Gregory Convertito
@gregconvertito.bsky.social
Philosophy adjunct. Political philosophy, Marx, Latin America, and some other stuff. he/him
https://gregoryconvertito.wordpress.com/
Series editor of @apaphilosophy.bsky.social Teaching and Learning Video Series.
Not expressing the views of my employer.
https://gregoryconvertito.wordpress.com/
Series editor of @apaphilosophy.bsky.social Teaching and Learning Video Series.
Not expressing the views of my employer.
Pinned
It feels strange to share any sort of professional news right now, but I’ve recently become the editor of the APA Blog’s revitalized “Teaching and Learning Video Series.” Here is my post reintroducing the series. Please reach out if you’re interested in 1/ blog.apaonline.org/2025/03/19/c...
Collecting Nuts and Bolts: Reintroducing the Teaching and Learning Video Series
Whenever I teach an introductory-level philosophy course, I spend some time working through different reading strategies with my students, who are largely unfamiliar with how to approach philosophical...
blog.apaonline.org
All recent posts in the APA Blog's reanimated "Teaching and Learning Video Series" can be found here. This quoted post is my initial series reintroduction, and I will add posts to this thread as they are published. Please reach out if you are interested in contributing to the series.
Chain of Command part II (TNG) is a masterpiece of existentialist fiction.
December 11, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Chain of Command part II (TNG) is a masterpiece of existentialist fiction.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
literally one of the policy slots we want to cover in the reconstruction papers! by the way! defense policy is too important to be left to MAGA!
www.liberalcurrents.com/a-preview-of...
www.liberalcurrents.com/a-preview-of...
December 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
literally one of the policy slots we want to cover in the reconstruction papers! by the way! defense policy is too important to be left to MAGA!
www.liberalcurrents.com/a-preview-of...
www.liberalcurrents.com/a-preview-of...
I, for one, think it is very cool that an Italian-American was a formative theoretician of American republicanism. (From Hammersley’s ‘Republicanism: An Introduction’)
![In late eighteenth-century North America as elsewhere, practical political experiences prompted reflection on political ideas. The rejection of British rule that was announced by the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, fought for during the War of Independence that followed, and cemented by the development and establishmen: first of the state constitutions and then, in 1787, of the Constitution of the United States of America generated much debate both in America and beyond. Few American revolutionaries were more prolific in their political thinking than the man who would become the second president of the United States: John Adams (1735-1826). His ‘A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States of America’ (1787) epitomised this merging of the theoretical and the practical. Not only did it draw on both political thought and practical experience, but it used historical examples to identify the most appropriate model for new constitutions at both state and federal levels.
Adams's deep thinking on the nature of republican government led him to eschew any simple conception of the form. Part of the point of his survey of republican models, past and present, factual and fictitious, was to demonstrate that all republics are not the same, and his findings implied that in practice Cicero's equation of good government with republican government did not hold […]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fxywjftujsqyp252u3ez2fb5/bafkreig77wp3qfvao44w6vtaf27hqtgdrdcfp5fkpnq7a3nve4vbyjacdm@jpeg)
December 8, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I, for one, think it is very cool that an Italian-American was a formative theoretician of American republicanism. (From Hammersley’s ‘Republicanism: An Introduction’)
“There is no evidence that the law that straightforwardly says ‘X’ and was repeatedly stated to mean ‘X’ during the legislative debates over its enactment means ‘X’” is an incredible level of bad faith argument.
In layman’s terms: this is the lie of a child.
In layman’s terms: this is the lie of a child.
The evidence is the text. All you have to do is read the Constitution.
December 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
“There is no evidence that the law that straightforwardly says ‘X’ and was repeatedly stated to mean ‘X’ during the legislative debates over its enactment means ‘X’” is an incredible level of bad faith argument.
In layman’s terms: this is the lie of a child.
In layman’s terms: this is the lie of a child.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
This isn’t a difference of opinion. Ilan Wurman and Randy Barnett are straightforward liars.
December 7, 2025 at 7:10 PM
This isn’t a difference of opinion. Ilan Wurman and Randy Barnett are straightforward liars.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Barnett and Wurman are both liars trying to give the imprimatur of “scholarship” to an argument with *no* scholarly support in the record.
December 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Barnett and Wurman are both liars trying to give the imprimatur of “scholarship” to an argument with *no* scholarly support in the record.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
“No evidence the intent went beyond freeing slaves” — the framers of the amendment openly stated that it would grant citizenship to the children of Chinese immigrants. It’s in the Congressional record. Cited extensively in Wong Kim Ark. These aren’t obscure sources, especially for law professors.
December 7, 2025 at 7:13 PM
“No evidence the intent went beyond freeing slaves” — the framers of the amendment openly stated that it would grant citizenship to the children of Chinese immigrants. It’s in the Congressional record. Cited extensively in Wong Kim Ark. These aren’t obscure sources, especially for law professors.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Heartbreaking. The University of Nebraska will terminate its entire Earth science department.
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
It's over.
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut.
www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...
BREAKING: ‘This hurts’: UNL eliminates 4 programs despite faculty, student pleas
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln eliminates the Earth and atmospheric sciences 8-0, educational administration 7-1, statistics 7-1, textiles, merchandising and fashion design 7-1 programs.
www.dailynebraskan.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Heartbreaking. The University of Nebraska will terminate its entire Earth science department.
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
One of the country's most successful and respected geology & climate programs: gone.
When ideologues & politicians are threatened by the very act of studying climate change, I wonder: who of us is next?
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
“The only clue that users seemingly had of Siri’s alleged spying was eerily accurate targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted”
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Siri “unintentionally” recorded private convos; Apple agrees to pay $95M
Apple users may get $20 each for up to five Siri-enabled devices.
arstechnica.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:36 PM
“The only clue that users seemingly had of Siri’s alleged spying was eerily accurate targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden, Reuters noted”
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, yes leadership is apparently planning to cut 50% of the faculty at the New School for Social Research in order to eliminate social research and replace scholarship with a trendy MA degree mill For the 21st Century 1/
December 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, yes leadership is apparently planning to cut 50% of the faculty at the New School for Social Research in order to eliminate social research and replace scholarship with a trendy MA degree mill For the 21st Century 1/
Alright, baking Christmas cookies. youtu.be/nud2TQNahaU?...
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping (Music Video)
YouTube video by scamparoo
youtu.be
December 6, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Alright, baking Christmas cookies. youtu.be/nud2TQNahaU?...
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
h/t @robertfreundlaw.bsky.social
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
December 3, 2025 at 7:51 PM
h/t @robertfreundlaw.bsky.social
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
holy shit, an accurate legal critique of LLMs. LLMs don't reason because they're just stitching together plausible-looking sentences indifferent to the content
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
An extremely stupid idea, will go nowhere.
If the Dems want their own "MAGA" slogan, they should do what Trump did & just take one from an earlier more successful co-partisan—he stole MAGA from Reagan. What were FDR's slogans? Four Freedoms; great. Obama's Yes, We Can to Constitutional Restoration?
If the Dems want their own "MAGA" slogan, they should do what Trump did & just take one from an earlier more successful co-partisan—he stole MAGA from Reagan. What were FDR's slogans? Four Freedoms; great. Obama's Yes, We Can to Constitutional Restoration?
No value, no villain, no vision. Sounds like the tagline for the earnings call of a collapsing appliance retailer
November 30, 2025 at 1:30 PM
An extremely stupid idea, will go nowhere.
If the Dems want their own "MAGA" slogan, they should do what Trump did & just take one from an earlier more successful co-partisan—he stole MAGA from Reagan. What were FDR's slogans? Four Freedoms; great. Obama's Yes, We Can to Constitutional Restoration?
If the Dems want their own "MAGA" slogan, they should do what Trump did & just take one from an earlier more successful co-partisan—he stole MAGA from Reagan. What were FDR's slogans? Four Freedoms; great. Obama's Yes, We Can to Constitutional Restoration?
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
"They're trying to change our habits, because all of the projections rely on people becoming truly dependent on the technology. Whether or not it's actually a good thing for society isn't considered to be a factor."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"They're trying to change our habits, because all of the projections rely on people becoming truly dependent on the technology. Whether or not it's actually a good thing for society isn't considered to be a factor."
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Dr. Prasad send an email to CBER suggesting changes to the approval for respiratory vaccines based, apparently, on the conclusion of an unpublished investigation into VAERS report by unknown people. A few thoughts beyond what was already reported, based on the full email: 1/n
November 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Dr. Prasad send an email to CBER suggesting changes to the approval for respiratory vaccines based, apparently, on the conclusion of an unpublished investigation into VAERS report by unknown people. A few thoughts beyond what was already reported, based on the full email: 1/n
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
This broadly tallies with my experience of teaching, and what colleagues have shared, over the last decade or so, though of course there are exceptions
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This broadly tallies with my experience of teaching, and what colleagues have shared, over the last decade or so, though of course there are exceptions
I finally had to put on a real coat this morning because it’s cold. Whenever I put this one on, I remember that man, my grandma really is undefeated at LL Bean purchasing.
November 28, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I finally had to put on a real coat this morning because it’s cold. Whenever I put this one on, I remember that man, my grandma really is undefeated at LL Bean purchasing.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
I'm teaching about Gaza on Monday. I assigned this article. You should read it if you haven't, because the trauma it describes is unbearable and we all need to sit with it.
archive.ph/JlVfm#select...
archive.ph/JlVfm#select...
November 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I'm teaching about Gaza on Monday. I assigned this article. You should read it if you haven't, because the trauma it describes is unbearable and we all need to sit with it.
archive.ph/JlVfm#select...
archive.ph/JlVfm#select...
Ever since this podcast first launched, I’ve considered this to be the book it was made for.
Episode 46: Sapiens
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
Sapiens
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 11/20/2025 · 1h 38m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Ever since this podcast first launched, I’ve considered this to be the book it was made for.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Huge @tinanguyen.bsky.social scoop: Trump is preparing to try and ban all state AI laws, going so far as having Brendan Carr’s FCC pull rural broadband funds from states that try to regulate AI www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Here’s the Trump executive order that would ban state AI laws
Trump is launching an all-out broadside against states with strict AI regulations.
www.theverge.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Huge @tinanguyen.bsky.social scoop: Trump is preparing to try and ban all state AI laws, going so far as having Brendan Carr’s FCC pull rural broadband funds from states that try to regulate AI www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
I just learned that HeinOnline is now inserting "AI" summaries at the start of law review articles when I download the PDFs.
Um, what the heck? I don't want this.
Um, what the heck? I don't want this.
November 19, 2025 at 11:54 PM
I just learned that HeinOnline is now inserting "AI" summaries at the start of law review articles when I download the PDFs.
Um, what the heck? I don't want this.
Um, what the heck? I don't want this.
When you’re *in* the philosophy department (kind of), but not *the* philosophy department.
November 7, 2025 at 9:23 PM
When you’re *in* the philosophy department (kind of), but not *the* philosophy department.
Reposted by Gregory Convertito
Jury trials remain a bastion against encroachment, too bad immigrants instead get fake judges and no juries
Jeanine Pirro tried to make an example of Sean Dunn.
She ended up delivering a hero to Washington, D.C.
www.huffpost.com/entry/dc-san...
She ended up delivering a hero to Washington, D.C.
www.huffpost.com/entry/dc-san...
DC ‘Sandwich Guy’ Found Not Guilty After Defense Successfully Highlights Absurdity Of It All
Jeanine Pirro tried to make an example of Sean Dunn. She ended up delivering a hero to Washington, D.C.
www.huffpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Jury trials remain a bastion against encroachment, too bad immigrants instead get fake judges and no juries
Part of the basic purpose of law is that it is action-guiding. It lets me know what is expected of me *right now,* who is authorized by the state *right now*, what is required of me *now, as I am making my decision*, etc. If this sort of thing flies, there is no longer the pretense of rule of law.
Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has retroactively appointed former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan as a "special attorney" for DOJ and has "ratified" all of her actions to date, including her presentations to the grand juries that indicted Trump's foes.
November 4, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Part of the basic purpose of law is that it is action-guiding. It lets me know what is expected of me *right now,* who is authorized by the state *right now*, what is required of me *now, as I am making my decision*, etc. If this sort of thing flies, there is no longer the pretense of rule of law.