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

It feels like software engineering to try and redirect my saves to just a normal folder called "Documents" that is not connected to OneDrive. I feel insane.

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

And I also think it only makes sense that the cat is an orange boi. The orange boi must survive.

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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

This is a great point, and thanks for your reply. I think there are a lot of jokes about corporate speak (decks and circling back, etc.), but it's true that in the humanities we often hold tight to (or hide behind) a lot of theoretical jargon.

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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

Do you find that for people in the humanities/social sciences this is the biggest "pivot" issue? From religious studies, I can also see a storytelling challenge when trying to make my work relatable to an industry or other non-academic group.

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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 · 11/05/2026

The research is mixed. Some studies will show differences in type of loss, but others suggest it has to do more with the *closeness* of the relationship, and not necessarily the type of relationship.

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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

I made a joke to my husband (half Australian) this morning about throwing a shrimp on the barbie being on the citizenship test, and his first reaction was "they wouldn't even call them shrimp - they're prawns." And then we discovered that this was literally just travel propaganda.

media.tenor.com

a man in a white shirt says i 'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie ..

Alt: a man in a white shirt says i 'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie ..

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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

But this is the content I'm here for!

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

Anyway, we are going to continue watching because I think it's important for his growth. And **I** can suspend my disbelief, especially if there will be aliens! (I genuinely have no idea).

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

It's not like if Einstein was wrong, everything would go tits up. Science is by nature a self-correcting system (or it should be). This is distinct from a religious believer discovering God isn't real (for example). Faith recruits a different epistemology than science.

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

But to put a finer point on it, the show really does this science belief versus religious belief dichotomy. And what my husband disagrees with is that science ISN'T faith. In science, our models, beliefs, and understandings must be updated as new information arrives.

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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

I gave a presentation a few years ago, "Everyone Wants to Become a Tree," and took this photo in York, England. While there are a *lot* of elements involved in the tree part, the plaque, visible for everyone, is indeed a more public remembrance.

An engraved metal placard at the base of a tree. It reads: "This tree was planted in memory of Charles Allen 1887 - 1972 a distinguished naturalist, who gave great service to the Museum and Gardens."

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

Commemorative benches, tree placards, & dedicated buildings (like libraries, university buildings) are ways in which the dead are remembered in public life, rather than set "aside" in a cemetery. For the living, this not only aligns better with their values, but it makes the dead feel more present.

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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

Check out the paper: www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

tandfonline.com

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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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