NicoleCRust

awaisaftab, 1 month ago to random

Mental Causation and Metaphysical Gloss

“Downward causation” is strictly speaking neither “downward” nor “causation.”

https://www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/mental-causation-and-metaphysical

jonny, 1 month ago to random

Im going back to visit Boise Idaho, where I grew up. When I left it was a town for aging football dads and uncool teens such as myself, but Boise is apparently Cool Now???? Extremely weird to me

NicoleCRust, 1 month ago to random

Carol Jennings, RIP

Carol Jennings was an amazing woman who letters wrote letters to Alzheimer's researchers about her family. That led to the discovery of the APP gene and, in turn, the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's. (Her family carries a rare form in which mutations to the APP gene cause Alzheimer's with certainty). She devoted the rest of her life to Alzheimer's advocacy. Tragically, she acquired the disorder later in life herself.

Thank you, Carol Jennings. Rest in peace.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/honouring-couple-dementia-their-contributions-research

sls, 1 month ago to random

me: "Measure it! Get the data!"

David Hubel: "Those who think 'Science is Measurement' should search Darwin's works for numbers and equations."

NicoleCRust, 1 month ago to random

Ironically, I got to know Prof @kevinbolding here before IRL, despite the fact that his lab is on the same campus (and we might have the same boss? Dunno. Penn is a big, confusing place). In any case, we’ve now rectified that and I can attest: he’s a real person. And he’s great!

APBBlue, 1 month ago to random

So this happened a few blocks from my mom's house, so she can shut up about crime in D.C. now: https://cdapress.com/news/2024/apr/08/cda-man-charged-with-attempting-to-provide-support-resources-to-isis/

brianvastag, 1 month ago to random

The awe and wonder you're seeing around the #eclipse is why I became a science reporter. Nothing's cooler and more humbling than nature.

NicoleCRust, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to random

What, if anything, makes mood fundamentally different from memory?

My new piece in @thetransmitter

https://www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-picture/what-if-anything-makes-mood-fundamentally-different-from-memory/

You might hear, "Mood disorders are psychological, not biological." What does that even mean? Here I lay out not just this but five different clusters of positions around what mood and mood disorders are (along with a six that you might suspect but no one adopts).

I also asked researchers to chime in on the most effective path forward for mood research. The diversity of opinions is insightful, and telling.

In my own mind, mood is among the most challenging functions that exist. We'll need all hands (and all perspectives) on deck.

Insights from: @awaisaftab, Austin Coley, @eikofried, Steve Hyman, @amygdaloid, Lisa Monteggia, @russpoldrack, Lauren Ross, Robb Rutledge, Maryma Shanechi, Shan Siddiqi, and Eric Turkheimer

axoaxonic, 1 month ago to random

A lot of people are posting a video by Sabine Hossenfelder right now, and I'm not going to comment on the video or the points and discussion, but I wanted to post this video detailing her problematic views on trans issues, how she promoted (in a biased-centrist way) the harmful, TERF-associated, and unfounded view that gender affirming care for trans kids is a social contagion leading to "rapid onset of gender dysphoria," while making claims that transitioning before puberty is harmful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6Kau7bO3Fw Also there's a line where she offhand belittles people who say early gender affirming care saves lives

"Whether or not she meant to, she repeatedly used a misleading rhetorical device to elevate transphobic talking points to the same level as scientific evidence, and she did that in front of a very large audience"

neuralreckoning, 1 month ago to random

If you're considering a life in academia it's worth watching this video and deciding if it's worth it to you or not. All of this is true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiBlGDfRU8

For me the answer is yes, despite all the problems, for two reasons.

Firstly, I'm lucky enough that I do have considerable freedom to work on the things that I'm interested in. If I was more interested in success or if I was on a 'soft money' position and forced to chase constant grants, I don't know if that would be true. But, such luck is rare.

Secondly, as a socialist I would feel very uncomfortable spending my creative energy on most of the non-academic things I'm qualified for: advertising and surveillance (i.e. tech companies), finance, or startups (making venture capitalists even richer). I could imagine academia getting bad enough that I'd make that choice, but for me it's not there yet. I completely understand that it is that bad for others and I mean no criticism of them.

In a way I suppose this is a sort of defence of academia, but it's a half hearted one at best. I think it's absolutely tragic and depressing that academia has become like this. Doing research should be one of the most joyful and creative things anyone could do with their lives.

NicoleCRust, 1 month ago to random

Where is humanity heading?

Great podcast breaking down the rate of tech advances and what they might extrapolate to. Brilliantly described in an accessible way in terms of growth rates, phase transitions, and equilibriums. Really thoughtful.

https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/03/25/270-solo-the-coming-transition-in-how-humanity-lives/

helenajambor, 1 month ago to datascience

Everyone, drop what you are doing - SPURIOUS CORRELATION now has a companion site, SPURIOUS SCHOLAR - that WRITES AN ACADEMIC PAPER based on the spurious correlation! Because "if p < 0.05, why not publish?" 😂

https://tylervigen.com/spurious-scholar

#Academic publishing #CorrelationIsNotCausation #DataScience
#DataViz

Al academic paper (Because p < 0.01) - "The Elijah Wood Effect: A Cinematic Correlation to Orderly Occupation in Oklahoma" Reminder: This paper is Al-generated. Not reall Show prompt used to generate this paper

brembs, 1 month ago to random

Compare what experts like @alexh

https://alexholcombe.wordpress.com/2024/03/28/gates-foundation-and-me-mandate-preprints-support-peer-review-services-outside-of-big-publishers/

or @Luke_Drury

https://council.science/current/blog/the-open-access-rising-tide-gates-foundation-ends-support-to-article-processing-charges/

think of the new Gates' policy ending the support of journal-based academic publishing, with a news-type article in an academic journal:

https://www.science.org/content/article/bold-bid-avoid-open-access-fees-gates-foundation-says-grantees-must-post-preprints

That comparison should tell you all you need to know about which organizations are on the side of scholarship, and which are its adversaries.

#openaccess #openscience #academicchatter

BayesForDays, 1 month ago to random

it's only not creepy when rich people bury dead people in their yards

tdverstynen, 1 month ago to random

Today I discovered that there are certain "high profile" professors who are regularly courted for (and strategically accept) coauthorship on papers, with minimal effort or work, solely to increase the likelihood that the paper will be accepted at a top tier journal.

This is basically the Trump business model applied to science.