Eduardo CF

Economic Sociologist at @ISEG Research,ULisboa (monetary theory, evolution of human cooperation, social currencies). Headless caipira.

[Matthew D. Sacchet @MatthewSacchet]

Here I announce a breakthrough in the neuroscience of the highly refined meditative states known as jhānas, revealing biological mechanisms of deep states of absorption that are profound, restorative, and deeply beneficial for the mind.

The jhanas are deep states of meditative absorption wherein the mind becomes deeply immersed in a meditation object and other aspects of awareness recede. These states are thought to: (1) deeply stabilize the mind; (2) serve as both a launchpad, and an inner laboratory, for investigating deep experiential aspects of the mind and perceptual reality; (3) help uproot unwholesome mental habits; and (4) offer rare glimpses into the genuine possibility a stable and reliable form of happiness. In this way, the jhānas are thought to prepare the mind for the meditative endpoint known as Nibbāna, or full Enlightenment.

Now, for the first time ever in the history of science, we have used cutting-edge brain imaging (7T fMRI) in a group of advanced meditators to measure the neural correlates of jhana-type advanced concentration absorption meditation (ACAM-J), including mapping the eight ACAM-J states evolving from joyful, energized focus to profound formlessness, where sensory content and self-referential thought fade entirely to reveal expansive, boundless awareness, and ultimately nothingness.

Here's what we found:
– Brain regions associated with self-monitoring and internal chatter (e.g., prefrontal cortex) quieted down, while areas involved world sensing and bodily awareness (including visual and midline regions) became more active.
– The brain’s usual hierarchy, from sensory-specific to high-level integrative areas, became more compressed, suggesting more unified, integrated brain function.
– Patterns of brain activity (eigenmodes) showed a U-shaped shift: early absorption states compressed cortical dynamics, while later states re-expanded, refined, and organized them.
– Changes in brain activity tracked closely with reported experience including equanimity, stable attention, clear awareness, and reduced suffering-related processes.
– The brain can volitionally enter coherent and stable states of deep awareness that are at the opposite pole from psychological distress.

Beyond potentially supporting mental health and wellbeing, these findings challenge mainstream models of consciousness with evidence that consciousness can persist in ways current models have yet to explain. Instead, the neuroscience of this ancient meditation opens an important new scientific window into the human brain’s inherent capacity to radically transform itself.

My deepest gratitude to our extraordinary team: Winson Yang @winsonfzyang (first author), Ruby Potash, Grace Mackin, Isidora Beslic, Marta Bianciardi, and Terje Sparby @terjesparby.

If this study resonates with you, please consider sharing it as this work thrives on our growing global community’s generosity and insights.

Please find the full preprint below ⤵️

[Eduardo CF @ecfk0]

@pretentiouswhat Nice overview. Isn't China's low urbanization rate (compared to other middle-income countries, let alone the developed world) part of the story? In Brazil at least, most of the poverty is urban and it's also hard to translate 'peasant' - there's just no clear social equivalent

[Jostein Hauge @haugejostein]

This essay by @KaiserKuo is the best piece of writing I've read on China's transformation.

It invites especially Westerners to approach China's progress differently. Whatever you think about China, the essay will challenge you.

Link to the full essay in replies.

[Jostein Hauge @haugejostein]

This is extraordinary: China accounts for almost three quarters of global poverty reduction since the 1980s.

[Crypto Commons Association @crypto4commons]

Bring two people to CCG25 and get a third ticket free.
Use it yourself or share it with your crew. Thanks for helping grow the community!

[Kaiser Kuo @KaiserKuo]

This thread of quotes from @adam_tooze from our recent podcast interview inspired me to write a short essay in the middle of the night here. Link in replies: “The Thing We Still Can’t Say”

[Kaiser Kuo @KaiserKuo]

He has wonderfully heterodox ideas, enviable eloquence, a lovely and civil rhetorical style, and a voice that sounds like Viggo Mortensen. Hear @haugejostein discuss China's industrial policy, trade, and manufacturing with me on the latest @SinicaPodcast! Link in replies.

[Felix Fritsch @FelixFritsch2]

the event y'all have been waiting for - CCG 2025 is taking shape!

[Anthony Scaramucci @Scaramucci]

Now Available: Broken Money https://t.co/DxoghsEjAs @LynAldenContact about to speak here in LA at the abundance summit @PeterDiamandis

[Lillian Cicerchia @classreductress]

We are advertising a PhD position in Political Theory! Please let us know your interest. The day to day supervisors will be myself and Paul Raekstad, and Enzo Rossi will also be a part of our team.

PS: Through Easter, I won't be responding to DMs here.

https://t.co/fVIDNUVbfP

[A Trojan horse for something else @lorespiracy]

My recently minted 110 page MA thesis on #Solarpunk:

Renewable Imagination via the Sun: Solarpunk, Speculative Anthropology and the Making of Regenerative Futures

Long thread(s).
Sharing is healing.

[Pavlina R Tcherneva @ptcherneva]

Money plays a fundamental role in heterodox economics and yet theories of value are not frequently discussed.
I'm very pleased to share this @LevyEcon paper by Randy Wray.

[Economic thought @economicthought]

Review essay: Reading the History of Money: Politically or Ideologically?, by Carl Wennerlind
https://t.co/qeoGnnttGB

[Economic thought @economicthought]

New book: The Culture of Money: Implications for Contemporary Economics, edited by Esther Schomacher & Jan Söffner
https://t.co/BOZ0pUqo6R

[Christian Hilbe @chilbe3]

In a new paper published today in @PNASNews, @yohm13 and I discuss a general framework to make sense of social norms and different indirect reciprocity models. Below is a 🧵, here is the paper:
https://t.co/rqDdXSTWSx

[Philip Oldfield @SustainableTall]

Kowloon Walled City, likely the densest place ever built (est. 1.9 million people per square km)

A team of Japanese researchers spent time until the night before it was demolished measuring and drawing the building, creating this incredible section

[Andrew Côté @Andercot]

My last job was as Senior Stellarator Engineer at an early stage fusion startup. I was the lead design 'ideas' guy for stellarator systems - here's some things I learned about the art and science of stellarator design 🧵

First off, a stellarator is indeed a work of art:

[Jonathan Gorard @getjonwithit]

Complex differentiability is an absurdly strong condition: distinctions like "differentiable" vs. "smooth" vs. "analytic" etc. that exist in real analysis simply dissolve in complex analysis. There is only one condition that encompasses them all: holomorphicity. (8/9)

[Glenn @GlennLuk]

... between federal and state tax rebates and the sales tax exemption, I estimate an average subsidy of close to $13k per EV delivered in the United States.

This compares to ~$2k per NEV in China.