Patrick McCray
@patrickmccray.bsky.social
Professor @ UCSB => science + tech + environment
Kluge Chair in Technology & Society @ LoC, 2025-26
New book = https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553483/readme/
Cairn kicker 🚵 🎣 🧗♂️⛷️🏄🏼♂️🏔 in Cali-rado.
More = https://www.patrickmccray.com
Kluge Chair in Technology & Society @ LoC, 2025-26
New book = https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262553483/readme/
Cairn kicker 🚵 🎣 🧗♂️⛷️🏄🏼♂️🏔 in Cali-rado.
More = https://www.patrickmccray.com
Pinned
My new book will be out in early December 2025 via
@mitpress.bsky.social
Details at: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255348...
#HistSci #Computing #History #Books 🗃️
@mitpress.bsky.social
Details at: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255348...
#HistSci #Computing #History #Books 🗃️
Here's the in-house medievalist talking about her new project on medieval bees, gardens, and agriculture...
#medieval #bees #gardens #environmentalhistory
magazine.libarts.colostate.edu/article/hist...
#medieval #bees #gardens #environmentalhistory
magazine.libarts.colostate.edu/article/hist...
Medieval lessons on bees and reshaping Colorado classrooms - Magazine
Travel back with Historians as your podcast guide to using our past as a way to improve our present, from K-12 classrooms to modern bee-keeping.
magazine.libarts.colostate.edu
February 1, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Here's the in-house medievalist talking about her new project on medieval bees, gardens, and agriculture...
#medieval #bees #gardens #environmentalhistory
magazine.libarts.colostate.edu/article/hist...
#medieval #bees #gardens #environmentalhistory
magazine.libarts.colostate.edu/article/hist...
There are few public trash cans in Japanese cities. At the same time, there also very few pigeons & other critters that like what's in the trash cans. I'll take well-designed, plentiful & clean public toilets + collective responsibility for trash over lotsa bins any day.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
Tourists in Japan Are Baffled: Where Are the Trash Cans?
One of the cleanest places in the world has almost no public garbage bins, forcing visitors to rely on coat pockets and backpacks.
www.wsj.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:30 PM
There are few public trash cans in Japanese cities. At the same time, there also very few pigeons & other critters that like what's in the trash cans. I'll take well-designed, plentiful & clean public toilets + collective responsibility for trash over lotsa bins any day.
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
Ride for Alex; Fort Collins, CO
January 31, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Ride for Alex; Fort Collins, CO
"Mr. Lutnick planned the Caribbean excursion along with his wife, Allison...they would be arriving on a 188-foot yacht called “Excellence.”...A day later, an assistant to Mr. Epstein forwarded Mr. Lutnick a message from Mr. Epstein: “Nice seeing you,” it said."
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Live Updates: Millions of Pages of Epstein Documents Released
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:03 PM
"Mr. Lutnick planned the Caribbean excursion along with his wife, Allison...they would be arriving on a 188-foot yacht called “Excellence.”...A day later, an assistant to Mr. Epstein forwarded Mr. Lutnick a message from Mr. Epstein: “Nice seeing you,” it said."
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
"Born to Black farmers in rural Virginia, Dr. West lived through remarkable societal and technological transformations — from segregation to the civil rights movement, from calculators to supercomputers, and from paper maps to Google Maps."
Remarkable!
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
Remarkable!
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
Gladys West, Unsung Figure in Development of GPS, Dies at 95
www.nytimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:12 PM
"Born to Black farmers in rural Virginia, Dr. West lived through remarkable societal and technological transformations — from segregation to the civil rights movement, from calculators to supercomputers, and from paper maps to Google Maps."
Remarkable!
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
Remarkable!
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...
40 years ago...Jan. 1986 - I was a freshman engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh when I learned about the Challenger explosion. I've since used the accident in a variety of teaching situations.
January 28, 2026 at 7:12 PM
40 years ago...Jan. 1986 - I was a freshman engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh when I learned about the Challenger explosion. I've since used the accident in a variety of teaching situations.
I gave a book talk at Stanford a few days ago; a student reporter grokked it:
stanforddaily.com/2026/01/25/r...
stanforddaily.com/2026/01/25/r...
'README' reveals McCray's bookish vision for technological change
In a book talk made meta, McCray reminds us that the history of computers is also one of books as well.
stanforddaily.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:40 PM
I gave a book talk at Stanford a few days ago; a student reporter grokked it:
stanforddaily.com/2026/01/25/r...
stanforddaily.com/2026/01/25/r...
“The good ideas are coming from China,” LeCun said. “But Silicon Valley also has a superiority complex, so it can’t imagine that good ideas can come from other places.”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/t...
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/t...
An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:44 PM
“The good ideas are coming from China,” LeCun said. “But Silicon Valley also has a superiority complex, so it can’t imagine that good ideas can come from other places.”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/t...
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/t...
"The coal mascot—named “Coalie”—appears to be a new character designed to represent the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior. "
January 26, 2026 at 3:11 PM
"The coal mascot—named “Coalie”—appears to be a new character designed to represent the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), a bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior. "
Any statement from the NRA?
Didn't think so.
Didn't think so.
January 24, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Any statement from the NRA?
Didn't think so.
Didn't think so.
Crazy to be wishing that Colorado's Front Range would get as much snow as Arkansas is projected to receive
January 24, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Crazy to be wishing that Colorado's Front Range would get as much snow as Arkansas is projected to receive
Thoughtful dialogue here with @anneapplebaum.bsky.social ...but surprised to not see a reference to Lysenkoism; I think that's perhaps the best analogy for understanding what's happening with respect to science.
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education
It’s not just about cuts to research. It’s about power.
www.theatlantic.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Thoughtful dialogue here with @anneapplebaum.bsky.social ...but surprised to not see a reference to Lysenkoism; I think that's perhaps the best analogy for understanding what's happening with respect to science.
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
January 23, 2026 at 3:49 PM
If LLMs and "A.I. products" represent a deity, then it is blind idiot god.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/s...
It Makes Sense That People See A.I. as God
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM
If LLMs and "A.I. products" represent a deity, then it is blind idiot god.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/s...
Science is the production of reliable knowledge about the natural world...A.I. slop is degrading that reliability
Via @rossandersen.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Via @rossandersen.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Science Is Drowning in AI Slop
Peer review has met its match.
www.theatlantic.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Science is the production of reliable knowledge about the natural world...A.I. slop is degrading that reliability
Via @rossandersen.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Via @rossandersen.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
Reposted by Patrick McCray
Here's the recording of my conversation with Patrick McCray (@patrickmccray.bsky.social) about his new book from MIT Press, README, at the Computer History Museum. Audio podcast to follow.
youtu.be/reeVfmw4sbI
youtu.be/reeVfmw4sbI
CHM Live | Read Me: The Books that Inspired the Computing Revolution
YouTube video by Computer History Museum
youtu.be
January 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Here's the recording of my conversation with Patrick McCray (@patrickmccray.bsky.social) about his new book from MIT Press, README, at the Computer History Museum. Audio podcast to follow.
youtu.be/reeVfmw4sbI
youtu.be/reeVfmw4sbI
Last evening, I talked about my new book *README* at the Computer History Museum. One of the chapters in it is about Don Knuth's classic TeXBook. I was surprised and a little terrified to look out to the crowd and see Prof. Knuth sitting in the first row...we talked afterwards & he was quite nice.
January 21, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Last evening, I talked about my new book *README* at the Computer History Museum. One of the chapters in it is about Don Knuth's classic TeXBook. I was surprised and a little terrified to look out to the crowd and see Prof. Knuth sitting in the first row...we talked afterwards & he was quite nice.
"Now Boarding the Freedom Plane"...The plane, organized by the National Archives, will take rare 18th-century documents around the country in a tour loosely inspired by the Bicentennial’s Freedom Train.
Someone tell Nicolas Cage!
Someone tell Nicolas Cage!
January 20, 2026 at 4:44 PM
"Now Boarding the Freedom Plane"...The plane, organized by the National Archives, will take rare 18th-century documents around the country in a tour loosely inspired by the Bicentennial’s Freedom Train.
Someone tell Nicolas Cage!
Someone tell Nicolas Cage!
In lieu of the US's Arecibo dish, which collapsed catastrophically in 2020, researchers are now using China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to revisit those radio sources for 15 minutes each.
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
SETI@home: Data Analysis and Findings
SETI@home: Data Analysis and Findings, Anderson, David P., Korpela, Eric J., Werthimer, Dan, Cobb, Jeff, Allen, Bruce
iopscience.iop.org
January 20, 2026 at 3:24 PM
In lieu of the US's Arecibo dish, which collapsed catastrophically in 2020, researchers are now using China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to revisit those radio sources for 15 minutes each.
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
Good luck to all my colleagues teaching the history of US foreign relations this quarter...
a man wearing a suit and tie has two small umbrellas on his head
ALT: a man wearing a suit and tie has two small umbrellas on his head
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Good luck to all my colleagues teaching the history of US foreign relations this quarter...
Since I am in southern California right now, I'd appreciate if folks would keep their gorgeous, colorful, enviable aurorae pix to themselves, mm'k?
January 20, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Since I am in southern California right now, I'd appreciate if folks would keep their gorgeous, colorful, enviable aurorae pix to themselves, mm'k?