Alan Levinovitz
@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social
Professor: religion, science, dao. "Natural" on how to love nature without worshipping it: tinyurl.com/y75tpmog. Opinions my own.
shocked, I tell you, just shocked — it's always the gurus you least expect
February 4, 2026 at 1:32 AM
shocked, I tell you, just shocked — it's always the gurus you least expect
Picked up an amazing back issue of The Atlantic!
February 3, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Picked up an amazing back issue of The Atlantic!
I'm going to try to divide my time a bit more between Twitter and Bluesky...many of my OG social media friends are only active on Twitter, and I value the large community I have there, but I also know that many people have left completely. We'll see if it is too much!
February 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
I'm going to try to divide my time a bit more between Twitter and Bluesky...many of my OG social media friends are only active on Twitter, and I value the large community I have there, but I also know that many people have left completely. We'll see if it is too much!
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
“To us, this is a version of the placebo effect that has gone, essentially, unnoticed,” Professor Levinovitz said. “Here is this thing that is cross-cultural and trans-historical — the power of an official name to gain control over pathology of some kind — and it is almost entirely unstudied.”
October 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
“To us, this is a version of the placebo effect that has gone, essentially, unnoticed,” Professor Levinovitz said. “Here is this thing that is cross-cultural and trans-historical — the power of an official name to gain control over pathology of some kind — and it is almost entirely unstudied.”
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Autism, A.D.H.D., Anxiety: Can a Diagnosis Make You Better?
“As our diagnostic categories expand to include ever milder versions of disease, researchers propose that the act of naming a malady can itself bring relief.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/h...
“As our diagnostic categories expand to include ever milder versions of disease, researchers propose that the act of naming a malady can itself bring relief.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/h...
Autism, A.D.H.D., Anxiety: Can a Diagnosis Make You Better?
www.nytimes.com
October 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Autism, A.D.H.D., Anxiety: Can a Diagnosis Make You Better?
“As our diagnostic categories expand to include ever milder versions of disease, researchers propose that the act of naming a malady can itself bring relief.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/h...
“As our diagnostic categories expand to include ever milder versions of disease, researchers propose that the act of naming a malady can itself bring relief.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/h...
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
“Alan Levinovitz shows us how the worship of an abstract idea of nature can lead us astray in everything from our health to the laws we pass and even how we structure our governments and our way of life. This book is required” - Tom Nichols
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621092...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621092...
January 14, 2025 at 12:41 AM
“Alan Levinovitz shows us how the worship of an abstract idea of nature can lead us astray in everything from our health to the laws we pass and even how we structure our governments and our way of life. This book is required” - Tom Nichols
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621092...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621092...
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
"From vaccines to climate change, misinformation poses an existential threat when it inhibits our collective decision-making ability."
They Swore by the Diet I Created — but I Completely Made It Up by Alan Levinovitz in @elemental...
They Swore by the Diet I Created — but I Completely Made It Up by Alan Levinovitz in @elemental...
January 20, 2025 at 8:24 AM
"From vaccines to climate change, misinformation poses an existential threat when it inhibits our collective decision-making ability."
They Swore by the Diet I Created — but I Completely Made It Up by Alan Levinovitz in @elemental...
They Swore by the Diet I Created — but I Completely Made It Up by Alan Levinovitz in @elemental...
Opposing the ongoing technification of our classrooms should be an easy, bipartisan issue. Every teacher I know has struggled with tech in the classroom, and I'm certain the downsides will massively exacerbate educational disparities.
February 1, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Opposing the ongoing technification of our classrooms should be an easy, bipartisan issue. Every teacher I know has struggled with tech in the classroom, and I'm certain the downsides will massively exacerbate educational disparities.
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Excellent piece by @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social @awaisaftab.bsky.social on the therapeutic effect of diagnosis +
the need for qual research. Reading Parson’s “sick role” theory in undergrad sociology was the moment I realized how much is missed by psych models. www.cambridge.org/core/service...
the need for qual research. Reading Parson’s “sick role” theory in undergrad sociology was the moment I realized how much is missed by psych models. www.cambridge.org/core/service...
www.cambridge.org
September 11, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Excellent piece by @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social @awaisaftab.bsky.social on the therapeutic effect of diagnosis +
the need for qual research. Reading Parson’s “sick role” theory in undergrad sociology was the moment I realized how much is missed by psych models. www.cambridge.org/core/service...
the need for qual research. Reading Parson’s “sick role” theory in undergrad sociology was the moment I realized how much is missed by psych models. www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Grateful to see this layered and multifaceted discussion in the @nytimes.com by @ellenbarry.bsky.social about recent work by @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social and me on the Rumpelstiltskin effect (the therapeutic relief experienced on receiving a diagnosis)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/s...
Autism, A.D.H.D., Anxiety: Can a Diagnosis Make You Better?
www.nytimes.com
October 3, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Grateful to see this layered and multifaceted discussion in the @nytimes.com by @ellenbarry.bsky.social about recent work by @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social and me on the Rumpelstiltskin effect (the therapeutic relief experienced on receiving a diagnosis)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/s...
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Really fun and interesting chat with @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social about teaching religion in a university setting.
We chat with professor @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social about the impossible truism expected of religious educators: teach students how to think, not what to think.
youtu.be/mQYj8Gd462k
@jonmathieu.bsky.social
youtu.be/mQYj8Gd462k
@jonmathieu.bsky.social
The double standard in religious education
YouTube video by The Christian Century
youtu.be
March 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Really fun and interesting chat with @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social about teaching religion in a university setting.
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Japan has:
< economic inequality
> education system
> walkable cities
> public transportation
< guns & gun violence
< obesity
> healthcare
And, yes, many of its own probs...
👇 MAHA as sophisticted as a grade school science project.
via @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social
< economic inequality
> education system
> walkable cities
> public transportation
< guns & gun violence
< obesity
> healthcare
And, yes, many of its own probs...
👇 MAHA as sophisticted as a grade school science project.
via @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social
December 17, 2024 at 4:24 PM
Japan has:
< economic inequality
> education system
> walkable cities
> public transportation
< guns & gun violence
< obesity
> healthcare
And, yes, many of its own probs...
👇 MAHA as sophisticted as a grade school science project.
via @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social
< economic inequality
> education system
> walkable cities
> public transportation
< guns & gun violence
< obesity
> healthcare
And, yes, many of its own probs...
👇 MAHA as sophisticted as a grade school science project.
via @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
In A Christmas Carol, Dickens describes Marley's face having a dismal light "like a bad lobster in a dark cellar."
Huh?
He was likely referring to the glow of bioluminescent bacteria that can grow in/on crustaceans, presumably a more common observation at the time.
📷 tinyurl.com/6cj6knjw
Huh?
He was likely referring to the glow of bioluminescent bacteria that can grow in/on crustaceans, presumably a more common observation at the time.
📷 tinyurl.com/6cj6knjw
December 18, 2024 at 7:33 PM
In A Christmas Carol, Dickens describes Marley's face having a dismal light "like a bad lobster in a dark cellar."
Huh?
He was likely referring to the glow of bioluminescent bacteria that can grow in/on crustaceans, presumably a more common observation at the time.
📷 tinyurl.com/6cj6knjw
Huh?
He was likely referring to the glow of bioluminescent bacteria that can grow in/on crustaceans, presumably a more common observation at the time.
📷 tinyurl.com/6cj6knjw
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Feeling despair? So did this guy in 1875, who couldn't believe there were STILL anti-vaxxers:
"One might suppose that the popular prejudice against vaccination had died out by this time, considering that it has been practiced for nearly a century"
"One might suppose that the popular prejudice against vaccination had died out by this time, considering that it has been practiced for nearly a century"
December 17, 2024 at 1:47 PM
Feeling despair? So did this guy in 1875, who couldn't believe there were STILL anti-vaxxers:
"One might suppose that the popular prejudice against vaccination had died out by this time, considering that it has been practiced for nearly a century"
"One might suppose that the popular prejudice against vaccination had died out by this time, considering that it has been practiced for nearly a century"
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
The preprint also also mentions by favourite spoof paper:
"What's the Deal with Birds" by @evornithology.bsky.social. The abstract is fantastic ....
"What's the Deal with Birds" by @evornithology.bsky.social. The abstract is fantastic ....
December 8, 2024 at 3:49 AM
The preprint also also mentions by favourite spoof paper:
"What's the Deal with Birds" by @evornithology.bsky.social. The abstract is fantastic ....
"What's the Deal with Birds" by @evornithology.bsky.social. The abstract is fantastic ....
Can we not fucking rationalize/equivocate about murder? Is it too fucking much to ask for a space where, when someone is murdered, it isn’t seen as an opportunity to score political points?
Bluesky, paragon of civilized discourse.
My God it’s all broken.
Bluesky, paragon of civilized discourse.
My God it’s all broken.
pretty grim when health insurance company executives have to try to hide their identities online like they're public school history teachers, government employees or doctors who care for transgender people
United Health just deleted this page from their website lol
December 4, 2024 at 11:56 PM
Can we not fucking rationalize/equivocate about murder? Is it too fucking much to ask for a space where, when someone is murdered, it isn’t seen as an opportunity to score political points?
Bluesky, paragon of civilized discourse.
My God it’s all broken.
Bluesky, paragon of civilized discourse.
My God it’s all broken.
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
December 2, 2024 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
“For every Galileo there are 1000 idiots.” The recent Fifth Column podcast with
@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social was an invigorating listen. Reclaiming and reframing science via honest, practical no bullshit discussions like this are vital.
Thanks Alan.
@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social was an invigorating listen. Reclaiming and reframing science via honest, practical no bullshit discussions like this are vital.
Thanks Alan.
November 28, 2024 at 5:26 AM
“For every Galileo there are 1000 idiots.” The recent Fifth Column podcast with
@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social was an invigorating listen. Reclaiming and reframing science via honest, practical no bullshit discussions like this are vital.
Thanks Alan.
@alanlevinovitz.bsky.social was an invigorating listen. Reclaiming and reframing science via honest, practical no bullshit discussions like this are vital.
Thanks Alan.
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
I don’t normally cross post, but this thread from @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social is so insightful and novel (as in I haven’t heard a lot of these ideas articulated so clearly before) that I can’t help myself. x.com/AlanLevinovi...
x.com
x.com
November 20, 2024 at 4:21 PM
I don’t normally cross post, but this thread from @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social is so insightful and novel (as in I haven’t heard a lot of these ideas articulated so clearly before) that I can’t help myself. x.com/AlanLevinovi...
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
Especially this part, for me.
November 20, 2024 at 4:40 PM
Especially this part, for me.
Wondering why I'm skeptical of health influencers who "know the secret THEY are keeping from YOU"?
Okay, buckle up, and let me tell you about someone you've never heard of...one of the biggest health influencers of the 20th century.
Horace Fletcher, aka "The Great Masticator."
Okay, buckle up, and let me tell you about someone you've never heard of...one of the biggest health influencers of the 20th century.
Horace Fletcher, aka "The Great Masticator."
November 17, 2024 at 5:46 PM
Wondering why I'm skeptical of health influencers who "know the secret THEY are keeping from YOU"?
Okay, buckle up, and let me tell you about someone you've never heard of...one of the biggest health influencers of the 20th century.
Horace Fletcher, aka "The Great Masticator."
Okay, buckle up, and let me tell you about someone you've never heard of...one of the biggest health influencers of the 20th century.
Horace Fletcher, aka "The Great Masticator."
There's been a LOT about why RFK Jr is a terrible pick, but I want to focus on something that is very concerning to me, but no one seems to be mentioning.
He appeals to a widespread, common-sense idea that the problem with our food is that it has "lots of artificial ingredients".
He appeals to a widespread, common-sense idea that the problem with our food is that it has "lots of artificial ingredients".
November 16, 2024 at 1:54 AM
There's been a LOT about why RFK Jr is a terrible pick, but I want to focus on something that is very concerning to me, but no one seems to be mentioning.
He appeals to a widespread, common-sense idea that the problem with our food is that it has "lots of artificial ingredients".
He appeals to a widespread, common-sense idea that the problem with our food is that it has "lots of artificial ingredients".
@meredithhartwriter.bsky.social Hi Meredith!
November 15, 2024 at 1:53 PM
@meredithhartwriter.bsky.social Hi Meredith!
🚨🚨🚨 MY SUBSTACK FOR BOOK LOVERS🚨🚨🚨
My new Substack is Book Glory, all about fascinating books, the stories behind them, and how to collect them.
Here's a taste. We'll start with a mystery. Can you guess the author of this book?
My new Substack is Book Glory, all about fascinating books, the stories behind them, and how to collect them.
Here's a taste. We'll start with a mystery. Can you guess the author of this book?
November 14, 2024 at 10:04 PM
🚨🚨🚨 MY SUBSTACK FOR BOOK LOVERS🚨🚨🚨
My new Substack is Book Glory, all about fascinating books, the stories behind them, and how to collect them.
Here's a taste. We'll start with a mystery. Can you guess the author of this book?
My new Substack is Book Glory, all about fascinating books, the stories behind them, and how to collect them.
Here's a taste. We'll start with a mystery. Can you guess the author of this book?
Reposted by Alan Levinovitz
@matthewbroome.bsky.social @nicolecrust.bsky.social @alanlevinovitz.bsky.social @dranniehickox.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social
I wrote about psychiatric diagnosis for Psyche magazine — what it means & what it doesn’t mean. If you are looking for a no-nonsense general intro to diagnosis in mental healthcare or you are grappling with your own diagnosis, this is the piece for you.
psyche.co/ideas/what-a...
psyche.co/ideas/what-a...
What a psychiatric diagnosis means – and what it doesn’t mean | Psyche Ideas
With stigma and misunderstanding surrounding mental health, it’s vital to know the benefits and limits of a formal diagnosis
psyche.co
November 14, 2024 at 3:12 PM