Notices by Dean Burnett (that brains guy) (garwboy@ohai.social)

General call out

If you're a writer/author of any stripe who's been negatively tangibly affected by AI content in some way, and are willing to share this information, please do reach out and let me know. It's for an important thing.

Email me via my site

www.deanburnett.com/contact/

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

Votes for 16 year olds: the scientific argument

https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/votes-for-16-year-olds-the-scientific

A lot of the arguments against it basically boil down to "they do knife crime!"

But unless you believe nobody over 18 has ever done a crime, this claim falls apart when you think about it for even a second

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

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

Zelenskyy has shown more courage and fortitude than Trump or Vance could ever even hope to match.

And this has been true since Zelenskyy did comedy in front of an audience, one that wasn't made up of craven parasites and people who'd lose a battle of wits with a potted cactus

Obsession with IQ: A reliable sign of low intelligence?

https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/obsession-with-iq-a-reliable-sign

On how a relentless focus on 'IQ scores' can mean the opposite of what is (presumably) intended.

#Psychology #Intelligence #IQ

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

Counterpoint: No, there isn't

But sure, let's randomly assign incredibly loaded clinical diagnoses onto individuals who may have many valid reasons for not wanting to engage in-person with people, particularly ones who make damning evidence-free judgements of others and share them in a newspaper

Here's how gambling can change your brain

https://www.sciencefocus.com/comment/gambling-addictions-neuroscience

Why is gambling such a problematic addiction, when it doesn't involve any chemical intake?

I explain this, and more, for BBC Science Focus Magazine

#Gambling #Addiction #Neuroscience

Daily life in 2025.

#AI #Tech #JustLetMeBe #FFS

The only 'Blue Monday' article you'll ever need

https://theneuroscienceofeverydaylife.substack.com/p/the-only-blue-monday-article-youll

It's #BlueMonday again. And this is all you'll ever need to read to know the 'truth' about it

Which is that it's a ridiculous marketing stunt that got way out of hand and impacted me more than most people

#Psychology #Monday #BadScience #Misinformation

Having my snarky writing efforts earn the public approval of ACTUAL BLOODY IRVINE 'AUTHOR OF TRAINSPOTTING' WELSH is *not* how I saw today going...

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

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

FWIW, a teen/adolescent may not have a 'fully mature' brain (insofar as that means anything) but that does NOT mean they have an 'unfinished' or 'deficient' brain

It's like how a 25m tall Giant Redwood is technically only "half" grown, but only an utter fool would say "that's not a proper tree!"

Is doom scrolling really rotting our brains? The evidence is getting harder to ignore

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/09/brain-rot-word-of-the-year-reality-internet-cognitive-function

Many have asked for my take on this. So, is it another example of "I have concluded that my gut feelings are correct and I'm cherry picking 'evidence' to support it"?

Yes, yes it is
1/21

Article starts by citing one, ONE, artefact of modern online culture (Skibidi Toilet) as irrefutable evidence that human intellect is in terminal decline.

Because before the internet and smartphones, wider culture never once embraced anything objectively *dumb*. Not once.

*cough*
2/21

Apropos of nothing, consider the 'pet rock'. A very popular 'toy' of the 1970s, with an enduring cultural legacy, as so many people bought it the 'inventor' became a millionaire

Unlike Skibidi Toilet, people had to LEAVE THE HOUSE AND PAY MONEY TO EXPERIENCE THIS.
3/21

If you asked me to say which behaviour was the greater sign of low intellect, "Looking at a surreal animation for 11 seconds" or "Investing time and money into owning a rock", I'd have to go with the latter.

But that happened pre-internet, so it's apparently enlightenment-level cognition.
4/21