They run their shit, we cower in fear, they keep going They run their shit, we’re like “nope,” they’re like “did you know we were on the side of the people the whole time?”

For a lot of reasons, I found North Dakota a really hard place to navigate socially when we first moved. Mrs. Hagerty's columns were my Rosetta Stone to understanding how people interact here. (Hint: she did not actually like the Olive Garden.) She was a regional treasure.

It's been a little while, but I've got a new Science of #Chess post up over on my lichess site - this time about the challenges of trying to estimate a "Chess Personality." Enjoy! lichess.org/@/NDpatzer/b...

I'm glad to see our Interim VP for Research and Creative Activity talking to our local paper about what's happening to research at @ndsuofficial.bsky.social. It's important to keep reminding people what will be lost rather than focusing on "abundance." www.inforum.com/news/north-d...

#langsky An interesting find! Some characters in a 1900s Welsh-language scifi speaking #Esperanto, as auxlangs have become commonplace in the world

University of South Carolina has *7* tenure-track faculty positions in Neurobiology of Language: tinyurl.com/USC-Faculty-... Positions in COMD, Psych, Linguistics, School of Medicine. @snlmtg.bsky.social #SNL2025, we will have a booth. w/@rutvikdesai.bsky.social @imb-uofsc.bsky.social

UC Davis is hiring! A tenure-track assistant professor of psychology, in human cognition or cognitive neuroscience #psychjobs recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07300

Know your rights, Illinois. Stay safe and stay informed.

New essay from my kid. This one's for the Xennials (a.k.a., Generation Oregon Trail, a.k.a., Catalanos): Scream, parody and the meta-slasher. buttondown.com/blaisebalas/... #horror #horrormovie #FilmSky

If you were born in 1985 or earlier, and you have breasts, and you haven't had your first mammogram, here's a gentle nudge to get on that ASAP. If you were born in 1986, make it one of your New Year's Resolutions.

🚨Postdoctoral fellowship in corpus phonetics / data science for speech with me and Ann Bradlow. Position is open immediately. Apply now! 🚨 Details: faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/matt-goldric...

There's a lawsuit about AI stealing your work. It's the same lawyers taking on Elsevier et al in a separate case. Academics: 1. Check if your work is in LibGen at www.theatlantic.com/technology/a... 2. If so, let the lawyers know at www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...

Hey friends - the kiddo has a #horror short story draft that she's hoping to get some beta readers for. If you think you'd have a minute to read a Midwestern Gothic story and give some feedback, shoot me a DM.

We are HIRING! The Department of Psychology at NDSU is seeking a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Developmental Psychology (broadly defined) to begin August, 2026. Full details here: tinyurl.com/3sjknmxn Questions can be directed to me. Please share widely!

The irony, of course, is that the “phonetic way to say umami” is [umami].

My kid and her friends were involved in a local production of Mamma Mia, so I liked and shared posts about it. Meta's algorithm decided that I must be really into high school productions of Mamma Mia, regardless of location. So break a leg, everyone at South Glen Falls High, wherever that is!

This is an epic tale of quite possibly the worst bank robber in history.

Your baby is a communicator from their earliest days. Thread 🧵

Vassar College is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in cognitive science. vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Vassar... I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.

I was very excited to be a guest on NM Ben Johnson's Perpetual Chess Podcast to talk #Chess and Cognitive Science! You can listen to the episode at the link below and check out my lichess blog for more discussion of chess and the mind.

Organic Chemistry, which was taught by an absolute legend of a professor: gorgeous chalkboard lectures, ass-kicking (in a good way) assessments, and the occasional poetry reading. The handwritten course notes bind-up has survived 25 years and several bookshelf purges.

New Science of #Chess post over on lichess - this time, I take a look at a neat study trying to characterize how often players truly try to falsify their best ideas during play. Enjoy! #PsychSciSky

My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer.

I did this a couple of months ago and it works great. No more AI-generated nonsense when I search!

📣 New job alert! I'm looking for a 2-year research assistant for a project on word learning from childhood to adulthood. Come and join us in lovely York! Please RT 🙏 @yorkpsychology.bsky.social jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/rese...

Cauley's "The Survivalists" was one of the most interesting books I read the year it came out, so I was going to read whatever she wrote next. But then I saw the premise of this, and yes, please and thank you. Very excited to pick it up!

It took me WAY too long to realize that this was about a pair of researchers at University of Houston (UH), and not that the headline was stalling to find a euphemism for what they REALLY are. The Internet has ruined me.

So much fun to see this one on the big screen and be reminded of the origins of my life-long: 1. Fear of encountering terrorists in mall parking lots 2. Enthusiasm for lightning storms 3. Weak-at-best understanding of physics

With #Superman flying back into theaters, I thought it was a good time to share this #Visionscience piece I wrote up a few years ago about the man, the myth, the legend and his X-ray vision (among other things). Enjoy!

Karla Knutson takes one for the team. Friends don't let friends microwave liver.

I'm excited to have received an invitation to speak at NITOP 2026 in January! I'll be talking about my approach to teaching #VisionScience with an emphasis on observation in classroom activities & assessments. Also, my sorta weird grading scheme will make an appearance. nitop.org/page-18170

For industry folks, a letter supporting federal investment in research. Letter is here: docs.google.com/document/d/1.... Form to sign is here: computingresearch.wufoo.com/forms/letter...

New blog post from the kiddo over at So Desensitized and this one's a two-parter! First, b's thoughts about EVIL DEAD, followed by a recap of the Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival. buttondown.com/blaisebalas/...

Always glad to know that people are trying to keep Fargo weird! (Even if horror movies are generally a no-go for me.)

AP Story on Judge Young's ruling apnews.com/article/nih-...

BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.

Sorry we couldn't be there, but proud of my friends and neighbors!

Another letter to the editor from Erin Cromwell. I think she and I would get on well.

If you are or have a recently-graduated PhD with an interest in undergraduate DBER, this is a great opportunity. Jenni and her colleagues are brilliant mentors and lovely people!

So...yesterday, I found out that my #PhD funding from the government was terminated so money for survival is now in jeopardy. 🙃 If you know of ANY sources of funding, please let me know. #academicsky #academia #research #blackademics #econsky

My friend and colleague @jennimomsen.bsky.social organized a bunch of us to write letters to our local paper as part of the #McClintockLetters campaign. You can read her letter (and hopefully the rest of ours!) here: www.inforum.com/opinion/lett... #VisionScience #PsychSciSky #StemED

Written by one of our REU alum! A powerful piece on how cuts to NSF threaten all of us. edtrust.org/blog/the-gre...

In a little more than a week, kiddo will have the chance to pitch her novel at StokerCon! Do any of my Bluesky friends have experience or advice about how to prepare? We have some general guidelines from the editor she'll be talking to, but any insight about Qs to expect, etc. would be very welcome!

ChatGPT is asked to create a map of Ireland and ends up doing the "if your nation wore jeans would it wear them like this?" meme. [Posting with alt-text I've spent far too long writing, in an attempt to convey just how gloriously, horrifyingly shit this is]

This is very sad news. In addition to her amazing scientific contributions to the field, LouAnn was quite kind to me at a difficult moment, and those sorts of contributions to a field are every bit as important.

🧪 Attention those with terminated grants, including for NSF, NASA, EPA, NIH, etc: Let Congress know about the impact of terminations via this form: democrats-science.house.gov/grantcancela... Only Dem staff on the House Science Committee will have access (unless if you explicitly state otherwise).

Random self-promotion, but my hands-on #VisionScience textbook is available for <$50 at the moment! If you're excited about using analog demos of visual phenomena in your classroom, it's a great time to snag a copy! #STEMed

This framing is all wrong Our international students are not a “crucial funding source” They are our STUDENTS They are the reason we EXIST We teach STUDENTS

bit of good news: approved technical staff position! link below. please be in touch if this matches your skills & interests! drive.google.com/file/d/16J2J... (hr listing posted harvard-internal now; external soon, per guidelines), happy for ?s & plan on quick turnaround! #CogSciSky #PsychSciSky 🐦🐦

Just curious - what is an acceptable success rate before you ship an AI product?