Estimating the value of face coverings during the COVID-19 epidemic: a dynamic causal modelling study New from @globalhlthtwit.bsky.social of @independentsage.bsky.social bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/bmjp...

My year-end reflections on science doplomacy out today! Thx Jon @psychmag.bsky.social for the platform to share my @ukri.org Policy Fellowship exp + what it means to be a #psychologist today! @ioe.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @royalsociety.org @uclpolicylab.bsky.social @ucl-ioe-phd.bsky.social

Cute but evil

Great article. As a side point, I always find it amusing to see “PhDs” used as AI benchmarks as in headlines of the form “X AI model can now outperform biology/law/neuroscience PhDs”. Does that mean they haven’t tested them against the professors or it hasn’t quite got there yet?

This is so interesting- I also read years ago that one of the biggest drivers of energy usage was the invention and mass installation of central heating and AC. So many unintended consequences from technological progress - even ones we now take for granted.

“We have these buildings, we can’t knock ‘em down – what we could do is make them work with us,” said Reverend Annie Blyth, describing how churches and other old stone buildings could be used as refuges during heatwaves. www.thereengineer.pro/p/churches-s...

“It’s the forums and people online, that’s what’s made the difference to me,” @imhelenj.bsky.social told me, about her battles to sort out an inefficient heat pump. “Without that, I would still be in the dark and probably really struggling.” www.thereengineer.pro/p/an-interne...

“When AC was developed […] all the shading systems were removed. People thought, ‘We have AC, we don’t need shading anymore’ – but it’s a shame.” – designer Clément Gaillard on why shutters and awnings are still useful. www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-big-co...

I've heard academics advise their students to carefully check their reference lists after using ChatGPT, to make sure they haven't included any made-up papers My advice is to not cite any papers you haven't actually read

Interested in learning about the importance of university admissions in youth transitions and social mobility? 👩‍🎓📚 Join us in person for a research showcase with @adruk.bsky.social 🕕Tuesday 6th January, 10.30am-4pm 📍Department for Education, London Register: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/using-ucas...

We should just use standardized test scores + grades to admit students into college. Everything else is way too easy to game, allowing the extremely rich to dominate access to prestigious colleges. www.nytimes.com/interactive/... I've been saying this for a long time, but the data makes it clear.

A tiny minority of highly active users produce the majority of online political content, while most users consume content passively and remain largely silent. Toxic comments are more likely to be expressed, even though most people disagree with them, creating false norms. osf.io/preprints/so...

The Explorer is live. It’s free. And it’s built to help anyone — from investors to practitioners to community leaders — focus on the solutions that matter most. 👉 Explore today: www.drawdown.org/explorer @globalecoguy.bsky.social #DrawdownExplorer #ClimateSolutions #ProjectDrawdown

Re-reading this review of wellbeing effects of music events for something I'm working on, and it's a key reading for my project student and crowd behaviour students this term journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

Free webinar led by myself & Holly Marquez on how organisations can mitigate the “hidden” risks of AI: the risks you don’t spot until it’s too late. Join us on Monday 24th November 10am here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... Thanks to our hosts @susanmichie.bsky.social @behaviourresuk.bsky.social

Beware the Funhouse Mirror: How Social Media Misleads Us about Public Opinion I gave a talk to the @nationalacademies.org last week about how social media fuels misperceptions and false polarization. You can watch it for free here: www.nationalacademies.org/event/45948_...

Full paper by @mmosleh.bsky.social and colleagues here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Amazing new paper analysed 10 million news posts on 7 social media platforms in January 2024 - they found that most content posted is high quality and politically moderate, including on Twitter/X. The problem is that engagement is much higher for the relatively small portion of low quality content.

Amazing new paper analysed 10 million news posts on 7 social media platforms in January 2024 - they found that most content posted is high quality and politically moderate, including on Twitter/X. The problem is that engagement is much higher for the relatively small portion of low quality content.

Write for us! Here are 26 ideas of articles we'd like to commission. www.worksinprogress.news/p/more-artic...

Social media is a funhouse mirror. I gave a talk yesterday at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine about how social media distorts our perceptions. It's not a mirror, it’s a false polarization machine where the most extreme voices on any issue dominate the conversation.

People talk to strangers and make friends in football crowds www.theguardian.com/football/202...

'Human nature' is the capacity to categorize others as part of self. Extending the boundaries of concern, people often help strangers in emergencies. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

We are recruiting a few different new roles @Moreincommon_ UK, if you're interested in any of them and think you'd enjoy our work do take a look. www.moreincommon.org.uk/about-us/jobs/

Controversial opinion but why is everyone so obsessed with AI evaluation? Surely it would be better to do our best to make sure we roll it out right the first time, rather than doing a bad job and finding out once it’s too late.

Want to apply your skills to help tackle the #climate crisis? Unsure where to start? Check out workonclimate.org "Our experts help you navigate your path toward contributing to regeneration — and offer a way for you to do the same for others."

I've finally got around to curating a selection of films about the #climate crisis 🎥 There's lot of mediocre climate films out there, but for me these stand out head & shoulders above the rest 🎞️ They make excellent resources for classrooms, lecture halls, or community cinema's 🎬 Thread:🧵Plz RT

Amazing record of where people meet their partners! It often feels that romantic relationships aren’t taken seriously as a legitimate subject of scientific enquiry even though it’s a major driver of wellbeing and life outcomes (eg who you live with affects how much exercise you do, diet etc).

Amazing record of where people meet their partners! It often feels that romantic relationships aren’t taken seriously as a legitimate subject of scientific enquiry even though it’s a major driver of wellbeing and life outcomes (eg who you live with affects how much exercise you do, diet etc).

Technology is radically restructuring so many elements of social life, from development and education to dating and politics. Watch what happens to dating around 2007...

If you’re like many people, you live somewhere and may work somewhere, too 2 questions: 1 How might climate change affect these places? 2 Why might different data providers give you wildly different answers? 🧵: Bloomberg @bloomberg.com Green investigation (🎁🔗) www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Unemployment remains the most common reason for being NEET, but a growing share also cite sickness or disability. The proportion of NEETs inactive due to sickness or disability rose from 11 per cent in 2005 to 28 per cent in 2025 - almost one third of the total. More➡️ buff.ly/kIei4lG

1/2 Attending this very large anti-racism rally and march in Brighton today, I was reminded of this excellent article by Betsy Paluck on the inferences we might draw from public demonstrations or their absence... www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

We have launched the Drawdown Explorer — the most comprehensive climate solutions platform ever created! It gives decision-makers the tools they need to act faster & more effectively than ever — & your support today can make this revolutionary tool even more powerful. https://drawdown.org/donate

Social media feeds today are optimized for engagement, often leading to misalignment between users' intentions and technology use. In a new paper, we introduce Bonsai, a tool to create feeds based on stated preferences, rather than predicted engagement. arxiv.org/abs/2509.10776

Before the professional first responders arrive, there are 'zero responders', including amongst the survivors themselves, who respond to each others' needs www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

People who have more complex social identities view political identity as a less reliable source of information about others. Therefore they rely less on group-based stereotypes when judging outgroup members. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103125000915

In a new paper, we find that sycophantic #AI chatbots make people more extreme--operating like an echo chamber Yet, people prefer sycophantic chatbots and see them as less biased Only open-minded people prefer disagreeable chatbots: osf.io/preprints/ps... Led by @steverathje.bsky.social

Yes! If we want people to listen to science, then don’t put it all behind a bloody paywall.

'Groupthink' - a zombie idea in social and organizational psychology, from @bpsofficial.bsky.social @psychmag.bsky.social (Yes there are drives to uncritical conformity in some groups, but that's because of particular group norms not some quality of being a group) www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Please spread this far and wide! I’m on the convening team of this exciting new IHR seminar series and we are looking forward to hearing about all the cutting-edge research being done by ECRs across the country!

If cities cannot get their own university, how much effort should they put into getting a local branch campus? 🎓 @rjson.bsky.social explores in his latest blog👇 buff.ly/EpK0IPM

“In this case, there’s no reason not to credit both scientists, who made original discoveries independently. But Foote got there first. Had she been given the credit she was due at the time-& the institutional support to match-there’s no telling how far her work would have taken her.” Eunice Foote

😊 Delighted to announce I'll be a Lead Author for ch.8 of @ipcc.bsky.social's Seventh Assessment Report, alongside 663 experts from 111 countries, as part of Working Group III. Analysis by @carbonbrief.org shows increasing diversity of IPCC authorship: tinyurl.com/462pvby9 #IPCC #ClimateReport

We've found somewhere now...

Nice bit of research we supported through a @britishacademy.bsky.social innovation fellowship. By linking census data with health & education administrative data the research shows absences from school significantly contribute to children experiencing mental ill health www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

We finally FINALLY finished the big insurance piece. There's a LOT that is not in there. But I think we've got a few of the important bits. TL;DR insurance is extremely interesting, but it's neither the climate problem nor the solution. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ins...

On the anniversary, what do the events of #9-11 tell us? drury-sussex-the-crowd.blogspot.com/2011/09/what...

Extreme views are heavily over-represented on social media Social platforms’ tendency to reward hostile content creates incentives that systematically reward simplistic messages and extreme positions and this fuels populism www.ft.com/content/9251... via @jburnmurdoch.ft.com

My blog on why Human Behaviour is the missing Piece in AI Safety