Nostr notes by Nick Byrd, Ph.D.

Yes. People still ask. ...

2026-07-28T13:23:01+02:00

Yes. People still ask.

Why might some workers perform better? A thesis found reflective ...

2026-07-27T13:48:34+02:00

Why might some workers perform better?

A thesis found reflective thinking predicted #job performance above and beyond #intelligence and conscientiousness: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2285

Reflection even moderated the relationship between #IQ and performance!

#IOPsych #Hiring #Work #AI

What appeared to reduce #anxiety disorders and symptoms most in a ...

2026-07-26T13:03:49+02:00

What appeared to reduce #anxiety disorders and symptoms most in a recent #MetaAnalysis?

#ResistanceTraining

It had better effects and certainty ratings than #CBT, treatment-as-usual, #aerobics, and several other common interventions.

BMJ #OpenAccess: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2025-002781

Do people realize the latest evidence still suggests #exercise is ...

2026-07-25T19:11:06+02:00

Do people realize the latest evidence still suggests #exercise is about as effective as #psychotherapy and #antidepressants for treating #depression (and may result in fewer adverse events)?

Recent review:: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004366.pub7

Summary: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/evidence-based-living/202601/exercise-works-as-well-as-medication-and-therapy-for-depression

#MentalHealth

Glad to see #pragmatism advancing arguments and evidence about ...

2026-07-20T13:21:10+02:00

Glad to see #pragmatism advancing arguments and evidence about #intuition and #reflection. I've applied it to
- #CogSci and #metaphilosophy broadly: https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12534
- #AI and #PhilMind: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.22987

A new paper extends it to #Sociology: https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.70053

I was inclined towards a similar classification, ...

2026-07-13T17:18:37+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…446g
_________________________

I was inclined towards a similar classification, Oscar Cunningham (npub10mu…2h9c), but then I wondered if that would include too much (such as some bots or podcasts). If so, RSS feed + certain qualifications (such as medium-to-long format text posts) would seem to be what I think of as “blogging”.

“Is it a #Substack or is it a REAL #blog?” –A Colleague The ...

2026-07-13T13:46:00+02:00

“Is it a #Substack or is it a REAL #blog?” –A Colleague

The implication immediately resonated, but perhaps I just started blogging on earlier platforms such as #Wordpress, #Blogger, etc.

What is TRUE #blogging to you?

Why do events run out of #plantBased food and have leftover ...

2026-07-07T20:31:08+02:00

Why do events run out of #plantBased food and have leftover #meat?

Cuz #vegan meals are often more appetizing! I don't blame omnivores who leave the meat and grab the lentils, quinoia, peppers, olives, greens, etc.

It's time catering defaulted to vegan: https://qr.ae/pF4hae

Hi again @npub16ut…m0sk The language is intended to be ...

2026-07-07T19:59:14+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…u8ya
_________________________

Hi again Pomegranate Pirate 🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ (npub16ut…m0sk)

The language is intended to be appealing to older, retired conservatives who think negatively of people they refer to as "welfare queens" without realizing their retirement may be similarly over-subsidized.

"retirement welfare queen/king" does not refer to all retirement welfare recipients — only some, as I explain in my reply to your longer comment:

https://nerdculture.de/@ByrdNick/116879980749368475

quoting
note1crw…sc3p

Hi Pomegranate Pirate 🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ (npub16ut…m0sk)

Sounds like you will enjoy the Freaknomics episode with Jessica Reidl (and perhaps also their episode on "Sludge").

I am very much in favor of supporting people who need retirement welfare because they cannot work or otherwise afford healthcare — that is not what terms like "welfare...king" or "welfare...queen" refer to (as far as I know).

Those terms refer to people that retire (or remain underemployed) well before they are unable to continue healthcare-providing work and that end up consuming more than they contributed. Many of those people do not even need the retirement welfare (because they make more than enough while working).

So we may not actually disagree. Of course, if we do disagree, that is not a problem with me: I certainly want to consider counter-arguments.

Hi @npub16ut…m0sk Sounds like you will enjoy the Freaknomics ...

2026-07-07T19:56:11+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…f2vp
_________________________

Hi Pomegranate Pirate 🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ (npub16ut…m0sk)

Sounds like you will enjoy the Freaknomics episode with Jessica Reidl (and perhaps also their episode on "Sludge").

I am very much in favor of supporting people who need retirement welfare because they cannot work or otherwise afford healthcare — that is not what terms like "welfare...king" or "welfare...queen" refer to (as far as I know).

Those terms refer to people that retire (or remain underemployed) well before they are unable to continue healthcare-providing work and that end up consuming more than they contributed. Many of those people do not even need the retirement welfare (because they make more than enough while working).

So we may not actually disagree. Of course, if we do disagree, that is not a problem with me: I certainly want to consider counter-arguments.

Are critical thinking and reflective thinking the same? Nope. ...

2026-07-06T13:01:47+02:00

Are critical thinking and reflective thinking the same? Nope.

I've argued that not all reflective thinking is critical: https://doi.org/10.5840/resphilosophica2711

And Nadurak argues that not all critical thinking is reflective (Type 2): https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v46i2.10342

#cogSci #PhilMind #epistemology #AI

😬 U.S. retirees don't get a fair share of #SocialSecurity, ...

2026-07-06T06:17:22+02:00

😬 U.S. retirees don't get a fair share of #SocialSecurity, etc.—"for #Medicare [they get] TRIPLE what they paid in."

Jessica Riedl adds, "the math doesn’t work": https://freakonomics.com/podcast/ten-myths-about-the-u-s-tax-system

And the #USA spends more on #retirement welfare recipients of these programs than on any other federal budget item! So these may be the lowest-hanging fruits in terms of fiscal #policy.

Given these are probably third rail issues, how can we actually right-size retirement welfare programs to get the U.S. #budget back on track?

Is there a way to make retirement reform a winning issue without votes from aging #welfare kings and queens?

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/us-retirement-policy-c096c078

Is #Amazon going to sunset #mTurk? As of July 30 2026, #AWS will ...

2026-07-03T17:22:23+02:00

Is #Amazon going to sunset #mTurk?

As of July 30 2026, #AWS will no longer accept new customers (requestors).

"Existing customers can continue to use the service as normal."

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/latest/dg/sms-workforce-management-public.html

#cogSci #psychology #xPhi #AI #tech #news #crowdWork #gigWork #surveyResearch

Thanks to the International Association for the Cognitive and ...

2026-07-02T16:39:42+02:00

Thanks to the International Association for the Cognitive and Evolutionary Sciences of #Religion for letting me remotely present to their conference in Czechia not-yet-published meta-analyses of studies of #atheism and reflection across languages.

#IACESR https://iacesr.com/conferences

Because the #DecisionAnalysisSociety is on #LinkedIn, I'll ...

2026-06-22T18:42:21+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…q7dm
_________________________

Because the #DecisionAnalysisSociety is on #LinkedIn, I'll post about our talks and posters in the comments on my post over there.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nickbyrd_duke-conference-2026ada-activity-7474825172022284288-b9PN?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAfIXggBe7u_2hJWxPZKBwIo62YtbA_6kh4

(We're told all talks are recorded by default, but these may be shared only with registered attendees. I see no virtual option yet.)

I'm at #Duke to share methods and results from Socratic ...

2026-06-22T16:06:41+02:00

I'm at #Duke to share methods and results from Socratic Reflection experiments to the Advances in Decision Analysis #conference:

#2026ADA website: https://conferences.fuqua.duke.edu/2026-informs-advances-in-decision-analysis-conference

Follow the URL below for our results and my posts about other talks or posters I see.

#cogSci #xPhi #AI

Can 3-6 year-olds distinguish between reliable vs. unreliable ...

2026-06-16T13:14:01+02:00

Can 3-6 year-olds distinguish between reliable vs. unreliable informants?

A study of 93 #kids found the children were sensitive to source reliability, with limited abilities to generalize across contexts.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2026.106547

#devPsych #cogSci #epistemology #xPhi #parenting

Place your bets: will #OpenAI or #Google try to monetize this ...

2026-06-15T16:31:25+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…efv2
_________________________

Place your bets: will #OpenAI or #Google try to monetize this first-is-best bias? 👆

Given that Google and #Amazon place sponsored content at the top of #SEARCH results, I expect something similar for #AI output someday.

#advertising #enshittification

Do people process #ChatGPT recommendations lazily or ...

2026-06-15T13:14:50+02:00

Do people process #ChatGPT recommendations lazily or reflectively?

Three randomized experiments manipulated #AI output order, errors, and alleged reliability.

Users showed a “first‑is‑best” #bias — less so when warned about the unreliability of #LLMs.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2026.101605

What do you make of these #book titles? 👇 - Leave the Lights ...

2026-06-11T14:39:29+02:00

What do you make of these #book titles? 👇
- Leave the Lights On: https://amzn.to/4uNEm3D
- Eat Your Ice Cream: https://amzn.to/4xmVuiU
- The Good Enough Job: https://amzn.to/4ojlmrQ

What do they say about our era or culture?

How might books about other topics adopt this frame?

The Precision #PublicHealth Network held its #conference this ...

2026-06-10T14:16:53+02:00

The Precision #PublicHealth Network held its #conference this week.

The recordings are already available: https://www.precisionpublichealth.org/conference2025

There are lots of sessions about #genomics, #cancer screening, and #populationHealth.

Kudos to PPHN for accessible conferencing!

#WFH #medicine

#Apple announced #iPhones will soon let women get ...

2026-06-09T13:31:48+02:00

#Apple announced #iPhones will soon let women get “notifications when their cycle patterns are suggestive of #perimenopause [and] to log symptoms and read #education information, ‘so you can understand … and be better prepared to talk to your doctor.’”

https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/08/apples-health-app-can-now-tell-you-if-youre-in-perimenopause/

Here’s the thread on BlueSky: ...

2026-06-07T19:51:14+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…6prd
_________________________

Here’s the thread on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/byrdnick.com/post/3mnpntlkcdc2l

I'm at #Harvard for #BSPA2026 sharing new #bioethics results ...

2026-06-07T19:08:42+02:00

I'm at #Harvard for #BSPA2026 sharing new #bioethics results about identity, #law, and #medicine. I'll post more from BSPA on Bluesky.

Our poster: Intuitions about a real #neurology case implied #PhineasGage effects may be more about point-of-view and physicality than morality.

Similar to what we find in our Socratic reflection experiments ...

2026-06-04T13:00:10+02:00

Similar to what we find in our Socratic reflection experiments (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370132037), group discussion improved #fakeNews recognition but solitary reflection did not: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348391

#edu #teaching #journalism #debate #news #socialMedia

Do logical visual aids (such as Venn diagrams) improve argument ...

2026-06-03T13:47:33+02:00

Do logical visual aids (such as Venn diagrams) improve argument evaluation?

Not in this study of 164 English speakers (with "normal or corrected-to-normal vision and no issues seeing color").

https://diglib.eg.org/handle/10.1111/cgf70476

#logic #teaching #edu #visualization #CogSci #learningScience

The book title 'Thinking Fast and Slow' may make you ...

2026-06-02T13:38:10+02:00

The book title 'Thinking Fast and Slow' may make you expect more careful, rational responses to take longer.

Yet another paper finds the reflective thinking is not necessarily slower (or even less efficient) — this time in a sample of over 60,000 choices: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16060858

What do people mean by 'critical thinking'? ...

2026-06-01T13:05:01+02:00

What do people mean by 'critical thinking'?

#English-speakers associated #criticalThinking with words like 'analysis', #logic and 'problem solving', but #French-speakers exhibited a "less pragmatic conception of CT (they barely mention problem solving)".

https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.70095

Yes, @npub1z0c…qmpc. Often ≠ always.

2026-05-31T15:02:48+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…0zk9
_________________________

Yes, Waldorf (npub1z0c…qmpc). Often ≠ always.

#Weaponization rhetoric is often just lazy, victim mentality: ...

2026-05-31T14:31:30+02:00

#Weaponization rhetoric is often just lazy, victim mentality: 'weaponize' often attempts to escape critique, #oversight, #law and order by reframing it as *hostility*.

This turns "#policy disagreement into...accusation of abuse, #regulation into persecution, and bureaucra[cy] into...warfare."

Find this insight and more from Dr. Lindsey Cormack's brief analysis of congressional newsletters: https://dcinboxinsights.substack.com/p/weaponize-is-a-republican-word

We found small correlations between reflective thinking and ...

2026-05-29T13:32:57+02:00

We found small correlations between reflective thinking and areligiosity in many cultures: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412525000198

Two large studies of Japan found and replicated similar correlations between reflection and religious or #supernatural disbelief: https://doi.org/10.5334/snr.229

#religion

💊 "There isn’t solid data that #probiotics help [while ...

2026-05-28T13:01:59+02:00

💊 "There isn’t solid data that #probiotics help [while taking antibiotic #medicine],... they may actually slow your recovery. ...what I recommend instead [is] a high-fiber diet [from] a variety of plant[s]."

"And remember [to] finish the [#antibiotics]"

https://archive.ph/2026.05.26-133823/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/05/25/im-gastroenterologist-heres-what-antibiotics-really-do-your-gut/#selection-449.0-457.64

Across countries, reflective thinking correlated not only with ...

2026-05-27T13:08:40+02:00

Across countries, reflective thinking correlated not only with #atheism, but with apostasy (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412525000198).

But what does reflective thinking predict in subgroups? In 120 #pastors from #Nigeria, reflection predicted *stronger* #religious belief: https://doi.org/10.65696/001c.162288

Does belief in conspiracy theories correlate with less reflective ...

2026-05-26T20:39:16+02:00

Does belief in conspiracy theories correlate with less reflective thinking?

A meta-analysis found that it did (https://doi.org/10.1017/S1930297500008913).

Another paper found people with the highest and lowest consp theory belief *perceived* themselves as more reflective: https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.70120

Are #relationship rules (such as a 5:1 ratio of positive:negative ...

2026-05-21T13:03:09+02:00

Are #relationship rules (such as a 5:1 ratio of positive:negative #feedback) really predictive?

Not always.

Gottman et al's alleged predictors of #divorce often fail to predict:
😬 just 21% true positives? https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00473.x
☹️ failed replication? https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00343.x

Can irrelevant #citations feign credibility? Participants from ...

2026-05-20T13:04:01+02:00

Can irrelevant #citations feign credibility?

Participants from #academia admitted #AI tools seemed more credible when they cited links.
...even though they probably wouldn't #factCheck links.
...and the links sometimes had "nothing to do with" the topic.

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.14849

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04319-4

2026-05-19T13:47:22+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…mt3s
_________________________

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04319-4

Can #DASHdiet help reduce high #bloodPressure? People being ...

2026-05-19T13:04:26+02:00

Can #DASHdiet help reduce high #bloodPressure?

People being treated for #hypertension were randomized to get either
A. $ for self-guided #groceryShopping
B. #DASH #foodDelivery with #dietitian #counseling

DASH lowered BP at 3- and 6-month follow-ups (vs baseline)!

#nutrition

Analytic #Atheism refers to negative correlations belief in #God ...

2026-05-18T13:04:47+02:00

Analytic #Atheism refers to negative correlations belief in #God or and reflective thinking.

Is the correlation as stable across time as it is across countries (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412525000198)?

Łowicki et al's longitudinal analyses found that it was: https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.70072

#religion

When testing for something rare, even accurate tests yield a ...

2026-05-15T13:27:48+02:00

When testing for something rare, even accurate tests yield a surprising amount of false positives.

Baghdadi et al. tested "a templated note in the electronic #health record interpreting [such] test results".

It "decreased unnecessary antibiotic use"! 🙌

https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciag126

Has anyone done a randomized and/or controlled version of this ...

2026-05-14T13:43:02+02:00

Has anyone done a randomized and/or controlled version of this pre- versus post- test of an automatic order set change protocol?

https://doi.org/10.1002/jhm.70283

Highly scalable, if a health system is willing to experiment!

#medicine #pneumonia #antibioticResistance #xRisk #informatics

What correlates with #illusions of causality? Despite seeing ...

2026-05-13T13:03:02+02:00

What correlates with #illusions of causality?

Despite seeing enough treatments and outcomes to calculate a #medicine's effect, people overestimated its effectiveness.

That illusion of causality correlated more with #reasoning preferences than effort.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2026.104045

“Immigrants [who were legally working] in science and ...

2026-05-12T13:12:00+02:00

“Immigrants [who were legally working] in science and technology [have been] waiting [months] on employment authorization [and] are running out of money [and] can't count on [family] for financial support [or even] reach family due to” internet blackouts.

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-visas-pause-doctors-iran-128fed537a91e2cc714d9ed9c7672a6b

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@zotero/116382535849855629 The new ...

2026-05-11T16:02:16+02:00

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@zotero/116382535849855629

The new "Added By" columns is great for group libraries!

quoting
note19ks…cwa9

Announcing Zotero 9, with Read Aloud, a Recently Read collection, direct annotation citing, and more

https://www.zotero.org/blog/zotero-9/

Ever heard of #Adoption #Medicine Centers? They can help explain ...

2026-05-11T13:02:44+02:00

Ever heard of #Adoption #Medicine Centers? They can help explain "things [that] aren’t on a general pediatrician’s radar", unfamiliar medical needs, risks of "maternal and perinatal exposures", available resources, etc.

Learn more: https://www.aamc.org/news/adoption-medicine-clinics-give-children-healthy-start

#pediatrics #parenting

New NIH funding mechanism: Science-Driven Research Project (RP1): ...

2026-05-08T18:01:41+02:00

New NIH funding mechanism: Science-Driven Research Project (RP1): https://grants.nih.gov/funding/activity-codes/RP1

I don't yet know how this is fundamentally different from an R01, R21, etc.

#science #funding #medicine #health #USA #edu #higherEd #NIH

B. The #USA's Agency for #Healthcare Research and Quality ...

2026-04-21T18:38:33+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…d52v
_________________________

B. The #USA's Agency for #Healthcare Research and Quality (#AHRQ) expired all Notices of Funding Opportunities, without posting any forecasted opportunities (https://www.ahrq.gov/funding/fund-opps/index.html).

And I hear staff were reduced from dozens to just one (https://bsky.app/profile/seanbruna.bsky.social/post/3mi36mj35nc2p).

#policy #gov

More challenging news for #science: A. The #USA's National ...

2026-04-21T18:38:28+02:00

More challenging news for #science:

A. The #USA's National Science Foundation (#NSF) may shut down its Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Directorate by year end, but perhaps maintain "behavioral and #cognitiveScience”: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01105-7

#higherEd #funding #research

Excited to share a new line of our research about how #AI and ...

2026-04-20T18:10:41+02:00

Excited to share a new line of our research about how #AI and #dataViz can help us understand and correct cognitive biases.

Kudos to Lauren Chu, Josephine Cimino, George Georges, and Amy Wolgin for informing design, implementation, and future directions!

https://osf.io/rxa2e/overview?view_only=b9f683b4bcdf423786175c4a2bcce571

Upon reflection, Nathan Couch and I wonder if the ...

2026-04-17T20:04:13+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…elae
_________________________

Upon reflection, Nathan Couch and I wonder if the #mediation-by-outsourcing result makes sense:

Outsourcing scores exist only in the #AI group, making controls' outsourcing scores either NA or 0, breaking or invalidating the mediation-by-outsourcing, no?

https://bsky.app/profile/ngcouch.bsky.social/post/3mjnkvzimvk2f

Nostr event nevent1qqsf0r6x3ss0afy9ea20pessz4hwe95fjkuphgxcnldaedjn625u83szyzt3ygj3jvccdwq5aca0n92n6clma938hdyzqthqcmhukve5judz699ex7y

2026-04-17T18:19:00+02:00

RE: https://flipboard.com/@npr/politics-v8m4p3ukz/-/a-lyLNjQfRQJKEoDaSRVJTpw%3Aa%3A3195441-%2F0

Do U.S. voters realize the scale and cost of the 47th #POTUS's *drastic* #immigration "slow-walking"?

This backlog is bigger than ALL FOUR YEARS of the 45th POTUS's term.

It's stopped TONS of #science by removing work authorization from LOADS of #scientists who were ALREADY LEGALLY WORKING HERE FOR YEARS (e.g., when graduating Ph.D. #students or #postdocs have to transition to an H-1B #visa when OPT expires).

We had to halt multiple #decisionScience projects when a Research Project Manager completed their doctorate. Why? Because #USCIS simply isn't processing #OPT applications — and #H1B processing is taking waaaaay longer than normal times. In the past year, the #UnitedStates multiplied this loss of #innovation and #productivity by HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS! And with no detectable benefit to #security, etc.

Naturally, the highest-skilled foreign nationals are taking their skills to other countries, contributing to further #brainDrain from the #USA.

Incredible waste and inefficiency.
nostr:note1evmmvd7swf5lfpg7xj8z6m3mkjcep8pdpd2udx24p9j0g4vysfcqad5thu

But moderation analyses (Table 4) found that in students with ...

2026-04-16T22:37:31+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…tnzz
_________________________

But moderation analyses (Table 4) found that in students with better trust calibration or motivation, the negative association between outsourcing and learning depth was so attenuated and that it was no longer statistically significant! (page 8)

#individualDifferences #edu #tech

#AI reduced both cognitive load and learning depth compared to ...

2026-04-16T20:20:39+02:00

#AI reduced both cognitive load and learning depth compared to control group?

The task? Integrate + transfer info from 1500-word text in novel 250-word analysis.

The AI group was told to critique #LLM output, assume full responsibility for writing, etc.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2026.101057

A theory’s successful predictions are signs that the theory is ...

2026-04-15T16:53:59+02:00

A theory’s successful predictions are signs that the theory is true, right?

It'd be a miracle for #science to be so successful if its best theories weren't at least approximately true descriptions of reality, right?

Actually, those intuitions are faulty: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203712498-4

Can #health systems spot missed diagnoses at scale? Unsupervised ...

2026-04-13T22:35:13+02:00

Can #health systems spot missed diagnoses at scale?

Unsupervised clustering found symptoms that spike before a particular #diagnosis to consider clinically-plausible alternative diagnoses, which more than doubled detection of potential diagnostic delays.

https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2022-0044

Learn more about #RetractionRisk methods at ...

2026-04-10T18:34:52+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…8png
_________________________

Learn more about #RetractionRisk methods at https://www.retractionrisk.com/about.html

The tool's authors admit only "8.3% of retracted articles [had] at least one [prior] critical tweet".

For non-retracted articles, it was 1.5% ...controlling for falsely labeled tweets?

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.70028

Initial questions about this #retraction risk calculator: What ...

2026-04-10T18:10:11+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…yh0h
_________________________

Initial questions about this #retraction risk calculator:

What about negative phrases in social media posts that are NOT actually about the linked article?

What about negative posts about a paper that don’t actually link to the paper? (Screenshots, “link in comment” posts, etc.)

#NLP #sentimentAnalysis #webScraping #bibliometrics #Altmetric #stats

🤨 TIL I'm a leader in (wait for it) "negative ...

2026-04-10T16:24:02+02:00

🤨 TIL I'm a leader in (wait for it) "negative posts" about research?
— including my posts about MY research?!
— in league with Rob Sica? ...and ED YONG?!!

Fortunately this #Retraction Risk calculator considers more than just our (false negative?) posts!

https://www.retractionrisk.com/sleuths.html

Thanks to feedback from this and other platforms, I've ...

2026-04-07T18:45:28+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…l3l9
_________________________

Thanks to feedback from this and other platforms, I've tentatively added some of the many-author papers that list me as author (consortia or otherwise) to my Google Scholar page.

Still feels weird, but people have shown me many easy ways to see through oft-misleading metrics to actual contribution.

Can #wearables do real-time fact-checking? 34 people watched ...

2026-04-07T13:24:00+02:00

Can #wearables do real-time fact-checking?

34 people watched videos with and without a #factChecking #smartwatch. The watch's alerts reduced belief in #misinformation and increased manual fact-checking.

Some users said alerts made them "reflect more".

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.27289

Thanks for the pointer, @npub1qhy…l95u! This RESCUE system ...

2026-04-06T17:04:08+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…fzh9
_________________________

Thanks for the pointer, Bjørn Sætrevik (npub1qhy…l95u)!

This RESCUE system seems like a superior approach to standard scholarly #metrics, #hiring, or #promotion materials, etc.

The demonstration page was particularly helpful in showing how standardized and reproducible #dataViz can quickly convey a scholar’s varied contributions: https://www.resque.info/includes/demo_profile.html

A potential objection: 1. Minimal contribution co-authorship ...

2026-04-06T16:18:31+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…09ue
_________________________

A potential objection:

1. Minimal contribution co-authorship occurs in more than just consortium papers; it probably occurs in most (all?) #teamScience papers.

2. Demarcating team #science papers from others may make team science contributions seem less valuable, disincentivizing team science.

Researchers: should we separate our primary #authorship and ...

2026-04-06T13:02:32+02:00

Researchers: should we separate our primary #authorship and #citations from consortia counterparts?

If I add little to a paper (e.g., a little analysis, data, editing), I feel odd letting it count toward MY #publications or MY #hIndex.

Just me?

Example: https://byrdnick.com/cv#Publications-Supported

How soon can you install a new operating system on #work ...

2026-04-03T16:20:10+02:00

How soon can you install a new operating system on #work device(s)?

I'll go first:
- #macOS 26 was published 2025-09-15: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS_version_history
- My work device allowed me to install it 2026-03-31 — more than 6 months later.

I know #infoSec can be complicated. Insight welcome.

Can vegans eat dessert? This papers offers two responses to an ...

2026-04-02T13:05:02+02:00

Can vegans eat dessert?

This papers offers two responses to an argument that vegans cannot, without some sort of contradiction, eat dessert. One option is to base omens veganism on alternative principles. Another is to bite the bullet (which I might do).

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953820826100302

Will #chatGPT 4o-mini improve #medEd about time-sensitive #trauma ...

2026-04-01T13:04:40+02:00

Will #chatGPT 4o-mini improve #medEd about time-sensitive #trauma decisions?

Not in this randomized control trial:
- Accuracy and speed no better than the control group?
- #AI group had *lower* confidence?
- Student complaints: "vague and overly general"

https://doi.org/10.2196/79134

How much will a #business pay to give employees #AI tools? The ...

2026-03-31T13:01:11+02:00

How much will a #business pay to give employees #AI tools?

The first 1000 people at #NYU #LangoneHealth to use #Azure GenAI Studio used 111,960,167 tokens in the first 6 months.

It cost just $4200: https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocae285

So they gave the #tech to everyone. About 20,000 users!

Here's another one using reward models: ...

2026-03-30T22:46:38+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…mc3g
_________________________

Here's another one using reward models: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.20212

Sidenote: "First token PERDITION" made me laugh — reinforcement learning meets Christian theology!

#cogSci #CompSci #religion

Do scientists rely less on #AI after seeing it hallucinate ...

2026-03-27T12:38:03+01:00

Do scientists rely less on #AI after seeing it hallucinate citations, findings, etc.?

#PaperTrail revealed what #LLMs did and didn't accurately summarize (compared to source).

That reduced researchers' trust in AI, but not their *reliance* on AI.

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.21045

#tech

Can feedback on #cognitiveBias tests train people to overcome ...

2026-03-26T12:03:51+01:00

Can feedback on #cognitiveBias tests train people to overcome #bias?

56 people were randomized to practice either 30 cog bias tests or 30 spelling tests between 12 pre- and post-tests (about news, clinical psych, etc.). Decision practice/feedback helped!

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106548

#AI can summarize massive bodies of text, but can it visualize ...

2026-03-25T12:29:01+01:00

#AI can summarize massive bodies of text, but can it visualize their arguments?

#ORBIS performs #logic mining on deliberation sites like #BCause—identifying premises and predicting their relationships—to map arguments for and objections to each position.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-12344-2_5

Right. That’s exactly what Strategic Reflectivism proposes, ...

2026-03-24T13:54:42+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…c9lh
_________________________

Right. That’s exactly what Strategic Reflectivism proposes, bayo (npub17f5…7dwk).

A new #AI paper confirms a component of #StrategicReflectivism: ...

2026-03-24T12:23:02+01:00

A new #AI paper confirms a component of #StrategicReflectivism: when accuracy is relatively easy for an intelligent system, reflective inference isn't worth its added tokens (https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.22987).

See CODA (Compute Allocation by Difficulty Awareness): https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.08659

Join today's free webinar about "moral measurement"! ...

2026-03-23T12:03:30+01:00

Join today's free webinar about "moral measurement"! I'm talking #psychometrics and data quality in the era of online experiments and AI. I review two problems, two solutions, and two resources.

Register at https://ssri.psu.edu/news/moral-measures-workshop-be-held-march-23

Thanks to Penn State for hosting!

What can undermine respect for #intellectualProperty? ...

2026-03-17T11:17:00+01:00

What can undermine respect for #intellectualProperty?

“Reputation misattribution” did it in two studies: the #ethics of IP varied by whether rightful creators were denied due credit and undeserving parties received the credit, regardless of legal status.

https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70192

Beaufort’s Wind Scale makes me want to add Likert levels. Rate ...

2026-03-16T12:08:01+01:00

Beaufort’s Wind Scale makes me want to add Likert levels.

Rate your agreement with “…”?
⚪️ slightly agree
⚪️ moderately agree
⚪️ FRESH agree
⚪️ strongly agree
⚪️ GALE FORCE agree
⚪️ VIOLENTLY agree
🔘 HURRICANE Agree

https://www.weather.gov/mfl/beaufort

#Psychometrics #Weather

How well can #AI judge reasoning quality? Rewriting agents' ...

2026-03-13T12:40:01+01:00

How well can #AI judge reasoning quality?

Rewriting agents' chain-of-thought "style" to *appear* more reflective (without changing action or inference) increased an #LLM judge's false positive rate (by 3% absolute or 18% relative).

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.14691

#philMind #compSci

Nostr event nevent1qqs85etd6d9tpcjmx2jea9uu99eue05fhsmz5hf62dyzvsuk783j3eszyzt3ygj3jvccdwq5aca0n92n6clma938hdyzqthqcmhukve5judz66qpn99

2026-03-12T13:27:27+01:00

RE: https://flipboard.com/@wsj/business-b1985f4jz/-/a-T6_YAnIFSTSuzZdNlac-EA%3Aa%3A248213600-%2F0

“Instead of paying humans to join focus groups and complete surveys, #Auru uses thousands of #AI agents, or bots, to simulate human responses. It feeds #demographic and psychographic information into its models to create human profiles that match clients’ needs, and the results those bots spit out are being used for product #development, #pricing, identifying new customers and political #polling.”

Researchers have warned about the inaccuracies of treating #LLMs as a proxy for humans, but I wouldn’t be surprised #languageModels beat #qualitative interpretation of non-representative focus groups.

#marketing #psychometrics #statistics #quantMethods #philSci #metascience #business

quoting
note1rrr…pz08

The Billion-Dollar AI Startup That Was Founded by Teenagers
[https://www.wsj.com/business/ai-startup-aaru-young-founders-35da7f87?mod=Flipboard&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub ](https://www.wsj.com/business/ai-startup-aaru-young-founders-35da7f87?mod=Flipboard&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub )

Posted into Business [@business-WSJ](https://flipboard.com/@wsj/business-b1985f4jz )

How can #stats format impact decisions? An #openAccess issue on ...

2026-03-12T12:02:46+01:00

How can #stats format impact decisions?

An #openAccess issue on "Making Numbers Meaningful" synthesized evidence by task.

Point estimation: https://doi.org/10.1177/23814683241255333

Difference ": https://doi.org/10.1177/23814683241294077

Trend ": https://doi.org/10.1177/23814683241301702

Synthesis tasks: https://doi.org/10.1177/23814683241293796

As recommended in #StrategicReflectivism ...

2026-03-11T12:03:40+01:00

As recommended in #StrategicReflectivism (https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.22987), #AI models can increase efficiency by tactically reflecting on initial answers.

There are a few ways to do this with #LLMs.

Kim et al. recently tested "metacognitive behavioral tuning": https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.22508

What do doctors prioritize when choosing #antibiotics for common ...

2026-03-10T12:12:08+01:00

What do doctors prioritize when choosing #antibiotics for common infections?

In 756 doctors who recently treated UTIs etc.
- fast symptom relief and convenient dosing mattered most.
- #AntibioticResistance mattered least.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-026-01005-6

#medicine #pharmacy #healthcare

What helps people understand conversational cues? Correctly ...

2026-03-09T12:02:51+01:00

What helps people understand conversational cues?

Correctly identifying implications correlated not just with "theory of mind", but also reflective and logical reasoning. Short-term memory? Not so much.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339899

#communication #cogSci #linguistics #xPhi #logic

In the economy of avoided effort, we often outsource physical ...

2026-03-08T14:02:17+01:00

In the economy of avoided effort, we often outsource physical activity ...and then pay again to do the activity ourselves.

In this post, I elaborate on this problem, some solutions, some objections, etc.

I'm curious to know which of the experiments you have tried. How did it go? What surprised you?

https://byrdnick.com/archives/30547/cancel-your-gym-membership-and-uber-rides-lawn-services-dog-walker-etc

"Apple Intelligence" email summaries continue to surprise ...

2026-03-06T22:59:35+01:00

"Apple Intelligence" email summaries continue to surprise and delight. 😆

A new #AI paper found what I predicted awhile ago. In ...

2026-03-06T13:05:36+01:00

A new #AI paper found what I predicted awhile ago.

In #StrategicReflectivism, I argued that having #LLMs reflect on low-confidence or high-uncertainty outputs of small models can increase accuracy and decrease cost: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.22987

🔒The result: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/11393760

How many cases of #cancer and #death can be prevented by a new ...

2026-03-05T13:03:46+01:00

How many cases of #cancer and #death can be prevented by a new #alcohol warning label?

Hundreds, according to "cancer ...and mortality data, representative alcohol use surveys,... #sales data, [and] the International Model of Alcohol Harms and Policies".

https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(26)00006-X

Is moral advice more compelling if it includes an argument? What ...

2026-03-04T13:03:41+01:00

Is moral advice more compelling if it includes an argument? What if it's from an #AI?

Advice strongly influenced decisions to sacrifice-one-to-save-five, regardless of whether advice
- came from #chatGPT (3.5).
- included an argument.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-026-01005-6

#xPhi #ethics #edu

How can researchers overcome #AcquiescenceBias? In a ...

2026-03-03T13:08:02+01:00

How can researchers overcome #AcquiescenceBias?

In a #questionnaire, acquiescence is a tendency to agree with statements or answer affirmatively regardless of survey content.

Alvarado-Leiton et al. report simple ways to mitigate it.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smaf022

#PsychMethods #xPhi

Are scholars incentivized to quash criticism? Quite the opposite, ...

2026-03-02T13:12:59+01:00

Are scholars incentivized to quash criticism? Quite the opposite, argues Liam Kofi Bright.

Critique yields academic credit: citations, publications (e.g., replies), attention, etc.

So only maximally famous scholars should quash critique.

https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2026.2617387

#science #edu

Bunker busters alone do not ‘obliterate’ a nuclear program. ...

2026-03-01T05:13:33+01:00

Bunker busters alone do not ‘obliterate’ a nuclear program.

Removing a leader is not by itself regime change.

Stunning intelligence tradecraft and military ops do not guarantee #peace.

Stable solutions require cooperation that survives news cycles, celebrations, and elections.

If radiologists made more appropriate decisions after input from ...

2026-02-27T13:03:04+01:00

If radiologists made more appropriate decisions after input from #chatGPT than before, did #AI *cause* the improvement?

We can't know without a control group of radiologists who made the same decisions at *both* time points *without* input from the #LLM.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2026.01.017

How do academics judge journals? For > 1000 in #socialSciences ...

2026-02-26T13:01:42+01:00

How do academics judge journals?

For > 1000 in #socialSciences and #humanities
- claiming fair/transparent #peerReview, having an accurate title, and disclosing author contact info increased credibility.
- reflective thinking predicted lower credibility.

https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.2042

Can we assume research participants accept the stipulations of ...

2026-02-25T13:08:44+01:00

Can we assume research participants accept the stipulations of vignettes?

This paper reports that moral dilemma decisions varied according to how much people seemed to believe stipulations (e.g., that intervening would actually save five people).

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1930297500006501 #xPhi

Do people learn more from #AI decision assistants? This ...

2026-02-19T13:06:10+01:00

Do people learn more from #AI decision assistants?

This experiment found insignificant improvement in learning during and after three forms of AI-assisted decision-making, compared to human-only decision-making.

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.10222

#edu #teaching #cogSci #eduTech #compSci

#AI #Education experiments can be great, if careful. A 6-week ...

2026-02-18T13:03:41+01:00

#AI #Education experiments can be great, if careful.

A 6-week #writing course gave one group an in-person instructor and the other group a #languageModel.

But the AI group accessed the #LLM *during* the pre-test?

Shouldn’t baseline conditions be equal?

https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-01153-1

Why might #AI-assisted #dermatology decisions improve by about ...

2026-02-17T13:09:06+01:00

Why might #AI-assisted #dermatology decisions improve by about 10%?

Across 4,905 unaided and AI-aided decisions, clinicians were more likely to revise when the AI disagreed than when it agreed — even when the AI was wrong!

http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9221420

#medicine #tech #edu #cogSci

Do neuroscientists' claims about #freeWill impact ...

2026-02-16T13:01:41+01:00

Do neuroscientists' claims about #freeWill impact students' #ethics?

A "deterministic passage ...from Crick" sometimes reduced decisions to proactively intervene in moral thought experiments compared to a "neutral #neuroscience text".

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1748028

#xPhi #cogSci #edu

Are clinicians vulnerable to #availabilityBias? "Recent... ...

2026-02-13T13:02:46+01:00

Are clinicians vulnerable to #availabilityBias?

"Recent... encounters with a disease increased the likelihood of erroneously diagnosing it (b=0.2, p=0.018)" but "having 10 or more years of experience decreased [this] (b=–0.4, p=0.046)"

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2025-019520

#medicine #cogSci

An #ethics Turing test? Twenty people texted a #chatbot over a ...

2026-02-12T13:03:35+01:00

An #ethics Turing test?

Twenty people texted a #chatbot over a month before a 2-hour interview about whether they thought the #AI was able to extract, embody, and explain human values.

Thirteen "left the study convinced..."

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.22440

#philosophy #edu #LLMs #tech

Are text-message #healthScreening reminders more effective than ...

2026-02-11T13:01:50+01:00

Are text-message #healthScreening reminders more effective than mailed-letter reminders?

Both caused similar increases in the rate of #cancer screening in this pragmatic trial that included over 5000 older patients with overdue mail-in colorectal tests.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2025.09.015