Mall parking lot

Sunset walk

Metaphor

I’m looking forward to talking next month to The Huntington Library & Southern California Society for the Hist. of Med. about my new book, Great Minds in Despair. What can we learn from the neuroscientist refugees from Nazi Germany in the 1930s? Please join us on Thurs., Jan. 15th, 2026 @ noon (PST)

A French cyclist survived for three days after a horrendous 130-foot fall into a ravine, kept alive by the bottles of red wine he had in his shopping bag, police said.

A cross-national analysis finds that as governments become more populist, academic freedom declines doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Students appreciate my Santa powers

Have a seat by the fire

Heinrich Heine not quite with the Xmas spirit.

Generalists do better. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I made a Chevy ad

French idea of an easy trail

Burke would be as appropriate

Friends!!! You know how obsessed I have become with Common Sense. Tom Paine published that pamphlet 250 years ago this January. I published an essay about it TODAY, in the New York Times. Common Sense remains relevant as ever. I hope you enjoy it. Gift article ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Pretty sure learning German shortened my lifespan

Michele Reiner at Donald’s photo shoot

How is the horse larger than the box?

I have read, blurbed, reviewed quite a lot of science books this year. Here are some I have particularly enjoyed, in no particular order. @matthewcobb.bsky.social's long awaited biography of Francis Crick did not disappoint. Authoritative and highly readable. 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at @kingshistory.bsky.social is inviting applications for prospective students to pursue a PhD in the History of Science and Technology. For more information, click here: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py

"Nationalism is made for nobodies. This explains its eternal appeal. It allows them to claim solidarity with something great." —Julien Benda, Les Cahiers d'un clerc, 1936-1949 (Paris, 1949),15 (13 February 1936).

Lovely evening

We need to evolve beaks and wings

Philosophy group at Wageningen University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy of the Life Sciences. Position is in the Philosophy (PHI) group led by @rachelankeny.bsky.social Deadline is 12 January 2026 www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/a... #philsci #philjobs #philsky #hpbio

Yep

Tree with decorations

If one of the languages is German it’s known as brain draining

Strasbourg shop. Cute or kitsch?

And the Guardian! There are elements of her critique I accept, others I don't, but there you go...

The Thing (1982) Dir. John Carpenter

Actor Rock Hudson (1925-1985) was born 100 years ago today in Winnetka, Illinois. In 1965, he visited Scarsdale, New York, to shoot scenes for the John Frankenheimer film SECONDS. I wrote about the Scarsdale filming in 2015. The article is posted here: andybassny.substack.com/p/the-day-ro...

Pink balloon

My kid drew Beabadoobee

word of the day

One year after President Trump’s election victory, it’s clear: he and Defense Secretary Hegseth have weakened our alliances, politicized our military, and made America less safe.

HAPPY FOUR SEASONS TOTAL LANDSCAPING DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE

Au goûter des poires au four, fourrées avec la caramel tarte à l'érable offert par @chanuage.bsky.social sur sablé. C'est délicieux ! @bubulle.bsky.social @jeandupond.bsky.social @solinaya.bsky.social

Mid-‘90s

Just ever so blasphemous, on Emil du Bois-Reymond's birthday, care of artificial intelligence

Reposting this on Emil du Bois-Reymond's birthday today

Emil du Bois-Reymond was born on 7 November 1818. Here is my interview with Joshua Richardson about his importance to the sciences of the mind. www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/emil-du-bo...

I’ve met a few Marxist German bankers.

Cycling with my daughter

I think I need to repost this given the elections

Greatest scientist between Newton & Einstein: James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist, died #OTD 1879; formulated Theory of Electromagnetism, four equations which underpin modern information & communication technologies. Monument George Street Edinburgh | James Clerk Maxwell Foundation Edinburgh

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog?

Dog tongs, once used to remove unruly dogs from the church:

Mood

GOP sale of backbone & loss of moral compass. Some GOPer Congressppl won't even answer their phones. Gov't shut down, don't you know? SNAP now! Feed/help everyone.

Is matter conscious? app.thenewworld.co.uk/story/144378...

How I imagined scholarship