Habits are essential—without them we’d be overwhelmed by the number of conscious decisions we face. But they can make life boring, and questioning them can help us break, or replace, habits that have outlived their usefulness: buff.ly/SVqPwRL

Elephants’ superpower is not in their trunks, but in their ears—alongside their role in hearing (they can pick up low frequency sounds an pinpoint them very accurately, they’re essential to regulate their temperature and used as communication devices: buff.ly/dS6SDcI

Beethoven’s fifth as a play—the performers, the Korean a cappella group Hotplays may hold instruments, but they’re acting out the score using their voice. (Would grumpy Ludwig Van have approved?) buff.ly/m2I4R6m

Making decisions comes at a cost—opportunity cost, metabolic cost, and computational cost. If we feel it is too high, we abandon the decision, or put in less effort, with potentially detrimental effect. An interdisciplinary team mapped these costs: buff.ly/pyBZXIm

Why would we change our mind on the purchase of a statistically sound car on the basis of a single negative second hand report? A clear fallacy… or is it a manifestation of how we handle trust? tomstafford.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy picks the phenomenon apart: buff.ly/B6Q4kVa

Most of us will have a rule about queue jumping—not cool—at least supposedly. We’re civilized after all! But that is not what this rule signals about us—it’s the *exceptions* to the rule (yeh, I shouldn’t but I really was in a hurry) that say who we are: buff.ly/F5CkUtJ

Give low income people an unconditional guaranteed monthly income of $1,000 for 3 years. What changes? Research by @evavivalt.bsky.social et al finds… •work and earn less (4.1 pp/$1800 pa) •no change in job quality •more leisure and entrepreneurial activity buff.ly/irdWtFK

Correct handle: @briandavidearp.bsky.social 🤦‍♂️

Just like the Turing test is no longer a reliable indicator for human-ness, so well-written, coherent prose in a paper is no longer sound evidence of domain fluency and competence, writes @briandavidearp—and it is making him a better reader and editor: buff.ly/q4ser07

Goede raad kan tegenstrijdig zijn—plukken we best de dag, of bewaren we liever het beste voor het laatst? De contradictie reflecteert twee evolutionaire neigingen die beide nuttig—én verkeerd—kunnen zijn. ICYMI, mijn laatste @apache.be stukje van 2025: buff.ly/txPd0lO

Our behaviour (and our judgment of others’) are steered by rules—some forced upon us (laws), some we choose to embrace (social norms), and many we make up ourselves (what’s an acceptable pizza topping). But it’s the exceptions that matter the most: open.substack.com/pub/koenfuci...

New research suggests people who see their political group as a primary victim of injustice tend to support antidemocratic policies. This ‘competitive victimhood’ boosts partisan hostility and viewing opponents as less than human: buff.ly/AmQmrou via @psypost.bsky.social

If the Big Bang created equal amounts of matter and antimatter, how come pretty much all we can detect is matter? New experiments with the mysterious neutrino could open the door to explaining the universe’s missing antimatter: buff.ly/fAp4REv

Alice's Egg Plant (1925) is one of Walt Disney’s 57 live action Alice animations, produced between 1923 and 1927. He failed to sell it until a NY film distributor lost the rights to Felix the Cat (Julius shows an uncanny resemblance) gave him a break: youtu.be/kLwPQIEdjzU

Political polarization often coincides with affective polarization (like/trust ingroups; dislike/distrust outgroups), which influences non-political choices. Nettasinghe et al propose a model to map the dynamics based on ingroup love vs outgroup hate: buff.ly/4LU3J0O HT @jayvanbavel.bsky.social

Why it’s a good idea to stop setting out to win arguments @jeffersonfisher.bsky.social explains the price that we often must pay for indulging this urge, and the triggers to look out for: buff.ly/nNa8LsG

Total hours of sleep, deep sleep duration, and percentage of REM sleep don’t predict the quality of brain cleaning during sleep—“we have been measuring the wrong things about sleep.” buff.ly/GBX6zRI

Een toevallige ontmoeting op de trein die tot meer lijkt te kunnen leiden… impulsief de kans grijpen, of voorzichtig wachten tot het geschikte moment zich aandient? Mijn @apache_be stukje onderzoekt hoe we aan twee tegenstrijdige neigingen zijn gekomen: buff.ly/txPd0lO

During research on the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy to treat Misophonia (a hypersensitivity to certain sounds, eg others’ masticating), a link with broader sensory processing sensitivities—odours and touch—is discovered: buff.ly/WwNcuM3 via @psypost.bsky.social

Surgery would be unthinkable today without local or general anaesthetic. But despite the fact it certainly works and has done for nearly two centuries, we still don’t know precisely how, and experts still have lots of questions. What do we know? buff.ly/9RFkyml

Denmark is not like the US—neither are their postal services. In the latter, remote mailboxes are served by mile and boat. In the former, the national postal services provider since 1924 has ceased to exist as of this new year: buff.ly/t2uEwDa

Only one New Year’s resolution comes with a happiness guarantee: more social connection, argues Paul Dolan: buff.ly/RlS9i7F

Our truth-value judgments don’t simply track whether what was said corresponds with facts, research by Zyglewicz et al suggests: we also consider the speaker’s commitment to accurately informing and avoiding deception (‘truthfulness’): buff.ly/R8WgP1L HT @xphilosopher.bsky.social

What drives the retro tech revival, with people switching to iPods and other ancient MP3-players? (It’s complex😎): buff.ly/rPEtB7R HT @neuroscienceof.bsky.social

Blogged: Overruling Rules My first essay of 2026 is about how our lives are steered by countless rules, but it is the exceptions we make to them (for ourselves and for others) that reveal who we truly are: buff.ly/F5CkUtJ

The effect of the left-digit in ride-sharing apps is significant—research by @johnlist.bsky.social et al suggests as much as $160M in profit is left in the table by not using it: buff.ly/QaM34hn

Our emotions can be a guiding light for making decisions, but their messages to us are not always as plain as we’d like. Seeking emotional clarity can boost that role considerably: buff.ly/uVPQiIs

The wondrous Mexican eyeless cavefish not only reveals how exactly evolution eliminates expensive, superfluous traits in multiple ways. It also opens research avenues on diabetes and obesity in humans, writes @timvernimmen: buff.ly/CJTHami

The idea that we all hate all hypocrites is being questioned by @mhallsworth. There are 4 types of hypocrites—the virtuous hypocrite, the relatable one, the principled one, and the reasonable one—that we may actually like: buff.ly/32Riw01

We judge others’ morally questionable actions as less wrong when they benefit us personally, research by Miazek & Bocian suggests—regardless of any cognitive resource constraints: buff.ly/18FszSq buff.ly/zIfZz7w

“Every generation believes it has finally identified the real vices—the habits that must be curtailed for health, morality, or progress. History suggests caution.”—@pessimistsarc.bsky.social Which of today’s vices will become tomorrow’s virtues? buff.ly/kqyDVAT

AI slop everywhere. Even in restaurant reviews. Can it be detected? buff.ly/VhYYMwA

Are the rich inherently more selfish? Freakonomics looks at the evidence: buff.ly/d7yyGv7

Rituals that persist despite failing to produce desired outcome are not a failure of reasoning, argues Ze Hong. Failures are rationalized through additional explanations, restraining public skepticism, and hard to share or act upon collectively by design: buff.ly/YRfY4nP

On #4, My trilogy on Evolutionary Economics, on how economics is not just a human artefact: * Part 1–Evolutionary origins buff.ly/KPW1fSz * Part 2–Within and Between buff.ly/rhSDVGc * Part 3–The Human Touch buff.ly/ad08nxl Tomorrow the top 3! 7/10

On #5, Are we all Moral Bullshitters?, on acting without regard for morals (like bullshitting is speaking without regard for the truth): buff.ly/uZbn3tT 6/10

Continuing the countdown of my most read essays... On #6, Moral Cowardice – Why we don’t Argue What we Actually Believe, on the disingenuousness on both sides of the assisted dying debate: buff.ly/3LiLQq5 5/10

What does friendship look like from a neurobiology viewpoint? Social interaction is rewarding for the brain—and essential for its health: buff.ly/CBAAAER

Not to pour cold water on today’s New Year’s celebrations, but scientists have worked out the end of the universe is nigher than expected. Instead of 10^1100 years, there’s likely just 10^78 ahead—a huge reduction. Better stop wasting time—Happy 2026! buff.ly/EqjsqHX

The season of conception has a lasting effect on a person’s metabolism, Japanese researchers find—those conceived in colder months have more brown fat, with known metabolic health benefits (mice research suggests paternal cold exposure conception): buff.ly/Gy1YeCj

We “treasure what we measure,” so we fail to recognize car fuel efficiency and undervalue household production like child and elder care, grocery shopping etc, not counted in GDP calculations. What we do and don’t count can create perverse incentives: buff.ly/OSooZP4

Study tests the efficiency, effectiveness, and ethics of AI-agent recruitment interviewing. It led to 12% more job offers, 18% more job starters, and 16% higher 30 day-retention rates. Given the option, 78% of applicants preferred the AI interviewer: buff.ly/E02z1Ur

Our intuitions about political advertising are flawed—microtargeting can work, but its persuasive effect is tiny compared to other aspects of adverts, and it is a long way from mind control. @tomstafford.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy persuasively riffs on a podcast on the topic: buff.ly/MUcPtA5

Hoe komt dat sommigen zeer beheerst hun sinterklaaschocolade met mate over weken of zelfs maanden consumeren, en anderen ze op een dag naar binnen zouden spelen als dat mocht? Mijn laatste @apache.be stukje van 2025 over twee tegenstrijdige tendensen: buff.ly/txPd0lO

Research by Schunck et al suggests more physically attractive people—both women and men—earn more, but finds no evidence that attractive individuals face earnings penalties when employed in occupations typically dominated by the opposite gender: buff.ly/kE3I4l7

Why do we often stay silent in uncomfortable situations, even when our conscience tells us to speak? @profsunitasah.bsky.social explores this puzzling behaviour, and sets out how learning to read that tension—“insinuation anxiety”—and overcome it: buff.ly/nH6Rgb5

30% chance of rain doesn’t mean rain over 30% of the area, less still rain 30% of the time or even rain of 30% heaviness on a scale of 0-100% So what does it mean? buff.ly/uNoWSox

On #7, The False Consensus of Democracy, on how many people support, defend, and fight for democracy... but not necessarily for the same type: buff.ly/86YzE0K Tomorrow three more - numbers 6 to 4. 4/10

On #8, Two Economic Blind Spots We All Share, on how we are not pre-wired to see win-wins (but to assume zero-sums) and on how we overlook or ignore externalities: buff.ly/AnqvfQz 3/10

On #9, The Trouble with the Truth, on how this concept is easily uttered but very hard to actually determine: buff.ly/WJK9lSF 2/10