iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Fellow authors: Without any context, what's the first line of your current WIP? // They arrived from across the hills the first time we saw them.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Wrapped up the @iacesr.bsky.social conference. Really interesting talks and presentations, but it's always tough to network from the outside (no PI in the field, no lab group attending). Would love your tips and tricks for how to make the most of conferencing! Now just two days exploring Czechia.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

It's 37 degrees C outside (and only a few degrees cooler inside), so I had to write about the #heatwave hitting Europe this week. How #grief changes in a hotter world.

open.substack.com

How Grief Changes in a Hotter World

Notes from the European Heat Wave

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I'm not an expert, but to me every aspect of the film gives way to the conclusion that only a woman could survive. The fact that the computer is called "Mother," the violent childbirth-like imagery of the alien emerging from bodies. This is a *female* sci-fi in a sea of male-dominated sci-fi.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

My latest substack post is up. This one is a super general overview of my current area of research: bereavement hallucinations. courtneyapplewhite.substack.com/p/presence-e...

courtneyapplewhite.substack.com

Presence Experiences of the Deceased

Introduction and Prevalence

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I feel extremely lucky to have been among the first cohort of girls to be given this vaccine by a very forward-thinking rural medicine physician. What a win for science! 🔬🔎🧪

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

After about two years in the review cycle, my paper about after death experiences (i.e., #bereavementhallucinations) in Parkinson's Disease is out in the journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. If you don't have access, send me a DM and I'll share the PDF! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.com

After death experiences in patients with Parkinson’s disease - Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences

Hallucinations are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), with presence hallucinations (PH), reported as the sensation that someone is close to you, being the most frequent. Some PD patients report PH in...

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Returning to some of my PhD research for this week's Substack post. Would you want to become a tree when you die?

courtneyapplewhite.substack.com

Everyone Wants to Become a Tree

Choosing environmental options for when we die

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Friday is here, which means a new substack post. How do death rituals affect our bereavement? I look at cross-cultural rates of Prolonged Grief Disorder, and what rituals share across cultural difference. open.substack.com/pub/courtney...

An image of the Obon festival in Japan where there are floating lanterns on a body of water. The text reads "Do death rituals affect how we grieve?"

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

How many people are grieving? There's not an immediately clear answer. So, I tackled it in my first-ever blog post over on Substack! Give it a read and subscribe if you want more on death, bereavement, or other things that pop into my head. #altac

open.substack.com

How many people are grieving?

Putting grief and bereavement in perspective

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

If you grew up in the U.S. in the 1980s/1990s, you know the Paul Hogan ad to promote travel to Australia. His famous line, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for ya" was basically the only "Australian" thing I knew.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

One of my favorite comics by @gemmacorrell.bsky.social Cargo, or reverse, for me.

12 mini ghost images, each of which are a different "fashion" statement: regular, slim fit, relaxed fit, empire line, cropped, cargo, ra-ra, peplum, pleated, two piece, breton, reverse, sporty, designer, distressed, formal.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Tried watching the first episode of the #3BodyProblem last night, but my husband (physicist by training) couldn't suspend his disbelief. (Mostly premise below) "WHAT SCIENTIST WOULD NOT BE THRILLED BY DISCOVERING A NEW WAY THE UNIVERSE WORKS? Why are they depressed? What a time to be alive!"

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Reposted by Courtney Applewhite

Micah @rincewind.run · 28/04/2026

Discworld QOTD, from The Shepherd’s Crown

I HAVE WATCHED YOUR PROGRESS WITH INTEREST, ESMERELDA WEATHERWAX, said the voice in the dark. He was firm, but oh so polite. But now there was a question in his voice. PRAY TELL ME, WHY WERE YOU CONTENT TO LIVE IN THIS TINY LITTLE COUNTRY WHEN, AS YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING AND ANYBODY IN THE WORLD?

“I don’t know about the world, not much; but in my part of the world I could make little miracles for ordinary people,” Granny replied sharply. “And I never wanted the world—just a part of it, a small part that I could keep safe, that I could keep away from storms. Not the ones of the sky, you understand: there are other kinds.”

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

A few days ago, they announced the World Photo of the Year. It's called "Separated by ICE" by @carolguzy.bsky.social, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald. This will be the legacy of this administration. Inconsolable grief, in a place for meant for justice.

Several faces, in states of grief and shock, and variously sized hands pulling at a man's NCAA men's basketball March madness sweater. Several hands are wrenching the sweater, and then other grabbing the hands and shoulders of those surrounding.

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Reposted by Courtney Applewhite

Fiona Tribe @fionatribe.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Yes, Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky coined the term “dark matter” which is impressive, but he also coined the term “spherical bastard” to describe people who are bastards no matter which way you look at them, and I think that should be celebrated more.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Beautiful article. I've honestly never felt so invested in benches. From my area of study, author Gabrielle Bruney highlights the use of commemorative benches: For local Brooklyn artist Traore Leigh, "Instead of a tombstone — “that wasn’t his vibe” — the family sought a different kind of memorial."

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

No notes. Dolly is a national treasure.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Eric Swalwell is the perfect example of double standards for Democrats and Republicans in U.S. government. Of COURSE a serial abuser should step down from his elected seat, but do you see that happening with ANY Republicans representatives (or dare I say, sitting presidents)?

npr.org

Eric Swalwell will resign from Congress. And, Trump feuds with Pope Leo over Iran War

Eric Swalwell is resigning from Congress after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. And, Trump is feuding with Pope Leo, calling him weak on crime for opposing the war.

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Courtney Applewhite @c-applewhite.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Ann Taves (my PhD advisor) visited our lab in October to work on refining her "presence typology." I'm still considering if I think these typologies are useful, as we continue to struggle to find appropriate cross-disciplinary language to talk about "presences."

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