Christopher Nugent
@cmbnugent.bsky.social
Scholar of medieval Chinese literary and manuscript culture (mostly Dunhuang), occasional potter, avid bad tennis player.
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Christopher Nugent
@cmbnugent.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Textual Practices of Literary Training in Medieval China
"Textual Practices of Literary Training in Medieval China" published on 20 Oct 2023 by Brill.
brill.com
A quick intro for new followers: I work on medieval (~5th–11th cent.) Chinese literary and manuscript culture. My most recent book came out late last year. I also throw pots when I have time.
brill.com/display/titl...
brill.com/display/titl...
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
The New York Times, where the popular mayor-elect of their city is a fringe figure, but the QAnon podcaster who asked him a racist question comes out as a "winner"
This newspaper hates its readers as much as Republicans hate their voters. And if you're still supporting either, you deserve it.
This newspaper hates its readers as much as Republicans hate their voters. And if you're still supporting either, you deserve it.
What a strange framing and characterization. How does one describe his blatantly dishonest, racist question about taxes as “press[ing] the Mayor-elect on his policy proposals”? In what way does this lying troll emerge as a “winner“?
November 24, 2025 at 12:39 PM
The New York Times, where the popular mayor-elect of their city is a fringe figure, but the QAnon podcaster who asked him a racist question comes out as a "winner"
This newspaper hates its readers as much as Republicans hate their voters. And if you're still supporting either, you deserve it.
This newspaper hates its readers as much as Republicans hate their voters. And if you're still supporting either, you deserve it.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
I like Mayor Wu a lot, but Yo-yo Ma has got to be up there as one of the greatest living humans.
An honor and dream come true to perform alongside Yo-Yo Ma, presented by Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall. 💜
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
November 23, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I like Mayor Wu a lot, but Yo-yo Ma has got to be up there as one of the greatest living humans.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
well, I read it, and the salient, non-gross part is Lizza alleging, midsentence and without elaboration, that Nuzzi ran numerous “catch-and-kill operations” on RFK’s behalf, which would give her a role in both his appointment and the untold preventable deaths he has abetted in office. Cool.
November 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Just remembering how one of the most important and widely read and dropped-with-maximally-damaging-timing "Biden is old and senile" pieces was reported by Nuzzi. It makes you think!
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
MTG has been in Congress since 2020 & is resigning Jan 5, 2026. I just want to point out one thing.
She spent 5 years attacking the left & never feared for her life.
She spent 5 weeks mildly critiquing MAGA & the backlash is so severe she is resigning.
5 years vs 5 weeks. That says it all.
She spent 5 years attacking the left & never feared for her life.
She spent 5 weeks mildly critiquing MAGA & the backlash is so severe she is resigning.
5 years vs 5 weeks. That says it all.
November 22, 2025 at 2:44 AM
MTG has been in Congress since 2020 & is resigning Jan 5, 2026. I just want to point out one thing.
She spent 5 years attacking the left & never feared for her life.
She spent 5 weeks mildly critiquing MAGA & the backlash is so severe she is resigning.
5 years vs 5 weeks. That says it all.
She spent 5 years attacking the left & never feared for her life.
She spent 5 weeks mildly critiquing MAGA & the backlash is so severe she is resigning.
5 years vs 5 weeks. That says it all.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
The Harvard Crimson kids are kicking ass on this Larry Summers story.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Summers Visited Epstein’s Island During 2005 Honeymoon | News | The Harvard Crimson
In the winter of 2005, just after their wedding at Elmwood — the Harvard president’s official residence — Lawrence H. Summers and his wife, Elisa F. New, traded Cambridge’s cold for a warmer escape.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The Harvard Crimson kids are kicking ass on this Larry Summers story.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
This is completely disgusting. Today, the CDC updated their vaccine safety page. It now says:
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
November 20, 2025 at 2:53 AM
This is completely disgusting. Today, the CDC updated their vaccine safety page. It now says:
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
“The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism”.
Happy birthday to James A. Garfield, Williams College class of 1856!
November 19, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Happy birthday to James A. Garfield, Williams College class of 1856!
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
most importantly to me as a person who enjoys well crafted art in a variety of forms - the output of the skin machine is fuckin terrible. every time. it only sorta works if you side eye it as you're scrolling. any attempt to actually examine a piece of "art" reveals unforgivable flaws.
November 19, 2025 at 2:02 PM
most importantly to me as a person who enjoys well crafted art in a variety of forms - the output of the skin machine is fuckin terrible. every time. it only sorta works if you side eye it as you're scrolling. any attempt to actually examine a piece of "art" reveals unforgivable flaws.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
NEW BOOK> Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook, by Katherine Ngo and Kelly Ngo. Online and Open Access! www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook
Part of the <a href="https://www.leverpress.org/reeditions/">Re-Editions: Literary and Cultural Texts Recovered for the Classroom</a> series. First anthology of traditional Chinese children’s primers ...
www.fulcrum.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:44 AM
NEW BOOK> Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook, by Katherine Ngo and Kelly Ngo. Online and Open Access! www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
When the revolution comes, private equity sharks will be second or third against the wall.
🚨 EXPOSED: Parents are being threatened for recording their own kids’ hockey games. Private equity bought the rinks, banned filming, and now charges up to $50 a month to watch youth sports.
November 18, 2025 at 10:26 PM
When the revolution comes, private equity sharks will be second or third against the wall.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
The fact that no one in the room stood up for her says a lot about how we got here bsky.app/profile/pale...
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
The fact that no one in the room stood up for her says a lot about how we got here bsky.app/profile/pale...
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
I'm old enough to remember when "armed agents of the federal government raiding churches on Christmas" was not, in fact, a cornerstone of the Republican Party's agenda.
"Agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including ICE, ERO, and CBP intend to implement a comprehensive plan to target Spanish-speaking churches across the country during the upcoming holiday season between Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, and Christmas, Dec. 25."
Exclusive: Trump DHS Plans Immigration Raids on Churches Over Holidays
The Trump Dept. of Homeland Security is briefing federal agencies on plans for immigration enforcement operations inside churches over holidays.
thisweekinworcester.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:32 PM
I'm old enough to remember when "armed agents of the federal government raiding churches on Christmas" was not, in fact, a cornerstone of the Republican Party's agenda.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
It does feel like we're all going insane. We *know* he's implicated in Epstein's abuse. He's lashing out, in a misogynistic way, when questioned about it. We know. Why isn't every news stations 24hour coverage of the president being a child abuser? It should be wall-to-wall
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 3:19 AM
It does feel like we're all going insane. We *know* he's implicated in Epstein's abuse. He's lashing out, in a misogynistic way, when questioned about it. We know. Why isn't every news stations 24hour coverage of the president being a child abuser? It should be wall-to-wall
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
This isn't about Hild, but the setting and the Old English style verse certainly would be to her taste!
alliteration.net/poetry/the-whitby-elegy/ #alliterative #poetry #hild #whitby #medievalsky #poetrysky #alliterativevrse
alliteration.net/poetry/the-whitby-elegy/ #alliterative #poetry #hild #whitby #medievalsky #poetrysky #alliterativevrse
The Whitby Elegy: A Poem in Alliterative Verse by Ian David Greenwood
Here at the cliff’s edge, clear skies above me / the gannet’s gathering-place, gorse-hidden I would wait ...
alliteration.net
November 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
As Langdon Winner put so well 40 years ago, don't fall into the trap of accepting "RISK" as a good framework for these conversations. Business interests love framing their violence in terms of "risks & rewards" bc as a society, we love to heroize & reward risk-takers. Talk instead about "HAZARD."
November 17, 2025 at 12:55 PM
As Langdon Winner put so well 40 years ago, don't fall into the trap of accepting "RISK" as a good framework for these conversations. Business interests love framing their violence in terms of "risks & rewards" bc as a society, we love to heroize & reward risk-takers. Talk instead about "HAZARD."
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
The undergrads at the Crimson has consistently done a better job at investigating stories--big and small--than some of the legacy papers. Go college journalism.
gosh I wonder why they called her peril www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 3:26 AM
The undergrads at the Crimson has consistently done a better job at investigating stories--big and small--than some of the legacy papers. Go college journalism.
Reposted by Christopher Nugent
Alan Dershowitz redefining the semantics of "pedophile" isn't hairsplitting, according to the plain meaning of "hairsplitting"
by Steven Pinker
by Steven Pinker
November 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Alan Dershowitz redefining the semantics of "pedophile" isn't hairsplitting, according to the plain meaning of "hairsplitting"
by Steven Pinker
by Steven Pinker