David Higgins
@davidhiggins.bsky.social
Professor of Environmental Humanities at the University of Leeds, UK. Working on culture and environmental crisis. Writing a book about birds, loss, and restoration. Worried parent. Luddite. Opinions my own. Reposts ≠ endorsement.
Pinned
David Higgins
@davidhiggins.bsky.social
· Oct 17
The book I'm writing -- on bitterns, loss, and hope -- has for a while seemed impossible. Today it seems merely improbable. I'm counting that as progress!
I was just asked to do an interestingish work thing, took a realistic look at my commitments up until Christmas, and said no. Please applaud me for being sensible, for once.
November 26, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I was just asked to do an interestingish work thing, took a realistic look at my commitments up until Christmas, and said no. Please applaud me for being sensible, for once.
Reposted by David Higgins
"Next time you render your free AI-image in a couple of seconds, will you think of all the work, knowledge and skill that we HUMANS created over hundreds of years that made it possible?"
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
November 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
"Next time you render your free AI-image in a couple of seconds, will you think of all the work, knowledge and skill that we HUMANS created over hundreds of years that made it possible?"
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
Reposted by David Higgins
My speaker notes & slides from today's panel on 'Resisting GenAI & Big Tech in Higher Education', co-organised with the Climate Justice Universities Union (CJUU). The full recording, slides and resources will be available soon via the CJUU site.
danmcquillan.org/resisting_ge...
danmcquillan.org/resisting_ge...
November 25, 2025 at 8:06 PM
My speaker notes & slides from today's panel on 'Resisting GenAI & Big Tech in Higher Education', co-organised with the Climate Justice Universities Union (CJUU). The full recording, slides and resources will be available soon via the CJUU site.
danmcquillan.org/resisting_ge...
danmcquillan.org/resisting_ge...
Me yet again coming across the word 'delve' in an essay.
fry from futurama is shown with a very serious look on his face
Alt: fry from futurama is shown with a very serious look on his face
media.tenor.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Me yet again coming across the word 'delve' in an essay.
Long shot, but I have 2 spare tickets for The Horrors at Project House in Leeds tomorrow night (26/11). £15 each ono.
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Long shot, but I have 2 spare tickets for The Horrors at Project House in Leeds tomorrow night (26/11). £15 each ono.
Reposted by David Higgins
Guess what? Time to preorder this book! Killing Spree.
@fsgbooks.bsky.social thank you for agreeing to this beautiful cover...❤️❤️🙏
@fsgbooks.bsky.social thank you for agreeing to this beautiful cover...❤️❤️🙏
November 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Guess what? Time to preorder this book! Killing Spree.
@fsgbooks.bsky.social thank you for agreeing to this beautiful cover...❤️❤️🙏
@fsgbooks.bsky.social thank you for agreeing to this beautiful cover...❤️❤️🙏
Reposted by David Higgins
Some personal news: I’m writing a book!
I’ve signed with Holt to write a full-length history of birds and people in America. Birds have always been central to our economy, divisions, culture, and identity. If you want to understand America, you‘ve got to understand its birds.
I’ve signed with Holt to write a full-length history of birds and people in America. Birds have always been central to our economy, divisions, culture, and identity. If you want to understand America, you‘ve got to understand its birds.
November 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Some personal news: I’m writing a book!
I’ve signed with Holt to write a full-length history of birds and people in America. Birds have always been central to our economy, divisions, culture, and identity. If you want to understand America, you‘ve got to understand its birds.
I’ve signed with Holt to write a full-length history of birds and people in America. Birds have always been central to our economy, divisions, culture, and identity. If you want to understand America, you‘ve got to understand its birds.
The principal argument made to students to discourage Gen AI use cannot be "because it makes mistakes". Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, but that's beside the point. What's needed is a much more holistic discussion of its considerable harms.
November 24, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The principal argument made to students to discourage Gen AI use cannot be "because it makes mistakes". Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, but that's beside the point. What's needed is a much more holistic discussion of its considerable harms.
Despite working in academia for a long time, I remain surprised by how very clever people can be unable to follow basic instructions.
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Despite working in academia for a long time, I remain surprised by how very clever people can be unable to follow basic instructions.
Reposted by David Higgins
We pour billions into saving an economically tiny steel industry whilst actively destroying one of our largest export industries. (Yes, higher education to overseas students who already massively subsidise UK students, are counted as exports).
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 7:37 AM
We pour billions into saving an economically tiny steel industry whilst actively destroying one of our largest export industries. (Yes, higher education to overseas students who already massively subsidise UK students, are counted as exports).
Reposted by David Higgins
Oxford Handbook to the End of Academia
November 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Oxford Handbook to the End of Academia
Reposted by David Higgins
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
Reposted by David Higgins
To all my new followers, please check this out before much else, but also my research is all available freely here (see the little pdf icons):
olivia.science#publications
olivia.science#publications
November 23, 2025 at 12:36 PM
To all my new followers, please check this out before much else, but also my research is all available freely here (see the little pdf icons):
olivia.science#publications
olivia.science#publications
Reposted by David Higgins
Hugely disappointing, with world now on track to yet more heating & chaos, & poorest hit first & hardest. This process needs radically rethinking - meantime it’s vital that the Brazil-led coalition of the willing urgently delivers on plans to leave fossil fuels in the ground #COP30
November 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Hugely disappointing, with world now on track to yet more heating & chaos, & poorest hit first & hardest. This process needs radically rethinking - meantime it’s vital that the Brazil-led coalition of the willing urgently delivers on plans to leave fossil fuels in the ground #COP30
Marking essays in the age of Gen AI, I find myself nostalgic for the days when people did their own plagiarism rather than have machines do it for them.
November 22, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Marking essays in the age of Gen AI, I find myself nostalgic for the days when people did their own plagiarism rather than have machines do it for them.
Reposted by David Higgins
We are proud to announce the Jamie Normington Memorial Sponsorship
The sponsorship will be awarded to ten aspiring or established nature writers for whom the cost of entry is a bar
To qualify – on a first come first served basis – please contact [email protected]
#booksky
📚💙
The sponsorship will be awarded to ten aspiring or established nature writers for whom the cost of entry is a bar
To qualify – on a first come first served basis – please contact [email protected]
#booksky
📚💙
November 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
We are proud to announce the Jamie Normington Memorial Sponsorship
The sponsorship will be awarded to ten aspiring or established nature writers for whom the cost of entry is a bar
To qualify – on a first come first served basis – please contact [email protected]
#booksky
📚💙
The sponsorship will be awarded to ten aspiring or established nature writers for whom the cost of entry is a bar
To qualify – on a first come first served basis – please contact [email protected]
#booksky
📚💙
Heartily recommend this anthology for the nature lover in your life. (Okay -- I have an essay in it -- but you can always skip that one if you don't want to read about insects, parenting, and existential angst.)
Our friends at @saraband-books.bsky.social have included the Nature Chronicles Prize 2 anthology in their Christmas shop!
Treat a loved one, a friend (or even yourself) to this beautiful book of winning essays from the 2024 Prize 🍃
saraband.net/2025/11/12/s...
#Booksky
📚💙
Treat a loved one, a friend (or even yourself) to this beautiful book of winning essays from the 2024 Prize 🍃
saraband.net/2025/11/12/s...
#Booksky
📚💙
November 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Heartily recommend this anthology for the nature lover in your life. (Okay -- I have an essay in it -- but you can always skip that one if you don't want to read about insects, parenting, and existential angst.)
Reposted by David Higgins
I literally could not stop myself from inappropriately laughing out loud for real
November 21, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I literally could not stop myself from inappropriately laughing out loud for real
I agreed to do something laborious and challenging that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Now I have to do the laborious and challenging thing that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Will I learn my lesson? Probably not. That's academia, baby!
Now I have to do the laborious and challenging thing that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Will I learn my lesson? Probably not. That's academia, baby!
November 21, 2025 at 7:06 AM
I agreed to do something laborious and challenging that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Now I have to do the laborious and challenging thing that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Will I learn my lesson? Probably not. That's academia, baby!
Now I have to do the laborious and challenging thing that I didn't have to do and don't really have time for.
Will I learn my lesson? Probably not. That's academia, baby!
UK needs a properly-funded HE sector, says me.
UK needs new ‘disruptive’ labs for frontier science, says think tank.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
November 20, 2025 at 5:17 PM
UK needs a properly-funded HE sector, says me.
There is a lot of chocolate in the house, supposedly to be delivered to my kids' school tomorrow for the Christmas raffle. However, I also have a lot of marking to do. It's a dangerous situation.
November 20, 2025 at 12:23 PM
There is a lot of chocolate in the house, supposedly to be delivered to my kids' school tomorrow for the Christmas raffle. However, I also have a lot of marking to do. It's a dangerous situation.
Reposted by David Higgins
OpenAI is a social arsonist - as Dr. Chris Gilliard reminds us - and the company's attempts to capture education with its "free" version of ChatGPT for teachers should, IMO, be met with vocal resistance and refusal if we as educators are to care for our students, their communities, and our planet.
November 20, 2025 at 12:42 AM
OpenAI is a social arsonist - as Dr. Chris Gilliard reminds us - and the company's attempts to capture education with its "free" version of ChatGPT for teachers should, IMO, be met with vocal resistance and refusal if we as educators are to care for our students, their communities, and our planet.
Just reminded of this banger from 2004. Certainly maudlin; arguably derivative and silly. I love it. (The Dears, ‘Lost in the Plot)
youtu.be/u0zRxxBKZ1A?...
youtu.be/u0zRxxBKZ1A?...
The Dears - Lost In The Plot
YouTube video by The Dears
youtu.be
November 20, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Just reminded of this banger from 2004. Certainly maudlin; arguably derivative and silly. I love it. (The Dears, ‘Lost in the Plot)
youtu.be/u0zRxxBKZ1A?...
youtu.be/u0zRxxBKZ1A?...
Creating AI images to dunk on T**** and other despots is fundamentally self-defeating and reactionary. The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house (Audre Lorde).
November 19, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Creating AI images to dunk on T**** and other despots is fundamentally self-defeating and reactionary. The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house (Audre Lorde).