bergelsonlab

When I was an undergrad, I saw a talk by Oliver Sacks about music. During the Q&A, someone asked Sacks if he thought science would reveal the deepest mysteries of art. Sacks (a rare humanist among scientists) said that he doubted it, at which Eric Kandel (the host) leaped up and grabbed the mic.

The Dangers of using AI to Grade Nobody Learns, Nobody Gains

I strongly urge everyone to not just read this warning from @marcwatkins.bsky.social, but heed it, and be vocal and forceful pushing back against using AI to grade student writing. This must be anathema if we're going to have a world where learning means something. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

New contender: hot Cheeto peppers (shishito) #LinguistBabyPhotos

UCSB Campus. Meadow in the foreground with Storke Tower and mountains in the distance

Spread the word: I'm looking to recruit a PhD student for Fall 2026 to @ucsb.bsky.social! Reach out if you are applying this cycle and hoping to study infant and child social cognition, specifically expectations about friendship and/or groups. Bonus: live in paradise! And.. 1/3

googlescholar: okay but are you REALLY a person cuz you've been clicking on a lot of articles, here slide this slider.

me: TYSM, i *do* try to be well read, how flattering of you to notice

#AcademicSky

ooooh this reply section's gonna be funnnnnn

"Experimenter bias" refers to a mistake in scientific studies where the experimenter wants to see something, and so unconsciously designs protocols to prove what they want to see. RFK here provides an example, Let me explain what we might see based on this. 🧵

Harvard Must Take a Stand Against Trump's Compact https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/10/9/enos-levitsky-harvard-trump-compact/

"American civil society has more than enough financial and organizational muscle to stop this authoritarian offensive. But it requires collective resolve... Harvard has shown resolve. Now it’s time to lead."

via @ryanenos.bsky.social & @stevelevitsky.bsky.social

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

a heap of cooked dough and peaches in nothing even close to resembling the intended tart.

we once made a Tart Tatin(ic) #MyHeartWillGoOn
yours still looks delicious!

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down. n.pr/3KIfcSn

“A study, published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that last season’s 2024–2025 mRNA COVID vaccines reduced people’s risk of emergency department visits by 29%, their risk of hospitalizations by 39% & their risk of death by 64%”

Benefits were seen even if 0 risk factors

Commentary: A plea to protect our children Vaccination requirements kept our communities safe. Do not listen to anti-vaccine rhetoric. Do not gamble with your child’s health.

“In 1961, when I was just eight years old, I contracted measles. There was no vaccine available at the time. Like many of my classmates, I suffered through dangerously high fevers — mine reached 106 degrees — and nearly died. The disease left me almost totally deaf.” cc @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

now says "No upcoming due dates
Program 23-500 is currently waiting for a new publication"; in prior yrs, would've been due 11/5. Can't ask NSF POs right now... if any1 got info on this before the shutdown happy to hear it! @jaeyoungson.bsky.social i saw you had a similar q, tagging you in too. #NSF

About 1 in 3 US Nobel prize winners are immigrants.
About 1 in 4 were government employees at some point.
About 44% of all Nobel prize winners were educated in US higher education.
As Trump demands a Nobel prize, he is destroying the means by which America came to dominate the prizes.

Sources below

just spent 2 hours reviewing a paper in my reviewer queue on my calendar, went to find the portal link and things were weird...turns out i had actually said i didn't have time to do this review 2 months ago. 🤦‍♂️. i sent it to the editor anyway.

beautiful, great day.

Sometimes I think about how from 1935-1975ish, Bell Labs produced an insane amount of revolutionary science and technology, including 11 Nobel Prizes, the transistor, UNIX, C, the laser, the solar cell, information theory, etc. The secret? Provide scientists with ample, steady, no-strings funding.

Definitely punches above its weight in music and film! Had as many independent theaters as Philly ! The Public market there is a gem! Enjoy!

Flour city bakery!! Many great coffee shops with verb names eg pour. Good luck had great cocktails. shiki for great simple sushi (caveat have not checked if any if these are still open, has been a decade 🫣)

Trump attacks 9 universities: Sign the alumni petition to defend your school now Are you an alum outraged by Trump's attacks on universities? Defend your school now by signing this alumni petition in support of these 9 universities as well as campus communities across America.

🚨 Are you an alum from one of the 9 universities Trump is attempting to extort right now?

✍️ Sign this petition to defend your university, free speech, and democracy. I signed.

This is a time for courage, not capitulation.
#JustSayNo #Compact 🧪🧠🧬

(context in thread)

A great way to keep kids safe: Place automatic traffic cameras near schools.

After cameras were installed in Toronto:
🔹 Share of vehicles speeding ⬇️ 45%
🔹 85th percentile speed ⬇️ 10.7 km/h

Droivers speeding the most were most likely to slow down.

injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/inju...

Another call for sources: I'm reporting on pediatric Covid vaccine access. If you've had trouble finding pediatric doses in stock, or if your child was turned away, I'd love to hear from you: maggie.astor@nytimes.com.

Thanks to those who replied to my pregnancy callout; that story will be out soon.

wow sounds like *somebody's* grumpy from extreme sleep deprivation

any insight on how gov't shutdown including stuff at NSF right now may be relevant here? @jasonwilliamsny.bsky.social? ironically i imagine NSF POs can't reply to this or maybe could reply generally speaking in their personal capacity? [won't tag bc they don't need more drama]

data security for health info is critical.
sending a 'please login for an important message' email that you then need to login with a password, & confirm code w/a text, only to read that a doctor at a practice whom you've never seen is retiring is...a waste of everyone's time.

Assistant Professor in Phonology - Chicago, Illinois (US) job with The University of Chicago | 37894671 The Department of Linguistics invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Phonology with an expected start date of July...

📢 My department is hiring! University of Chicago is hiring an Assistant Professor in Phonology! (EOE/Vet/Disability) See the link for more information. 📢

jobs.chronicle.com/job/37894671...

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

NSF’s doors will be closed at 1:30 pm today. While you may be able to submit things, there will be no staff to process anything. In fact it is illegal for us to even open our work computers or email during a shutdown. A very few rotators may be able to communicate, so check out of office responses.

a man is covering his mouth with his hands and the word schitts creek is on the bottom right ALT: a man is covering his mouth with his hands and the word schitts creek is on the bottom right

If colleagues or students share a dataset with you and you make this face, consider sharing these resources with them. ☺️

datamgmtinedresearch.com

1. Organizing data (Ch. 3)
2. Naming variables and files (Ch. 9)
3. Documenting data (Ch. 8)
4. Cleaning data (Ch. 14)