Ethan Landes
@ethanlandes.bsky.social
Experimental philosophy | Video games | Expat malaise | linguistic nerdery
Reposted by Ethan Landes
convincing my lab to run and IRL version of this but actually it’s just an excuse to buy fake mustaches.
In what seems like another life, I tried to convince participants that birds were dinosaurs, and then, pretending to be a different experimenter a few hours later, checked if they had changed how they categorized birds.
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
February 9, 2026 at 10:16 PM
convincing my lab to run and IRL version of this but actually it’s just an excuse to buy fake mustaches.
One part of me thinks we relied too much on pictures of the shoebill. Pictures don't do them justice; the time I met a shoebill was a transformative experience.
Another part of me thinks non-avian dinosaurs are just too cool for people to start calling birds dinosaurs.
Another part of me thinks non-avian dinosaurs are just too cool for people to start calling birds dinosaurs.
February 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
One part of me thinks we relied too much on pictures of the shoebill. Pictures don't do them justice; the time I met a shoebill was a transformative experience.
Another part of me thinks non-avian dinosaurs are just too cool for people to start calling birds dinosaurs.
Another part of me thinks non-avian dinosaurs are just too cool for people to start calling birds dinosaurs.
In what seems like another life, I tried to convince participants that birds were dinosaurs, and then, pretending to be a different experimenter a few hours later, checked if they had changed how they categorized birds.
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
![Comic. [2x2 chart. Top left quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of dinosaurs stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, and long-neck dinosaur. Top right quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, and pteranodon. Bottom left quadrant: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of penguin, egret, ostrich, pigeon, falcon. Bottom right: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of squirrel, stapler, plant, person, and bicycle.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihcxd5wcrrf5nxz3g4riglsrccbucmdns6kxrtmtj6gjgwqibp3fi@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 9:30 PM
In what seems like another life, I tried to convince participants that birds were dinosaurs, and then, pretending to be a different experimenter a few hours later, checked if they had changed how they categorized birds.
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
It ... didn't work.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Ethan Landes
becoming disappointed with modern philosophers at an astonishing rate
February 9, 2026 at 3:30 PM
becoming disappointed with modern philosophers at an astonishing rate
At least it is open about what it's doing. I'll take that over the modern habit of baldly asserting unevidenced empirical claims without even acknowledging they are empirical.
E.g., (not to dunk on anyone in particular, this is just the example I have on hand):
E.g., (not to dunk on anyone in particular, this is just the example I have on hand):
February 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM
At least it is open about what it's doing. I'll take that over the modern habit of baldly asserting unevidenced empirical claims without even acknowledging they are empirical.
E.g., (not to dunk on anyone in particular, this is just the example I have on hand):
E.g., (not to dunk on anyone in particular, this is just the example I have on hand):
A fun part of the Peak District is that the question "ooh, what's that?" always has the same answer: Quarry.
Footpath to nowhere? Actually leads to a quarry.
Weirdly lumpy field? Rubbish from a quarry.
Clump of ruined buildings: quarters for a quarry.
Cliff? Nope. Quarry.
Pictured: quarries
Footpath to nowhere? Actually leads to a quarry.
Weirdly lumpy field? Rubbish from a quarry.
Clump of ruined buildings: quarters for a quarry.
Cliff? Nope. Quarry.
Pictured: quarries
February 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
A fun part of the Peak District is that the question "ooh, what's that?" always has the same answer: Quarry.
Footpath to nowhere? Actually leads to a quarry.
Weirdly lumpy field? Rubbish from a quarry.
Clump of ruined buildings: quarters for a quarry.
Cliff? Nope. Quarry.
Pictured: quarries
Footpath to nowhere? Actually leads to a quarry.
Weirdly lumpy field? Rubbish from a quarry.
Clump of ruined buildings: quarters for a quarry.
Cliff? Nope. Quarry.
Pictured: quarries
- Toe clip pedals
- 3x drivetrain
- 700 x 40(?) road tires
- Metal water bottle
- Spoke protector
- Gigantic bell
Never has a bike reached such levels of "sporty-mom"
- 3x drivetrain
- 700 x 40(?) road tires
- Metal water bottle
- Spoke protector
- Gigantic bell
Never has a bike reached such levels of "sporty-mom"
February 8, 2026 at 10:27 PM
- Toe clip pedals
- 3x drivetrain
- 700 x 40(?) road tires
- Metal water bottle
- Spoke protector
- Gigantic bell
Never has a bike reached such levels of "sporty-mom"
- 3x drivetrain
- 700 x 40(?) road tires
- Metal water bottle
- Spoke protector
- Gigantic bell
Never has a bike reached such levels of "sporty-mom"
Importantly, as a consequence, Star Wars capital ships have batteries of point defense weapons (albeit shit ones), but federation ships don't.
So federation ships either get clobbered by Star Destoyers at range or get needled to death by fighters they can't defend against
So federation ships either get clobbered by Star Destoyers at range or get needled to death by fighters they can't defend against
February 8, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Importantly, as a consequence, Star Wars capital ships have batteries of point defense weapons (albeit shit ones), but federation ships don't.
So federation ships either get clobbered by Star Destoyers at range or get needled to death by fighters they can't defend against
So federation ships either get clobbered by Star Destoyers at range or get needled to death by fighters they can't defend against
I might go Star Wars wins at the tactical level?
Star Wars warfare revolves around massive capital ships vs expendable single pilot craft.
The Federation is almost entirely composed of (by comparison to Star Wars) mid-sized capital ships geared towards fighting other mid-sized capital ships.
Star Wars warfare revolves around massive capital ships vs expendable single pilot craft.
The Federation is almost entirely composed of (by comparison to Star Wars) mid-sized capital ships geared towards fighting other mid-sized capital ships.
February 8, 2026 at 7:48 PM
I might go Star Wars wins at the tactical level?
Star Wars warfare revolves around massive capital ships vs expendable single pilot craft.
The Federation is almost entirely composed of (by comparison to Star Wars) mid-sized capital ships geared towards fighting other mid-sized capital ships.
Star Wars warfare revolves around massive capital ships vs expendable single pilot craft.
The Federation is almost entirely composed of (by comparison to Star Wars) mid-sized capital ships geared towards fighting other mid-sized capital ships.
I first saw this tumblr post before I had watched any Borg-related Star Trek. I thought it must be super deep insight into the Borg and the relationship between Star Wars and Trek.
Then I watched TNG. The post literally just restates key Borg lore.
Then I watched TNG. The post literally just restates key Borg lore.
February 8, 2026 at 6:09 PM
I first saw this tumblr post before I had watched any Borg-related Star Trek. I thought it must be super deep insight into the Borg and the relationship between Star Wars and Trek.
Then I watched TNG. The post literally just restates key Borg lore.
Then I watched TNG. The post literally just restates key Borg lore.
A prospective flatmate c. 2017 asked me if the apartment had wifi
February 8, 2026 at 5:18 PM
A prospective flatmate c. 2017 asked me if the apartment had wifi
r/AskBrits: where you can relive that time my American aunt asked me if there are grocery stores in the UK (left) and consume agiprop (right), all in the same place!
February 8, 2026 at 4:39 PM
r/AskBrits: where you can relive that time my American aunt asked me if there are grocery stores in the UK (left) and consume agiprop (right), all in the same place!
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
Free yourself. Become a descriptivist.
bart simpson and homer simpson sit on a couch
ALT: bart simpson and homer simpson sit on a couch
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Free yourself. Become a descriptivist.
"We call the discipline psychology because the Greek word carried meanings the Latin couldn't preserve."
Half-tempted to write a 35+ post response thread about the philosophy of labels that boils down to:
Half-tempted to write a 35+ post response thread about the philosophy of labels that boils down to:
February 5, 2026 at 7:58 PM
"We call the discipline psychology because the Greek word carried meanings the Latin couldn't preserve."
Half-tempted to write a 35+ post response thread about the philosophy of labels that boils down to:
Half-tempted to write a 35+ post response thread about the philosophy of labels that boils down to:
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Perjury is often explained (including to juries) as the legal name for the folk concept of lying, but it is narrower.
Lying has a dual character, research by @izaskoczen.bsky.social suggests, and perjury corresponds only with the concrete aspect:
buff.ly/xeYPHBm
HT @xphilosopher.bsky.social
Lying has a dual character, research by @izaskoczen.bsky.social suggests, and perjury corresponds only with the concrete aspect:
buff.ly/xeYPHBm
HT @xphilosopher.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Perjury is often explained (including to juries) as the legal name for the folk concept of lying, but it is narrower.
Lying has a dual character, research by @izaskoczen.bsky.social suggests, and perjury corresponds only with the concrete aspect:
buff.ly/xeYPHBm
HT @xphilosopher.bsky.social
Lying has a dual character, research by @izaskoczen.bsky.social suggests, and perjury corresponds only with the concrete aspect:
buff.ly/xeYPHBm
HT @xphilosopher.bsky.social
Just adding a final passage to an experimental philosophy paper, and I thought I had stopped being upset years ago about the absurd chauvinism of anti-xphi philosophers claiming that we are the only people who actually understood concepts like "knowledge" and "justice".
Turns out I'm still upset
Turns out I'm still upset
February 5, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Just adding a final passage to an experimental philosophy paper, and I thought I had stopped being upset years ago about the absurd chauvinism of anti-xphi philosophers claiming that we are the only people who actually understood concepts like "knowledge" and "justice".
Turns out I'm still upset
Turns out I'm still upset
The great lesson of the Trump and Johnson years is that it is politically much better to have uncountably many scandals than one or two
February 5, 2026 at 1:55 PM
The great lesson of the Trump and Johnson years is that it is politically much better to have uncountably many scandals than one or two
Reposted by Ethan Landes
You bet your ass I filled this out. What an absolutely ghoulish proposal!
PS. Not too late to tell the government what you think about their proposed changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain - the public consultation is open until 12th Feb.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
www.gov.uk/government/c...
February 5, 2026 at 1:04 PM
You bet your ass I filled this out. What an absolutely ghoulish proposal!
Same vibes as Philip IV
February 5, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Same vibes as Philip IV
Traveling to a village 3 miles down the road in a direction perpendicular to Stockport naturally requires a bus, a train, another bus, and 2 hours.
February 5, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Traveling to a village 3 miles down the road in a direction perpendicular to Stockport naturally requires a bus, a train, another bus, and 2 hours.
I don't know what you are talking about. Here south east of Manchester, public transit is great. As long as you are traveling in the direction of Stockport Interchange or Stockport rail station and literally nowhere else.
February 5, 2026 at 12:04 PM
I don't know what you are talking about. Here south east of Manchester, public transit is great. As long as you are traveling in the direction of Stockport Interchange or Stockport rail station and literally nowhere else.
New example for teaching Gricean implicature just dropped
i would be overjoyed if the U.S. had a president as ethical and even-tempered as Chancellor Gowron
February 4, 2026 at 9:52 AM
New example for teaching Gricean implicature just dropped
Thinking about how much time and energy I've sunk into job applications over the last few years and trying not have an existential crisis.
Or at least keep the crisis mild enough to work on the current job applications.
Or at least keep the crisis mild enough to work on the current job applications.
February 3, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Thinking about how much time and energy I've sunk into job applications over the last few years and trying not have an existential crisis.
Or at least keep the crisis mild enough to work on the current job applications.
Or at least keep the crisis mild enough to work on the current job applications.