Thomas F. Varley
@thosvarley.bsky.social
Dual PhD: Complex Systems & Computational Neuroscience - Postdoc at UVM in the Vermont Complex Systems Institute.
Information theory, synergy, and emergence.
Connoisseur of collapse phenomena
Information theory, synergy, and emergence.
Connoisseur of collapse phenomena
Pinned
Thomas F. Varley
@thosvarley.bsky.social
· Nov 20
Apropos of nothing - here's my dog. I think she might be an alien.
If the AI-hypers are right, the world will be plunged into a disorientingly alien and terrifying future.
If the AI-skeptics are right, it wont be - but the most smugly condescending people on the Internet will get to swan around being even more smug.
Really a lose-lose situation here.
If the AI-skeptics are right, it wont be - but the most smugly condescending people on the Internet will get to swan around being even more smug.
Really a lose-lose situation here.
February 11, 2026 at 10:30 PM
If the AI-hypers are right, the world will be plunged into a disorientingly alien and terrifying future.
If the AI-skeptics are right, it wont be - but the most smugly condescending people on the Internet will get to swan around being even more smug.
Really a lose-lose situation here.
If the AI-skeptics are right, it wont be - but the most smugly condescending people on the Internet will get to swan around being even more smug.
Really a lose-lose situation here.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
Introducing a new scientific computing library: syntropy.
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
GitHub - thosvarley/syntropy: A python package for information-theoretic analysis of discrete and continuous data.
A python package for information-theoretic analysis of discrete and continuous data. - thosvarley/syntropy
github.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Introducing a new scientific computing library: syntropy.
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
I don't get the dooming around AI and art. I'm a potter and (sometimes) glassblower, two fields that were mechanized and automated decades ago - but I still sell wares and enjoy going to galleries to see other artists' works.
The existence of factory mugs doesn't make much of a difference imo?
The existence of factory mugs doesn't make much of a difference imo?
January 27, 2026 at 1:55 PM
I don't get the dooming around AI and art. I'm a potter and (sometimes) glassblower, two fields that were mechanized and automated decades ago - but I still sell wares and enjoy going to galleries to see other artists' works.
The existence of factory mugs doesn't make much of a difference imo?
The existence of factory mugs doesn't make much of a difference imo?
Has this kind of hyperfocus on "critique" always been a feature of American/progressive activism? Or is it new? It feels very academia-brained, like the best possible thing you can do is find new and creative ways to articulate "critiques" of how things are actually problematic.
"this is not who we are" is 90% of the time a normative statement of aspiration, it's not an empirical claim of "these events have never taken place in this country before". one of the most obnoxious genres of "actually..." is reacting like it's the latter when it's clearly the former.
January 22, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Has this kind of hyperfocus on "critique" always been a feature of American/progressive activism? Or is it new? It feels very academia-brained, like the best possible thing you can do is find new and creative ways to articulate "critiques" of how things are actually problematic.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
Finally published:
“Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of
nature exposure”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A synthesis of multiple EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS studies to map the mechanisms behind the restoring effects of nature on the brain 🧠🌱
“Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of
nature exposure”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A synthesis of multiple EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS studies to map the mechanisms behind the restoring effects of nature on the brain 🧠🌱
Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of nature exposure
The relationship between natural environments and human cognition has gathered increasing attention across disciplines, including neuroscience, enviro…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Finally published:
“Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of
nature exposure”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A synthesis of multiple EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS studies to map the mechanisms behind the restoring effects of nature on the brain 🧠🌱
“Your brain on nature: A scoping review of the neuroscience of
nature exposure”
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A synthesis of multiple EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS studies to map the mechanisms behind the restoring effects of nature on the brain 🧠🌱
New Substack, and this one is definitely doozy.
I did a deep dive into the idea that repeated COVID-19 infections (even when they're "mild") might be doing bad things to our brains...and it looks like it definitely is.
open.substack.com/pub/synergie...
I did a deep dive into the idea that repeated COVID-19 infections (even when they're "mild") might be doing bad things to our brains...and it looks like it definitely is.
open.substack.com/pub/synergie...
You are probably getting brain damage from all those COVID infections.
A worrying look into the literature on COVID and brain health.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:27 PM
New Substack, and this one is definitely doozy.
I did a deep dive into the idea that repeated COVID-19 infections (even when they're "mild") might be doing bad things to our brains...and it looks like it definitely is.
open.substack.com/pub/synergie...
I did a deep dive into the idea that repeated COVID-19 infections (even when they're "mild") might be doing bad things to our brains...and it looks like it definitely is.
open.substack.com/pub/synergie...
Introducing a new scientific computing library: syntropy.
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
GitHub - thosvarley/syntropy: A python package for information-theoretic analysis of discrete and continuous data.
A python package for information-theoretic analysis of discrete and continuous data. - thosvarley/syntropy
github.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Introducing a new scientific computing library: syntropy.
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
Syntropy is a comprehensive package for information theory, aimed at both theoreticians and data analysts working on discrete, continuous, and mixed data.
1/N
github.com/thosvarley/s...
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
New preprint on unifying the zoo of multivariate higher-order information measures into a common form.
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
The many faces of multivariate information
Extracting higher-order structures from multivariate data has become an area of intensive study in complex systems science, as these multipartite interactions can reveal insights into fundamental feat...
arxiv.org
January 14, 2026 at 3:43 PM
New preprint on unifying the zoo of multivariate higher-order information measures into a common form.
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
“Oughtposting vs isposting” is immediately load bearing for me
I have a theory that the general epistemic crisis has led to a lot of very online people getting used to communicating primarily through oughtposting and kind of forgetting how to deal with isposting
people gotta chill out about making normative vs. descriptive claims. it’s tedious to have to specify “of course, I do NOT support fire” if you’re talking about a house burning down.
January 16, 2026 at 3:44 PM
“Oughtposting vs isposting” is immediately load bearing for me
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
How complex should network models be?
🚨 In our latest paper we quantify (if and) when higher-order interactions are informative versus reducible to pairwise structure without losing functional signal (e.g., diffusion behavior).
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/
🚨 In our latest paper we quantify (if and) when higher-order interactions are informative versus reducible to pairwise structure without losing functional signal (e.g., diffusion behavior).
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/
January 15, 2026 at 1:36 PM
How complex should network models be?
🚨 In our latest paper we quantify (if and) when higher-order interactions are informative versus reducible to pairwise structure without losing functional signal (e.g., diffusion behavior).
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/
🚨 In our latest paper we quantify (if and) when higher-order interactions are informative versus reducible to pairwise structure without losing functional signal (e.g., diffusion behavior).
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/
Something about ChatGPT seems to be fundamentally evil in a way that even other LLMs are not. Grok's abuses are downstream of Twitter's toxic usebase and lax guardrails, but I kind of think that ChatGPT may actually be intrinsically evil in ways that are strange, inhuman, and unholy.
January 15, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Something about ChatGPT seems to be fundamentally evil in a way that even other LLMs are not. Grok's abuses are downstream of Twitter's toxic usebase and lax guardrails, but I kind of think that ChatGPT may actually be intrinsically evil in ways that are strange, inhuman, and unholy.
New preprint on unifying the zoo of multivariate higher-order information measures into a common form.
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
The many faces of multivariate information
Extracting higher-order structures from multivariate data has become an area of intensive study in complex systems science, as these multipartite interactions can reveal insights into fundamental feat...
arxiv.org
January 14, 2026 at 3:43 PM
New preprint on unifying the zoo of multivariate higher-order information measures into a common form.
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
May be of interest to anyone interested in higher-order interactions, complex systems, emergence, or complexity.
1/N
arxiv.org/abs/2601.08030
Could AI design an email search function that actually works? I will retract every criticism I've ever made of Gen-AI if it can do that.
January 14, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Could AI design an email search function that actually works? I will retract every criticism I've ever made of Gen-AI if it can do that.
This is a joke, but I think this is probably closer to how children were raised for most of human history: extended community networks sharing the burden of childrearing. My understanding is that this way is better for everyone; parents and children.
honestly as somebody who likes children but also has no strong appetite to be a parent I would welcome about a quarter-share in a kid.
One thing that would definitely work to increase the birth rate is decreasing the length of pregnancy. 9 women could work together in a team to produce a baby in one month
January 13, 2026 at 10:03 PM
This is a joke, but I think this is probably closer to how children were raised for most of human history: extended community networks sharing the burden of childrearing. My understanding is that this way is better for everyone; parents and children.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
ꙮ Wake up girl, new Unicode lore just dropped ꙮ
January 13, 2026 at 10:14 AM
ꙮ Wake up girl, new Unicode lore just dropped ꙮ
A weird consequence of the Trump Presidency is that I'm kind of shifting towards believing in the Great Man theory of history. It turns out that one dude in the right (wrong) place at the right (wrong) time can absolutely remake the world.
January 11, 2026 at 12:49 PM
A weird consequence of the Trump Presidency is that I'm kind of shifting towards believing in the Great Man theory of history. It turns out that one dude in the right (wrong) place at the right (wrong) time can absolutely remake the world.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
Our new paper, led by Brett Kagan and Valentina Baccetti, proposes a quantifiable, substrate-independent hierarchy of information processing to identify necessary conditions for agency, grounding agency in measurable dynamics rather than vague labels.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.03498
arxiv.org/abs/2601.03498
A Quantifiable Information-Processing Hierarchy Provides a Necessary Condition for Detecting Agency
As intelligent systems are developed across diverse substrates - from machine learning models and neuromorphic hardware to in vitro neural cultures - understanding what gives a system agency has becom...
arxiv.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:51 PM
Our new paper, led by Brett Kagan and Valentina Baccetti, proposes a quantifiable, substrate-independent hierarchy of information processing to identify necessary conditions for agency, grounding agency in measurable dynamics rather than vague labels.
arxiv.org/abs/2601.03498
arxiv.org/abs/2601.03498
I can't be the only one who feels like we're accelerating towards some kind of malignant singularity.
We've got Federal agents murdering mothers in the street, and then the world's richest man's AI creates softcore revenge porn of her corpse while officials gibber about how she had it coming.
We've got Federal agents murdering mothers in the street, and then the world's richest man's AI creates softcore revenge porn of her corpse while officials gibber about how she had it coming.
January 8, 2026 at 9:21 PM
I can't be the only one who feels like we're accelerating towards some kind of malignant singularity.
We've got Federal agents murdering mothers in the street, and then the world's richest man's AI creates softcore revenge porn of her corpse while officials gibber about how she had it coming.
We've got Federal agents murdering mothers in the street, and then the world's richest man's AI creates softcore revenge porn of her corpse while officials gibber about how she had it coming.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
what this should make clear to everyone in this country is that it does not matter who you are, there's no "it could never happen to me"
you can be a white woman who drives around with stuffed animals in her car, and they will still kill you in cold blood and call you a domestic terrorist
you can be a white woman who drives around with stuffed animals in her car, and they will still kill you in cold blood and call you a domestic terrorist
January 7, 2026 at 8:54 PM
what this should make clear to everyone in this country is that it does not matter who you are, there's no "it could never happen to me"
you can be a white woman who drives around with stuffed animals in her car, and they will still kill you in cold blood and call you a domestic terrorist
you can be a white woman who drives around with stuffed animals in her car, and they will still kill you in cold blood and call you a domestic terrorist
I try not to be a doomer about things, but the number of people who play music/content on their tinny phone speakers in public places has got to be a sign of some kind of social decay.
Like, people have no awareness or care for the ways that they take up space.
It's never even good music!
Like, people have no awareness or care for the ways that they take up space.
It's never even good music!
January 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I try not to be a doomer about things, but the number of people who play music/content on their tinny phone speakers in public places has got to be a sign of some kind of social decay.
Like, people have no awareness or care for the ways that they take up space.
It's never even good music!
Like, people have no awareness or care for the ways that they take up space.
It's never even good music!
I think we've underestimated the damage that social media has done to the human race. The most powerful men in the world have had their brains cooked by digital slot machines and are now going to drag us all to Hell with them.
They’ve got Twitter up on the big screens in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago makeshift “situation room.”
Photos from Trump’s Truth Social account.
Photos from Trump’s Truth Social account.
January 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
I think we've underestimated the damage that social media has done to the human race. The most powerful men in the world have had their brains cooked by digital slot machines and are now going to drag us all to Hell with them.
On top of everything else, suddenly building a huge infrastructure for extracting and burning fossil fuels is about the worst possible decision we could be making from a climate perspective.
January 3, 2026 at 7:25 PM
On top of everything else, suddenly building a huge infrastructure for extracting and burning fossil fuels is about the worst possible decision we could be making from a climate perspective.
I think LLMs are simply so engaging that people automatically will anthropomorphize them. People attribute minds and agency to far less animate things all the time.
The things might simply be something too alien to human cognition for us to interface with rationally.
The things might simply be something too alien to human cognition for us to interface with rationally.
This is a thread of major media outlets falsely anthropomorphising the "Grok" chatbot program and in doing so, actively and directly removing responsibility and accountability from individual people working at X who created a child pornography generator (Elon Musk, Nikita Bier etc)
#1: Reuters
#1: Reuters
January 2, 2026 at 11:31 PM
I think LLMs are simply so engaging that people automatically will anthropomorphize them. People attribute minds and agency to far less animate things all the time.
The things might simply be something too alien to human cognition for us to interface with rationally.
The things might simply be something too alien to human cognition for us to interface with rationally.
In the original trilogy, the Emperor's design was brilliant. After 3 films, you think you have a sense of what The Force is/can do, saw Luke's training montage...and then he immediately gets wrecked with something you never saw coming.
It made The Force feel deep, powerful, and mysterious.
It made The Force feel deep, powerful, and mysterious.
Starting an adult with Andor is crazy. Imagine hearing about the Emperor in meetings and then three or four movies later you find out he looks a thousand years old and shoots lightning out of his little T Rex arms.
January 2, 2026 at 12:04 AM
In the original trilogy, the Emperor's design was brilliant. After 3 films, you think you have a sense of what The Force is/can do, saw Luke's training montage...and then he immediately gets wrecked with something you never saw coming.
It made The Force feel deep, powerful, and mysterious.
It made The Force feel deep, powerful, and mysterious.
Reposted by Thomas F. Varley
01 Jan 2026
January 1, 2026 at 8:36 PM
01 Jan 2026