Kathryn Paige Harden
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kph3k.bsky.social
Kathryn Paige Harden
@kph3k.bsky.social
Psychology & behavior genetics. Author of THE GENETIC LOTTERY (2021) and ORIGINAL SIN (coming 2026).
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
And almost nobody has "cancer money” of the type you need when it’s really serious
which is why I’m increasingly skeptical thinking about how the idea that wealth is protective (which it is…until it’s not) causes us to overlook how ind. wealth, not Bezos wealth but like median white wealth,
i've half-joked about how you aren't actually rich until you have "cancer money", or enough that you can pay for treatment *and* be out of work for however long *and* maintain your or your family's basic quality of life (ie, not having to liquidate core assets like your primary residence).
James Van Der Beek is auctioning off ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘Varsity Blues’ merchandise to pay for his cancer treatments.
November 19, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The American medical system only makes a twisted sort of sense when you realize it both reflects and enforces Calvinist / prosperity gospel thinking— if you were *really* good, you wouldn’t have gotten sick
November 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
“This is sociologically rich and intellectually precise political theory of and for the moment.“
November 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I wrote about my knee injury and recent surgery, Oliver Sacks's "A Leg to Stand On", and how a zombie Calvinism continues to distort the American health care system:

open.substack.com/pub/kathrynp...
"A Leg to Stand On"
Lessons in solidarity from knee surgery, physical therapy, and Oliver Sacks
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
On top of everything else, this is immediately recognizable to scientists as basically every crackpot email we’ve ever received.

"skin as part of brain?"

This is that great intellect people talk about?
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
I spoke to @lkatfield.bsky.social about her new book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right www.unpopularfront.news/p/talking-to...
Talking to Laura K. Field about MAGA "Ideas"
Author Series No. 4
www.unpopularfront.news
November 13, 2025 at 12:01 PM
This paper clearly articulates what is, in my opinion, one of the major ethical problems with polygenic embryo testing companies--that they are *companies* that sell health as a private commodity. from @gaiaghirardi.bsky.social & @arnovanhootegem.bsky.social

www.fertstert.org/news-do/embr...
Embryo selection based on polygenic prediction risks reinforcing social inequality
The rise of companies offering embryo selection based on genetic testing has triggered heated debate about ethical acceptability, as well as the accuracy and scientific validity of these techniques. W...
www.fertstert.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Eric Turkheimer (@ent3c.bsky.social) and I consider the paradoxical life of James Watson for @theatlantic.com

www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

(nonpaywalled link to come)
The Paradox of James Watson
The discovery of DNA was evidence of how deeply interconnected humans are, but the late scientist saw only difference.
www.theatlantic.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:44 PM
My kid’s middle school has started doing “student-led” conferences, where the student is tasked with pulling together comments & grades from their teachers, reflecting on their challenges & growth, and then giving a presentation to their parents & teachers about their goals & needs
October 23, 2025 at 4:32 PM
I am scheduled for knee surgery in a few weeks. The contrast between the prehab / rehab that you get for knee surgery & what you get for a c-section (which is nothing) is WILD.
October 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
How can science build fairer, more resilient societies?
Join us in Turku for the 3rd INVEST Conference 6–8 May 2026.
Keynotes by Kathryn Paige Harden @kph3k.bsky.social (first time in Finland!) and Philip N. Cohen @philipncohen.com
Save the date now!
invest.utu.fi/conference/

#INVESTconference
October 17, 2025 at 10:48 AM
FURIOUS MINDS by @lkatfield.bsky.social reviewed in NYRB as "the most up-to-date introduction we have to the MAGA intellectual right reshaping America with astonishing speed today."
October 17, 2025 at 11:13 PM
We are late to this party, but if you are looking for an opportunity to have a conversation with your tween daughter about perfectionism, negative emotions, critical self-talk, watching KPop Demon Hunters together is the *perfect* opening
October 15, 2025 at 12:35 PM
New from @ent3c.bsky.social in The Atlantic --

7 years (!) after Charles Murray made a bet with us that we'd "understand IQ genetically" by 2025, Eric describes how far we still are--and might always be--from that goal

www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Your Genes Are Simply Not Enough to Explain How Smart You Are
Seven years ago, I took a bet with Charles Murray about whether we’d basically understand the genetics of intelligence by now.
www.theatlantic.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Virginia Senate leaders say UVa should cease considering the “compact”:

“The conditions outlined … are fundamentally incompatible with the mission and values of a premier public research university.”

www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
Virginia Senate leaders express “unequivocal opposition” to Compact
The letter calls upon the University to immediately cease consideration of the Compact, and if not, the state will work to negatively impact the University’s funding.
www.cavalierdaily.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:12 PM
"Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...
M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:53 PM
My friend @lkatfield.bsky.social has a book coming out that I think is essential reading for everyone. A starred review in Publisher's Weekly called it a "formidable debut ... a meticulous and unsettling revelation of a right-wing plan for a 'new old-fashioned world.'"
Furious Minds
The story of the radical conservative intellectual movement shaping Donald Trump’s agenda—and how it threatens American freedoms, values, and democracy
press.princeton.edu
October 6, 2025 at 2:18 PM
October 2, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
Non-paywalled link to my commentary on @vw1234.bsky.social and colleagues new paper in @nature.com rdcu.be/eI2NG
October 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Kathryn Paige Harden
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
A global academic freedom group has warned that the Trump administration’s assault on universities is turning the US into a “model for how to dismantle” academic freedom. ...
‘Unprecedented in history’: global academic freedom group warns of dismantling in US
Report from Scholars at Risk counts some 40 attacks against academic freedom in the US in the first half of 2025
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:22 PM