Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

The over generalization of specific LLMs into ‘AI’ is ridiculous and takes debates in wrong directions. Everyone will use the appropriate computerized tools for their tasks. The real question is which tools are most appropriate for which tasks and how can we make those tools better.

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

You think computers are not artificial?

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

I haven’t read paper but seems like an odd research question. Obviously it’s a tool w benefits, but that’s not really the point is it.
Plus, everyone uses AI anyway, unless they’re still submitting papers vis typewriter. The real question is what specific things can be done, how to improve them etc

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

Isn’t Harvard in the private sector, despite current madness?

But not sure how many academics would actually be successful elsewhere and remaining may be more about fear/anxiety/lifestyle preferences as opposed to relishing ‘prestige’. The other jobs that pay more are usually more prestigious.

Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

Interesting. Maybe I’m out of touch. I can see how the top universities are associated with prestige but never considered the job category/title ‘professor’ to be particularly prestigious.

When I was growing up it was more of a ‘respectable’ job for people who were smart but slightly odd.

Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 3d

The ‘best minds’ part is interesting. I suspect academia always attracted ‘smart’ people with certain personality types that were less of good fit elsewhere. Not sure that makes their minds better or worse.

But yes, if the overall status/rewards decline, then fewer smart people will come.

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Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · 5d

Harvard (and all universities) must take a stand against Trump's extorionary "compact". Enos and Levitsky.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump’s Compact | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard, rather than quietly pursuing its own appeasement strategy, should lead the way to preserve academic freedom and democracy.

www.thecrimson.com

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 7d

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

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David Attewell @davidattewell6.bsky.social · 7d

@dpzollinger.bsky.social and I are thrilled "Cleavage Politics in Western Democracies" is out as an SI at @wepsocial.bsky.social!

Its papers explore the foundations of the cleavage pitting new left against radical right parties, and how it compares to the classic cleavages of Lipset & Rokkan:

🧵⬇️

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Ea Blaabæk @blaabaek.bsky.social · 15d

Even in Denmark, cultural tastes are socially stratified. With some quite cool library data we find strong gradients by education and wealth - important as wealth is rarely studied in cultural stratification research

doi.org/10.1093/esr/...
OA: osf.io/ar2xc_v2/dow...
@europeansocreview.bsky.social

How are cultural tastes stratified? Evidence from library borrowing for the entire population of Denmark

Abstract. Research shows that cultural tastes are socially stratified. Yet, most of this research relies on small-sample surveys and includes only a few di

doi.org

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MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · 14d

We issued a press release when the article was published:
👉 www.uni-mannheim.de/en/newsroom/...

For all 2025
@migcitizenapsa.bsky.social Awards please see:
👉 connect.apsanet.org/s43/awards/
2/2

Awards

connect.apsanet.org

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Reposted by Rahsaan Maxwell

MZES Uni Mannheim @mzesunimannheim.bsky.social · 14d

📣 Marc Helbling, @rahsaanmax.bsky.social
, and Richard Traunmüller have won the @migcitizenapsa.bsky.social Best Article Award for
“Numbers, Selectivity, and Rights: The Conditional Nature of Immigration Policy Preferences”.
Congratulations!
👉 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
1/2

journals.sagepub.com

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Tom Pepinsky @tompepinsky.com · 17d

Przeworski says it cleanly, clearly, and convincingly.

What then must we do?

www.dissentmagazine.org/article/how-...

The Democratic establishment is clearly betting that Republicans will offer them an electoral victory while they attend the wedding parties of billionaires. The only vision for the Democratic Party originates from its left wing, which is vigorously censured by its mainstream. It may well be that the Democratic leadership is correct in thinking that the best strategy is to do nothing and waiting for MAGA to fail. But this, like MAGA, is a “back again” ideology, one of “restoring” democracy rather than transforming the conditions that generated the present disaster. To restore democracy, it needs to be reformed. This is the project we need.

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tim frye @timfrye.bsky.social · 17d

So many echoes from this article for US politics....

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 18d

I think you want to come to Sussex in a few weeks for the latest interdisciplinary migration research. Register now! @scmrjems.bsky.social

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Jacob Ware @jacobware.bsky.social · 18d

Tremendous research from Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe finds that "2025 marks the first time in more than 30 years that left-wing terrorist attacks outnumber those from the violent far right." But don't miss the broader picture — depicted in the below graph... www.csis.org/analysis/lef...

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 19d

Enough of the BS. It's not a 'crackdown' on academia. You 'crackdown' on criminals and villains. It's a wild assault and a desperate power grab. And that shouldn't be hard to say, regardless of ideological preferences.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/o...

Opinion | The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia

www.nytimes.com

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Michael Yarbrough (he/him) @mwyarbrough.bsky.social · 22d

CUNY @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social is hiring two tenured associate professors in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies! Review of applications begins October 1. See link for more info.

cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/...

Jobs | City University of New York

cuny.jobs

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British Future @britishfuture.bsky.social · 22d

We’re at #LDConf discussing 'How can liberals win the argument on immigration?' With @lisasmartmp.bsky.social @markpackuk.bsky.social @sundersays.bsky.social + US migration expert Frank Sharry.

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Silja Häusermann @siljahausermann.bsky.social · 23d

The call for papers for the first ever EPSS conference 2026 in Belfast is open until November 7th 2025.

epssnet.org/belfast-2026/

@rdassonneville.bsky.social and I will be chairing the section on Electoral and Voting Behavior. We look forward to your submissions and to a fantastic conference!

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Christian Odendahl @codendahl.bsky.social · 24d

“Queuing in pubs combines the worst elements of communism – yes, the very worst elements – without any of the good stuff, like free housing or hastily built nuclear power stations.”

Will Dunn @willdunn.bsky.social · 24d

I wrote about the most frightening and dangerous trend in Britain

www.newstatesman.com/comment/2025...

Queueing in pubs disgraces Britain

The practice is unpatriotic and must be banned

www.newstatesman.com

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Reposted by Rahsaan Maxwell

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 24d

Alarming.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 24d

Northern Ireland at risk of race riot ‘permacrisis’, government files warn

Officials fear widespread unrest amid violence and intimidation of ethnic minorities Northern Ireland faces a “permacrisis” from recurring race riots and may need to use military bases to shelter people burnt out of their homes, government documents reveal. Officials fear the region faces prolonged instability and that a single incident, local or international, could spark widespread disorder. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Rahsaan Maxwell @rahsaanmax.bsky.social · 24d

So these people are just now discovering the difference between the internet and their private group chat. Adults amaze me.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Parents outraged as Meta uses photos of schoolgirls in ads targeting man

Exclusive: Instagram pictures of girls as young as 13 were posted to promote Threads site ‘as bait’, campaigner says

www.theguardian.com

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The Onion @theonion.com · 25d

Trump Still Polling Well With Working-Class American Pedophiles

WASHINGTON—Despite the president’s sagging approval rating overall, a Gallup Poll released Tuesday confirmed that Donald Trump’s support remained overwhelmingly strong among working-class American ped...

theonion.com

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Martyn Wendell Jones @martynwendell.bsky.social · 26d

"Even Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist known as a 'Godfather of AI' — a technology that likely wouldn't exist in its current form without his contributions — recently conceded that his girlfriend had broken up with him using ChatGPT." futurism.com/chatgpt-marr...

ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners

Across the world, marriages are being destroyed as spouses use AI like OpenAI's ChatGPT to attack their partners.

futurism.com

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