Tim Brown, PhD
@keyofnight.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Bioethics & Humanities at the University of Washington 🐺 | bioethics 🧬, technology 🦾, neuroethics 🧠, aesthetics 🎨 , nerdiness 🤓.
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
I think there’s something special about Black Americans both being aware of the worst this country is and nonetheless working for its improvement because we also know how special it can be. There are forms of patriotism that aren’t built on ignorance.
I’m convinced American exceptionalism is a big part of what made us vulnerable to Trump. We’re so used to thinking of ourselves as the Special Freedom Country that a lot of people find it inconceivable we could rapidly collapse into shabby despotism even as they watch it happen.
Real talk. I’ve lost all belief in American exceptionalism. There is no secret Liberty Sauce that makes us inherently better. We’re just human beings (derogatory). But it also means we’re human beings (laudatory), so I refuse to believe Republicans won politics forever and can rule as god kings.
March 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I think there’s something special about Black Americans both being aware of the worst this country is and nonetheless working for its improvement because we also know how special it can be. There are forms of patriotism that aren’t built on ignorance.
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
abundantly clear that this administration takes “discrimination” to mean “any regard for minority communities” and treats “merit” as a synonym for “white (and preferably male)”
I’m struck by the Trump administration’s attempt to redefine equality as discrimination against white people. This is a deeply racist idea that *equal outcomes* must be unfair, assuming white people are naturally at the top of the hierarchy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/c...
March 12, 2025 at 1:15 PM
abundantly clear that this administration takes “discrimination” to mean “any regard for minority communities” and treats “merit” as a synonym for “white (and preferably male)”
Pro-life AND pro-death. 😞
223 measles cases in West Texas. 29 hospitalized. One child died.
"Currently, the age demographics of the cases are as follows:
0-4 years: 76
5-17 years: 98
18+ years: 38"
www.science.org/content/arti...
"Currently, the age demographics of the cases are as follows:
0-4 years: 76
5-17 years: 98
18+ years: 38"
www.science.org/content/arti...
March 11, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Pro-life AND pro-death. 😞
Let's go back to basics.
Elon Musk has de facto control of FDA, and is threatening to fire people there. He runs Neuralink, but Neuralink needs FDA approval. Okay. Pause. If you aren't screaming "🗣️CONFLICT OF INTEREST🗣️" at the top of your lungs right now, you need to recalibrate your ethics.
Elon Musk has de facto control of FDA, and is threatening to fire people there. He runs Neuralink, but Neuralink needs FDA approval. Okay. Pause. If you aren't screaming "🗣️CONFLICT OF INTEREST🗣️" at the top of your lungs right now, you need to recalibrate your ethics.
March 11, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Let's go back to basics.
Elon Musk has de facto control of FDA, and is threatening to fire people there. He runs Neuralink, but Neuralink needs FDA approval. Okay. Pause. If you aren't screaming "🗣️CONFLICT OF INTEREST🗣️" at the top of your lungs right now, you need to recalibrate your ethics.
Elon Musk has de facto control of FDA, and is threatening to fire people there. He runs Neuralink, but Neuralink needs FDA approval. Okay. Pause. If you aren't screaming "🗣️CONFLICT OF INTEREST🗣️" at the top of your lungs right now, you need to recalibrate your ethics.
Republicans understand this by intuition, use it, but deny it vehemently. Democrats (may) know this theoretically, but do not understand it.
Reality is socially constructed. Republicans (following and falling in line with right wing media) understand this as a strategy rather than a descriptive theory. Democrats don’t yet get it.
March 7, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Republicans understand this by intuition, use it, but deny it vehemently. Democrats (may) know this theoretically, but do not understand it.
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
Research and discussions at NEUROETHICS 2025 will examine the many questions and ethical issues related to the brain and mind that emerge with the latest advances in and applications of #AI and #neurotechnology. 23-25 April 2025 in Munich. Register by April 7. neuroethicssociety.org/meeting/neur...
March 7, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Research and discussions at NEUROETHICS 2025 will examine the many questions and ethical issues related to the brain and mind that emerge with the latest advances in and applications of #AI and #neurotechnology. 23-25 April 2025 in Munich. Register by April 7. neuroethicssociety.org/meeting/neur...
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
📢 Call for Book Chapters – Public Engagement & Ethics Communication in Brain Research, Innovation, and Health
This edition will explore ethical and responsible science communication in bioethics and neuroethics 🧠
We invite scholars/researchers/professionals to contribute! See more details below👇
This edition will explore ethical and responsible science communication in bioethics and neuroethics 🧠
We invite scholars/researchers/professionals to contribute! See more details below👇
March 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
📢 Call for Book Chapters – Public Engagement & Ethics Communication in Brain Research, Innovation, and Health
This edition will explore ethical and responsible science communication in bioethics and neuroethics 🧠
We invite scholars/researchers/professionals to contribute! See more details below👇
This edition will explore ethical and responsible science communication in bioethics and neuroethics 🧠
We invite scholars/researchers/professionals to contribute! See more details below👇
A stay of execution.
Judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump cuts to NIH research overhead payments: Ruling suggests plaintiffs are likely to succeed in overturning 15% cap on indirect costs www.statnews.com/2025/03/05/n... via @statnews.com
Judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump cuts to NIH research overhead payments
A federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from slashing NIH payments for research overhead
www.statnews.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:37 AM
A stay of execution.
👀💯
Beefing with Canada is like beefing with Dolly Parton.
March 6, 2025 at 5:11 AM
👀💯
Unpopular opinion, I think some folks spend way too much time complaining about the dems in leadership. Most of the folks complaining are the same kind of milquetoast liberals that dems in office are, making the same kinds of mistakes, impacting my life just as much.
March 6, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Unpopular opinion, I think some folks spend way too much time complaining about the dems in leadership. Most of the folks complaining are the same kind of milquetoast liberals that dems in office are, making the same kinds of mistakes, impacting my life just as much.
Algorithmic gaslighting has always been a thing, it's just automated now. Our brains are on a conveyor belt that feeds a meat grinder of procedurally-generated discourse, only to be fried and consumed by marketing firms and their clients. Jane, stop this crazy thing.
Earlier today the LA Times had AI-generated counterpoints to a column from @gustavoarellano.bsky.social. His piece argued that Anaheim, the city he grew up in, should not forget its KKK past.
The AI "well, actually"-ed the KKK. It has since been taken off the piece.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
The AI "well, actually"-ed the KKK. It has since been taken off the piece.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
March 5, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Algorithmic gaslighting has always been a thing, it's just automated now. Our brains are on a conveyor belt that feeds a meat grinder of procedurally-generated discourse, only to be fried and consumed by marketing firms and their clients. Jane, stop this crazy thing.
"Changing the system would mean abandoning the myth that this is the way things have always been, and the way things have always been. Abandoning that myth would cause the whole cavalcade of myths to crumble, and possibly unmake the American Dream and everything built atop its shaky foundation."
Feeling vaguely unhinged that I wrote this three years ago 😭
March 5, 2025 at 8:22 AM
"Changing the system would mean abandoning the myth that this is the way things have always been, and the way things have always been. Abandoning that myth would cause the whole cavalcade of myths to crumble, and possibly unmake the American Dream and everything built atop its shaky foundation."
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
You may not like it, but this is what ideal transportation looks like
March 2, 2025 at 2:54 AM
You may not like it, but this is what ideal transportation looks like
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
My second post is now live on "Dispatches from the Blood-Brain Barrier." It's about the history of the removal of 'homosexuality' from the DSM, and it discusses key philosophical issues raised by this episode in the history of #Psychiatry. #Medsky #Philsky #Bioethics
On the Removal of 'Homosexuality' from the DSM
An Origin Story that Reveals A Fundamental Philosophical Issue about Mental Disorders
danielmoseley.substack.com
February 15, 2025 at 12:01 AM
My second post is now live on "Dispatches from the Blood-Brain Barrier." It's about the history of the removal of 'homosexuality' from the DSM, and it discusses key philosophical issues raised by this episode in the history of #Psychiatry. #Medsky #Philsky #Bioethics
The vibe of Black people working on NIH projects right now:
February 14, 2025 at 10:51 PM
The vibe of Black people working on NIH projects right now:
If anything comes of this, watch adolescent suicide rates skyrocket.
(Also, does anybody remember when the Republican Party wanted *fewer* regulations? Why are they trying to regulate this?)
(Also, does anybody remember when the Republican Party wanted *fewer* regulations? Why are they trying to regulate this?)
Trump’s latest executive order (that was no doubt written by psychopath RFK Jr.) goes after antidepressants.
As someone whose life was saved by them, you will pry my prozac from my cold dead hands.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
As someone whose life was saved by them, you will pry my prozac from my cold dead hands.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
February 14, 2025 at 5:13 AM
If anything comes of this, watch adolescent suicide rates skyrocket.
(Also, does anybody remember when the Republican Party wanted *fewer* regulations? Why are they trying to regulate this?)
(Also, does anybody remember when the Republican Party wanted *fewer* regulations? Why are they trying to regulate this?)
My University's School of Medicine put in place a hiring freeze yesterday. 😬
And for universities that were already experiencing some degree of financial stress before this…
I'm waiting for the first university to implement a broad hiring freeze due to uncertainty about federal funding and policies. These discussions are undoubtedly happening behind the scenes, but nobody wants to say it publicly yet. It feels a lot like March 2020 across much of higher ed.
February 14, 2025 at 2:36 AM
My University's School of Medicine put in place a hiring freeze yesterday. 😬
"You can't shoot flags, and you can't shoot strong speeches. There is no replacement for hard power."
Yeah, I'm sure your power is real hard right now — you strong, virile man. 😒
Yeah, I'm sure your power is real hard right now — you strong, virile man. 😒
Hegseth at NATO summit: "We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can't shoot values."
February 14, 2025 at 12:38 AM
"You can't shoot flags, and you can't shoot strong speeches. There is no replacement for hard power."
Yeah, I'm sure your power is real hard right now — you strong, virile man. 😒
Yeah, I'm sure your power is real hard right now — you strong, virile man. 😒
We're exhausted. :(
Live footage of the average NIH-funding academic as we cycle between maybe no longer having a job and court rulings allow NIH to resume evaluating and funding grants.
I do not recommend this life style, it sucks
Most of us just want to do important science unpeturbed.
I do not recommend this life style, it sucks
Most of us just want to do important science unpeturbed.
an elderly woman is riding a roller coaster with her mouth open .
ALT: an elderly woman is riding a roller coaster with her mouth open .
media.tenor.com
February 14, 2025 at 12:32 AM
We're exhausted. :(
Like clockwork, the brain-drain begins. All any country has to do is fund a program recruiting researchers. Many countries already have these programs in place.
This country was built on the backs of my ancestors, so I have no intentions of leaving right now. That could change, but I hope not.
This country was built on the backs of my ancestors, so I have no intentions of leaving right now. That could change, but I hope not.
"Senior scientists warned that researchers might leave the U.S. in search of more stable opportunities abroad — and STAT spoke with scientists who are considering doing exactly that." www.statnews.com/2025/02/12/t...
Trump policies spark fears of brain drain, threatening to undermine U.S. dominance in biomedicine
A torrent of Trump administration policies is alarming scientists who fear the current climate is weakening researchers’ resolve to stick with careers in academic science.
www.statnews.com
February 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Like clockwork, the brain-drain begins. All any country has to do is fund a program recruiting researchers. Many countries already have these programs in place.
This country was built on the backs of my ancestors, so I have no intentions of leaving right now. That could change, but I hope not.
This country was built on the backs of my ancestors, so I have no intentions of leaving right now. That could change, but I hope not.
Maybe the collective wails of the damned will bring us solace? 😬
Me, mid-breakdown: What if I go onto a social media site where everyone is having a breakdown? Would that help?
February 13, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Maybe the collective wails of the damned will bring us solace? 😬
I've been part of reviews for DoD, NIH, and NSF that have gone the extra mile to listen to veterans and people in active duty so that we can make healthcare better for them. But, yeah, sure, treating soldiers and vets with respect is "woke." Okay. Sure. Got it.
"Military families protesting the Defense Department's anti-DEI push heckled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth...One of the protesters held an umbrella covered in a rainbow pattern."
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Defense Secretary Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting DEI push
Last week, Pete Hegseth wrote a memo banning transgender people from joining the military and restricting the use of some learning materials in Defense Department schools.
www.nbcnews.com
February 13, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I've been part of reviews for DoD, NIH, and NSF that have gone the extra mile to listen to veterans and people in active duty so that we can make healthcare better for them. But, yeah, sure, treating soldiers and vets with respect is "woke." Okay. Sure. Got it.
Have y'all actually looked at the NSF DEI hit-list? It's an excel spreadsheet that sorts NSF projects into the categories: "social justice," "race," "gender," and "environmental justice." Wow.
If your scientific project mentions "women" or "gender" at all, it's "inefficient," woke, DEI, etc. 🤷🏾♂️
If your scientific project mentions "women" or "gender" at all, it's "inefficient," woke, DEI, etc. 🤷🏾♂️
February 13, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Have y'all actually looked at the NSF DEI hit-list? It's an excel spreadsheet that sorts NSF projects into the categories: "social justice," "race," "gender," and "environmental justice." Wow.
If your scientific project mentions "women" or "gender" at all, it's "inefficient," woke, DEI, etc. 🤷🏾♂️
If your scientific project mentions "women" or "gender" at all, it's "inefficient," woke, DEI, etc. 🤷🏾♂️
I often explain to non-philosophers why we can't just appeal to dictionary definitions, but when philosophers do this, it raises red flags. It's easier to dismiss accusations of racism if your concept of racism is limited.
No philosopher, not even the non-epistemologists, would think to cite a dictionary definition of “knowledge” and argue from there. Why do some philosophers think it’s ok to make claims about “racism” from dictionary definitions as if there weren’t a philosophy literature on this concept?
February 12, 2025 at 9:11 AM
I often explain to non-philosophers why we can't just appeal to dictionary definitions, but when philosophers do this, it raises red flags. It's easier to dismiss accusations of racism if your concept of racism is limited.
Reposted by Tim Brown, PhD
Supporting Patients and Students Who Are Immigrants: What to Do and Why Most Bioethicists Won’t Do It 🤔
New Hastings Bioethics Forum essay by @bioethxmark.bsky.social, READ bit.ly/3CL5nQ0
#hastingscenter #bioethics #immigrants
New Hastings Bioethics Forum essay by @bioethxmark.bsky.social, READ bit.ly/3CL5nQ0
#hastingscenter #bioethics #immigrants
February 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Supporting Patients and Students Who Are Immigrants: What to Do and Why Most Bioethicists Won’t Do It 🤔
New Hastings Bioethics Forum essay by @bioethxmark.bsky.social, READ bit.ly/3CL5nQ0
#hastingscenter #bioethics #immigrants
New Hastings Bioethics Forum essay by @bioethxmark.bsky.social, READ bit.ly/3CL5nQ0
#hastingscenter #bioethics #immigrants