Ethan Landes
@ethanlandes.bsky.social
Experimental philosophy | Video games | Expat malaise | linguistic nerdery
Polite privacy hygiene reminder: since the Bluesky protocol is open source, it's trivially easy for someone to scrape data like this (either now, or in the future) to help answer common account security questions.
February 13, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Polite privacy hygiene reminder: since the Bluesky protocol is open source, it's trivially easy for someone to scrape data like this (either now, or in the future) to help answer common account security questions.
After not seeing our sick emotionally-haunted bachelor neighbor for a few weeks, police and forensics spent a day at his house. We assumed the worst, confirmed by the late night appearance of a specialist cleaning crew.
So it's been super fucking weird to start seeing him around the village again.
So it's been super fucking weird to start seeing him around the village again.
February 12, 2026 at 12:55 PM
After not seeing our sick emotionally-haunted bachelor neighbor for a few weeks, police and forensics spent a day at his house. We assumed the worst, confirmed by the late night appearance of a specialist cleaning crew.
So it's been super fucking weird to start seeing him around the village again.
So it's been super fucking weird to start seeing him around the village again.
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Our lab has the capacity to test ~500 uni students each semester
If you’re a researcher in cognitive psychology or metascience and need data collection support, we’d love to collaborate. We can help collect high-quality data from a large student sample.
Get in touch to discuss potential projects!
If you’re a researcher in cognitive psychology or metascience and need data collection support, we’d love to collaborate. We can help collect high-quality data from a large student sample.
Get in touch to discuss potential projects!
February 12, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Our lab has the capacity to test ~500 uni students each semester
If you’re a researcher in cognitive psychology or metascience and need data collection support, we’d love to collaborate. We can help collect high-quality data from a large student sample.
Get in touch to discuss potential projects!
If you’re a researcher in cognitive psychology or metascience and need data collection support, we’d love to collaborate. We can help collect high-quality data from a large student sample.
Get in touch to discuss potential projects!
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Recruiting participants for a study validating a new measure of autistic social touch experiences.
This questionnaire was co-developed with autistic people, and we are now at the validation stage so it can be used more widely in research.
durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
This questionnaire was co-developed with autistic people, and we are now at the validation stage so it can be used more widely in research.
durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
February 11, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Recruiting participants for a study validating a new measure of autistic social touch experiences.
This questionnaire was co-developed with autistic people, and we are now at the validation stage so it can be used more widely in research.
durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
This questionnaire was co-developed with autistic people, and we are now at the validation stage so it can be used more widely in research.
durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
I'll never stop reading* National Review as long as they keep publishing banger nonsense like this
*pirating
*pirating
February 10, 2026 at 3:45 PM
I'll never stop reading* National Review as long as they keep publishing banger nonsense like this
*pirating
*pirating
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.
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
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
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.”
"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
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
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.
Reposted by Ethan Landes
most important movie ever made youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM?...
You are being misled about renewable energy technology.
YouTube video by Technology Connections
youtu.be
February 2, 2026 at 2:03 PM
most important movie ever made youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM?...
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Reminder that "jaywalking" was literally made up by american car manufacturers to shift the blame for accidents from drivers to pedestrians. "Jay" was a slang term meaning "idiot" or "rube".
“Jaywalking is permitted in London. In 1966, the police tried to crack down on it, but gave up after three months.”
People walk and cycle on roads by right, people drive under licence.
Jaywalking is not a thing in English law and Waymo must not change that.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
People walk and cycle on roads by right, people drive under licence.
Jaywalking is not a thing in English law and Waymo must not change that.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Self-driving taxis are coming to London – should we be worried? | Jack Stilgoe
Waymo’s cars were first rolled out in San Francisco, but the English capital’s old roads, pelican crossings and jaywalkers may pose issues for AI, says science and technology professor Jack Stilgoe
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Reminder that "jaywalking" was literally made up by american car manufacturers to shift the blame for accidents from drivers to pedestrians. "Jay" was a slang term meaning "idiot" or "rube".
Reposted by Ethan Landes
Being interdisciplinary mostly means everyone agrees your work is interesting but not for their journal.
February 2, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Being interdisciplinary mostly means everyone agrees your work is interesting but not for their journal.
Reposted by Ethan Landes
I am in the bottom 10% of people able to follow elaborate thought experiments. I am in one of very few careers in the world where that actually matters for my professional competence. Ironic.
February 2, 2026 at 8:27 AM
I am in the bottom 10% of people able to follow elaborate thought experiments. I am in one of very few careers in the world where that actually matters for my professional competence. Ironic.
Reposted by Ethan Landes
an internet person has made a searchable version of Borges‘ library of Babel and it’s way more horrifying than the actual story libraryofbabel.info
Library of Babel
A project towards a universal library. By this art you may contemplate the variation of the 23 letters.
libraryofbabel.info
January 30, 2026 at 5:36 PM
an internet person has made a searchable version of Borges‘ library of Babel and it’s way more horrifying than the actual story libraryofbabel.info
Reposted by Ethan Landes
"nails hammered through red candles, chalked symbols and red tape in which the words “anti meta physical front” were printed."
Defenders of Thomasson from Williamson have gone too far.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Defenders of Thomasson from Williamson have gone too far.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Edinburgh tomb of philosopher David Hume vandalised with ‘satanic’ symbols
Tour guide reports drawing of naked woman pointing knife at baby and coded writing at Old Calton burial ground
www.theguardian.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:24 PM
"nails hammered through red candles, chalked symbols and red tape in which the words “anti meta physical front” were printed."
Defenders of Thomasson from Williamson have gone too far.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Defenders of Thomasson from Williamson have gone too far.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...