Marek McGann
@marekmcgann.sciences.social.ap.brid.gy
Cognitive scientist, teacher, nerd.
I do theoretical and philosophical work in enactive, ecological, and embodied cognitive science. I am also interested in scientific practice in psychology (and it's the Department of Psychology at MIC, Limerick that pa…
I do theoretical and philosophical work in enactive, ecological, and embodied cognitive science. I am also interested in scientific practice in psychology (and it's the Department of Psychology at MIC, Limerick that pa…
Reposted by Marek McGann
Your article, On On Folk Epistemology, published in Inquiry, Volume 68 Issue 10, is now available
On On Folk Epistemology
This commentary focuses on two main points in Gerken's remarkable book, On Folk Epistemology: his appeal to dual process theories of cognition and his alleged identification of some case judgments ...
www.tandfonline.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Your article, On On Folk Epistemology, published in Inquiry, Volume 68 Issue 10, is now available
Reposted by Marek McGann
Good thread showing why the global cloud is basically what economists call a natural monopoly.
From: @Mer__edith
https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith/115445701583902092
From: @Mer__edith
https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith/115445701583902092
Meredith Whittaker (@Mer__edith@mastodon.world)
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms). It’s also concerning. 1/
mastodon.world
October 27, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Good thread showing why the global cloud is basically what economists call a natural monopoly.
From: @Mer__edith
https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith/115445701583902092
From: @Mer__edith
https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith/115445701583902092
Reposted by Marek McGann
"Smart devices" are ALWAYS surveillance devices, as @jesse & I write about in The Secret Life of Data. If it needs To Connect to WiFi in order to operate, you don't want it in your home.
https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-vacuum-broadcasting
https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-vacuum-broadcasting
Man Alarmed to Discover His Smart Vacuum Was Broadcasting a Secret Map of His House
"That's when I made my first mistake: I decided to stop it."
The post Man Alarmed to Discover His Smart Vacuum Was Broadcasting a Secret Map of His House appeared first on Futurism.
futurism.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:02 PM
"Smart devices" are ALWAYS surveillance devices, as @jesse & I write about in The Secret Life of Data. If it needs To Connect to WiFi in order to operate, you don't want it in your home.
https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-vacuum-broadcasting
https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-vacuum-broadcasting
Reposted by Marek McGann
Putting that PhD to work!
September 8, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Putting that PhD to work!
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 5/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 5/5
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 5/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 5/5
Five preoccupied to protect the human ecosystem 4/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Five preoccupied to protect the human ecosystem 4/5
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 3/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem 3/5
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem. 2/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem. 2/5
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem. 2/5
September 7, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Five principles to protect the human knowledge ecosystem. 2/5
Five principles to protect the ecosystem of human knowledge. 1/5
@tomstafford has argued that the infoglut we live in is like when densely populated cities made plagues more likely. We need to normalise new hygienic practices. @olivia et al set some out.
@tomstafford has argued that the infoglut we live in is like when densely populated cities made plagues more likely. We need to normalise new hygienic practices. @olivia et al set some out.
September 7, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Five principles to protect the ecosystem of human knowledge. 1/5
@tomstafford has argued that the infoglut we live in is like when densely populated cities made plagues more likely. We need to normalise new hygienic practices. @olivia et al set some out.
@tomstafford has argued that the infoglut we live in is like when densely populated cities made plagues more likely. We need to normalise new hygienic practices. @olivia et al set some out.
"But AI tools will be just like calculators..."
September 7, 2025 at 11:05 AM
"But AI tools will be just like calculators..."
Students aren't generally looking to cheat, and most think LLM use should not be allowed in college education. Let's not allow salespeople to speak for them.
September 7, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Students aren't generally looking to cheat, and most think LLM use should not be allowed in college education. Let's not allow salespeople to speak for them.
Why higher ed teaching is hard, and always will be. But we don't do it because it is easy, and we are trusted to do it well because we have hard earned expertise in our fields. Let's not undervalue that, hey?
September 7, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Why higher ed teaching is hard, and always will be. But we don't do it because it is easy, and we are trusted to do it well because we have hard earned expertise in our fields. Let's not undervalue that, hey?
It is vital that we don't overestimate our understanding of human cognition.
Yes, there is reason to believe we have a better grasp of some things than when AI hype first appeared in the 1950s, but that better understanding is not clear, and almost certainly isn't on the basis of simple computation
Yes, there is reason to believe we have a better grasp of some things than when AI hype first appeared in the 1950s, but that better understanding is not clear, and almost certainly isn't on the basis of simple computation
September 7, 2025 at 10:54 AM
It is vital that we don't overestimate our understanding of human cognition.
Yes, there is reason to believe we have a better grasp of some things than when AI hype first appeared in the 1950s, but that better understanding is not clear, and almost certainly isn't on the basis of simple computation
Yes, there is reason to believe we have a better grasp of some things than when AI hype first appeared in the 1950s, but that better understanding is not clear, and almost certainly isn't on the basis of simple computation
Sigh. Paging Sam Altman.
September 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Sigh. Paging Sam Altman.
The more I learn about history, the more I understand how important learning about history is. This is doubly important in my own professional field.
@olivia and colleagues driving home the point against the inevitability of AI reminding us of this.
@olivia and colleagues driving home the point against the inevitability of AI reminding us of this.
September 7, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The more I learn about history, the more I understand how important learning about history is. This is doubly important in my own professional field.
@olivia and colleagues driving home the point against the inevitability of AI reminding us of this.
@olivia and colleagues driving home the point against the inevitability of AI reminding us of this.
Reposted by Marek McGann
Perhaps it's time to tap the chart again. Left-handed people were once seen as sinister (the word sinister, from Latin, originally meant "left" or "on the left side") so kids were forced to be right-handed. However, with advances in science it became clear […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
August 29, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Perhaps it's time to tap the chart again. Left-handed people were once seen as sinister (the word sinister, from Latin, originally meant "left" or "on the left side") so kids were forced to be right-handed. However, with advances in science it became clear […]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
[Original post on mastodon.world]
Reposted by Marek McGann
Reposted by Marek McGann
I'm putting together a short bibliography of recent papers about #bigteamscience, with emphasis on challenges and solutions for large social science projects. Am I missing any important papers? I'm in particular looking for any tools or checklists to use when […]
[Original post on fediscience.org]
[Original post on fediscience.org]
August 27, 2025 at 7:14 AM
I'm putting together a short bibliography of recent papers about #bigteamscience, with emphasis on challenges and solutions for large social science projects. Am I missing any important papers? I'm in particular looking for any tools or checklists to use when […]
[Original post on fediscience.org]
[Original post on fediscience.org]
Reposted by Marek McGann
❝ The crazy thing is not that garlic isn’t grown from seeds; it’s that, for the most part, it can’t be. Ever since people began cultivating garlic — six millennia ago by some estimates, 10 by others — it’s primarily been done through asexual reproduction. In all those thousands of years […]
Original post on infosec.exchange
infosec.exchange
August 21, 2025 at 6:43 AM
❝ The crazy thing is not that garlic isn’t grown from seeds; it’s that, for the most part, it can’t be. Ever since people began cultivating garlic — six millennia ago by some estimates, 10 by others — it’s primarily been done through asexual reproduction. In all those thousands of years […]
Reposted by Marek McGann
Reposted by Marek McGann
New newsletter!
"To not get distracted by the dizzying competence of the new AI models, we need to keep a steady eye on their surprising failures too."
https://open.substack.com/pub/tomstafford/p/ai-has-weird-edges
"To not get distracted by the dizzying competence of the new AI models, we need to keep a steady eye on their surprising failures too."
https://open.substack.com/pub/tomstafford/p/ai-has-weird-edges
AI has weird edges
The surprising failures of AI models help see how unlike human intelligence it is
tomstafford.substack.com
August 16, 2025 at 7:07 AM
New newsletter!
"To not get distracted by the dizzying competence of the new AI models, we need to keep a steady eye on their surprising failures too."
https://open.substack.com/pub/tomstafford/p/ai-has-weird-edges
"To not get distracted by the dizzying competence of the new AI models, we need to keep a steady eye on their surprising failures too."
https://open.substack.com/pub/tomstafford/p/ai-has-weird-edges