Donovan Schaefer
@feelingtheory.bsky.social
Teaching/writing about emotion, secularism, & power at @upennrels.bsky.social
Current projects: Conspiracy theory, secular artifacts, Confederate commemoration
🐱🐱 Brighton & Bristol
🌱 ⓥ food
🏙️ Philly
✍️📚: http://donovanschaefer.com/research
Current projects: Conspiracy theory, secular artifacts, Confederate commemoration
🐱🐱 Brighton & Bristol
🌱 ⓥ food
🏙️ Philly
✍️📚: http://donovanschaefer.com/research
Pinned
Coming soon to a library near you: The False Image of History Project book!
We're thrilled to announce that the False Image of History project will be published as a book as part of the Reconstructing America series at Fordham University Press @fordhampress.bsky.social!
We're thrilled to announce that the False Image of History project will be published as a book as part of the Reconstructing America series at Fordham University Press @fordhampress.bsky.social!
Manuscript submitted for review!
95,000 words. 48 chapters. 4 years of work.
Extremely excited to be bringing this into the world with my brilliant collaborators Olivia Haynie and @justinseward.bsky.social!
95,000 words. 48 chapters. 4 years of work.
Extremely excited to be bringing this into the world with my brilliant collaborators Olivia Haynie and @justinseward.bsky.social!
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
This is a legitimate scientific revolution in meteorology.
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
Meteorologists are surprised that the weather model that did the best job forecasting hurricanes this year was a new one, introduced by Google. AI may be the beginning of a new era of forecasting. n.pr/49MFa1M
As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season ends, the future of forecasting is AI
Meteorologists are surprised that the weather model that did the best job forecasting hurricanes this year was a new one, introduced by Google. AI may be the beginning of a new era of forecasting.
n.pr
November 30, 2025 at 5:55 AM
This is a legitimate scientific revolution in meteorology.
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
Also, to be clear, these models are not the AI LLMs that most people are familiar with. They are machine learning algorithms trained on observations (actually reanalysis).
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
Hard to tell which is worse AI slop, the text or the image.
November 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Hard to tell which is worse AI slop, the text or the image.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
No wonder I have no interest in psychedelics anymore.
November 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
No wonder I have no interest in psychedelics anymore.
Nerding out over the @aarweb.bsky.social repository of annual meeting program books going back to 1938 (still the National Association of Biblical Instructors at the time). Amazing resource for studying the history of the field. #AARSBL25 #SBLAAR25
digital.pitts.emory.edu/s/digital-co...
digital.pitts.emory.edu/s/digital-co...
digital.pitts.emory.edu
November 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Nerding out over the @aarweb.bsky.social repository of annual meeting program books going back to 1938 (still the National Association of Biblical Instructors at the time). Amazing resource for studying the history of the field. #AARSBL25 #SBLAAR25
digital.pitts.emory.edu/s/digital-co...
digital.pitts.emory.edu/s/digital-co...
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
…Oh. Oh no. Oh no nonono. …And yet: of course.
"Gen AI" tells you the thing you are statistically most likely to accept so you keep using it— & research shows that most people who like "AI" like it *Because* it sycophantically tells them their ideas are great & should defs be implemented. So… Yeah.
"Gen AI" tells you the thing you are statistically most likely to accept so you keep using it— & research shows that most people who like "AI" like it *Because* it sycophantically tells them their ideas are great & should defs be implemented. So… Yeah.
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
…Oh. Oh no. Oh no nonono. …And yet: of course.
"Gen AI" tells you the thing you are statistically most likely to accept so you keep using it— & research shows that most people who like "AI" like it *Because* it sycophantically tells them their ideas are great & should defs be implemented. So… Yeah.
"Gen AI" tells you the thing you are statistically most likely to accept so you keep using it— & research shows that most people who like "AI" like it *Because* it sycophantically tells them their ideas are great & should defs be implemented. So… Yeah.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
There is a direct correlation between how fake your job is and how much value you see in AI
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
Execs are embracing AI more than their employees are, new research suggests
Research from HR software company Dayforce suggests that executives are leaning into AI far more than their employees.
www.businessinsider.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:28 PM
There is a direct correlation between how fake your job is and how much value you see in AI
seriously what is this song actually about
There are 3 canonical interpretations of Mommy kissing Santa:
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
November 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
seriously what is this song actually about
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
Last month, @theguardian.com framed this historical event project the same way; minimizing the years of archival work, the interviews etc it took to be able to do this.
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
November 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Last month, @theguardian.com framed this historical event project the same way; minimizing the years of archival work, the interviews etc it took to be able to do this.
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
Instead ‘AI solved this historical problem!’
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
This would be an unambiguous war crime even in a proper war against a real enemy’s navy.
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:37 PM
This would be an unambiguous war crime even in a proper war against a real enemy’s navy.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
I wrote a book about the many ways emotion is necessary for science, secularism, and atheism
November 27, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I wrote a book about the many ways emotion is necessary for science, secularism, and atheism
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
Even if we find a way that science itself survives this, trust in science is something much more fickle. I don’t think scientists have understood how important and fragile the public‘s trust in their work really is. They trust us to be accurate and transparent, but we’re not. How can we fix this?
3/
3/
November 28, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Even if we find a way that science itself survives this, trust in science is something much more fickle. I don’t think scientists have understood how important and fragile the public‘s trust in their work really is. They trust us to be accurate and transparent, but we’re not. How can we fix this?
3/
3/
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
Then: Investigate and, if needed, blacklist all authors, reviewers, and editors that were involved with this paper. This is independent from the other thing, because no matter if there was AI involved or not, they have chosen not to fulfill their important duty for science.
5/6
5/6
November 28, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Then: Investigate and, if needed, blacklist all authors, reviewers, and editors that were involved with this paper. This is independent from the other thing, because no matter if there was AI involved or not, they have chosen not to fulfill their important duty for science.
5/6
5/6
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
First, obviously, ban all gen AI tools for the creation of academic text and images. Punish violations with immediate rejection. AI tools are neither accurate nor transparent, and science doesn’t need them. Kick them all out.
4/6
4/6
November 28, 2025 at 12:36 PM
First, obviously, ban all gen AI tools for the creation of academic text and images. Punish violations with immediate rejection. AI tools are neither accurate nor transparent, and science doesn’t need them. Kick them all out.
4/6
4/6
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
we have to go back. to warn them.
November 28, 2025 at 2:49 AM
we have to go back. to warn them.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
No.
Let’s all go around the table and say one word we’re thankful for.
November 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
No.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
i’m biased, but i’m thinking academic(!) religious studies needs to be taught in US public schools.
VP JD Vance stood before a crowd and tried to falsify history, claiming Christians ended widespread mass child-sacrifice practices among Native Americans
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
i’m biased, but i’m thinking academic(!) religious studies needs to be taught in US public schools.
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
For a small fee, I will go to your historian enemy’s seminar presentation and say “I guess I’m just wondering what the “so what” of this paper is?”
November 26, 2025 at 9:45 PM
For a small fee, I will go to your historian enemy’s seminar presentation and say “I guess I’m just wondering what the “so what” of this paper is?”
I wrote a book about the many ways emotion is necessary for science, secularism, and atheism
November 27, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I wrote a book about the many ways emotion is necessary for science, secularism, and atheism
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
Finished S2 rewatch last week! It would be fine if it just happened to be some other show, but has the misfortune of being the follow-up to S1. Biggest mistake of the script is that there's no mystery for the audience to uncover--unlike in S1. -->
Rewatching Stranger Things in advance of the finale. Blown away all over again by how well-done S1 is.
It's basically 3 perfectly crafted early-80s genre pieces welded together: a G-rated kids adventure (Goonies/ET), a teen slasher, and an R-rated horror (Aliens/Predator) centered on Joyce and Jim
It's basically 3 perfectly crafted early-80s genre pieces welded together: a G-rated kids adventure (Goonies/ET), a teen slasher, and an R-rated horror (Aliens/Predator) centered on Joyce and Jim
November 26, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Finished S2 rewatch last week! It would be fine if it just happened to be some other show, but has the misfortune of being the follow-up to S1. Biggest mistake of the script is that there's no mystery for the audience to uncover--unlike in S1. -->
Reposted by Donovan Schaefer
An outstanding piece of science writing digging into the new research on *When Prophecy Fails*. Some of the commentary on this Mother Jones article seems a bit off the mark of what it actually says. I've been working on this lately so here's a deep-dive on some of the claims.
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1/
NEW: When Propecy Fails is one of the most famous social psychology books of all time, a look at a small group of UFO believers when the “spacemen” failed to land. I wrote about a new study from an independent researcher who says the book is not what it seems. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
It’s one of the most influential social psychology studies ever. Was it all a lie?
A classic book on UFO believers and their "cognitive dissonance" after aliens failed to land is called into question.
www.motherjones.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
An outstanding piece of science writing digging into the new research on *When Prophecy Fails*. Some of the commentary on this Mother Jones article seems a bit off the mark of what it actually says. I've been working on this lately so here's a deep-dive on some of the claims.
1/
1/
An outstanding piece of science writing digging into the new research on *When Prophecy Fails*. Some of the commentary on this Mother Jones article seems a bit off the mark of what it actually says. I've been working on this lately so here's a deep-dive on some of the claims.
1/
1/
NEW: When Propecy Fails is one of the most famous social psychology books of all time, a look at a small group of UFO believers when the “spacemen” failed to land. I wrote about a new study from an independent researcher who says the book is not what it seems. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
It’s one of the most influential social psychology studies ever. Was it all a lie?
A classic book on UFO believers and their "cognitive dissonance" after aliens failed to land is called into question.
www.motherjones.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
An outstanding piece of science writing digging into the new research on *When Prophecy Fails*. Some of the commentary on this Mother Jones article seems a bit off the mark of what it actually says. I've been working on this lately so here's a deep-dive on some of the claims.
1/
1/