I ran across 2 relevant stories this morning:
1)
https://www.404media.co/ice-just-paid-palantir-tens-of-millions-for-complete-target-analysis-of-known-populations/
2)
https://www.cascadepbs.org/environment/2025/04/new-federal-policy-leaves-noaa-scientists-clean-mess
I may have to start sending money to 404, maybe cancel my Guardian sub. On the
one hand, the kidnappings so far have been incompetent. Palantir (way more Evil
than xAI or Twitter) will drastically improve ICE's competence. Sadly.
But re the primary point made, here, I've never believed in universities, per
se. Any academics I managed to integrate into my world view came from
application, not from lectures. Even last night, wracked by coughing, I kept
thinking that I can't/don't really even collaborate on *problems* or arguments
or algorithms or whatever abstract thing. I can only collaborate on things,
objects, machines, etc. On the one hand, Gessen's idea (in light of scientists
having to do IT and take out the trash) might foster this kind of concrete
collaboration. It would look more like apprenticeship than oracles
tongue-wagging mysterious revelations at you.
But on the other hand, it's difficult to do intense specialized work if you have to be a
renaissance person in everything you do with little specialization. There's a conflict (not quite a
contradiction) within Gessen's "act like universities, not like businesses." Is the
janitor also a math student? And a book keeper? IDK. Maybe this Trump deconstruction is necessary
to realize the lofty "school" Nick used to babble about.
On 4/15/25 1:11 PM, Santafe wrote:
On Apr 15, 2025, at 23:23, glen <[email protected]> wrote:
Meanwhile, in the actual world:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fdailynous.com%2f2025%2f04%2f15%2fphilosophy-major-snatched-by-ice-during-citizenship-interview%2f&c=E,1,L2ZI3y2CS5tyf6183uFV4tgrUv3__xDR-FHW6S-Wy1gbdeGn2ZkQcyFv_bTqvzhaOIQMRuwSBdHDtKoE0CvhMmJVBK2sCyoblTAr04YmIKWMLYvGVXxnN8I-7alQ&typo=1
I would like to see the media start to refer to these as kidnappings, or
abductions, or some other at-least-properly-scoped term. In every case where
that is the correct one, which I think would be every case we have seen in the
news so far.
Turns out Masha Gessen wrote a kind of nice piece in the NYT a few days ago,
which came to me on a different list.
14gessen-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-v2.jpg
Opinion | This Is How Universities Can Escape Trump’s Trap, if They Dare
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/opinion/trump-higher-education.html>
nytimes.com
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/opinion/trump-higher-education.html>
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/opinion/trump-higher-education.html>
To the extent that it has been done, it’s proper to say it is a strategy. I
think the resulting education will end up being rather more restrictive than
what I had hoped for from a full educational program, and probably focused
heavily on civics. Math could be possible, in the sense that that can be
taught “behind the hedges”. Medical research, not so much. But, one does what
one can do.
It’s an interesting question what is the proper balance of criticism and
understanding to give the businessmen who run universities, and who have
Darwin-wise managed to eliminate almost any other model from the ecosystem.
It’s not total criticism, in the sense that there is sheer mechanics that they
do contribute to solving, without which the broad set of functions I want don’t
get done. But the sense that they don’t take seriously what it means to live
under a fascist regime where dissidence is the _only_ alternative to
collaboration — there is no more neutrality — does seem to be a deserved
criticism of their responses so far.
Eric
--
¡sıɹƎ ןıɐH ⊥ ɐןןǝdoɹ ǝ uǝןƃ
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