I am astonished, grateful, and proud that last year, LOST IN THOUGHT surpassed 25,000 copies in cumulative total sales @PrincetonUPress ! (1/x) The book marinated for years as I looked for a way to live a serious and authentic life of the mind (2/x)

The post was 80% a joke but a few serious points:
1. The list is almost all from the *required* curriculum at @stjohnscollege
2. It's no credit to me or my fellow alums to read what's required. That goes to the courageous people who dreamt of this curriculum and made it work. 1/

https://twitter.com/zenahitz/status/1730647181059653666

In the 1930s much of this had never been translated. The SJC faculty translated Apollonius, Nicomachus, and others themselves. 2/x

25 books that should be on every school curriculum:
1. Ptolemy, Almagest
2. Plato, Timaeus
3. Aristotle, Physics
4. Apollonius of Perga, Conic Sections
5. Pascal, mathematical works
6. Lavoisier, Elements of Chemistry
7. Harvey, On theCirculation of the Blood
8. Newton, Princi 9. Fragments of Heraclitus and Parmenides
10. Baker, The Peregrine
11. Melville, Moby-Dick

I think the WVU situation is actually much more serious than we think. I would like to articulate this, because (as others say) it is of national and international import, bearing on upcoming changes at Florida by @BenSasse and in the UK. (1/x)

https://twitter.com/NYMag/status/1695061074880368897

We defenders of liberal arts--I am especially guilty here--talk about the power of liberal arts for individuals. As a general matter, this is good and right. But a state flagship raises questions that I will call "ecological". (2/x)