The Right Level of Wrong: Why Psychiatric Conditions Need an Algorithmic Explanation

Rethinking How We Explain Mental Illness to the People Living With It

The Right Level of Wrong: Why Psychiatric Conditions Need an Algorithmic Explanation Rethinking How We Explain Mental Illness to the People Living With It Michael Halassa Jul 21, 2025 36 17 11 Share There's a paradox at the heart of modern psychiatry that keeps me up at night. We have two ways of understanding mental illness that seem fundamentally at odds, yet both appear indispensable. On one side, we have the molecular story: dopamine receptors, neurotransmitter reuptake, receptor binding affinities. On the other, we have the algorithmic story: temporal difference learning, model-free versu

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