Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
@radioactivegorgon.bsky.social
This account is used to post or re-post political and/or academic interests—mostly. Predictive processing enthusiast.
she/her
she/her
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
completely unironically, this is how we'll know
Everyone in his inner circle would be insider trading trading on his death on Kalshi before turning the plane around
January 21, 2026 at 4:11 AM
completely unironically, this is how we'll know
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
The basic problem is that high-quality journalism is not a viable market product. If it is not protected from market forces, it will inevitably degenerate into the ragetainment that dominates these days.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
January 16, 2026 at 12:44 AM
The basic problem is that high-quality journalism is not a viable market product. If it is not protected from market forces, it will inevitably degenerate into the ragetainment that dominates these days.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
Ragetainment is what, measured on a pure impulsive will-they-click-it basis, the public wants.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Congress Is Reversing Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science
www.nytimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
'The answer cannot be nothing': The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
A small Canadian province feared it had a mystery neurological illness on its hands. The search for answers set off a battle for the truth.
www.bbc.com
January 11, 2026 at 12:16 PM
'The answer cannot be nothing': The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
www.bbc.com/news/art...
1/6
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Facial expressions may involve an “everything, everywhere, all at once” type of coding in the brain, a new study suggests.
By @natmesanash.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/emotion-proc...
By @natmesanash.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/emotion-proc...
Facial expressions less reflexive than previously thought
A countenance such as a grimace activates many of the same cortical pathways as voluntary facial movements.
www.thetransmitter.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Facial expressions may involve an “everything, everywhere, all at once” type of coding in the brain, a new study suggests.
By @natmesanash.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/emotion-proc...
By @natmesanash.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/emotion-proc...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
I've watched thousands of videos from the Jan. 6 riot as part of NPR's reporting and archive project on that day.
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
January 6, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I've watched thousands of videos from the Jan. 6 riot as part of NPR's reporting and archive project on that day.
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
I found this discussion really interesting (and validating of some of the thoughts I’ve been having about certain aspects of politics for a while).
ICYMI: I sat down with political scientist @samuel-bagg.bsky.social to discuss the crisis in our information environment and its roots in social identity.
The cure for misinformation is not more information or smarter news consumers
Political scientist Samuel Bagg explains why social identity is at the root of the misinformation crisis -- which calls for something deeper than factchecking.
www.volts.wtf
January 6, 2026 at 3:45 AM
I found this discussion really interesting (and validating of some of the thoughts I’ve been having about certain aspects of politics for a while).
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Dorsal striatal dopamine integrates sensory and reward prediction errors to guide perceptual decisions https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.01.696999v1
January 2, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Dorsal striatal dopamine integrates sensory and reward prediction errors to guide perceptual decisions https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.01.696999v1
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
It’s a great study, and I’m excited to see this entering public awareness! But there’s still much more to cover, as BOLD coincides with other metabolic changes, including anaerobic metabolism and lactic acid production. In fact, others have proposed ↑CBF may help regulate local pH homeostasis.
December 29, 2025 at 3:08 PM
It’s a great study, and I’m excited to see this entering public awareness! But there’s still much more to cover, as BOLD coincides with other metabolic changes, including anaerobic metabolism and lactic acid production. In fact, others have proposed ↑CBF may help regulate local pH homeostasis.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
When we see something that's moving, our memories about it end up projected forward in time: We remember it further along than it was. In a new paper in 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, out today and led by @dillonplunkett.bsky.social, we demonstrate that this happens even when there is 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.🧵
Representational Momentum Transcends Motion
Dillon Plunkett & Jorge Morales (2025) Psychological Science
subjectivitylab.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
When we see something that's moving, our memories about it end up projected forward in time: We remember it further along than it was. In a new paper in 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, out today and led by @dillonplunkett.bsky.social, we demonstrate that this happens even when there is 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.🧵
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
The Entangled Brain
Popular neuroscience accounts often focus on specific mind-brain aspects like addiction, cognition, or memory, but The Entangled Brain tackles a much bigger ...
mitpress.mit.edu
December 28, 2025 at 5:56 PM
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Just decline the peer review invitation.
What are you people even doing?
What are you people even doing?
More than half of researchers now use AI for peer review — often against guidance
A survey of 1,600 academics found that more than 50% have used artificial-intelligence tools while peer reviewing manuscripts.
www.nature.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Just decline the peer review invitation.
What are you people even doing?
What are you people even doing?
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Better ways to measure cognitive exhaustion could point to treatments for long COVID and other debilitating disorders. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is your brain tired? Researchers are discovering the roots of mental fatigue
Better ways to measure cognitive exhaustion could point to treatments for long COVID and other debilitating disorders.
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Better ways to measure cognitive exhaustion could point to treatments for long COVID and other debilitating disorders. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
What a treat! @alisongopnik.bsky.social on the tension between exploration and exploitation across development, and the role of elders in care and transmission @wutsaiyale.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
What a treat! @alisongopnik.bsky.social on the tension between exploration and exploitation across development, and the role of elders in care and transmission @wutsaiyale.bsky.social
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Your stomach called – your striatum picked up!
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
December 9, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Your stomach called – your striatum picked up!
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
But does this actually happen in humans?
Using simultaneous dopamine PET/fMRI, we show that the gut hormone ghrelin helps the brain adjust motivation to current metabolic need.
Here’s what we found👇
Preprint: shorturl.at/pq4A3
#neuroskyence #🩺
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Dao Jones is this anything
December 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Dao Jones is this anything
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
**How distributed is the brain-wide network that is recruited
for cognition?**
That goes to the top of the list!
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
for cognition?**
That goes to the top of the list!
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
December 5, 2025 at 6:51 PM
**How distributed is the brain-wide network that is recruited
for cognition?**
That goes to the top of the list!
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
for cognition?**
That goes to the top of the list!
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
Recovered memory theory is back! Now with psychedelics. "Therapeutic emergence of dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment for anorexia" pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40420197/ n=2, no controls...
December 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Recovered memory theory is back! Now with psychedelics. "Therapeutic emergence of dissociated traumatic memories during psilocybin treatment for anorexia" pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40420197/ n=2, no controls...
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
I do think I've observed in basically all creative fields that celebrity is dangerous, because really good craft takes time, and you just can't do it if you're doing nonstop interviews and articles and things. Like a lot of authors' second or third works feel generic/under-researched.
Put another way: at some point comedians go from laugh lines to applause lines. Problem is applause lines are easy and boring. Laugh lines are very hard. To my mind an ideal life as a writer or researcher is you do that sort of hard when you're young and a different (sustained) sort of hard later.
December 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I do think I've observed in basically all creative fields that celebrity is dangerous, because really good craft takes time, and you just can't do it if you're doing nonstop interviews and articles and things. Like a lot of authors' second or third works feel generic/under-researched.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
idea: kuleshov tarot. every card is a black-and-white picture of a man staring at you. each card has an unique back design, but there is no indication of *which* card it is beyond this
November 24, 2025 at 8:56 PM
idea: kuleshov tarot. every card is a black-and-white picture of a man staring at you. each card has an unique back design, but there is no indication of *which* card it is beyond this
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
What’s happening beneath the surface when you feel anxious? New podcast episode: "How #Anxiety Is Constructed In The #Brain: Insights from #Neuroscience." On The Anxious Truth podcast. theanxioustruth.com/how-anxiety-...
How Anxiety Is Constructed In The Brain (Ep 327)
How is anxiety constructed in the brain? What creates that difficult internal experience? Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett is here to talk about that.
theanxioustruth.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:45 AM
What’s happening beneath the surface when you feel anxious? New podcast episode: "How #Anxiety Is Constructed In The #Brain: Insights from #Neuroscience." On The Anxious Truth podcast. theanxioustruth.com/how-anxiety-...
The Cut did a good piece on IFS that counteracts some of the damage Katie Heaney has done with their platform: www.thecut.com/article/trut...
I find the phenomenon to be a powerful example of how suggestible humans can be and the harms arising from breaking apart someone's connection with reality.
I find the phenomenon to be a powerful example of how suggestible humans can be and the harms arising from breaking apart someone's connection with reality.
The Truth About IFS, the Therapy That Can Break You
Internal Family Systems is a widely popular trauma treatment. Some patients say it’s destroyed their lives.
www.thecut.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The Cut did a good piece on IFS that counteracts some of the damage Katie Heaney has done with their platform: www.thecut.com/article/trut...
I find the phenomenon to be a powerful example of how suggestible humans can be and the harms arising from breaking apart someone's connection with reality.
I find the phenomenon to be a powerful example of how suggestible humans can be and the harms arising from breaking apart someone's connection with reality.
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
How does the brain decide? 🧠
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Transitions in dynamical regime and neural mode during perceptual decisions - Nature
Simultaneous recordings were made of hundreds of neurons in the rat frontal cortex and striatum, showing that decision commitment involves a rapid, coordinated transition in dynamical regime and neura...
www.nature.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM
How does the brain decide? 🧠
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Reposted by Zhuāngzǐ's Tree
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"... observers perceive scene images achromatized in the peripheral region (chimera images) as full-color images... inattentional noise increases the occurrence of strong color signals that exceed the internal color detection criterion..."
Nishida lab
🧠📈
"... observers perceive scene images achromatized in the peripheral region (chimera images) as full-color images... inattentional noise increases the occurrence of strong color signals that exceed the internal color detection criterion..."
Nishida lab
🧠📈
Inattentional noise leads to subjective color uniformity across the visual field
Humans perceive a vividly colored world coherently across the visual field, even though our peripheral vision has limited color sensitivity compared t…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:37 AM
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"... observers perceive scene images achromatized in the peripheral region (chimera images) as full-color images... inattentional noise increases the occurrence of strong color signals that exceed the internal color detection criterion..."
Nishida lab
🧠📈
"... observers perceive scene images achromatized in the peripheral region (chimera images) as full-color images... inattentional noise increases the occurrence of strong color signals that exceed the internal color detection criterion..."
Nishida lab
🧠📈