Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
@fluffycyborgii.bsky.social
AKA Avel Guénin--Carlut.
Studying the relation between material & cognitive landscapes in the XSCAPE project.
Physics of cognition; naturalizing ontology; (neo)pragmatism applied to pol sci.
Occasionally schyzoposting on main - there are many occasions.
Studying the relation between material & cognitive landscapes in the XSCAPE project.
Physics of cognition; naturalizing ontology; (neo)pragmatism applied to pol sci.
Occasionally schyzoposting on main - there are many occasions.
Pinned
Avel GUÉNIN
avelguenin.github.io
Hi 👋
Maybe it is time to give a proper impression of who I am and what I'm doing here.
First, I'm a PhD student / researcher in cognitive science, under the supervision of Andy Clark and Chris Buckley, financed by the XSCAPE project on Material Minds.
Maybe it is time to give a proper impression of who I am and what I'm doing here.
First, I'm a PhD student / researcher in cognitive science, under the supervision of Andy Clark and Chris Buckley, financed by the XSCAPE project on Material Minds.
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
The French wikipedia page "Technocritique" is vastly longer and better-done than the English-language version
Technocritique — Wikipédia
fr.wikipedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The French wikipedia page "Technocritique" is vastly longer and better-done than the English-language version
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
My take as well: We need everything from "social worker who can dodge a punch" to "SWAT team" because sometimes someone's having a psychotic break in public and sometimes someone has a gun and hostages. The police being our one-size-fits-all solution is pretty stupid in that light.
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 AM
My take as well: We need everything from "social worker who can dodge a punch" to "SWAT team" because sometimes someone's having a psychotic break in public and sometimes someone has a gun and hostages. The police being our one-size-fits-all solution is pretty stupid in that light.
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
The police should be broken up into like four forces each with different responsibilities and applicant pools.
My take as well: We need everything from "social worker who can dodge a punch" to "SWAT team" because sometimes someone's having a psychotic break in public and sometimes someone has a gun and hostages. The police being our one-size-fits-all solution is pretty stupid in that light.
November 11, 2025 at 1:11 PM
The police should be broken up into like four forces each with different responsibilities and applicant pools.
I was already freaking out about people reaching 20 without knowing how to sew or do basic home repair, and now a 30-ish friend tells me they can't cook and they're only fed by their parents + restaurants
I don't have the mental capacity to process this information
I don't have the mental capacity to process this information
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 PM
I was already freaking out about people reaching 20 without knowing how to sew or do basic home repair, and now a 30-ish friend tells me they can't cook and they're only fed by their parents + restaurants
I don't have the mental capacity to process this information
I don't have the mental capacity to process this information
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
November 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
There is a lot of fuss today over whether chatbots can replace human participants in social sciences research when the solution is obvious: ask chatbots to simulate the views of social scientists and survey them on attitudes towards chatbots as substitutes for human subjects.
Once again
November 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Once again
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
This slide unfortunately generalizes well 🥲
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This slide unfortunately generalizes well 🥲
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Doing non-causal inference (and being explicit about it), yet using a causal word as second word in the title.
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
November 11, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Doing non-causal inference (and being explicit about it), yet using a causal word as second word in the title.
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
I do not regret to inform you that a roundtable on Active Inference for the Social Sciences will soon take place for @activeinference.bsky.social's Active Inference Symposium 🥳
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
November 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I do not regret to inform you that a roundtable on Active Inference for the Social Sciences will soon take place for @activeinference.bsky.social's Active Inference Symposium 🥳
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
Tom Froese on @wiringthebrain.bsky.social 's keynote talk at the International Conference on Embodied Cognitive Science 2025 (www.oist.jp/conference/e...)
November 11, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Tom Froese on @wiringthebrain.bsky.social 's keynote talk at the International Conference on Embodied Cognitive Science 2025 (www.oist.jp/conference/e...)
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
E.g, I believe the evidence strongly suggests that out of all human-tested schemes so far, the #Nordic Social #Democracy has been if not the best, then at the very least the least bad way to organize an industrialized society.
Despite its many flaws.
bsky.app/profile/jmko...
Despite its many flaws.
bsky.app/profile/jmko...
BTW for those who don’t know me yet, below is a TL;DR of my political beliefs. Am an anarcho-Social Democrat :D.
Rawls, Sen and Nussbaum fill out most of the details. The Veil of Ignorance (extended to include ignorance about the _species_ one is born into) and Capability Approach especially.
Rawls, Sen and Nussbaum fill out most of the details. The Veil of Ignorance (extended to include ignorance about the _species_ one is born into) and Capability Approach especially.
I consider myself a lefty even by Nordic standards and have been called a communist often enough by the far right loons. Because I do maintain that billionaires are system errors and we need to redistribute resources fairly if we want to have a future worth having.
November 11, 2025 at 7:33 AM
E.g, I believe the evidence strongly suggests that out of all human-tested schemes so far, the #Nordic Social #Democracy has been if not the best, then at the very least the least bad way to organize an industrialized society.
Despite its many flaws.
bsky.app/profile/jmko...
Despite its many flaws.
bsky.app/profile/jmko...
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Wimsatt quote of the day: truer insights from false models.
"Most writers ignore the role that false models can have in improving our descriptions and explanations of the world. While normally treated as a handicap, the falsity of scientific models is in fact often essential to this role.”
"Most writers ignore the role that false models can have in improving our descriptions and explanations of the world. While normally treated as a handicap, the falsity of scientific models is in fact often essential to this role.”
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Wimsatt quote of the day: truer insights from false models.
"Most writers ignore the role that false models can have in improving our descriptions and explanations of the world. While normally treated as a handicap, the falsity of scientific models is in fact often essential to this role.”
"Most writers ignore the role that false models can have in improving our descriptions and explanations of the world. While normally treated as a handicap, the falsity of scientific models is in fact often essential to this role.”
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Love the phrases "Cognitive Cost" and "Executive Function Theft" to pinpoint how exhausting it is to be constantly bombarded with apps telling you to use AI. I've been calling it "Corporate pressure" and "Force feeding". It's quite a lot right now. Seems a bit desperate tbh.
The #ExecutiveFunctionTheft of having to opt out.
Feeling annoyed at the cognitive cost of having to dismiss all the offers of "AI" assitance every time I use Acrobat to provide feedback on documents my students wrote. (NO I do NOT want an "AI" summary of this. In what world???)
Decided to check settings:
Decided to check settings:
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Love the phrases "Cognitive Cost" and "Executive Function Theft" to pinpoint how exhausting it is to be constantly bombarded with apps telling you to use AI. I've been calling it "Corporate pressure" and "Force feeding". It's quite a lot right now. Seems a bit desperate tbh.
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"Cognition all the way down". Great to see this fine new paper from @robertchisciure.bsky.social & @drmichaellevin.bsky.social out now in Synthese - introducing a new metric to quantify biological intelligence as search efficiency in multidimensional problem spaces link.springer.com/article/10.1...
I do not regret to inform you that a roundtable on Active Inference for the Social Sciences will soon take place for @activeinference.bsky.social's Active Inference Symposium 🥳
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
November 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I do not regret to inform you that a roundtable on Active Inference for the Social Sciences will soon take place for @activeinference.bsky.social's Active Inference Symposium 🥳
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
The recording will take place live on November 13th at 17:00-18:30 UTC, so save the date if you'd like to ask us anything!
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
So many nonsense ad hoc pipelines could be prevented by requiring that they work on synthetic data.
I tend to think of experiments as special cases of inference, since most of the problems I work on cannot be studied in experiments. But I get that many researchers see experiments as base analogy.
I tend to think of experiments as special cases of inference, since most of the problems I work on cannot be studied in experiments. But I get that many researchers see experiments as base analogy.
"Validate With Simulated Truth: A first habit is to test whether an analytical pipeline can recover known conditions."
Very good advice below. So much COVID nonsense (e.g. 'immunological dark matter') basically came down to a non-identifiable model that hadn't been properly tested.
Very good advice below. So much COVID nonsense (e.g. 'immunological dark matter') basically came down to a non-identifiable model that hadn't been properly tested.
Modelling Like an Experimentalist
Dahlin et al. (2024) apply experimental thinking to a model of mosquito-borne disease transmissions.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
So many nonsense ad hoc pipelines could be prevented by requiring that they work on synthetic data.
I tend to think of experiments as special cases of inference, since most of the problems I work on cannot be studied in experiments. But I get that many researchers see experiments as base analogy.
I tend to think of experiments as special cases of inference, since most of the problems I work on cannot be studied in experiments. But I get that many researchers see experiments as base analogy.
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Wool, and layered clothing, for the win!
Finnish winters too are far less miserable with good socks, and shoes that won't let water in easily.
(Also, shoes that won't become slippery as hell when it is cold.)
Finnish winters too are far less miserable with good socks, and shoes that won't let water in easily.
(Also, shoes that won't become slippery as hell when it is cold.)
If you are new to winter (e.g. moved from TX to WI) do yourself a favor and buy wool socks and thermal underwear. Yes it’s expensive. It is worth it. A good brand will last a long time. Buy a silk pair too if you can swing it.
Honestly just buy the best gear you can afford so you’re not miserable.
Honestly just buy the best gear you can afford so you’re not miserable.
November 10, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Wool, and layered clothing, for the win!
Finnish winters too are far less miserable with good socks, and shoes that won't let water in easily.
(Also, shoes that won't become slippery as hell when it is cold.)
Finnish winters too are far less miserable with good socks, and shoes that won't let water in easily.
(Also, shoes that won't become slippery as hell when it is cold.)
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
The online journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences is doing a symposium on my book, Deflating Mental Representation, based on my Jean Nicod lectures. See the Call for Papers here:
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
Call for Papers: Book Symposium on "Deflating Mental Representation" by Frances Egan
| Philosophy and the Mind Sciences
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences (PhiMiSci) focuses on the interface between philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. PhiMiSci is a peer-reviewed, not-for-profit open-access journal...
philosophymindscience.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The online journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences is doing a symposium on my book, Deflating Mental Representation, based on my Jean Nicod lectures. See the Call for Papers here:
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
On this day, Dr. Manhatten first reappears after his atomized destruction in a lab accident. Happy November 10th to all who observe.
November 10, 2025 at 6:17 AM
On this day, Dr. Manhatten first reappears after his atomized destruction in a lab accident. Happy November 10th to all who observe.
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
The funniest thing about this is the existence of Bad Duerkheim, which sounds like the biopic of an evil sociologist directed by Abel Ferrara
November 10, 2025 at 6:48 AM
The funniest thing about this is the existence of Bad Duerkheim, which sounds like the biopic of an evil sociologist directed by Abel Ferrara
I do not regret to inform you that my interview with the ineffable @maxksx.bsky.social for ŠUM Journal / TECHNOLOGOS is finally up!
Prepare to dive into Active Inference, participatory realism, and the many ways in which we build our social reality!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip35...
Prepare to dive into Active Inference, participatory realism, and the many ways in which we build our social reality!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip35...
Tehnologos #3: Avel Guénin–Carlut
YouTube video by ŠUM journal
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I do not regret to inform you that my interview with the ineffable @maxksx.bsky.social for ŠUM Journal / TECHNOLOGOS is finally up!
Prepare to dive into Active Inference, participatory realism, and the many ways in which we build our social reality!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip35...
Prepare to dive into Active Inference, participatory realism, and the many ways in which we build our social reality!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip35...
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Another thing I forgot to mention is that preventing nutrients depletion requires putting back the nutrients in human manure where they came from.
And while it's not hard logistically, it's **not** something we're equipped to plan around as a society
solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/03/urba...
And while it's not hard logistically, it's **not** something we're equipped to plan around as a society
solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/03/urba...
Urban Fish Ponds: Low-tech Sewage Treatment for Towns and Cities
In the mid 20th century, whole cities’ sewage systems safely and successfully used fish to treat and purify their water. Waste-fed fish ponds are a low-tech, cheap, and sustainable alternative to deal...
solar.lowtechmagazine.com
August 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Another thing I forgot to mention is that preventing nutrients depletion requires putting back the nutrients in human manure where they came from.
And while it's not hard logistically, it's **not** something we're equipped to plan around as a society
solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/03/urba...
And while it's not hard logistically, it's **not** something we're equipped to plan around as a society
solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/03/urba...
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
Dense gardens with a lot of different crops, and which produce mostly quickly perishable food, are a hell to deal with for modern logistics.
Imagine every supermarket having to go around every farm within a 10 km radius with a refrigerated van to get like 3 tomatoes at each place !
Imagine every supermarket having to go around every farm within a 10 km radius with a refrigerated van to get like 3 tomatoes at each place !
August 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Dense gardens with a lot of different crops, and which produce mostly quickly perishable food, are a hell to deal with for modern logistics.
Imagine every supermarket having to go around every farm within a 10 km radius with a refrigerated van to get like 3 tomatoes at each place !
Imagine every supermarket having to go around every farm within a 10 km radius with a refrigerated van to get like 3 tomatoes at each place !
Reposted by Fluffy Cyborg, IInd of the name
The thing is that - as I hope I made abundantly clear - those developments are very much policy choices regarding infrastructure. There is no law of nature that says agriculture has to be done by exclusive in huge monoculture by Southerners under the threat of US intervention !
August 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
The thing is that - as I hope I made abundantly clear - those developments are very much policy choices regarding infrastructure. There is no law of nature that says agriculture has to be done by exclusive in huge monoculture by Southerners under the threat of US intervention !