Rory Solomon

@rorshock

Mesh networks, media infrastructure, software engineering, ham/CB radio (KD2QGX); Assistant Professor of Media & Cultural Studies at Macalester College; “very clear & cool, simple but intricate”; he/him

389 Folgt1.908 Follower614 Posts

Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir rorshock.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jul 13

True humanity www.npr.org/2007/04/20/9...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jul 7

I must say thanks to Dept Chair Morgan Adamson, John, Tia, Alix, Jeremy & everyone involved in the search, as well as the wonderful & inspiring students I met on my visit. It's an honor to be welcomed into a dept of brilliant colleagues doing so much exciting work www.instagram.com/macalester_m...

Instagram homepage @macalester_mcst, showing a partial grid of three recent posts: an image of eyeballs for a "Capstone Presentations" event, a post reading "Sonic relationality: coloniality, soundscape, and kinship," and an advertisement for a course titled "Technologies of Mediation: From oral to digital."

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jun 25

A bun dance I can get behind

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jun 24

Leon Botstein at the Bard High School program graduation, after advising students that “to get anything done, you’re going to have to dance with the devil.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/n...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· May 28

"It's just a small fortune, Michael, what could it be worth, $40 million?" www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/u...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· May 28

"Poetry without rhyming? Too easy"

Image of text that says '"The Post needs to be a profitable enterprise that stands on its own two feet," Mr. Bezos said in the interview. "Let me tell you why. Because it's a measure of its relevance. If people won't pay for our product, it's not a good enough product. It would be like poetry without rhyming, it's too easy." Below that is a picture of Jeff Bezos sitting in a director chair opposite someone from CNBC interviewing him in a big warehouse that appears to be filled with rocket parts. Behind-the-scenes equipment is visible like video cameras and photo lighting.

Rory Solomon@rorshock· May 19

This might be the worst one yet www.instagram.com/reel/DYctHVJ...

Image of an annoying looking white dude in a black robe giving a graduation speech in front of a bunch of blue flags. Title says “Students Boo Scott Borchetta After He Dedicates Graduation Speech to AI Acceptance.”

Subtitle says “AI is rewriting production as we sit here.”

Rory Solomon@rorshock· May 9

Please consider joining my students & I for final presentations from our class "Radical Software", hosted by @ridgewoodcommons.nyc Tuesday, May 12, 12-1:40pm Vegan lunch will be served All are welcome Flyer attached (And stick around for the Permacomputing event at 6pm! nyc.permacomputing.net)

Image of a 1990s-era PC on fire. Title text in block letters: "Radical Software". Smaller gray letters to the side: "Tuesday, May 12, 12-1:40pm". Body text in white on a black background states: "In this hybrid theory/practice seminar, students will study the history of political activism using computers, and learn coding techniques related to this activism. We will study political theory & concepts like: innovation, disruption, creative destruction, civil disobedience, Luddism, sabotage & vandalism. We will also examine software as an infrastructure of care, mutual aid, and collective action. Projects will include making your own browser extension & USB keystroke injection attacks."

Below that, in yellow block letters: "Ridgewood Commons"
And below that in white: "5-85 Woodward Ave, btwn Grove & Menahan"

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Apr 25

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Mar 30

www.facebook.com/story.php?st...

Mark Zuckerberg looking very obnoxious in a tight olive colored t shirt giving a presentation standing in front of a projected screen that says in black text on white background “Our mission: Bringing the world closer together”

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Mar 28

I think this is the question. I put up three images for my students at the start of the semester. 1) On the left: In a purely transactional situation, when getting paid for output, get the work done by any means necessary – bracketing external concerns (like environmental impact). Here, an eBike

Three images. On the left, a food delivery worker in an orange jacket on an eBike apparently moving quickly. Caption: "From point A to point B as fast as possible, by any means necessary." On the right, an elite athlete in the Tour de France, in a yellow biker outfit matching a yellow bike, pedaling past a large crowd in front of gothic cathedral. Caption: "Peak performance, within precise constraints." In the middle, four smiling people on stationary bikes apparently in a gym. Caption: "Improving & achieving personal goals by doing it yourself. Teachers as coaches or trainers. Getting comfortable with discomfort; the exertion is the point"

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Feb 1

Yes and … I’ve found there’s as much solidarity as mistrust. In Feb 2017 when Yemeni deli owners shutdown their stores to protest Trump 1.0’s Muslim travel ban, we put up a sign in Crown Heights & got dozens of signatures of support from folks in the neighborhood. (Pic from still early in the day.)

On a closed gate over a storefront, a sign is taped up reading “We support our Yemeni brothers + sisters,” with a sharpie on a string, and many names of support are written on the sign.

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 24

I really try to stay away from RMP but I will wear this comment as a badge of honor. It seems I’ve had at least some success in my efforts to craft coursework that discourages AI use

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 18

Yes. Yes they do

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 8

Dohahahaha😢 AI is going to kill us all

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 8

Dohahaha

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 8

Dohaha

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Dec 8

Doha (via Midjourney)

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Nov 25

Very pleased to have successfully run the gauntlet that is SCMS applications. Very much looking forward to presenting on "System, Space, Market, Subject: Mediating Neo(il)liberalism" with irikalinka.bsky.social, Haiying Li (www.linkedin.com/in/haiying-l...), and @moiraweigel.bsky.social. #SCMS2026

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Oct 10

Wanted to hear this original conversation so I looked it up. I didn't realize it's from 2023. Also I think the above transcription is a little off. Here's the NPR transcript – sounds more correct to my ear & less combative. Apologies for reposting without first checking. www.npr.org/transcripts/...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Oct 10

I’ve had similar conversations with people about writing my book. … They went in similar directions.

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Sep 10

"We've already outsourced parts of our digital learning environments. But this is different. The university is supposed to be a public good. And these companies are trying to privatise that. They're trying to make themselves indispensable, to get their hooks into the intellectual commons of the university and profit off it. That's terrifying.”

For Hinds, ChatGPT doesn't just present a logistical or pedagogical problem, but a symptom of something deeper.

"It exemplifies a much more manifest wrongness in the system," he says. "It's born of a model of education that's transactional, instrumentalised, and competitive to the point of cruelty. It's a monster, but it's a monster born of a system that already wanted to destroy education as we understand it."

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Sep 5

Using the word “redlining” in an article about a tennis match featuring a Black player, 𝑖𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, sure is a choice www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jul 31

ayooo. Shots fired. LFG NY. Delgado for gov Quick, check out this op-ed before NYT turns on him when he starts winning www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/o...

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jul 14

Movie you've watched more than six times with a gif.

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jul 14

AI has thoroughly destroyed search. I'm trying to find a short story with some keywords & Google AI responded to my query by just making up a story that fits. Of course, the most disgusting thing is the LLM probably pilfered this from the actual story but I still can't find the one I'm looking for

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jun 25

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Jun 9

They are doing their jobs, but they are not just (h/t @joelhs.bsky.social)

Rory Solomon@rorshock· May 18

Black & white newspaper print image of the cover of an issue of “Prod Dispatch”. Title section states “25¢ per copy”, “No. 33, Sept. 1977, Box 69 Washington DC 20044”, and includes an image of a semi truck. Primary image is a collage of a racially diverse group of 4 working class individuals with a fifth man in the center who appears to be a politician at a dais labeled “Crystal City Marriott”. Headline reads “Labor Day Conference Aids Local Organizing”.

Rory Solomon@rorshock· Apr 3

wow you’re right. Never knew these existed. Another angle shows that it’s behind a fence. Thanks for pointing that out!!