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Seb Falk

@sebfalk.com

Historian of science || Admissions Tutor at Girton College, University of Cambridge || Singer, sailor, runner, father || "Always generous" – The New Yorker

600 Posts10633 Follower607 Folgt
Seb Falk@sebfalk.com · last mo.

On my way home from a magnificent #eshs-hss conference. Edinburgh hosted us brilliantly (including the conference ceilidh!) & it was wonderful to catch up with old friends & colleagues, and make meet many new ones. Newly inspired by #HistSTM!

Ceilidh lines in the National Museum of ScotlandEdinburgh castle in the sunshine, with blue sky behindView down over Edinburgh from Salisbury Crags, with the castle visible in the background
Karl Galle@karlgalle.bsky.social · 5mo ago

From the same publisher, a new open-access edited volume on Proclus for historians of medieval mathematics & theology: www.mirabileweb.it/edgalluzzo/m... #HistSTM #MedievalSky

Cover image for the book, "Proclus and the Science: Approaches to Understanding the Divine," edited by Anna Motta and Daniela Taormina.
Karl Galle@karlgalle.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New open-access volume for historians of medieval travel, pilgrimages, and the Crusades - a critical edition of Rorgo Fretellus’s 12th-century "Descriptio de locis sanctis" (text in Latin and Italian): www.sismel.it/publications... #MedievalSky

Laura Keating@lorekeating.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I keep seeing "all authors use AI, the real issue is they're being forced to be sneaky about it" headlines. Full stop No. This is a lie peddled for normalization. It's schoolyard-level pressure tactics "C'mon, all the cool kids are already doing it. We won't tell. It's fine. We're on your side."

Katherine CM Cross@kcross.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Hi guys. Please find attached my book. Some people say it will shape the idea of the English people. Don’t miss the section on the Synod of Whitby. My information is a little patchy, and I’m no fan of the Brits. Maybe you should supplement my work with archaeology? All the best, the Venerable Bede

Dan Conway@magisterconway.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Update: it gets so much worse. All of Bede's letters have no basis in the original Latin at all. This one reads like a modern email! (Original Latin, real translation, fake "translation")

Desideratissimo et reverendissimo patri Albino, Beda Christi famulus, salutem. Dedicatio Gratantissime suscepi munuscula tuae dilectionis, quae per venerabilem fratrem nostrum Nothelmum presbyterum mittere dignatus es, et maxime litteras, quibus me iam secunda vice in ecclesiastica gentis nostrae historia, ad quam me scribendam iamdudum instigaveras, creber adiuvare atque instituere curasti. Propter quod et ipse tibi rectissime eandem historiam, mox ut consummare potui, ad transcribendum remisi. Sed et aliud, quod te partim desiderare comperi, volumen tibi vice remunerationis aeque ad transcribendum destinavi, videlicet, illud quod de structura templi Salomonis atque allegorica eius interpretatione nuper edidi. Teque, amantissime pater, supplex obsecro, ut pro mea fragilitate cum his, qui tecum sunt, famulis Christi, apud pium Iudicem sedulus intercedere memineris: sed et eos, ad quos eadem nostra opuscula pervenire feceris, hoc idem facere monueris. Bene vale, semper amantissime in Christo pater optime.
Dan Conway@magisterconway.bsky.social · 5mo ago

So, um... this is bad. Really bad. I looked at the letters that were translated by the AI, and the very first one I found was almost entirely hallucination. Thread:

Sarah E. Bond@sarahebond.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The new project mapping 7,000+ ancient letters is impressive: romanletters.org . The database & geolocation (although noting Pleiades rather than just AWMC would be nice) are great. But I absolutely cannot get over use of AI—however transparent—for translation. 🚨 Value human translators 🚨

AI translation transparency Modern English translations were produced using Claude (Anthropic), working from either the Latin/Greek original or an existing 19th-century English version. Translation work was guided by two internal documents: a translation guide covering late antique epistolary conventions, rhetorical register, and how to handle common formulaic phrases; and a modern voice guide specifying tone, vocabulary level, and how to avoid archaism while remaining faithful to the original. Al-generated translations are clearly marked in the interface. They are provided for accessibility and research convenience, not as authoritative scholarly translations. The original Latin or Greek is preserved alongside every translation, and 19th-century English versions are shown where available. Corrections from domain experts are welcome.
@monkeynutcoat.bsky.social · 5mo ago

@girtoncollege.bsky.social 'The Eagle' in Cambridge has Watson & Crick, but delighted 'The Golden Beam' Headingley, Leeds now has Girton alumnus & physicist Florence Bell on their wall who, whilst working in Dept. of Textiles here in 1938, first showed X-rays could be used to reveal DNA structure!

Print portrait of scientist Florence Bell who, working in the lab of William Astbury at Leeds in 1938, first showed that X-rays could be used to reveal the regular, ordered structure of DNA. The print is a mosaic made up of tiny images from scientific papers and was made by artist and staff member Kristina Keller at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the USA where the original (based on a photo kindly provided by Mr Chris Sawyer) hangs outside the cafe on the Janelia campus.
Seb Falk@sebfalk.com · 6mo ago

I never met Prof Abulafia. But having read a fair range of his work, I feel I can imagine his reaction to having his recently disincarnated spirit summoned in this way 😱

Dr. Verena Krebs@krebsverena.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Using Grammarly for the first time in forever ... WHAT? As a non-native speaker writing primarily in English, I used to use it to check prepositions, point out too long/convoluted sentences etc. It now offers to summon colleagues both living and dead to "expert review" the piece??? What?

Text on an academic article about "Moving Things: Moving Cartloads of Treasures from Venice to Ethiopia, ca. 1400" pasted into Grammarly in a Browser. It offers to invoke the digital ghosts of David Abulafia, Barry Flood and Chris Wickham to give me "expert feedback".