@simonabbrown
Philosopher of mind/cog sci studying animal minds, memory, consciousness, temporal representation, & implications for animal ethics/policy. Asst. Prof. @ Ashoka University, India. Formerly postdoc @ London School of Economics & Johns Hopkins University
If you're doomscrolling, guess what? So far there are 51 kākāpō chicks hatched and thriving this season, the same number of birds as we had in TOTAL in the 90s! Only one chick has died and there are still fertile eggs waiting to hatch!
it's out!
@hazimi.bsky.social and i explore how higher order representations of *one's own first-order representational uncertainty* -- not representations OF noisiness in the world -- can be studied, including how they are constructed in the first place.
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
Looking for some good readings for a graduate student who is interested in the philosophy and cognitive science of music #perception. Any recommendations—philosophical or otherwise? #PhilPerception #PhilQ
Society journals are quietly innovating even as MDPI and Frontiers eat their lunch
Hot take: the hippocampus isn't actually "evolutionarily ancient" and its not helpful to think of it as such.
The full argument for this take is right here (but you need to scroll down to sections 5-6):
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Given the Roman Catholic majority on the court, this is quite a significant and serious document.
Hey linguists -- chickens can distinguish bouba and kiki:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Hey! Scholars! If you're using someone's work in your class, sometimes it's nice to email them and tell them, because then they might feel good about their research instead of entirely crushed by the academic humanities' ongoing descent into the grave
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...
Very happy to see "Pretending not to know reveals a capacity for model-based self-simulation", a collaboration with @chazfirestone.bsky.social and @ianbphillips.bsky.social, out in Psych. Science!
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177...
🧵
Anyone with at least an undergrad degree can apply! I think we could be an attractive option for a wide range of people from around the world, especially for those interested in Indian philosophy (and especially Buddhism)!
Opportunities for Indian (and other Global South) students to study PhDs abroad are rapidly drying up/looking less and less attractive. So we're excited to offer high-quality education in all areas of philosophy accessible to such students!
We're starting a PhD programme in Philosophy at Ashoka! Anyone can apply by April 15 for admission this year, and we will ensure that admitted applicants receive enough funding to support them for the 5 year programme. More info here:
www.ashoka.edu.in/programme/ph...
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
Now with an official Teaching and Learning Guide! compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
I've read a lot of slanted papers from tech company employees about the 'benefits' of AI, but the fact that Anthropic themselves have put out such a cautious paper should be a big cause for alarm for people who are trading learning for prompting
And it doesn't improve productivity!
Fortunately the part about it being a table he was delivering was accurate! Although I have since eaten off it...
Screenshot showing that r/Conservative, noted bastion of free/awful speech, is now ranked just one above us in weekly visitor numbers.
Please make it your new resolution to visit AskHistorians once a week, because we've never been this invested in overtaking another community.
Whatsapp screenshot with messages in short succession reading "Hy", "Sir, I am bathing in delivery curry.", "I brought your dining table"
My Hindi is terrible and most Delhi delivery drivers' English isn't much better, so we often have to rely on google translate. Mix this with lack of standardisation in how Hindi is spelled in Latin alphabet and the results can be glorious:
A Reform-led council has spent £600,000 on an eight-space car park, of which six spaces are reserved for senior Reform councillors, who get to park there at no charge.
www.lbc.co.uk/article/refo...
A new study from Anthropic finds that gains in coding efficiency when relying on AI assistance did did not meet statistical significance; AI use noticeably degraded programmers’ understanding of what they were doing. Incredible.
My Centre is a unique place to do a PhD in Philosophy, because you can be in constant contact with experts in veterinary medicine, psychology, zoology and policy and be part of a team united by a shared interest in animal minds. We now have our 1st ever PhD scholarship: www.lse.ac.uk/sentience/phd
In an event which appears to have been real rather than a fever dream of Carol J. Adams, Friedrich Hayek once molested a bull so that a photograph could be sent to Margaret Thatcher with the caption "Hayek's Got Inflation By The Balls" www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
The IWRS is hiring! Help us build the infrastructure for invertebrate welfare research—from husbandry databases to educational resources. 🐛📖
Remote Research Scientist position, $55-60K. We will begin reviewing applications on March 15.
Learn more and apply here:
NEW: India is avoiding the fossil fuel detour 🪝
Where China built first on coal and gas, India is taking a shortcut >>> read in 5 graphics🧵
A new podcast series through the London Review of Books (@lrb.co.uk): "Nature in Crisis." Close readings of books about nature, conservation, climate, & energy.
Once a month, with myself & Meehan Crist.
Episode 1, out now, is about Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring."
www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and...
title of Michel's Consciousness Doesn't Do That
Is Signal Strength a Confound in Consciousness Research?
today's blog post, critiquing @matthiasmichel.bsky.social and @hakwan.bsky.social -- link in comments
Aaaand we're back!!
Two Postdocs in Philosophy of Mind (one ot two years), Centre for Philosophical Psychology, University of Antwerp
- to work with me!
Deadline: March 20, 2026
More info on PhilJobs
Number of UK newspaper editorials arguing for more (blue) and less (red) climate action, 2011-2025. Some editorials also present a “balanced” view, which is categorised as advocating for neither “more” nor “less” climate action. These editorials are not represented in this chart. Source: Carbon Brief analysis.
NEW – Analysis: UK newspaper editorial opposition to climate action overtakes support for first time | @joshgabbatiss.bsky.social @sylviahayes.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/eAPkvkx
For those cephalopod lovers among you, our new updated review of the evidence for cephalpod sentience has now been published in Biological Reviews. (Sadly the picture is of birds rather than cephalopods, as this is the journal cover!)
doi.org/10.1002/brv....
