Speak Now Regret Later

A new Substack

Welcome to, ugh, another Substack newsletter.  

I might be the last person to join this trend. The shark has been jumped, and I’m Arthur Fonzarelli giving the thumbs up. So why the hell am I doing this? This Substack is for me: a place to get things off my chest, speak my mind, and rant a little about the world as I see it. But it’s also about conversation: about grappling with things I might feel differently about later, about hearing from readers, about changing my mind, and maybe yours.

Who the fuck are you, man?

My name is Michael Inzlicht, and I’m a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto where I study a whole bunch of things that aren’t always connected. Well, they’re connected in the sense they are interesting to me. I study self-control, motivation, and effort, but also cannabis, technology, boredom, AI, and empathy. I am also passionate about improving science and am an advocate for methods reform in psychology that some call the open science movement.

I am many other things too. I am a Liberal and liberal, but not progressive. I appreciate heterodoxy in the purest sense of the word. Orthodoxy demands that we stop thinking and accept what those in our tribe say, while I try my best to think for myself even if my views are out of step with those around me. I’m a disagreeable person by nature and I like a good fight. I guess I’d place myself on the center-left, but some in my world might see me as center-right even if I have never voted that way.

I am a Jewish atheist. I am a Mizrachi Jew, a Jew of colour with roots in the ancient Jewish population in Yemen that is sadly no more.

I am a first-generation Canadian and a first-generation college student. As the firstborn child of immigrants, I did not always fit in with my neighbours or classmates or fellow congregants. I did not grow up with much money.

As a proud (former) Montrealer and Quebecer, I appreciate la joie de vivre, a joy for life’s pleasures. My research lab is called the Work and Play lab. I firmly believe that while work might have inherent meaning, work is typically the means and leisure is the end. The rise of alcohol-free living among younger people pains me. Certainly, drinking in excess can cause lots of harm, but what is often forgotten is how it can cause lots of joy, how it can bring people together. Some of the best moments of my young adulthood were fueled by alcohol. The friendships—no, brotherhood—I formed then sustain me to this day. I love cannabis, though I no longer have the same zest for it that I used to. And the Big Lebowski gives me endless pleasure. I’ll try to include Easter eggs in posts for other little urban achievers.

What You Can Expect Here

I’ve been meaning to do one of these for a while. I like writing, but I’m also lazy, or as my daughter likes to say, I am efficiency-maximizing. I’m on sabbatical this year, so I have plenty of time and few excuses. My goal will be to write something once a week. I commit to trying this for one year, and then let’s see where my head is at.

For each post, I’ll write about what’s been on my mind during that week. I’ll write about academic psychology and open-science takes on psychology; but I might also write about Twitter/X drama that has ensnared psychology that week. I’ll write about politics and the news, but hopefully not too much. You don’t need my shallow takes on the news of the day or the latest outrage, so I’ll try to resist. But please don’t scream too loudly if I become mired in the culture-war swamp.

I have been following the ongoing war in Gaza compulsively. I feel like a changed person since October 7^th, so I will write a little about Judaism and identity. I might also write some funny immigrant stories about my youth. I’ll probably stick mostly to science and culture, but let’s see where this takes me.

The name of this Substack, Speak Now Regret Later, reflects who I am at my core: an impulsive person. I didn’t fully appreciate this until a few years ago when my friend Simine Vazire described me this way. My impulsivity means I get shit done, but I act quickly and often without thinking things through. I have strong opinions that I feel compelled to share, but I sometimes wake up wondering, “Did I really say that?” Regret is a familiar feeling to me. When I was co-hosting the Two Psychologists Four Beers podcast with my friend Yoel Inbar, I often regretted saying the stuff I did, at least the next morning when my internal critic starting blathering.

Even so, I think there’s value in speaking your mind, of saying what you initially feel, even if it means occasionally needing to retract the occasional claim. I want this space to reflect that honesty, to be real about what I believe, and to admit when I get it wrong. I’m a big fan of forgiveness and saying sorry. What could be more Canadian, eh? So, if you’re here for perfectly polished takes or careful thoughts, then sorry, but this place might not be for you.

Please abide

This is going to be a space to speak freely about science, news, culture, pleasure, and personal stories. I hope you’ll enjoy reading my rants, but more importantly, I hope you’ll find something that resonates or challenges you. And I hope you’ll forgive those bad takes that I’ll later regret.

Let’s see where this journey takes us.

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I invite you to join the conversation—comment below, tell me what I got right, tell me what I got wrong, and share with your friends. If you enjoyed this and want to dive deeper into the intersection of psychology, open science, politics, culture, and leisure, consider subscribing to my Substack. As a subscriber, you’ll get free access to lots of my articles. Or, for a small monthly fee, you can become a paid subscriber and gain access to all my articles, including the extra spicy ones that will be behind a paywall. Let’s keep the conversation going—subscribe today!