The hottest Cognition Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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How bad will you feel when your side loses the election?

Brain Pizza • 662 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Elections Voting Emotions Cognition Public Opinion
  1. People often think losing an election or a game will make them really sad, but they usually recover faster than they expect.
  2. We tend to imagine the worst emotional outcome when our side loses. However, we are naturally resilient and adapt quickly.
  3. Many times, we forget how quickly we can move on from disappointments and let other distractions take over our feelings.

Brain Glitch

Polymathic Being • 59 implied HN points • 24 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Cognition Perspective Behavior
  1. Cognitive dissonance is what happens when our brains struggle with holding two conflicting beliefs. It often leads to defensive responses, like changing the topic or attacking someone instead of addressing the issue.
  2. Recognizing cognitive dissonance in ourselves is important. It helps us pause, reflect, and learn when we're feeling defensive or emotional during discussions.
  3. Not all contradictions are bad. Embracing them can lead to a deeper understanding and new perspectives, helping us navigate complex issues more effectively.

Context and Cacti

Vanguard Anthology • 119 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making Cognition Behavioral Psychology Social Dynamics
  1. Cactusing happens when you stick to a decision even when the situation changes. It's like wanting nachos for a late-night snack then forgetting that you need a quick meal the next day.
  2. People often hold onto past achievements or contexts that no longer apply. For example, judging NASA based on its past greatness rather than its current status can lead to outdated evaluations.
  3. Recognizing when to change your decisions can open doors to new opportunities. Adapting to new situations can provide an advantage over those who don't adjust their thinking.

The Topography of Thought Edition

Why is this interesting? • 965 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
🚌 Education Writing Research Learning Cognition Creativity
  1. Your writing style can show how you think and might predict your success. It's not just about the words you use, but how you organize your ideas.
  2. Some people can express a lot of different ideas briefly, while others might take longer to get through them. This can affect how effectively they communicate their thoughts.
  3. Understanding how successful people manage their ideas can help us improve our own writing and storytelling skills. It’s useful to have data to back up what we believe about writing.

Elephant Riding

Polymathic Being • 104 implied HN points • 10 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Logic Cognition Emotion Human behavior
  1. We balance emotions and reason like an elephant and a rider. The elephant represents our feelings, which often drive our decisions more than we think.
  2. Relying only on logic can lead to problems. Emotions help us make decisions, and without them, we might struggle with even simple choices.
  3. To make better decisions, we should understand our emotions and how they influence us. This means taking time to think things through and checking if our feelings align with reality.
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Scrolling Toward The Divine

Reactionary Feminist • 8 implied HN points • 29 Nov 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Religion Internet Cognition Experience Philosophy
  1. The internet can help people feel a deeper connection to spirituality and religion. Scrolling through online content might actually draw individuals closer to God.
  2. Reading online changes how we think. It helps us recognize patterns in the world that we might have missed with traditional reading methods.
  3. This shift in how we perceive things can lead to various experiences, including a renewed interest in religious matters.

The Christmas Tree Effect

Range Widely • 3184 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🔬 Science Psychology Research Behavior Cognition Innovation
  1. Sometimes, to solve problems, we should consider taking things away rather than adding more.
  2. Interesting distractions can increase accidents on roads by affecting a driver's cognitive load.
  3. Humans tend to overlook solutions that involve removing things, and the subtraction game can be a helpful approach in various aspects of life.

Our friends shape our memory

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 15 Nov 24
🔬 Science Psychology Cognition Memory Social Behavior Neuroscience
  1. Our memories are not like videos; we actually rebuild them each time we recall information. This means they can be easily influenced by others.
  2. People tend to remember things better when they are related to someone they trust or feel connected to. This makes our memories less reliable for those outside our social circles.
  3. Misinformation can spread easily because we are less accurate in recalling what people from other groups say or do. This makes us more susceptible to believing false claims about them.

Essay Club: The Extended Mind by Andy Clark and David Chalmers

Mind & Mythos • 159 implied HN points • 16 Jul 24
📖 Philosophy Cognition Mind Beliefs Cognitive Science Philosophers
  1. The idea of the 'extended mind' suggests that our thinking isn't just in our brains; it includes tools and objects around us. For example, using a calculator isn't just a help; it's part of how we think.
  2. The authors argue that relying on external objects, like notebooks or smartphones, can be essential for forming beliefs and ideas, similar to how we use our memories. This means our minds can extend into the world around us.
  3. While some people disagree with this view, saying real thinking should only happen in our heads, the authors believe that our connections to our environment and the tools we use are important parts of how we think and behave.

Dementia (.... and Joe Biden)

Brain Pizza • 1258 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Dementia Cognition Ageing Memory Alzheimer's
  1. Our world is getting older as life expectancy increases, leading to a significant demographic shift with implications for society.
  2. As we age, changes in mental abilities are natural, with factors like brain tissue flexibility diminishing and communication speed between nerve cells slowing down.
  3. Dementia is a complex condition, not a normal part of aging, and it is essential to recognize signs early for timely interventions and support.

Dreaming of Memories

The Memory Palace • 39 implied HN points • 27 Aug 24
📖 Philosophy Cognition Memory Dreams Trauma Consciousness
  1. Replay dreams can feel very real, making it seem like you're reliving a past event. They might happen after a traumatic experience, but they aren't always exact copies of what happened.
  2. Not all dreams that reference memories are considered replay dreams. Some, called quotidian dreams, use memories creatively rather than re-experiencing them exactly as they occurred.
  3. Researchers think dreams work differently than regular memory recall. While memory helps us access our past, replay dreams might serve a unique purpose, especially for those who have experienced trauma.

Erasing and Replacing Race

Living Fossils • 7 implied HN points • 20 Nov 24
🎭️ Culture Social Psychology Cognition Evolutionary Theory Diversity
  1. Humans may not automatically categorize people by race. Instead, we tend to identify which groups people belong to based on social coalitions.
  2. Research shows that racial categorization can be reduced or suppressed with certain manipulations, which suggests it's not a fixed aspect of how we think.
  3. The ongoing studies highlight that focusing on race is a choice, and we have the ability to change this perspective over time.

Welcome to the Memory Palace!

The Memory Palace • 279 implied HN points • 16 Apr 24
📖 Philosophy Memory Cognition Education History Methods
  1. Memory palaces are a cool way to remember things by placing images in a familiar space. This method has been used for a long time in cultures that relied on oral storytelling.
  2. Having a strong memory was once a sign of a smart and educated person. Even today, memory competitions highlight how useful these techniques can be for everyone, not just the elite.
  3. Despite technology helping us remember more, memory is still important. Memory palaces encourage us to think about what information we value and want to keep in our minds.

Thinking outside of your head

Austin Kleon • 1858 implied HN points • 04 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Creativity Cognition Education Social Interaction Mindfulness
  1. We don't just think in our heads; our bodies and surroundings also help us think better. Moving around and being in nature can really boost our creativity.
  2. Social interactions play a big role in our thinking. Learning from others and sharing ideas helps us understand what we really know.
  3. Writing things down or mapping out our thoughts helps clear our minds. It's like giving our ideas a space to grow and connect with each other.

Social norms as classifiers

normality’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 25 Jul 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Morality Cognition Social norms Cooperation
  1. Humans create social norms to help detect and punish cheating behavior. These norms act like classifiers that help separate honest mistakes from dishonest actions.
  2. The Knobe effect shows that people often see bad actions as intentional, while good actions are viewed differently. This can lead to inconsistencies in moral judgment based on our understanding of intentions.
  3. It's important to continuously review and update our social norms. When norms fail, they can harm innocent people, so we need to make sure they are fair and effective.

A New Model of Memory: Representational Change and Representational Success

The Memory Palace • 139 implied HN points • 30 Apr 24
📖 Philosophy Mind Perception Memory Cognition Epistemology
  1. Memory shouldn't be judged the same way as perception. Just because we can't remember everything perfectly doesn't mean our memory is faulty.
  2. Instead of thinking about memory accuracy, we should look at how well a memory represents something. This means we can accept changes in how memories are formed and recalled.
  3. Unique aspects of memories, like 'authenticity,' might not be the best standard to evaluate them. Instead, we should focus on how memories succeed in representing our experiences in various ways.

Good Memory

The Memory Palace • 79 implied HN points • 11 Jun 24
📖 Philosophy Epistemology Memory Metaphysics Cognition Critical Thinking
  1. Memory is often seen as less reliable than other ways of knowing, like perception. It doesn't create new knowledge but relies on what it's given, so it might forget important details.
  2. When we remember things, we can also remember them incorrectly or distort them. This means that sometimes memory can lead us to feel certain about things that are actually wrong.
  3. Despite its flaws, memory still plays an important role in how we understand our experiences. It can help us organize our memories, but we should be careful not to trust it too much.

Specialization and Interdisciplinarity: Beyond Memory

The Memory Palace • 99 implied HN points • 23 Apr 24
📖 Philosophy Memory Specialization Knowledge Cognition
  1. Specialization in fields like the philosophy of memory can lead to growth and deeper understanding, but it may also risk limiting broader explorations. It’s important to balance focus with the desire to explore new ideas.
  2. Interdisciplinary work can enrich research by bringing in diverse perspectives and expertise. Collaborations across different fields can lead to new insights that wouldn't be possible in isolation.
  3. Memory connects with many other cognitive and emotional processes in complicated ways. To really understand memory, researchers need to look beyond just memory itself and consider its interactions with different aspects of life.

Contra Hanania: Why Reading Books is Good, Actually

Mind & Mythos • 539 implied HN points • 11 May 23
📚 Literature Reading Books Critique Cognition Memory
  1. Reading books helps with remembering and understanding ideas better than just quick posts or tweets. It's about taking time to fully grasp concepts.
  2. Books can connect new ideas with what we already know, making them more meaningful and easier to recall later.
  3. Not every book is worth reading, but the long tradition of books shows they still have a special value in learning and reflection.

2.0 Aristotle, Plato, & Newton

Fields & Energy • 259 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
📖 Philosophy Ancient Philosophy Scientific Method Cognition Metaphysics Epistemology
  1. Aristotle and Plato have very different views on existence. Aristotle believes existence comes first, while Plato thinks consciousness creates reality.
  2. The Aristotelian approach focuses on observing nature to discover principles, while the Platonist starts with foundational ideas and deduces from them.
  3. Both schools of thought are important for science. Sometimes we discover new principles like Aristotle, and other times we analyze and apply ideas like Plato.

Robust Cognitive Strategies for Resource-Rich Minds

Eurykosmotron • 353 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Cognition AI Quantum Ethics
  1. Living in scarcity shapes our thinking and behavior, but abundance can lead to new cognitive strategies.
  2. Feasible abundance can change how we approach problem-solving and relationships, leading to more optimism for the future.
  3. With abundant cognitive resources, we could develop new strategies like sampling from possible multiverses and maintaining a history of prior versions.

Nonhuman Intelligence

Cremieux Recueil • 199 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🔬 Science Cognition Intelligence Comparative Analysis Machine Learning Psychometrics
  1. It's challenging to compare intelligence between humans and nonhuman species like apes due to the lack of suitable cognitive tests.
  2. Machine intelligence testing is complex, and comparing it to human intelligence is not straightforward.
  3. Comparing intelligence across different groups may be hindered by factors like age and methodological barriers.

The worse bullshitter

Sunday Letters • 139 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Self-awareness Cognition Impostor syndrome Personal Growth
  1. It's easy to think we understand something fully, but we often realize we don't when we actually try to do it. This can happen in both math and programming.
  2. Sometimes we can fool ourselves into believing we know more than we do, which can make us the worst kind of bullshitter. This is especially tricky because it can tie into feelings of impostor syndrome.
  3. To avoid deceiving ourselves, it's important to be honest about our results. Whether in math, programming, or management, focusing on real outcomes can keep us grounded.

1.5 The Paradigm Shift to a New Model

Fields & Energy • 239 implied HN points • 29 Nov 23
🔬 Science Physics Education Cognition Models Innovation
  1. People often prefer sticking to familiar ideas instead of embracing new ones, which can create mental barriers to understanding change. To overcome this, simplifying complex concepts is important.
  2. Models are tools we use to understand the world around us. Having multiple models allows us to tackle problems from different angles, making us better problem solvers.
  3. Understanding basic principles in science can help anyone grasp more complex ideas without needing extensive knowledge. For example, knowing atoms make up everything can help explain many scientific concepts.

"Cheap tricks" in human language comprehension

The Counterfactual • 119 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🔬 Science Cognition Linguistics Psychology Neuroscience Language processing
  1. People often don’t notice mistakes in language and just assume they are reading correctly. This happens because our brains are quick to fill in the gaps and make sense of sentences, even if they are wrong.
  2. Traditionally, understanding language was thought to involve deep processing, but new ideas suggest we often use simple, fast tricks instead. This is called 'good-enough' comprehension and helps us keep up in fast conversations.
  3. Just like humans, language models also use shortcuts. While some criticize AI for not truly understanding language, humans rely on similar cognitive tricks to quickly navigate and understand communication.

God Help Us, Let's Try to Understand the Self-Memory System

Mind & Mythos • 119 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Memory Identity Cognition Autobiography
  1. Autobiographical memory is how we remember our personal life experiences, like childhood or important events. It’s not just about facts but also how we feel about those memories.
  2. The Self-Memory System connects our memories to our sense of self. It has three parts: the Episodic Memory System for short-term details, the Long-Term Self for broader life stories, and the Working Self that manages our thoughts and goals.
  3. When we recall memories, we don’t just pull them up exactly as they happened. Instead, we reconstruct them based on our goals and how we see ourselves, which can sometimes change over time.

Observer Memory and Imagination as our Inner Social Lab

The Memory Palace • 39 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
📖 Philosophy Cognition Memory Imagination
  1. Episodic memory helps us remember past events, while imagination lets us think about future or imaginary situations. Both can give us insights into our social experiences.
  2. How we see ourselves in memories and imagined situations can change based on what perspective we adopt. We might identify more with our own feelings or how others see us.
  3. The connection between our memories, imagination, and understanding others' thoughts suggests that these mental activities help us navigate social interactions and self-awareness.

Do People Prefer Curved Lines?

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🔬 Science Psychology Design Perception Cognition User Experience
  1. Research indicates that people generally prefer curved lines over straight or angular ones due to associations with grace and gentleness.
  2. Preference for curves is not just psychological, but has roots in our perception of safety and nurture, related to our evolutionary past.
  3. In design, understanding people's preference for curved lines can help create more visually appealing and effective products, but individual factors like personality and culture also play a role.

Results from poll #3 (and updates)

The Counterfactual • 59 implied HN points • 11 Apr 24
🕹 Technology AI LLMs Research Education Cognition
  1. Tokenization won the recent poll, so there will be an in-depth explainer about it soon. This will help people understand how tokenization works in large language models.
  2. The visual reasoning task was a close second, so it might come up in the next poll for more ideas. This shows there is interest in how models think visually.
  3. There are updates about recent publications and discussions on related topics in AI and psychology. These will be shared in upcoming posts, expanding on interesting research topics.

Black Iron Prisons

A blog. • 1 implied HN point • 17 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Worldviews Cognition Mental health Ethics Religion
  1. A black iron prison is like a distorted way of thinking. People in it can hold strong beliefs, but those beliefs may not be based on what’s really true.
  2. It's important to consider that we might all be in some sort of mental prison. A good way to check this is to stay open-minded about our own beliefs and how they shape our views of the world.
  3. When we face big challenges or losses, it can help us break free from these prisons. Sometimes, experiences like therapy or even spiritual practices can help us see things differently.

How to metacognate

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Programming Machine Learning Cognition Data Automation
  1. Working with complex models can be hard when they get confused by incorrect or incomplete information. This can lead to mistakes and conflicts in what they remember.
  2. Creating a stable pattern for how tasks are done can help models work better by giving them a solid structure to follow. This is like giving the model a framework to lean on for more complicated tasks.
  3. As models improve, the need for extra coding to guide their thinking may lessen. Better memory strategies will likely help them function more effectively over time.

Orange peels, human tests, and LLMs

The Counterfactual • 139 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Research Cognition Benchmarking
  1. It's tricky to know what Large Language Models (LLMs) can really do. Figuring out how to measure their skills, like reasoning, is more complicated than it seems.
  2. Using tests designed for humans might not always work for LLMs. Just because a test is good for people doesn't mean it measures the same things for AI.
  3. We need to look deeper into how LLMs solve tasks, not just focus on their test scores. Understanding their inner workings could help us assess their true capabilities better.

Neuroscience/AI - Can rats ‘think’? A paper by Chongxi Lai and colleagues on cognitive teleportation in rats [8 min read]

James W. Phillips' Newsletter • 157 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
🔬 Science Neuroscience AI Cognition Experiment
  1. There is a paper on cognitive teleportation in rats, pushing the boundaries of what we understand about rodent cognition.
  2. The research involves tasks where rats navigate in virtual reality based on their brain signals, not physical movements.
  3. The study successfully shows rats 'thinking' by rewarding them for imagining being in a particular location, showcasing impressive advancements in neuroscience and AI.

Against using Nicholas Cage movies to teach correlation and causation

Unconfusion • 39 implied HN points • 31 Mar 24
🚌 Education Statistics Pedagogy Cognition Research Methodology Data Analysis
  1. Using silly examples to teach correlation and causation can let students off too easily. It's important to challenge them with examples that make them think.
  2. Most teaching examples use time-series data, but many real-world correlations don't fit this model. We should focus on typical variations found in research.
  3. Mixing random correlations with spurious connections creates confusion. Teaching should clearly explain how confounders can lead to false relationships.

Why Job Displacement Predictions are Wrong: Explanations of Cognitive Automation

Scaling Knowledge • 117 implied HN points • 30 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Automation Cognition ML Economics
  1. Predictions about job displacement due to large language models are often wrong because they lack explanations of how LLMs and human intelligence differ.
  2. Jobs are more likely to be augmented than automated by technologies like LLMs, as human creativity and autonomy are essential in many fields like software engineering, medicine, law, and media production.
  3. Regulations on AI and cognitive automation may hinder progress and knowledge creation, leading to unforeseen consequences and limiting the potential benefits of such technologies.