Tobias Wilson-Bates

phdhurtbrain.bsky.social

19 October 2026 18:20

CYBERSECURITY TRAINING: trust nothing. the humans you encounter are likely illusions. begin from the axiom that only the experience of your own doubt is real. ME: is the IT Helpdesk real? CYBERSECURITY TRAINING: yes. only the Helpdesk is real. trust them with all of your most intimate secrets.

Tobias Wilson-Bates

phdhurtbrain.bsky.social

19 October 2026 14:08

Sometimes my students come into class w the misunderstanding that you can “argue anything” in an essay, and, no, no you cannot. The frame for a successful argument is set by your understanding, the topic, and your audience’s access to the discourse. None of these are infinitely malleable.

Ivan Kreilkamp

ivan812.bsky.social

17 October 2026 18:05

I showed my Thomas Mann pencil to someone working on a first dissertation chapter, and they seemed to appreciate the sentiment

Eleanor Courtemanche

ecourtem.bsky.social

17 October 2026 07:37

Relevant to my interests 😁

Eleanor Courtemanche

ecourtem.bsky.social

16 October 2026 18:06

Maybe it is still the case that (pace Cleanth Brooks!) what is distinctive about literary analysis is “irony and paradox” Students need to be trained on texts that are deliberately trying to trick them, and parse the possible differences between “this was intended” and “we can see this now”