Christian Kliesch
@enactedmind.bsky.social
Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Potsdam.
Interested in cognition and what it means to be human. So far. I identified potential culprits: Bodies in development, minds enacting, babies being clever but mostly useless at doing things.
Interested in cognition and what it means to be human. So far. I identified potential culprits: Bodies in development, minds enacting, babies being clever but mostly useless at doing things.
Pinned
Here is a preprint for my paper "Post-natal dependency as the foundation of social learning in humans" osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
In this paper I make the claim that human social behaviour emerges from a uniquely human developmental trajectory in which infants are born with large brains are limited in their ability to interact with their environment directly.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
ZPID Trier: Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d) leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs/job/10kku5n7 #Stellenangebot
Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d)
leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs
November 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM
ZPID Trier: Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d) leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs/job/10kku5n7 #Stellenangebot
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
This Millikan line goes (as they say) hard.
November 25, 2025 at 11:36 AM
This Millikan line goes (as they say) hard.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials - Nature Human Behaviour
Howard-Spink et al. develop an empirically based model of orangutan diet development, which suggests that social learning is vital for orangutans to acquire varied diets.
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I'm happy to share our preprint "Disentangling visually-driven tactile predictions from multisensory integration in body ownership". We show that tactile predictions in the rubber hand illusion are as important as feeling touch on the hand to elicit the feeling of ownership. osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
November 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I'm happy to share our preprint "Disentangling visually-driven tactile predictions from multisensory integration in body ownership". We show that tactile predictions in the rubber hand illusion are as important as feeling touch on the hand to elicit the feeling of ownership. osf.io/preprints/ps...
Orwellian language used here - “Civil Rights Protections and Compliance” to curtail academic freedom.
'Courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require presidential approval at Texas A&M system campuses, the system Board of Regents decided Thursday.'
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Texas A&M Requires Approval for Courses That “Advocate” Certain Ideologies
Many faculty members decried the new restrictions on race- and gender-related courses as an assault on academic freedom. Meanwhile, the board also discussed a once-per-semester systemwide course revie...
www.insidehighered.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Orwellian language used here - “Civil Rights Protections and Compliance” to curtail academic freedom.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Guide for the perplexed:
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
'Courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require presidential approval at Texas A&M system campuses, the system Board of Regents decided Thursday.'
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Texas A&M Requires Approval for Courses That “Advocate” Certain Ideologies
Many faculty members decried the new restrictions on race- and gender-related courses as an assault on academic freedom. Meanwhile, the board also discussed a once-per-semester systemwide course revie...
www.insidehighered.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Guide for the perplexed:
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 14, 2025 at 2:35 PM
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
It was long thought that domestication leads to reductions in brain size. But as we understand dog brains better, the truth is proving more complicated—and more interesting.
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
November 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
It was long thought that domestication leads to reductions in brain size. But as we understand dog brains better, the truth is proving more complicated—and more interesting.
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Our special issue on Evolutionary Functions of Consciousness, coedited with Tecumseh Fitch and Adina Roskies, now online royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1939
royalsocietypublishing.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Our special issue on Evolutionary Functions of Consciousness, coedited with Tecumseh Fitch and Adina Roskies, now online royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Happy to share that our BBS target article has been accepted: “Core Perception”: Re-imagining Precocious Reasoning as Sophisticated Perceiving
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
October 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Happy to share that our BBS target article has been accepted: “Core Perception”: Re-imagining Precocious Reasoning as Sophisticated Perceiving
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
In many group-living birds and mammals, the formation of affiliative relationships is hypothesized to cause vocal convergence (an increase in call similarity between individuals). However, testing this causal effect can be difficult, because it requires ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I have previously described this idea this way (from cognitioninaction.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...)
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I have previously described this idea this way (from cognitioninaction.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...)
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence
How do internal bodily rhythms influence #brain activity & motor function? @tahnee-engelen.bsky.social &co show that #cardiac, #respiratory & #gastric rhythms independently modulate motor excitability, revealing distinct #interoceptive profiles across individuals @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4nMtpLT
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Yes, and loads of top down pressure which if left unexplained blames individuals or collectives when it was companies lobbying www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
November 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Yes, and loads of top down pressure which if left unexplained blames individuals or collectives when it was companies lobbying www.bbc.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Fully funded #PhDposition in Comparative Cultural Psychology @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social.
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
Positions available - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
www.eva.mpg.de
November 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Fully funded #PhDposition in Comparative Cultural Psychology @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social.
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
We will use touchscreen experiments & eyetracking to study mental simulations in nonhuman apes & human children across different cultures.
All info here: www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...
Please share / apply!🙏
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I'm watching Minetto's PhD defence now – she did an insane amount of work with hand coding, then checked whether she should have just used an LLM. "LLM's are enthusiastic, but that makes them greedy." The #LLM found most of the cases she said, but the false negative level was catastrophic. 1/2
The European Council is supposed to be an agenda-setter and crisis manager. But it also regularly intervenes in the legislative process, as data from 1999 to 2024 show.
By EDOARDO BRESSANELLI, CHRISTEL KOOP, FRANCESCA MINETTO, and CHRISTINE REH
#EUCO #EUlegislation #EUsky
By EDOARDO BRESSANELLI, CHRISTEL KOOP, FRANCESCA MINETTO, and CHRISTINE REH
#EUCO #EUlegislation #EUsky
The European Council: National leaders in EU law-making
Ein Blog über die Demokratie in Europa
www.foederalist.eu
November 13, 2025 at 8:37 AM
I'm watching Minetto's PhD defence now – she did an insane amount of work with hand coding, then checked whether she should have just used an LLM. "LLM's are enthusiastic, but that makes them greedy." The #LLM found most of the cases she said, but the false negative level was catastrophic. 1/2
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Margaret Jane Moore, Amanda K. Robinson, and Jason B. Mattingley:
Expectation dynamically modulates the representational time course of objects and locations
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Expectation dynamically modulates the representational time course of objects and locations
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 13, 2025 at 8:51 AM
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Margaret Jane Moore, Amanda K. Robinson, and Jason B. Mattingley:
Expectation dynamically modulates the representational time course of objects and locations
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Expectation dynamically modulates the representational time course of objects and locations
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Behavioral data can be very detailed but are usually aggregated and normalized in ways that smother the dynamics. Ben wrote a continuous-time Markov model to improve on this, and also wrote simulations for exploring and validating pipelines. All the code is here: github.com/BenKawam/ASN...
New paper!
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We propose a framework to empirically study animal social relationships by modelling social network (SN) data as time-series—that is, without the need to aggregate them over time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 12, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Behavioral data can be very detailed but are usually aggregated and normalized in ways that smother the dynamics. Ben wrote a continuous-time Markov model to improve on this, and also wrote simulations for exploring and validating pipelines. All the code is here: github.com/BenKawam/ASN...