Dean Burnett (that brains guy)

Neuroscientist, author, science bod, vague wit, moderately prominent Twitter person. Tend to chime in with all things brain and mental health related.

"Top egghead neuroscientist" - The Daily Star

Science:
Brains:
Writing:
Media:

Public Key

npub1f2tggjkdyzr4jqh7jdwmwuvpcwchaevm73y46e74qvp5lwv5jenstky7ng

NIP-05 Address

garwboy_at_ohai.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsy495yftxjpp6eqtlfxhdhwxqu8vt7ukdlgj2avl2sxq60hx2fvecpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsr35uft

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1f2tggjkdyzr4jqh7jdwmwuvpcwchaevm73y46e74qvp5lwv5jenstky7ng

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Last Notes

2026-04-20 21:20:51 UTC

Earlier this week, I was asked to guest on a science podcast to dicuss the phenomenon of Imposter Syndrome
My immediate thought was "Crap, why are they asking me? I don't know what I'm doing!"
So yeah, I have some relevant insight

2026-04-19 09:15:21 UTC

‘Your brain isn’t fully formed until you’re 25’: A neuroscientist demolishes the greatest mind myth
https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/brain-myth-25-development
Dr Dean Burnett tackles a stubborn, and increasingly harmful, brain myth. For Science Focus Magazine.
#Brains #Teens #Development #Autonomy

2026-04-16 14:39:23 UTC

Why Are Heavy Metal Fans So Nice?
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTLbL5_DEim/
Dean Burnett's surprisingly popular video explainer of the surprisingly mellow nature of many heavy metal fans.
#Metal #Music #Brains #Emotions

2026-04-13 17:19:24 UTC

No need to stop the 'brain rot': Modern kids aren't less intelligent
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26635392-800-no-need-to-stop-the-brain-rot-modern-kids-arent-less-intelligent/
Neuroscientist Dr Dean Burnett tackles a common, but unfair, claim about modern young people. For New Scientist magazine
#Brains #BrainRot #Youth #GenZ

2026-04-06 18:48:15 UTC

Dear hotel bathroom designers
It may look stylish, but if the featureless steel block that is apparently a tap will only dispense hot water by stroking the rear quadrant thrice widdershins, you should include instructions for the average guest who doesn't have a Masters degree in Escherian geometry

2026-04-02 19:40:30 UTC

You wrote a novel using AI? Cool. It's like that time I ran a marathon using a Ford Focus.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/116/336/809/082/247/195/original/71a7cfbb4d847ff6.jpeg

2026-03-17 19:20:27 UTC

Request for the hivemind
I'm looking for more examples of things/breakthroughs that are always 'imminent', e.g. predicted 'within the next 5/10 years', but thus far have not happened
So far I've got
- Nuclear fusion
- Quantum Computing
- Self-driving cars
- Canaverro's head transplant

2026-03-12 08:17:26 UTC

Was asked to appear on the radio, to discuss Zack Polanski's previous job of offering hypnotherapy for breast enlargement
While unavailable for this obvious hit piece, if you're legit worried about 'politicians saying/doing things that aren't evidence based', there are far more prominent examples
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/116/215/214/647/824/997/original/98de4a2ae11218ce.jpeg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/116/215/214/646/689/268/original/092d942bad063e87.jpeg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/116/215/214/634/418/502/original/dda439436c62181b.jpeg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/116/215/214/650/134/906/original/5fc9e26a55306326.jpeg

2026-02-20 10:05:36 UTC

Not the key point, but all the 'Andrew Mountbatten Windsor' coverage shows how quickly and easily the entire UK media complex can switch to someone's new name/title, even after using their old one for decades, when it's an incredibly pampered white male deviant. So, you know, it's not *that* hard...

2026-02-12 22:08:01 UTC

Running a survey to find out how many people know what a 'control group' is.
Also running another survey at the same time that asks very similar people about something completely unrelated

2026-01-06 14:10:47 UTC

The cat is constantly trying to get into the attic for some reason. His latest effort was impressively sneaky.
#Pickle #cats #ChristmasTree
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/848/552/724/783/678/original/781c939945f6fa17.jpg

2025-12-27 10:57:47 UTC

As a 'rural' person who grew up with hunts as a regular presence, there's little more alienating than a bunch of sociopathic posh people on horseback descending upon your community with a pack of jittery hounds, in order to dismember a small woodland animal usually encountered in children's stories.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/791/167/973/556/170/original/19295a9febdf61d0.jpg

2025-12-26 23:32:47 UTC

Public service announcement
Just so we're all clear, this week the bins go out on Fratunday morvening, with the exception of mixed glass clippings and general garden food. Those go out on Modnesday, before 15.87am.

2025-12-24 20:04:30 UTC

Watched Muppet's Christmas Carol, and 13yo son said "the scariest part is when the doorknob turns into Bob Marley", and now I DESPERATELY want to see that version
#ScroogeMon

2025-12-15 18:31:09 UTC

An AI response, that I didn't ask for, telling me my search query is wrong because it's based on a misunderstanding, but it is in fact the AI that has misunderstood my query, so it telling me I'm wrong is, in fact, wrong.
I'm so glad this tech is apparently running everything now. Very reassuring.

2025-12-10 12:11:12 UTC

"I had a very expensive education and I'm still a huge bigot. So anyone who had a less expensive one must surely be even more bigoted. Logic, that is".
This seems to be the mindset of far too many of the people who control the UK discourse and it's incredibly tiresome.

2025-12-04 14:53:49 UTC

Another day, another attempt at self-promotion. But at least it's 100% human made!
The Idiot Brain - 10 year anniversary edition - 01/01/2026
Pre-order now - https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dean-Burnett/The-Idiot-Brain--Why-Your-Brain-Gets-Things-Wrong--and-Why-Thats-Alright/32355466
#Books #Brains #Slop #AnniversaryEdition
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/661/866/256/953/227/original/632219e6bacc3175.png

2025-11-09 20:40:50 UTC

When you're opening a tin of tuna and turn around.
#cat #dog #pickle #forest #ambushhunters
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/521/673/040/389/605/original/b9d429db4c8d87d8.jpg

2025-11-07 10:12:15 UTC

Alcohol can actually improve your memory (sometimes)
https://metro.co.uk/2016/02/16/alcohol-can-actually-improve-your-memory-sometimes-5691916/
A Metro article inspired by The Idiot Brain (my debut book), which makes it definitely correct.
#Brains #Memory #Article

2025-11-04 08:28:34 UTC

Do you like science and comedy and music and ridiculous mashups of all those things? Do you also happen to live in Cardiff?
Well, book your tickets for 9 Carols at the Cardiff Glee Club, December 9th.
https://booking.glee.co.uk/22532
Featuring many brilliant acts. And also me.

2025-10-17 13:21:40 UTC

Just had an ad in my feed, which was a video all about how it's better to use AI to create promotional videos.
This particular promotional video, for the service that makes promotional AI videos, was not created with AI.
A 100% perfect encapsulation of the problem. No notes.

2025-10-16 21:06:01 UTC

The thing is, if you genuinely believed that preteen girls are old enough to be mothers while males in their thirties are too young to comprehend fascism, then you logically wouldn't trust men to be responsible for anything more consequential than a balloon animal, let alone a government

2025-09-30 11:33:28 UTC

Nigel Farage is basically someone who'll burn down your house because he doesn't like how it looks, dance around in the ashes to gloat, then whine about the state of his shoes and demand that you pay to have them cleaned.

2025-09-28 15:06:24 UTC

No, it’s not just a trend: The real reasons adult ADHD and autism diagnoses are on the rise
https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/adult-mental-health
A frustratingly-still-relevant article I wrote for Science Focus magazine
#ADHD #Autism #ND #diagnosis

2025-09-20 11:36:10 UTC

Your brain works fine when you're under 25 (no matter how 'inconvenient' this fact may be)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/your-brain-works-fine-when-youre
The myth that 'if you're under 25, you're not mature enough to decide anything' refuses to die. But it absolutely should
#Brains #Development #Maturity

2025-09-18 19:59:13 UTC

Where the hell is my 'runner's high'?
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/where-the-hell-is-my-runners-high
A quite-frankly justified rant about the absence of much-touted rewards of regular exercise. Sure, the whole 'being healthier' thing is all well and good, but where are the endorphins at?
#Exercise #Running #Health #High

2025-09-16 11:51:37 UTC

"We must abandon all the things we supposedly stand for and promised and be as performatively racist as possible, so we can retain power and continue to do none of the things we'd hoped to do".
I mean, if that's your thinking, why even bother? Just walk away and take up lawn bowls, or something

2025-09-11 22:02:01 UTC

I'm sorry, but if you feel compelled to add the name of your country to your national flag, then you are openly admitting it fails at the one and only function of a national flag, and therefore, logically, is a shit flag
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/187/915/022/866/041/original/bc3cc50df89752f4.jpg

2025-09-10 07:10:13 UTC

The true origins of autism?
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/the-true-origins-of-autism?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24oxwv
Forget smartphones or vaccines, a new
study reveals that neurodivergence is
tomething that evolved millions of years
ago. And we likely wouldn't be human
without it.
#autism #neurodivergence

2025-08-26 12:02:05 UTC

The first rule of passive-aggressive club is something you really should remember at this point. It's not like this is the first meeting you've attended, after we went to all the trouble of organising them. But no matter, it's fine. Everyone learns at their own pace, I guess.

2025-08-15 18:40:34 UTC

I'm am absolutely on board with the blunt but long-overdue honesty of this hot drinks machine.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/115/034/241/196/762/082/original/2c73f8f9dc181aba.jpg

2025-08-03 07:05:36 UTC

Awful new euphemism just dropped.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/963/560/477/735/175/original/d0c95da13f6a9f44.jpg

2025-07-30 07:21:07 UTC

Why do we keep dreaming about our teeth falling out?
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/why-do-we-keep-dreaming-about-our?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24oxwv
When you consider how ridiculously random the typical dream is, that so many people would have the same one, so often, is very weird.
But neuroscience offers some explanations.
#Dreams #Teeth #Brains

2025-07-18 10:50:54 UTC

Please join me in wishing a happy 8th birthday to the news-making, truck defying, home invading, chaos causing bogeyman of the northern Cardiff pet community, Pickle.
Happy birthday, you ludicrous animal.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/873/848/790/864/867/original/ed4579aea42a59e9.jpg

2025-07-16 14:43:20 UTC

Recently got asked one of those default interview questions about "Name someone who inspires you".
I've always struggled with these questions, as I'm not one to put people on pedestals. But then I remembered someone who legitimately inspired me in every way
A former student of mine
1/15

2025-07-11 13:22:24 UTC

- reply

Ladies and gentlemen, for your consideration...
A running joke.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/834/806/217/399/256/original/f7bb40795c0f65b6.png

2025-07-11 10:10:28 UTC

Just been out for a 5k
It's a ridiculously expensive form of exercise, but I'm assured it's worth it in the end

2025-07-10 19:37:55 UTC

Your brain works fine when you're under 25 (no matter how 'inconvenient' this fact may be)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/your-brain-works-fine-when-youre
The 'frontal lobe theory', that your brain isn't 'fully mature' until age 25, remains very influential... and almost entirely wrong.
#Brains #Teens #development #Policy

2025-07-08 12:44:12 UTC

RIP to Norman Tebbit, holder of the record for "Most self-damning argument in history" for that time when he said we shouldn't allow same-sex marriage because he might marry his own son to avoid inheritance tax.

2025-06-26 21:27:24 UTC

This presumably explains why my last-but-one book got several 3 star reviews on Goodreads, just after it was announced, but at least 6 months before I actually finished writing the first draft.
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/authors-hit-by-bad-reviews-on-goodreads-before-review-copies-are-even-circulated

2025-06-23 07:17:01 UTC

If you don't self-censor, you are technically subhuman
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/if-you-dont-self-censor-you-are-technically?r=24oxwv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
A recent 'survey' supposedly revealed that many men object to feeling like they have to self-censor in the workplace
The thing is, though, self-censoring is a fundamental part of being a human.
My latest article on this is available now.
#Brains #Censorship #work

2025-06-12 17:05:29 UTC

Remember in 2014 when the new U2 album was automatically installed in everyone's iTunes and everyone got really annoyed?
Imagine if they'd installed it on every other programme you ever used. And it also somehow meant Bono could interrupt what you were doing and take over
That's modern AI, that is

2025-06-03 19:48:14 UTC

McDonald's cures migraines? I'm doubtin' it.
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/mcdonalds-cures-migraines-im-doubtin?r=24oxwv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
A viral TikTok claim says that a simple McDonald's meal is all that's needed to cure a migraine. That this is being taken seriously reveals all manner of problems.
My latest blogpost, for your eyeballs
#Migraine #McDonalds

2025-06-02 20:03:10 UTC

This is my PhD thesis
I did not ask for this
I did not consent to this
I did not approve of this
I was not compensated for this
I would not have advised this
I do not like this
And worst of all, the number of people who've read my thesis has still not increased.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/615/555/772/097/270/original/009ffb07569878ad.png

2025-05-30 12:50:12 UTC

Do. Not. Disturb. The. Mysterious. Ancient. Rune-inscribed. Skull-adorned. Ring. Found. In. The. Idyllic. Countryside.
Seriously, there's a whole book about this. And movies. Long ones!
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/596/864/854/152/231/original/f51e3e7ba57f9320.jpg

2025-05-24 21:30:04 UTC

What idiot called it "The masculine tendency to suppress all emotional and nurturing impulses" and not "Scrotal eclipse of the heart"?

2025-04-29 09:10:37 UTC

Saw a Canadian a I was walking around the nearby lake so I went up to them an congratulated them on the election results. They got furious and started chasing me! Guess they were a Conservative
Actually, now that I think back, they were actually a goose.

2025-04-26 12:09:56 UTC

No, AI, I do NOT think nuclear war is a good thing
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/no-ai-i-do-not-think-nuclear-war?r=24oxwv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Google's AI is telling people that I am in favour of nuclear war*. Because of course it is. This reveals yet another problem with AI that makes things harder for us all.
#AI #Media #Writing
* = I'm not. Quite the opposite. But AI doesn't have the wherewithal to understand this

2025-04-25 20:37:28 UTC

Got a random email from a 19yo in Brazil
Turns out, they'd emailed me at age 14, asking for advice about Neuroscience as a career, after reading my first book. They're now in their first year of medical school, as a result of my response
So yeah, I'll be in the corner processing some emotions

2025-04-24 17:22:23 UTC

Fair comment, apart from the first thing. And the second thing. And the third thing. And the quoted comment. And everything else. So apart from 100% of the claims made being fact-free, scaremongering assumptions... great article.
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/394/088/935/037/749/original/2af7f2201935dba4.jpg

2025-04-20 21:02:23 UTC

Raising a glass tonight to Peter William Burnett, aka Bush, aka The Old Man, aka Dad.
5 years to the day since we lost him to COVID-19, at the very start of the pandemic, at the obscenely young age of 58.
1/21
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/372/309/329/914/123/original/43f4053464ca57ce.jpeg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/372/309/296/814/206/original/943e06fbbfadbc97.jpeg

2025-04-20 13:59:26 UTC

The obsession with 'overdiagnosis' is a much bigger problem than overdiagnosis itself
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/the-obsession-with-overdiagnosis?r=24oxwv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
The discourse around the 'problem' of 'overdiagnosis' doesn't hold up at all when you consider the actual evidence. Pushing it anyway risks harming so many
#Diagnosis #Mentalhealth #Media
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/370/646/245/584/261/original/d5f53bc64359ad70.png

2025-04-18 22:10:35 UTC

I, too, have a drinks cabinet
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/361/251/996/992/541/original/122e76fbfb16e0da.jpg

2025-04-18 09:33:52 UTC

No need to stop the 'brain rot': Modern kids aren't less intelligent
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26635392-800-no-need-to-stop-the-brain-rot-modern-kids-arent-less-intelligent/
It's me, in New Scientist magazine, standing up for 'the kids' yet again, as they're subjected to an endless barrage of evidence-free accusations and paranoia
#Technology #Brains #Teens

2025-04-10 06:30:07 UTC

2025-04-09 06:30:08 UTC

2025-04-07 15:25:43 UTC

What Smartphones are doing to kids' mental health is NOT terrifying (no matter what a child psychiatrist says)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/what-smartphones-are-doing-to-kids
This post is still getting traffic, especially since the 'Adolescence' debate began, presumably as dubious claims about the impact of smartphones remain common

2025-04-04 11:24:35 UTC

- reply

One of the most common retorts I've had to this has been "I don't see you offering any solutions!"
I mean, I literally researched and wrote a whole book of evidence-based solutions about this very thing.
amzn.eu/d/eUkiqAu
However, whenever I do say mention that I've written a book, the response is invariably "You're just trying to make money, so everything you say is invalid"
Unlike that great benevolent charity Netflix, of course, which makes nothing from the discourse around 'Adolescence'

2025-04-04 06:59:34 UTC

Showing 'Adolescence' in schools may make the problem worse
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/showing-adolescence-in-schools-may
Compelling teens to watch the hit Netflix show in school, in a bid to tackle dangerous male influencers online, could easily backfire, because of how teen brains work.
My latest post explains

2025-03-24 08:30:05 UTC

An article for Meta to use to train their AI
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/an-article-for-meta-to-use-to-train
It turns out Zuckerberg and Meta have used all my books to train their AI. So I wrote this, to show that there are no hard feelings.
#AI #Meta #Zuckerberg #Booo

2025-03-23 16:03:23 UTC

Doing some research about the modern concept of 'dopamine fasting', and need to include that whole 'raw dogging' on flights trend.
Realised some audio-visual content would be useful, so did a Google video for raw dogging.
Yeah, won't be doing that again

2025-03-22 09:49:42 UTC

2025-03-19 08:30:06 UTC

2025-03-19 07:30:07 UTC

For what it's worth, Wes Streeting looks like a 10-year-old child who told a genie "I wish I was big", rather than "I wish I was an adult"
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/187/921/448/583/902/original/5ad586ad2341c994.png

2025-03-17 17:26:34 UTC

Neurodivergent people have always been there (we just weren't 'looking' before)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/neurodivergent-people-have-always
The idea that the neurodiversity is a 'recent development' and hasn't been shaping all of human society forever is as wrong as it is unhelpful
My latest post explains
#ND #Autism #ADHD

2025-03-15 09:30:05 UTC

2025-03-14 15:41:57 UTC

2025-03-12 22:47:06 UTC

Me: [Clicks on a recipe video. Once. By accident]
Facebook algorithms, 3 seconds later: "So, you've decided to become a full time chef responsible for feeding the population of a moderately sized industrial town, eh? You're going to need wall-to-wall cooking videos, yeah? Well, you're in luck..."

2025-03-11 19:30:49 UTC

Managed to disable the Copilot AI 'assistant' on MS Word. Wasn't too hard, although we lost 3 men on the bridge of the swinging blades, and that fifth riddle in front of the immortal guard who sees only truth was a bit tricky.

2025-02-18 21:41:51 UTC

This ludicrous beast is 3 years old today.
Happy birthday to Forest, beagle extraordinare, the doggiest dog who ever dogged.
#Forest #Beagle #birthday #dog
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/027/061/381/867/276/original/19f24f1dce60045a.jpg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/027/061/515/758/245/original/d33f5af42e69547c.jpg
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/114/027/061/617/680/622/original/65c95ce9c5dbc18e.jpg

2025-02-14 22:08:07 UTC

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Colour is merely a construct conjured up by our brains in a desperate attempt to impose some sort of sense on a chaotic, uncaring universe
As is love, if we're honest
#HappyValentinesDate

2025-02-10 10:28:47 UTC

Should we be terrified of Musk's brain chip technology?
No. At least, not yet. Because his grand claims revealed he has little to no clue how the brain actually works.
He's approaching it like an engineering problem, as if there's 'a fix' that just needs working out
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/no-elon-musk-didnt-put-a-chip-in?r=24oxwv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/979/118/527/644/735/original/d37ab1321af7915d.jpeg

2025-02-04 08:22:16 UTC

Your brain works fine when you're under 25 (no matter how 'inconvenient' this fact may be)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/your-brain-works-fine-when-youre
In-lieu of the young guys working on Musk's behalf, the old "Your brain isn't fully developed until your 25 claim" has emerged yet again
Here's why it's BS
#Brains #25 #Misinformation

2025-02-03 22:21:31 UTC

If you think people under 25 shouldn't make important decisions or be held responsible for things because their brains aren't fully functional “according to science”… I've got bad news for you
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/your-brain-works-fine-when-youre?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24oxwv
#frontallobe #brains #maturity #age
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/942/284/835/543/593/original/d52e0cc9c9a2800d.jpeg

2025-01-24 21:46:02 UTC

"Antidepressants are bad!" (Despite the evidence) = Widespread coverage
"Smartphones are fine" (According to the evidence) = *crickets*
This 'natural good, synthetic bad' approach defines so much of the mainstream, and hurts so many vulnerable people
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/good-grief-moncrieff-how-mainstream
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/885/522/327/290/148/original/338668743f3a78e1.png

2025-01-23 08:03:03 UTC

Daily life in 2025.
#AI #Tech #JustLetMeBe #FFS
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/876/623/896/886/295/original/f01138ff79ef43cd.jpeg

2025-01-22 11:00:50 UTC

Your brain is hard-wired to avoid exercise. Here's why
https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/exercise-brain
Welcome to 2025! New year, new you, and all that guff.
But before your resolutions quickly peter out, read this Science Focus piece, by me, about why something ostensibly good for us is often so off putting.
#NewYear #Exercise #Diet #Body #Psychology

2025-01-16 14:59:31 UTC

Having my snarky writing efforts earn the public approval of ACTUAL BLOODY IRVINE 'AUTHOR OF TRAINSPOTTING' WELSH is *not* how I saw today going...
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/838/617/870/206/773/original/54191f31640a464e.png

2025-01-12 19:08:28 UTC

Even if i didn't think it was BS, I'm not being lectured on 'masculinity' by a sentient toilet brush that got rich by inventing online stalking
https://files.ohai.social/media_attachments/files/113/816/953/693/074/408/original/e6505c8fb6ab9301.jpg

2025-01-12 14:28:21 UTC

Why Your Parents Are Hung-Up on Your
Phone and What To Do About It https://amzn.eu/d/9MvYTHF
If you've not got it yet, my latest book is now 20% off on Amazon. So get it now, and leave a review if possible, it all helps
#book #brains #Phones #teens
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2025-01-11 16:24:00 UTC

Don't forget to check out/subscribe to my new science blog on Substack
The Neuroscience of Everyday Life
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24oxwv
And feel free to ask any brain-related questions, however tangential, and I'll do my best to answer in a post.
I like a challenge!

2025-01-10 17:17:12 UTC

If we regularly beat people with sticks 5 times a day because they had green eyes, and then said "Look, green eyes give you bruises!" that would be ludicrous
Saying that being LGBTQ+ is bad for your mental health is the same logic
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/why-being-gay-is-not-a-mental-illness
#MentalHealth #Meta

2025-01-10 08:48:54 UTC

Why being gay is not a 'mental illness' (no matter what Facebook says)
https://open.substack.com/pub/theneuroscienceofeverydaylife/p/why-being-gay-is-not-a-mental-illness?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24oxwv
Seeing a Zuckerberg thinks it's now OK for people to say being gay is a illness, here's a summary of why it very much isn't
#LGBTQ #MentalHealth #Psychology

2025-01-04 08:39:16 UTC

What Smartphones are doing to kids' mental health is NOT terrifying (no matter what a child psychiatrist says)
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/what-smartphones-are-doing-to-kids
My response to the Guardian's latest 'Phones are destroying the children!!' article. As ever, it's... problematic
#Phones #screens #brains #wellbeing #kids #mentalhealth #BadScience #Misinformation
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2025-01-03 11:00:01 UTC

Not saying I didn't get enough sleep last night, but I just poured the wrong milk in my tea, and immediately apologised to the other individual in the kitchen
Said individual was the cat, who has, to date, never expressed an opinion either way regarding what sort of milk I use

2025-01-02 12:24:18 UTC

My resolution for 2023 is to not procrastinate so much

2024-12-30 09:30:40 UTC

The 6 biggest questions about adult ADHD, answered by a neuroscientist
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/adhd-questions-answered
An in-depth exploration of the nuances of ADHD in adults, and what we're constantly getting wrong about it.
By me, for BBC Science Focus
#ADHD #MentalHealth

2024-12-28 14:00:47 UTC

[Me watching porn]
"Wow... having a massive house makes you really horny"

2024-12-20 20:45:18 UTC

No, smartphones are not 'rotting your brain'
https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/no-smartphones-are-not-rotting-your
My the first post on my new science blog! Odd time to start it, but this subject's come up a lot today.
Will sort out the details later, but do subscribe if interested. There's a lot more coming...
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2024-12-17 14:58:05 UTC

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oh that's exactly what I've had words about. One time they changed it to something that could have literally put me in danger! Not malicious, just utter cluelessness in the search for clicks

2024-12-17 14:49:20 UTC

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yeah, me and the Web editor of the magazine have... "had words" more than once

2024-12-16 12:00:03 UTC

The hidden psychology of ‘know-it-alls’: Why they think they know everything
https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/know-it-all-psychology
Getting irked by certain people online talking to you as if they know everything, when they clearly don't? This Science Focus article (that I wrote) may help you understand why they're like that
#Science #Psychology #brains #KnowItAlls #Ego

2024-12-15 09:30:27 UTC

2024-12-10 13:29:40 UTC

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Or, to put it more succinctly:
"Is doom scrolling really rotting our brains? The evidence is getting harder to ignore"
...'evidence'?
20/21
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2024-12-10 13:29:34 UTC

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In summary: Writing a condescending article about the dangers of 'brain rot' and the harms of the internet on young people's intellect, but doing so in a manner that reveals relentless confirmation bias, cherry picking, and scientific misunderstanding, is an... 'interesting' approach
19/21

2024-12-10 13:29:28 UTC

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Never mind that data reveals that kids are going outside and playing *more* since smartphones, as paranoid parents can 'stay in touch'. Or that for many vulnerable children, their smartphone and online network is their sole lifeline/support.
THOSE kids don't count. Apparently.
18/21

2024-12-10 13:29:23 UTC

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Ah, there it is.
"Dumb phones!" "Smartphone free childhoods!"
As always, we arrive back to the usual "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" BS. Because smartphones are ONLY ever bad for kids, they have no positive impacts at all. And many 'concerned parents' think this, so it must be true, right?
17/21
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2024-12-10 13:29:16 UTC

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Ah, well, maybe I'm wrong actually. I'm just a basic bog-standard neuroscientist of 20+ years experience. What do I know about how the brain works, when compared to a... [squints] "Google Design Ethicist"?
16/21
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2024-12-10 13:29:10 UTC

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This can do one as well!
That experiment revealed that "People eat slightly more soup than they would if you secretly refill the bowls", not "People quickly become addicted to soup if you refill the bowls, and will keep eating until they resemble a minestrone-filled space hopper". Gah!
15/21
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2024-12-10 13:29:04 UTC

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The infuriating paradox is that when there is a scientific consensus that goes against mainstream views (e.g. there's no clear evidence that phones/internet/social media has any reliably detrimental effects on phones), scientists who say otherwise typically get more attention and influence.
14/21