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The myth of the Bayesian brain
No full textThe Bayesian brain hypothesis—the idea that neural systems implement or approximate Bayesian inference—has become a dominant framework in cognitive neuroscience over the past two decades. While mathematically elegant and conceptually unifying, this paper argues that the hypothesis occupies an ambiguous territory between useful metaphor and testable, biologically plausible mechanistic explanation. We critically examine the key claims of the Bayesian brain hypothesis, highlighting issues of unfalsifiability, biological implausibility, and inconsistent empirical support. The framework’s remarkable flexibility in accommodating diverse findings raises concerns about its explanatory power, as models can often be adjusted post hoc to fit virtually any data pattern. We contrast the Bayesian approach with alternative frameworks, including dynamic systems theory, ecological psychology, and embodied cognition, which conceptualize prediction and adaptive behavior without recourse to probabilistic inference. Despite its limitations, the Bayesian brain hypothesis persists—driven less by empirical grounding than by its mathematical elegance, metaphorical power, and institutional momentum
A novel data-driven approach to detect and predict customer transitions in the marketing funnel
No full textThis study braids together insights from two distinct areas of research: customer engagement within brands and social data analytics. Leveraging a proprietary B2B dataset from LinkedIn comprising over 200 million advertiser interactions over a subset of de-identified members, we present a data-driven exploration of the dynamics of the so-called marketing funnel. By bridging the gap between real-world digital metrics and theoretical marketing funnel models, we offer empirical insights into the interplay between engagement types and customer transitions towards purchase. Our analysis delineates the structural underpinnings of the derived marketing funnel to shed light on the efficacy of various engagement strategies in propelling users towards deeper funnel stages, aiding advertisers in predicting and targeting engagements effectively. We make three contributions: first, we propose a novel data-driven methodology to create a representation of the marketing funnel. Second, we apply the data-driven marketing funnel model on a proprietary dataset from LinkedIn advertisements with a subsequent descriptive and predictive analysis of the funnel stages and transitions to showcase the practicability and usefulness of the approach. Third, we analyze the relationship between user engagement and stage transitions within the created marketing funnel, identifying what user engagements are predictive of future stage transitions
Of the Freedom Famine in Palestine
No full textIn this searing essay, poet and author Ibtisam Barakat bears witness to what she names the “Freedom Famine” in Gaza—a deliberate, decades-long deprivation of basic human rights culminating in the catastrophic conditions of 2025. Writing from the United States while in conversation with Gazan author Omar Hammash, Barakat juxtaposes their drastically unequal realities: her safety and his daily encounters with death, displacement, and starvation. Through Hammash’s testimony—delivered amid constant bombardment and interrupted by news of a friend’s killing—Barakat documents the collapse of Gaza’s infrastructure, the mass targeting of aid workers, the lethal failures of international relief, and the killing of journalists that has rendered Palestinians\u27 suffering largely unseen. She situates the genocide within a longer history of siege, occupation, and the systematic stripping of Palestinian sovereignty, challenging global indifference and the political weaponization of humanitarian language. The essay argues that freedom, like food or water, is a human necessity—and that Palestinians have been starved of it for generations. Yet Barakat insists on the enduring power of writing to resist erasure, transforming trauma into testimony and forging a literary space in which Palestinian humanity can be affirmed against all attempts to silence it
Allied Abandonment and Nuclear Proliferation: Lessons from South Korea’s Secret Nuclear Program
No full textThis article examines South Korea’s clandestine nuclear weapons program of the 1970s as a historical case study for understanding how perceptions of allied abandonment can drive nuclear proliferation. Drawing on alliance theory and archival evidence, the paper situates Seoul’s nuclear ambitions within the context of U.S. burden-shifting under the Nixon Doctrine, subsequent troop withdrawals, and diplomatic retrenchment across East Asia. Despite the continued U.S. military presence, South Korean leaders interpreted American rhetoric and policy actions as signaling a waning commitment to the alliance, prompting the initiation of a secret weapons program under President Park Chung-hee. The study identifies two enduring lessons for U.S. policymakers: first, that rhetoric aimed at domestic or regional audiences can reverberate globally with destabilizing consequences; and second, that allied fear of abandonment may be more dangerous than actual withdrawal. The article concludes that while burden-sharing remains a legitimate strategic goal, poorly calibrated messages about retrenchment risk encouraging nuclear proliferation among allies—undermining both nonproliferation and alliance stability
Listen To My Story: An Autoethnographic Account of a Manic Episode
Get PDFBipolar disorder is a very complicated disease. It\u27s first complexity is that it is a mental illness, so it is invisible and there is much stigma attached to seeking treatment. The second complexity is that there are both the highs of mania which contain hallucination and delusions for many as well as the lows of depression. These moods cycle throughout one\u27s life. The third complexity is that because bipolar is both genetic and environmental in origin it steeps itself into the roots of family trees and causes generational trauma. Through examining how bipolar disorder has affected my life, these complexities are explored. Another aspect of bipolar that is explored is the recovery process and the complexities that arise from having a parent that has bipolar a person having the disease themselves. The roles of caregiver and patient are examined through an introspective analysis of my life and the experiences associated with the disease I share with my dad
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Get PDFThis is a film review of The Ballad of Wallis Island (2024), directed by James Griffiths
Building the Cyber Pipeline: Providing CS Education For Rural K-12 Schools
Get PDFIn the push to broaden participation in computer science (CS) within the United States, there have been a number of highly successful efforts to engage urban high schools and communities. As urban areas often have high concentrations of poverty and underrepresented populations, these efforts meet a well-known need, and have a strong potential impact. However, urban audiences are not the only ones to lack adequate computer science education opportunities. In the United States, 1 in 5 people live in a rural area [19], and studies consistently show that rural areas offer fewer opportunities for students to engage with computer science than their urban and suburban peers [4, 16, 22]. While some of the challenges rural schools face are shared by urban schools, the rural schools also have unique challenges that must be understood before engaging in successful intervention efforts. This paper describes one effort to support rural schools, their teachers, and their students. We seek to share the lessons we have learned in the hope that other programs may benefit