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The 'Moist' Mind Virus: Why We Hate Wet Sounds On misophonia and socially transmitted disgust

Why do you hate the word "moist"? why do wet sounds like teeth-sucking, slurping, and swallowing evoke a sense of disgust and rage?

@jakee.bsky.social explains in dazzling detail on The Ick...
emilybynight.substack.com/p/the-moist-...

all @aspaglayan.bsky.social content is self-recommending

What Are Schools For?—Asterisk The modern education system around the world continues to bear the imprint of mass education’s original goal: obedience.

Super fun interview with @asteriskmag.bsky.social in which we talk about "Raised to Obey" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) but also:

- is "indoctrination for democracy" desirable?
- is low education quality driven by "low state capacity"?

and more!

asteriskmag.com/issues/10/wh...

have actually wondered the extent of this phenomenon. I’ve been told I’m allergic to multiple medications I definitely tolerate fine

when you love community but hate civilization

Basic tests for research reproducibility still aren't being met, even in our top journals. Some 15% of papers in even our best publications still contain code that doesn't run

Some very depressing forecasts on the impact of USAID cuts in the recent @asteriskmag.bsky.social special edition: asteriskmag.substack.com/p/forecast-...

For the past month, @asteriskmag.bsky.social has been working with a group of forecasters for a series on the mortality impacts of the Trump Administration's USAID cuts

5 forecasts, transparent and probabilistic, on PEPFAR, malaria, TB, nutrition, and WASH asteriskmag.substack.com/p/forecast-s...

happened to us too, don’t understand it. had to set up two step verification otherwise start paying way more for mail chimp

Grateful to talk to Todd and Katie about the current status of USAID, that leaked reorganization plan, and what we can expect for the future of American foreign assistance

Have you read Sprint? Not sure if it’s relevant but there’s some very basic like human needs attention span etc there that I found useful

we're advertising 2-3 postdoctoral positions to work at NYU on artificial consciousness and related topics at the intersection of AI and the philosophy of mind (possibly including AI mentality, AI interpretability, and AI welfare). deadline is march 30! philjobs.org/job/show/28878

Have been reading Longreads well over a decade! A real privilege to be featured

We raised the attendance cap on this from 80 to 100 after high demand! Will sell-out! Donation-based! Very important topic! Very interesting questions! Very cool people! I will ask about panpsychism! Can't wait to meet you there!!!

A few tickets out of 80 total left! If there's enough demand we can find a way to finagle a few more, but it's going to be a full house. I'm really, really excited for this one

ohh yea, so much has changed and they find themselves as close ideologically as ever I think

Werewolf Research Center & Shrine | (715) 999-7483

did I just release a project where ANYONE can update a site by calling the number 715-999-7483 right before going on vacation? yes.

Exciting update: @open_phil is doubling down on our YIMBY, innovation, and metascience success by launching a >$120m Abundance & Growth Fund to accelerate economic growth and boost scientific & technological progress. Funding from @goodventures.bsky.social, Patrick Collison, and others.

Why now? 🧵

yea, for literally a decade it's been the same story over and over. science hasn't caught up too much yet but hopefully the bar has been raised for reporting on it!

ah thanks, so glad you enjoyed / sorry you suffer too 🙁

The Unbearable Loudness of Chewing—Asterisk Why do some people find certain sounds intolerable? And why has it taken so long for scientists to get even a preliminary answer?

SUCH a good article about misophonia from @jakee.bsky.social. It's so hard for me to articulate my relationship with stimuli such as chewing and repetitive sounds, it's not just that I don't like them it's the uncontrollable full-body aversive reaction. Glad to see more serious research on this.

The Science of Woo—Asterisk A conversation about neuroscience, meditation, and the many paths to insight.

Absolute pleasure to speak with Kati Devaney for this issue.

We covered a lot of territory: the deep-end of meditation, the neuroscience of cessation, the concept of "weird," and whether enlightenment is in the Overton window yet
asteriskmag.com/issues/09/th...

During this bird flu pandemic I try to keep in mind the old aphorism: you can’t make an omelette

Foggy Bottom Demonstration Friday Rubio promised waivers, but the system is broken. Join us Friday, March 7th, for a protest to restore PEPFAR at Foggy Bottom.

A demonstration this Friday to ask the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to restore PEPFAR funding, one of the best things the US government (or any organization in the world) does: pepfarreport.org/event

I found the report very informative and interesting: pepfarreport.org

Are AIs People?—Asterisk Every year, AI models get better at thinking. Could they possibly be capable of feeling? And if they are, how would we know?

asteriskmag.com/issues/09/ar...

the most surprising and disappointing aspect of becoming a global health philanthropist is the existence of an opposition team

Thrilled to announce that @asteriskmag.bsky.social and I will be hosting a conversation between Rob Long and Kati Devaney on where two tracks in consciousness research — AI and meditation — collide

If you're local to the Bay, would love to see you there!
www.eventbrite.com/e/where-huma...

Also a good encapsulation of how editors are siloed with large pubs. This would not have made it through future perfect

how to tell defunding science is in fact a bad idea:

the notably left-wing and pro-government-spending think tank AEI agrees with @deenamousa.com and I that science funding is high ROI: www.aei.org/economics/wh...