Matthew Perkins-McVey

You're saying you haven't made tea and ramen using just "however hot the tap will go today"?

In Memoriam, Dr. Guenter B. Risse, M.D., Ph.D. It is with deep sadness that the Department of Medical History and Bioethics shares news of the passing of Professor Guenter B. Risse. He died peacefully at home on February 15, 2026, following a long...

Very sad to hear of the death of Guenter Risse, whose historical studies on plague and other diseases in San Francisco were such an inspiration for a generation of researchers. Both Visual Plague and Global War Against the Rat projects owe a lot to his generous support mhb.wisc.edu/2026/02/25/i...

Too real

Very shortsighted. It probably just means this research will be continued elsewhere, in China for example.

Read an extract from this book, 'Drunken songs of tomorrow: Friedrich Nietzsche and intoxication', via www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

You might find a discussion of that very topic in the penultimate chapter!

A picture of the new book, Intoxicated Ways of Knowing.

Unbelievable to finally see it in print! #skystorians #histmed #histsci #philsci #drugsky #medsky #scisky @uchicagopress.bsky.social press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Anecdotally, I was reached out to over this app because they somehow struggled to find my email, so basically this.

Can't tell if the frog is sad or proud (the answer is both)

Pfft! Hugh Glass crawled for, what, a mere 6-8 weeks?

Funnily enough, the FDA clearly erred, because morphine sulfate is a very effective antitussive and opiates are still frequently prescribed for acute cough, such as bronchitis.

Intoxicated Ways of Knowing Argues that intoxication was fundamental to German physiological, psychological, and psychiatric research during the nineteenth century.   Intoxicating substances can be found lurking in every corner ...

Excited to say it will be hitting the warehouse soon! #skystorians #histmed #histsci #philsci
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Train university. Live on the trains. Teach on the trains. Conference on the trains. Academic Snowpiercer.

The problem of induction means we can all just shrug about underdetermination of historical evidence

Too close to home. "Why did I put these words together? Why would anyone?"

And in truth that AI summary could be useful for most purposes. Comparing two speakers? This might actually be the easiest way to do it. But as an academic researcher, I feel like more and more material is hidden away. Online research strats that worked don't work anymore.

Absolutely. What I mean is that even four years ago if I wanted to research something there would be a lot of noise, but you could still sift for useful stuff. What I fear is that the 'product' is an AI that sifts for you and spits out a summary, with increasingly opaque access to source.

I died a little bit when I realized the projected future is one in which the AI trash summary is intended to be the termination point of the search. This is bad news for anyone who has ever done research, cares about context, thinks word choice matters, etc.

There is only genre

First coffee should have an extra dose of caffeine but always be the same. The second coffee is variable dose based on need. This message is brought to you by instant coffee.

Even preprint feels a bridge too far. It is an unaccepted, unreviewed draft of a paper.

This isn't even the worst thing I've personally seen. The annoying thing being that its always at the top, so you can't help seeing it.

My first thought was interrogation, at the border/by police, etc.

Imagine having to campaign for the legislation to protect the privacy of your own thoughts.

Right? A STEM researcher at Yale surely knows the opt-out for STEM researchers is typically industry and it's no secret that many in industry want science done 'in-house' (nevermind how it all stands on university 'basic science' that no CEO wants to pay for, but, hey, its patentable).

Neuroscience needs a new paradigm: the brain is not a machine | Nicole Rust

Neuroscience needs a new paradigm: the brain is not a machine | By Nicole Rust

“The brain is a dynamic complex system—like the weather or a megacity—whose parts interact via feedback loops that are impossible to study in isolation from each other.” iai.tv/articles/neu... #philsky #philsci #neuro

I clearly move in different circles because I have only really heard those terms applied to specific historical discussions.

Oh absolutely! He could really turn a phrase, without the need for pomp.

I actually prefer a more florid style. But I've always found Ian Hacking second to none in how clearly and unassumingly he can present ideas. The chapter on Foucault in Historical Ontology makes up almost entirely for the opacity of Foucault's own writing.

That's the meritocratic dream (fantasy), isn't it?