Nathan Lusher

Autism was discovered and defined by the medical community in 1943. Tylenol was not released to the public until 1955.

Spouses Tend to Share Psychiatric Disorders, Massive Study Finds Spouses often share psychiatric diagnoses, according to an analysis of almost 15 million people in three countries

“The team found that when one partner was diagnosed with one of the nine conditions, the other was significantly more likely to be diagnosed with the same or another psychiatric condition. Spouses were more likely to have the same conditions than to have different ones, …”

Aztec moral philosophy didn’t expect anyone to be a saint | Aeon Essays Aztec moral philosophy has profound differences from the Greek tradition, not least its acceptance that nobody is perfect

“The Aztecs held, in short, that it’s unrealistic to think that anyone can lead a perfectly good life, one in which you never slip up. A better goal, then, is to try to lead a rooted life, which they called neltiliztli: literally, rootedness.”

Maybe not a religion per se, but viable approaches… Process theology, ground of being theologies (Tillich, Neville, Wildman), or empirical theologies (Wieman, Loomer, Meland).

What Is the Eliza Effect? | Built In The Eliza Effect is the tendency to falsely attribute human thought processes and emotions to AI, and believe an AI is more intelligent than it actually is.

“It’s essentially an illusion that a machine that you’re talking to has a larger, human-like understanding of the world, ….. It’s having this sense that there’s a massive mind and intentionality behind a system that might not actually be there.”

builtin.com/artificial-i...

Can We Build AI Therapy Chatbots That Help Without Harming People? AI mental health chatbots promise affordable and immediate support—but can they be trusted? This Forbes report explores the risks, ethics, and future of therapy bots.

"Just because a chatbot talks like a therapist doesn't mean it thinks like one. And just because something's cheap & always available doesn't mean it's safe.

Guest: "Therapy requires a human-to-human connection... people want other people to care for and about them."

www.forbes.com/sites/weskil...

This needs to be plastered across every high street everywhere

How the QAnon movement entered mainstream politics – and why the silence on Epstein files matters The foundational belief of many of the QAnon followers is that Donald Trump is the heroic figure fighting the elite pedophile ring.

QAnon was a conspiracy that alleged child trafficking. Let's see what that movement does now with Trump and Epstein.

theconversation.com/how-the-qano...

Violence plummets in men's prison after inmates were taught philosophy Inmates at HMP Wayland, Norfolk, were taught how to live virtuous, peaceful lives based on resilience, rational thinking and self-discipline.

Phenomenal news story this and I love how the Mail seems quite supportive of it.

People say you only have one life, but there are thousands of new lives created every day. "But they aren't my life!" But what are *you*, other than a life? You are *this* life here; they are *those* lives over there, and all of these lives are precious and meaningful.

“LLMs make dangerous or inappropriate statements to people experiencing delusions, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, and OCD,” the paper said. “Pushing back against a client is an essential part of therapy, but LLMs are designed to be compliant and sycophantic,” it said later.

One of ChatGPT's popular uses just got skewered by Stanford researchers When the stakes are high, a robot therapist falls way short, researchers found.

www.sfgate.com/tech/article...

Aristotle would scoff at Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestion that AI can solve the loneliness epidemic It might seem odd to look to someone who lived over 2,000 years ago for answers about AI. But Aristotle has enduring insights about friendships – and which ones are particularly valuable.

I have a new popular article out in The Conversation. It analyzes Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments about using AI “friends” to combat lonliness through the lens of Aristotle’s account of friendship and virtue. Hope you enjoy it! theconversation.com/aristotle-wo...

AI therapy is a surveillance machine in a police state Big Tech wants you to share your private thoughts with chatbots — while backing a government with contempt for privacy.

Although AI may have the ability to perform therapeutic intervention there are huge questions about privacy. An AI is not a therapist who has strict requirements around privacy and the intertwining of Big Tech and government should also give you pause.

www.theverge.com/policy/66568...

First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits | Dartmouth

“The improvements in symptoms we observed were comparable to what is reported for traditional outpatient therapy, suggesting this AI-assisted approach may offer clinically meaningful benefits,”

home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/03...

“When people’s lives are sufficiently connected, they feel more existentially grounded. They feel that their lives really matter.” Great article and practical tips for cultivating meaning in your life.

I recently started embracing the term religious naturalist instead of atheist. I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable using the “G” word, but naturalistic theisms or process-relational approaches that ditch omnipotence seem far more likely than the classical theism most believers put forward.

You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory Alcoholics Anonymous helped make the Serenity Prayer famous, but it was written by one of the 20th century’s most influential theologians, Reinhold Niebuhr.

Interesting article on the "Serenity Prayer."

theconversation.com/youve-likely...

Really interesting essay. Flanagan argues that although globalized and intense forms of shame can be damaging, the specific kind of shame one experiences due to addiction is an important motivating factor that promotes healing and to tell the person otherwise can be seen as a kind of gaslighting

This is wild. Limit access to education to get more babies …

Suppose the air conditioning in your car stopped working, and you brought the car into the shop, and the mechanic said, “I am afraid your car is broken, so I have started dismantling it”.

That, in a nutshell, is what Trump and Musk are doing to your country.

Survivors seek a reckoning as FBI investigates child sex abuse in little-known Christian sect A small Christian sect that for decades was little noticed by the outside world has found itself riven by a very public child sex abuse scandal.

New AP article the 2x2 sect and sexual abuse allegations.

apnews.com/article/chri...

Trump Transition Live Updates: News on Matt Gaetz and House Ethics Committee

The party that made up pizzagate is covering up Gaetz’ actual pedophilia.
www.nytimes.com/live/2024/11...

Trump working hard to #restocktheswamp