iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

And if you do want to study the history of science, it’s also nonexistent Like…what? (My theory is that this person has either a partner or more likely a professional nemesis who got multiple campus visits in histsci)

Screen grab of a Reddit comment on a post in r/Historians:

It's not. I have a PhD in history. Unless you're ready fluent in an Asian or African language and want to study history of a specific Asian or African region or you want to study the history of science, the job market is nonexistent. I've been adjuncting for over a decade and I love it, but starting salaries for full time professors anywhere other than large universities is around $75k.
If you want to get a BA in history and then get an MBA or go into law, that's fine. But a career in history isn't really possible right now if you're not in the 1% of historians. This includes museum studies.

061

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Ok so I’m not saying Timeline is objectively good, but it *is* about (surprisingly fit?) historians of science (“a bitterly controversial field”) who time travel to medieval France. It telegraphs a lot of Crichton’s personal impressions of academic STS and the humanities!

Edward Johnston, Regius Professor of History at Yale, squinted as the helicopter thumped by overhead. It was heading south, toward Domme, where there was a landing field. Johnston glanced at his watch and said, "Let's continue, Chris."
"Okay," Chris Hughes said. He turned back to the computer mounted on the tripod in front of them, attached the GPS, and flicked the power button. "It'll take me a minute to set up."
Christopher Stewart Hughes was one of Johnston's graduate students. The Professor—he was invariably known by that name had five graduate students working on the site, as well as two dozen undergraduates who had become enamored of him during his introductory Western Civilization class.
It was easy, Chris thought, to become enamored of Edward Johnston. Although well past sixty, Johnston was broad-shouldered and fit; he moved quickly, giving the impression of vigor and energy. Tanned, with dark eyes and sardonic manner, he often seemed more like Mephistopheles than a history professor.
Yet he dressed the part of a typical college professor: even here in the field, he wore a button-down shirt and tie every day. His only concession to field work were his jeans and hiking boots.
What made Johnston so beloved by his students was the way he involved himself in their lives: he fed them at his house once a week; he looked after them; if any of them had a
48

Dordogne
49
problem with studies, or finances, or family back home, he was always ready to help solve the difficulty, without ever seeming to do anything at all.
Chris carefully unpacked the metal case at his feet, removing first a transparent liquid crystal screen, which he mounted vertically, fitting it into brackets above the com-puter. Then he restarted the computer, so that it would recognize the screen.
"It'll just be a few seconds now," he said. "The GPS is calibrating."
Johnston just nodded patiently, and smiled
Chris was a graduate student in the history of science—a bitterly controversial field
—but he neatly sidestepped the disputes by focusing not on modern science, but on medieval science and technology. Thus he was becoming expert in techniques of metallurgy, the manufacture of armor, three-field crop rotation, the chemistry of tanning, and a dozen other subjects from the period. He had decided to do his doctoral dissertation on the technology of medieval mills— a fas-cinating, much-neglected area.
And his particular interest was, of course, the mill of Sainte-Mère.
Johnston waited calmly.
Chris had been an undergraduate, in his junior year, when his parents were killed in an automobile accident. Chris, an only child, was devastated; he thought he would drop out of school. Johnston moved the young student into his house for three months, and served as a substitute father for many years afterward, advising him on everything from settling his parents' estate to problems with his girlfriends. And there had been a lot of problems with girlfriends.
In the aftermath of his parents' death, Chris had gotten involved with many women. The subsequent complexity of his life dirty looks in a seminar from a jilted lover; frantic midnight calls to his room because of a missed period, while he was in bed with someone else; clandestine hotel-room meetings with an associate professor of philosophy who was in the midst of a nasty divorce-all this became a familiar textur…

121

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

After last week’s run of 105*F days in Philly, I’m truly enjoying this morning in Scotland, the home of sweater weather. These are my ideal outdoor conditions (63*F and a gothic fog-mist situation).

A quiet Edinburgh side street with stone buildings and very limited visibility due to misty fog

030

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

I’ve got this screenshot, no further info though

Screenshot of Bluesky post of tweet (or threads?) by dhuartson reading “don’t let anyone talk you out of spending $15 on a new hobby. That $50 will be the best $400 you ever spent” from April 22, 2026

120

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

My work on the discovery of yttrium is finally out in the world! 😭

The first page of a chapter written by me, entitled
FINDING YTTRIUM: JOHAN GADOLIN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DISCOVERY
doi.org/10.1142/9789819813858_0002

The cover of the new book Discovering the Elements: No Simple Stories, edited by Brigitte van Tiggelen and Annette Lykknes

011

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I would say so! I'm attaching here some 'testimonials' from the mid-semester survey. We read 'Introduction' and the 'Voudun & Zombiism' subsection in our Jurassic Park/Frankenstein unit (Oh No I've Created a Monster), then 'Machines' was the bridge to the AI/Big Data Systems unit

SW: I think Humans: A Monstrous History was the highest quality because it looked at multiple aspects of what the line between humans and machines were.
LP: I really enjoyed all of the parts from Humans: A Monstrous History. To me this piece touched on a lot of different themes and ideas when it comes to science in this class. I think it has the most synergy with every other work. Because of this it was the easiest to make relations to other works and really understand what it was talking about. Instead of engaging with one topic that it develops through the piece it explores a range of examples and perspectives which made the entire work feel fresh. I also really liked how it helped me think about the way I define words like monster or zombie. Overall I liked this piece the most because even though it was short I explored the most ideas in it.
AM: “Introduction,” “Voudun & Zombiism,” and “Machines,” from Humans: A Monstrous History (2025) has really stuck with me because of the wide application of the definintion of "monster" used. It is hard not to apply it everywhere in my daily life now.

JC: The work "Humans: A Monstrous History" was really impactful for me because it really shifted my perspective on monsters and why/how they were created and retained through human history. It brought in classic examples of monsters with historical or cultural relevance, demonstrating how the monster is a reflection of human biases or judgments and overall, a reflection of society. I think it really stuck with me because it provided so many examples and types within each section; for instance , the Robots section included various topics such as androids, uncanny valley, cyborgs, AI and more and their significance in human society.
JE: I think Humans: A Monstrous History has stuck with me. I had nevr really looked into how monsters are defined and I feel like I keep coming back to the framework that they use in these chapters. I also keep thinking about its discussion of AI and robotics, practically any time I see any headlines about new developments in the industry. I think the issue it illustrates of maintaining our humanity in the face of these evolving industries is really powerful.

140

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Älskade Stockholm! Världens allra bästa stad 💙

In the foreground, a boat flying a Swedish flag; in the background, a view across the water to the Mariaberget overlook neighborhood of the Södermalm island of Stockholm

A cafe table with a vase of tulips, a blue plate with a braided cardamom bun, and an oat latte in a cut glass tumbler

040

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Fun fact: In Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm’s famous anti-tech speech basically quotes More Work For Mother …then completely ignores half the point

“No. I’ll tell you the problem with engineers and scientists. Scientists have an elaborate line of bullshit about how they are seeking to know the truth about nature. Which is true, but that’s not what drives them. Nobody is driven by abstractions like ‘seeking truth.’
"Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such considerations as pointless. If they don’t do it, someone else will. Discovery, they believe, is inevitable. So they just try to do it first. That’s the game in science. Even pure scientific discovery is an aggressive, penetrative act. It takes big equipment, and it literally changes the world afterward. Particle accelerators scar the land, and leave radioactive byproducts. Astronauts leave trash on the moon. There is always some proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries. Discovery is always a rape of the natural world. Always.
"The scientists want it that way. They have to stick their instruments in. They have to leave their mark. They can’t just watch. They can’t just appreciate. They can’t just fit into the natural order. They have to make something unnatural happen. That is the scientist’s job, and now we have whole societies that try to be scientific.” He sighed, and sank back.
Ellie said, “Don’t you think you’re overstating–”
“What does one of your excavations look like a year later?”
“Pretty bad,” she admitted.
“You don’t replant, you don’t restore the land after you dig?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “There’s no money, I guess… .”
“There’s only enough money to dig, but not to repair?”

“Well, we’re just working in the badlands… .”
“Just the badlands,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “Just trash. Just byproducts. Just side effects … I’m trying to tell you that scientists /want/ it this way. They want byproducts and trash and scars and side effects. It’s a way of reassuring themselves. It’s built into the fabric of science, and it’s increasingly a disaster.”
“Then what’s the answer?”
“Get ride of the intelligent ones. Take them out of power.”
“But then we’d lose all the advances—”
“What advances?” Malcolm said irritably. “The number of hours women devote to housework has not changed since 1930, despite all the advances. All the vacuum cleaners, washer-dryers, trash compactors, garbage disposals, wash-and-wear fabrics…Why does it still take as long to clean the house as it did in 1930?”
Ellie said nothing.
“Because there haven’t been any advances,” Malcolm said. “Not really. Thirty thousand years ago, when men were doing cave paintings at Lascaux, they worked twenty hours a week to provide themselves with food and shelter and clothing. The rest of the time, they could play, or sleep, or do whatever they wanted. And they lived in a natural world, with clean air, clean water, beautiful trees and sunsets. Think about it. Twenty hours a week. Thirty thousand years ago.”
Ellie said, “You want to turn back the clock?”
“No,” Malcolm said. “I want people to wake up. We’ve had four hundred years of modern science, and we ought to know by now what it’s good for, and what it’s not good for. It’s time for a change.”
“Before we destroy the planet?” she said.
He sighed, and closed his eyes. “Oh dear,” he said. “That’s the last thing I would worry about.”

0112

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

On the one hand, it sucks that my flights keep getting cancelled and I’m now stranded by this storm for at least two extra days now. I would much rather be at home. On the other hand, I guess I can think of worse places to be stuck right now

A photo of the campus of Pomona College on a bright and sunny day with snow capped mountains is the background

A screenshot of the weather forecast where every day is in the 60s and sunny

010

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Thinking of buying this pack of science enthusiasm decals for the absurdist humor of being……almost there

Image of a decal with a cartoon beaker containing a cheerful hedgehog and the number 6.022x10^23 (the number of particles in a mole)

Image of a sticker with a cartoon image of a splashing half a glass of water reading “Technically it’s always full” with the water labeled H2O and the air labeled O2

000

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

I am also here! See you at Belval!

010

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

End of an era today! I just signed away the title to the little blue Kia hatchback I bought new in 2007. 18 years, 160k miles, titled in 4 states, and an appearance in the NYT…definitely got my $17k out of it. (And it’s still going - I’ve signed it over to a family member for commuting to work!)

A blue hatchback parked on a street at twilight

A photo of a neighborhood street in which a blue hatchback can be seen parked in the center, screenshot clipped from a story in the New York Times Magazine.
The caption text reads: “The Grays Ferry neighborhood in Philadelphia, where residents say a nearby oil refinery had catastrophic effects on their health, even before a fire there in 2019. Hannah Price for The New York Times”

000

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Dozens of responses and nobody is pointing out that Latour closed the case in 1991?

Cover of the book We Have Never Been Modern by Bruno Latour, translated by Catherine Porter

030

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Our collection is fairly niche but we do have quite a lot, and simple filters for copyright: digital.sciencehistory.org

Screenshot from digital.sciencehistory.org showing search results by rights status:

Copyright Free: 7,714
Public Domain Mark 1.0: 5,243
In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable: 3,292
No Known Copyright: 1,625
In Copyright: 1,238

131

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

He is soft and beautiful and fierce

010

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

The @scihistoryorg.bsky.social is hiring! Details here: www.sciencehistory.org/about/join-o...

Science History Institute

Join Our Team

Open Positions:

Science History Institute

Museum Education Manager
Oral Historian and Curator of Life Sciences
Receptionist

Visit www.sciencehistory.org to apply!

011

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder! 🇸🇪❄️

Tim Walz tweet with a photo of himself in snow and the text “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” quote tweeting AP news about the presidential swearing in being moved indoors for cold temperatures

020

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Only the best gifts under the tree 🎁

Two cats curled up among gifts under a decorated Christmas tree

010

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 13/09/2024

Do you know anyone early career in academia, nonprofit, gov’t, or the arts who would like to be part of a conversation on the past & future of biotech? We’re offering an all-expenses fellowship for our upcoming conference! Full text and application here: www.spiritofasilomar.org/next-generat...

000

Charlotte Abney @abney.bsky.social · 31/10/2023

Throwbacks for Halloween - Albert in his fancy little witch costume as a baby and at full size ✨

A tabby and white 5 month old kitten wearing a felt black witch’s hat and a black sequin top (with purple and green tulle skirt) that covers his whole back

A fluffy tabby and white cat laying on a carpet wearing a felt black witch’s hat and a black sequin top (with purple and green tulle skirt) that only covers his ribcage

150