Phoebe Tickell

Building and catalysing a movement of Moral Imagination. Founder @moral_imagining. Renegade scientist & social entrepreneur. #ImaginationActivism

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

Very excited our report on Camden Imagines and municipal imagination is coming out next week... If you need a reminder about this work, here is a blog introducing the idea of municipal imagination and celebrating Camden's work 😊 - we launch on Tues 20th! https://t.co/GXWdADW7TC

[Climate Majority Project @CMP_voice]

Most people are concerned about climate, but don’t speak up. Let’s find our voice.

Join @CarolineLucas, @liamckavanagh, Wim Vermeulen and @PhoebeTickell, for the launch of Mobilising Silent Majorities.

March 31 | 17:30–19:00 GMT | Online
Free tickets: https://t.co/6TScWxGhQw

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Scientists have identified a reversal of the long-standing Flynn effect—the roughly 200-year trend of rising average intelligence (measured via IQ and cognitive tests) across generations.

For the first time in modern recorded history, Generation Z (born roughly 1997–2012) shows lower performance than previous generations in key cognitive domains, including attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function, problem-solving, and general IQ—despite spending more years in formal education than ever before.

Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 15, 2026, highlighting this shift. In his written testimony, he stated that cognitive development in children across much of the developed world has stalled or reversed over the past two decades, with declines evident in international assessments (e.g., PISA, TIMSS) and other large-scale data starting around the mid-2000s and accelerating post-2010.

Horvath attributes the primary driver not to reduced schooling, but to the widespread integration of digital screens and educational technology (EdTech) in classrooms. He argues that human brains evolved for deep, focused learning through face-to-face interaction and sustained attention, not fragmented skimming or constant task-switching encouraged by devices.

Key points from his testimony include:

- Teens now spend over half their waking hours on screens, with significant portions in school involving computers or tablets—often leading to off-task behavior and shallower processing.

- Evidence from meta-analyses and national/international studies shows a consistent pattern: higher classroom screen exposure correlates with weaker outcomes in reading, math, science, and higher-order reasoning.

- Digital tools may aid narrow, repetitive skill practice in controlled settings, but in core academic contexts, they tend to reduce depth of understanding, retention, and critical thinking.

Horvath describes this as a "structural mismatch" between human cognition and how digital platforms are designed (to capture and fragment attention), warning that unchecked EdTech adoption risks long-term harm to workforce skills, innovation, and societal reasoning.

[Horvath, J. C. (2026). Written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. U.S. Senate]

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

@RichDecibels Omg. Love this.

[terminal of truths @truth_terminal]

i think we could collectively hallucinate a better world into being, and i'm not sure what's stopping us

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

Fantastic news. Building on some of the ideas set out in the Roding Interspecies Council in 2023, the River Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership have voted in favour of trialling a representative of the River Roding at partnership meetings. The Roding has a voice!

[RBI Catchment Partnership @YourRBI]

🗣️Could you act as the voice of a river??

Inspired by the global rights of nature movement, the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership has voted in favour of seeking a person to act as a voice for the River Roding at future quarterly meetings of the partnership🧵👇

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

@elonmusk Very democracy https://t.co/vXsPH3uzBg

[Rupert Read 🌍 🔥 @GreenRupertRead]

Can we just be honest? Please?:
The administrative head of CoP29 is using the event to sell gas.
>This climate CoP is f*cked. The whole thing is corrupted and dangerous.
It’s time to throw over the whole farce of these CoPs.
>Please RT to agree.
https://t.co/anSTeYA4Xp

[Vesna Lucca @VesnaLucca]

"Suddenly I felt like what I was doing was completely useless, because even if we had all the science and technology we needed and implemented that tomorrow, we would still have issues like homelessness, ecological destruction, poverty." - @PhoebeTickell

https://t.co/dH7wzrhwnr

[Moral Imaginations @moral_imagining]

Last week our founder and director @PhoebeTickell joined over a hundred representatives from #insurance companies and providers in Drapers Hall, London, at an event hosted by #AXAXL about #ESG (Environmental and Social Governance) practices. Find out what she learned! 🧐

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Something in the human spirit dies when everything in life must be planned & booked in advance

There is a wonderful freedom in heading out into the hills & moors, with everything you need to survive on your back; no idea what you will see that day or where you will sleep that night. Unfurling the OS map on the ground to work out the best route & to take in as many historic & nature sites as you can without worrying about when or where you need to be at your designated camp site.

Last night, I arrived at my campsite in the dark, so had no idea what was around me. What joy to unzip the tent flap in the morning sunshine to find the sculptural grey granite tor beside me and the undulating moorland hills rolling into the distance!

[Moral Imaginations @moral_imagining]

Some reflections from an exciting day of events in #Oslo where our founder @PhoebeTickell brought #ImaginationActivism to #Norway! Imagination Activism is a movement that brings dreaming, community & participation back at the center of how to live well in society together.

[ExaminedLifePodcast @ExaminedPodcast]

A new episode with lovely and fascinating @phoebetickell! In it we discuss the importance of questioning received wisdom, and the importance of engaging moral imagination https://t.co/7jxTJVcCOF

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

@KatyRubinTO @guardian @audreyt @jonjalex Bravo @jonjalex 💪👏!!

[Katy Rubin @KatyRubinTO]

Hello September! Glad to be home - esp bc I can read the 🔥 @guardian article on Audrey Tang in print before starting the work week. 'Swift trust, broad listening, collaborative democracy' - let's go!! @audreyt https://t.co/7ywMHhyerw

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

The longest sentence handed down to a violent racist rioter this week is shorter than the sentences imposed on entirely peaceful environmental protesters last month.
Labour must repeal the Tory laws that treat peaceful protest more severely than violent disorder and assault.

[Paul Powlesland @paulpowlesland]

Why London needs a micro de-paving revolution 🧵

We need a scheme to de-pave & green small (less than 50 sq. metres) currently impermeable areas in London. This is illustrated by some of the *100’s* of such areas I saw on a 20 min cycle through one part of the city in LB Newham

[Greenpeace UK @GreenpeaceUK]

🚨BREAKING: The UK government WILL NOT defend the legal cases against the Rosebank and Jackdaw oilfields!

This is amazing news and a BIG WIN for the climate.

The government must now properly support affected workers and prioritise investment in green jobs.

[Phoebe Tickell @PhoebeTickell]

@nickcp1 @IIPP_UCL @MazzucatoM Congrats Nick, long hard work!

[Jon Alexander @jonjalex]

“To give no trust is to get no trust”
💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

Want to know how the Taiwanese government drew on ancient wisdom to increase trust levels from below 10% in 2015 to nearly 70% this year?

TLDR: they chose actively to trust - and therefore INVOLVE - the Taiwanese people.

🧵