Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
@radioactivegorgon.bsky.social
This account is used to post or re-post political and/or academic interests—mostly. Predictive processing enthusiast.
she/her
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Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Glad to be part of this elegant study that is reshaping the way I think about metacognition. Confidence is strikingly goal-sensitive, with supposedly sensory biases such as PEB being readily flipped through instruction. Led by Prady Sepulveda and Benedetto De Martino
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Goals shape human confidence
Confidence guides our decisions: it determines when we commit to a choice, gather more information, or change our minds. Prominent models treat confidence as a readout of the evidence in support of a ...
www.biorxiv.org
September 9, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Glad to be part of this elegant study that is reshaping the way I think about metacognition. Confidence is strikingly goal-sensitive, with supposedly sensory biases such as PEB being readily flipped through instruction. Led by Prady Sepulveda and Benedetto De Martino
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
The superposition of these two studies — both incredible — reflect a snapshot of "one big thing" systems neuroscience has yet to resolve.
In mice:
1. Task-related signals are everywhere.
2. Absent large swaths of "everywhere," suprisingly sophisticated learning & behavior remains.
In mice:
1. Task-related signals are everywhere.
2. Absent large swaths of "everywhere," suprisingly sophisticated learning & behavior remains.
September 4, 2026 at 9:36 PM
The superposition of these two studies — both incredible — reflect a snapshot of "one big thing" systems neuroscience has yet to resolve.
In mice:
1. Task-related signals are everywhere.
2. Absent large swaths of "everywhere," suprisingly sophisticated learning & behavior remains.
In mice:
1. Task-related signals are everywhere.
2. Absent large swaths of "everywhere," suprisingly sophisticated learning & behavior remains.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which is affiliated with Drexel University, cited attendance struggles and higher costs in its decision to close. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...
A Nearly 200-Year-Old Museum Known for Its T. Rex Faces Extinction
The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which is affiliated with Drexel University, cited attendance struggles and higher costs in its decision to close.
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2026 at 11:31 PM
The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which is affiliated with Drexel University, cited attendance struggles and higher costs in its decision to close. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/u...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Attention control ability is associated with frontoparietal control network interactions
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#neuroscience
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#neuroscience
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
doi.org
August 31, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Attention control ability is associated with frontoparietal control network interactions
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#neuroscience
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#neuroscience
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Earlier in the summer I suggested I’d do a thread on this gnarly paper. Better late than never. (Yes, it's more WTF biology.) 🧵 /1
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Subnuclear genome compartmentalization controls bivalent chromatin activity - Nature
Knowledge of the spatial location of a gene is necessary to understand its epigenomic regulation.
www.nature.com
August 30, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Earlier in the summer I suggested I’d do a thread on this gnarly paper. Better late than never. (Yes, it's more WTF biology.) 🧵 /1
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
This is wild. >1/2 of HC synapses disappear in artificial hibernation, come back in same/similar locations & memories intact. ~1/2 of engram synapses-between two memory-tagged cells-are clustered on dendrites, those preferentially spared. Not biggest synapses. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
August 26, 2026 at 6:53 AM
This is wild. >1/2 of HC synapses disappear in artificial hibernation, come back in same/similar locations & memories intact. ~1/2 of engram synapses-between two memory-tagged cells-are clustered on dendrites, those preferentially spared. Not biggest synapses. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I don't know why these people kept going after bus drivers. In one case I can sorta recall, accusing them of elaborate rituals in the middle of a bus route that never had any delays or indication of something being wrong.
A judge exonerated Nancy Smith, an Ohio bus driver, after she was convicted of abusing children in her care. Now, prosecutors want to reverse an order saying she was innocent. nyti.ms/4ccT5hT
August 25, 2026 at 6:04 PM
I don't know why these people kept going after bus drivers. In one case I can sorta recall, accusing them of elaborate rituals in the middle of a bus route that never had any delays or indication of something being wrong.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
How does your #brain turn light waves, air pressure, and racing hearts into sights, sounds, and emotions? By generating categories. @quantamagazine.org explains our recent @nature.com paper and why it matters. With @earlkmiller.bsky.social.
www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-framew...
www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-framew...
A New Framework for How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World | Quanta Magazine
An updated view of categorization reflects the modern understanding that the nervous system is more of a prediction engine than a filing cabinet.
www.quantamagazine.org
August 25, 2026 at 12:10 PM
How does your #brain turn light waves, air pressure, and racing hearts into sights, sounds, and emotions? By generating categories. @quantamagazine.org explains our recent @nature.com paper and why it matters. With @earlkmiller.bsky.social.
www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-framew...
www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-framew...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Happy #CtenophoreCtuesday! For your moment of zen, enjoy this tentacular (comb) jelly roll 🪼🌀 Captured by the ever-talented macro-photographer & scientist @adameykolab.bsky.social 🤩 Stay tuned for next week as we comb through the internet looking for all things #ctenophore! #MarineLife #scicomm
August 25, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Happy #CtenophoreCtuesday! For your moment of zen, enjoy this tentacular (comb) jelly roll 🪼🌀 Captured by the ever-talented macro-photographer & scientist @adameykolab.bsky.social 🤩 Stay tuned for next week as we comb through the internet looking for all things #ctenophore! #MarineLife #scicomm
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Astrology is bad and ppl who take it seriously should feel bad.
All the granola crunch crankery ppl thought was harmless keeps producing utter horror in the real world.
All the granola crunch crankery ppl thought was harmless keeps producing utter horror in the real world.
ok the people who are using Patrick Clancy’s astrology chart as proof that he murdered his children are going straight to biblical hell
God the people trying to turn the extremely tragic Lindsay Clancy story into a true crime mystery are so fucking gross.
August 24, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Astrology is bad and ppl who take it seriously should feel bad.
All the granola crunch crankery ppl thought was harmless keeps producing utter horror in the real world.
All the granola crunch crankery ppl thought was harmless keeps producing utter horror in the real world.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
So I sort of think we're in a bit of a good for the goose good for the gander situation. The misconduct charges should actually receive proper investigation for the same reason that the charges against Arday should have. I hope the media will be more civilised in this case than they were with Arday.
August 23, 2026 at 8:48 AM
So I sort of think we're in a bit of a good for the goose good for the gander situation. The misconduct charges should actually receive proper investigation for the same reason that the charges against Arday should have. I hope the media will be more civilised in this case than they were with Arday.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Very emphatically, the mind doesn't work that way - and neither does evolution
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Is Evolutionary Psychology Possible? - Biological Theory
In this article I argue that evolutionary psychological strategies for making inferences about present-day human psychology are methodologically unsound. Evolutionary psychology is committed to the vi...
link.springer.com
August 22, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Very emphatically, the mind doesn't work that way - and neither does evolution
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Since folks are talking about the satanic panic again: If you want to understand the perpetuation of ritual abuse stories, this is a very solid read.
It's a phenomenon that can adapt to various zeitgeists and extends beyond just satanism. And it is unfortunately an ongoing problem.
It's a phenomenon that can adapt to various zeitgeists and extends beyond just satanism. And it is unfortunately an ongoing problem.
August 22, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Since folks are talking about the satanic panic again: If you want to understand the perpetuation of ritual abuse stories, this is a very solid read.
It's a phenomenon that can adapt to various zeitgeists and extends beyond just satanism. And it is unfortunately an ongoing problem.
It's a phenomenon that can adapt to various zeitgeists and extends beyond just satanism. And it is unfortunately an ongoing problem.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
From a certain perspective, this is arguably what the Emperor was Trying To Make, it just didn't go so well.
It's probably hard to ignore the specter of human irrationality when it has a habit of physically manifesting in the world and has Very Sharp Teeth.
It's probably hard to ignore the specter of human irrationality when it has a habit of physically manifesting in the world and has Very Sharp Teeth.
August 21, 2026 at 8:23 PM
From a certain perspective, this is arguably what the Emperor was Trying To Make, it just didn't go so well.
It's probably hard to ignore the specter of human irrationality when it has a habit of physically manifesting in the world and has Very Sharp Teeth.
It's probably hard to ignore the specter of human irrationality when it has a habit of physically manifesting in the world and has Very Sharp Teeth.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
How your email finds me.
August 22, 2026 at 12:45 AM
How your email finds me.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Learn about psychological epigenetics and other fads in #Neuroscience in my second interview with Dr. Kevin Mitchell (@wiringthebrain.bsky.social). #Science
Full interview: youtu.be/6Ugbm6HJko4
Full interview: youtu.be/6Ugbm6HJko4
#486 Kevin Mitchell: Psychological Epigenetics, and Other Fads in Neuroscience
YouTube video by The Dissenter
youtu.be
August 21, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Learn about psychological epigenetics and other fads in #Neuroscience in my second interview with Dr. Kevin Mitchell (@wiringthebrain.bsky.social). #Science
Full interview: youtu.be/6Ugbm6HJko4
Full interview: youtu.be/6Ugbm6HJko4
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
New paper/theory: Analog Cognition and Consciousness
Thoughts, actions, and our unified sense of consciousness may emerge from wave patterns, which both shape and are shaped by neuron firing to create coherent mental states.
www.jneurosci.org/content/46/3...
#neuroscience
Thoughts, actions, and our unified sense of consciousness may emerge from wave patterns, which both shape and are shaped by neuron firing to create coherent mental states.
www.jneurosci.org/content/46/3...
#neuroscience
Analog Cognition and Consciousness
Cognition and consciousness may arise from bidirectional interactions between neuronal spiking and rhythmic electric field activity (brain waves). Goal-directed behavior relies on top-down control to ...
www.jneurosci.org
August 19, 2026 at 5:11 PM
New paper/theory: Analog Cognition and Consciousness
Thoughts, actions, and our unified sense of consciousness may emerge from wave patterns, which both shape and are shaped by neuron firing to create coherent mental states.
www.jneurosci.org/content/46/3...
#neuroscience
Thoughts, actions, and our unified sense of consciousness may emerge from wave patterns, which both shape and are shaped by neuron firing to create coherent mental states.
www.jneurosci.org/content/46/3...
#neuroscience
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
In this episode, @braininspired.bsky.social talks with @marcofacchin.bsky.social about why computational explanations of cognition, though powerful, aren't the only game in town. #neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
Marco Facchin on theories, explanations in neuroscience
Computational explanations of cognition, though powerful, aren’t the only game in town.
www.thetransmitter.org
August 19, 2026 at 9:33 PM
In this episode, @braininspired.bsky.social talks with @marcofacchin.bsky.social about why computational explanations of cognition, though powerful, aren't the only game in town. #neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Are our gut senses of good and evil a reliable moral compass? | https://bit.ly/4ghfmfI
Psychologist Jordan Theriault-Brown argues morality is in fact an energy-saving trick of the brain. Our brains crave a predictable world, and moral feelings enforce rules that make our behavior predictable.
Psychologist Jordan Theriault-Brown argues morality is in fact an energy-saving trick of the brain. Our brains crave a predictable world, and moral feelings enforce rules that make our behavior predictable.
August 19, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Are our gut senses of good and evil a reliable moral compass? | https://bit.ly/4ghfmfI
Psychologist Jordan Theriault-Brown argues morality is in fact an energy-saving trick of the brain. Our brains crave a predictable world, and moral feelings enforce rules that make our behavior predictable.
Psychologist Jordan Theriault-Brown argues morality is in fact an energy-saving trick of the brain. Our brains crave a predictable world, and moral feelings enforce rules that make our behavior predictable.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
I kind of depressingly think that a downside of openness is that large swathes of the population are basically incapable of really modeling selection bias in their head, and so countries and institutions that make some effort at accountability and transparency look 'worse' to them.
August 18, 2026 at 10:05 PM
I kind of depressingly think that a downside of openness is that large swathes of the population are basically incapable of really modeling selection bias in their head, and so countries and institutions that make some effort at accountability and transparency look 'worse' to them.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Interesting article but too voyeuristic for me. Deals with issues not focused on in Collectors of Lost Souls, for various reasons. Nice to be quoted but an article so dependent on my book might at least have named it...
@newyorker.com @hopkinspress.bsky.social @mxmcadam.bsky.social #STS #histsci
@newyorker.com @hopkinspress.bsky.social @mxmcadam.bsky.social #STS #histsci
The Scientist Who Lived with Dozens of Children from the Pacific Islands
Carleton Gajdusek won the Nobel for his work on a disease in Papua New Guinea. But his biggest experiment was on the children he took back to the U.S.
www.newyorker.com
August 18, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Interesting article but too voyeuristic for me. Deals with issues not focused on in Collectors of Lost Souls, for various reasons. Nice to be quoted but an article so dependent on my book might at least have named it...
@newyorker.com @hopkinspress.bsky.social @mxmcadam.bsky.social #STS #histsci
@newyorker.com @hopkinspress.bsky.social @mxmcadam.bsky.social #STS #histsci
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Why one of the most common #braindisorders is also one of the most misunderstood
The story of functional #neurologicaldisorder is beginning to turn a corner.
www.fastcompany.com/91590677/fun...
The story of functional #neurologicaldisorder is beginning to turn a corner.
www.fastcompany.com/91590677/fun...
Why one of the most common brain disorders is also one of the most misunderstood
The story of functional neurological disorder is beginning to turn a corner.
www.fastcompany.com
August 16, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Why one of the most common #braindisorders is also one of the most misunderstood
The story of functional #neurologicaldisorder is beginning to turn a corner.
www.fastcompany.com/91590677/fun...
The story of functional #neurologicaldisorder is beginning to turn a corner.
www.fastcompany.com/91590677/fun...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
A new kind of "metal-eating" bacteria was discovered on the Titanic in 2010: Halomonas titanicae, a halophilic (salt-loving) microbe that corrodes iron and steel by deriving energy from the oxidation of metal, converting it into rust formations (rusticles).
August 10, 2026 at 10:17 PM
A new kind of "metal-eating" bacteria was discovered on the Titanic in 2010: Halomonas titanicae, a halophilic (salt-loving) microbe that corrodes iron and steel by deriving energy from the oxidation of metal, converting it into rust formations (rusticles).