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More from Res Obscura

When Jorge Luis Borges met one of the founders of AI

One reason I became a historian is the joy of encountering moments in the past that are foreign, yet also oddly familiar.

2 days ago 6 votes
AI legibility, physical archives, and the future of research

A followup to "The leading AI models are now good historians"

4 weeks ago 19 votes
Happy Lupercalia

A special discount on subscriptions in honor of the Roman wolf holiday

a month ago 21 votes
The familiar loneliness of the Kinetoscope

One other way that the 2020s resemble the 1890s

a month ago 24 votes
When the Sackler Brothers studied LSD

One of the stranger episodes from the 1950s golden age of psychedelic therapy, and what it tells us about the history of technology

2 months ago 26 votes

More in history

The Steps a President Would Take to Destroy His Nation, According to Grok

Just out of curiosity, and apropos of nothing, we asked Grok (the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk) the following question: If a president of a superpower wanted to destroy his own country, what steps would he take? Here’s what Grok had to say: If a president of a superpower aimed to deliberately undermine their […]

20 hours ago 2 votes
Excavations at Pompeii Reveal Rare Life-Sized Statues

An ongoing excavation at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii yielded an unusual pair of marble funerary statues. The figures depict a man in a toga and a bejeweled woman, who experts believe may have been a Pompeiian priestess.   Statues Found at Pompeii’s Porta Sarno Necropolis   Archaeologists unearthed the pair of relief […]

15 hours ago 2 votes
40k

Wrong Side of History Newsletter #61

7 hours ago 1 votes
Painted Ants Scurry Over Vintage Porcelain by Evelyn Bracklow

German artist Evelyn Bracklow’s porcelain cups, saucers, teapots and dinner service is covered in ants. On some she’s painted a piece of food and then had her hand-painted black ants congregate around it. The effect is fascinating stuff and unsettling. We know that ants exist in abundance, but we don’t want to encounter one on … Continue reading "Painted Ants Scurry Over Vintage Porcelain by Evelyn Bracklow" The post Painted Ants Scurry Over Vintage Porcelain by Evelyn Bracklow appeared first on Flashbak.

an hour ago 1 votes
What Is an Ideal Government? A Philosophical Approach

What makes a perfect government? Is it one governed by the wisest people or one that ensures the greatest possible happiness for the largest number of citizens? These questions have fascinated thinkers since ancient times—from Plato and other classical philosophers to John Locke and more recent political theorists. In this article, we will take […]

23 hours ago 1 votes