Professor Nutella
@jpnudell.bsky.social
Pizza appreciator, ancient historian, reader, writer, baker. In some order.
Blogging here: https://joshuapnudell.com/blog/
Blogging here: https://joshuapnudell.com/blog/
Reposted by Professor Nutella
I started my PhD in 2009 just as the first big waves of austerity were hitting the higher ed sector from the Recession, and at no point in my career have I seen the trend tending in the other direction.
December 7, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I started my PhD in 2009 just as the first big waves of austerity were hitting the higher ed sector from the Recession, and at no point in my career have I seen the trend tending in the other direction.
13-10 must just be a cursed score in Ohio.
December 7, 2025 at 4:25 AM
13-10 must just be a cursed score in Ohio.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
I am 100 percent convinced that the Supreme Court is going to gut birthright citizenship the way Plessy v Furguson gutting equal protection.
without birthright citizenship in the united states, you don't have a democracy and you don't have rule of law.
revoking birthright citizenship gives fascists free rein to purge the country of literally anyone they don't like. it opens the door to atrocities and mass murder. i am not exaggerating.
revoking birthright citizenship gives fascists free rein to purge the country of literally anyone they don't like. it opens the door to atrocities and mass murder. i am not exaggerating.
December 7, 2025 at 4:12 AM
I am 100 percent convinced that the Supreme Court is going to gut birthright citizenship the way Plessy v Furguson gutting equal protection.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
Stunning footage from earlier today, when the new Kilauea eruption covered the USGS Webcam 3, which is situated in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater near the southern rim of the much larger Kilauea caldera.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
December 7, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Stunning footage from earlier today, when the new Kilauea eruption covered the USGS Webcam 3, which is situated in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater near the southern rim of the much larger Kilauea caldera.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
This *isn't* what the people of Pompeii saw.
But it's not very far off.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
“When participants used ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed a 47% drop in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, & critical reasoning.
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
December 4, 2025 at 2:13 PM
“When participants used ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed a 47% drop in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, & critical reasoning.
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged—a kind of metacognitive mirage.”🧪
November Reading Notes
November Reading Notes
A books post (somewhat belated) with comments about everything I read in November.
joshuapnudell.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:57 AM
November Reading Notes
Thread. I’ve landed in the same place.
I’ve been thinking about the intellectual and affective labor involved in reading AI Generated student papers. I’m forecasting a little of the proposal that @cnygren.bsky.social and I advance in a piece that’ll be out soon but here’s where I’ve personally landed (o speak for myself not for us both):
December 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Thread. I’ve landed in the same place.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
the point being that Buddhists are humans like everybody else and humans are real fucking shitlords sometimes
December 4, 2025 at 10:38 PM
the point being that Buddhists are humans like everybody else and humans are real fucking shitlords sometimes
Reposted by Professor Nutella
So great to see this published! Just in time for the holidays with a 40% discount! 😆 Seriously, though, it was such a pleasure to work with my co-editor @wehutt.bsky.social and our fabulous contributors. Check it out!
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Memory, Ritual, and Identity in Ancient Greece and Rome
The essays in this volume consider the triptych of memory, ritual, and identity in ancient Greece and Rome. The issue of identity has recently dominated the arena of public discourse with renewed urge...
www.degruyterbrill.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:40 PM
So great to see this published! Just in time for the holidays with a 40% discount! 😆 Seriously, though, it was such a pleasure to work with my co-editor @wehutt.bsky.social and our fabulous contributors. Check it out!
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Reposted by Professor Nutella
The digital version of my book is on sale from the good place for $2.99!! bookshop.org/p/books/i-wa...
I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays
Essays
bookshop.org
December 4, 2025 at 8:09 PM
The digital version of my book is on sale from the good place for $2.99!! bookshop.org/p/books/i-wa...
Reposted by Professor Nutella
Every use-case people think they "need" and LLM for is actually papering over a different issue. The teacher using ChatGPT to write narrative reports bc the demand is unreasonable & overwhelming *actually* needs more support and/or compensation or a reduction of demand. It's a LABOR issue.
December 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Every use-case people think they "need" and LLM for is actually papering over a different issue. The teacher using ChatGPT to write narrative reports bc the demand is unreasonable & overwhelming *actually* needs more support and/or compensation or a reduction of demand. It's a LABOR issue.
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a very strange film.
December 4, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a very strange film.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
This newsletter is half about Mad Men, half about AI podcasts, and all about being human. Go read it!!
www.leahreich.com/guy-with-a-v...
www.leahreich.com/guy-with-a-v...
December 4, 2025 at 1:21 AM
This newsletter is half about Mad Men, half about AI podcasts, and all about being human. Go read it!!
www.leahreich.com/guy-with-a-v...
www.leahreich.com/guy-with-a-v...
Reposted by Professor Nutella
And I'll add that one of the reasons why students may not value the experience of writing is because much of the writing they're asked to do in school does not require thinking. In fact, they're given lots of methods (templates, et al) that actively discourage thinking.
December 3, 2025 at 7:47 PM
And I'll add that one of the reasons why students may not value the experience of writing is because much of the writing they're asked to do in school does not require thinking. In fact, they're given lots of methods (templates, et al) that actively discourage thinking.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
this is my #1 advice to grad students: anyone can reproduce jargon; the bigger flex is being able to make the argument in straightforward prose. clarity is indicative of deep thought and engagement. even chatGPT can write word salad.
i strongly, strongly believe that good writing is downstream of clear thinking and a strong understanding of the subject matter at hand. without fail, tortured writing comes from writers who don’t know and can’t think clearly about anything.
Oh man! This paragraph is brutal. The best thing about this review is it's not trying to be mean. It's just listing how bad the writing is.
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
this is my #1 advice to grad students: anyone can reproduce jargon; the bigger flex is being able to make the argument in straightforward prose. clarity is indicative of deep thought and engagement. even chatGPT can write word salad.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
gonna be a real catastrophic collapse of human knowledge as a result of bullshit like the Google notebook LM ai tool if we don't crush it immediately. Cannot overemphasize how poisonous tools like it are to actual expertise. Gonna produce a generation of technical "experts" who cannot think.
December 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
gonna be a real catastrophic collapse of human knowledge as a result of bullshit like the Google notebook LM ai tool if we don't crush it immediately. Cannot overemphasize how poisonous tools like it are to actual expertise. Gonna produce a generation of technical "experts" who cannot think.
The top songs category on my Spotify Wrapped mostly indicates how well my fitness regime went when all five are on my running playlist.
December 3, 2025 at 4:26 PM
The top songs category on my Spotify Wrapped mostly indicates how well my fitness regime went when all five are on my running playlist.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
I actually think the genAI thing is showing us who wants to be scientists and who wants to be perceived as being scientists.
There's been a similar thing with writers and artists....
There's been a similar thing with writers and artists....
Imagine: If we had a crystal ball that tells us what are the discoveries to be made, we wouldn't have to do science in the first place.
Apparently that's some scientists' scientific ideal. Rather than doing science. So many weird ontological and epistemic assumptions to unpack.
Apparently that's some scientists' scientific ideal. Rather than doing science. So many weird ontological and epistemic assumptions to unpack.
December 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I actually think the genAI thing is showing us who wants to be scientists and who wants to be perceived as being scientists.
There's been a similar thing with writers and artists....
There's been a similar thing with writers and artists....
Reposted by Professor Nutella
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)'s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
More Than Words
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)’s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)'s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
Reposted by Professor Nutella
In an ideal world -- which is ours to make! -- an exam should be an exercise designed not for institutions but for *students*, to help them consolidate their knowledge and activate it in a way that facilitates deep learning.
Isn't that . . . kind of the point?
(re: "accommodations" discourse)
Isn't that . . . kind of the point?
(re: "accommodations" discourse)
December 2, 2025 at 11:29 PM
In an ideal world -- which is ours to make! -- an exam should be an exercise designed not for institutions but for *students*, to help them consolidate their knowledge and activate it in a way that facilitates deep learning.
Isn't that . . . kind of the point?
(re: "accommodations" discourse)
Isn't that . . . kind of the point?
(re: "accommodations" discourse)
Reposted by Professor Nutella
the dystopia stuff is just caricature level now … next up “new start up is testing how to use AI to deactivate the part of your brain that experiences emotion and makes you feel alive”
Several new tech start-ups are building replicas of sites so A.I. can learn to use the internet and maybe replace white-collar workers.
Silicon Valley Builds Amazon and Gmail Copycats to Train A.I. Agents
Several new start-ups are building replicas of sites so A.I. can learn to use the internet and maybe replace white-collar workers.
nyti.ms
December 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
the dystopia stuff is just caricature level now … next up “new start up is testing how to use AI to deactivate the part of your brain that experiences emotion and makes you feel alive”
I do this, too.
Teaching thing I find useful: if a student stops showing up for class, make the subject line of your email "Is everything OK?" When people are overwhelmed they'll often avoid even opening bad-news emails (cf. me & my bank statements). This way, they know I'm reaching out to help, not chastise.
December 2, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I do this, too.
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)'s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
More Than Words
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)’s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Thoughts on John Warner (@biblioracle.bsky.social)'s More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Hachette 2025).
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
joshuapnudell.com/2025/12/02/m...
Reposted by Professor Nutella
If this is the direction higher ed institutions want to head we should just pack it in. I thought education was for humans. This is not the way.
AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions apnews.com/article/ai-c...
AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions
Students applying to college know they're not supposed to use AI chatbots to write their essays. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read those es...
apnews.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:25 PM
If this is the direction higher ed institutions want to head we should just pack it in. I thought education was for humans. This is not the way.
Reposted by Professor Nutella
“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to
December 1, 2025 at 11:29 PM
“AI is clearly sticking around so you have to get used to it” wrong. I don’t have to get used to shit. I am a practiced hater and I can keep this going for decades if I am required to