Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 08/10/2026We had an electrical fault with a non obvious cause. I was genuinely impressed watching the electrician diagnosing it by eliminating possibilities. Bro had a complicated flow chart in his head. 020
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026This is good, but the sequel (1913-1921) is even better. 010
Reposted by Neil LevyRobert Ross @robert-m-ross.bsky.social · 07/10/2026@neillevy.bsky.social, Ryan McKay and I ask, "Who really believes in magic?" www.hbes.com/who-really-b...hbes.comWho really believes in magic? - HBES– by Neil Levy, Rob Ross, and Ryan McKay Anthropology must steer a narrow course between twin dangers. On the one hand, there is the perennial risk of exoticizing other peoples. On the other hand, the... 084
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026German: Zaunkönig. Dutch: winterkoninkje. French: Troglodyte mignon. I don’t know what we can conclude about national character on this basis. At least it’s a cute troglodyte. 040
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I've always liked the poem too (it's one of the very few I know by heart, helped, of course, by the fact it's so short). I have a degree in English literature (and arguably a PhD too), so I am allowed. 051
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I had not realised that @carissaveliz.bsky.social had written the book I wanted to read. 110
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Many works teams retain the job in their name or nickname. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_t...en.wikipedia.orgWorks team - Wikipedia 000
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Right wing in the British context, or on the right wrt Israel? The first is not true. Most recent data gives voting intention as Lab: 30%, Con: 28%, Green: 18, Ref: 11, LD: 9. Substantially less likely to vote Ref and substantially more likely to vote Green than the general population. 070
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 04/10/2026As someone raised in a strongly Zionist milieu, I think part of the problem is that most diaspora Zionists themselves don't have anything precise in mind. Depending on context, it can mean anything from Israel has a right to exist through to unquestioning support for current govt. 5682
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Article list *5* words. They’re all In everybody’s vocabulary already. 020
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Inference to the best explanation: Brett has fallen int a wormhole and is now in twin Earth. Quick, do a chemical assay on the stuff in lakes and rivers. 020
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The great thing about elections is all results show that there wasn't enough abandoning trans. Do well? Think how much better it could have been! 021
Reposted by Neil LevyJorge Morales @jorgemorales.me · 29/09/2026Massive congratulations to my colleague @felipedebrigard.bsky.social for being awarded a MacArthur Fellowship! today.duke.edu/2026/09/duke...today.duke.eduDuke Scientist Awarded MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ | Duke Today 1110916
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I would not be able to provide sufficient details to be able to get humans to find it for me. The environmental costs are a real issue, I agree. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I use AI as a search engine. It's very, very good at that. It quickly finds papers I only vaguely recall. I won't use it for writing or reviewing at all. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Ah, I did not realise they make heavy use of AI. I'm not sure I entirely understand how they use it, after a whole 5 minutes research. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I keep getting requests to review for Qeios. It's not predatory, as far as I can tell. Would you review for it? 221
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026My parents never gave me the birds and bees talk. I had to find out about coefficients of relatedness and haplodiploidy on my own. 151
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026It's definitely happening. We may well need to use AI to triage the papers. AI is like alcohol: the solution to all the problems it creates. 020
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I’m a petty man, and I’m boycotting Springer for a petty reason. Until they stop the multiple unsubmissions for arbitrary reasons, I’m not submitting to or reviewing for them. 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026So is your view (maybe it's the mainstream view - I don't know the literature at all well) that conceptual engineering should be focused on phrases and not words? Absolutely agree that 'bias' is a bad target. Surely linguists are familiar with cog sci usage? 110
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I don't think there's a contradiction in principle. You can be a linguistic descriptivist but also in favour of conceptual engineering. Ofc you need to make the case for the suggested usage, which hasn't really been done in this case. 130
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Most people don’t seem to have realised we can just ignore him. 122
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026There’ll be consequences. Burnham may go as far as adding a “but” after “legitimate concerns.” 040
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The systems reply to the Chinese room, extended to LLMs? 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I send a thumbs up as a sort of “thanks.” The context in which this seems appropriate is responding to overworked admin people. They don’t want another email. But it feels wrong to ghost. 160
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Is there a satisfying non-naturalist answer? Serious question! 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026I've had my papers rejected in places you people wouldn't believe. Desk rejects off the shoulder of Orion. Evisceration by Reviewer 2 in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those arguments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. 051
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 20/09/20269. I read lots of sci fi, but I’ve got no wish to read the ones I’ve missed. Plenty of contemporary work that’s better written. 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Most questions worth answering are partly, but only partly, empirical questions. That doesn’t entail that any individual investigator should use (even partly) empirical methods. No one answers questions on their own. 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I don’t make great claims for this. Just it deserves to be taken at least as seriously as other, uh, shots from the hip. 110
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Actually by itself it wouldn’t be much use. Lots of work needed on assumptions, obv. And much of that would be armchair! 111
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026It’s a consequentialist metric, but the good I’m aiming to maximise is knowledge (or some other epistemic good). I don’t think that utilitarianism would come out on top. 110
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I definitely didn't intend to be mocking or find anything humorous in the situation. Expressing my opinion certainly isn't worth causing anyone any further pain. I would delete, but I don't think that's going to help. I can only apologise for my clumsiness. 110
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026No, I don't think I'm helping with my comment. But I also think that's a bar that very few posts clear. I don't think you think it's a standard we should be held to. I think you must think I'm hindering ....something. But I don't see how. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Actually, scratch that. Perhaps you didn't misread me? You think it's wrong for some reason to express my confidence that it won't happen, rather than thinking that I am endorsing that view? Not sure why you think it's wrong to express that confidence. No idea, actually. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I thought the quotation marks were making my attitude clear. Apparently not. 100
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026I'm not sure why you're asking. I'm expressing my confidence that no one with real decision-making power will face consequences. 000
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026In the unlikely event that the US returns to being a flawed democracy (rather than whatever this), no one senior will face consequences. Dems will “look forward” in a “spirit of national unity.” 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 19/09/2026It strikes me that the serious question in the philosophical methods ‘debate’ is about the optimal distribution of methods. We might well overinvest in some approaches. And the obvious way to answer that is with serious modelling. You’re not using the right tool to tell us what the right tool is. 360
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I love Kim’s work, and he’s deeply knowledgeable about some areas of science, but I think it’s too narrow a view even of science. All knowledge production is distributed in every way: across people (the more diverse the better), places, approaches, and definitely methods. 030
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026My one serious thought about Veit is that he’s young. He’s very impressive, but of course he needs to grow up. 010
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 17/09/2026And now, thanks to you, I know there’s someone called Steve Earle who shares a song title with Ed Sheeran. 030
Reposted by Neil Levyjoannad-c.bsky.social @joannad-c.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Hiring! 🧠❤️🤔If you’re a philosopher working in ethics/ x-phi/ empirically informed moral philosophy / moral psychology / applied ethics, consider applying for a 2.5 year research postdoc with me in my lab at Oxford. Deadline noon 16th Oct. Details 👉 philjobs.org/job/show/32101 Hit me up with q’s!static.klipy.comShameless Fiona GallagherALT: Shameless Fiona Gallagher 12924
Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026This sort of case is quite routine. The system is a weighted lottery. At the individual submission level, luck explains a large majority of the variance. That would be fine if decisions were quick. But instead….here we are. 130
