The MC Hammer school of philosophy

Twitter is probably the last place most of us expect to find thoughtful conversations about epistemology and the philosophy of science. But not all users of the popular social media platform are MC Hammer.

On Tuesday, the rap legend behind "U Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" shared a link to "The visibility of philosophy of science in the sciences, 1980–2018," an article recently published in the academic journal Nature, with his followers. When a user replied with a comment questioning the value of philosophical inquiry, it was Hammer Time:

Like any good Twitter pedant, Hammer followed up the tweet instantly to correct his own typo:

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Many readers of the now-viral exchange were surprised to learn that Hammer has been engaged in public conversations about philosophy for several months. One of his most frequent interlocutors has been Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John's College and the author of Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, a book Hammer has described as "amazing." The rapper and the philosopher are set to continue their conversation on Friday with a public chat on the Clubhouse app.

Please, Hammer, don't hurt 'em.