David Barack
@dlbarack.bsky.social
Philosopher and neuroscientist | Studying reasoning and foraging | Conceptual and theoretical foundations of cognition | #T1D
Reposted by David Barack
Reposted by David Barack
🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity, Ethics, and Policy and Department of Philosophy, McGill University
- PhilJobs:JFP
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity...
An international database of jobs for philosophers
philjobs.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:02 AM
🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402
Reposted by David Barack
Y’all are reading this paper in the wrong way.
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification
Most behaviors involve neural dynamics in high-dimensional activity spaces. A common approach is to extract dimensions that capture task-related variability, such as those separating stimuli or choice...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Y’all are reading this paper in the wrong way.
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
Reposted by David Barack
Inviting apps for a workshop to develop a project focused on a mechanistic understanding of canonical cortical computations at the circuit level. Deadline is 1/5/2026: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/simons-foundation-now-accepting-applications-for-workshop-on-canonical-cortical-computations
Simons Foundation Now Accepting Applications for Workshop on Canonical Cortical Computations
Simons Foundation Now Accepting Applications for Workshop on Canonical Cortical Computations on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Inviting apps for a workshop to develop a project focused on a mechanistic understanding of canonical cortical computations at the circuit level. Deadline is 1/5/2026: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/simons-foundation-now-accepting-applications-for-workshop-on-canonical-cortical-computations
Reposted by David Barack
📍Excited to share that our paper was selected as a Spotlight at #NeurIPS2025!
arxiv.org/pdf/2410.03972
It started from a question I kept running into:
When do RNNs trained on the same task converge/diverge in their solutions?
🧵⬇️
arxiv.org/pdf/2410.03972
It started from a question I kept running into:
When do RNNs trained on the same task converge/diverge in their solutions?
🧵⬇️
November 24, 2025 at 4:43 PM
📍Excited to share that our paper was selected as a Spotlight at #NeurIPS2025!
arxiv.org/pdf/2410.03972
It started from a question I kept running into:
When do RNNs trained on the same task converge/diverge in their solutions?
🧵⬇️
arxiv.org/pdf/2410.03972
It started from a question I kept running into:
When do RNNs trained on the same task converge/diverge in their solutions?
🧵⬇️
New mentorship program for interdisciplinary crossover philosophy-neuroscience work, from #SPAN. Check it out and apply!
🗣️ With the support of the @danafoundation.bsky.social, we are very excited to announce the Philosophy & Neuroscience Collaborative Mentorship Program! 🧠
For more details & submission requirements, visit: philandneuro.com/mentorship
(This is 1/2 announcements we will make over the next 1-2 weeks.)
For more details & submission requirements, visit: philandneuro.com/mentorship
(This is 1/2 announcements we will make over the next 1-2 weeks.)
November 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
New mentorship program for interdisciplinary crossover philosophy-neuroscience work, from #SPAN. Check it out and apply!
Reposted by David Barack
15-year-old bug 😐 in an industry that has the highest profit margins possible pretty much
www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
November 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
15-year-old bug 😐 in an industry that has the highest profit margins possible pretty much
www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
www.theguardian.com/science/2017...
Reposted by David Barack
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification
Most behaviors involve neural dynamics in high-dimensional activity spaces. A common approach is to extract dimensions that capture task-related variability, such as those separating stimuli or choice...
www.biorxiv.org
November 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
Reposted by David Barack
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
Reposted by David Barack
🚨🚨 New tenure-track job posting! 🚨🚨
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
October 20, 2025 at 7:36 PM
🚨🚨 New tenure-track job posting! 🚨🚨
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
The University of Florida is hiring an Assistant Professor in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, with an open research focus.
Job ad here: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
Here's some info about why you should apply to this job! 1/
Reposted by David Barack
A remarkable journey of resilience and transformation, from the chaotic corridors of group homes to the halls of Columbia and Stanford, EMERGENCE is a coming-of-age tale where heartbreak and humor meet the scientific wonder of modern artificial intelligence.
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
November 17, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A remarkable journey of resilience and transformation, from the chaotic corridors of group homes to the halls of Columbia and Stanford, EMERGENCE is a coming-of-age tale where heartbreak and humor meet the scientific wonder of modern artificial intelligence.
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
🔗 Preorder: tinyurl.com/fzcxb5ea
Reposted by David Barack
Coming to the Society for Neuroscience meeting? Come to my lecture and say hi. I'm going to be talking about some crazy stuff. #neuroscience #SFN2025
November 14, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Coming to the Society for Neuroscience meeting? Come to my lecture and say hi. I'm going to be talking about some crazy stuff. #neuroscience #SFN2025
Reposted by David Barack
Heading to the Eastern APA? Stop by SPAN's session on Cognitive Ontology! 🧠
November 13, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Heading to the Eastern APA? Stop by SPAN's session on Cognitive Ontology! 🧠
Reposted by David Barack
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
🧪Preprint!
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
How foragers depart from optimal models can tell us a lot about how they compute their decisions.
A strong but underexplored departure is that foragers widely vary when they leave identical patches.
A 🧵
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
With
@emmavscholey.bsky.social @brainapps.bsky.social
Hey all-check out my talk on the Neuron Doctrine, and why it is so hard to overturn. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0EQ...
November 12, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Hey all-check out my talk on the Neuron Doctrine, and why it is so hard to overturn. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0EQ...
Reposted by David Barack
Is this something YOU ever ask yourself?
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
Brett Karlan, AI empiricism: the only game in town? - PhilPapers
I offer an epistemic argument against the dominance of empiricism and empiricist-inspired methods in contemporary machine learning (ML) research. I first establish, as many ML researchers and philosop...
philpapers.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Is this something YOU ever ask yourself?
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
Reposted by David Barack
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
SSNAP Applications Manager
SSNAP Applications Manager Powered By Submittable - Accept and Curate Digital Content
ssnap.submittable.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by David Barack
Syntax, Language?
See you in 20 minutes
See you in 20 minutes
**CORRECTION of link**
Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/language
Neuro & Philo Salon: join our discussion with
@elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Registration:
umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/language
Neuro & Philo Salon: join our discussion with
@elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Registration:
umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Syntax, Language?
See you in 20 minutes
See you in 20 minutes
Reposted by David Barack
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
3 Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Champalimaud Foundation (Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
November 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
Reposted by David Barack
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
Reposted by David Barack
New post now up on THE FEEDBACK: Epistemic reduction of the concept of ‘decision’ by: Daniel Burnston (Tulane University)
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
November 3, 2025 at 11:51 PM
New post now up on THE FEEDBACK: Epistemic reduction of the concept of ‘decision’ by: Daniel Burnston (Tulane University)
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Reposted by David Barack
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs
The selective revision of beliefs in light of new evidence has been considered one of the hallmarks of human-level rationality. However, tests of this ability in other species are lacking. We examined...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
Reposted by David Barack
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...
rdcu.be
October 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Reposted by David Barack
*Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/learning*
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
October 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
*Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/learning*
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by David Barack
New preprint written with the wonderful philosopher William Ramsey: Mental Representation Without Neural Representation: Understanding The Evidence osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
October 18, 2025 at 8:18 AM
New preprint written with the wonderful philosopher William Ramsey: Mental Representation Without Neural Representation: Understanding The Evidence osf.io/preprints/ps...