Reviewers reading my technical appendix:

goo goo g'joob morning, bsky

Breaking: World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural.

Here is an opinionated overview in press at Philosophy Compass. Critical 4E cognitive science, as we call this emerging research program, adopts the 4E frameworks and concepts but with a critical lens: questioning its hidden assumptions and leveraging its theoretical resources for social criticism.

sometimes I’ll make a joke to my wife and she’ll roll her eyes and ask if I’m “gonna post that one on bluesky.” I mean, yes, but her tone is very hurtful

A message for you all to carry through the year

Looking south-west towards Firle Beacon, yesterday

Now that ‘I got rhythm’ has entered the public domain, I predict the emergence a whole genre of music in which talented musicians improvise over it (and similar songs perhaps), engaged in complex harmonic investigations, treating it as a ‘standard’ of sorts.

Shaggy the singer's real name is Orville and Shaggy off Scooby-Doo's real name is Norville

I've waited 3 years to make this post

A while ago, I posted a set of notes about the Bayesian approach to inquiry and how it can help us think about questions raised in the recent literature on zetetic epistemology. I’ve now corralled that material into something like a first draft of a book. I hope it might be of interest to others.

a good cover for a spy would be as a shepherd. someone would say "I think there's a shepherd spy" but everyone would think they're talking about shepherd's pie

I think this in general about life in the UK - actually talking to real people and having a sense of every day interactions is *far* more reassuring than you'd think from observing our media and politics. The actual population are just far far nicer than our governing class, consistently so.

I always tell students if you ask a good question the article will write itself

A while ago, I posted a set of notes about the Bayesian approach to inquiry and how it can help us think about questions raised in the recent literature on zetetic epistemology. I’ve now corralled that material into something like a first draft of a book. I hope it might be of interest to others.

Philosophy job candidates: may you never have to go from the APA to the ER 🤣

throwback to this how it started / how it’s going pair from Christmas 2020

Very lovely Christmas visitor, my canine niece Belle.

New post! There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost. Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end. www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...

I personally believe We Need To Talk About Kevin is the very best of the Home Alone movies.

'Soft-focused' fur and collar really looks like photography. Blurry distant objects are common in classic painting but blurry close-ups are not (?) Accentuating central, sharp detail via 'soft' framing is an old technique, of course. That's what gilt picture frames do.

to anyone teaching an epistemology class anytime soon, you're welcome

That time of year again!

My 15yo gave me a very useful Christmas present. You are welcome to it, my old friends

#philosophy #philsky #philosophysky #cogsci #academia #science

My first paper on disinformation just published. I argue that disinformation should be understood in pragmatic terms (e.g., changing content to influence choice) not epistemic terms (e.g., inducing inaccurate beliefs). You can view with this link. Spoiler in title. link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007...

I heard someone describe A Christmas Carol as the first time travel story recently, and it seems the season’s ability to warp the temporal dimension continues unabated

Publication day! It’s been a long journey to get to this point, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s supported that, and to @routledgebooks.bsky.social for publishing it.

Mountain light, Ben Inverveigh #Scotland #LochTulla #Argyll www.damianshields.com

Beinn a'Bheithir 'Mountain of the thunderbolt' #Scotland #Glenachulish #Highlands www.damianshields.com

Tomorrow is the last day to apply for SSNAP! Please spread the word! #neuroscience #philosophy #neurophilosophy

Alan Bennett’s diary, 1984.

Final blogpost of the year: in which I enthuse about Alex Meehan and Snow Zhang’s excellent recent paper ‘Bayes is Back’!

CHIVELORD HAS DONE IT!!! PERFECT CHIVES ON DAY 70!!! TOLL THE TOWN BELL!!! HEAR YE, HEAR YE!!! U/F1EXICAN HAS PERFECTED THE ART OF CHIVE-CUTTING!! CELEBRATE, YE GOOD PEOPLE!!

Final blogpost of the year: in which I enthuse about Alex Meehan and Snow Zhang’s excellent recent paper ‘Bayes is Back’!

A Tufted Titmouse waits on a nearby branch for sunflower seeds and peanuts to be offered.

Reminder that the deadline for this is next month (actually, I'm going to double-check this is still when it is, but in the meantime let's just go with what's on the website):

Powerful Rest And Fluids Industry Influencing Doctors' Treatment Of Colds https://theonion.com/powerful-rest-and-fluids-industry-influencing-doctors-t-1819570463/

Astonished that Publishers Weekly has put out this great review of DISPATCHES FROM THE AVANT-GARAGE. (What is happening I never get mainstream attention, my world is the weird world (good)) But what I hope is that more people will find out about the Alternative Press, and you know?, now they might!

so does philosophy

can’t, i’m propagating knowledge

Quick question: does this also apply to one’s view about the fundamental source of epistemic value for credences and its role in grounding epistemic norms for reasoning under uncertainty? Asking for a friend.

I call this "The Lying Screen"

—I’ve been asked to baptise the King of Spain’s daughter —Infanta? —No, holy water as usual. Weird thing to ask honestly

Just saw a red kite out of my train window. The resurgence of kites is one of the best things to happen in the U.K. over the last few decades.

Brb writing a 250 page review of the 200 page review of the 145 page book

One of this year's recipients of the prestigious Leibniz prize is a philosopher...

Oh hell yeah