Ainur Elmgren
@aelmgren.bsky.social
Docent in Nordic history, university lecturer in history and social studies (University of Oulu). Draws comics. Interests: History education, 1910s/1920s politics & culture, Tatars, Avars, Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages.
Suomi/Svenska/English/Deutsch
Suomi/Svenska/English/Deutsch
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...
December 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Two independent studies found that AI chatbots were better at persuading voters than political ads. The most persuasive bots also lied the most. This is something that humans working in psyops have known for decades. AI is psyops at scale. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/04/1...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
The Roundworld year for 2026 shall be known as [FX Drum Roll] : The Year of the Curious Squid. Artwork by Discworld artist Paul Kidby.
December 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM
The Roundworld year for 2026 shall be known as [FX Drum Roll] : The Year of the Curious Squid. Artwork by Discworld artist Paul Kidby.
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
We are told that, under stress, the humanities must be sacrificed. But amidst a war of aggression scholars in Ukraine have undertaken one of the most ambitious knowledge projects of our time. It's a privilege to be involved with Ukrainian History Global Initiative
snyder.substack.com/p/ukrainian-...
snyder.substack.com/p/ukrainian-...
Ukrainian History Global Initiative
The Creative Humanities During a War of Destruction
snyder.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
We are told that, under stress, the humanities must be sacrificed. But amidst a war of aggression scholars in Ukraine have undertaken one of the most ambitious knowledge projects of our time. It's a privilege to be involved with Ukrainian History Global Initiative
snyder.substack.com/p/ukrainian-...
snyder.substack.com/p/ukrainian-...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Some 1,900 years ago a child was buried with an array of terracotta figurines in the #Roman town of Arae Flaviae, #Rottweil: 2 pigeons, 2 dogs, 2 roosters, a chicken, a duck, and a female figure, commonly identified as Iuventas, the personification of youth. Rather than....🧵1/2
🏺
📷 me
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📷 me
December 4, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
One of my most favourite glass vessels: A marvellous Roman vessel in the form of a pig, made of blue glass. It was used to hold ointment or perfume.
Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
December 5, 2025 at 9:10 AM
One of my most favourite glass vessels: A marvellous Roman vessel in the form of a pig, made of blue glass. It was used to hold ointment or perfume.
Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Found in a burial in Cologne. Dating late 2nd/early 3rd century AD
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
#FindsFriday figurines and statues from Tell Abraq in the UAE. Their styles are variously from Arabia, India, the Roman Levant and southern Mesopotamia, indicating extensive overland and maritime trade across Western Asia during the pre-Islamic period
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
December 5, 2025 at 8:13 AM
#FindsFriday figurines and statues from Tell Abraq in the UAE. Their styles are variously from Arabia, India, the Roman Levant and southern Mesopotamia, indicating extensive overland and maritime trade across Western Asia during the pre-Islamic period
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
What looks like an alien starship visiting a small country estate in eighteenth-century Germany is in fact, *checks notes* a giant pomelo. So nothing to see here, #skystorians
December 5, 2025 at 11:32 AM
What looks like an alien starship visiting a small country estate in eighteenth-century Germany is in fact, *checks notes* a giant pomelo. So nothing to see here, #skystorians
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
New OA article linking the timing of the Black Death's arrival in Europe to a volcanically induced climate downturn in 1345-1347 that brought famine & desperation among Italian city-states to import additional grain from Black Sea regions already impacted by plague: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Climate-driven changes in Mediterranean grain trade mitigated famine but introduced the Black Death to medieval Europe - Communications Earth & Environment
Post-volcanic climate downtown in southern Europe around 1345–1347 CE caused widespread famine, leading to Italian maritime republics importing grain from the Black Sea region and introducing fleas ca...
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:38 PM
New OA article linking the timing of the Black Death's arrival in Europe to a volcanically induced climate downturn in 1345-1347 that brought famine & desperation among Italian city-states to import additional grain from Black Sea regions already impacted by plague: www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Ändå skumt att dagens ungdomar inte flippar ut mer?
December 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Ändå skumt att dagens ungdomar inte flippar ut mer?
"The real tragedy isn’t that students use ChatGPT to do their course work. It’s that universities are teaching everyone—students, faculty, administrators—to stop thinking."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself
Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.
www.currentaffairs.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:29 AM
"The real tragedy isn’t that students use ChatGPT to do their course work. It’s that universities are teaching everyone—students, faculty, administrators—to stop thinking."
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
Ooh! With horseradish. This must be great.
Shout out to Pilsudksi, the mustard not the politician. From Pennsylvania
December 4, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Ooh! With horseradish. This must be great.
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
A thread of my articles at Wellcome Stories. Starting with some very good dogs.
wellcomecollection.org/stories/guid...
wellcomecollection.org/stories/guid...
Guide dogs or good dogs from the Middle Ages
Medieval illustrations often show blind people, sometimes with dogs. But working out whether these were actually guide dogs involves a mix of detailed detective work and expert speculation.
wellcomecollection.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A thread of my articles at Wellcome Stories. Starting with some very good dogs.
wellcomecollection.org/stories/guid...
wellcomecollection.org/stories/guid...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Journal of Finnish Studies special issue series "Multilingual Finland":
1️⃣Vol. 27.2: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
2️⃣Vol. 28.1: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
✍️Contributors: @aelmgren.bsky.social, @friederikelupke.bsky.social, @johannalaakso.bsky.social & more!
1️⃣Vol. 27.2: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
2️⃣Vol. 28.1: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
✍️Contributors: @aelmgren.bsky.social, @friederikelupke.bsky.social, @johannalaakso.bsky.social & more!
December 3, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Journal of Finnish Studies special issue series "Multilingual Finland":
1️⃣Vol. 27.2: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
2️⃣Vol. 28.1: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
✍️Contributors: @aelmgren.bsky.social, @friederikelupke.bsky.social, @johannalaakso.bsky.social & more!
1️⃣Vol. 27.2: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
2️⃣Vol. 28.1: scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jfs/issu...
✍️Contributors: @aelmgren.bsky.social, @friederikelupke.bsky.social, @johannalaakso.bsky.social & more!
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Somewhere in a Roman brickyard, around 1800 years ago, a fresh tile was drying ahead of firing - until a dog trotted straight across it.
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
December 2, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Somewhere in a Roman brickyard, around 1800 years ago, a fresh tile was drying ahead of firing - until a dog trotted straight across it.
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Centuries later, the tile has made it into a museum: not because of an emperor, but thanks to one dog who accidentally walked his way into history.🧵1/2
📷me
Ainur's museum year Advent calendar starts today with this 12thC brooch and chain ensemble excavated in Latvia, Aizkraukle, now in the British Museum. The bird pendant looks familiar to fans of Permian and Iron Age Finnic and Baltic jewelry. Read more: www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
December 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Ainur's museum year Advent calendar starts today with this 12thC brooch and chain ensemble excavated in Latvia, Aizkraukle, now in the British Museum. The bird pendant looks familiar to fans of Permian and Iron Age Finnic and Baltic jewelry. Read more: www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Visiting Oulu Central Library Saari the first time after its renovation. Still a concrete brutalist marvel. May have overestimated the time I have for reading...
#booksky #concretebrutalism #architecture
#booksky #concretebrutalism #architecture
November 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Visiting Oulu Central Library Saari the first time after its renovation. Still a concrete brutalist marvel. May have overestimated the time I have for reading...
#booksky #concretebrutalism #architecture
#booksky #concretebrutalism #architecture
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
'Once men turned their minds over to machines. This only allowed other men to manipulate them.' (Herbert 1965)
November 30, 2025 at 1:48 PM
'Once men turned their minds over to machines. This only allowed other men to manipulate them.' (Herbert 1965)
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
📜 From Old Books, 18th Century
“I saw that #knowledge is a light for humankind,
Like the brightness of the sun when free from clouds.
For the light of the sun fades with every day,
Whereas the light of knowledge remains everlasting.”
“I saw that #knowledge is a light for humankind,
Like the brightness of the sun when free from clouds.
For the light of the sun fades with every day,
Whereas the light of knowledge remains everlasting.”
November 30, 2025 at 12:52 AM
📜 From Old Books, 18th Century
“I saw that #knowledge is a light for humankind,
Like the brightness of the sun when free from clouds.
For the light of the sun fades with every day,
Whereas the light of knowledge remains everlasting.”
“I saw that #knowledge is a light for humankind,
Like the brightness of the sun when free from clouds.
For the light of the sun fades with every day,
Whereas the light of knowledge remains everlasting.”
Kul interaktiv karta. "17,3% av befolkningen i de sydöstra delarna av centrala Gislaved har finländsk bakgrund, vilket är högst andel i Jönköpings län." Så var det nog redan på 1980-talet då jag bodde i Gislaved (dock i nordväst).
www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/inte...
www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/inte...
Interaktiv karta: Här är det mest finländska bostadsområdet i ditt län - Sveriges Radio Finska
Sveriges Radio Finska har undersökt hur stor andel personer med finländsk bakgrund bor i olika delar av Sverige.Klicka på kartan och se vilket område i ...
www.sverigesradio.se
November 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Kul interaktiv karta. "17,3% av befolkningen i de sydöstra delarna av centrala Gislaved har finländsk bakgrund, vilket är högst andel i Jönköpings län." Så var det nog redan på 1980-talet då jag bodde i Gislaved (dock i nordväst).
www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/inte...
www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/inte...
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”: Revisiting Bernard of Chartres’ Metaphor and Its Hidden Legacy www.medievalists.net/2025/08/stan... #MiddleAges
"Standing on the Shoulders of Giants": Revisiting Bernard of Chartres’ Metaphor and Its Hidden Legacy - Medievalists.net
A look at the medieval origins and deeper meaning behind the metaphor of standing on the shoulders of giants.
www.medievalists.net
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”: Revisiting Bernard of Chartres’ Metaphor and Its Hidden Legacy www.medievalists.net/2025/08/stan... #MiddleAges
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
Tänään paistoin pärämätsejä. #tatarasmr #peremeçköne
November 23, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Tänään paistoin pärämätsejä. #tatarasmr #peremeçköne
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
It's a huge cycle of stupid - verisimilitude is the point, not verity; hiding and obfuscating provenance is a feature. Only the most trivial of prose will yield to automated testing against any definition of truth or even correctness. And yet for this we burn.
November 23, 2025 at 11:46 AM
It's a huge cycle of stupid - verisimilitude is the point, not verity; hiding and obfuscating provenance is a feature. Only the most trivial of prose will yield to automated testing against any definition of truth or even correctness. And yet for this we burn.
Reposted by Ainur Elmgren
A new paper argues that current generative AI tools offer little benefit for genuine learning unless students already have substantial prior knowledge. genAI gives probabilistic summaries, not the kind of support that builds expertise.
November 23, 2025 at 7:47 AM
A new paper argues that current generative AI tools offer little benefit for genuine learning unless students already have substantial prior knowledge. genAI gives probabilistic summaries, not the kind of support that builds expertise.