Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
@drjacekdebiec.bsky.social
Psychiatrist. Researcher of Fear and Memory. Author.
#PlanetaryHealth, #BrainHealth and #MentalHealth
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/psychiatrists/jacek-debiec-ann-arbor-mi/121480
#PlanetaryHealth, #BrainHealth and #MentalHealth
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/psychiatrists/jacek-debiec-ann-arbor-mi/121480
Pinned
There was a lot of #AcademicFreedom, good scholarship, and independent thought in German universities before Hitler. After Hitler had risen to power, many academics fled the country. Some resisted the Nazi regime and were persecuted. Most adapted to a new situation. Here are some examples. 1/n
"The scientists, economists, and environmentalists that are saying this stuff, they don’t realize what a wealthy area this is... There were just too many millionaires and billionaires here for a disaster on a great scale to be allowed to take place... It’s Miami... But nothing is going to happen!”
This article about shopping for real estate in Miami is brilliant, and I keep coming back to it year after year
popula.com/2019/04/02/h...
popula.com/2019/04/02/h...
Heaven or High Water
Selling Miami's last 50 years
popula.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
"The scientists, economists, and environmentalists that are saying this stuff, they don’t realize what a wealthy area this is... There were just too many millionaires and billionaires here for a disaster on a great scale to be allowed to take place... It’s Miami... But nothing is going to happen!”
Ignorance won't prevent collapse. It will only accelerate it and increase its costs.
Realtors know that, in many parts of the country, if you educate people about climate risk, the housing market will collapse.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Ignorance won't prevent collapse. It will only accelerate it and increase its costs.
"You’re assuming any complicated social problem can be solved by technology, when often, on the contrary, technology will make it worse."
citizenlab.ca/2025/11/the-...
citizenlab.ca/2025/11/the-...
The AI hype-machine: Canada’s ill-advised ‘national sprint’ on artificial intelligence - The Citizen Lab
Citizen Lab senior fellow Cynthia Khoo speaks with Resh Budhu, host of the Courage My Friends podcast, about the problems with Canada’s ‘national sprint’ on
citizenlab.ca
November 30, 2025 at 9:35 PM
"You’re assuming any complicated social problem can be solved by technology, when often, on the contrary, technology will make it worse."
citizenlab.ca/2025/11/the-...
citizenlab.ca/2025/11/the-...
"The children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses..16.3% of those babies received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by three years, compared with 9.7% of ..[those] not exposed to COVID-19 in utero"
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
Amid Confusing CDC Guidance About Vaccines, Study Highlights New Risk of COVID-19 During Pregnancy
A Harvard study found that the children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses, raising new concerns about the CDC’s decision to sto...
www.propublica.org
November 30, 2025 at 7:44 PM
"The children of women who contracted COVID-19 while pregnant may be at an increased risk for autism and other diagnoses..16.3% of those babies received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by three years, compared with 9.7% of ..[those] not exposed to COVID-19 in utero"
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
www.propublica.org/article/covi...
"Mindful democracy begins as a personal meditation practice of transforming how we see ourselves, other people, and our relationships to them. Waking up to interdependence and interbeing is the strong foundation of mindful democracy."
Hi friends—my new book On Mindful Democracy is forthcoming with Thich Nhat Hanh’s Parallax Press. It’s a book for activists and resisters who care deeply about democracy and want to save it.
Through Dec 2 it’s 40% off with code PRESENT40. Only $10!
Get a free book with $25 purchase, so buy 2!
Through Dec 2 it’s 40% off with code PRESENT40. Only $10!
Get a free book with $25 purchase, so buy 2!
On Mindful Democracy – Parallax Press
An antidote to political burnout and civic despair: drawing on mindfulness and modern wisdom to cultivate resilience, healthy engagement, and skillful presence in turbulent times
www.parallax.org
November 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
"Mindful democracy begins as a personal meditation practice of transforming how we see ourselves, other people, and our relationships to them. Waking up to interdependence and interbeing is the strong foundation of mindful democracy."
Why should universities keep academics who, instead of writing their papers, reviews, etc., use AI to do it for them, #AcademicSky?
'Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.'
- Hannah Arendt
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
'Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.'
- Hannah Arendt
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Major AI conference flooded with peer reviews written fully by AI
Controversy has erupted after 21% of manuscript reviews for an international AI conference were found to be generated by artificial intelligence.
www.nature.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Why should universities keep academics who, instead of writing their papers, reviews, etc., use AI to do it for them, #AcademicSky?
'Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.'
- Hannah Arendt
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
'Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.'
- Hannah Arendt
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Today, Tehran. Tomorrow?
"Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Today, Tehran. Tomorrow?
"Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"When food has been in short supply for a long time and body weight falls below a critical threshold, the brain reduces its energy consumption by changing how it processes information... Brains prioritize the functions that are most critical to survival."
www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-ha...
www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-ha...
The Brain Has a ‘Low-Power Mode’ That Blunts Our Senses | Quanta Magazine
Neuroscientists uncovered an energy-saving mode in vision-system neurons that works at the cost of being able to see fine-grained details.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 29, 2025 at 6:23 PM
"When food has been in short supply for a long time and body weight falls below a critical threshold, the brain reduces its energy consumption by changing how it processes information... Brains prioritize the functions that are most critical to survival."
www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-ha...
www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-ha...
"Northwestern University... has reached a deal with the federal government to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding... The school is...agreeing to prohibit...protests inside of academic buildings...pay the government $75 million..."
#AcademicSky
abc7chicago.com/post/northwe...
#AcademicSky
abc7chicago.com/post/northwe...
Northwestern University reaches deal to restore federal funding, officials say
The new agreement not only means hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds have been restored to research Northwestern leadership calls "critical," but it also requires the university to pay th...
abc7chicago.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:43 AM
"Northwestern University... has reached a deal with the federal government to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding... The school is...agreeing to prohibit...protests inside of academic buildings...pay the government $75 million..."
#AcademicSky
abc7chicago.com/post/northwe...
#AcademicSky
abc7chicago.com/post/northwe...
"Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being a carbon sink to a carbon source."
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Africa’s forests are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb
Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being a carbon sink to a carbon source in 2010 to 2017
www.newscientist.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:05 PM
"Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being a carbon sink to a carbon source."
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
The Lancet: "At a time of unprecedented nationalist and far-right politics in some countries, many people working in global health increasingly encounter an unsafe environment for meetings and conferences, especially those who are considered as others...."
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Invited to a global health conference in the US next year
I'm already thinking ahead of all the possible ways this could be bad for me and attendees from the Global South, people of color, international students, immigrants, LGBTQ folk...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
I'm already thinking ahead of all the possible ways this could be bad for me and attendees from the Global South, people of color, international students, immigrants, LGBTQ folk...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The Global North is increasingly unsafe for global health meetings
American civil rights activist Maya Angelou once wrote, “prejudice is a burden that
confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible”.1 At
a time of unprecedented national...
www.thelancet.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:18 PM
The Lancet: "At a time of unprecedented nationalist and far-right politics in some countries, many people working in global health increasingly encounter an unsafe environment for meetings and conferences, especially those who are considered as others...."
#AcademicSky
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
Plato observed early that democracy gives voice to those who want to destroy it, while ostracizing those who defend it:
“Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and a fool”.
“Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and a fool”.
November 27, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Plato observed early that democracy gives voice to those who want to destroy it, while ostracizing those who defend it:
“Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and a fool”.
“Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is called at once a lunatic and a fool”.
Thank you, science!
"Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, which, if achieved, will make it the first country to do so."
#AcademicSky
#MedSky
www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clini...
"Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, which, if achieved, will make it the first country to do so."
#AcademicSky
#MedSky
www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clini...
newsGP - Australia set for world-first cervical cancer elimination
Vaccination programs have played a key role, and GPs remain ‘instrumental’ in boosting screening rates to reach the 2035 target.
www1.racgp.org.au
November 27, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Thank you, science!
"Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, which, if achieved, will make it the first country to do so."
#AcademicSky
#MedSky
www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clini...
"Australia is on course to meet a target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2035, which, if achieved, will make it the first country to do so."
#AcademicSky
#MedSky
www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clini...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
An interesting examination of self-consciousness. What do you think, #ClimateSky?
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
Why climate professionals are often held to unrealistic standards
Whether intentional or not, holding climate professionals to unrealistic standards is a climate delay tactic for justifying the status quo.
theconversation.com
June 7, 2025 at 4:19 PM
An interesting examination of self-consciousness. What do you think, #ClimateSky?
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
"We need to all focus on the one question that will matter, that your children/nephews/nieces will ask: What did you do, once you knew?"
- Rupert Reed, PhD. @rupertread.bsky.social, an environmental philosopher and the founder of the Climate Majority Project
#ClimateSky
bsky.app/profile/drja...
- Rupert Reed, PhD. @rupertread.bsky.social, an environmental philosopher and the founder of the Climate Majority Project
#ClimateSky
bsky.app/profile/drja...
An interesting examination of self-consciousness. What do you think, #ClimateSky?
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
"Climate professionals, people who work..[to] address #ClimateChange, are often criticised for what they eat or how they travel..Criticism of lifestyle choices..can be demotivating"
theconversation.com/why-climate-...
Why climate professionals are often held to unrealistic standards
Whether intentional or not, holding climate professionals to unrealistic standards is a climate delay tactic for justifying the status quo.
theconversation.com
June 7, 2025 at 4:29 PM
"We need to all focus on the one question that will matter, that your children/nephews/nieces will ask: What did you do, once you knew?"
- Rupert Reed, PhD. @rupertread.bsky.social, an environmental philosopher and the founder of the Climate Majority Project
#ClimateSky
bsky.app/profile/drja...
- Rupert Reed, PhD. @rupertread.bsky.social, an environmental philosopher and the founder of the Climate Majority Project
#ClimateSky
bsky.app/profile/drja...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
"How do we expect the policy makers, the public...to really grapple with the challenges we face, if the expert community itself is deliberately manipulating the assumptions and sweetening the pill to make it sound more appealing?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Q8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Q8...
Being Frank & Honest About Climate Change with Climate Scientist Kevin Anderson
YouTube video by Climate Chat
www.youtube.com
December 21, 2024 at 11:20 PM
"How do we expect the policy makers, the public...to really grapple with the challenges we face, if the expert community itself is deliberately manipulating the assumptions and sweetening the pill to make it sound more appealing?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Q8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Q8...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
After Hitler came to power, Max Horkheimer was forced to leave academia. Soon after, he left Germany.
"Those who are too weak to make a stand against reality have no choice but to obliterate themselves by identifying with it."
13/n
"Those who are too weak to make a stand against reality have no choice but to obliterate themselves by identifying with it."
13/n
January 29, 2025 at 3:28 AM
After Hitler came to power, Max Horkheimer was forced to leave academia. Soon after, he left Germany.
"Those who are too weak to make a stand against reality have no choice but to obliterate themselves by identifying with it."
13/n
"Those who are too weak to make a stand against reality have no choice but to obliterate themselves by identifying with it."
13/n
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
"Any democracy can fall into tyranny if its citizens grow cynical, give up, or look away.. The only question that matters now — is whether enough of us will choose to stand up, to act, and to reclaim what generations before us fought and bled to pass along"
hartmannreport.com/p/twelve-ste...
hartmannreport.com/p/twelve-ste...
Twelve Steps to National Collapse: A Blueprint for How Democracies Die
A historian’s alarm: when these twelve familiar steps appear in a nation, the result is often irreversible—unless citizens rise up and demand otherwise…
hartmannreport.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:28 PM
"Any democracy can fall into tyranny if its citizens grow cynical, give up, or look away.. The only question that matters now — is whether enough of us will choose to stand up, to act, and to reclaim what generations before us fought and bled to pass along"
hartmannreport.com/p/twelve-ste...
hartmannreport.com/p/twelve-ste...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
"People were arrested and taken into protective custody, who had not yet committed any crime, but who could be expected to do so if they remained free."
- Hermann Göring, one of the leading Nazi politicians, explains "protective custody" in the Third Reich during the #NurembergTrials
17/n
- Hermann Göring, one of the leading Nazi politicians, explains "protective custody" in the Third Reich during the #NurembergTrials
17/n
March 20, 2025 at 1:30 PM
"People were arrested and taken into protective custody, who had not yet committed any crime, but who could be expected to do so if they remained free."
- Hermann Göring, one of the leading Nazi politicians, explains "protective custody" in the Third Reich during the #NurembergTrials
17/n
- Hermann Göring, one of the leading Nazi politicians, explains "protective custody" in the Third Reich during the #NurembergTrials
17/n
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
University professors are voluntarily giving up #academicfreedom. They are trained to do so.
"Results from a wide-ranging survey of U.S. faculty indicate scholars are self-censoring in their communication—both inside and outside the classroom. "
#AcademicSky
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
"Results from a wide-ranging survey of U.S. faculty indicate scholars are self-censoring in their communication—both inside and outside the classroom. "
#AcademicSky
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
October 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
University professors are voluntarily giving up #academicfreedom. They are trained to do so.
"Results from a wide-ranging survey of U.S. faculty indicate scholars are self-censoring in their communication—both inside and outside the classroom. "
#AcademicSky
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
"Results from a wide-ranging survey of U.S. faculty indicate scholars are self-censoring in their communication—both inside and outside the classroom. "
#AcademicSky
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Reposted by Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD, DPhil 🌎 🧠
After Hitler came to power in 1933 and Nazi laws and power were imposed on German universities, Martin Buber resigned in protest from his professorship.
“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” - Martin Buber
#academicfreedom
10/n
“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” - Martin Buber
#academicfreedom
10/n
January 20, 2025 at 6:05 AM
After Hitler came to power in 1933 and Nazi laws and power were imposed on German universities, Martin Buber resigned in protest from his professorship.
“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” - Martin Buber
#academicfreedom
10/n
“We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves.” - Martin Buber
#academicfreedom
10/n
Will other countries hear the warning?
"Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning to Other Countries"
#ClimateSky
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
"Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning to Other Countries"
#ClimateSky
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning to Other Countries
Without addressing the worsening issue’s root causes, any mitigation efforts will likely fall short. States in similar situations should take note.
carnegieendowment.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Will other countries hear the warning?
"Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning to Other Countries"
#ClimateSky
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
"Iran’s Water Crisis Is a Warning to Other Countries"
#ClimateSky
carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
There is a rational explanation for why greater environmental pressures we are collectively causing and their denial lead to greater irrationality.
#ClimateSky
#ClimateSky
"I’m starting to fear that rather than responding more rationally as the world heats up and the impacts get ever more serious, our responses are becoming more irrational."
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Why is climate action stalling, not ramping up as Earth gets hotter?
As the impact of global warming becomes more obvious, you might expect countries to step up climate action and preparation, but we’re seeing the opposite happen
www.newscientist.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:06 PM
There is a rational explanation for why greater environmental pressures we are collectively causing and their denial lead to greater irrationality.
#ClimateSky
#ClimateSky
"I’m starting to fear that rather than responding more rationally as the world heats up and the impacts get ever more serious, our responses are becoming more irrational."
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Why is climate action stalling, not ramping up as Earth gets hotter?
As the impact of global warming becomes more obvious, you might expect countries to step up climate action and preparation, but we’re seeing the opposite happen
www.newscientist.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
"I’m starting to fear that rather than responding more rationally as the world heats up and the impacts get ever more serious, our responses are becoming more irrational."
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
#ClimateSky
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Chemical pollution, light pollution, and noise pollution are all effects of human inability to limit consumption. Is it hard to live more with less?
"‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic."
#ClimateSky
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic."
#ClimateSky
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic
Evidence that the whales and other marine animals are particularly vulnerable to sound is driving calls for quieter vessels
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Chemical pollution, light pollution, and noise pollution are all effects of human inability to limit consumption. Is it hard to live more with less?
"‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic."
#ClimateSky
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"‘The narwhals stop calling’: how the noise from ships is silencing wildlife in the Arctic."
#ClimateSky
www.theguardian.com/environment/...