The Robots are Coming

The world changed forever at the end of this past November. If you aren't a very online person, you may not have any idea what I'm talking about. But if you do spend much time online, particularly on Twitter, you are aware of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. It is certainly...

The End of Higher Education

Sometimes I don't know what is real news and what only exists on Twitter, so you'll forgive me if this is old news or not-news-at-all. I promise if you keep reading it will be relevant especially if you are a student or the parent of a student. A couple of weeks ago, a confederation of...

twitter doesn’t get a vote

If you haven't read Bari Weiss' letter of resignation from the New York Times, I won't at all be offended if you forgot about this post in order to read her blistering manifesto. In case you don’t know the context. Weiss was a centrist columnist at the NYT. After months of internal hostility and abuse...

religion and cancel culture

John Calvin famously called human nature an "idol factory." This seems to be self-evidently true. We are always creating for ourselves objects or ideas to venerate. If that's true, then it is also true that we are always creating for ourselves new religions. A religion, to put it very simply, is a set of beliefs...

the most annoying people on social media (simpsons version)

On the most recent episode of the Every Thought Captive Podcast, we discussed some of the most annoying types of people that exist on social media. I've had years of discipline and practice reflecting on annoying people on social media - mostly by reading my own tweets. You should listen to the whole episode, but...

silicon valley’s frankensteins

There is a critical scene in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that has Frankenstein's monster hiding in a hovel adjoining an out-of-the-way cottage. A hovel is an appropriately chosen abode for the monster. The image of a hovel brings to mind a solitary and wretched existence. "Wretch" is a favorite word of Shelley's. She uses it 38...

is virtue signalling a sin?

I promise I'll not make a habit of this, but I have one of those personality types where it is hard to let a conversation go without replaying it in my mind over and over again. It's not a particularly enjoyable quirk to have - especially as a person who communicates for a living. So...

animals

"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" Is it ever acceptable to refer to another human being as an animal? You probably know why I'm asking the question. The Twittergensia lost its collective mind (which it somehow manages to lose at least three times a day) recently...

on preaching and choirs

I hadn't planned on doing this, but I am earnestly committed to avoiding work at the moment, so I decided to take a little time and respond to some constructive criticism I've received from my last post. Also, because I'm currently on a bit of a well needed hiatus from Twittering I've decided to respond...