Richard Harper

Some influences: Tooby, Cosmides, Symons, Pinker, (EvPsych); James Thompson, Timothy C. Bates (IQ and genius); Kenneth Harl (History, many Great Courses.)

[Milos @milos_gis]

Hey boys, we are in trouble.
Or, are we? 🧐

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

A massive effort to sequence the DNA of Vikings across Europe was published in 2020. The study revealed family histories of Vikings who set forth—and died—far from home.

Learn more: https://t.co/mwK8HHOZLS #ScienceMagArchives

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

Shale oil.

[@levelsio @levelsio]

Europe has gotten very poor fast while America has only gotten richer in the last few years (especially after inflation)

EU GDP per capita for 2026 is projected to be $51,030/year

US GDP per capita for 2026 is projected to be $94,430/year!

US is almost double as rich as Europe now, and that widening gap has been relatively recent (since 2008)

And if you're in Europe you really are starting to feel it now, the services are very poor, but for American prices

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

@cremieuxrecueil Optometry stores are a pain. Most can't accommodate my huge, wide head. Also, I recall the old 1990's macrocephaly v. microcephaly wars in autism journals. View around the early 2000's was two rough categories of sets of sub-symptoms in those diagnosed with autism.

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

@cremieuxrecueil Classic: 11 Big Head Problems. https://t.co/HcgHbMHoOX

[Peter Turchin @Peter_Turchin]

https://t.co/1ur17jTBi3

[House of Dracula (☥𝐃𝐁) @CountDraculaDB]

House DIY

[Deep philosophy @DeepPhilo_HQ]

"If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize."

- Voltaire

[H S Joshi @jon_stewartmill]

New paper, in which I argue you don't live in a democracy.

"Democracy and the Academy" at Philosophy & Public Affairs

Link below. Tell me why I'm wrong in the replies!

[arctotherium @arctotherium42]

It can be difficult to grasp just how recent the Mexicanization of America is. In the 1970s, less than 70,000 net Mexicans were immigrating per year. Then from 1980-2010, you had about 700,000 net migrating every year, on top of Baby Boom levels of TFR.

[arctotherium @arctotherium42]

This - the state funding lawyers to sue the state to compel it to do leftist things - is one of the most important ways modern Western governments coordinate. It's very Kafkaesque.

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

Skip California entirely and spend the money that would take to increase the rest of the high-speed national railway maybe 20% more miles, including Albuquerque and Anchorage Alaska. Make Salt Lake City a hub.

[Indianapolis Councilor Nick Roberts @nickroberts317]

Here is my proposal for a US High Speed Rail Network! A lot of research went into this map, and I tried to be as unbiased as possible. Thoughts?

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

Homeopathic Psychotherapy.

[James L. Nuzzo, PhD @JamesLNuzzo]

"Seven men die by suicide in Australia every day – more than 2,500 a year. In May 2026, the peak body for men’s health endorsed a plan to address this by teaching boys about gender equity." @TheRealMenToo

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

Don't Fence Me In. https://t.co/FnrzXMrU5H..

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

So the song of the day is Don't Fence Me In, by Gene Autrey (1944, remastered.) (Link in Reply.)

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A 92-year-old woman escaped her nursing home in eastern China by climbing a 2.15-meter gate.

In just 24 seconds, she pulled herself up, swung over the bars, and landed on the other side.

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

@DemiClawOne Yes, I agree. And academics are often not financially independent and need grant money etc. Ideally they break new ground for that, and the institutional structure increasingly makes safety and novelty mutually exclusive. So they safely push old ideas and models a tiny bit along.

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

Aging and the selection-decline effect should grow beyond thinking in terms of an overall effect spread evenly, but will eventually consider specific traits that are selected upon differently across the lifespan. This should generate new and interesting testable hypotheses!

[Science girl @sciencegirl]

Aging may not be a steady downhill process it may happen in stages

A large study of over 4,000 people aged 18 to 95 analysed nearly 3,000 proteins in blood plasma to understand how the body changes over time. Because these proteins reflect key biological activity such as immune function metabolism tissue repair and cell communication they act as a snapshot of how the body is aging

Researchers expected gradual change across the lifespan. Instead they found something more complex many proteins linked to aging shifted in noticeable bursts rather than slowly over time

These changes appeared to cluster around roughly three key life periods around the mid 30s around 60 and again in the late 70s suggesting that aging may happen in waves rather than a straight line

The shifts were connected to systems like inflammation cardiovascular health immune response and energy metabolism hinting that the body may periodically reorganise itself biologically at certain stages of life

Using just a subset of around 373 proteins scientists were able to estimate a person’s age from a blood sample with an average error of about three years. Interestingly individuals whose biological profiles appeared younger than their chronological age also tended to show better overall health

The research also highlighted strong differences between males and females with a large proportion of age related proteins behaving differently in men and women suggesting that aging pathways may not be identical across genders

Overall the findings challenge the idea of aging as a smooth decline and instead point to a process that may unfold in distinct biological phases

[Megha @megha_lilly]

One thing that’s treated very flippantly by the plastic surgery people is how significant going under general anesthesia is for your long term health. Going under one time is equivalent to a concussion in terms of brain damage. It should not be done frivolously.

[Will @Evolving_Moloch]

Among the Ache and Hadza hunter-gatherers individuals interact with over 1000 others over their lifetime. I don’t think 100 is plausible for the vast majority of historical hunter-gatherer societies

[Richard Harper @harpersnotes]

@ApexSeeker_ The tribe with the most young warriors usually has an advantage. Human male psychology evolved to want sons (especially.) Human females, as in other species, is choosy, coy. 'Males persist. Women resist.' But 'evolutionary mismatch' with current environment, 'the Pill', etc. etc.