David Barack
@dlbarack.bsky.social
Philosopher and neuroscientist | Studying reasoning and foraging | Conceptual and theoretical foundations of cognition | #T1D
Reposted by David Barack
Is this something YOU ever ask yourself?
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
Brett Karlan, AI empiricism: the only game in town? - PhilPapers
I offer an epistemic argument against the dominance of empiricism and empiricist-inspired methods in contemporary machine learning (ML) research. I first establish, as many ML researchers and philosop...
philpapers.org
November 4, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Is this something YOU ever ask yourself?
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
"Man, Brett Karlan (aka Old Jerry Fodor) claims to love Fodor, but has never published anything defending anything remotely Fodorian. What's up with that?"
This was a puzzle that long perplexed the scholars... until now!
philpapers.org/rec/KARAET-4
Reposted by David Barack
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
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ssnap.submittable.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by David Barack
Syntax, Language?
See you in 20 minutes
See you in 20 minutes
**CORRECTION of link**
Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/language
Neuro & Philo Salon: join our discussion with
@elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Registration:
umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/language
Neuro & Philo Salon: join our discussion with
@elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Registration:
umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Syntax, Language?
See you in 20 minutes
See you in 20 minutes
Reposted by David Barack
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
3 Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Champalimaud Foundation (Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
November 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
🚨Job alert🚨
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
The lab has up to *3 postdoc openings* for comp systems neuroscientists interested in describing and manipulating neural population dynamics mediating behaviour
This is part of a collaborative ARIA grant "4D precision control of cortical dynamics"
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/383909
Reposted by David Barack
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
November 4, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Nearly ready to go! Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025!
Reposted by David Barack
New post now up on THE FEEDBACK: Epistemic reduction of the concept of ‘decision’ by: Daniel Burnston (Tulane University)
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
November 3, 2025 at 11:51 PM
New post now up on THE FEEDBACK: Epistemic reduction of the concept of ‘decision’ by: Daniel Burnston (Tulane University)
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Read the post here: thefeedback.blog/2025/11/03/e...
Reposted by David Barack
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs
The selective revision of beliefs in light of new evidence has been considered one of the hallmarks of human-level rationality. However, tests of this ability in other species are lacking. We examined...
www.science.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵
Reposted by David Barack
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...
rdcu.be
October 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Reposted by David Barack
*Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/learning*
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
October 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
*Neurocomputational architecture for syntax/learning*
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Neuroscience & Philo Salon: join our discussion with @elliot-murphy.bsky.social with commentaries by @wmatchin.bsky.social and @sandervanbree.bsky.social
Nov 5, 10:30 am eastern US
Register:
umd.zoom.us/my/luizpesso...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by David Barack
New preprint written with the wonderful philosopher William Ramsey: Mental Representation Without Neural Representation: Understanding The Evidence osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
October 18, 2025 at 8:18 AM
New preprint written with the wonderful philosopher William Ramsey: Mental Representation Without Neural Representation: Understanding The Evidence osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by David Barack
Our paper on foraging is now published in Neuron! Read it here:
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This project was co-led by Michael Bukwich (not on Bluesky) and me, with major contributions from all co-authors. Huge thanks to the whole team!
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This project was co-led by Michael Bukwich (not on Bluesky) and me, with major contributions from all co-authors. Huge thanks to the whole team!
Competitive integration of time and reward explains value-sensitive foraging decisions and frontal cortex ramping dynamics
Bukwich and Campbell et al. show that mice integrate elapsed time and reward intake,
scaled by a latent patience variable, to decide when to leave virtual “patches.” Frontal
cortex ramping activity ma...
www.cell.com
August 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Our paper on foraging is now published in Neuron! Read it here:
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This project was co-led by Michael Bukwich (not on Bluesky) and me, with major contributions from all co-authors. Huge thanks to the whole team!
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This project was co-led by Michael Bukwich (not on Bluesky) and me, with major contributions from all co-authors. Huge thanks to the whole team!
This paper is amazing. I saw Henry present these ideas Summer of '24 and it was mind-blowing. Someone needs to put a force-meter on the NHP headposts!
Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
October 14, 2025 at 1:24 PM
This paper is amazing. I saw Henry present these ideas Summer of '24 and it was mind-blowing. Someone needs to put a force-meter on the NHP headposts!
Reposted by David Barack
Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
October 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Really interesting work by Bakhurin and colleagues challenging the reward prediction error hypothesis of dopamine:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I love this figure which both echoes and undermines the famous figure from Schultz et al. (1997).
Reposted by David Barack
Fellowship on AI and Knowledge at Wisconsin-Madison. H/T Scott Newstok irh.wisc.edu/irh-fellowsh... Deadline Nov 20.
October 14, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Fellowship on AI and Knowledge at Wisconsin-Madison. H/T Scott Newstok irh.wisc.edu/irh-fellowsh... Deadline Nov 20.
Reposted by David Barack
Coming up October 29th! Registration link below 👇
October 14, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Coming up October 29th! Registration link below 👇
Reposted by David Barack
📣 BIG NEWS EVERYONE. I am so excited to announce…
🎉 I’m moving to University College London @ucl.ac.uk to join the Experimental Psychology department in @uclpals.bsky.social! 🎉
The big move happens in spring/summer. So I’m already exploring recruiting staff & students at UCL for fall 2026!
🎉 I’m moving to University College London @ucl.ac.uk to join the Experimental Psychology department in @uclpals.bsky.social! 🎉
The big move happens in spring/summer. So I’m already exploring recruiting staff & students at UCL for fall 2026!
October 13, 2025 at 4:29 PM
📣 BIG NEWS EVERYONE. I am so excited to announce…
🎉 I’m moving to University College London @ucl.ac.uk to join the Experimental Psychology department in @uclpals.bsky.social! 🎉
The big move happens in spring/summer. So I’m already exploring recruiting staff & students at UCL for fall 2026!
🎉 I’m moving to University College London @ucl.ac.uk to join the Experimental Psychology department in @uclpals.bsky.social! 🎉
The big move happens in spring/summer. So I’m already exploring recruiting staff & students at UCL for fall 2026!
Reposted by David Barack
ICYMI, here is the press release for my study with @drjuliawester.bsky.social - we surveyed over 800 scientists who use social media. They overwhelmingly agree that Twitter is no longer useful or pleasant, and that for all professional online scientist goals, Bluesky is superior.
🧪 #SciComm 🌍
🧪 #SciComm 🌍
“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant
My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…
www.southernfriedscience.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:32 AM
ICYMI, here is the press release for my study with @drjuliawester.bsky.social - we surveyed over 800 scientists who use social media. They overwhelmingly agree that Twitter is no longer useful or pleasant, and that for all professional online scientist goals, Bluesky is superior.
🧪 #SciComm 🌍
🧪 #SciComm 🌍
Reposted by David Barack
🚨Registration for Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 closes October 20th 🚨
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Home - The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging
uobevents.eventsair.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:23 AM
🚨Registration for Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 closes October 20th 🚨
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Speakers
@mkflugge.bsky.social @aaronbornstein.bsky.social @benhayden.bsky.social @ellileadbeater.bsky.social
@davidrobbe.bsky.social @dlbarack.bsky.social @becketebs.bsky.social
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Reposted by David Barack
𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗫
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
October 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗫
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by David Barack
Pleased to have this review out in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social. In it we discuss various aspects of the intersection between foraging behaviors and neuroscience, and offer some future directions: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
The study of foraging is central to a renewed interest in naturalistic behavior in neuroscience. Applying a foraging framework grounded in behavioral …
www.sciencedirect.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Pleased to have this review out in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social. In it we discuss various aspects of the intersection between foraging behaviors and neuroscience, and offer some future directions: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by David Barack
🚨Big news!🚨
The lab is relocating to Lisbon, joining a great team of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists, and the Neurotechnology Warehouse, a new initiative to bridge basic and translational research.
I'll be sharing postdoc openings soon. Come join us in this new incarnation of the lab!
The lab is relocating to Lisbon, joining a great team of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists, and the Neurotechnology Warehouse, a new initiative to bridge basic and translational research.
I'll be sharing postdoc openings soon. Come join us in this new incarnation of the lab!
🧠🎼 What does it take to restore movement? Neuroscientist and engineer, @juangallego.bsky.social, joins the new Centre for Restorative Neurotechnology at the Champalimaud Foundation.
🔗 Find out more in this interview: www.fchampalimaud.org/news/juan-al...
🔗 Find out more in this interview: www.fchampalimaud.org/news/juan-al...
October 7, 2025 at 4:37 PM
🚨Big news!🚨
The lab is relocating to Lisbon, joining a great team of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists, and the Neurotechnology Warehouse, a new initiative to bridge basic and translational research.
I'll be sharing postdoc openings soon. Come join us in this new incarnation of the lab!
The lab is relocating to Lisbon, joining a great team of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists, and the Neurotechnology Warehouse, a new initiative to bridge basic and translational research.
I'll be sharing postdoc openings soon. Come join us in this new incarnation of the lab!
Reposted by David Barack
Two-year postdoc w/ Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science! Scholars in all areas of #philsci, inclusive of philosophical approaches to logic&math, are eligible. This is understood broadly to include issues in the history&practice of particular sciences.Deadline 5 Dec 2025.
buff.ly/MhR4PcK
buff.ly/MhR4PcK
Two-Year Post-Doctoral Associate, Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota - PhilJobs:JFP
An international database of jobs for philosophers
philjobs.org
October 2, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Two-year postdoc w/ Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science! Scholars in all areas of #philsci, inclusive of philosophical approaches to logic&math, are eligible. This is understood broadly to include issues in the history&practice of particular sciences.Deadline 5 Dec 2025.
buff.ly/MhR4PcK
buff.ly/MhR4PcK
Reposted by David Barack
🎲 Neurohumanities Booster Session 🧠
Neurology Through the Artist's Lens: Gamifying Visual Arts to Enhance Preclinical Neuroscience Education with Tammy Kaplan, MD and Christine Bentley, PhD
Held on zoom with @neurohumanitiesn.bsky.social!
Register here:
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Neurology Through the Artist's Lens: Gamifying Visual Arts to Enhance Preclinical Neuroscience Education with Tammy Kaplan, MD and Christine Bentley, PhD
Held on zoom with @neurohumanitiesn.bsky.social!
Register here:
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
October 5, 2025 at 7:13 PM
🎲 Neurohumanities Booster Session 🧠
Neurology Through the Artist's Lens: Gamifying Visual Arts to Enhance Preclinical Neuroscience Education with Tammy Kaplan, MD and Christine Bentley, PhD
Held on zoom with @neurohumanitiesn.bsky.social!
Register here:
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Neurology Through the Artist's Lens: Gamifying Visual Arts to Enhance Preclinical Neuroscience Education with Tammy Kaplan, MD and Christine Bentley, PhD
Held on zoom with @neurohumanitiesn.bsky.social!
Register here:
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Check it out!
🧠 Phil & Neuro Salon: 10.23.25 at 12pm EST 🧠
Held on zoom and open to all!
Register for the talk here: umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Held on zoom and open to all!
Register for the talk here: umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
October 5, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Check it out!
Reposted by David Barack
We're a month further into the job market - how are things looking? The good news is that the market does seem to have been delayed: ~150 new listings have appeared since my last post. The bad news is that the total is still substantially lower than what it was during the covid dip.
October 3, 2025 at 5:26 PM
We're a month further into the job market - how are things looking? The good news is that the market does seem to have been delayed: ~150 new listings have appeared since my last post. The bad news is that the total is still substantially lower than what it was during the covid dip.