Jon Nichols

Commentary: Musk and other tech gurus say human-like robots are the next big thing. Don't hold your breath Investors are pouring billions into companies pitching humanoid robots, but functional versions are decades away.

Physical labor jobs ok for the foreseeable future.
“Humanoid robots struggle with basic tasks like walking safely and lack the dexterity needed for complex human-like work.”

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show What the Shutdown is REALLY About | The Ezra Klein Show

Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show.

What the Shutdown Is Really About

@neeratanden.bsky.social walks through the shutdown’s policy stakes.
open.spotify.com/episode/1Twk...

youtu.be/EFhq8OcyIz4?...

Requiem For A College: A Heartbreaking Tale, A Crucial Conversation An interview with author Jonathan Nichols about college closures and his book, Requiem for a College.

In Forbes today talking about “Requiem for a College.”

A friend writes:

I saw someone's post somewhere that talked about how their
nine-year-old and all his friends have started using "That's AI"
instead of "I don't believe you."

Mom: "We're having dinosaur meat for dinner tonight."
Kid: "That's AI."

The photo features Jane Goodall and infant chimpanzee Flint reach out to touch each other's hands. Flint was the first infant born at Gombe (Tanzania) after Jane arrived. With him, she had a great opportunity to study chimp development. Photo source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/jane-goodall/

🧵
Question: "If chimps are so much like us, why are they endangered while humans dominate the globe?"

Goodall: "Well, in some ways we're not successful at all. We're destroying our home. That's not a bit successful."

— #JaneGoodall, 3 Apr. 1934 - 1 Oct. 2025

#ForeverInspiring #LegacyOfHope 🧪

the Velveeta logo at the top of the Best of FearFest streaming page

It delights me that AMC's FearFest horror film series is sponsored by Velveeta

Count Zero Interupt the greatest handle ever!

I was well over 30 when I wrote and published my first novel, and fully agree with you!

Eleven possibly autistic parents - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders -

Does anyone with an academic login have access to this study? If so, could you please reach out to me via DM? Thank you. #AcademicSky
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

@puhahubiya.bsky.social thank you for the repost!

If you’d rather not shop Amazon, the book is also available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States [Nichols, Jonathan, Colbert, Kate] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States

It’s #selfpromotionSaturday
My book, “Requiem for a College” is about living through a small college closure, finding out why it happened, and connecting the loss to national trends.
#academicsky #selfpromosaturday

I don’t have a smart take on this settlement but I have been following along. My contribution is just to observe that many books by Jacques Derrida are on this list, apparently used to train Anthropic’s AI. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway check your works #TeamRhetoric

If you’d rather not shop Amazon, the book is also available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.

Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States [Nichols, Jonathan, Colbert, Kate] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States

“Requiem for a College” is a combination of institutional elegy and autopsy. I wrote it to warn other colleges so they may change, and as a testimony for all who’ve gone through these awful experiences.
#academicsky

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show Brian Eno on How Machines Can Make Us More Human

Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show.

The musician and record producer Brian Eno delves into his experiments with ambient music, his thoughts on generative A.I. and his deep gratitude for the uniqueness of human life.
open.spotify.com/episode/1Dio...

youtu.be/AfYY9v0Q0X4?...

Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91 Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.

I no longer blog, but this does compel me to write.
Maybe something over on FB.

China launches a new visa to attract tech talent, but locals aren't happy China's aim to attract global talent comes as the US is making it harder to bring in foreign workers.

China recruiting global talent.

But maybe a book about when I was down can help lift others up. #academicsky

That quote hit me. That’s why I hate pimping my accomplishments. The cruel economics of life says that if I’m up, someone else is down.

“On the occasions when I am toasted or applauded, I always feel that someone else, someone quiet, is being beaten in the other room. If you pause to think about it, it’s true, someone is.”
-Arundhati Roy on her latest book, “Mother Mary Comes to Me.”

Fans of the mysterious Mothman bring its West Virginia hometown new life It started in the 1960s, when two couples told a harrowing story about being chased by a large flying creature on a rural road. It grew from there — and now 20,000 people come to celebrate Mothman.

It started in the 1960s, when two couples told a harrowing story about being chased by a large flying creature on a rural road. It grew from there — and now 20,000 people come to celebrate Mothman.

Trump trusts Blair, others don't - could he govern Gaza? - BBC News Sir Tony Blair's presence on the Gaza "Board of Peace" comes as no surprise but he remains a divisive figure.

Tony Blair??

I always get nervous when there's a new coffee machine in the office. They never work right in the beginning.

Same!!
Three degrees and I can’t get a coffeemaker to work…

@lecagle.bsky.social as always, thanks for the repost!

If you’d rather not shop Amazon, the book is also available at Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million.
#academicsky

Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States [Nichols, Jonathan, Colbert, Kate] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Requiem for a College: The Troubling Trend of College Closures in the United States

It gets tougher for me to promote a book as world news gets worse, so I’ll just say I have a book about small colleges closing in the US. Check it out if you’d like.
#academicsky

The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video

Via The New Yorker.