James Winters
@replicatedtypo.bsky.social
Simulating sci-fi novels and calling it cultural evolution
Centre for Culture and Evolution | Brunel University London | https://j-winters.github.io
Centre for Culture and Evolution | Brunel University London | https://j-winters.github.io
Pinned
James Winters
@replicatedtypo.bsky.social
· Aug 15
Modelling the emergence of open-ended technological evolution
Humans stand alone in terms of their potential to collectively and cumulatively improve technologies in an open-ended manner. This open-endedness provides societies with the ability to continually exp...
arxiv.org
🚨🚨 New preprint 📜 with Mathieu Charbonneau (@matcharbonneau.bsky.social): Modelling the emergence of open-ended technological evolution (arxiv.org/abs/2508.04828). Feedback welcomed! #Evolution #Technology #Culture #OpenEnded #TechnologicalEvolution #CulturalEvolution 🧵: 1/29
Reposted by James Winters
Goal selection through the lens of subjective functions:
arxiv.org/abs/2512.15948
I welcome any feedback on these preliminary ideas.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.15948
I welcome any feedback on these preliminary ideas.
Subjective functions
Where do objective functions come from? How do we select what goals to pursue? Human intelligence is adept at synthesizing new objective functions on the fly. How does this work, and can we endow arti...
arxiv.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Goal selection through the lens of subjective functions:
arxiv.org/abs/2512.15948
I welcome any feedback on these preliminary ideas.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.15948
I welcome any feedback on these preliminary ideas.
Reposted by James Winters
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
A critical consequence of joining social groups is the possibility of social transmission of information related to novel behaviours or resources. Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) has emerg...
doi.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
Reposted by James Winters
1/ In a recent @britishacademy.bsky.social video @rebeccasear.bsky.social from @brunelpsy.bsky.social takes a clear-eyed look at the 21st‑century rise of eugenics - an ideology that should have been left behind, yet is now re‑emerging in a number of troubling ways ⚠️🧬 🧪
Watch the full talk here 🎥👇
Watch the full talk here 🎥👇
The 21st Century Resurgence of Eugenics
YouTube video by The British Academy
www.youtube.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:48 PM
1/ In a recent @britishacademy.bsky.social video @rebeccasear.bsky.social from @brunelpsy.bsky.social takes a clear-eyed look at the 21st‑century rise of eugenics - an ideology that should have been left behind, yet is now re‑emerging in a number of troubling ways ⚠️🧬 🧪
Watch the full talk here 🎥👇
Watch the full talk here 🎥👇
Reposted by James Winters
This week, we talk to @hugoreasoning.bsky.social about all things "epistemic". Are we gullible and prone to misinformation? Are we vigilant in favor of our interests? Enjoy the wide-ranging conversation!
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wphps...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/nf42LNg6y-A
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wphps...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/nf42LNg6y-A
Reasoning and Epistemic Vigilance with Hugo Mercier
YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 7:35 PM
This week, we talk to @hugoreasoning.bsky.social about all things "epistemic". Are we gullible and prone to misinformation? Are we vigilant in favor of our interests? Enjoy the wide-ranging conversation!
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wphps...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/nf42LNg6y-A
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wphps...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/nf42LNg6y-A
Reposted by James Winters
𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆
Discusses how more standard network models miss key points of brain complexity. And some more radical points at the end.
Wrote paper having in mind younger researchers more open to new ideas :-)
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...
Discusses how more standard network models miss key points of brain complexity. And some more radical points at the end.
Wrote paper having in mind younger researchers more open to new ideas :-)
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...
December 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆
Discusses how more standard network models miss key points of brain complexity. And some more radical points at the end.
Wrote paper having in mind younger researchers more open to new ideas :-)
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...
Discusses how more standard network models miss key points of brain complexity. And some more radical points at the end.
Wrote paper having in mind younger researchers more open to new ideas :-)
#neuroskyence
doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...
Reposted by James Winters
Oleg Sobchuk @sobchuk.bsky.social
@cudanlab.bsky.social
"Evolution of Literature and the Arts."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnZ...
@cudanlab.bsky.social
"Evolution of Literature and the Arts."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnZ...
Oleg Sobchuk: Evolution of Literature and the Arts.
YouTube video by CUDANLab
www.youtube.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Oleg Sobchuk @sobchuk.bsky.social
@cudanlab.bsky.social
"Evolution of Literature and the Arts."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnZ...
@cudanlab.bsky.social
"Evolution of Literature and the Arts."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnZ...
Reposted by James Winters
This will be screened, along with a Q and A with the director and Hrdy herself, at the 2026 HBES meeting at UM6P in Rabat! Deadline for applying: January 15th @hbes2026.bsky.social
An outstanding and beautifully filmed documentary inspired by Sarah Hrdy’s “Father Time”, exploring the physiological and emotional changes men experience when becoming fathers and their deep evolutionary roots.
Streaming here until Feb 5, 2026 (French only for now):
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/11...
Streaming here until Feb 5, 2026 (French only for now):
www.arte.tv/fr/videos/11...
Paternité, une métamorphose décryptée - Regarder le documentaire complet | ARTE
Devenir père est une aventure dans la vie d’un homme, mais aussi une métamorphose physiologique que la science commence tout juste à révéler. Enquête sur les racines biologiques de la paternité à part...
www.arte.tv
December 8, 2025 at 7:35 PM
This will be screened, along with a Q and A with the director and Hrdy herself, at the 2026 HBES meeting at UM6P in Rabat! Deadline for applying: January 15th @hbes2026.bsky.social
Reposted by James Winters
God bless Szamado.
He's completely correct and has been soldiering away at this for years - but the complexity of the topic is just slightly too high to outcompete Zahavi's (misleading) golf analogy.
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
He's completely correct and has been soldiering away at this for years - but the complexity of the topic is just slightly too high to outcompete Zahavi's (misleading) golf analogy.
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
A general signalling theory: why honest signals are explained by trade-offs rather than costs or handicaps
Abstract. Honest signals have long posed a challenge for evolutionary biologists to explain. Here we propose a general Darwinian theory of signalling, Sign
academic.oup.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:45 AM
God bless Szamado.
He's completely correct and has been soldiering away at this for years - but the complexity of the topic is just slightly too high to outcompete Zahavi's (misleading) golf analogy.
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
He's completely correct and has been soldiering away at this for years - but the complexity of the topic is just slightly too high to outcompete Zahavi's (misleading) golf analogy.
academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...
Reposted by James Winters
In a new Review for @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social -- and my first first-authored paper! -- @manvir.bsky.social and I argue that experience shapes the emergence and evolution of seemingly extraordinary beliefs.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
How experience shapes extraordinary beliefs
The ubiquity of extraordinary beliefs across human societies, such as conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and supernatural beliefs, is a long-standing…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:32 PM
In a new Review for @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social -- and my first first-authored paper! -- @manvir.bsky.social and I argue that experience shapes the emergence and evolution of seemingly extraordinary beliefs.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by James Winters
On a roll with papers this week. PNAS paper with @michealdebarra.bsky.social giving some evidence to the idea that people turn to the supernatural because of uncertainty about causal processes. BONUS of curing whooping cough with donkeys and warts with snails 🐌
1/ 🧵 New PNAS paper by CCE’s @michealdebarra.bsky.social @aiyanakoka.bsky.social with Angel V Jiménez and Nachita Rosun🎉
📄 Why do people turn to religious or supernatural cures?
🧪🏺
#evolpsy #evolanth #evolutionarybehaviouralsciences #culturalevolution
📄 Why do people turn to religious or supernatural cures?
🧪🏺
#evolpsy #evolanth #evolutionarybehaviouralsciences #culturalevolution
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
December 2, 2025 at 1:48 PM
On a roll with papers this week. PNAS paper with @michealdebarra.bsky.social giving some evidence to the idea that people turn to the supernatural because of uncertainty about causal processes. BONUS of curing whooping cough with donkeys and warts with snails 🐌
Reposted by James Winters
📣 Very happy to announce a new BBS target article with Nick Chater in which we propose a new theory of cultural evolution, highlighting the importance of bottom-up social interaction in explaining the emergence of cultural complexity
🧵 1/8
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧵 1/8
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Social Tinkering: The Social Foundations of Cultural Complexity | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Social Tinkering: The Social Foundations of Cultural Complexity
www.cambridge.org
November 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
📣 Very happy to announce a new BBS target article with Nick Chater in which we propose a new theory of cultural evolution, highlighting the importance of bottom-up social interaction in explaining the emergence of cultural complexity
🧵 1/8
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🧵 1/8
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by James Winters
1/ 🎙️ New paper by Dr Aiyana Willard argues it’s time to retire HADD = “we’re hardwired to see agents EVERYWHERE” and replace it with something that *actually* fits the evidence 🪦➡️📚
@brunelpsy.bsky.social
🔗 Read it 👇
@brunelpsy.bsky.social
🔗 Read it 👇
Belief as explanation: a motivation-based theory of agency and anthropomorphism in religious belief
Supernatural agent beliefs are ubiquitous across cultures, yet many theories aimed at explaining this fact have not held up to scrutiny. The most famous of these, the Hyperactive Agency Detection D...
www.tandfonline.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:37 PM
1/ 🎙️ New paper by Dr Aiyana Willard argues it’s time to retire HADD = “we’re hardwired to see agents EVERYWHERE” and replace it with something that *actually* fits the evidence 🪦➡️📚
@brunelpsy.bsky.social
🔗 Read it 👇
@brunelpsy.bsky.social
🔗 Read it 👇
Reposted by James Winters
🧵 1/ Excited to share this work from CCEs Francisco Gómez Jiménez, whose research explores gender diversity across cultures 🌍
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Testing Biological Evolutionary Patterns Amongst Muxes: A Chat with Dr. Francisco Gómez Jiménez
YouTube video by Gender Diversity Across Cultures
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
🧵 1/ Excited to share this work from CCEs Francisco Gómez Jiménez, whose research explores gender diversity across cultures 🌍
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Reposted by James Winters
Wow! I have to say that this is where the @elife.bsky.social model really shines. Super interesting paper that makes a very strong claim. Reviewers feel interpretation goes beyond what the results show. Paper published with both sides. We all benefit much more than just a publish or reject. Bravo!
I am really proud that eLife have published this paper. It is a very nice paper, but you need to also read the reviews to understand why! 1/n
"The inevitability and superfluousness of cell types in spatial cognition". Intuitive cell types are found in random artificial networks using the same selection criteria neuroscientists use with actual data. elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre... 1/2
November 25, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Wow! I have to say that this is where the @elife.bsky.social model really shines. Super interesting paper that makes a very strong claim. Reviewers feel interpretation goes beyond what the results show. Paper published with both sides. We all benefit much more than just a publish or reject. Bravo!
Reposted by James Winters
Only 4 days left!
Abstract submission for CES 2026 in Rabat has been extended to 30th November! @ces2026.bsky.social
The deadline has been extended - there is still time to get your abstracts in to join us in Morocco!
November 26, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Only 4 days left!
Reposted by James Winters
The deadline has been extended - there is still time to get your abstracts in to join us in Morocco!
The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
👉 A reminder that the deadline for submitting your abstract to the CES 2026 #CESRabat is the 16th of November.
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
November 16, 2025 at 3:40 AM
The deadline has been extended - there is still time to get your abstracts in to join us in Morocco!
Reposted by James Winters
The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
👉 A reminder that the deadline for submitting your abstract to the CES 2026 #CESRabat is the 16th of November.
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
We’re delighted to share that the CES2026 Conference website is now live!
We warmly invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to submit their presentation proposals by November 16th through the submission portal on the website.
We warmly invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to submit their presentation proposals by November 16th through the submission portal on the website.
November 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
Reposted by James Winters
🚨Only 2 days left to apply
📢 Apply to our (2-year) research fellowships at @iast.fr
Join a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and indisciplinary group of scholars in Toulouse, walkable/cyclable pink city of chocolatines in the South of France.
Deadline: November 15, 2025.
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
Join a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and indisciplinary group of scholars in Toulouse, walkable/cyclable pink city of chocolatines in the South of France.
Deadline: November 15, 2025.
www.iast.fr/research-fel...
Research Fellowships
Each year, IAST invites applications for post-doctoral Research Fellowships, which offer candidates an opportunity to devote themselves full-time to their research at the start of their careers. Fello...
www.iast.fr
November 13, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🚨Only 2 days left to apply
Reposted by James Winters
🎉 New preprint: Bayesian Competence Inference guides Knowledge Attribution and Information search
If someone knows that Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates clockwise, will they also know what Earth’s only natural satellite is? What about which planets have no moons at all?
If someone knows that Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates clockwise, will they also know what Earth’s only natural satellite is? What about which planets have no moons at all?
November 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
🎉 New preprint: Bayesian Competence Inference guides Knowledge Attribution and Information search
If someone knows that Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates clockwise, will they also know what Earth’s only natural satellite is? What about which planets have no moons at all?
If someone knows that Venus is the only planet in the Solar System that rotates clockwise, will they also know what Earth’s only natural satellite is? What about which planets have no moons at all?
Reposted by James Winters
How “intelligent” is a slime mold? When it solves mazes, it might not be thinking:it’s obeying physics. Our new paper with
@jordiplam.bsky.social shows how it follows a least action principle,letting physics do the job arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social @docteur-drey.bsky.social
@jordiplam.bsky.social shows how it follows a least action principle,letting physics do the job arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social @docteur-drey.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:17 AM
How “intelligent” is a slime mold? When it solves mazes, it might not be thinking:it’s obeying physics. Our new paper with
@jordiplam.bsky.social shows how it follows a least action principle,letting physics do the job arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social @docteur-drey.bsky.social
@jordiplam.bsky.social shows how it follows a least action principle,letting physics do the job arxiv.org/pdf/2511.08531
@drmichaellevin.bsky.social @docteur-drey.bsky.social
Reposted by James Winters
Oops…“Principal components (PC) axes
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Principal Components Analysis fails to recover phylogenetic structure in hominins
Objectives Paleoanthropologists often utilize geometric morphometrics and principal components analysis (PCA) to interpret shape variation within the hominin fossil record. It is common practice to in...
www.biorxiv.org
November 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Oops…“Principal components (PC) axes
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by James Winters
🚨 New paper on ArXiv:
“Uncertainty quantification and posterior sampling for network reconstruction”
TL;DR; We present an efficient method to sample the entire ensemble of possible network reconstructions that are compatible with an indirect observation, e.g. a dynamics.
Short thread: 1/N
“Uncertainty quantification and posterior sampling for network reconstruction”
TL;DR; We present an efficient method to sample the entire ensemble of possible network reconstructions that are compatible with an indirect observation, e.g. a dynamics.
Short thread: 1/N
March 12, 2025 at 11:57 AM
🚨 New paper on ArXiv:
“Uncertainty quantification and posterior sampling for network reconstruction”
TL;DR; We present an efficient method to sample the entire ensemble of possible network reconstructions that are compatible with an indirect observation, e.g. a dynamics.
Short thread: 1/N
“Uncertainty quantification and posterior sampling for network reconstruction”
TL;DR; We present an efficient method to sample the entire ensemble of possible network reconstructions that are compatible with an indirect observation, e.g. a dynamics.
Short thread: 1/N
Reposted by James Winters
Is #innovation born or made? Why do some places keep innovating while others fall behind? Is innovation the product of cities—or of deeper laws?
Our new paper in npj Complexity explores these questions through the lens of a century of US patent data.🧵👇
nature.com/articles/s44...
Our new paper in npj Complexity explores these questions through the lens of a century of US patent data.🧵👇
nature.com/articles/s44...
November 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Is #innovation born or made? Why do some places keep innovating while others fall behind? Is innovation the product of cities—or of deeper laws?
Our new paper in npj Complexity explores these questions through the lens of a century of US patent data.🧵👇
nature.com/articles/s44...
Our new paper in npj Complexity explores these questions through the lens of a century of US patent data.🧵👇
nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by James Winters
Spoiler alert: it's better to have a good theoretical understanding and design appropriate statistical models than it is to throw zillions of superficially "okay, fine" models at a poorly specified (and often deliberately vague) target.
A bit of good thinking >>> lots of poor thinking.
Shocking!
A bit of good thinking >>> lots of poor thinking.
Shocking!
October 23, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Spoiler alert: it's better to have a good theoretical understanding and design appropriate statistical models than it is to throw zillions of superficially "okay, fine" models at a poorly specified (and often deliberately vague) target.
A bit of good thinking >>> lots of poor thinking.
Shocking!
A bit of good thinking >>> lots of poor thinking.
Shocking!
Reposted by James Winters
Paper in Language and Cognition with @marktorrance.bsky.social and @seriousstats.bsky.social
We show that semantic contrast shapes timing of pre-planning in speech and writing.
doi.org/10.1017/lang...
If you're into how context shapes how we plan language, check it out!
We show that semantic contrast shapes timing of pre-planning in speech and writing.
doi.org/10.1017/lang...
If you're into how context shapes how we plan language, check it out!
October 22, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Paper in Language and Cognition with @marktorrance.bsky.social and @seriousstats.bsky.social
We show that semantic contrast shapes timing of pre-planning in speech and writing.
doi.org/10.1017/lang...
If you're into how context shapes how we plan language, check it out!
We show that semantic contrast shapes timing of pre-planning in speech and writing.
doi.org/10.1017/lang...
If you're into how context shapes how we plan language, check it out!