Rethinking the divide between science and the humanities. normanricklefs.substack.com/p/cp-snow-and-…

There are lots of dictionaries of Classical quotations but very few that are arranged alphabetically by first word of quotation, in Latin and Greek. Unusual... but it allows for great serendipity!

You need to read Plutarch: normanricklefs.substack.com/p/plutarch-on-…

It is *absolutely* possible to become an excellent classicist today if you are prepared to go about it via self-study and online tutorials. Antigone Journal has put together a great list of free resources here: antigonejournal.com/helps/ In fact, there's never been a better time

When Complex Systems Fail: What Iraq, Insurgencies, and Airplanes Teach Us About Fragility Causation is not linear...nor simple normanricklefs.substack.com/p/when-complex…

Would you like to know more? normanricklefs.substack.com/p/the-geopolit…

Sam Altman talks about GPT-8 with David Deutsch, one of the world's most brilliant physicists Sam asks him if GPT8 solved quantum gravity, would that convince him that AGI is achieved. David Deutsch argues the Turing Test is no real measure, LLMs, even "GPT-8" lack true

normanricklefs.substack.com

"It has gone largely unnoticed that time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has since gone into steady decline." By John Burn-Murdoch

More on how warfare has irrevocably changed due to drones. Key quote: "War changed forever and in world there are only three armies that ready for it: Ukraine, russia and north korea." #Ukraine #warfare #drones

🚨Breaking: Harvard University just announced massive cuts to dozens of its PhD programs, citing “financial pressure.” - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German

#Iraq's elections: A high-stakes vote amid the US-#Iran tug of war Check out my latest The New Arab piece, with quotes from Omar Al-Nidawi, Hayder حيدر, Javad Heirannia, Norman Ricklefs, Middle East Institute’s F. Gregory Gause III & IES Beograd’s Srboljub Peović. newarab.com/analysis/iraqs…

The war in Ukraine & historical precedents How the front becomes a “grey zone” and how armies have dealt with this in the past normanricklefs.substack.com/p/the-war-in-u…

Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

New researsh shows ice is slippery because of electrical charges — not pressure and friction. For almost 200 years, the prevailing explanation for ice’s slipperiness was that friction or pressure from a skate, boot, or tire melted a microscopic film of water on the surface,

IMPORTANT message for everyone using Gmail. You have been automatically OPTED IN to allow Gmail to access all your private messages & attachments to train AI models. You have to manually turn off Smart Features in the Setting menu in TWO locations. Retweet so every is aware.