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Pablo Fernandez Velasco

@pfvelasco.bsky.social
296 followers 471 following 64 posts

British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory. Working across philosophy and cognitive science. Exploring disorientation, spatial cognition, and ecological grief. pablofernandezvelasco.com

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Reposted by Pablo Fernandez Velasco
New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Great moments in Scottish engineering history: James Watt tries to work out how his phone attaches to his selfie stick.
Statue of James Watt. In his right hand he holds a telescopic stick with a frame at the top; in his left he holds a flat object about the size of a large smartphone. He is scowling at the possibly-not-a-smartphone as if he is tempted to yeet it into the sea. On that basis, it probably _is_ a phone.
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Nigel Warburton @nigelwarburton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Check out the cover of my new book - out May/June next year - published by Penguin in US
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Hugo Spiers @hugospiers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Interesting insights into spatial memory and hippocampal function in humans: Navigation strategies predict spatial memory and hippocampal recruitment Work Zita Patai (who I wish was still in my lab!) www.cell.com/cell-reports...
cell.com
Navigation strategies predict spatial memory and hippocampal recruitment
Patai, E.Z. et al. show via analyzing spontaneous navigation behavior that humans are idiosyncratic, flexibly adapt strategies to variable degrees to achieve learning, and that strategies do not refle...
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 27/09/2026
Four days ago, a scientist was surprised by the news that Anthropic discovered new virus genes for making DNA. He says he’s been studying them for years—and feeding his data to Anthropic’s AI as part of his own research. Coincidence? Here’s my story. nyti.ms/3VSWayc
nyti.ms
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own? (Gift Article)
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?
Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?
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Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory @memoryplace.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Applications open: Methodologies for Place and Memory Loss Advanced postgraduate training for PhD and research MA students working on memory, place, loss, displacement and difficult histories. 📅 11 Nov | University of Stirling ⏰ Apply by 11 Oct tockify.com/sgsah/detail...
tockify.com
Methodologies for Place and Memory Loss: Advanced Postgraduate Training
This one-day intensive training offers advanced methodological support for postgraduate researchers (PhD and MA) working at institutions in Scotland at the inte
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.
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Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory @memoryplace.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
What happens when urban rivers disappear underground? Philip Hayward explores ghost rivers, river daylighting and the cultural life of buried waterways, including London’s Fleet River. Fri 2 Oct | 09:00–11:30 (UK) | Online Advance reading required Register: forms.gle/QizUrN2ACjuu...
forms.gle
Ghost Rivers and Daylighting in Urban Landscapes
In this online seminar, Philip Hayward will introduce the River Cities Network and the developing field of river studies before discussing his research on ‘ghost rivers’ — waterways that have been cov...
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DiverseGrief @diverse-grief.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We are launching the Diverse Grief Blog today! This blog provides a forum for exploring the diversity and complexity of grief. Our inaugural post is written by Tanya Evans and explores the complex relationship of family stories, grief, and the meaning of life. #philsky #grief diverse-grief.com
diverse-grief.com
Diverse Grief
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Steve Fleming @smfleming.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
📖 New review out today in @natrevneuro.nature.com: Towards an integrative neuroscience of metacognition 🧠🧪 Full-text link to the paper is here: rdcu.be/9YK3mF7dYhFa
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Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 14/09/2026
The government’s university funding policy is forcing women out of the academy. The example below is a pattern. This is one of the many ways the whole mess is unjust.
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Ross Greer (he/him) @ross-greer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Burnham knew this would be the result of dropping his pledge to cap political donations, but he did it anyway. Labour are determined to midwife a Reform government, like plenty of other centrist parties before them whose weakness paved the way for right wing extremists.
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Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Jake Quilty-Dunn @quiltydunn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
New paper, co-authored with Justin Wood, in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social: The Nativist-Empiricist Debate Is Broken We argue that radical nativism and radical empiricism are compatible and, in some cases, both plausibly true. So something is wrong. 🧵 Author share link here, valid til Oct 31:
authors.elsevier.com
Please wait whilst we redirect you
All content on this site: Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.
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Pablo Fernandez Velasco @pfvelasco.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
@noranewcombe.bsky.social I thought you might find this recent TiCS paper on the nativist-empiricist debate interesting (not specifically about space, though).
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mahwishkittur.bsky.social @mahwishkittur.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
After years of analyzing thousands of drawings from hundreds of adults and children, I am excited to share my first ever paper (w/ @samiyousif.bsky.social )! Using a simple drawing task, we show how topological structure is represented in the mind and its importance in spatial memory.
elifesciences.org
Topological structure in human spatial representation revealed through drawing
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This week's column is about the Starmer-like self-destruction of the impending decision to approve new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. It might appease certain lobby groups, but it sabotages Burnham's own project and drives voters away. Utter madness. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Is Burnham trying to appease Trump? Or Reform? What other reason is there for these North Sea oil plans? | George Monbiot
Climate catastrophe is on our doorstep – yet Labour’s impending approval of further drilling will bring more pain for negligible gains, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Matt Green @mattgreencomedy.com · 26/07/2025
Legitimate Concerns?
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God @thegodshow.com · 06/09/2026
Seriously, they just told Grok to make the imperial officer uniforms from Star Wars but “more Hitlery.”
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Pablo Fernandez Velasco @pfvelasco.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Really interesting. Reading this made me wonder whether cross-cultural variation in approaches to physical, spatial navigation corresponds to variation in thinking about geometry
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Aidan McGlynn @aidanmcglynn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
CFA for K-Pop and Philosophy (actual K-Pop, not Karl Popper)
andphilosophy.com
K-Pop and Philosophy
Call for Abstracts  K-Pop and Philosophy  Edited by Catherine M. Robb, Natasha Haddal, and Gah-Kai Leung The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series      &nbs…
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Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
If this makes you mad, submit your cognitive science research to @openmindjournal.bsky.social No APCs, no subscription fees. It's funded by university libraries, at low cost.
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Philosophy and the Mind Sciences @phimisci.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
What do we lose in our social lives when we lose olfaction? This question marks the beginning of a new article recently published in the #PhiMiSci special issue on Philosophy and Chemosenses: "The ‘olfactory us’: Social interaction and chemosignals" by Carlos Vara Sánchez.
philosophymindscience.org
The ‘olfactory us’: Social interaction and chemosignals | Philosophy and the Mind Sciences
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences (PhiMiSci) focuses on the interface between philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. PhiMiSci is a peer-reviewed, not-for-profit open-access journal...
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Susana Monsó @susanamonso.com · 27/08/2026
I wrote a little something on the value of philosophy for animal cognition. Out now in Science’s Expert Voices column.
science.org
Science is based on assumptions. Philosophy can make sure they’re the right ones.
When I was a postdoctoral researcher, I spent several years teaching at an interdisciplinary research institute in Vienna, Austria. There, my main course sought to train master’s students—mostly biolo...
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Pilar Lopez-Cantero @lopezcantero.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Next month I’ll join Essex’s Department of Government for my MSCA placement, to work with Prof Paul Bou-Habib on distributive affective justice. I’ll be around the UK until May, between Colchester & Cambridge—you know where to find me if you’re interested in love, cities & affective (in)justice!
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Romy Lorenz @romy-lorenz.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Please share widely! 🚀 I am recruiting a PhD student for an exciting cross-species collaborative project using layer fMRI to investigate how interoception shapes cognitive control - Application deadline is: 1.10.2026 - Start: Jan 2027 www.mpg.de/26934670/phd...
mpg.de
PhD Position (m/f/d) | Ultra-High-Field Layer fMRI of Cognitive Control and Interoception
PhD Position in Ultra-High-Field Layer fMRI of Cognitive Control and Interoception
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Centre for the Sciences of Place and Memory @memoryplace.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
What's lost when we treat place as just space? Philosopher Jeff Malpas opens a hybrid workshop on space, place & memory — interdisciplinary talks on perfume, Polaroids & more. Wed 16 Sept, Stirling + online. Register: placememory.net/interdiscipl...
placememory.net
Interdisciplinary approaches to space and place
A hybrid workshop on the neglected distinction between space and place — and what’s lost when disciplines like memory studies, cognitive science and environmental psychology gloss over it. Da…
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
This should be a day of shame for my profession. Unfortunately, most of the media is not renowned for self-reflection. It may be relentless in exposing other people's faults (but in most cases only the faults of those who might threaten the status quo). It is much less prepared to confront its own.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 14/08/2026
This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.
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Jason Arday found dead
2 hours ago — Mr Arday was found •unresponsive• at an address in Battersea. south London. on Froy
afternoon. He was uter pronounced dead at the scene. A Read rnore
Jason Arday says he was an illiterate, mute child. His .
6 hours ago — Jason Arday says he was an i&erate. mute child. Cambridge's youngest-ever black
professor in 2023. Arday attended from the age of four to 11
r— mm-WI 3
A PhD is no longer a sign of brilliance — take it from Dr Arday
1 day aeo — Juon Arday resigns from the Unwersity of Cambrdge after The Telegraph reports he had
falseb• claimed to have pubåshed a book
We are all Jason Arday now
S days ago — Jason Arday resons from the University of Cambridge after The Telegraph reports he had
falsew cGimed to have published a book Aug 7.2028. Read more
Cambridge professor claimed he was on Seven Up..
2 Aug 2026 — He was not bom until 1985. Prof Arday is at the centre of a row about academk
plagiarism after The Tekgragh that he had been accused
The Jason Arday 'memoir' that now appears to be more .
7 days ago — Instead of tales of triumph over adversity. the now-fomer Cambridge professors
autob"qraphy is a case study in self-rnythobgising,
Arday failed to mention 'months-long coma' in autobiography
8 days ago — Jason Arday toz publishers he was k•ft a three-month coma fohwhg a car gash. but
never wrote about the ordeal his memoirs_
Jason Arday is living proof that you reap what you sow
6 Aug 2028 — The Cambridge professor feed plagiarism alegations and made fantastical clä'ns about
his life. so what did he expect woUz happen? Read rmre
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Arday 'accused student of Miite privilege' after she
4 days ago — Forrner Cambrdge professor alleged* htplied that Roehamptm student was racist after
cornplaint about essay SOOre.
Jason Arday is rnerely a symptom of the Leffs corruption
Aug 2026 — Lab-curs on school standards is on the same toxic assumptions that created his
academic career.
Cambridge hired Arday after 'listening to black stu…
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Sos "Buy Lazy Kickers" Sosowski @sosowski.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Are you tired of having to double take everything you see online because it might be fake AI slop? Get ready to double take your own photos because they may be fake AI slop.
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
1/ Doomism means saying it's too late and nothing can be done. It doesn't mean saying things are bad. One recent high profile paper in @pnas.org treats conflates this. Whilst another paper in the British Journal of Psychology treats naming who funded climate delay as conspiracism. A thread 🧵
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PM2.5 Kills ~9 Million People Each Year Worldwide @tkovach.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Well this is startling. Researchers looked at how AI may raise productivity in the energy sector. Across the board, productivity increases for fossil fuels cause a net increase in GHGs. The only way AI causes net GHGs to fall is if renewables productivity goes up 4-5x more than fossil fuels.
nature.com
AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model - npj Climate Action
npj Climate Action - AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model
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Naomi Saphra @nsaphra.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Vast and Trunkless Leg of Stone, Standing in the Desert from classic poem Ozymandias.
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Stefan Bienkowski @sbienkowski.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
FIFA: Let’s ruin football and destroy the world. World: Please don’t. FIFA: What is this concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President?!?
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Standplaats Kraków could really use some cash! @standplaatskrk.pl · 09/08/2026
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) on twitter: "Trump: "Any time you see windmills, you see a failing country"" [A video screenshot of Donald Trump speaking.]

Khem Birch Society (@NBABabySecret) quote tweets: "When everyone thinks you are senile, a good strategy is to invoke your hatred of windmills, as there are no famous literary parallels to this"
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 04/08/2026
if any of you know anyone who still thinks that the flagshaggers are 'just proud of their country', i want you to sit down with them and read these court documents together
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Lisa Bortolotti @lisabortolotti.com · 28/07/2026
A few days left for our call for papers on Philosophy through Art, Games and Fiction, dedicated to Helen De Cruz think.taylorandfranc... I am convinced that being playful and creative makes us better philosophers. Prove me right! #philsky #philosophy
think.taylorandfrancis.com
Philosophy through Art, Games, and Fiction
Can we do philosophy by writing fiction, drawing, designing a game, or telling a story? Submit work to this special issue honouring the legacy of Helen De Cruz.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
At astonishing speed, our rights are being cancelled, worldwide. In the UK, the prosecution of Rajiv Menon KC is the latest example of blatant authoritarianism. Why? Because this is what billionaires and corporations demand. This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Think our basic rights are safe? In the age of oligarchs and corporate lobbying, think again | George Monbiot
The global assault on our freedoms is coming ever closer to home. Just look at the sinister prosecution of UK lawyer Rajiv Menon, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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👻👹 boo-rit 👹👻 @britculpsapp.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
christ if that’s not a metaphor for our times
reuters: 

Sunken Nazi warships resurface as water levels drop
Scuttled German WW2 warships have reemerged from the Danube in drought-hit Europe.
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Tania Lombrozo @tanialombrozo.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
1st book review! “Lombrozo unpacks the psychology of explanations in rich detail and sharply analyzes how explaining can help and hinder…The result is a fresh, engrossing take on an important aspect of human behavior.” 😀 www.publishersweekly.com/9780063395008
publishersweekly.com
Why We Ask Why: The Science of Explanation and the Human Drive to Understand by Tania Lombrozo
People explain what they experience, feel, and encounter in order to understand the present and anticipate the future, according...
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Matthias Eberl @eberlmat.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Meanwhile in Mediterranean life.
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Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I've confirmed that the UK's new Sovereign AI Fund does no due diligence on whether AI companies use copyrighted work without permission before investing in them. It took me 3 Freedom of Information requests to find this out: 🧵 1/10
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Should be a bigger story— “Alexandra Bravo, prosecutor investigating 🇺🇸 strikes on 3 Ecuadorian boats and survivor accounts of torture/kidnapping, shot dead… hitman on a black motorcycle opened fire… Bravo’s sister jumped to protect her, also killed…” www.dropsitenews.com/p/prosecutor...
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Helen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
***New preprint from the lab*** showing “Generative replay across hippocampal-neocortical circuits”. In sleep we show spiking sequences in V1 (sensory neocortex!) that represent information that has not been directly experienced www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @bndu.ox.ac.uk @ndcnoxford.bsky.social
biorxiv.org
Generative replay across hippocampal-neocortical circuits
To make flexible decisions, the brain needs to make inferences between events that were not directly experienced together. In sharp-wave ripple (SWR) events, during periods of rest and sleep, spiking ...
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404 Media @404media.co · 28/07/2026
Police arrested a teacher for clapping during a city council meeting last week. They went to the meeting of Emporia, Kansas City Commission to speak out against a proposed hyperscale data center that would sit on 1,000 acres of rural land. @mjgault.bsky.social reports www.404media.co/person-oppos...
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Leda Berio @ledaberio.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Very kind words by @evanwestra.bsky.social on our paper! This is an important one to me! mini-thread below
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Hugo Spiers @hugospiers.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Written together with @pfvelasco.bsky.social co-first author and analysis input from @cgahnstrom.bsky.social @matthieubernard.bsky.social and others incl @mgarvert.bsky.social A great team effort to explore this topic
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Hugo Spiers @hugospiers.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
🚨 new lab preprint! Research from @gordonfeld.bsky.social during his DFG personal fellowship to my lab many moons ago: Global structure of new relational knowledge networks is represented in retrosplenial complex, and node-distance in hippocampus www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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