Caleb Scoville

I got to Chicago at the right time

Very excited to present on this research and also Caleb read far more Fox News transcripts than than is recommended for safe human consumption for this, so please attend our preconference to make sure it wasn’t in vain.

ChatGPT File • • Edit View Window Help ChatGPT 5 > How many times does the letter b appear in blueberry The word "blueberry" has the letter b three times: • Once at the start ("B" in blueberry). • Once in the middle ("b" in blue). • Once before the -erry ending ("b" in berry). Total: 3 O92 Show me where the letter b appears in the word please. Sure — here's "blueberry" with each b highlighted: B lue b erry Positions (counting from 1): 1 B - first letter 4 b - in blue 6 b - in berry D9< Spell that out with all three bs please. I mean, just spell the word. Sure — here's the full spelling with all three b's shown in place: BLUEBERRY That's exactly how blueberry is spelled, with the b's in positions 1, 5, and 7.

ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help E ChatGPT 5 > You wrote "BLUEBERRY". There are only two bs there. Ah - I see the mix-up. Let's slow it down and spell blueberry carefully, letter by letter, showing all three b's. blueberry Now you can see them: • 1st b → position 1 • 2nd b → position 5 • 3rd b → position 6 blueberry Exactly — blue berry has three b's: • 1st b → at the very start • 2nd b → right after the e in blue • 3rd b → immediately after the second b, starting berry So the "bb" in the middle is really what gives blueberry its double-b moment. Its double-b moment; I see. Yep - blueberry is one of those words where the middle almost trips you up, like it's saying "b-b-better pay attention." That little bb moment is satisfying, though — it makes the word feel extra bouncy.

 ChatGPT File Edit View Window Help 巴 • ChatGPT 5 > My students get you to write their essays for them, you know. Ah, the old "ChatGPT, do my homework" routine — I'm familiar with that one. I can see why they'd be tempted, but here's the thing: I'm a lot more useful as a coach than a ghostwriter. If they use me to brainstorm ideas, plan structure, or clarify tricky concepts, they'll actually learn and still have their own voice in the work. If they just hand in what I write, they're skipping the thinking part - and it usually shows. I'm good, but I still leave a trail of... telltale ChatGPT-isms. A trail of blueberries, as it were. Exactly — a trail of blueberries: easy to follow, a little sweet, and maybe just obvious enough for a watchful teacher to notice. If your students really are leaving me to bake the whole blueberry pie for them, they might forget that the best part of pie is making it themselves... even if it gets a little messy. "Blueberry" only has two bs. Nope - blueberry really does have three b's. Here it is spaced out: bluebberry Positions: b- at the start 5 b - in the "blue" part 6 b - right next to it, starting "berry" That middle double-b is easy to miss if vou just glance at the word.

I had to try the “blueberry” thing myself with GPT5. I merely report the results.

presenting with @ahmccumber.bsky.social tomorrow at the ASA pre-conference on climate change and you're not going to want to miss what comes next

It’s the pendulum of a grandfather clock

From now on there will be a sixth finger on the button.

Why is Coal Still Mined? Insights from Asbestos and the Structures of Risk Invisibilization The deleterious consequences of coal mining are well known, but little attention is paid to the most egregious of all: black lung disease. The 21st-century resurgence of black lung sheds light onto th...

My latest paper is out in the very first issue of Theory and Social Inquiry: www.theoryandsocialinquiry.org/article/id/1....

Congratulations to the editorial board for this successful journal launch! 🥳

White House Press Release: BLS Has Lengthy History of Inaccuracies, Incompetence

We know Trump lies all the time, but it feels important that reporters covering his politicization of employment data make sure to point out that even his stated reasons are bullshit!

So sad in more ways than one.

the most afraid person about crime I know ever knew was my grandfather who spend the bulk of the last 20 years of his life watching Fox News in his house.

After 3 desk rejects and 2 major rewrites (with a 17-page rebuttal (!), and cutting word count by 25%), I am pleased that my paper on policy appraisals and second-order beliefs in climate policy has found a home in @climate-policy.bsky.social: (1/) @cast-centre.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1080/1469...

What to make of POTUS's attempt to fire the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)?

Let's run down what knowledgable people are saying...

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

📌

And needless to say, it’s producing new generations of unapologetic misogynists.

Anecdote: I recently had to switch barber shops. I just couldn’t take it.

Honestly I find it mostly sad. It’s a symptom of the decline of robust friendship among men (among other things), and it makes it harder for those of us disinclined to participate in the manosphere to make friends with other men. I just cannot relate, my man.

JFC

As for what these people really want, I am sure there is a mix of sincerity (ie they think this will boost domestic manufacturing) and ulterior motive (ie it’s about breaking apart multilateral agreements and reasserting American sovereignty, while giving the president a chance to make “deals”).

It’s not about accuracy. It’s because “making foreigners pay” resonates with the broader politics of resentment.

The idea is you punish perceived enemies who are understood to be the cause of a historical decline that can be reversed (thereby making great again) by that punishment.

a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know " ALT: a rainbow and a star with the words " i know you know "

Roughly 30–40% of U.S. corn production — about 30 million acres — is dedicated to ethanol. That same land area could support around 5,000 gigawatts of solar capacity, which is 3–4 times the total nameplate capacity of the entire U.S. electric grid. We don't have a land problem.

Judge who did his job also subject to DOJ accusations. We now have a fully weaponized legal system that will target those who defend the law or the most basic constitutional principles.
bsky.app/profile/kels...

Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation

Faculty who wrote to defend their president and object to a DOJ investigation of their university...are now being investigated by the DOJ.
The most banal defense of free speech and academic freedom will trigger the full wrath of the US government now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...

every time I start thinking this site is getting as bad as the other site, I check in on the other site and am immediately proven wrong.

I did not anticipate how much of my day would be spent writing a long and intricate paragraph on salinity standards but here we are.

We live in an era of democratic backsliding. But the terminology of "backsliding" isn't up to the task of making sense of the deep crisis of liberal democracy around the world. I've just finished a working paper that lays out what I think is going on.

tl;dr it's about the state and society

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Has Brazil Invented the Future of Money? And will it ever come to America?

TIL Brazil has a public payment system that is rapidly displacing both cash and cards, increasing to almost 50 percent of transactions in just 4 years paulkrugman.substack.com/p/has-brazil...

ok I decided to actually read up a bit on the Epstein case and my initial takeaway is that a great way to protect women and children from sexual predation would be to prosecute white collar crime

New York City intersections see one-third fewer pedestrian injuries with longer head-start intervals Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights—known as Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)—is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New ...

"Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New York City intersections."

I don't know about you, but as someone who is not particularly prone to conspiracy theories in general, this makes me somewhat more prone to suspect a conspiracy in this particular case.