Res Obscura

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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 might look like.
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Benjamin Breen
Why I love etymologies
Telephones popularized "hello," "lox" is 8,000 years old, and other reasons why the history of words matters
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Benjamin Breen
1
"He spoke of computers with some awe"
Margaret Mead, John von Neumann, and the prehistory of AI
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Benjamin Breen
6
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Why Early Modern Books Are So Beautiful
 • Benjamin Breen
15
Simulating History with ChatGPT
 • Benjamin Breen
23
Historical maps probably helped cause World War I
 • Benjamin Breen
2
Translating Latin demonology manuals with GPT-4 and Claude
 • Benjamin Breen
9
Kikkuli!
 • Benjamin Breen
4
The (history of) spice must flow
 • Benjamin Breen
12
How well can AI imitate an early modern doctor?
Arcadio Huang is ill in 1710s Paris. Can GPT-4 and Gemini find a cure?
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Benjamin Breen
3
The (history of) spice must flow
Why the spice trade is even more important for world history than you might have thought
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Benjamin Breen
12
Why drug history?
Drugs and spices play an outsized role in world history — but it's often a hidden one
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Benjamin Breen
6
I talked to Terry Gross!
A brief update about the publication of "Tripping on Utopia" before we return to regularly scheduled posting
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Benjamin Breen
4
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?
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Benjamin Breen
2
Simulating an LSD trip in 1963 with GPT-4
The question: how well can GPT-4 simulate a trip on LSD, specifically one in early 1960s Los Angeles? The answer… pretty damn well. Read on for the…
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Benjamin Breen
The most interesting things I read in 2023
Most of them are not from 2023
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Benjamin Breen
3
Res Obscura
Res Obscura
Notes on the history of technology, medicine, science, art, drugs, and empire from UC Santa Cruz history professor Benjamin Breen. Also: using AI in research and teaching.
Recommendations
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Read Max
Read Max
Max Read
Psychedelic Press
Psychedelic Press
Psychedelic Press
French Reflections
French Reflections
David A. Bell
Looking Through the Past
Looking Through the Past
George Dillard
The Intrinsic Perspective
The Intrinsic Perspective
Erik Hoel
Articles
Open-access PDFs of my academic publications
Books
Order "The Age of Intoxication"
My first book, on the early modern global drug trade (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019)
Order "Tripping on Utopia"
My second book, on Margaret Mead and the history of psychedelic science in the 20th century.
© 2024 Benjamin Breen
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