Ryan Timms
Profile
A passionate person with a love for philosophical research and education. I am very proud to be a part of the 4TU community, also serving as a PhD council member in 2024.
My previous research focused on cognitive scaffolding, addressing how external structures can influence cognitive and affective processes in harmful ways. Looking further ahead, I aim to meaningfully contribute to and develop the field of situated cognition.
My current work focuses on dark patterns, the user interfaces that get you to do things you didn't mean to, and applies various philosophical frameworks (namely a 'hostility' framework) to more clearly conceptualise the phenomenon. The overall goal of the project is to bridge the gap between philosophers and human computer interaction (HCI) scholars by creating practical guidelines for interface design.
My other research interests include epistemology, philosophy of mind and American pragmatism.