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Ralph Drayton

@rddrayton.bsky.social
584 followers 221 following 681 posts

Historian of science and medicine, esp. c.1250-1700, esp. France, esp. medical authority, astrology, religion, and magic Malik Monk appreciator Portland, Oregon, the biofilm

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Reposted by Ralph Drayton
Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 17h
Ask yourself why the CEO of an online gambling company is giving money for research into the history of art using AI.
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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
184 new cuneiform tablets ✍️ (total), dating to c.1400 BCE. “Preliminary examination of the texts has revealed references to military activities, epidemics, the death of an infant princess & requests for assistance sent to the king by Hittite military commanders” www.heritagedaily.com/2026/10/184-...
heritagedaily.com
184 cuneiform tablets discovered in Hittite royal archive
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Kayalıpınar in Türkiye have discovered a Hittite royal archive containing 184 cuneiform tablets and fragments. - HeritageDaily - Archaeology News
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Liliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 23h
I've been thinking and talking and writing about the death penalty for my whole adult life and the past week+ has been truly surreal and exhausting, not only because of the onslaught of horrors but because there seems to be so little historical memory of what this system is and always has been.
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Alexander Manshel @manshel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
“The rise may also be attributed to the use of AI to identify books to ban. Particularly in Texas, where state legislation was difficult to understand and apply, AI was used to identify books for removal. In several cases, AI recommended banning books that were banned elsewhere, creating a snowball effect for frequently banned books while the expertise of librarians and the communities they serve are ignored.”
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Just got my copy. Looking forward to reading it.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Nobody should have $3 billion to give anybody.
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Earth.com @earthdotcom.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A nearly intact medieval wax notebook found in Germany still bears readable Latin notes, offering a rare glimpse into the daily life of a wealthy 13th- or 14th-century merchant.
earth.com
A 700-year-old notebook was found at the bottom of a medieval latrine, now scientists have figured out how to read it
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
OpenAI will keep going rogue until morale improves.
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Kate Clancy @kateclancy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I've now gotten three reviews from right-wing media outlets of Pregnancy Interrupted while most center and left-wing outlets have avoided coverage of a book that contests the cultural norms we put around the science of pregnancy.
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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
#histmed This is indeed a fascinating study. If you haven't heard of the "Plague of Cyprian" before, you're not alone. Its historiographical significance has only been realized in the past few years. And no, currently it's not believed to be plague (Yersinia pestis). What was it? We don't know yet!
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Is that AI Paul Harvey?
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Charlie McCarthy raises questions about what synthetic performers should be nominated for.
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Irene Soto Marín @irenin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My book has a face! 🥹📚 So excited to finally share the cover of The Nile Flows with Gold. Forthcoming, Spring 2027 with Princeton University Press.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
#histsci
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Kathleen Crowther @sacrobosco.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
If you want to read about labor (the reproductive kind) this Labor Day, Policing Pregnant Bodies is on sale (30% off with code HLAB26) www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
press.jhu.edu
Policing Pregnant Bodies
From Ancient Greece to Post-Roe America
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I’m assuming I don’t see the superscript thing bc I use a steam-powered iPhone 0.03. And I’m okay with that.
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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Peter has written a guest post which you can read here peterfrankopan.substack.com/p/how-did-he...
peterfrankopan.substack.com
How Did Hermes Reach China? A Silk Road Detective Story
Peter Stewart is an outstanding scholar with a remarkable breadth of interests.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Please repost! Drexel announced that it will close the Academy of Natural Sciences public museum- the oldest nat history museum in the US. There are 2 petitions to support the academy. Please sign both & come to our rally Tues. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe... www.change.org/p/the-academ...
A poster featuring the T-Rex at the cognitive natural sciences, which says save the Academy natural sciences, museum rally in front of the academy 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, Tuesday, September 8 10 AM. The T-Rex is saying tell Drexel keep the museum open. There’s an RSVP QR code and then the logos of Philly Science Action Skype scientist In Philly on the bottom.
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Karl Galle @karlgalle.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Interesting profile of a woman who in the 1950s wrote some of the earliest programming code for running computer simulations, including pioneering work in non-linear dynamics: wapo.st/3UXwSyu [gift link] #HistSTM
wapo.st
Her work was key to a landmark experiment. She was credited in a footnote.
Mary Tsingou Menzel, who has died at 97, played a central role in a Los Alamos physics experiment. A half-century later, she finally got her due.
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Phillip Maciak @pjmaciak.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
No matter how you refine your questions, the chatbot will generate responses reflecting what the greatest number of users are likely to want to hear, which tends to be close to what they think they already know." A great, painstaking piece. www.hnn.us/article/ai-i...
hnn.us
AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine
Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.
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Dave Mazella @davemazella.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is the endgame for TX "core reform": wiping out any traces of the last 100 yrs of scholarship in the humanities, but also wiping out the humanities. This is coming to every system in the state. www.statesman.com/news/educati...
statesman.com
UT proposes cutting more than 100 'narrow' courses from core this spring
UT courses on slavery, race, sexuality and environmental history are among those that could stop counting toward UT's core.
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Karl Galle @karlgalle.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Did someone say Sacrobosco? Look what forthcoming book by @sacrobosco.bsky.social now has an official January 2027 publication date: 👀 😃 press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... #HistSTM #MedievalSky
press.princeton.edu
The Book Everyone Read
How an all-but-forgotten medieval astronomy book ushered in the modern age of science
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Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Happy 250th birthday, America! To celebrate the occasion, we're closing your oldest natural history museum. www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/a... #scicomm #Philadelphia
nbcphiladelphia.com
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to close museum on Sept. 30
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will close its museum in Philadelphia on Sept. 30, 2026, NBC10 confirmed.
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Karl Galle @karlgalle.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Online lecture on "Alchemy and the Scientific Revolution" by Prof. Lawrence Principe, this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. CDT, hosted by The Linda Hall in Kansas City: events.lindahall.org/alchemyandsc... #HistSTM #EarlyModern
events.lindahall.org
Alchemy and the Scientific Revolution (Virtual)
Although alchemy was once considered unrelated to the history of science, or even imagined to be an “obstacle” to the emergence of modern chemistry, historians now recognize it as a crucial contributo...
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Gallica BnF @gallicabnf.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Aujourd’hui, Gallica se penche sur l’extraordinaire bestiaire de l’un des plus célèbres récits de voyage du Moyen Âge, "Le Devisement du monde" ou "Livre des Merveilles", de Marco Polo : licornes, dragons, léopards, éléphants ou hommes-loups sont au rendez-vous ! => c.bnf.fr/ASg
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Mike’s Movie Madness in Portland — legendary, and still going strong. Amazing collection of movie memorabilia and 90,000+ titles.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
All of this is yet another reminder of the value of history of science, which of course includes histories of “rejected knowledge” — astrology, alchemy, “scientific racism,” eugenics, etc. People really need a better understanding of when, how, why knowledge comes to be accepted/rejected.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I love radio and what it does to the imagination. I’ve been listening to the Mel & Floyd Summer Replacement Show on WORT in Madison for 30 years. I’ve never even seen a picture of the hosts, and I’m glad bc I have very specific images of them in my mind (sorry, guys lol).
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
not sure why some people think philosopher is equivalent to guy with opinions, any more than physicist or airline pilot, say. (I think I know why but they’re wrong.)
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Chris @multiplicityct.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Pangram experiment part two. I forgot to click "More Human" on Deft AI Writing's interface. A completely LLM-written paragraph comes up 100% human-written in Pangram if I use that Deft feature. It sounds clunky to my ear, and is definitely not my voice.
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Chris @multiplicityct.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Did a little experiment since Pangram is in the discourse this week. First & second grafs of my dissertation chapter (written 100% by me): judged 100% AI. The two grafs together (no changes): judged 67% AI. Then I had Deft rewrite the first graf -- completely LLM text, judged 54% AI. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Can't say gay and bisexual people were killed in the Holocaust in the core curriculum *at an American university* www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/u...
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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I’m thrilled to be taking part in this year’s amazing @sims-mss.bsky.social mss online lecture series to share my work on the pecia system and university book production! 🤗📜🎉 www.library.upenn.edu/sims/event-s...
library.upenn.edu
The Pecia System and the Medieval University Book Trade, ca. 1200-1340
Alison Ray (Royal Irish Academy Library) explores how medieval manuscripts were mass-produced at universities in the thirteenth century at low cost for members of the academic milieu.
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Your Internet Friend Tom Tomorrow @tomtomorrow.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
from 2009
TMW cartoon from 2009 about "the future", first panel has a couple of website editors crowing that they don't have to pay reporters when they can just link to other people's work for free. subsequent panels look at the decline of news, until in the final panel (this was 2009, remember) "news" has just devolved into LOLcats
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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I got tired of waiting for the journalists at @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social to cover this (it IS summer), but this is to say that ALL the staff members in Women & Gender Studies here were laid off last week, on the top of the cutting of 5 lecturer positions in the program last year.+
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cmrn knzlmn @ckunzelman.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Reminds me a lot of some of the claims that @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social has been making about what the real use of AI is -- deferment of responsibility and the broad filibustering of the basic functions of civil society.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
“That’s Hedley.”
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Your Evil Twin, Skippy 🇵🇸 🏳️‍⚧️ @twinskippy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams: “There’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and what they can compete in. I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team. Anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world, it’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.”
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
“More of a comment than question….”
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Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 30/07/2026
State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil
theguardian.com
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 29/07/2026
This is a well-produced segment. I encourage you to watch so you can hear the noise for yourself. The professor of environmental health science that they interviewed called it an “unprecedented new noise source.”
wxyz.com
Neighbors say noise from Michigan data center is 24/7 and upending their lives
One Michigan community has been experiencing the reality of a data center next door for a couple of years now, and they say the sound has changed their lives.
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Samantha Brennan @samanthabrennan.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy." dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...
dailynous.com
University of Wyoming to Drop Philosophy Major - Daily Nous
As for Fall 2027, incoming students at the University of Wyoming will no longer be allowed to major in philosophy. The news was shared by philosophy professor Bradley Rettler in posts on social media....
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
the reason we dont have medicare for all is bc corporations need employer based healthcare to keep you chained to your desk in a job you hate that doesnt pay you what youre worth
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
The Society for the History of Technology conference extended its call to late August, & this year’s conference will be all online. Details below if you’d like to submit. Also, I’m putting together a panel that has 1 or 2 more slots on it, so lmk if (1/2) www.historyoftechnology.org/annual-meeti...
historyoftechnology.org
2026 SHOT Annual Meeting (Virtual)
Visit the post for more.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Stay hydrated, man
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Outstanding
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I wish there was a yule log halftime show.
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
At the All-Star game, why are the dudes dressed as American Revolution soldiers wearing red coats lmao
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Ralph Drayton @rddrayton.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Ivan Dixon on an old episode of Perry Mason, tonight, playing an expert witness, who inspects pharmaceutical inventories. #IvanDixon
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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
In the well-over 100,000 documents written by founders included in the Founders Online database from the National Archives, no one uses the phrase "God's noble experiment." No one.
Chuck Schumer: "The founding fathers called America God's noble experiment. I believe in all three words to this day: we are one nation under God, we have clung to noble ideals for longer than any other nation, and we are an experiment always changing, trying to make ourselves better.
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