“Guessing before proving! Need I remind you that it is so that all important discoveries have been made?”
— Henri Poincaré (and he should know)
About me:
Dr. Jeroen van Baar (1990) is a neuroscientist, psychologist, and TEDx speaker who has worked as a researcher at Brown University and the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health. He uses science to illuminate diverse societal issues including polarization and the mental health crisis. His work has been featured in venues including Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The Economist. He has given invited talks at over a hundred companies and non-profits around the world, supporting them with evidence-based tools to promote wellbeing. He also loves to write and publishes a free weekly newsletter to a (small) group of enthusiastic readers.
Why I write this newsletter:
I love research and believe it is dangerously underused. We can do much more to let scientific insight inform how we solve urgent societal issues. So I started An Educated Guess to create something I missed online: a place to discuss the research behind pressing questions in an accessible and collaborative way. I also use the newsletter to explore topics I am interested in but that don’t fit into my regular scientific publishing.
What to expect:
With some regularity, you’ll receive a newsletter with research updates that might pivot your perspective on a current issue. We’ll illuminate the key trends of our time by thinking across research fields, embracing data visualization, and capitalizing on the knowledge of the community. Some of the topics I’m starting out with are mental health, climate change, AI, and culture, but this list will change and grow over time.
Each post invites the readers to participate in the analysis so we end up learning even more from one another. For more on the value of a community of curiosity, check out this post (one of my earliest ones):
Most importantly, this newsletter is designed to be easy and fun to read and listen to. Please feel free to join the conversation in the comments by sharing your own experience of asking a question.
How to join:
You have options. As a free subscriber, you will receive all posts directly in your inbox and will be able to participate by commenting below. You will also be able to join further communication such as video talks/calls (work in progress!). As a paid subscriber, you will help me free up time to write more thoroughly researched essays. At some point in the future, paid subscribers will also get access to some perks like a video archive (work in progress). Whichever way you choose to read, you are welcome to join the conversation on An Educated Guess.
