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Michael Cholbi

@thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social
644 followers 422 following 440 posts

'No true Scotsman': US-ish philosopher HQ'd in Edinburgh. Death & dying, work & labor, Kantian ethics, paternalism, etc.. Unapologetic coffee snob. More at michael.cholbi.com and www.ed.ac.uk/profile/michael-cholbi

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Reposted by Michael Cholbi
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
As my dad used to say, "Surprise, surprise!"
theguardian.com
Christian nationalism in Britain driven by people who seldom go to church, says report
Research challenges the notion that the growing visibility of crosses and other symbols reflects a revival of Christianity
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
aeon.co/videos/manha...
aeon.co
Manhattan’s evolution over centuries captured via meticulous animation | Aeon Videos
From Lenape land to sprawling metropolis, this detailed timelapse animation captures the making of Manhattan
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Nidal Hasan shot 35 people at an American military base because he believed the US is a savage, depraved nation not worth defending. In subjecting him to a grotesque public execution, what will Trump & Co. prove except that Hasan was right? www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...
theatlantic.com
Public Execution Won’t Have the Effect Trump Intends
Livestreaming Nidal Hasan’s death would only credit the Fort Hood shooter’s argument that this country is barbarous.
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Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
So exactly when can we expect a collapse of the purpose built student accommodation sector in the UK? You've got rental providers going belly up, very low occupancy rates in a lot of cities -- and cites keep approving new builds! www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
‘I didn’t know what to do’: collapse of providers of high-end digs leaves students in shock
Cost of living crisis and drop in international students hits market for purpose-built accommodation
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Antigone @antigoneinthebes.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
People don’t realize how serious the situation is.
A graph showing number of Germanies over time. Losing one on October 3rd 1990 means by projection we are only decades before reaching -1 Germany in 2072
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
All hail conquering robot hero Orifice the Awebot www.inquirer.com/life/orifice...
inquirer.com
Orifice the Awebot is Philly’s ‘magical’ response to Uber Eats robots
"She’s part of our bringing delight and surprise and letting it ripple through the city."
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Economist analysis of more than 3,000 US counties finds that in reliably GOP counties, annual deaths now exceed births by 0.4 per 1k residents, while in reliably Democratic counties, births exceed deaths by 2.8 per 1k. Population growth in the GOP counties is largely driven by internal migration.
economist.com
In MAGA-land people are dying faster than they are being born
Our analysis suggests Trump country is only growing because of migration
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Dr Hannah M. Rowland @hannahmrowland.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hope your day was better than Darwin’s, on this day 165 years ago
I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody &everything.

Charles Darwin
Letter to Charles Lyell
1st October 1861
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/30/t... What will happen when America's prisons are empty?!
washingtonmonthly.com
The Unheralded End of Mass Incarceration
America’s prison population is plummeting thanks to lower crime rates. The consequences are extraordinary.
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Shane Glackin @eltorosolo.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
In case people are not fully across the Fairford story: What appears to have happened is that five men from London went to a small country village in the middle of the night to siphon fuel for resale. In small country villages, people notice things, especially at 1am. A farmer called the police.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 28/09/2026
What’s Rustling In That Leaf Pile?
What’s Rustling In That Leaf Pile?
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Dan of the Year @downwithdan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Ah yes the circle of life
• Dispatched
Sep 25 23:03 pm
In Transit
Sep 26 09:52 am
Delayed
Sep 26 10:57 am
Held By Carrier
Sep 26 15:07 pm
Destroyed
Sep 26 15:08 pm
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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is the master key to deciphering contemporary debates about free speech. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se...
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Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory @memoryplace.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
For postgraduate researchers working on place, memory, heritage, anthropology & difficult histories Methodologies for Place and Memory Loss 📍 University of Stirling 📅 11 November ⏰ Apply now tockify.com/sgsah/detail... @uoe-sps.bsky.social @uofgges.bsky.social @standrewssgsd.bsky.social
tockify.com
Methodologies for Place and Memory Loss: Advanced Postgraduate Training
This one-day intensive training offers advanced methodological support for postgraduate researchers (PhD and MA) working at institutions in Scotland at the inte
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noam @noamchompers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
there's always money in the bananas
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mindflakes @mindflakes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The difference between a catacomb and a basement is skulls. Catacomb without skulls? Thats a basement. Skulls in your basement? Thats a catacomb. Tired of having to keep saying this
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Can you add me? Thanks!
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.noemamag.com/why-is-every... Paging David Graeber! Because Workism is nearly always a dead end, and people are thristy for vocations -- AI is just the spotlight here
noemamag.com
Why Is Everyone In Tech So Sad? | NOEMA
A lot of people seem to be realizing that knowledge work is mostly pointless. AI might give us the pleasure of finding out what happens if an entire class of workers loses faith in their careers.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
'Students are attending less, reading less, participating less, and often treating university as one commitment among many.'
wonkhe.com
Students are not disengaged, they are adapting to a thinner university
For Fredrick Agboma and Andrew Doyle, the question isn't whether students are less committed, but what culture they're asked to inhabit
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Barry Lam @hiphination.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I wrote for the Boston Globe about the scandalous higher-ed spending on digital infrastructure that has increased inefficiency. globecollegetown.substack.com/p/higher-ed-...
globecollegetown.substack.com
College campuses need to be liberated from their administrators
Higher ed is being strangled by absurd and costly rules. What message is that sending to students?
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I was living in New York City on 9/11, am sometimes asked what I remember. This captures nicely my most powerful memory www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
starting to get more scam emails from fake publishers/book clubs about my books. targeting authors with fake publicity seems like a very niche scam - anybody else gotten these? what's the endgame for them?
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is fantastic - 'Rhapsody in Blue' with some ragtime, post midcentury swing thrown in, terrific soloists www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Proms - 2026: Rhapsody in Blue
A trio of soloists play Gershwin’s jazz infused classic like you've never heard it before.
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Shane Glackin @eltorosolo.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Don't have confirmation from all affected departments, but... #Philosophy at #Exeter has avoided compulsory redundancies, and so have the other disciplines I've heard from so far. They've wrecked our summer, and bullied beloved colleagues into "voluntary" redundancy. But we're still here.
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Picture This Scotland @74frankfurt.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Vietnamese boat people in Pollok, Glasgow. (1980)
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Princeton Audio @princetonaudio.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
August 30 is #NationalGriefAwarenessDay, a moment to pay attention & extend a hand to those dealing with loss. We hope these works help you feel less alone and provide some strategies & assurances as you navigate grief—your own, or that of a loved one. Available wherever you listen: buff.ly/7KHjy5a
Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves through Dark Moods by Mariana Alessandri, read by Gisela Chípe. How to Grieve: An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation by Marcus Tullius Cicero. translated and edited by Michael Fontaine, read by Gareth Richards. Grief: A Philosophical Guide by Michael Cholbi, read by Mike Lenz. Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives by Robert D. Richardson, read by William Hope
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I strongly endorse these research findings phys.org/news/2026-08...
phys.org
Bright people know more about wine: How higher intelligence is reflected in deep domain knowledge
Intelligent people tend to perform better at school and at work, as numerous studies have shown. But what happens in domains where incentives such as good grades or financial rewards don't apply and w...
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
newrepublic.com/post/214749/...
newrepublic.com
Conscientious Objectors Trying to Flee Military Skyrocket Under Trump
U.S. troops are reaching their breaking point as they say recent orders challenge their moral beliefs.
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Picture This Scotland @74frankfurt.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton at Glasgow Airport in May 1977 before the Royal Variety Show at the King’s Theatre.
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Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
📌
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Bishop Steiner @bishopsteiner.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
still one of the greatest conversations ever put on TV.
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Brooke Harrington @ebharrington.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
absolutely not
Photo of Dunkin Donuts branded shampoos.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 23/08/2026
Study: Not Many Disco Songs About Daytime theonion.com/study-not-many-disco-s…
Study: Not Many Disco Songs About Daytime
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
newrepublic.com/post/214562/...
newrepublic.com
Trump Hates the Troops. The Troops Are Taking Notice.
The administration is desperately trying to spin the hopeless war in Iran as a success, but our service members and their families are telling a different story.
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Olga Byrska @obyrska.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
This might be, unironically, the best LinkedIn post I have ever read:
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Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Call me dad
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Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
🚫
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Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Let's go
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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
So yes, young men need to be persuaded into "caring" careers, which is hard but possible as @jburnmurdoch.ft.com says. I suspect recipients of care will also need to be persuaded to accept it from men, in many cases.
ft.com
Feminism didn’t kill the male breadwinner model, the economy did
Young non-graduate men face unique setbacks
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Michael Cholbi @thatwhichischolbi.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Elegant Edinburgh rainbow
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The Onion @theonion.com · 20/08/2026
Analysts Warn U.S. Economy Becoming Overly Dependent On Anne Hathaway
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JDG @cottonmather.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Ted Williams: **hits home run, returns to dugout** Teammate: Nice one, here’s a giant foam dinosaur helmet for you to wear now Ted Williams: **murders teammate on dugout steps**
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 19/08/2026
People who don’t know the difference between ‘entomology’ and ‘etymology’ bug us in ways we cannot put into words.
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Anon Opin @anonopin.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Can we stop using the word 'pensioner' as a synonym for a struggling elderly person. 1/4 of pensioners have a net worth north of £1m. Lots are doing just fine. They don't need triple lock pensions or a winter fuel allowance, or any other state help.
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Futurism @futurism.com · 16/08/2026
They're even more unpopular than data centers.
trib.al
Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It's Almost Hard to Believe
A new survey of 1,000 young adults in the US found that nine of the top tech executives are deeply loathed.
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Jen Taub @jentaub.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.” ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects
A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it
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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
"The discourse around The Odyssey has been gruelling ... The movie-star casting, vernacular dialogue and American accents have all wound up somebody or other, as if English actors speaking archaically in RP would have been more authentic." Check out our review of Christopher Nolan's epic:
newhumanist.org.uk
The Odyssey we deserve
Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart
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