Nancy Kanwisher
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Nancy Kanwisher
@nancykanwisher.bsky.social
3K followers 450 following 460 posts

Scientist, mentor, activist, explorer.

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Nancy Gail Kanwisher FBA is the Walter A Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a researcher at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. She studies the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying human visual perception and cognition. .. more

Neuroscience 75%
Computer science 12%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 2h
Thank you @michellegoldberg.bsky.social for this encouraging piece.
Let's fight harder everyone in 2026 and get rid of this menace!
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/o...
Opinion | Trump Is Getting Weaker, and the Resistance Is Getting Stronger
www.nytimes.com

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 19h
Merry Christmas @bjbalas.bsky.social !
I think we have one in the pantry :-) I'll get it out for tonight!
bjbalas.bsky.social Ben Balas @bjbalas.bsky.social · 19h
I didn't grow up with these as a holiday tradition, but I now think of @nancykanwisher.bsky.social every year when we get them from our stockings. The 1st time I got one I was gently tapping it on the table to no avail & Nancy showed me the proper technique of whacking the hell out of it. 🎄🍊🔨

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

bjbalas.bsky.social
Ben Balas @bjbalas.bsky.social · 19h
I didn't grow up with these as a holiday tradition, but I now think of @nancykanwisher.bsky.social every year when we get them from our stockings. The 1st time I got one I was gently tapping it on the table to no avail & Nancy showed me the proper technique of whacking the hell out of it. 🎄🍊🔨

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

mondoweiss.net
Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 1d
Palestinian Christians in Gaza are celebrating another year of surviving genocide, while Palestinians in the birthplace of Jesus are under brutal Israeli military occupation. Israel has bombed, demolished, crushed and killed hundereds of thousands of Palestinians in the Holy Land.

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

languagemit.bsky.social @languagemit.bsky.social · 1d
New book! I have written a book, called Syntax: A cognitive approach, published by MIT Press.

This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
tedlab.mit.edu

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Marc Lynch, Nancy Kanwisher

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 4d
Doctors Without Borders urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death. "At least 13 people, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather and a lack of adequate shelter and aid – blocked by Israel"
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12...
MSF urges Israel to let critical aid into Gaza as children freeze to death
At least 13 people in Gaza, including two-week-old and one-month-old babies, have died from winter weather.
www.aljazeera.com

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 4d
This is an unacceptable way to treat the brilliant international scientists who run American science!
crampell.bsky.social Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 4d
Skilled-worker visa holders who traveled back to India this month to renew their US work permits are now stranded far from home after their appointments were abruptly canceled by U.S. consular offices and rescheduled for months later.
H-1B workers flew to India to renew U.S. visas. Now they’re stuck.
H-1B holders who returned to India this month to renew their visas had consular appointments canceled, stranding them far from their homes and jobs, lawyers said.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller , and 5 more

crampell.bsky.social
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 4d
Skilled-worker visa holders who traveled back to India this month to renew their US work permits are now stranded far from home after their appointments were abruptly canceled by U.S. consular offices and rescheduled for months later.
H-1B workers flew to India to renew U.S. visas. Now they’re stuck.
H-1B holders who returned to India this month to renew their visas had consular appointments canceled, stranding them far from their homes and jobs, lawyers said.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 4d
Two thirds or more of both Republicans and Democrats say that the label "antisemitism" is used frequently/sometimes to delegitimize critics of Israel and political opponents:
sadat.umd.edu/sites/sadat....

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

hannahnatanson.bsky.social
Hannah Natanson @hannahnatanson.bsky.social · 5d
This account of how the Trump admin carried out a once-unthinkable overhaul of government in 2025 is based on a year’s worth of messages and interviews with more than 1,200 current and former federal workers. Please read from me and @merylkornfield.bsky.social. wapo.st/4b14KAy
The year Trump broke the federal government
How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.
wapo.st

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 6d
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reports 90% of Gazans lost their homes since October 2023, with the average resident displaced six times.
www.haaretz.com/gaza/2025-12...
Average Palestinian in Gaza displaced six times during war, Israeli rights group finds
B'Tselem Reports 90% of Gazans Lost Their Homes Since October 2023, With the Average Resident Displaced Six Times. Evacuations Often Gave Minutes' Notice, Forcing Families Into Tents, Shelters, and Da...
www.haaretz.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 7d
Looking forward to reading the NYTimes public editor’s reaction to David Brooks’ failure to disclose his connection to Jeffrey Epstein when he wrote a column saying the case was unimportant. Oh wait: they don’t have a public editor anymore. Never mind.

Reposted by Elizabeth Sharrow, Nancy Kanwisher

indivisible.org
Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 7d
Minnesota’s Indivisible Two Harbors is so committed to fighting for our democracy that they rally every Saturday morning — even when it’s dangerously cold outside: “Dress warm and join us!"

Find your local organizers: indivisible.org/groups
A photo of Indivisible Two Harbors (dressed warm) standing along a street with signs that read “DEMOCRACY NOT MONARCHY” and “PEACE/NO WAR.” Text over the photo says “DECEMBER 13, 2025/-8°F.”

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 7d
Important caveat on simplistic one-gene alterations as explanations for the mergence of human cognition.
profsimonfisher.bsky.social Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 8d
While stories of singular DNA changes that drove evolution of human brain/behaviour remain seductive, advances across multiple fields of biology cast doubt on such simplistic narratives of our origins. A new paper from my lab shows how biobanks may speak to this fundamental question.🧪
Explainer🧵👇1/n
Evaluating the effects of archaic protein-altering variants in living human adults
Promise and pitfalls of using large biobanks to study impacts of archaic protein-coding variants in living humans.
www.science.org

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Nancy Kanwisher, Nicholas A. Christakis

profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 8d
While stories of singular DNA changes that drove evolution of human brain/behaviour remain seductive, advances across multiple fields of biology cast doubt on such simplistic narratives of our origins. A new paper from my lab shows how biobanks may speak to this fundamental question.🧪
Explainer🧵👇1/n
Evaluating the effects of archaic protein-altering variants in living human adults
Promise and pitfalls of using large biobanks to study impacts of archaic protein-coding variants in living humans.
www.science.org

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Hisham Zerriffi

jvp.bsky.social
Jewish Voice for Peace @jvp.bsky.social · 11d
We grieve the loss of life in Sydney, Australia, where gunmen attacked a celebration of the first night of Hanukkah, killing at least 11 people. This was a terrifying incident of hate-fueled violence that no community should face.
Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 12d
A magical first snow of the year in Sippewissett.

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

mondoweiss.net
Mondoweiss @mondoweiss.net · 12d
READ: Dr. Nahla Al-Sarraj gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers by discussing the Gaza genocide. She was fired after a pressure campaign from Israel lobby groups that she believes aimed to silence her. Despite this, she remains unbowed.
mondoweiss.net/2025/12/pro-...
Pro-Palestinian influencer Dr. Nahla Al-Sarraj fired following Zionist smear campaign
Dr. Nahla Al-Sarraj gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers by discussing the Gaza genocide. She was fired after a pressure campaign from Israel lobby groups that she believes aimed to…
mondoweiss.net

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 13d
Always worth listening to the great moral giant of our time Ta-Nahisi Coates:
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13d
“Tell your children who the cowards were.”

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Kevin Carey, David G. Stewart , and 3 more

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13d
“Tell your children who the cowards were.”
Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 13d
Yup I realized that when one of his New Yorker articles discussed his great idea that the brain might have a special region for face recognition, all presented as his idea long after this had been widely published.
melaniemitchell.bsky.social Melanie Mitchell @melaniemitchell.bsky.social · 13d
Incredible piece on Oliver Sacks. If you were ever awed at his supposedly true stories (I remember being stunned by the account of the autistic twins who rattled off large prime numbers), read this. He told wonderful stories, but they were in large part fiction.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost?
The scientist was famous for linking healing with storytelling. Sometimes that meant reshaping patients’ reality.
www.newyorker.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher, Jesse R. Lasky

melaniemitchell.bsky.social
Melanie Mitchell @melaniemitchell.bsky.social · 13d
Incredible piece on Oliver Sacks. If you were ever awed at his supposedly true stories (I remember being stunned by the account of the autistic twins who rattled off large prime numbers), read this. He told wonderful stories, but they were in large part fiction.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost?
The scientist was famous for linking healing with storytelling. Sometimes that meant reshaping patients’ reality.
www.newyorker.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

mickbonner.bsky.social
Mick Bonner @mickbonner.bsky.social · 13d
Hopkins Cog Sci is hiring! We have two open faculty positions: one in vision, and one language. Please repost!
Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 14d
Weird to be quoting Goerge Will, but he got this bit right:
"Watching today's politics toy with an institution of MIT's complexity and importance is like watching a toddler play with Sèvres porcelain."
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Let’s take a closer look at MIT, one target of Trump’s blunderbuss
It’s alarming to see such a complex, important institution subject to the whims of today’s politics.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

stelhami.bsky.social
Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 14d
Natural disaster amplifies Israeli-made catastrophe: At least 12 people dead or missing with at least 13 buildings collapsed and 27,000 tents flooded in Gaza as devastation from floods spreads.
www.cbc.ca/news/world/g...
At least 12 Palestinians dead or missing in Gaza as devastation from floods spreads | CBC News
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans face flooding from heavy rains, and materials for shelters and sandbags are not being allowed to enter the enclave, the UN International Organization for Migr...
www.cbc.ca

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 14d
socialistforum.dsausa.org/issues/fall-...
An inspiring story about Mexico City's UTOPIAs (Units for Transformation and Organization for Inclusion and Social Harmony) that provided needed services and transform lives. We could do these here in the US!
Mexico City’s UTOPIAs – Socialist Forum
socialistforum.dsausa.org

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 14d
‪@neuranna.bsky.social‬ and
@evfedorenko.bsky.social tackle with neuroimaging a phenomenon identified in the 1970s by the pioneering work of the great Molly Potter: conceptual information processing common to pictorial and verbal input. Thrilled to have played a small part in this exciting work.

Reposted by Nancy Kanwisher

neuranna.bsky.social
Anna (Anya) Ivanova @neuranna.bsky.social · 14d
The last chapter of my PhD (expanded) is finally out as a preprint!

“Semantic reasoning takes place largely outside the language network” 🧠🧐

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

What is semantic reasoning? Read on! 🧵👇
Semantic reasoning takes place largely outside the language network
The brain's language network is often implicated in the representation and manipulation of abstract semantic knowledge. However, this view is inconsistent with a large body of evidence suggesting that...
www.biorxiv.org

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 14d
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Tenured US professor fired over pro-Palestinian protests contests dismissal
Sang Hea Kil is first tenured faculty member fired from a public university in connection to the protests
www.theguardian.com

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 15d
Just heard from a brilliant young university student I know who is living in a tent in Gaza. She says the rain and thunder is extreme and she is worried her whole tent will be whipped away in the storm. How dare we allow this to happen?
dropsitenews.com Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 15d
Israel has blocked 4000 pallets of shelter materials since the ceasefire, allowing only a trickle of tents and tarpaulins, which helped only 88,000 of the 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who desperately need cover from a brutal winter storm.

Video: Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده via X (@RamAbdu)