Tim Verstynen

Intelligence Scientist
Department Gadfly
Data Alchemist
Breaker of Boredom
Zombie Apologist

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Last Notes

2024-08-20 18:09:48

Pet peeve 452: Conference speakers who decide to give a 40 min keynote talk when they’re supposed to only give a 15 min talk with other speakers waiting to go after.

2024-07-24 12:00:54

I love how conservatives always argue that privatizing governmental tasks would increase efficiency and lower costs. Instead we get astronauts stuck on the International Space Station by a private company that charges more than it would cost NASA for the same task.
Thanks free market zealots.
https://www.wfla.com/glance-at-the-galaxy/astronauts-remain-in-space-as-boeings-starliner-mission-exceeds-45-day-window-at-iss/

2024-07-13 13:45:15

“But his age!” is the new “But her emails!”

2024-06-27 13:35:18

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@npub1skv…aky3
Thanks Nicole.

2024-06-27 11:41:33

I love it when I write a grant proposal to study one topic and it gets rejected because the reviewers think that I should be studying another topic (giving the proposal low marks for its failure to address the questions that the reviewers think I should be studying).
Meanwhile, senior greybeard colleagues down the hall got nearly half a million dollars to buy new computers simply because they are friends with the program officer.
The state of modern scientific research funding is absolutely shit.

2024-04-27 02:18:42

Finally watching Rebel Moon and realizing that Zack Snyder’s directing style is like if Michael Bay tried being Christopher Nolan.

2024-04-21 15:01:27

Between Columbia’s decision to have law enforcement quell what was otherwise a fairly typical, peaceful college protest because it was pro-Palestinian and USC’s decision to cancel the speech of a valedictorian simply because she is Muslim, I think we can safely dispel the notion that universities are unapologetic bastions of liberal progressivism.

2024-04-18 00:11:18

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@npub1skv…aky3
We’ll see how this pans out. Could just be a dud, but if any robotics company could pull it off, my money is on Boston Dynamics.

2024-04-18 00:03:49

It begins!
I, for one, welcome our future robot overlords.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/boston-dynamics-debuts-humanoid-robot-destined-for-commercialization/

2024-04-07 13:14:54

Nothing screams modern America like the uber-wealthy underpaying the people who maintain their mansions and estates so much that they have to live in tent cities hidden out of view in nearby woods.
Tax. The. Rich. Out. Of. Existence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/07/nyregion/hamptons-workers-long-island.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ik0.WGNI.VneBbrmEVByM&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&ugrp=u&sgrp=c-cb

2024-04-01 19:36:21

Today I discovered that there are certain "high profile" professors who are regularly courted for (and strategically accept) coauthorship on papers, with minimal effort or work, solely to increase the likelihood that the paper will be accepted at a top tier journal.
This is basically the Trump business model applied to science.

2024-03-30 18:00:28

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@npub1skv…aky3 I think the universe has pretty much given up on trying to change my behavior.

2024-03-21 11:33:57

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@npub19d9…f02p We get told the same thing here in the US. The way that I understand it, the administrative state either required through governmental regulations or community expectations (e.g., IRBs, sponsored projects administrators), has bloated beyond what can be sustained by overheads on grants.
But I also do wonder how much other unnecessary costs are lumped into that estimate. For example, in the US a university can renegotiate their indirect rates with the NIH/NSF/etc. whenever they build a new building that will support federally funded scientific research. I imagine that the justification for it is that the overheads from grants will support that building (either deferring construction costs or higher maintenance costs), regardless of the actual need for the new building.

2024-03-11 00:44:52

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@npub1skv…aky3
😳

2024-03-10 23:39:38

People may balk at the price, but I imagine that being a moose milker doesn’t come with a long life expectancy.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/moose-cheese

2024-03-08 02:55:19

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@npub1skv…aky3
Still worth it for the bacalhau and amazing science.

2024-03-08 02:41:07

My best takeaway from COSYNE: I learned a lot about bees, RNNs, and people starting to rediscover cognitive science (in a round about way)
My worst takeaway from COSYNE: COVID

2024-03-07 14:03:31

Proof that when Musk talks about doing things for the “good of humanity”, his definition of “humanity” is restricted to people who look and think like him.
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-goes-after-jeff-bezos-ex-wife-mackenzie-scott-2024-3

2024-03-05 16:11:22

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@npub19d9…f02p
The amplification of work like his (and other scientific racists) on other platforms is why I prefer to just stay here on Mastodon, so I can continue to ignore it like it deserves.

2024-03-05 15:58:06

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@npub19d9…f02p
Oh sweet jesus Emil again? The guy so absolutely incompetent and racist that he had to make his own journal in order to get his papers published.
He's basically an internet troll masquerading as a scientist. Each of his papers is just click bate for attention. Every repost is exactly what he wants.

2024-03-05 15:50:27

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@npub19d9…f02p I seem to have missed this paper making the rounds and now I'm curious. Who are the authors?

2024-03-05 02:14:30

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@npub1skv…aky3 @npub19d9…f02p @npub14d7…dm4s
I third it!

2024-03-04 22:41:12

Alright theoreticians, time to pack it up. Apparently it is futile.
https://osf.io/preprints/metaarxiv/ysv2u

2024-03-01 12:49:10

Apparently, according to Blaise Aguera y Arcas at #COSYNE2024, AGI is defined as the abilities that LLMs do, thus LLMs have AGI and it has arrived.
Maybe the folks working on #AI should study circular inference a little bit more.

2024-02-20 03:18:17

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@npub1skv…aky3
I’d switch to doing tardigrade neuroscience.

2024-02-16 00:15:09

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@npub19d9…f02p
I’d also like to advocate something that we talked briefly about before, the idea of a living paper. An article that can update and grow as new evidence or theories come on line.

2024-02-13 16:27:01

Because companies like #Tesla fail to grasp the true scale of natural cognition, nor care about the ethics of human subjects testing (which they are engaged in with the autopilot rollout), we will likely get more stories like this.
Even worse, people who didn't consent to be "beta testers" for such technology will soon be the victims, so as to appease the naive and impatient whims of Silicon Valley oligarchs.
(gift link)
https://wapo.st/3UD1Iu2

2024-02-11 21:40:24

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@npub19d9…f02p
Wait, are you saying that there’s another way to read bedtime stories?

2024-02-09 17:25:11

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@npub1skv…aky3
I find the circular reasoning of "X is a chemical imbalance in the brain" as annoying, but prolific, rhetorical fallacy that addresses nothing. Happiness is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Hunger is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If it involves voluntary behavior (including moods and motivations), then it involves the brain and all the chemical systems that come with it.

2024-02-08 17:49:48

The fact that Thomas is attending this hearing today, despite being married to a key organizer of Jan. 6, shows just how much the new #SCOTUS code of conduct is toothless and meaningless.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/08/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot/

2024-01-20 01:07:39

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@npub1arn…2q2e @npub1q8t…nzdr
I wonder if this is related to the encephalitis lethargica outbreak that happened at the same time as the Spanish Flu.
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/encephalitis-lethargica

2024-01-19 02:14:40

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@npub19d9…f02p @npub12mu…glrf @npub1zze…vctr
Very cool Dan! Excited to go through it. Thanks for sharing.

2024-01-13 02:54:49

There is a special level in Hell, near the bottom, reserved just for Andrew Wakefield.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/philadelphia-measles-outbreak-hospital-day-care-rcna133269

2024-01-07 15:11:15

A limoncello
https://neuromatch.social/system/media_attachments/files/111/715/067/954/280/102/original/67d4267cea1e4206.jpeg

2023-12-22 20:41:48

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@npub1skv…aky3
I personally made a decision to leave as soon as Musk took over. Everything that I was afraid would happen there did, and more. To me it seems illogical (and somewhat unethical) to stay on a platform that promotes disinformation and anti-intellectualism as a scientist or academic. Staying only gives it underserved legitimacy.
Do I think Mastodon is a perfect replacement to what was lost? No. I love it here but the scope and ability to communicate with people of all walks of life is nowhere what it was on Twitter. But the tone is easier and the community seems to be mostly acting in good faith.
Musk killed something special. But in the end we have to admit that Twitter (as we knew it) is dead. The longer that reality takes to sink in for academics on X, the longer the problem will persist.

2023-11-14 11:08:13

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@npub1skv…aky3 Very cool!

2023-11-09 00:28:01

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@npub15sw…x855
Eligibility traces are one of my favorite current neuroscience mysteries! It is like the neuro version of a black hole: we can’t really see it directly, but know that it is there because of how it influences other things.

2023-10-27 19:32:03

As someone who had to run a research lab, teach classes, run an imaging institute, and raise a young child during the pandemic with limited (aka- part time) childcare, I would just like to say that Stephen Schwarzman can take his coddled, rich, and lazy ass for a long walk off of a short pier.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/26/business/remote-work-covid-efficiency/index.html

2023-10-23 01:34:56

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@npub16nf…q6as
Man who runs online company is baffled that online companies need money to operate.

2023-10-22 00:20:32

I feel like academia is a version of the Marshmallow Test where just you end up forgetting about the marshmallows altogether.

2023-10-18 17:31:34

Gotta love the gimmick where journals create an account for you just to ask you to be a reviewer on a manuscript. In that process they also sign you up for unsolicited marketing emails so that you get bombarded with spam before you've even engaged with the journal.

2023-10-15 22:15:31

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@npub1skv…aky3 That’s an excellent pick me up song.

2023-10-15 21:33:43

Whenever I need to get out of a mental rut I turn to this gem from Florence and the Machine to cheer me up.
https://youtu.be/vDHr85LiwUM?si=PZfSfY4wQ_AVkR0a
Now I am curious, what songs cheer you up?
#music #uplifting #SundayThoughts

2023-10-10 13:09:05

I have been thinking about this study a lot these past few days.
https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1085327?casa_token=uCima70a4FwAAAAA:1OWdWjm86dxeeqEoHaCVhyhvrx4IZdHXE3XF0GIR3lpDbSaVWjzmpiTY42E1IyHGuYVF0eaALu4ktRo

2023-10-08 20:43:58

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@npub1skv…aky3 @npub19d9…f02p +2 votes now. 🙋🏻‍♂️

2023-10-08 19:50:32

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@npub19d9…f02p I love this idea so very much!

2023-09-28 18:30:51

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@npub1skv…aky3 I've found that the business literature is very interested in the e-e dilemma, but each paper seems to keep coming back to "it's an intractable problem, so <shrugs>". Seems like an avenue where cog sci could be applied usefully to help resolve.
(Thanks for the link, BTW. Will take a close read)

2023-09-28 17:04:13

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@npub1skv…aky3 I wonder if this maps onto the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Are hedgehogs more exploitative, in terms of how they make decisions, while foxes are more exploratory?

2023-09-20 14:54:05

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@npub1gpe…aa0f @npub1skv…aky3 @npub12ss…c7zf
This makes sense. Air pollution triggers inflammation. Inflammation alters your mood, including depressive symptoms.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nri.2015.5
There is a much larger literature on air pollution and cognition/neural function that I feel we are still just scratching the surface of.

2023-08-31 19:32:03

A good friend works in a department run almost exclusively by social psychologists. He was told to expect to publish (not submit... publish) 4 papers a year, and make sure at least a subset of them appear in high impact journals like PNAS, Science, Psych Science, etc. if he wanted to get tenure.
The field cannot then act shocked when many of its superstars are found to have committed fraud or (best case scenario) sloppy research practices. The system practically begs for it to occur in order to succeed.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/08/gino-ariely-data-fraud-allegations/674891/

2023-08-30 00:15:33

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@npub1skv…aky3 This seems to get at the same problem that Allen Newell pointed out in his “You can’t play 20 questions” paper: collections of observations without a unifying predictive theory gets you nowhere. We (psychology) keep rediscovering this every few years with little to show for it.

2023-08-23 19:30:48

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@npub14d7…dm4s The sounds from the street are out of a war zone.
Welcome to America.

2023-08-23 18:02:53

This is happening in my neighborhood right now.
I deeply and passionately hate the #NRA and gun lobbyists.
https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-shooting-garfield-broad-street/44888738

2023-07-20 00:35:46

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@npub14d7…dm4s When I worked at Pitt we had an IT guy who removed the terminal app from our Macs for “security” reasons, which we later discovered was because he DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WAS FOR!

2023-07-19 02:20:22

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@npub14d7…dm4s Seriously???

2023-07-17 15:11:16

If you are going to be one of those reviewers who torpedos a manuscript with amorphous and unaddressable criterion (that few, if any, papers in science could achieve), then you should at least have the courage to sign your review.

2023-03-30 11:00:51

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#[0] That’s because it is.