Barry C Smith
@barrycsmith.bsky.social
Prof of Philosophy. Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Centre for the Study of the Senses, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Interested in Neuroscience, Sensory Science, Taste, Smell, Flavour, Multisensory Perception, Wine, Scotch
Fascinating talk @ip-sas.bsky.social by Joel Leibo from DeepMind on modelling personhood in AI in a Rortian pragmatist way
January 27, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Fascinating talk @ip-sas.bsky.social by Joel Leibo from DeepMind on modelling personhood in AI in a Rortian pragmatist way
One of our own, Nick Shea, presenting @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting on How Biological Systems Exhibit Free Causation
January 27, 2026 at 12:48 PM
One of our own, Nick Shea, presenting @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting on How Biological Systems Exhibit Free Causation
Burns Night in Hackney. But done right. The Somm’s recommendation at @bargeeast for cocktails, the Buckfast Negroni with Haggis Bonbon accompaniment. For non-alcoholic, Irn Bru, Cumbernauld, Scotland is the drink of choice. Got to love the Scots!
January 25, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Burns Night in Hackney. But done right. The Somm’s recommendation at @bargeeast for cocktails, the Buckfast Negroni with Haggis Bonbon accompaniment. For non-alcoholic, Irn Bru, Cumbernauld, Scotland is the drink of choice. Got to love the Scots!
Rounding off yesterday’s 20th Anniversary celebrations @ip-sas.bsky.social with an AI vs Human Cocktail Turing Taste Test designed by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social and delivered by Isabel Graham-Yool
January 24, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Rounding off yesterday’s 20th Anniversary celebrations @ip-sas.bsky.social with an AI vs Human Cocktail Turing Taste Test designed by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social and delivered by Isabel Graham-Yool
Partners helping us celebrate the Institute of Philosophy’s 20th Anniversary yesterday. Good to commemorate Profs Colin Blakemore and Vincent Hayward who contributed so much to @ip-sas.bsky.social and to welcome our recent collaborators from Tate and Getty, the Crick Institute and Google Research
January 24, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Partners helping us celebrate the Institute of Philosophy’s 20th Anniversary yesterday. Good to commemorate Profs Colin Blakemore and Vincent Hayward who contributed so much to @ip-sas.bsky.social and to welcome our recent collaborators from Tate and Getty, the Crick Institute and Google Research
We start the Institute of Philosophy’s20th Anniversary Celebrations by hearing from the first Director Prof Tim Crane @ip-sas.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 10:12 AM
We start the Institute of Philosophy’s20th Anniversary Celebrations by hearing from the first Director Prof Tim Crane @ip-sas.bsky.social
Trip to Club Curling at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross by @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab to see our Senses Unwrapped exhibition and to do some curling
January 20, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Trip to Club Curling at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross by @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab to see our Senses Unwrapped exhibition and to do some curling
Caught up with First Man, a film dramatising the emotional and family life of Neil Armstrong during his space missions career. Good to be reminded of what I admired about Americans. Decent, determined, ambitious and inspiring. Trump and Rubio thought it insufficiently patriotic. Well worth a watch
January 10, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Caught up with First Man, a film dramatising the emotional and family life of Neil Armstrong during his space missions career. Good to be reminded of what I admired about Americans. Decent, determined, ambitious and inspiring. Trump and Rubio thought it insufficiently patriotic. Well worth a watch
Champagne and… Happy New Year!!
January 1, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Champagne and… Happy New Year!!
Remarkable white Bordeaux served at le pot après la soutenance de Margot Larose at Institut de la Vigne et du VIN à Bordeaux. This Sauvignon Blanc from St Estephe turns out to have the most Burgundian character ever for a wine from this region. A surprise and a delight!
December 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Remarkable white Bordeaux served at le pot après la soutenance de Margot Larose at Institut de la Vigne et du VIN à Bordeaux. This Sauvignon Blanc from St Estephe turns out to have the most Burgundian character ever for a wine from this region. A surprise and a delight!
Examiners’ dinners in Bordeaux are always a pleasure. A perk of having a wine maker from Ch Montrose on the jurie de these for tomorrow’s PhD soutenance that he brought along a 2014 Ch Montrose which had such complexity and finesse, with its silken texture and refreshing palate weight. A fine thing
December 15, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Examiners’ dinners in Bordeaux are always a pleasure. A perk of having a wine maker from Ch Montrose on the jurie de these for tomorrow’s PhD soutenance that he brought along a 2014 Ch Montrose which had such complexity and finesse, with its silken texture and refreshing palate weight. A fine thing
Good to be back in Bordeaux, on examining duties for Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin
December 15, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Good to be back in Bordeaux, on examining duties for Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin
Final talk of the day @ip-sas.bsky.social Early Career Network in Philosophy Conference, Physics and the Self, by Maria Iennaco, PhD candidate from São Paulo, on Attention to the Self and Predictive Processing. Congratulations to conference organisers, ECRs Charlie Green and Jon Emery
December 14, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Final talk of the day @ip-sas.bsky.social Early Career Network in Philosophy Conference, Physics and the Self, by Maria Iennaco, PhD candidate from São Paulo, on Attention to the Self and Predictive Processing. Congratulations to conference organisers, ECRs Charlie Green and Jon Emery
Final talk of the day @ip-sas.bsky.social Early Career Network in Philosophy Conference, Physics and the Self, by Maria Iennaco, PhD candidate from São Paulo, on Attention to the Self and Predictive Processing. Congratulations to conference organisers, ECRs Charlie Green and Jon Emery
December 14, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Final talk of the day @ip-sas.bsky.social Early Career Network in Philosophy Conference, Physics and the Self, by Maria Iennaco, PhD candidate from São Paulo, on Attention to the Self and Predictive Processing. Congratulations to conference organisers, ECRs Charlie Green and Jon Emery
Keynote speaker, Prof Karl Friston, at Early Career Network in Philosophy conference on Physics and the Self at the Institute of Philosophy. His talk on Self-organization and Sentience squarely on the topic. Markov blankets feature! Conference organised by ECRs Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery
December 14, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Keynote speaker, Prof Karl Friston, at Early Career Network in Philosophy conference on Physics and the Self at the Institute of Philosophy. His talk on Self-organization and Sentience squarely on the topic. Markov blankets feature! Conference organised by ECRs Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery
Day 2, Early Career Network in Philosophy conference on Physics and the Self putting us through our paces @ip-sas.bsky.social . Conference funded by a Network Innovation Award and organised by Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery. Talks by Dr Nadia Blackshaw & Dr Viktoria Kabel
December 14, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Day 2, Early Career Network in Philosophy conference on Physics and the Self putting us through our paces @ip-sas.bsky.social . Conference funded by a Network Innovation Award and organised by Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery. Talks by Dr Nadia Blackshaw & Dr Viktoria Kabel
Early Career Network in Philosophy conference, Physics and the Self: interdisciplinary perspectives. The conference is run by early career researchers, Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery, who received the the Early Career Network in Philosophy Innovation Award from @ip-sas.bsky.social
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Early Career Network in Philosophy conference, Physics and the Self: interdisciplinary perspectives. The conference is run by early career researchers, Charlie Green and Jonathan Emery, who received the the Early Career Network in Philosophy Innovation Award from @ip-sas.bsky.social
AI v HumanTuring Test by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social at Residenz Theater in Munich. Chat GPT & mixologists, Susan Ann McKenzie & Philipp Froehlich given ingredients to create cocktails and had to explain their reasoning. We tried them. AI cocktails lacked balance. They don’t taste as they go!
December 7, 2025 at 9:47 PM
AI v HumanTuring Test by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social at Residenz Theater in Munich. Chat GPT & mixologists, Susan Ann McKenzie & Philipp Froehlich given ingredients to create cocktails and had to explain their reasoning. We tried them. AI cocktails lacked balance. They don’t taste as they go!
Heading to Munich to take part in the AI Cocktails Turing Test designed by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social where bartender and AI will be given ingredients to feature in a cocktail. Cocktails sampled by audience without knowing which is created by human and which by AI. Cool test!
December 6, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Heading to Munich to take part in the AI Cocktails Turing Test designed by @opheliaderoy.bsky.social where bartender and AI will be given ingredients to feature in a cocktail. Cocktails sampled by audience without knowing which is created by human and which by AI. Cool test!
Focused conference on ad hoc concepts, Word Meaning and Concepts Expressed, @ip-sas.bsky.social organized by Prof Michelle Liu on the work of Prof Robyn Carston with speakers, Francois Recanati, Tamara Dobbler, John Collins and Augustin Vicente
December 4, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Focused conference on ad hoc concepts, Word Meaning and Concepts Expressed, @ip-sas.bsky.social organized by Prof Michelle Liu on the work of Prof Robyn Carston with speakers, Francois Recanati, Tamara Dobbler, John Collins and Augustin Vicente
Terrific tutored sake tasting @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting led by @asami.tasaka whose considerable expertise taught us so much. Great flavor descriptors generated with the help of Liana Lee and her exceptional palate. Kudos to Tom who wore his Xmas jumper for the lunch that followed. Thank you!
December 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Terrific tutored sake tasting @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting led by @asami.tasaka whose considerable expertise taught us so much. Great flavor descriptors generated with the help of Liana Lee and her exceptional palate. Kudos to Tom who wore his Xmas jumper for the lunch that followed. Thank you!
An honour and pleasure to interview Florence de la Rivière on The Look of Wine at the @institut.francaisuk . Beautiful illustration of how a piece of amber provides exactly the colour of the wine of Chateau D’Yquem. At dinner we conspicuously examine the rim of the wine for clues
November 27, 2025 at 2:05 AM
An honour and pleasure to interview Florence de la Rivière on The Look of Wine at the @institut.francaisuk . Beautiful illustration of how a piece of amber provides exactly the colour of the wine of Chateau D’Yquem. At dinner we conspicuously examine the rim of the wine for clues
We had our thinking caps on today @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting for IP Fellow Prof David Pym’s logic talk on recent developments in Proof-theoretic Semantics
November 25, 2025 at 1:40 PM
We had our thinking caps on today @ip-sas.bsky.social Lab Meeting for IP Fellow Prof David Pym’s logic talk on recent developments in Proof-theoretic Semantics
Stellar line at the launch of the Lancet series on Ultra Processed Food and Public Health. Prof Chris Van Tulleken, Prof Carlos Monteiro who created the Nova Classification, Prof Camila Corvalan who had worked in Chile on regulation and Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of @thelancet.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Stellar line at the launch of the Lancet series on Ultra Processed Food and Public Health. Prof Chris Van Tulleken, Prof Carlos Monteiro who created the Nova Classification, Prof Camila Corvalan who had worked in Chile on regulation and Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of @thelancet.com
Enjoyed talking to Shay Grewal with Emma Symonds of Kings Cross on BBC Radio London about our Centre for the Study of the Senses @ip-sas.bsky.social series of sensory experiences, Senses Unwrapped, in the Club Curling lounge at Coal Drops Yard at London’s King’s Cross
November 13, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Enjoyed talking to Shay Grewal with Emma Symonds of Kings Cross on BBC Radio London about our Centre for the Study of the Senses @ip-sas.bsky.social series of sensory experiences, Senses Unwrapped, in the Club Curling lounge at Coal Drops Yard at London’s King’s Cross