Dr. Jens Foell
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jensfoell.de
Dr. Jens Foell
@jensfoell.de
I used to scan brains, now I talk about science for a living. Science editor, science podcaster, SPIEGEL-bestselling writer. Founder of @realscientists.de and trainer at @nawik.de. Looks even worse IRL. He/him.

NEW BOOK IN MAY 2026

🔗 https://jensfoell.de
Pinned
I guess my pinned post should probably be about my next book, so…

On May 4th (Star Wars Day, no less), how you think about your brain will CHANGE FOREVER!*

*actual change in thinking not guaranteed. offer of new perspectives void where prohibited.

www.droemer-knaur.de/buch/jens-fo...
Mein Gehirn, das Denken und ich - Jens Foell | Droemer Knaur
Das Gehirn: Das komplexeste Werkzeug des Universums – eine Gebrauchsanweisung von Hirnforscher und Bestseller-Autor Dr. Jens Foell Man nutzt es jeden Tag, jede...
www.droemer-knaur.de
Hypothesis: Public perception of the military and the people serving in it would be entirely different if we called it “costume” instead of “uniform”
January 29, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
January 28, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
Again with the quote I saw here and fell in love with: “you don’t have to force someone to use good technology”
January 28, 2026 at 9:19 PM
OMG THATS THE PERFECT ANALOGY! AI is like motion smoothing on smart TVs: nobody is asking for it, they only put it in because they figured out how to do it and think it sounds cool, and it’s extremely hard to explain the problem with it to those who just don’t see it
I want AI to improve my life in ways I don't notice or think about. Like satellites or MSG. It would make traffic lights more intelligent. it would diagnose illness more effectively. It shouldnt be forced on me like that stupid feature that no one likes that makes everything look shit on smart TVs
January 28, 2026 at 9:09 PM
This is the large domino, with the small domino being some random quack in the UK in 1998 trying to undermine the existing MMR vaccine so his business partner can swoop in with his own. Instead he lost his work credentials and now kids are dying needlessly all over the world, so great job everyone.
Austria loses its WHO status as measles-free, too, together with Armenia, Azerbaijan Uzbekistan and Spain. This comes as no surprise, considering the rise in numbers in recent years and the decline in MMR vaccine coverage
#VaccineHesitancy #PublicHealthImpact #AllChildrenNeedProtection
UK loses WHO status as measles-free after rise in deaths and fall in jab uptake

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
January 28, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
AI is killing the arts, academia, literature, music, photography, film and the internet. I wholeheartedly detest it.
I don't want gen AI in my browser
I don't want gen AI in my pc
I don't want gen AI in my art
I don't want gen AI in my games
I don't want gen AI in my music
I don't want gen AI in my movies
I don't want gen AI in my books
I don't want gen AI in my cart
I don't want gen AI in my life
January 27, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
IDK why right-wingers keep bringing up Obama's record deportations, it just shows that if you wanted to have a conservative immigration policy without partisan militias occupying cities and gunning people down in the streets you could do it and a lot of americans would be fine with it
January 28, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
Exactly this. And sometimes convenience is important and a few errors are ok - but not in science!
Using gen AI means sacrificing accuracy for convenience. Its purpose is to cut corners. If that’s how you roll, science has no need for you.
We’re getting so many journal submissions from people who think ‘it kinda works’ is the standard to aim for.
January 28, 2026 at 6:53 AM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
What’s depressing is that it seems to me more and more that those who cut corners are those promoted and rewarded in science… Why number of papers is a main metric of success is mind boggling
Using gen AI means sacrificing accuracy for convenience. Its purpose is to cut corners. If that’s how you roll, science has no need for you.
We’re getting so many journal submissions from people who think ‘it kinda works’ is the standard to aim for.
January 28, 2026 at 7:08 AM
Using gen AI means sacrificing accuracy for convenience. Its purpose is to cut corners. If that’s how you roll, science has no need for you.
We’re getting so many journal submissions from people who think ‘it kinda works’ is the standard to aim for.
1. The thing about science that these jokers don't understand is that science cannot be vibe-coded.

Whatever its flaws, the point with vibe coding is that you're trying to quickly make something that sorta works, where you can immediately sorta see if it sorta works and then sorta use it.
January 28, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Spineless. There is no reason to provide ICE with any funding at all. Any politician truly representing the people would rather bring everything to a stop than sending even a single dollar their way.
Dems coalescing around 5 restrictions on ICE, I'm told:

DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools

"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
A Dem Senator’s Harsh Takedown of Trump Hits Home: “Breaking Point”
As Trump scrambles to contain the damage from the latest ICE horrors, Senator Chris Murphy offers a sharp indictment of Trump-ICE lawlessness—and explains how Dems can meet the urgency of the moment.
newrepublic.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:11 PM
The 5-year-old drew Darth Vader (including sound effects)
January 27, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Hrmpf, I don't think I can file a claim in the Anthropic class action, even though they've ripped off my books for their shitty AI. But so far they've only stolen things that I either don't profit off anyway or that haven't been published in the US.

German class action when?
January 27, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Ooooh looking forward to seeing this one
January 27, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
I went to see that in the cinema when it was released and those last 5 minutes rendered me unable to speak for a good 15 minutes when I came out of the cinema
January 27, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
I had this exact same response when I last watched it too. It's very strong and confronting, esp. in these times.
January 27, 2026 at 12:38 PM
I rewatched BlacKkKlansman a while back and once again the last 5 minutes of the film have been stuck in my mind for weeks on end
January 27, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Heartless and cruel. Nobody who is involved with this should ever be allowed to make decisions that affect other people.
Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days.

His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
January 27, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
This hit so fucking hard today.
January 26, 2026 at 8:52 PM
We shouldn’t take betting markets too seriously, but it’s a good time to watch for signs of instability in the Trump regime.

Remember the first term, with the constant firings, measuring time in Scaramuccis? Term 2 has been the opposite so far. Noem would be the 1st cabinet member to get the boot.
January 26, 2026 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
AND they can be made into lasers! That's one of the soft lasers I was thinking of.

Add enough dye, pump the dye hard enough with another laser, and voila
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Random lasing in brain tissues
Brain is arguably the most complex organ in biology. It shows a heterogeneous structure, in which different areas are responsible for different functi…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
My country has a dirty little secret. It's time we talked about it

www.instagram.com/reel/DT-ZV8T...
January 26, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
Do y'all remember this from 2016? I think about this a lot. ❤️
September 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
🧪🏺 See also gen- #AI for art, whether intended for media articles to go with your latest research paper, or for #scicomm content more broadly... it's NOT worth it
LinkedIn probably wasn’t the best channel to post this, but I stand by it
January 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Reposted by Dr. Jens Foell
I swear to god, it's like these assholes just want to push my fucking buttons.

Your toaster does not 'think', does not want, does not have any agency.

NONE of these things have any more agency than a rock.

This is psychosis.
January 26, 2026 at 11:46 AM