Vivienne Ming
@socos.org
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socos.org
When we tell a compelling story, we aren't just conveying information; we are inviting others to tune their brains to the same frequency, to run the same cognitive program.

Read more at academy.socos.org/brains-lies-...
#Belief #CognitiveScience #Lies #Psychology #NeuralSynchronization
Brains, Lies, & Electric Shocks [RR]
? 💡Follow me on LinkedIn or join my growing Bluesky! Or even..hey whats this...Instagram? Interbrain Synchrony & Political Extremism Ever feel like people at the political extremes are singing fro...
academy.socos.org
socos.org
The study also revealed a "belief bias": our brains' default setting seems to be belief. It takes active, effortful work to switch over to the "disbelief" operating system.
socos.org
This suggests that belief isn't just accepting a fact; disbelief isn't just rejecting it. They are two separate, active, and synchronized brain states—different operating systems for reality. One is for processing stories we accept as true, and the other is for processing stories we reject as false.
socos.org
When people believe a story together, their brains start to synchronize, firing in similar patterns “within the default mode network”. And when people disbelieve a story together, their brains also synchronize, but in completely different, “distinguishable parcels”.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
socos.org
The Timbre of Lies
Ever feel like people who believe the same story are on the same wavelength? Their brains might just be.
socos.org
Ideological extremism is less a coherent set of beliefs as much as a shared brain state. The primary connection is affective, not semantic. It also helps explain why trying to fact-check an extremist is like trying to critique the lyrics of a song to someone who is just there for the bass drop.
socos.org
The surprising part: the brains of people with shared extremity—even if they held opposing political views—”exhibit increased neural synchronization” when viewing political content. A far-left and a far-right brain sync up around shared arousal.

Could we treat them with anti-addiction medication?
socos.org
Neuroimaging the brains of people with extreme ideologies shows that viewing political content heightens activity in their brain's emotional centers, regardless of ideology. Their political responses are, in part, a gut reaction, not a purely reasoned one.
psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org
socos.org
Interbrain Synchrony & Political Extremism
Ever feel like people at the political extremes are singing from the same hymn sheet, even when the lyrics are completely different? It turns out, you might be correct..neurologically.
socos.org
Over 100 people showed up for an interview and reading (pictured), an audience Q&A, and the obligatory selfie-line. Thanks to the Stellenbosch Business Institute for hosting.

I'll share links to the official release and new cover art as soon as they're live!
socos.org
I ended up signing some custom-made bookmarks with "How to Robot-Proof Your Kids" on one side and "Robot-Proof: When Machines Have All The Answers, Build Better People" on the other.
socos.org
Anyone want to chat over a cup of tea? I'll be in #NYC Oct 23 and #DC Oct 29 with a little free. Drop me a line!
socos.org
In my latest paid newsletter, I break down this next-generation model of hybrid intelligence.

Subscribe at academy.socos.org/cyborg-colle...
Or you can always just subscribe for my free weekly "Research Roundup".
#AI #FutureOfWork #CyborgCollective #HybridIntelligence #Innovation #Science
Cyborg Collective 1.1
Musing's professional mad scientist working to maximize human potential
academy.socos.org
socos.org
Our role is evolving from collaborator in the lab to 'Chief Explorer' of the unknown—the one who asks the questions the AI can't imagine. This isn't a simple division of labor; it's a new kind of dynamical, creative synchrony between human and machine.
socos.org
An AI-led team of AI scientists just made a real scientific discovery.

Is this the end of the human researcher? I argue it can be the birth of the Cyborg Collective 1.1.
socos.org
It’s worth the read, but manage your expectations if vampiric ennui isn’t your thing.
libro.fm/audiobooks/9...
socos.org
SciFriday: V. E. Schwab’s “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” has stuck with me in the years since reading. "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" is an intriguing, lush take on vampires that is beautifully written, but for me, never quite reached the depths of Addie and her endless trauma.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil Audiobook on Libro.fm
“Julia Whelan skillfully narrates Sabine's story of bloodlust and decay…Katie Leung's soft Scottish accent suits the grieving Alice…Lottie is portrayed by Marisa Calin, whose crisp English accent remi...
libro.fm
socos.org
This example of hybrid collective intelligence isn't replacing the historian; it's giving them a superpower. It handles the vast, inhuman scale of data, dynamically interacting with humans to do the irreplaceable work of interpretation, contextualization, and meaning-making.
socos.org
When paired with a historian, the human-AI team consistently outperformed either the human or the AI working in isolation on key tasks like restoring and attributing ancient texts.
socos.org
A fun new article in Nature introduced a generative neural network for contextualizing ancient texts. AI designed to help historians contextualize ancient inscriptions. “Aeneas retrieves textual and contextual parallels, leverages visual inputs, handles arbitrary-length text restoration”.
Contextualizing ancient texts with generative neural networks - Nature
Aeneas, a generative neural network trained on ancient texts, helps historians contextualize inscriptions and perform epigraphic tasks, offering an improved starting point for historical research.
www.nature.com
socos.org
Do Androids Dream the Lost Ark?
Doctors, engineers, and Indiana Jones—the list of AI-augmented jobs grows.