Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 12h

This is a cool paper “chemical synapses have a major role in brain rhythms…post-synaptic neural firing requires rhythmic action of populations of neurons…waves of ion fluctuations in the chemical soup surrounding the neurons are important” #neurosky
@pessoabrain.bsky.social @earlkmiller.bsky.social

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Reposted by Carolyn Dicey Jennings

PessoaBrain @pessoabrain.bsky.social · 3d

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺
Is consciousness tied to biological brains?
Neuro&Philo Salon present+discussion with @anilseth.bsky.social of his BBS target paper!
October 23, noon USA eastern
#neuroskyence
Register: umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
doi.org/10.1017/S014...

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Ian Phillips @ianbphillips.bsky.social · 8d

I argue that postdiction is quite consistent with fast but initially partial and unsettled perception. Must such rapid and revisable perception overflow cognitive access? That's not obvious -- there's evidence access can be fleeting too! Nor is it clearly empirically objectionable if it does. 2/3

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 7d

Luckily, six months seems like it has been enough time for our other dog to heal, and she has new friendships with several of our neighbors and their dogs. Life moves on thankfully.

A large dog sitting on a dog bed surrounded by plants next to a window, looking peaceful.

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 7d

We lost this perfect boy 6 months ago today. My sister drew his likeness, which makes him feel a little closer 🖤

A framed drawing of a dog on the top of a wooden bookshelf next to a photo album, an urn with a dog tag, and a small vase with hydrangea. The dog is looking to the right, mouth closed, as though calmly interested, and has a scruffy appearance.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 7d

being a cat person is so crazy bc you live with someone who is undeniably annoying and you're always thinking "maybe i should get another cat"

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Lesley De Cruz @ladc42.bsky.social · 7d

A memorial for my sister Helen De Cruz will take place on 19 October, both online (hosted by Blake Hereth) and in Brussels (Royal Library of Belgium). tally.so/r/3yLRJd

Celebration of the life of Helen De Cruz - 19 October 2025

Made with Tally, the simplest way to create forms.

tally.so

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Reposted by Carolyn Dicey Jennings

Sumitra Badrinathan @sumitra.bsky.social · 18d

i don’t think people on bluesky understand the severity of this situation.

i woke up to literally hundreds of texts from friends and family thinking about either moving back home to india or applying to other countries for jobs. this includes me.

Gergely Orosz @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com · 18d

Those on an H1B cannot return to the US from tomorrow (Sunday) unless paying $100K. This is an out-of-the blue presidential action. We’ll see software engineers stranded abroad.

One easy to predict outcome: those on US visas will travel less… for work, for conferences etc.

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 18d

TFW you find out your siblings have a more sophisticated/complex emotional palette than you do

A screenshot with three people’s texts: 1) I saw a post that your last five non-face emojis are your aesthetic: kiss emoji, tea emoji, chili pepper emoji, car emoji, black cat emoji. Ha ha ha ha (I love it). 2) an image of a fairy looking at you while mournfully holding a tissue followed by three stars emoji, caterpillar emoji, magic hat emoji, and white rabbit emoji. OK I see it lol. 3) red heart emoji, fingers crossed emoji, black heart emoji, thumbs up emoji, faceless sun emoji. Erm… (this last text is from me.)

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 20d

Today is Consequence Argument Day in my free will class, also known as the day when a handful of students discover they love logic/Lewis and the rest look at me confused 🎉🥳 #philsky

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Eric Schwitzgebel @eschwitz.bsky.social · 21d

First draft of a new book finished! AI and Consciousness, for Cambridge. Not yet in circulating shape — maybe in a couple of weeks.

🎉

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 21d

From cepr.org/voxeu/column...

The politics of CEOs

With power over corporate resources as well as stature and prestige in the economic system, public-company CEOs to have sizeable influence over policy and political decisions. This column examines the political donations of more than 3,800 US CEOs of S&P 1500 companies to analyse their political preferences over time, across industries and geographical regions, and by gender. It shows that US public company CEOs have a significant preference for Republicans, who may benefit from public companies’ expanded freedom to spend money on politics.

cepr.org

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 21d

If they are going to do this, I think they should address CEO political leanings first, just to show they are serious about equity 🙃

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 23d

My doctor is using an AI "assistant" to screen calls (I can't talk to the front desk directly) and has sent my prescription to a pharmacy in the wrong city, which itself uses an AI "assistant" to manage its prescriptions, none of which feels particularly "intelligent" or "assist"-y.

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Cognitive Science Society @cogscisociety.bsky.social · 24d

Margaret A. Boden, a Fellow of the CogSci Society and one of the greats of Cognitive Science, passed away on July 18, 2025.

In this tribute, members of our community offer remembrances in celebration of her.

cognitivesciencesociety.org/remembering-...

A memorial graphic for Margaret A. Boden. On the left, a portrait of Margaret, a smiling woman with long gray hair, wearing a purple top, dangling earrings, and a beaded necklace. On the right, against a light blue background, the text reads: “Remembering Margaret A. Boden, 1936 – 2025.”

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 26d

Incredible. Trump drags the reputation of a highly regarded economist, first Black woman to be a Fed gov, thru the mud claiming she committed mortgage fraud. But the documents his appointee to run Fannie & Freddie got for him & that he said showed fraud don’t actually say that.

Aaron Fritschner @fritschner.bsky.social · 26d

The mortgage fraud claim against Lisa Cook is false, per documents obtained by Reuters.

Bill Pulte's accusation, the sole pretext Trump used to fire her from the Fed, was that she claimed two homes as primary residence.

These docs show she did not.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...

Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

www.reuters.com

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 26d

Good luck!

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 26d

Anyone else experiencing new problems with Zoom?

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 26d

Frustrations with Zoom this week: 1) they changed the settings without my realizing it and now I can’t use my presentation software/slides unless the host adds a special app 2) Zoom bombers were able to completely hijack the share screen feature, whiteboard etc in disturbing ways for another meeting

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John Scott-Railton @jsrailton.bsky.social · 26d

Friend,

Does scrolling leave you hollowed?

Is anger frictionless...but thinking like swimming against the current?

You're in an algorithmic rip tide.

Your mental clarity is the target.

Take a beat and step out

Connect with your own thoughts.

It's what designers of these algorithms fear most.

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 28d

Deeply disturbing. The faculty member in question has expertise in gender/sexuality and includes the topic as a focus in the course description. Indeed, much of youth literature has this topic. If students are not taught about this they will not have the tools to understand it, even if they disagree

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 29d

apda.ghost.io/feminist-phi...

I agree climate could be part of it, and I like the idea that the now disbanded Feminist Philosophers blog could have been a big part of raising knowledge and changing the climate (founded in the early 2000s). Here is a short, hopeful post from 2019 on this.

Feminist Philosophers Blog: Impact on the Field?

In May 2007 Feminist Philosophers [https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/] launched with this [https://feministphilosophers.wordpress.com/2007/05/15/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/] : > "Who we are ...

apda.ghost.io

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Eric Schwitzgebel @eschwitz.bsky.social · 29d

Women earned 37% of U.S. philosophy doctorates in 2024, up from 28% ten years ago.

Bachelor's degrees show a similar pattern. If it were a pipeline effect, the increase in doctorates should be several years later than the increase in BAs, but it's not. So why explains it?

link in comments

[chart showing an increase from about 17% in the 1970s, to about 27% in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2010s, rising to 37% in 2024; click to enlarge and clarify]

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · 29d

Will this do? It appears to be layers of flour tortillas alternated with chocolate frosting 😋 classic!

CHOCOLATE TORTILLAS
SERVES 10
In the top of a double boiler combine the 6
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
4 8-inch flour tortillas
Shaved chocolate
ounces chocolate, I cup of the sour cream, and I tablespoon confectioners' sugar. Set the pan over simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and ingredients are thoroughly blended.
Remove from heat and place pan into a bowl of cold water to cool mixture. On a serving plate place I tortilla. Frost top of tortilla with ‡ of the chocolate mixture, making sure chocolate mixture is spread very evenly. Place second tortilla on top of chocolate mixture and frost evenly with second 3 of chocolate mixture. Repeat layering and frosting procedure once more. End with tortilla on top.
In a small bowl blend the remaining I cup sour cream and remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar together well. Frost the top and sides of the tortilla stack with this mixture. Cover the completed tortilla stack with an inverted bowl large enough to cover the stack without touching the top or the sides. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Garnish the top of the stack with shaved chocolate and serve.

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Carolyn Dicey Jennings @cdj.bsky.social · Sep 9

"...many of those illegally in the Los Angeles area come from Mexico...and do not speak much English." The first non-indigenous people in California spoke Spanish and the state has a history of Mexican rule. Non-Hispanic White folk are just 41% of the state. It is the Bretts who need to be checked.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Sep 8

Only Justice Kavanaugh even bothers to write anything to justify this horrifying action.

And it is not in any way reassuring.

Second, even if plaintiffs had standing, the Government has a fair prospect of succeeding on the Fourth Amendment issue. See Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U. S. 873; Arvizu, 534 U. S.
266; Application 22-30; Reply 9-14.
To stop an individual for brief questioning about immigration status, the Government must have reasonable suspicion that the individual is illegally present in the United States. See Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S., at 880-882;
Arvizu, 534 U.S., at 273; United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7 (1989). Reasonable suspicion is a lesser requirement than probable cause and "considerably short" of the preponderance of the evidence standard. Arvizu, 534 U.S., at 274. Whether an officer has reasonable suspicion depends on the totality of the circumstances. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S., at 885, n. 10; Arvizu, 534 U. S., at 273.

Here, those circumstances include: that there is an extremely high number and percentage of illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area; that those individuals tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work; that those individuals often work in certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction, that do not require paperwork and are therefore especially attractive to illegal immigrants; and that many of those illegally in the Los Angeles area come from Mexico or Central America and do not speak much English. Cf.
Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S., at 884-885 (listing "[a]ny number of factors" that contribute to reasonable suspicion of illegal presence). To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court's case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a

"relevant factor" when considered along with other salient factors. Id., at 887.
Under this Court's precedents, not to mention common sense, those circumstances taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States. Importantly, reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status. If the person is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter. Only if the person is illegally in the United States may the stop lead to further immigration proceedings.

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