Tim Elfenbein
@timelfen.bsky.social
Principal of Forthcoming LLC, a publishing consultancy; Member of @limnpress.bsky.social editorial collective; Researcher & practitioner of scholarly publishing; Digital explorer–analog sailor; @[email protected] on Mastodon; Victim of meaning.
Pinned
Tim Elfenbein
@timelfen.bsky.social
· Nov 11
To all the folks in scholarly communication/publishing/open science out there:
1. I appreciate the work you do.
2. I likely have significant differences w/ you or your organization over strategic direction, stakeholder orientation, ideals for the future, etc., etc.
3. I appreciate the work you do.
1. I appreciate the work you do.
2. I likely have significant differences w/ you or your organization over strategic direction, stakeholder orientation, ideals for the future, etc., etc.
3. I appreciate the work you do.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Dialogues: anthropology and literature
Siddratul Muntaha Jillani, Kiran Nazir Ahmed, Liliana Colanzi, Jessica Sequeira, Elisa Taber, Rex Lee Jim, Anthony K. Webster, Najet Adouani, and Andrew Brandel
Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Siddratul Muntaha Jillani, Kiran Nazir Ahmed, Liliana Colanzi, Jessica Sequeira, Elisa Taber, Rex Lee Jim, Anthony K. Webster, Najet Adouani, and Andrew Brandel
Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Dialogues: anthropology and literature
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Dialogues: anthropology and literature
Siddratul Muntaha Jillani, Kiran Nazir Ahmed, Liliana Colanzi, Jessica Sequeira, Elisa Taber, Rex Lee Jim, Anthony K. Webster, Najet Adouani, and Andrew Brandel
Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Siddratul Muntaha Jillani, Kiran Nazir Ahmed, Liliana Colanzi, Jessica Sequeira, Elisa Taber, Rex Lee Jim, Anthony K. Webster, Najet Adouani, and Andrew Brandel
Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute
rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
In light of record submission rates and a large volume of AI-generated slop, SocArXiv recently implemented a policy requiring ORCIDs linked in the OSF profile of submitting authors, and narrowing our focus to social science subjects. Today we are taking two more steps:
/1
/1
November 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
In light of record submission rates and a large volume of AI-generated slop, SocArXiv recently implemented a policy requiring ORCIDs linked in the OSF profile of submitting authors, and narrowing our focus to social science subjects. Today we are taking two more steps:
/1
/1
You’ve just died.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
November 27, 2025 at 3:22 AM
You’ve just died.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
Everyday now, I watch more sailboats arrive in Saint Martin and settle in the lagoon, to my great enjoyment.
Those of you rooting for the orcas can just keep scrolling.
Those of you rooting for the orcas can just keep scrolling.
November 26, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Everyday now, I watch more sailboats arrive in Saint Martin and settle in the lagoon, to my great enjoyment.
Those of you rooting for the orcas can just keep scrolling.
Those of you rooting for the orcas can just keep scrolling.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I wrote an essay for @bostonreview.bsky.social about what I learned about close reading when I taught at West Virginia University
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Nearly-perfect printed and handwritten text recognition is the most consequential technical contribution to the study of human culture of the last fifteen years, and it's not even close.
It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.
It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.
New issue of my newsletter: "The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition" — One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved, and it's a good use of AI newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Writing Is on the Wall for Handwriting Recognition
One of the hardest problems in digital humanities has finally been solved
newsletter.dancohen.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Nearly-perfect printed and handwritten text recognition is the most consequential technical contribution to the study of human culture of the last fifteen years, and it's not even close.
It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.
It fundamentally changes our (both lay and expert) relationship with the written past.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
"Working Knowledge: A Simon Schaffer Reader" -- Edited by Charlotte Bigg, John Tresch, and Simon Werrett
@uchicagopress.bsky.social press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
@uchicagopress.bsky.social press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
November 25, 2025 at 11:21 AM
"Working Knowledge: A Simon Schaffer Reader" -- Edited by Charlotte Bigg, John Tresch, and Simon Werrett
@uchicagopress.bsky.social press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
@uchicagopress.bsky.social press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
new paper so fresh it doesn't have an issue # yet!
Noya Kohavi and I looked at a crowdsourced AI testing suite and analyzed how contributors’ ideas about language, intelligence & cognition play a surprisingly big role in shaping how LLMs are tested, and what we think AI is. doi.org/10.1111/jola...
Noya Kohavi and I looked at a crowdsourced AI testing suite and analyzed how contributors’ ideas about language, intelligence & cognition play a surprisingly big role in shaping how LLMs are tested, and what we think AI is. doi.org/10.1111/jola...
Journal of Linguistic Anthropology | AAA Journal | Wiley Online Library
Benchmarking large language models (LLMs) is a key practice for evaluating their capabilities and risks. This paper considers the development of “BIG Bench,” a crowdsourced benchmark designed to test...
doi.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:21 PM
new paper so fresh it doesn't have an issue # yet!
Noya Kohavi and I looked at a crowdsourced AI testing suite and analyzed how contributors’ ideas about language, intelligence & cognition play a surprisingly big role in shaping how LLMs are tested, and what we think AI is. doi.org/10.1111/jola...
Noya Kohavi and I looked at a crowdsourced AI testing suite and analyzed how contributors’ ideas about language, intelligence & cognition play a surprisingly big role in shaping how LLMs are tested, and what we think AI is. doi.org/10.1111/jola...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
🎓 We are delighted to announce that our colleague @sarahderijcke.nl, Professor of Science, Technology & Innovation Studies at CWTS, has been appointed as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University.
We wish Sarah all the best in her new role at our university!
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
We wish Sarah all the best in her new role at our university!
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Sarah de Rijcke appointed Rector Magnificus of Leiden University
Professor Sarah de Rijcke will become the new Rector Magnificus on the Executive Board of Leiden University on 15 January 2026. She will succeed Professor Hester Bijl, who will become Rector Magnificu...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
November 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM
🎓 We are delighted to announce that our colleague @sarahderijcke.nl, Professor of Science, Technology & Innovation Studies at CWTS, has been appointed as Rector Magnificus of Leiden University.
We wish Sarah all the best in her new role at our university!
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
We wish Sarah all the best in her new role at our university!
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
I basically think this is the edge of a pretty bad storm of copyright conservatism and a reopening of the license wars (which may make no difference due to transformative use). However, if you put up a paywall to acquire, AI companies have to acquire legally in current court rulings. Problematic.
💥New: Creative commons licenses and copyright may not stop academic work being used to train AI
✍️ @eve.gd
#CreativeCommons #ScholComm #AcWri
✍️ @eve.gd
#CreativeCommons #ScholComm #AcWri
Creative commons licenses and copyright may not stop academic work being used to train AI - Impact of Social Sciences
Considering the legal standing of creative commons licenses & copyright, Martin Eve suggests legal protections for academic work are unlikely to be forthcoming.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I basically think this is the edge of a pretty bad storm of copyright conservatism and a reopening of the license wars (which may make no difference due to transformative use). However, if you put up a paywall to acquire, AI companies have to acquire legally in current court rulings. Problematic.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
I honestly find the MensWearGuy inspirational for what I think a good kind of cultured humanism can look like. This is the sort of presence I would like to have in the world.
A friend who teaches theology shared with me a post about CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, which discusses foundational Christian logic across denominations. It reminded me of Dale's tweet below, and I wanted to share some thoughts here regarding modesty and respectability, which are often hot topics.
November 24, 2025 at 8:12 AM
I honestly find the MensWearGuy inspirational for what I think a good kind of cultured humanism can look like. This is the sort of presence I would like to have in the world.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Join @samuelmoore.org this Weds. (5pm) to hear his discuss discuss key ideas from his fantastic new book ⏰
And download the book for FREE (if you haven't already!) via @uofmpress.bsky.social ebook collection website
🔗 www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
And download the book for FREE (if you haven't already!) via @uofmpress.bsky.social ebook collection website
🔗 www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Join @samuelmoore.org this Weds. (5pm) to hear his discuss discuss key ideas from his fantastic new book ⏰
And download the book for FREE (if you haven't already!) via @uofmpress.bsky.social ebook collection website
🔗 www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
And download the book for FREE (if you haven't already!) via @uofmpress.bsky.social ebook collection website
🔗 www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
"In a sequel to her influential 'Library as Infrastructure', contributing writer Shannon Mattern delves into the organizing force of libraries at a time when public knowledge is under attack."
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
"In a sequel to her influential 'Library as Infrastructure', contributing writer Shannon Mattern delves into the organizing force of libraries at a time when public knowledge is under attack."
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
#AAA2025 has been its usual whirlwind of fun and overwhelm. But I can’t underscore how much it has meant for ‘in the land of the unreal’ to be recognized as the winner of the Bateson book prize, and to celebrate the news w my ever growing anthro fam. @dukepress.bsky.social @culanth.bsky.social
November 22, 2025 at 8:53 PM
#AAA2025 has been its usual whirlwind of fun and overwhelm. But I can’t underscore how much it has meant for ‘in the land of the unreal’ to be recognized as the winner of the Bateson book prize, and to celebrate the news w my ever growing anthro fam. @dukepress.bsky.social @culanth.bsky.social
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Lyrasis, the Big Ten Academic Alliance Center for Library Programs and the California Digital Library have been awarded a grant to advance community-governed, open access scholarly publishing in the United States. Read more about the #DiamondOA mapping project here, https://ow.ly/QCKC50Xu6vU.
November 19, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Lyrasis, the Big Ten Academic Alliance Center for Library Programs and the California Digital Library have been awarded a grant to advance community-governed, open access scholarly publishing in the United States. Read more about the #DiamondOA mapping project here, https://ow.ly/QCKC50Xu6vU.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Coming soon -- early 2026: Critical Infrastructure Studies and Digital Humanities. I have a chapter in here called "Shadow Libraries and Pirate Infrastructures".
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608...
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608...
November 20, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Coming soon -- early 2026: Critical Infrastructure Studies and Digital Humanities. I have a chapter in here called "Shadow Libraries and Pirate Infrastructures".
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608...
www.upress.umn.edu/978151791608...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
#CollaborationNotCompetition! Toby Steiner and Zoe Wake Hyde (@radishpress.bsky.social) here at #Munin2025 talking about the ongoing collaborations between @thoth-metadata.bsky.social and @pkp.sfu.ca / #OpenMonographPress, showcasing the potential of open data workflows
November 19, 2025 at 11:11 AM
#CollaborationNotCompetition! Toby Steiner and Zoe Wake Hyde (@radishpress.bsky.social) here at #Munin2025 talking about the ongoing collaborations between @thoth-metadata.bsky.social and @pkp.sfu.ca / #OpenMonographPress, showcasing the potential of open data workflows
I’m still not sure what’s going on at my alma mater. For what it’s worth, when I attended Lang (99-02) there were no majors just broad concentrations (mine was Social & Historical Studies). Most of my social science courses were at the Graduate Faculty or taught by NSSR grad students.
The New School is now a place where students cannot major in History, Anthropology, Sociology, Global Policy & International Affairs, Global Studies, Urban Studies, or Environmental Studies. And more pauses, closures, and mergers coming down the pike this week. The future is uncertain.
November 19, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I’m still not sure what’s going on at my alma mater. For what it’s worth, when I attended Lang (99-02) there were no majors just broad concentrations (mine was Social & Historical Studies). Most of my social science courses were at the Graduate Faculty or taught by NSSR grad students.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Community voices celebrate the DOI. Explore how the DOI transformed global scholarly publishing, told by industry leaders including the co-founder of the Internet, Robert Kahn. 🎥 Discover the new documentary video >>
Community voices celebrate the DOI, inaugural recipient of the Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact, in new video
Monday November 17, 2025: The Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact has released a new video celebrating its inaugural honoree: the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for scholarly publishing. The short documentary film “Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing 2025: The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for Scholarly Publishing—Community Perspectives” brings together leading voices from across the global […]
rosenblumaward.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Community voices celebrate the DOI. Explore how the DOI transformed global scholarly publishing, told by industry leaders including the co-founder of the Internet, Robert Kahn. 🎥 Discover the new documentary video >>
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
I wrote a skeptic's guide to how to use AI, out soon.
Readers know I don't suffer fools -- or AI hype merchants -- gladly. I regularly write about the bubble that's formed as a result of their grift.
But AI *does* have utility.
You can pre-order here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/782388...
Readers know I don't suffer fools -- or AI hype merchants -- gladly. I regularly write about the bubble that's formed as a result of their grift.
But AI *does* have utility.
You can pre-order here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/782388...
How to AI by Christopher Mims: 9798217086184 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A frank, hands-on guide to using AI at work, unpacking for the curious and skeptical alike the “24 Laws” of AI and revealing strategies that businesses of every size can use to free up time,...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I wrote a skeptic's guide to how to use AI, out soon.
Readers know I don't suffer fools -- or AI hype merchants -- gladly. I regularly write about the bubble that's formed as a result of their grift.
But AI *does* have utility.
You can pre-order here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/782388...
Readers know I don't suffer fools -- or AI hype merchants -- gladly. I regularly write about the bubble that's formed as a result of their grift.
But AI *does* have utility.
You can pre-order here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/782388...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Choosing to believe this was an act of performance art undertaken by the authors to make their point.
The 'traditional' editorial process missed this but 'post-pub' (via bsky) did make the catch.
The 'traditional' editorial process missed this but 'post-pub' (via bsky) did make the catch.
A paper critiquing post-publication peer review has numerous made-up references, including a @nature.com article falsely attributed to our Ivan Oransky.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
PubPeer - An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platform...
There are comments on PubPeer for publication: An expert criticism on post-publication peer review platforms: the case of pubpeer (2025)
pubpeer.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Choosing to believe this was an act of performance art undertaken by the authors to make their point.
The 'traditional' editorial process missed this but 'post-pub' (via bsky) did make the catch.
The 'traditional' editorial process missed this but 'post-pub' (via bsky) did make the catch.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Just published Cultural Anthropology's @culanth.bsky.social latest issue! Articles on scale in radio astronomy, debt’s slow violence, marine inequality, fugitive kinships, financial activism, revolutionary temporalities, shifting conviviality, and contested soil.
journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca...
journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca...
Vol. 40 No. 4 (2025)
| Cultural Anthropology
journal.culanth.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Just published Cultural Anthropology's @culanth.bsky.social latest issue! Articles on scale in radio astronomy, debt’s slow violence, marine inequality, fugitive kinships, financial activism, revolutionary temporalities, shifting conviviality, and contested soil.
journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca...
journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca...
Greeted this morning by a beautiful big Swan, maybe 50 or 54 footer, that must have come in yesterday afternoon. Looks like a mid-80s vintage.
November 18, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Greeted this morning by a beautiful big Swan, maybe 50 or 54 footer, that must have come in yesterday afternoon. Looks like a mid-80s vintage.
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
Exciting news! LA Referencia and UbuntuNet Alliance have been selected as the first grantees of the IOI Fund for Network Adoption, with each receiving up to $1.5M in funding to expand open infrastructure for research across 35+ countries. Learn more: investinopen.org/blog/empower...
November 17, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Exciting news! LA Referencia and UbuntuNet Alliance have been selected as the first grantees of the IOI Fund for Network Adoption, with each receiving up to $1.5M in funding to expand open infrastructure for research across 35+ countries. Learn more: investinopen.org/blog/empower...
Reposted by Tim Elfenbein
people are actually very susceptible to just-so stories about human origins because listening to bullshit helped us survive on the savanna
fake evo-psych has cooked a lot of people's brains
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 AM
people are actually very susceptible to just-so stories about human origins because listening to bullshit helped us survive on the savanna