Rebecca Sear | Lightnews

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2h

quite

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2h

That sounds like a testable hypothesis...

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 4h

Listening to Steven Pinker being interviewed on Radio 4 ahead of his Orwell Lecture "set up to shine a light on brave writing", and reflecting on why a handful of people receive criticism for their views on race and intelligence while others are celebrated despite facilitating the same views 🤔

Nathaniel Comfort @nccomfort.bsky.social · 10h

"There were few people better placed to
know why notions of race-based differences in intelligence
have no scientific foundation; to sustain his beliefs in the
face of that demanded not just ignorance but active denial." @philipcball.bsky.social in @thelancet.com

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 18h

I wrote an Opinion piece for @thelancet.com about James Watson. It's not an obituary - Georgina Ferry did that for them - but offers some thoughts on the problematic aspects of Watson's history.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Ehud @duhe.bsky.social · 6h

Context: he had an important impact on the IQ heritability and race debate. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Nathaniel Comfort @nccomfort.bsky.social · 10h

"There were few people better placed to
know why notions of race-based differences in intelligence
have no scientific foundation; to sustain his beliefs in the
face of that demanded not just ignorance but active denial." @philipcball.bsky.social in @thelancet.com

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 18h

I wrote an Opinion piece for @thelancet.com about James Watson. It's not an obituary - Georgina Ferry did that for them - but offers some thoughts on the problematic aspects of Watson's history.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

James D Watson: a cautionary tale

There was always going to be a complex reckoning in the obituaries of James D Watson (1928–2025), the American geneticist who co-discovered the structure of DNA. For many years, Watson was one of the ...

www.thelancet.com

simine vazire @simine.com · 14h

Preparing this talk gave me an opportunity to reflect on what lessons I've learned from psychology's replication crisis and credibility revolution, and what advice I would have for other fields. We've come a long way!
Video: youtu.be/_vb1CNwC3CM?...
Slides : osf.io/cuj62/files/...

Lawrie @lawriephipps.co.uk · 16h

Absolutely cracking blog post from @simonxix.com calling for collective investment in staff and community-owned, open-source infrastructures in place of costly proprietary systems, based on the BL incident. blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

Don’t rely on government to save the British Library - Impact of Social Sciences

Following a catastrophic hack British Library remains in crisis. Can it recover by refocusing on the people, skills and systems that enable it to function?

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 18h

Interesting essay on Julian Huxley: “A committed leftist, he argued fiercely that science had failed to prove any innate racial differences (although he personally suspected such differences existed). He was also an ardent and unrepentant eugenicist”

Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 21h

I have an unpublished paper that I really need to get out there on Huxley's eugenic worldview, but here's a popular essay I wrote on the topic for io9 way, way back in the day, in case that's of interest (the headline was not my choice)

The First Religion Devoted to Evolution

Julian Huxley (1887-1975) is remembered as one of the most eminent biologists and science writers of the 20th century. He's less well known for what he

gizmodo.com

JAMES HEATHERS @jamesheathers.bsky.social · 19h

Diederik Stapel was a massive watershed moment in psychology.

However, he was -- and let's be slightly glib here -- some guy from The Netherlands who wrote social psychology papers.

The full accounting of the Eysenck case is approx, at minimum, TWO STAPELS.

retractionwatch.com/2025/12/03/n...

Number of ‘unsafe’ publications by psychologist Hans Eysenck could be ‘high and far reaching’

Hans Eysenck A “high and far reaching” number of papers and books by Hans Eysenck could be “unsafe,” according to an updated statement from King’s College London, where the psychologist was a profe…

retractionwatch.com

Siobhán Cully 🇺🇸 🐱🥼🤓🩼 @siobhancully.bsky.social · 20h

@anthrofuentes.bsky.social and I are working on a letter regarding the archiving of #NSF #DDRIGs in the #SBE Directorate and impacts on our fields. What did you/your students discover as a result of a DDRIG award? What other impacts resulted from the award? Post here or DM. Please repost for viz.

Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 21h

I have an unpublished paper that I really need to get out there on Huxley's eugenic worldview, but here's a popular essay I wrote on the topic for io9 way, way back in the day, in case that's of interest (the headline was not my choice)

The First Religion Devoted to Evolution

Julian Huxley (1887-1975) is remembered as one of the most eminent biologists and science writers of the 20th century. He's less well known for what he

gizmodo.com

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 21h

Relevant

bsky.app/profile/jowi...

Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 22h

Worth noting that many explicit eugenicists of the mid-20th century would be appalled by these latter-day proponents. Even Julian Huxley eventually recognized that fulfillment of potential was a universal right, and that talking about innate inequality is pointless when social inequality exists

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 22h

"Acknowledging that every human has strengths & capacities, the right to equal respect & to be supported to develop to their full potential, was one sign of progress in the late 20th century. We cannot allow the return of eugenicist thinking to be labelled “irresistible”. It can & must be combated"

Jay Joseph @jayjoseph22.bsky.social · 22h

Also, eugenics has no scientific basis at all. Just genetically misinterpreted and p-hacked twin studies, and 60 years of failure to discover causal “genes for behavior.”

Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 22h

Worth noting that many explicit eugenicists of the mid-20th century would be appalled by these latter-day proponents. Even Julian Huxley eventually recognized that fulfillment of potential was a universal right, and that talking about innate inequality is pointless when social inequality exists

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 22h

"Acknowledging that every human has strengths & capacities, the right to equal respect & to be supported to develop to their full potential, was one sign of progress in the late 20th century. We cannot allow the return of eugenicist thinking to be labelled “irresistible”. It can & must be combated"

Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 5d

My letter in today's Financial Times

#DisabilityRights #Discrimination #Equalities
@disabledgreens.bsky.social

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 22h

"Acknowledging that every human has strengths & capacities, the right to equal respect & to be supported to develop to their full potential, was one sign of progress in the late 20th century. We cannot allow the return of eugenicist thinking to be labelled “irresistible”. It can & must be combated"

Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 5d

My letter in today's Financial Times

#DisabilityRights #Discrimination #Equalities
@disabledgreens.bsky.social

Letter: ‘Irresistible’ rise of eugenics: something we must all fight
From Natalie Bennett, Green Peer, House of Lords, London SW1, UK
The other side of Quinn Slobodian’s op-ed, which online ran as “The irresistible rise of libertarian eugenics” (November 15), is an explosion in the use by many of the prominent would-be eugenicists, and their allies, of abusive terms for the learning-disabled and others they label inferior.
These are terms that seemed to be consigned to history, but are being proudly brandished in America, by everyone from Elon Musk to Joe Rogan, who described the return of the word “retarded” as “one of the great culture victories”.
Acknowledging that every human being has strengths and capacities, has the right to equal respect and dignified treatment, and the right to be supported to develop to their and the right to be supported to develop to their full potential, was one sign of progress in the late 20th century.
We cannot allow the return of eugenicist thinking.

Biological Theory @biologicaltheory.bsky.social · 1d

Biological Theory is now on Bluesky!

We have a new team of editors and a new editorial board.

We will soon be posting about all our articles.

Find out more about the journal at link.springer.com/journal/13752

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 1d

Workshop "Scientific Progress via Model Transfer? The Case of Cultural Evolution" in Hannover 9-10 April 2026
Deadline for abstract submission: 15 December
www.model-transfer.uni-hannover.de/en/news-and-...

Workshop: Scientific Progress via Model Transfer – MODEL TRANSFER: Model Transfer and its Challenges in Science: The Case of Economics – Leibniz Universität Hannover

www.model-transfer.uni-hannover.de

Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · 1d

I am pleased to announce that from Jan 1 2026 I take over as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biological Theory. My first act, with the support of the editorial team, is to bring the journal to BlueSky from X.

Please follow us @biologicaltheory.bsky.social. We will be posting about all our articles.

Aiyana Koka Willard @aiyanakoka.bsky.social · 1d

This video was made about our folk medicine project. It talks about our recent PNAS project, and also this study we did in Mauritius www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Vincent J Lynch 🐘🦣🦥 🦇🐋🐢🐍 @devoevomed.bsky.social · 1d

"Echoes of eugenics: confronting its effects in indigenous genomics" is a particularly important essay given the recent spate of human genetic engineering startups...

🧪 #Science #BlueSkyScience #AcademicBluesky #BioSky

academic.oup.com/genetics/art...

Echoes of eugenics: confronting its effects in indigenous genomics

This article explores the legacy of eugenics and its harmful impact on Indigenous peoples of North America. It examines how genetics research historically

academic.oup.com

Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 1d

Out in spring from @bentarnoff.com & I www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

Centre for Culture and Evolution @brunelcce.bsky.social · 1d

1/ 🧵 New PNAS paper by CCE’s @michealdebarra.bsky.social @aiyanakoka.bsky.social with Angel V Jiménez and Nachita Rosun🎉

📄 Why do people turn to religious or supernatural cures?
🧪🏺

#evolpsy #evolanth #evolutionarybehaviouralsciences #culturalevolution

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

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d

Wonderful, ultimately uplifting podcast with Loretta Ross, who is very optimistic about the future. The “self-defeating nihilism” of eugenicists means they are very unlikely to win out in the end

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...

Climate, Politics and Procreation: Loretta J. Ross

Podcast Episode · The LRB Podcast · 24/01/2023 · 1h 9m

podcasts.apple.com

EHBEA 2026 @ehbea2026.bsky.social · 2d

📢 Thinking about presenting at EHBEA? Now’s your chance!
🔍 Work in behavioural science?
🧠 Use evolutionary theory?
⏰ And you haven’t submitted your abstract yet?
🚀 #EHBEA2026 is coming up fast — submissions CLOSE 15 December!
Don’t miss your chance to share your work 🎉
👉 www.ehbea2026.com

Overview | EHBEA2026

The upcoming conference of the European Human Behaviour & Evolution Association will take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, 14th-17th of April 2026. EHBEA conferences bring together researchers applyi...

www.ehbea2026.com

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations!

Ehud @duhe.bsky.social · 2d

This critique of twin studies is well written and convincing. www.madinamerica.com/2024/09/the-...

The Long-Disputed Science of Twin Studies

Twin studies and heritability estimates are used in support of biological determinism and in defense of the global inequality status quo.

www.madinamerica.com

Dr. Soumaya Majdoub @soumayamajdoub.bsky.social · 2d

PhD defended! My thesis asks why, in 2025, we still explain housing crises, border regimes and climate breakdown through “overpopulation” – even when the evidence points to extraction, speculation and colonial histories instead.

Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 2d

Looking forward to participating in this Congressional Briefing on U.S. birth rates with @econmsk.bsky.social & @prbdata.bsky.social's Jennifer Sciubba next week, sponsored by @popassocamerica.bsky.social.

If you're in the DC area, join us! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

U.S. Birth Rate Trends: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications for American Families

Consider joining us on Wednesday, December 10, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in 2075 Rayburn House Office Building for ice cream and engaging presentations about U.S. fertility trends and related policies.

An expert panel of leading social scientists will discuss national and international birth rate trends and evidence on the effects of policy incentives, such as tax credits and paid family leave, in impacting an individual’s decision to start a family. The discussion is particularly timely given the Trump Administration’s interest in encouraging higher birth rates nationwide.

Speakers:

Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Dr. Melissa Kearney, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, Population Reference Bureau

ROTO Research Group @roto-rub.bsky.social · 2d

Next week, we welcome @rebeccasear.bsky.social in our Lecture Series. Rebecca will talk about 21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology. Just register here to participate 👉 rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#PhilSci #HPBio

Poster for the talk by Rebecca Sear, entitled "21st century eugenics, scientific racism and the role of academia in promoting political ideology". It will take place on Monday, 8 December 2025 at 4 pm (CET) via Zoom.

Josephine A. A. Baafi @josephineabaafi.bsky.social · 3d

Biggest appreciation to my advisors, Prof Georges Reniers, Prof Kofi Awusabo-Asare, Dr Anushe Hassan (@anushe.bsky.social), Dr Estelle McLean and Dr Fabian Achana, for their advice and guidance throughout my PhD.

I am also thankful to the ESRC UBEL DTP for funding my PhD. Truly grateful.

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