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Are Processed Foods/Soda/Podcasts/Substack Articles the "New Cigarettes"?

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 4d

In my post today, I consider the alarmist trend to compare every conceivable public health issue as “the new cigarettes”. It’s most often misleading, isn’t working and maybe we should stop. Have a read!

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

We need to stop comparing everything to cigarettes.

A New Study Examines The "Orcs are Racist" Hypothesis

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 7d

In my post today I look at our new study of playing as or against orcs in video games. Consistent with previous data, exposure to evil orcs in a video game was not related to racist attitudes .

This “orcs are racist” hypothesis is scientifically dead.

grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/a-new-stud...

The idea is probably dead...alas we'll be stuck with its consequences for some time.

grimoiremanor.substack.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 8d

So it would seem...

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 11d

Recently the Economist Magazine claimed a study in India provided a “ringing endorsement” of cellphone bans in schools. But did the study in question do any such thing? Or was this yet another example of the kind of sloppy journalism that typifies moral panics?

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Did a Large Study Really Provide a "Ringing Endorsement" of School Cellphone Bans?

How The Economist completely screwed this up.

ChatGPT Doesn't Cause Brain Damage. Academia Does.

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Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 13d

A pretty good takedown of the MIT #ai study that claimed using AI to help write essays damages the brain. This unpublished study was accepted by the news media and general public with zero critical thinking and can support no such conclusion.

www.piratewires.com/p/chatgpt-do...

an mit study allegedly claimed using chatgpt damages your brain. it was uncritically accepted by almost

www.piratewires.com

Does Tylenol Cause Autism?

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 14d

Today, I look at the Trump administration's claims via RFK that Tyelon causes autism. I focus on one systematic review used to support the government's case. Is it strong evidence that we should be concerned about women using Tylenol during pregnancy? Have a read!

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Enforcing poor standards or rigor in science has real-world consequences

The only good orc is a dead orc: does playing good or evil monster races influence ethnocentrism in real life? A brief report

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 15d

New study alert. #videogame experiment finds playing a game killing evil orcs vs playing as a morally neutral orc does not increase ethnocentrism. Nor do players finding the concept of evil orcs to be offensive.

Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Does killing orcs in fantasy games make people feel racist toward other people in real life? Recent controversies within role-playing games have focus…

www.sciencedirect.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 19d

Today I look at the cancel culture on the right (mirroring 2020 on the left) that has arisen in the wake of #KirkAssassination.

Some online responses to the murder have been gross. But I worry about giving power to either mobs or the government to censor speech.

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

By All Means, Let's Ban "Hate Speech"*

*by which I mean country music and people quoting The Princess Bride

Is there a correlation between transgender identity and screen time? - Current Psychology

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 20d

New article alert. We used CDC data and found little evidence for a relationship between #socialmedia and screen time and self-identified #transgender status in youth.

Give it a read: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The number of individuals identifying as transgender, or gender non-binary, has risen in recent decades. One hypothesis holds that this increase is attributable to the influence of social media. To te...

link.springer.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 21d

Haha, this may be the best social media post I've seen today.

Ian Hussey @ianhussey.mmmdata.io · 22d

Proposal for how to fix family wise error rates.

For every uncorrected p value you must add an extra letter to the claim.

“Eating chocolate maaaaaaaaay be associated with lower rates of stroke”

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Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 21d

This assumes there is a real "loneliness epidemic" but I'm given to understand the evidence is equivocal, despite the public news media narrative.

Phone bans in schools- new OCO research shows why one size doesn’t fit all - Ombudsman for Children

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 26d

Haven't given it a full read yet, but looks like the Irish Ombudsman for Children’s Office is coming out against cellphone bans in schools, noting they may cause more problems than they fix.

www.oco.ie/news/phone-b...

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) published One Size Does Not Fit All– a report on phone bans in schools and children’s rights with the OCO’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP). As well as presenting ...

www.oco.ie

The Taboo of Female Violence in Relationships

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · 26d

My interview with Maggie Smith at Real Clear Investigations as we discuss the research on #domesticviolence and whether women perpetrate such crimes as often as men, and resources (or lack thereof) for male victims.

Have a look!

www.realclearinvestigations.com/video/2025/0...

In this episode of The Miller Report: Real Clear Journalism, we explore a new RealClearInvestigations report that takes on one of society’s last taboos: acknowledging that women c

www.realclearinvestigations.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 8

Today, I look at the concerns that #AI is disrupting student learning.

There's probably real reason to believe AI is disrupting out-of-class writing. But is this much different from past plagiarism, essay mills or Cliffnotes?

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Is AI Destroying Education?

AI is bringing real challenges, but students were always cheating and disengaged.

A tragedy, a lawsuit, and the birth of an AI moral panic

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 5

In my essay today for @freethinkmedia I look at the recent Florida "Game of Thrones" #AI #suicide lawsuit. Is there reason to believe AI is responsible for a teen's death?

Have a read: www.freethink.com/artificial-i...

A lawsuit claiming an AI chatbot caused a teen’s suicide risks sparking a new moral panic, echoing past fears built on distorted evidence.

www.freethink.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 4

I appreciate @JohnStossel for having this debate on #socialmedia #smartphones and other tech panics. This was a great opportunity to raise some of my concerns with claims being made by Jonathan Haidt and others.

Have a look: www.youtube.com/watch?v=61jr...

Moral Panics: Comic Books, Rock Music, Video Games and Now Smart Phones?

YouTube video by John Stossel

www.youtube.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 3

We've had multiple past panics over technology with various "ban" solutions...they all turn out the same way. I know where I'm putting my $10 down.

Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones?

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 3

A new article looks at #cellphone #Smartphones and #socialmedia bans and, generally, finds the evidence for them to be lacking. This is going to come crashing down at some point: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

In ‘The Anxious Generation’, Haidt makes the case that social media and smartphones have ‘rewired’ today’s teenagers, but his critics say the evidence tells us something very different - and that bann...

www.tes.com

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Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 3

In my essay today for @RCInvestigates I examine the issue of women's involvement in perpetrating #domesticviolence and why, despite decades of research suggesting it is about equal to men's, it's such a neglected topic: www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/202...

The Last Taboo: Acknowledging Violent Behavior in Women

Domestic violence is often framed as a crime perpetrated by men against women. There’s a federal Office of Violence Against Women dedicated to domestic and sexual violence, but no male

www.realclearinvestigations.com

The Political Left Needs to Stop Obsessing Over Fascism

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Sep 1

In my essay today, I look at the obsessive lefting narrative that, in the age of #DonaldTrump, the left is fighting fascism. At this point I think we can say this strategy has been a disaster for the Democrats

I argue they should try a newer, saner strategy.

open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Nobody is buying the argument that Bluesky keyboard warriors are like the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Aug 19

I have this vague sense that power analyes may in some cases miss the point. I agree with their worth to some degree, although trying to detect smaller and smaller effect sizes may actually cause it's own false positive problems given limits of methodological precision in social science.

Conscientiousness cratering? It depends on how you twist the data.

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Aug 18

Yes, you absolutely right...US citizens having the completely wrong opinion of crime trends is not at all new to the smartphone or even internet era.

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Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Aug 18

Another article by @enbrown.bsky.social examines the FT conscientiousness freak-out...and finds it lacking. Good stuff: reason.com/2025/08/18/i...

Despite those viral charts you may have seen, conscientiousness among young people doesn't actually seem to be in "freefall."

reason.com

www.christopherjferguson.com

Chris Ferguson @cjferguson1111.bsky.social · Aug 17

No, this claim isn't supported by evidence: www.christopherjferguson.com/Porn%20Meta....