Donald Trump

politician · 14 mentions across 6 readings

In this course

Trump appears only peripherally in these course readings, mentioned in passing as part of discussions about social media dynamics and proof-of-work mechanisms rather than as a central figure. The excerpts suggest he functions as an example of algorithmic visibility and attention economy—the kind of figure whose relevance to the course depends on how platforms like Instagram or Twitter mediate presence rather than on his own theoretical or technological contributions. His mention seems instrumental to arguments about market validation and digital performance rather than essential to understanding AI, cybernetics, or their cultural implications.

Mentioned in 6 readings

Hugh Davies

The Gamification of Conspiracy: QAnon as ARG

ARGs have existed for over twenty years and have been used to promote ideas, products and services, or have existed purely for art or entertainment.[^42] The specific type of ARG that QAnon presents is unique. While the Q-drops and the narr…QAnon’s support of Trump is not simply literal and tactical, but conceptual and strategic. More than lionising Trump in its conspiracy narrative, the social, cultural, and political polarization that QAnon creates, ultimately works in his f…Q was not the first ARG to appear on 4chan. Throughout 2016 and 2017, several similar games featuring secret government officials leaking secrets appeared on the /pol/ message board. These ARGs, now widely understood as precursors to QAnon …

+4 more

Geoff Shullenberger

Mimesis, Violence, and Facebook: Peter Thiel’s French Connection

As one examines the list of participants, one name stands out: Peter Thiel, not, like the rest, a university professor, but (at the time) the President of Clarium Capital. In 2011, the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/2…But so far, I have been expanding on what Thiel himself has said, which others have echoed. However, what accounts of Girard’s role in Thiel’s Facebook investment never mention is the other half of Girard’s theory, the half that Thiel was a…In a seemingly Ayn-Randian vein, Thiel likes to call tech entrepreneurs “founders,” and in lectures and seminars has compared (http://blakemasters.com/post/24578683805/peter-thiels-cs183-startup-class-18-notes) startups to monarchies. He en…

China Mieville

People mentioned in the same passages — sorted by co-occurrence weight.

Donald Trump

The Gamification of Conspiracy: QAnon as ARG

Mimesis, Violence, and Facebook: Peter Thiel’s French Connection

On Social Sadism

Status as a Service (StaaS)

Notes on À bruit secret: on Duchamp, Cybernetics, and Organized Crime

Notes on Foxacid, Quantumsquirrel, Weeping Angel