Yuchen
yuchen25.bsky.social
Yuchen
@yuchen25.bsky.social
Graduate student in Statistics @UChicago, pivoting towards neuroscience | cognition | philosophy of science | writing
“The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of... We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart.”
― Blaise Pascal, Pensées
March 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
“We feel that even if all possible scientific questions be answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at all.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
March 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
'Science is meaningless because it gives no answer to our question, the only question important for us: "What shall we
do and how shall we live?" '
sociology.sas.upenn.edu/sites/defaul...
sociology.sas.upenn.edu
February 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
"At each stage entirely new laws, concepts, and generalizations are necessary, requlring inspiration and creativity to just as great a degree as in the previous one. Psychology is not applied biology, nor is biology applied chemistry."

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
More Is Different
www.science.org
February 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM
February 18, 2025 at 5:56 AM
While AI makes 'safe' writing easier, originality always stands out.
www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingTo...
From the ApplyingToCollege community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the ApplyingToCollege community
www.reddit.com
February 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Stumbled upon this quote when reading Terence Tao's blog: 'Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.' --Erica Jong. Probably we always have the answer to our questions deep down when at life's turning points and need external confirmation to take the leap.
February 11, 2025 at 12:23 AM
The understanding of the brain may remain pluralistic rather than wholistic. Investigation at multiple levels might resist being summed up in a neat formula. Its very interest lies in its multiplicity, as argued by Stuart Firestein.
www.routledge.com/The-Tools-of...
The Tools of Neuroscience Experiment: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives
This volume establishes the conceptual foundation for sustained investigation into tool development in neuroscience. Neuroscience relies on diverse and sophisticated experimental tools, and its ultima...
www.routledge.com
February 9, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Facts are sometimes the most unreliable part of research as our biases often dictate the way we look at the data.

dianerehm.org/shows/2012-0...
Stuart Firestein: "Ignorance: How It Drives Science"
A neuroscientist claims that ignorance--not knowledge--is the true engine of science. He explains how scientists use ignorance to concentrate their research, and why "not knowing" is one of the greate...
dianerehm.org
February 9, 2025 at 9:26 PM
On learning the history of science:

'The textbook tendency to make the development of science linear hides a process that lies at the heart of the most significant episodes of scientific development.' – Thomas Kuhn

We are susceptible to hindsight bias when looking back. (1/6)
Today, the SFI Press published Vol. 4 of Foundational Papers in Complexity Science. This concluding book follows Volumes 1 & 2 in May and Volume 3 in September & contains papers published between 1989 and 2000 — when complex-systems science had become a fledgling field of study in its own right.
February 8, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Frustration comes from unrealistic expectations. Early experiences of steadily progressing and getting regularly rewarded may set a false anticipation for working on creative problems that require unremitting focus amidst the fog of confusion.

andymatuschak.org/stillness/
February 5, 2025 at 8:39 PM
finally found the starter pack function after manually following hundreds of people... thanks for the efforts!
I made a systems neuroscience starter pack, focused on experimentalists who study the brain at the level of populations of neurons!

Also want to be on the list? Reply or DM me a picture of your ephys rig or 2p setup and I'll add you 🤭

go.bsky.app/UiqX7ry
February 5, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Reposted by Yuchen
📢 Applications Open Soon for Neuromatch Academy!

✨ Whether you're diving into CN, DL, Climate, or NeuroAI, this is your chance to learn from top experts, collaborate with a global community, and gain hands-on experience.

buff.ly/3PaEQys

#neuro #ScienceEd #ClimateScience #AI #MLSky #compneurosky
February 3, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Yuchen
Can't wait to get a hold of that
February 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM
For those who haven't heard of Anki, it's not just another 'optimal interval retention tool.' Anki encapsulates cognitive load theory, helping learning by segmenting and sequencing elements, thus reducing element interactivity.
February 5, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Sharing my recent blog post introducing David Marr's framework for the mind, which piqued my curiosity about what an 'understanding' of the brain truly means. Can we find a mechanistic and causal explanation of the mind, or is that enough?

myblog-yuchen.vercel.app/en/2024/11/0...
裘渝琛:Yuchen Qiu
myblog-yuchen.vercel.app
February 5, 2025 at 4:04 AM
reminiscent of 'calling bullshit'
Modern-Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines?

Jevin West (@jevinwest.bsky.social) and I have spent the last eight months developing the course on large language models (LLMs) that we think every college freshman needs to take.

thebullshitmachines.com
INTRODUCTION
thebullshitmachines.com
February 4, 2025 at 9:50 PM
🫠
Here’s what’s what at UChicago. Not good.
February 4, 2025 at 9:23 PM
I've always found it fascinating that the same 'world' appears fundamentally different in each person's mind, which challenges the basic scientific assumption of a singular, undeniable reality.
February 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Reposted by Yuchen
Eleanor Maguire, who died 4 January at age 54, pioneered the famous London taxi-driver study and naturalistic approaches for studying spatial and episodic memory in people.

By @callimcflurry.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/memory/remem...
Remembering Eleanor Maguire, ‘trailblazer’ of human memory
Maguire, mastermind of the famous London taxi-driver study, broadened the field and championed the importance of spatial representations in memory.
www.thetransmitter.org
January 10, 2025 at 10:07 PM