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Res Obscura

Res Obscura
When the Sackler Brothers studied LSD One of the stranger episodes from the 1950s golden age of psychedelic therapy, and what it tells us...
4 days ago
6
4 days ago
One of the stranger episodes from the 1950s golden age of psychedelic therapy, and what it tells us about the history of technology
Res Obscura
The leading AI models are now very good historians Three case studies with GPT-4o, o1, and Claude Sonnet 3.5, and what they mean
a week ago
Res Obscura
2,000-year-old wine and the uncanny immediacy of the past Why artifacts like the Carmona Wine Urn, the Pazyryk Rug, and the Sword of Goujian are so important
2 weeks ago
Res Obscura
Why did clothing become boring? An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like...
a month ago
55
a month ago
An investigation into when, how, and why everyone started dressing the same — and what it was like when they didn't
Res Obscura
A very deep history of Halloween Or, how far back can historical analysis take us?
3 months ago
Res Obscura
Post-postal What did we lose when we stopped writing letters?
3 months ago
Res Obscura
On 17th century "cocaine" A new analysis of mummified brains pushes back the timeline for the globalization of coca
3 months ago
Res Obscura
Centuries of Childhood The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories...
7 months ago
63
7 months ago
The history of childhood is one of multiplicity — so why do we tell parents such simplistic stories about it?
Res Obscura
LLM-based educational games will be a big deal For the first time, digital games can make qualitative assessments of learning. Here's what that...
8 months ago
Res Obscura
Why I love etymologies Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words...
9 months ago
57
9 months ago
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words matters
Res Obscura
"He spoke of computers with some awe" Margaret Mead, John von Neumann, and the prehistory of AI
10 months ago
Res Obscura
How well can AI imitate a 17th century doctor? Arcadio Huang is ill in 1710s Paris. Can GPT-4 and Gemini find a cure?
11 months ago
Res Obscura
The (history of) spice must flow Why the spice trade is even more important for world history than you might have thought
11 months ago
Res Obscura
Why drug history? Drugs and spices play an outsized role in world history — but it's often a hidden one
a year ago
Res Obscura
I talked to Terry Gross! A brief update about the publication of "Tripping on Utopia" before we return to regularly scheduled...
a year ago
26
a year ago
A brief update about the publication of "Tripping on Utopia" before we return to regularly scheduled posting
Res Obscura
Role-playing with AI will be a powerful tool for writers and educators Or, how well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963?
a year ago
Res Obscura
How well can GPT-4 simulate an acid trip in 1963? An experiment with historical simulation
a year ago
Res Obscura
The most interesting things I read in 2023 Most of them are not from 2023
a year ago
Res Obscura
When technology follows art From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the...
a year ago
53
a year ago
From optics to machine learning, artists have played an important, if underrated, role in the history of technology
Res Obscura
Margaret Mead, Technocracy, and the origins of AI's ideological divide The anthropologist helped popularize both techno-optimism and the concept of existential risk
a year ago
Res Obscura
How to use generative AI for historical research Four real-world case studies, and some thoughts on what not to do
a year ago
Res Obscura
The open-stack library: a futuristic technology from the 18th century What we lost when we shifted knowledge organization to an algorithmic feed
a year ago
Res Obscura
There should be more cash prizes for solving historical mysteries On the Herculaneum scroll and the underrated value of historical knowledge
a year ago
Res Obscura
Simulating History with Multimodal AI: an Update Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history....
a year ago
52
a year ago
Generative AI offers a new, more engaging (and, hopefully, more empathetic) way of teaching history. But how to use it?
Res Obscura
Before psychedelic therapy for wartime trauma, there was narcosynthesis Notes on using AI to analyze three World War II-era films about drugs and PTSD
a year ago
Res Obscura
Translating Latin demonology manuals with GPT-4 and Claude At long last, a real-world use case for AI!
a year ago
Res Obscura
Kikkuli! Why do some people from the distant past become memes?
a year ago
Res Obscura
Historical maps probably helped cause World War I On cartography as historical argument
a year ago
Res Obscura
Simulating History with ChatGPT The Case for LLMs as Hallucination Engines
a year ago
Res Obscura
Experiencing scientific revolutions: the 1660s and the 2020s Lessons from Boyle's scientific desiderata and the Midgley Effect
a year ago
Res Obscura
Why Early Modern Books Are So Beautiful Three theories
a year ago
Res Obscura
Why did it take psychedelics so long to become popular? Some lessons from history and archaeology
a year ago
Res Obscura
Wilfrid Voynich: Bookseller, Revolutionary, Amateur Cryptologist... Suspected Spy? The first in a series on the extraordinary lives of the Voyniches
a year ago
Res Obscura
Do painters subconsciously paint themselves into their work? The Renaissance history of automimesis, and a proposal for research
a year ago
Res Obscura
Res Obscura is now on Substack Three years late, but historians are always late
a year ago
Res Obscura
Res Obscura Newsletter: December, 2019 Note: this was exported from Mailchimp. That's a 1909 painting called "Altar." It's by someone I...
over a year ago
8
over a year ago
Note: this was exported from Mailchimp. That's a 1909 painting called "Altar." It's by someone I learned about just this month: the Lithuanian composer and artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911). His paintings and music evoke a mysterious feeling that has stuck with...