity?
October 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Good morning, faculty colleagues of all ranks and types of employment. By show of hands, comments, puke emoji, etc., how many of of you are experiencing claims that your institution is in a “budget crisis,” that is going under- or unexplained, yet has resulted in austerity?
Reposted by Eric Brown
Maybe the thing that gives me a pulse-pounding throbbing headache is when I think of how techbros sold ChatGPT to universities as ‘revolutionizing’ higher education and our institutions just forked over money without even asking for actual evidence
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Maybe the thing that gives me a pulse-pounding throbbing headache is when I think of how techbros sold ChatGPT to universities as ‘revolutionizing’ higher education and our institutions just forked over money without even asking for actual evidence
Reposted by Eric Brown
The unlikely predecessor to lengthy World Series games? Brad Paisley national anthems
#World #Series #Baseball
#World #Series #Baseball
The unlikely predecessor to lengthy World Series games? Brad Paisley national anthems
Monday's marathon matchup between the Dodgers and Blue Jays marked the fourth time the country star has sung the anthem before an extra-inning World Series game.See What Happened →
bskysports.org
October 29, 2025 at 1:50 AM
I watched the first seven innings, listened to the next six innings, but then had to surrender to the dormitive virtue.
There’s arguably too much baseball in this baseball game. I’m still processing stuff from a full inning ago
October 28, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I watched the first seven innings, listened to the next six innings, but then had to surrender to the dormitive virtue.
This is an insightful explanation, and I probably applies to a lot of non-Jewish institutions, too.
If you want to understand why Jewish institutional leadership is so out of touch with actual American Jews, you need to understand the funding dynamic of basically every legacy Jewish institution. 1/
October 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
This is an insightful explanation, and I probably applies to a lot of non-Jewish institutions, too.