Christian Kliesch
@enactedmind.bsky.social
Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Potsdam.
Interested in cognition and what it means to be human. So far. I identified potential culprits: Bodies in development, minds enacting, babies being clever but mostly useless at doing things.
Interested in cognition and what it means to be human. So far. I identified potential culprits: Bodies in development, minds enacting, babies being clever but mostly useless at doing things.
Pinned
Here is a preprint for my paper "Post-natal dependency as the foundation of social learning in humans" osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
In this paper I make the claim that human social behaviour emerges from a uniquely human developmental trajectory in which infants are born with large brains are limited in their ability to interact with their environment directly.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Prob a long thread so do mute if you want to! Qs about the govt review of mental health, autism and ADHD. It could be a good thing, it could be a bad thing. It’s giving me the heebie jeebies, though, due to lack of detail (know your audience people)
December 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Prob a long thread so do mute if you want to! Qs about the govt review of mental health, autism and ADHD. It could be a good thing, it could be a bad thing. It’s giving me the heebie jeebies, though, due to lack of detail (know your audience people)
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
December 1, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
The world agreed on a strategy to end AIDS known as 95-95-95: 95% of people with HIV should know their status, 95% of the diagnosed should be on medication, 95% should have the virus suppressed.
By 2022, the world reached 87-89-94. Then Trump killed aid funding.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/01/t...
By 2022, the world reached 87-89-94. Then Trump killed aid funding.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/01/t...
The End of Ending AIDS
As the Trump administration pledges to meet global health targets, it has terminated some of its best tools for doing so.
foreignpolicy.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The world agreed on a strategy to end AIDS known as 95-95-95: 95% of people with HIV should know their status, 95% of the diagnosed should be on medication, 95% should have the virus suppressed.
By 2022, the world reached 87-89-94. Then Trump killed aid funding.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/01/t...
By 2022, the world reached 87-89-94. Then Trump killed aid funding.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/01/t...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Reminder about our project on fMRI/EEG on spatial/social cognition for the EastBio PhD studentship competition.
fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
please share/get in touch
Deadline: 15/12/2025
fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
please share/get in touch
Deadline: 15/12/2025
Interested in a PhD in EEG/fMRI of spatial/social cognition?
Check out our project for the EastBio competition: fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
tinyurl.com/ypcb4m2c
Deadline: 15/12/2025
Check out our project for the EastBio competition: fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
tinyurl.com/ypcb4m2c
Deadline: 15/12/2025
EastBio: Neurocognitive mechanisms of altercentric perception and visual perspective taking at University of Aberdeen on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EastBio: Neurocognitive mechanisms of altercentric perception and visual perspective taking at University of Aberdeen , listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reminder about our project on fMRI/EEG on spatial/social cognition for the EastBio PhD studentship competition.
fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
please share/get in touch
Deadline: 15/12/2025
fully-funded 4-year PhD, with Patric Bach and Rama Chakravarthi at @abdnpsych.bsky.social, and @moritzwurm.bsky.social at CIMeC, Italy.
please share/get in touch
Deadline: 15/12/2025
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
If you're in Glasgow this Friday afternoon, I'm giving a talk. It's free and all are welcome:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-talk-by-...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-talk-by-...
A talk by George Monbiot: Capitalism, Power and Environmental Justice
George Monbiot will discuss some surprising histories of exploitation, and explore what a new radical politics might look like.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 1:32 PM
If you're in Glasgow this Friday afternoon, I'm giving a talk. It's free and all are welcome:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-talk-by-...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-talk-by-...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
ZPID Trier: Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d) leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs/job/10kku5n7 #Stellenangebot
Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d)
leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs
November 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM
ZPID Trier: Junior professorship (W1-equivalent) Psychological Metascience (with tenure-track to W2 LBesG-equivalent) (f/m/d) leibniz-psychology.onlyfy.jobs/job/10kku5n7 #Stellenangebot
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
This Millikan line goes (as they say) hard.
November 25, 2025 at 11:36 AM
This Millikan line goes (as they say) hard.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials - Nature Human Behaviour
Howard-Spink et al. develop an empirically based model of orangutan diet development, which suggests that social learning is vital for orangutans to acquire varied diets.
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I'm happy to share our preprint "Disentangling visually-driven tactile predictions from multisensory integration in body ownership". We show that tactile predictions in the rubber hand illusion are as important as feeling touch on the hand to elicit the feeling of ownership. osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
November 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM
I'm happy to share our preprint "Disentangling visually-driven tactile predictions from multisensory integration in body ownership". We show that tactile predictions in the rubber hand illusion are as important as feeling touch on the hand to elicit the feeling of ownership. osf.io/preprints/ps...
Orwellian language used here - “Civil Rights Protections and Compliance” to curtail academic freedom.
'Courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require presidential approval at Texas A&M system campuses, the system Board of Regents decided Thursday.'
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Texas A&M Requires Approval for Courses That “Advocate” Certain Ideologies
Many faculty members decried the new restrictions on race- and gender-related courses as an assault on academic freedom. Meanwhile, the board also discussed a once-per-semester systemwide course revie...
www.insidehighered.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Orwellian language used here - “Civil Rights Protections and Compliance” to curtail academic freedom.
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Guide for the perplexed:
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
'Courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require presidential approval at Texas A&M system campuses, the system Board of Regents decided Thursday.'
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Much will rest on interpretations of 'advocate' and 'ideology'. Or will it? 1/4
Texas A&M Requires Approval for Courses That “Advocate” Certain Ideologies
Many faculty members decried the new restrictions on race- and gender-related courses as an assault on academic freedom. Meanwhile, the board also discussed a once-per-semester systemwide course revie...
www.insidehighered.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Guide for the perplexed:
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
One academic expressing an opinion about another academic’s work = not censorship
A university dictating what its staff can and cannot teach = censorship
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 14, 2025 at 2:35 PM
🚨Out in PNAS🚨
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Examining news on 7 platforms:
1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news
2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning
3)Low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE - even BlueSky!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
It was long thought that domestication leads to reductions in brain size. But as we understand dog brains better, the truth is proving more complicated—and more interesting.
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
November 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
It was long thought that domestication leads to reductions in brain size. But as we understand dog brains better, the truth is proving more complicated—and more interesting.
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @erinhecht.bsky.social!
Listen: disi.org/of-breeds-an...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Our special issue on Evolutionary Functions of Consciousness, coedited with Tecumseh Fitch and Adina Roskies, now online royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1939
royalsocietypublishing.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Our special issue on Evolutionary Functions of Consciousness, coedited with Tecumseh Fitch and Adina Roskies, now online royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Contributions by (1) Irina Mikhalevich; (2) Eva Jablonka and Simona Ginsburg; (3) Nicholas Humphrey; (cont'd)
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Happy to share that our BBS target article has been accepted: “Core Perception”: Re-imagining Precocious Reasoning as Sophisticated Perceiving
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
October 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Happy to share that our BBS target article has been accepted: “Core Perception”: Re-imagining Precocious Reasoning as Sophisticated Perceiving
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
With Alon Hafri, @veroniqueizard.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & Brent Strickland
Read it here: doi.org/10.1017/S014...
A short thread [1/5]👇
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
In many group-living birds and mammals, the formation of affiliative relationships is hypothesized to cause vocal convergence (an increase in call similarity between individuals). However, testing this causal effect can be difficult, because it requires ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
I have previously described this idea this way (from cognitioninaction.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...)
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I have previously described this idea this way (from cognitioninaction.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...)
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
Reposted by Christian Kliesch
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence
How do internal bodily rhythms influence #brain activity & motor function? @tahnee-engelen.bsky.social &co show that #cardiac, #respiratory & #gastric rhythms independently modulate motor excitability, revealing distinct #interoceptive profiles across individuals @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4nMtpLT
November 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
So happy this paper is now out in @plosbiology.org! We investigated whether fluctuations in MEPs can be explained by phasic influences from internal bodily rhythms, and whether this might happen independently per organ system.
#interoception #neuroskyence
#interoception #neuroskyence