Nostr notes by Nick Byrd, Ph.D.

I like when an Apple Health Study shares results, but this ...

2026-10-30T11:04:49Z

I like when an Apple Health Study shares results, but this #DataVisualization threw me.

- My activity level is F tier. Oof!
- But F is [checks notes] the *highest* level?!

Has academia conditioned me to see A–F only as letter grades? Or are these x-axis labels counterintuitive?

Kudos to institutions that test their #incentives! What happened ...

2026-10-29T16:46:15Z

Kudos to institutions that test their #incentives!

What happened when clinics were paid for patient #bloodPressure readings under 140/90?

They re-checked blood pressure more often! 🙌
...until readings dipped under the goal. 🤨
Actual blood pressure didn't improve. 😕

Worse, for patients just over the goal (top number 140–145), payments were linked to *fewer* #medication changes and *more* hospitalizations for strokes and acute #heart problems.

https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2026.1637

Obviously there are limits to how much we can disagree about ...

2026-10-19T11:30:39Z

Obviously there are limits to how much we can disagree about facts, but what about values?

"This article [will] show that there are liberal principles of political morality that no citizen can reasonably reject."

Philosopher clickbait or sound argument?

https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-12678463

Philosophers often imply we share their intuitions ("This ...

2026-10-14T11:39:45Z

Philosophers often imply we share their intuitions ("This clearly shows…").

That "bracketing language" nudged more people toward whichever intuition it framed as correct, even if framed as the *opposite* of a thought experiment's original presentation!

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-026-05726-3

🚨 Free book alert! "Intentionally Infecting Humans: Is it ...

2026-10-12T11:31:40Z

🚨 Free book alert!

"Intentionally Infecting Humans: Is it Ethical?" (Oxford)

"controlled human #infection ...has brought scientific breakthroughs [but] remains controversial [due to] a lack of understanding of this #research."

🔓 https://doi.org/10.1093/9780197667927.001.0001

#ethics #science #edu

I had a great time discussing the dilemmas we face in life, ...

2026-10-09T17:03:35Z

I had a great time discussing the dilemmas we face in life, #medicine, and research with the #Philosophy Department at University of Nevada Las Vegas!

Great things happening there, including a new #MedicalEthics course!

https://www.unlv.edu/event/your-health-vs-my-liberty-precautionary-principles-duties-be-watched-and-randomized

#health #ethics #bioethics #xPhi #morality #edu #law #AI #surveillance

AI doesn’t make people lazy. Laziness makes people lazy. #AI is ...

2026-10-04T20:46:25Z

AI doesn’t make people lazy.
Laziness makes people lazy.

#AI is a tool. Like all tools, its utility depends on (a) your goals and (b) how well you use it to achieve those goals.

You can use AI Socratically, lazily, etc. Goals determine which use is apt.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/29/magazine/ai-chatbots-brain-development-study.html

Concerns about ubiquitous recording are not new. Decades before ...

2026-09-25T11:23:33Z

Concerns about ubiquitous recording are not new.

Decades before “smart” devices or traffic cameras were ambiently recording us, we let other digital systems have our sensitive information.

We recall 3 not-yet-surmounted issues with deploying this #tech:

https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2025.2608639

Has ego depletion research been resurrected as “cognitive ...

2026-09-21T11:18:00Z

Has ego depletion research been resurrected as “cognitive depletion”?

“Study 2 [shows that] glucose levels, can modulate deliberative thinking…”

https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2026.2714169

I have a memory of papers arguing that drinking glucose can’t directly change brain glucose. Is that false?

We're presenting a not-yet-public #metanalysis with the ...

2026-09-18T21:43:30Z

We're presenting a not-yet-public #metanalysis with the International Society for #MoralPsychology at #Cornell University.

I've posting snippets of our presentation over on LinkedIn, and I hope to add comments about other presentations: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7506829030843760640

#ethics #cogSci

Agreed, @npub12zs…pugw.

2026-09-16T03:53:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…2cuq
_________________________

Agreed, Steve Dallape (npub12zs…pugw).

After the #emdashification of #AI-generated text, I started ...

2026-09-15T11:53:49Z

After the #emdashification of #AI-generated text, I started noticing #LLMs hyphenating terms that I would not have hyphenated:

cognitive-science
graphic-design
public-health

Do you (humans) usually hyphenate these? If so, why?

Why might #languageModels use such hyphenation?

If you had to guess whether someone’s a philosopher, what’d ...

2026-09-14T11:46:00Z

If you had to guess whether someone’s a philosopher, what’d be more predictive?

Their decisions about thought experiments?

Or their scores on assessments of neurodivergent traits?

In more than 1000 people, the measures of #autistic (and other traits) were more predictive:

https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2026.2655817

🏝️I'm beachside in #Cyprus sharing #research about how ...

2026-09-01T15:29:57Z

🏝️I'm beachside in #Cyprus sharing #research about how #AI chats, #visualAids, and other scalable communication can improve #health and reduce #drugResistance.

I'll post about other #EHPS2026 sessions on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/byrdnick.com/post/3muhps2vmms2t

#healthPsych #cogSci #edu #medicine

Does searching the web change our behavior and self-awareness? ...

2026-08-31T11:01:48Z

Does searching the web change our behavior and self-awareness?

Four experiments replicated the "Internet Fixation Effect" (where web search increases reliance on web search for subsequent questions).

But that did not impact metacognitive confidence?

🔓 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106329

💊 If antibiotic courses tend to be longer (and thus risker) ...

2026-08-28T12:20:18Z

💊 If antibiotic courses tend to be longer (and thus risker) than necessary, whose responsibility is it to shorten them?

🏥 I argue it's not just doctors that have duties to minimize and shorten antibiotic courses. Why? Because antibiotic prescriptions are influenced by events that occur both before and after a doctor decides whether to order an antibiotic.

📄 Now in The American Journal of Bioethics: https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2026.2709547

🎙️ Free audio and text…

https://byrdnick.com/archives/31046/upon-reflection-ep-17-two-sides-of-shorter-is-better-antibiotic-stewardship

Update: #Amazon is going to close #mTurk (on Sept 30). A ...

2026-08-26T15:14:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…ca9p
_________________________

Update: #Amazon *is* going to close #mTurk (on Sept 30).

A closure FAQ is prepended to the help page: https://www.mturk.com/help

#gigWork #research #AI #dataQuality

Are conspiracy theorists distinguished more by ideology or ...

2026-08-24T11:09:50Z

Are conspiracy theorists distinguished more by ideology or something else?

Stanovich & Toplak found belief in secret causes, #religion, and the paranormal predicted discernment between true and false #conspiracyTheories almost as well as #ideology.

🔒 https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4300

🫣 I'm scared to ask, but how bad is it to live with ...

2026-08-22T12:02:38Z

🫣 I'm scared to ask, but how bad is it to live with philosophers?

I'm told we can be, umm, "the worst".

- Are we *ever* amusing?
- Is it even possible for, say, a non-philosopher to sustain a lifetime of kindly humoring queries from their philosopher-spouse?

Advice?

Stories?

What #gender balance do people want #AI to show? One study ...

2026-08-21T11:38:51Z

What #gender balance do people *want* #AI to show?

One study found most people wanted AI-generated images to reflect their *perception* of the real-world distributions rather than equal or idealized distributions.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66305-7

#cogSci #bias #ethics #equality #equity

Can teaching about intellectual virtues improve decisions? This ...

2026-08-20T11:29:03Z

Can teaching about intellectual virtues improve decisions?

This clever randomized #education experiment found that an online module about humility, curiosity, and tenacity made people spend more time on reflection tests, which improved their performance.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106618

Some cognitive tests try to determine if people considered the ...

2026-08-19T11:51:38Z

Some cognitive tests try to determine if people considered the prevalence of something (e.g., a disease). Are these good tests of "reflective" reasoning?

Perhaps! People who neglected such relevant evidence also performed worse on other reflection tests.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0352096

👏 Thanks to #education researchers who: (a) test actual ...

2026-08-18T11:34:32Z

👏 Thanks to #education researchers who:

(a) test actual performance (not just self- or assessor-ratings),
(b) both before and after the intervention, and
(c) compare the performances changes to a suitable control group.

Without these, it's impossible to determine if performance really improved or whether it was caused by the intervention.

And when you do all three you often find no effect. Example: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07385-3 🔓

#MedEd #EduResearch #higherEd #ResearchMethods

How is numeric illiteracy related to students' anxiety? ...

2026-08-17T11:02:49Z

How is numeric illiteracy related to students' anxiety?

Quiles et al. at #FSU found lower #numeracy in undergrads predicted higher intolerance of #uncertainty, which predicted #anxiety.

🔐 https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2025.2557547

Would boosting probabilistic reasoning be clinically protective?

Do we use #AI because it’s trustworthy? A dissertation's ...

2026-08-12T16:32:06Z

Do we use #AI because it’s trustworthy?

A dissertation's first experiment did not find that the reliability of a #chatbot or people's self-reported trust in it predicted re-using it.

Not just an attitude-behavior gap, but a reliability-reliance gap?

🔓https://doi.org/10.18419/opus-18414

So much #education #assessment involves just 4 steps: Step 1: ...

2026-08-11T17:30:46Z

So much #education #assessment involves just 4 steps:

Step 1: Make the curriculum.
Step 2: Retrofit #learning objectives.
Step 3: Deliver said curriculum.
Step 4: Ask students how much they think they learned.

Optional: pre-test, post-test, control group, causal inference, etc.

Important re-test from Bostyn et al. of their famous "Mice, ...

2026-08-10T11:38:48Z

Important re-test from Bostyn et al. of their famous "Mice, Men, and Trolleys" results (about how well hypothetical #ethics dilemmas predict real-life sacrifice decisions).

This time, decisions about moral thought experiments were usually predictive!

🔓 https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.143715

Thanks to Lauren Chu, Josephine Cimino, Spencer Dana, Matthew ...

2026-08-05T11:49:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…cp5e
_________________________

Thanks to Lauren Chu, Josephine Cimino, Spencer Dana, Matthew Liu, Dasha Nesterova, and Amy Wolgin for contributing to this #research!

Stay tuned for next steps. Meanwhile, our poster (and other materials) are in a repository on the #OpenScienceFramework: https://osf.io/rxa2e/overview?view_only=b9f683b4bcdf423786175c4a2bcce571

Adding a Visual Aid to the #AI explainer yielded the most net ...

2026-08-05T11:49:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…ejm9
_________________________

Adding a Visual Aid to the #AI explainer yielded the most net correction.

But Visual Aids were so easy to understand at a glance that net correction *per minute* wasn't significantly lower without the #LLM!  

So #infographics may be more scalable decision aids than #chatbots!

Crucially, we never revealed the correct answer; participants had ...

2026-08-05T11:49:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…rh7f
_________________________

Crucially, we never revealed the correct answer; participants had to figure it out (with or without assistance).

And even after accounting for some decision deterioration, all 3 aids (#Chatbot, #VisualAid, and Chatbot + Visual Aid) outperformed controls.

But which aid was best?

#AI Explainers or Visual Aids: which is better for improving ...

2026-08-05T11:49:03Z

#AI Explainers or Visual Aids: which is better for improving tricky #health decisions?

Compared to unassisted reflection, people corrected far more faulty intuitions about #healthcare if each re-appraisal included one round of help from a #chatbot, a #visualization, or both.

🧵

Yes. People still ask. ...

2026-07-28T11:23:01Z

Yes. People still ask.

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

2026-07-27T11:48:34Z

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 ...

2026-07-26T11:03:49Z

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 ...

2026-07-25T17:11:06Z

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 ...

2026-07-20T11:21:10Z

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, ...

2026-07-13T15:18:37Z

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 ...

2026-07-13T11:46:00Z

“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 ...

2026-07-07T18:31:08Z

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 ...

2026-07-07T17:59:14Z

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 ...

2026-07-07T17:56:11Z

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. ...

2026-07-06T11:01:47Z

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, ...

2026-07-06T04:17:22Z

😬 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 ...

2026-07-03T15:22:23Z

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 ...

2026-07-02T14:39:42Z

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 ...

2026-06-22T16:42:21Z

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 ...

2026-06-22T14:06:41Z

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 ...

2026-06-16T11:14:01Z

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 ...

2026-06-15T14:31:25Z

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 ...

2026-06-15T11:14:50Z

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 ...

2026-06-11T12:39:29Z

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 ...

2026-06-10T12:16:53Z

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 ...

2026-06-09T11:31:48Z

#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: ...

2026-06-07T17:51:14Z

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 ...

2026-06-07T17:08:42Z

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 ...

2026-06-04T11:00:10Z

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 ...

2026-06-03T11:47:33Z

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 ...

2026-06-02T11:38:10Z

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'? ...

2026-06-01T11:05:01Z

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.

2026-05-31T13:02:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…0zk9
_________________________

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

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

2026-05-31T12:31:30Z

#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 ...

2026-05-29T11:32:57Z

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 ...

2026-05-28T11:01:59Z

💊 "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 ...

2026-05-27T11:08:40Z

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 ...

2026-05-26T18:39:16Z

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 ...

2026-05-21T11:03:09Z

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 ...

2026-05-20T11:04:01Z

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

2026-05-19T11:47:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…mt3s
_________________________

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

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

2026-05-19T11:04:26Z

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 ...

2026-05-18T11:04:47Z

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 ...

2026-05-15T11:27:48Z

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 ...

2026-05-14T11:43:02Z

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 ...

2026-05-13T11:03:02Z

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 ...

2026-05-12T11:12:00Z

“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 ...

2026-05-11T14:02:16Z

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

The new "Added By" columns is great for group libraries!
nostr:note19ks3hfettz3nuulfys2yjpxkpc8yvw8f3em5x4qpt4cc0q9zsraq8ncwa9

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

2026-05-11T11:02:44Z

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): ...

2026-05-08T16:01:41Z

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 ...

2026-04-21T16:38:33Z

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 ...

2026-04-21T16:38:28Z

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 ...

2026-04-20T16:10:41Z

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 ...

2026-04-17T18:04:13Z

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

2026-04-17T16:19:00Z

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 ...

2026-04-16T20:37:31Z

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 ...

2026-04-16T18:20:39Z

#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 ...

2026-04-15T14:53:59Z

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 ...

2026-04-13T20:35:13Z

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 ...

2026-04-10T16:34:52Z

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 ...

2026-04-10T16:10:11Z

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 ...

2026-04-10T14:24:02Z

🤨 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 ...

2026-04-07T16:45:28Z

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 ...

2026-04-07T11:24:00Z

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 ...

2026-04-06T15:04:08Z

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 ...

2026-04-06T14:18:31Z

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 ...

2026-04-06T11:02:32Z

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 ...

2026-04-03T14:20:10Z

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 ...

2026-04-02T11:05:02Z

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 ...

2026-04-01T11:04:40Z

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 ...

2026-03-31T11:01:11Z

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: ...

2026-03-30T20:46:38Z

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 ...

2026-03-27T11:38:03Z

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