Stephan Lewandowsky
@lewan.bsky.social
Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Bristol. Homepage: https://www.lewan.uk
Here it is, the topsy-turvy upside-down world of what used to be a reliable scientific institution: www.cdc.gov/vaccine-...
4/6
4/6
November 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Here it is, the topsy-turvy upside-down world of what used to be a reliable scientific institution: www.cdc.gov/vaccine-...
4/6
4/6
The paper started out with "Imagine a world in which it is not medical knowledge but a free-for-all opinion market on Twitter that determines whether a newly emergent strain of avian flu is really contagious to humans. This dystopian future is still just that—a possible future."
That was 2017
2/6
That was 2017
2/6
November 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The paper started out with "Imagine a world in which it is not medical knowledge but a free-for-all opinion market on Twitter that determines whether a newly emergent strain of avian flu is really contagious to humans. This dystopian future is still just that—a possible future."
That was 2017
2/6
That was 2017
2/6
A little retrospective can be helpful at times to work out what has been happening and what was knowable. Let's travel back in time to 2017 (~8 years ago) when I was lead author on a paper about the post-truth world. doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...
1/6
1/6
November 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
A little retrospective can be helpful at times to work out what has been happening and what was knowable. Let's travel back in time to 2017 (~8 years ago) when I was lead author on a paper about the post-truth world. doi.org/10.1016/j.ja...
1/6
1/6
.. the Anti-Autocracy Summit on Thursday 4 December | 14:00–18:00 UK (15:00–19:00 CET, 9 am–1 pm EST, 6 am–10 am PST).
Details here: www.scibeh.org/event....
2/6
Details here: www.scibeh.org/event....
2/6
November 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
.. the Anti-Autocracy Summit on Thursday 4 December | 14:00–18:00 UK (15:00–19:00 CET, 9 am–1 pm EST, 6 am–10 am PST).
Details here: www.scibeh.org/event....
2/6
Details here: www.scibeh.org/event....
2/6
As autocratization proceeds in the U.S. and elsewhere, it's time for a stock-take. Where are we, where are we going? What works? What might work better? Nearly 6 months after we published the Anti-Autocracy Handbook sks.to/autocracy the SciBeh team is hosting its next big event ....
1/6
1/6
November 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
As autocratization proceeds in the U.S. and elsewhere, it's time for a stock-take. Where are we, where are we going? What works? What might work better? Nearly 6 months after we published the Anti-Autocracy Handbook sks.to/autocracy the SciBeh team is hosting its next big event ....
1/6
1/6
We are also pleased to announce our "anti-autocracy summit" planned for 4 December. Details here: www.scibeh.org/event...
3/4
3/4
November 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
We are also pleased to announce our "anti-autocracy summit" planned for 4 December. Details here: www.scibeh.org/event...
3/4
3/4
We are delighted to announce the first two translations of the Handbook, into German and Italian. They are available through our portal: sks.to/autocracy
2/4
2/4
November 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
We are delighted to announce the first two translations of the Handbook, into German and Italian. They are available through our portal: sks.to/autocracy
2/4
2/4
In light of the assault on American science by its own government that launched in January this year, we published the Anti-Autocracy Handbook in June to provide some guidance to scholars about how to respond to an emerging autocracy. The handbook is available at: sks.to/autocracy. 1/n
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1/4
November 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
In light of the assault on American science by its own government that launched in January this year, we published the Anti-Autocracy Handbook in June to provide some guidance to scholars about how to respond to an emerging autocracy. The handbook is available at: sks.to/autocracy. 1/n
1/4
1/4
Turns out that information abundance *per se*; that is, irrespective of information quality, has adverse cognitive consequences. Under information overload, attentional
selection processes favor information that is belief-consistent, negative, social, and predictive. 2/n
selection processes favor information that is belief-consistent, negative, social, and predictive. 2/n
November 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Turns out that information abundance *per se*; that is, irrespective of information quality, has adverse cognitive consequences. Under information overload, attentional
selection processes favor information that is belief-consistent, negative, social, and predictive. 2/n
selection processes favor information that is belief-consistent, negative, social, and predictive. 2/n
Not sure the dude who's choosing pictures to go with headlines had a good day at the Financial Times: www.ft.com/content/0...
October 23, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Not sure the dude who's choosing pictures to go with headlines had a good day at the Financial Times: www.ft.com/content/0...
October 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The trillion dollar flowchart (and several gigatonnes [?] of CO2): www.bloomberg.com/ne... One may well ask if AI is different from tulips?
October 14, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The trillion dollar flowchart (and several gigatonnes [?] of CO2): www.bloomberg.com/ne... One may well ask if AI is different from tulips?
Word of caution: anyone who calls those thugs "fascists" is guilty of inciting violence. (If you need a dictionary to comprehend this, try Enid Blyton's Topsy-Turvy World. You can find it at the top of the Magic Faraway Tree.)
September 28, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Word of caution: anyone who calls those thugs "fascists" is guilty of inciting violence. (If you need a dictionary to comprehend this, try Enid Blyton's Topsy-Turvy World. You can find it at the top of the Magic Faraway Tree.)
What is it about acronyms that imbue them with such seemingly onanistic power and attraction? Is it the throbbing of consecutive consonants? Or is it merely their ability to hide atrocities? legionmagazine.com/e...
September 27, 2025 at 12:14 PM
What is it about acronyms that imbue them with such seemingly onanistic power and attraction? Is it the throbbing of consecutive consonants? Or is it merely their ability to hide atrocities? legionmagazine.com/e...
Some interesting data.... www.economist.com/in...
September 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Some interesting data.... www.economist.com/in...
The Debunking Handbook 2020 now available also in Basque -- for a total of 21 languages now, all based on volunteer labour. skepticalscience.com...
September 16, 2025 at 12:32 PM
The Debunking Handbook 2020 now available also in Basque -- for a total of 21 languages now, all based on volunteer labour. skepticalscience.com...
Understanding the truth about how technology shapes our lives shouldn’t be a luxury but a public right. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research is building collective power to defend the right to research and free information. independenttechresearch.org/citr-report-...
August 19, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Understanding the truth about how technology shapes our lives shouldn’t be a luxury but a public right. The Coalition for Independent Technology Research is building collective power to defend the right to research and free information. independenttechresearch.org/citr-report-...
A post-doctoral opportunity in Germany (must be in the state of Lower Saxony). Open to applicants from overseas. (To clarify: I have nothing to do with this and am just forwarding the call, I don't have further information). The Volkswagen Foundation is a public agency that has no connection to VW.
June 20, 2025 at 9:38 AM
A post-doctoral opportunity in Germany (must be in the state of Lower Saxony). Open to applicants from overseas. (To clarify: I have nothing to do with this and am just forwarding the call, I don't have further information). The Volkswagen Foundation is a public agency that has no connection to VW.
Core to our approach is that people's personal risk differs considerably -- a senior white male professor with tenure is more secure than a visiting scholar from the majority world, for example. Hence we structure possible actions around a personal risk assessment: 7/12
June 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Core to our approach is that people's personal risk differs considerably -- a senior white male professor with tenure is more secure than a visiting scholar from the majority world, for example. Hence we structure possible actions around a personal risk assessment: 7/12
Fantastic team of authors comprising relevant experts and several scholars who have lived under autocracy, including: @karmaos.bsky.social @profsunitasah.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social @johnfocook.bsky.social 3/12
June 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Fantastic team of authors comprising relevant experts and several scholars who have lived under autocracy, including: @karmaos.bsky.social @profsunitasah.bsky.social @chrischirp.bsky.social @ninajankowicz.com @noupside.bsky.social @philippmarkolin.bsky.social @johnfocook.bsky.social 3/12
Pleased to be visiting university of the Saarland for the first time. About to give a talk at 1630 on honest liars. Apparently available for streaming here teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-joi... @ulliecker.bsky.social
May 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Pleased to be visiting university of the Saarland for the first time. About to give a talk at 1630 on honest liars. Apparently available for streaming here teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-joi... @ulliecker.bsky.social
Very pleased to be part of this next Wednesday at 11 am CET (10 am UK). Register here: www.socialchangelab.net/academicrepr... of possible interest to: @scibeh.bsky.social @karmaos.bsky.social @ulliecker.bsky.social @profsanderlinden.bsky.social @jagolinzer.bsky.social
May 26, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Very pleased to be part of this next Wednesday at 11 am CET (10 am UK). Register here: www.socialchangelab.net/academicrepr... of possible interest to: @scibeh.bsky.social @karmaos.bsky.social @ulliecker.bsky.social @profsanderlinden.bsky.social @jagolinzer.bsky.social
Kreuzberger Himmel. Berlin.
May 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Kreuzberger Himmel. Berlin.