Yet another unpublished studies finds #smartphone bans in #schools don't work (but pretends it did). Also, 2 years into #florida's state cellphone ban, Florida's standardized test scores drop to their lowest in 20 years. Read about it here: grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/another-st...

There’s a whole bunch of silly myths about academia we see on television and in the movies…find out the cold hard truth here! grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/surprising...

Coming tomorrow! Secrets revealed! For paid subscribers only (well, some tidbits for the freebies). Get your paid subscription now!

Curious if anyone could recommend a good book on the history of the Navajo. Not just the code talkers. As per usual, I’d be interested in something fair and balanced, neither portraying Native Americans, like they were innocent children, nor blowing past some of the real challenges, they have faced.

In my essay today for Real Clear Investigations, I look at the #loneliness epidemic. Is it a real issue, or news media/government policy hype? Read to find out! www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/202...

We've now had two unpublished studies of #cellphonebans get ballyhooed as if they were evidence in support of the bans. A closer look at both has revealed that the impact was basically indistinguishable from zero. Thus it is with moral panics. Be wary, we'll be seeing more of the same.

In the spirit of Halloween, my post today is some science facts about bats. Enjoy and don’t eat too much candy! grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/bats-bats-...

AI music is here and it's good. But are we allowed to like it? My latest... open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

I talked with Chicago's Morning answer about the decline in youth identifying as nonbinary & along with other data, how this helps documented that #socialmedia use had nothing to do with #genderidentity. It was a great & fun conversation give it a listen: morninganswerchicago.com/chris-fergus...

Was the hypothesis that #socialmedia caused some youth to identify as #transgender wrong? It’s starting to look that way. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Everybody knows you can just turn the notifications on your #smartphone off all by yourself, right? Or just not say "yes" when your apps ask about activating them in the first place?

ICYMI: New analysis finds that trends in youth gender identification are unrelated to #socialmedia consumption. Fits well with our research also finding no correlation. The Littman/Shrier/Haidt hypothesis of "social media made kids trans" may be dying x.com/epkaufm/stat...

Today, I take a look at how the climate activist movement has comprehensively failed. They failed to consider how persuasion actually can work. Have a read! open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Got or about to get a PhD in social psychology? Tired of standing on the breadlines? Not a psychopath? Can teach research methods to undergrads? Like Disney/Universal and the beach? Come work for us at @StetsonU! Job ad below! www.stetson.edu/administrati...

Today I talk about the brouhaha over Bari Weiss ascending to the Editor-In-Chief position at CBS News. I argue that the real problem how news media has become obsessed with news personalities, with objective fact-telling the primary casualty. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

In my post today, I consider the alarmist trend to compare every conceivable public health issue as “the new cigarettes”. It’s most often misleading, isn’t working and maybe we should stop. Have a read! open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

In my post today I look at our new study of playing as or against orcs in video games. Consistent with previous data, exposure to evil orcs in a video game was not related to racist attitudes . This “orcs are racist” hypothesis is scientifically dead. grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/a-new-stud...

Recently the Economist Magazine claimed a study in India provided a “ringing endorsement” of cellphone bans in schools. But did the study in question do any such thing? Or was this yet another example of the kind of sloppy journalism that typifies moral panics? open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

A pretty good takedown of the MIT #ai study that claimed using AI to help write essays damages the brain. This unpublished study was accepted by the news media and general public with zero critical thinking and can support no such conclusion. www.piratewires.com/p/chatgpt-do...

Today, I look at the Trump administration's claims via RFK that Tyelon causes autism. I focus on one systematic review used to support the government's case. Is it strong evidence that we should be concerned about women using Tylenol during pregnancy? Have a read! open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

New study alert. #videogame experiment finds playing a game killing evil orcs vs playing as a morally neutral orc does not increase ethnocentrism. Nor do players finding the concept of evil orcs to be offensive. Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Today I look at the cancel culture on the right (mirroring 2020 on the left) that has arisen in the wake of #KirkAssassination. Some online responses to the murder have been gross. But I worry about giving power to either mobs or the government to censor speech. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

New article alert. We used CDC data and found little evidence for a relationship between #socialmedia and screen time and self-identified #transgender status in youth. Give it a read: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Haha, this may be the best social media post I've seen today.

Haven't given it a full read yet, but looks like the Irish Ombudsman for Children’s Office is coming out against cellphone bans in schools, noting they may cause more problems than they fix. www.oco.ie/news/phone-b...

My interview with Maggie Smith at Real Clear Investigations as we discuss the research on #domesticviolence and whether women perpetrate such crimes as often as men, and resources (or lack thereof) for male victims. Have a look! www.realclearinvestigations.com/video/2025/0...

Today, I look at the concerns that #AI is disrupting student learning. There's probably real reason to believe AI is disrupting out-of-class writing. But is this much different from past plagiarism, essay mills or Cliffnotes? open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

In my essay today for @freethinkmedia I look at the recent Florida "Game of Thrones" #AI #suicide lawsuit. Is there reason to believe AI is responsible for a teen's death? Have a read: www.freethink.com/artificial-i...

I appreciate @JohnStossel for having this debate on #socialmedia #smartphones and other tech panics. This was a great opportunity to raise some of my concerns with claims being made by Jonathan Haidt and others. Have a look: www.youtube.com/watch?v=61jr...

A new article looks at #cellphone #Smartphones and #socialmedia bans and, generally, finds the evidence for them to be lacking. This is going to come crashing down at some point: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

In my essay today for @RCInvestigates I examine the issue of women's involvement in perpetrating #domesticviolence and why, despite decades of research suggesting it is about equal to men's, it's such a neglected topic: www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/202...

In my essay today, I look at the obsessive lefting narrative that, in the age of #DonaldTrump, the left is fighting fascism. At this point I think we can say this strategy has been a disaster for the Democrats I argue they should try a newer, saner strategy. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Another article by @enbrown.bsky.social examines the FT conscientiousness freak-out...and finds it lacking. Good stuff: reason.com/2025/08/18/i...

Today, I examine the claim that #conscientiousness is dropping among young people and that #smartphones and #socialmedia (and streaming services?) are responsible for this. The Financial Times’ article on this appears to be the result of data torturing. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

In my essay today I look at #mankeeping, why the invitation for men to be "more vulnerable" was probably always a false flag, and whether there's some misandry creeping into our discourse about "what's wrong with men today." Give it a read! open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Interesting article on how the term "toxic masculinity" became, itself, toxic and stigmatizing (and arguably sexist). I tend to agree...it's time to stop using it. #toxicmasculinity www.the-independent.com/life-style/t...

Teen #depression and #suicide keep going down during the #socialmedia age suggesting books like Anxious Generation were largely based in a temporary ecological fallacy. apple.news/AcvfpIlS6Q0C...

Today I talk with Maggie Miller from RCI about #socialmedia, #dopamine & #addiction & how the "dopamine hits" narrative is complete bunk (no dopamine is not an "addiction" neurotransmitter in our brains). It was a fun conversation & hope you enjoy it! www.realclearinvestigations.com/video/2025/0...

In my essay today I talk about what a dumpster fire #Alzheimer's Disease research has become. What does this mean for medical science more broadly? Can this be fixed? open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Have seen a few mentions on here lately about the 1980s ninja panic in the UK, so am reposting my piece about how this led to the BBC broadcasting the Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles in 1990 tribunemag.co.uk/2021/04/when...

I talk today with Chicago's Morning Answer radio examining Addiction, Social Media, and the Dopamine Myth. Give it a listen, it was a fun conversation. morninganswerchicago.com/examining-ad...

I once met a man who claimed to be one of the 5 great Roman emperors. Personally, I thought he had a lot of Nerva.

Today Ive written about the Dopamine Myth...the belief dopamine makes activities like video games or social media "addictive". All the talk of "dopamine hits" is pseudoscientific nonsense...neither reflecting how brains nor pleasant activities work. www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/202...

Many academics express concern about hgetting "Are you a parent" questions from audiences. Today, I look into this & give what I hope will be constructive suggestions for how academics may understand & respond to that question. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

I see a lot of people wring their hands about #smartphones and push notifications. Do people not know you can turn those off pretty easily? Or just not elect to activate them when you install a new ap in the first place (most do ask)?

The Eternal Escalator of Worry. This is a logical fallacy often employed by scholars and policy makers implying that something is always getting worse (even when it often is not). Typical framing may be things like, "Kids today are doing X at younger and younger ages"

In my post today, I talk a little bit about deus ex machina in horror writing and how authors may avoid it. In part 1 I focus on what I’m calling a priori deux ex machina…poor story setup, internal inconsistencies and plot holes. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

My review of the @nytimes.com podcast #Theprotocol. The youth gender medicine debate is even more a mess than we thougt...unfortunately the podcast itself can't rise above this. I listened to it so you don't have to. open.substack.com/pub/grimoire...

Literal Literary has run a spotlight for my book The Secrets of Grimoire Manor. Includes some background, blurb and a scene from the book. Give it a look here: literalliterary.com/blog/book-sp... You can always grab your copy of the book here: www.amazon.com/Secrets-Grim...

Some nice news...my book, The Secrets of Grimoire Manor got a beautiful five-star review from Horror Addicts. You can read the review here: horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2025/05/04/b...