Ben Gross

YouTube video by The Local Shredder Craig Ferguson - The lost "Dr. Who" cold open.

"And if there is any hope for any of us in this giant explosion in which we inhabit, then surely that's it. Intellect and romance triumph over brute force and cynicism..."

(Happy #DoctorWhoDay, everybody!)

#DoctorWho #scifi

It is a sobering thought to realize that we're watching the leaders of American universities determine whether critical thinking-- and by extension, the #humanities --are still worthwhile investments.

Henry Moseley in the Balliol-Trinity College Laboratories, soon after his graduation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moseley#/media/File:BigMoseleyCard.jpg)

Henry Moseley, the English physicist whose X-ray spectroscopy experiments led to a reorganization of the #PeriodicTable, was born #OnThisDay in 1887. He later died in the Battle of Gallipoli.

More via @sciencehistory.org: www.sciencehistory.org/stories/maga...

#histSTM #physics #chemistry #WWI 🗃️📜

Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894-1963), Oil and acrylic on canvas, 1961, 43 1/2 x 55 inches. © Trustees of the Feliks Topolski Estate. More information here: https://sites.utexas.edu/ransomcentermagazine/2006/11/01/selections-from-feliks-topolski-portraits-of-britains-twentieth-century-literary-greats/

Cover sheet of a bound and corrected typescript of Brave New World Aldous Huxley Collection Harry Ransom Center University of Texas at Austin Finding aid: https://research.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00378

"Words can be like X-rays, if you use them properly--they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced."

Aldous Huxley, author of #BraveNewWorld, died #OnThisDay in 1963. His passing was overshadowed by JFK's assassination.

(Images HT @ransomcenter.bsky.social; info in alt-text) #booksky 🗃️📜

1. Sketchbook, 1964-1971. Billy Collins Papers, Box 23, Folder 1.

3. Typescript and handwritten notes, draft, and quotations for inaugural reading as Poet Laureate, 2001. Billy Collins Papers, Box 24, Folder 18.

Yesterday, @ransomcenter.bsky.social hosted a reading by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins. We also launched a new teaching guide inspired by digitized material from Collins's personal archive.

Check it out here: www.hrc.utexas.edu/teaching/bil...

#poetry #booksky #speccolls 🗃️📜

Considering how many people I've met who work on sensory history, I'm surprised that I didn't know that New Mexico has had a "State Aroma" since 2023!

How long will it be before other states follow suit? (And what will they pick?)

Billy Collins sharing some of the poems from his new canine-themed anthology.

(@ransomcenter.bsky.social has been the home of Collins’s archive since 2014: norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/fin...)

#booksky #poetry
#DogShow #archives 🗃️🐶

Opinion | James Watson Saw the True Form of DNA. Then It Blinded Him.

"An overweening faith that our genes make us who we are is a terrifying thing."

Today's #histSTM lunchtime read: @nccomfort.bsky.social discusses James Watson's gradual embrace of genetic determinism in an essay for @nytopinion.nytimes.com.

#histbio #histsci
#eugenics #DNA 🗃️📜🧬

Cover of “A Rant About Technology”

But the word is consistently misused to mean only the enormously complex and specialised technologies of the past few decades, supported by massive exploitation both of natural and human resources. This is not an acceptable use of the word. “Technology” and “hi tech” are not synonymous, and a technology that isn't “hi,” isn’t necessarily '“low” in any meaningful sense.

Technology is the active human interface with the material world.

“That’s the neat thing about technologies. They’re what we can learn to do.”

This letterpress edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “A Rant About #Technology” exceeded all my expectations. Thanks to @skeuomorphpress.org for making it available during their summer fundraising drive! #STS #scifi #booksky 🗃️📜

It’s like there’s a comedian loose in an archive…

The name is Whatever. Mister Whatever.

Look who visited @ransomcenter.bsky.social while I was attending #HSS2025 in New Orleans.

(And contrary to what he told @texasstandard.bsky.social, he didn’t have to break in…)

Thanks for stopping by, @mulaney.bsky.social!

#comedy #LiveFromNewYork #SNL

Panel 1 Calvin: So long, Pop! I'm off to check my tiger trap. Panel 2 Calvin: I rigged a tuna fish sandwich yesterday, so I'm sure to have a tiger by now! Panel 3 Calvin's Dad: They like tuna fish, huh? Calvin: Tigers will do anything for a tuna fish sandwich! Panel 4 Hobbes (inverted): We're kind of stupid that way.

"So long, Pop! I'm off to check my tiger trap!"

The very first #CalvinAndHobbes strip was published forty years ago today (Nov. 18, 1985).

#comics #OnThisDay

#HSS2025 peeps (& anyone else interested), a downloadable PDF version of my "Thinking With Birds" session presentation BIRDING IN THE VISUAL ARCHIVES: THE MYSTERY OF THE “ASH-COLOURED AND RED PARROT” is now available (with notes & bonus slides!): arthistoryanimalia.com/conference-p...
#BirdsInArt

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS: How the Universe Was Discovered Through Partnerships: Lady Margaret Herschel’s Contributions to Cyanotype Wed 19 Nov, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM [CST]: The Harry Ransom Center’s Fellowship Program invites you to a new edition of our works-in-progress research series, Familiar Terms. This program will be held in t...

Tomorrow (Nov. 19) at noon, @ransomcenter.bsky.social is hosting another edition of our works-in-progress series, Familiar Terms. If you're in Austin, join Lily Cutler & John Pipkin for a conversation about Lady Margaret Herschel's role in the development of cyanotype printing.

#histSTM #histsci 🗃️📜

A little disappointed that neither raisins nor rice were referenced in @spectrum.ieee.org's special issue on scale!

spectrum.ieee.org/magazine/202...

#metrology #measurement
#electronics #innovation

a sign that says " that 's all folks " on a red background ALT: a sign that says " that 's all folks " on a red background

And that's a wrap for #HSS2025! Many thanks to @historyscience.bsky.social's officers, program committee & presenters for an excellent conference.

And, of course, thanks to all of you who read these updates throughout the meeting. Hopefully I'll see some of you next year in Edinburgh for #HSS2026!

Laney: What makes this story interesting is that it demonstrates what was possible when the US government decided to embrace immigrant scientists, engineers, and technical professionals.

This case study stands in stark contrast w/current political debates over immigration in the US. #HSS2025

My colleagues are awesome:

You can hear Monique’s past research in an amazing podcast with @michaelianblack.bsky.social

Laney: The success of the Hungarian initiative led NAS to reconsider supporting other scientists & engineers fleeing Soviet rule in eastern Europe.

Internal memos suggested that the Academy could serve as a clearing house for evaluating and placing foreign scientists. #HSS2025

Laney: By 1962, the rhetoric shifted. The NRC now framed refugee placements as a way to address broader shortages in scientific manpower. Pursuit of that goal led to updated admission criteria & new language training and recertification initiatives.

#HSS2025

Laney: NRC eventually started working to find placements for Hungarian scientists & engineers across the US. They framed this as a patriotic effort to support ideological allies who had fought against Soviet oppression. Additionally, this would help American universities & science itself. #HSS2025

Laney: Visas available under Refugee Relief Act (1953) would not be sufficient for the influx of refugees from Hungary. Pres. Eisenhower authorized additional visas, prioritizing the reunification of family, helping people connect w/friends or relatives, or people w/sci & tech. skills. #HSS2025

Our final speaker, Monique Laney, is an immigration historian who describes the contested nature of scientific mobility after WWII.

Her paper focuses on the National Academy of Sciences's involvement in the Hungarian Crisis of 1956. Unusual since scientists were refugees from Eastern bloc #HSS2025

Mihailescu: When the second was redefined in 1957, only 4 countries have atomic clocks--UK, US, Switzerland, and Japan. This leads Switzerland to be included in the commission alongside larger countries (USSR, Italy, etc.) that were still developing that technology. #HSS2025

Mihailescu: It requires resources to align purposes. Can't just put physicists & engineers in a room and expect collaboration.

The smaller scale of Swiss research infrastructure & close institutional alignment b/w Institute of Physics, Observatory, etc. made such reorientation easier. #HSS2025

Mihailescu presents a historiographic critique of Forman's use of "orientation" in his articles on quantum electronics, which often conflates material culture & research ?s.

He suggests orientation should be reframed in terms of the external & internal purposes of the actors. #HSS2025

Our next speaker, Ian Mihailescu is discussing the development of atomic clocks at the Neuchatel Observatory.

While American atomic clocks emerged from the massive growth of national security funding (cf. Forman), the situation was different in Switzerland. #HSS2025 #physics

Perillan: Otto Nathan helped arrange for the retraction of card. (Which is how it ultimately ended up at Vassar)

Meanwhile, Du Bois was indicted and arrested. Einstein came to his defense, but Wallace kept silent. (An interesting study in contrasts b/w 2 public intellectuals) #HSS2025

Perillan: US progressives split during the 1948 pres. election. Wallace's wing (Progressive Citizens of America) was stigmatized as Communist movement.

Soon after Wallace signed the card (Jun. 1950), the Korean War breaks out. He tries to retract his signature; doesn't want to seem anti-US #HSS2025

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/running-for-office/index.php?page=26

Perillan: This project originally focused on Einstein, but has pivoted to Wallace. Wallace saw himself as an agro-scientist. Though often presented as a failed dreamer or flip-flopper as seen in this cartoon, he framed himself as a scientist--open to changing his mind based on new evidence. #HSS2025

This particular petition card (#202797) bears the signatures of Albert Einstein & Henry Wallace. The two men had, along w/Du Bois, been active in various international peace movements after WWII.

But why is the card at Vassar? And why aren't Einstein & Wallace listed as signatories...? #HSS2025