Don't miss a special filmed conversation between Michael Morpurgo and Daniel Pioro, as they re-examine the elemental power of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons... Their new recording is released today on @weareplatoon https://t.co/EAaEtVx82F
The Sokal affair became one of the most famous academic hoaxes in modern science culture.
In 1996, physicist Alan Sokal submitted a deliberately ridiculous paper to Social Text titled “Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity.”
It sounded intellectual. It used physics words. It flattered the editors’ ideology.
And it got published.
Then Sokal revealed that the paper was a hoax.
His real point was not “humanities bad.” The sharper point was this: if people use science and mathematics as decoration, without understanding them, language becomes a costume for authority.
Sokal later summarized the test in one blunt question:
“Would a leading North American journal of cultural studies… publish an article liberally salted with nonsense if (a) it sounded good and (b) it flattered the editors’ ideological preconceptions? The answer, unfortunately, is yes.”
“It looks useless, but ultimately it's useful."
For chemist Susumu Kitagawa there is more to something that looks useless than meets the eye. He spent years working on chemical structures that others thought had no potential use. But he saw himself as a pioneer – someone that could create new things out of what seemed like nothing.
He received the Nobel Prize in 2025 alongside Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi for the development of MOFs – chemical structures that have the ability to store and release molecules like water and carbon dioxide.
In his Nobel Prize interview Kitagawa describes his scientific journey and the principle he lives by: “the usefulness of useless.”
Watch now: https://t.co/nRdMYGiQeB
The 50 best Beethoven recordings: 50 of the finest Beethoven recordings available, complete with the original Gramophone reviews, featuring Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mitsuko Uchida, Murray Perahia, Takács Quartet and more
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Tabasco design has not changed since this story of resilience - designer used #interdependent colors masterfully. See my argument for how we need this type of thinking for liberal democracy In “Behind the Veil” section of my “Art Is: A Journey into the Light” @yalepress
“It is the pursuit of the common good that gives life to a people, understood not as a mere collection of individuals, but as a living reality in which people learn to recognize that they themselves are interconnected and jointly responsible for the res publica. In this sense, every person contributes to the building up of one’s people through ‘a slow and arduous effort calling for a desire for integration and a willingness to achieve this through the growth of a peaceful and multifaceted culture of encounter.’ Working together for the common good means having a shared vision. It is clear that there are many ideological and practical differences among people, as well as differing interests and frequent disagreements, but that does not mean it is impossible to engage in dialogue to establish a set of basic agreements that enable the creation of a shared vision, upon which everyone can move forward together.” @iamculturecare
"A truly Augustinian AI policy would begin with a philosophy of the human person. It would ask: What kind of learner are we trying to form? What should students be able to do without assistance? When is assistance appropriate? What forms of struggle are educationally necessary? What kinds of dependence weaken agency? What kinds of dependence strengthen it? How do we preserve the dignity of the student as a knower rather than turning him into a manager of machine outputs? These are better questions than “Did the student cheat?” (John Stanczak)