Nicole Rust / is on Nostr

Professor (UPenn). Brain researcher. Book: Elusive Cures (Spring 2025). https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243054/elusive-cures

Last Notes

2024-09-13 18:23:50

Incredible talk today by
@npub18rd…efux about the development of a new treatment for severe depression. At Penn, we had all read and discussed the work.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06541-3
But seeing Chris present it was next-level. I’m walking away in awe and inspired.
https://media.neuromatch.social/media_attachments/files/113/131/638/959/149/428/original/6dc79a1b9b03b418.jpeg

2024-09-08 12:06:57

- reply

monthslong is a word - who knew?
(It's not months long)
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2017/03/monthslong.html

2024-09-08 11:38:43

- reply

hone in versus home in
To hone something means to sharpen it. It usually refers to a blade, but can also be used metaphorically to mean improving at something, like honing your skills by practicing the clarinet.
Home, when used as a verb and often followed by "in on," means to head towards a destination, like your home — although you can home in on any place.
https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/pardon-the-expression/home-in-vs-hone-in/
Covert attention allows you to "home" in on where something is happening without shifting your gaze (not hone).
Good to know!

2024-09-06 15:05:18

So excited to change my profile from "Writing a book" (which has been up since I joined the Furry Elephant movement in Dec 2022) to include a link to that very book.
Wow - this feeling!

2024-09-05 15:46:43

- reply

Which versus that
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/which-vs-that/
The difference between which and that depends on whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive.
In a restrictive clause, use that. >> My bike that has a broken seat is in the garage. (Implies I have more than 1 bike)
In a nonrestrictive clause, use which. >> My bike, which has a broken seat, is in the garage.
launching with the history (which even many brain researchers don’t know)
not
launching with the history (that even many brain researchers don’t know)
b/c there are not multiple histories!

2024-09-05 15:16:42

- reply

Who vs that
"Who is always used to refer to people. That is always used when talking about inanimate objects (that computer, that piece of paper…) That can also be used when talking about a class or type of person, such as “that” team."
https://www.touro.edu/departments/writing-center/tutorials/when-to-use-who-or-that/
Jessica Jones, the director of An Important Agency *who* proceeded Rachel ..
not
Jessica Jones, the director of An Important Agency *that* proceeded Rachel ..
(yeah, sounds a lot better and makes sense ...)

2024-09-05 14:51:25

Thread for us amateur grammar nerds. (Things I'm learning as I review the copy edits for my book).
(Before I begin, let me voice my appreciation for editors!!)
#1) Comprised vs composed
https://www.scribbr.com/commonly-confused-words/comprised-vs-composed/
The university comprises a number of different campuses.
The university is composed of a number of different campuses.
Amyloid plaques are not comprised of amyloid-beta, they are composed of it - good to know!

2024-09-04 14:31:52

They picked me! (Audiobook)
Yeah! It looks like I'll be the narrator for the audiobook of my own book. It's something I really wanted to do, but it's not guaranteed (you have to apply).
I'm working with a narration coach to help ensure it's good. I'm learning that good narration is an art! I'm excited to learn more about it.
The adventure continues ...
(If you're wondering, "What book?", it's this one: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243054/elusive-cures)

2024-08-30 19:29:16

- reply

Imposing a strong filter (as I've been obsessing about this for over two years as I write my own book and I could go on and on ....)
My take is that we can and should applaud a brilliant high-level synthesis and explanation of the genius of an era. For example, *just this morning* I was on a zoom call with a director-of-a-fabulous-science-institute telling me about how Chaos by @npub1kh4…0dny changed his life, inspiring his career in complex systems. That book was first published in (checks notes) 1987! The fact that it inspired so many notable careers, and those folks are still talking about it decades later, is clear evidence that the book is important and matters.
What we shouldn't confuse ourselves about is the idea that an author is the source of all the ideas (as opposed to channeling the genius of a community). I have a very negative, visceral reaction to books that deliver a genius narrative as if the author ere the source, absent attribution of where it's actually coming from.
I get that it's a bit of cognitive dissonance - as scientists, it's to our benefit to hype the hype to get the papers published and grants funded. That's the thing we need to change, I suspect - the narrative!

2024-08-30 19:29:16

- reply

2024-08-30 18:38:48

- reply

@npub18g0…0a9e
I’m optimistic it’s time for a rebrand. The genius narrative is so 1990s. The new era is about collective intelligence. Soon, marketing one’s self as a genius who is here to fix all the things will be regarded as misguided and foolish (hooray!).

2024-08-28 02:29:14

- reply

As a wise man once said, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away; know when to run …”

2024-08-28 02:24:45

- reply

I admire the wisdom (to delay) and the commitment (to do something)!

2024-08-28 02:10:03

- reply

Egads. I’ve never heard of this. Curious: where does the money go? Not the professor. I hope!

2024-08-16 19:52:20

Profound and beautuful and wow:
ALS (which afflicted Stephen Hawking and Lou Gehrig) is a terrible neurodegenerative disorder. Researchers have been working to create brain-computer-interfaces to restore communication when patients become locked-in (conscious but unable to communicate) with notable sucess (like they imagine writing letters and they appear on a computer screen). But it’s all a bit tedious and finiky.
One researcher, now an Assistant Professor at UC Davis (Sergey Stavisky) had an idea: if we read out signals from the bits of the brain not used for motor functions like writing but the ones used to speak … well … just watch the video. CW: tears might be shed.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=thPhBDVSxz0