Leon Jackson
@drleonj.bsky.social
Professor @ USC. I write about African American life in early national and antebellum Boston.
My posts are my own opinions and do not reflect those of my employer.
My posts are my own opinions and do not reflect those of my employer.
I had to swallow some of my anger too, James.
November 27, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I had to swallow some of my anger too, James.
Hey! I resemble that comment!
November 27, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Hey! I resemble that comment!
For my part, I’m not averse to handwriting recognition technology so much as to the way it was framed in the threads of the other day. I think that there’s room for analog and digital approaches and opportunities for each method to learn from the other.
November 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
For my part, I’m not averse to handwriting recognition technology so much as to the way it was framed in the threads of the other day. I think that there’s room for analog and digital approaches and opportunities for each method to learn from the other.
Thank you. You made me blush!
November 27, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Thank you. You made me blush!
Almost every picture on my phone is of my dog, but this really ~is~ the sixth. Apparently, I’ll be licked to death by a retriever . . .
November 27, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Almost every picture on my phone is of my dog, but this really ~is~ the sixth. Apparently, I’ll be licked to death by a retriever . . .
I was about to ask if it was Morse, and then I read the alt text and saw that it was! One of my first publications was about his father, Jedidiah, who was also a real piece of work. Shit family.
November 26, 2025 at 11:34 PM
I was about to ask if it was Morse, and then I read the alt text and saw that it was! One of my first publications was about his father, Jedidiah, who was also a real piece of work. Shit family.
I believe that the next episode is airing tonight because of the holiday!
November 26, 2025 at 11:10 PM
I believe that the next episode is airing tonight because of the holiday!
So, the week after next, I'll be getting on a plane and flying to visit an archive where I'll <checks notes> waste my valuable time trying to read some handwritten documents, and you know what? That's totally fine by me.
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
So, the week after next, I'll be getting on a plane and flying to visit an archive where I'll <checks notes> waste my valuable time trying to read some handwritten documents, and you know what? That's totally fine by me.
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
But their vision of what 'really matters' to scholars seems to be a dematerialized, decontextualized, deinstitutionalized world of sans serif signifiers ready for (ugh) data viz. Meanwhile, paleographers are invited to stick around and refine the model to help ensure that their deskilling takes hold
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
But their vision of what 'really matters' to scholars seems to be a dematerialized, decontextualized, deinstitutionalized world of sans serif signifiers ready for (ugh) data viz. Meanwhile, paleographers are invited to stick around and refine the model to help ensure that their deskilling takes hold
So following a refrain honed by a generation of Silicon Valley tech bros who promise us labor saving clankers, crashy autonomous vehicles, and frictionless access to immediate gratification, we're told that this will emancipate historians from futzy transcription to focus on what 'really matters'
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
So following a refrain honed by a generation of Silicon Valley tech bros who promise us labor saving clankers, crashy autonomous vehicles, and frictionless access to immediate gratification, we're told that this will emancipate historians from futzy transcription to focus on what 'really matters'
The operating assumption of those who design and champion this software is that it's all just 'content' anyhow, and the easier it is to access that content without having to deal with the orthographic or material form that it takes the better. Nothing of evidential value inheres outside the semantic
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
The operating assumption of those who design and champion this software is that it's all just 'content' anyhow, and the easier it is to access that content without having to deal with the orthographic or material form that it takes the better. Nothing of evidential value inheres outside the semantic
What else won't matter? Evidence from an author's handwriting, watermarks, paper, parchment, mold, folds, stains, seals, signatures, or other signs of usage. Guido Fawkes' signature after having been tortured will look the same as after he recovered; Emily's Dickinson's dashes will be em-dashes
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
What else won't matter? Evidence from an author's handwriting, watermarks, paper, parchment, mold, folds, stains, seals, signatures, or other signs of usage. Guido Fawkes' signature after having been tortured will look the same as after he recovered; Emily's Dickinson's dashes will be em-dashes
“Handheld digital pets are a major advance that we’ve been trying to achieve for a very long time, and a great aid to leisure. It allows human beings to focus their time on the important work of pushing buttons, rather than walking, grooming, feeding, communing, and playing with dogs.”
November 26, 2025 at 7:53 PM
“Handheld digital pets are a major advance that we’ve been trying to achieve for a very long time, and a great aid to leisure. It allows human beings to focus their time on the important work of pushing buttons, rather than walking, grooming, feeding, communing, and playing with dogs.”
That color is just gorgeous!
November 26, 2025 at 5:55 PM
That color is just gorgeous!
Your side eye is an entire mood!
November 26, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Your side eye is an entire mood!
Inviting to scholars to collaborate in their obsolescence isn't quite the big-hearted gesture you think it is.
November 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Inviting to scholars to collaborate in their obsolescence isn't quite the big-hearted gesture you think it is.
I’d elaborate, but I don’t want to get banned 🤐
November 26, 2025 at 2:57 AM
I’d elaborate, but I don’t want to get banned 🤐
I almost tagged you when I posted this, because I really love your essay on Holland’s copy of the Appeal.
November 26, 2025 at 1:46 AM
I almost tagged you when I posted this, because I really love your essay on Holland’s copy of the Appeal.