The post argues for abolishing for-profit scientific publishers to enhance accessibility and reduce costs in research, advocating for government-funded open-access publishing instead.
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Adam Mastroianni is the author of Experimental History, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers. He publishes every other Tuesday and aims to find what's true and make it useful. Photo credit on the website goes to his dad.
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6.4Thank you for being annoying
2025-09-30 • career motivation love work annoyance
The author critiques the popular mantra 'Do what you love,' arguing that it can lead to disillusionment and feelings of inadequacy. Instead, he suggests that true fulfillment comes from engaging with the annoyances of work and lif...
The author critiques the common anthropomorphization of AI, arguing that viewing AI as a 'little guy' leads to misunderstandings about its capabilities. Instead, he proposes the metaphor of AI as a 'bag of words' that retrieves re...
The post discusses the surprising dominance of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism among the world's religions, arguing that they each possess both a scholarly and a folk version that appeal to different audiences. The author explor...
The blog post announces the winners of the Second Annual Experimental History Blog Post Competition, highlighting various submissions that tackle complex questions about intelligence, cultural history, and personal experiences. No...
The author discusses the pervasive sense of hopelessness in society amidst various crises, arguing that while many feel overwhelmed by the world's problems, this despair can lead to inaction. Drawing on Peter Singer's concept of t...
The blog post discusses a study on conversational dynamics, revealing that most people do not end conversations when they desire to. The author and their PhD advisor surveyed 806 individuals about their last conversation, finding ...
Recent findings challenge classic psychological studies, revealing complexities in cognitive dissonance, memory, and public opinion, while promoting critical thinking and skepticism.
The blog post is a quarterly update featuring various interesting topics, including historical misconceptions about potatoes, the impact of AI on academic research, the evolution of cryptography in the US, and the psychological im...
The post discusses the influential work of psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in the fields of behavioral economics and decision-making. It highlights their innovative cognitive experiments that reveal how the mind pro...
The post is a quarterly update featuring various topics the author has been reading about, including the evolution of Tetris gameplay techniques, the appeal of simulator games, scientific studies on attraction, developments in sci...
5.5The Decline of Deviance
2025-10-28 • creativity culture youth deviance societal issues
The article discusses a cultural shift towards conventionality and a decline in deviance across various sectors of society, including youth behavior, crime rates, and creativity in art. It highlights that today's teens are less li...
Reading is not dying; despite digital distractions, book sales are stable, and the human desire for reading endures, highlighting the enduring power of text in culture.
Small, often overlooked actions and professions can significantly improve the world, encouraging individuals to engage with their communities and recognize their potential impact.
The post delves into the nature of social awkwardness, its layers, and practical strategies for managing and overcoming it in everyday interactions.
The author explores the concept of 'Acceptable Suffering Ratio' through personal experiences with Accutane, emphasizing the need to evaluate suffering against potential life gains.
The text discusses the importance of unpacking the details of a job before pursuing it. It emphasizes that people often overlook the downsides of a profession and fail to understand the reality of the job. The author suggests that...
The author discusses three 'dumb' studies that he conducted to learn something new in a low-effort way. The studies include a taste test, an experiment on people sticking their hands in buckets, and a study on people's reaction to...
The text discusses the importance of the blogosphere and the impact of the internet on society. It encourages people to participate in the Second Annual Experimental History Blog Post Competition, Extravaganza, and Jamboree, offer...
The text discusses a new book called The Mind in the Wheel, which proposes a new foundation for the science of the mind. It introduces the concept of cybernetic psychology, which suggests that the mind is made up of control system...
028 slightly rude notes on writing
2025-04-29 • writing art emotions literary fiction ai
The text discusses the challenges of writing and the emotions involved in the process. It also explores the motives behind writing and the impact of AI on writing.
0How I became a British meme
2025-04-15 • fame reality tv united kingdom british meme
The author recounts his experience of becoming a British meme after appearing on a British reality show called Come Dine with Me. He describes the unexpected fame and the impact it had on his life.
The text discusses the concept of small actions being indicative of moral character, using examples such as the Shopping Cart Test, the Bluetooth Test, the Circle of Hell Test, the Gottman Test, the Codependent Problems Test, the ...
The author recounts a job interview at a university where he debated whether to present his true self or a more conventional version of himself. He ultimately chose to be authentic, despite the risk of not being hired. The experie...