Michael J. Kane

Cover page for the manuscript: Morey, R. D., & Davis-Stober, C. P. (2025). On the poor statistical properties of the P-curve meta-analytic procedure. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2025.2544397

Abstract for the paper: The P-curve (Simonsohn, Nelson, & Simmons, 2014; Simonsohn, Simmons, & Nelson, 2015) is a widely-used suite of meta-analytic tests advertised for detecting problems in sets of studies. They are based on nonparametric combinations of p values (e.g., Marden, 1985) across significant (p < .05) studies and are variously claimed to detect “evidential value”, “lack of evidential value”, and “left skew” in p values. We show that these tests do not have the properties ascribed to them. Moreover, they fail basic desiderata for tests, including admissibility and monotonicity. In light of these serious problems, we recommend against the use of the P-curve tests.

Paper drop, for anyone interested in #metascience, #statistics, or #metaanalysis! @clintin.bsky.social and I show in a new paper in JASA that the P-curve, a popular forensic meta-analysis method, has deeply undesirable statistical properties. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 1/?

Fears that falling birth rates in US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions While the changes in population structure that accompany low birth rates are real, the impact of these changes has been dramatically overstated.

Trying to change the population is creepy and dangerous, full stop. But pronatalism is also wrong on the science, particularly the US brand of it. Here's a nice explainer on some of its more egregious logical flaws.
From @lesja.bsky.social @karenguzzo.bsky.social and @shelleydclark.bsky.social

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Haverford College invites applications for a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Neuroscience.

Haverford is hiring a Neuroscientist! Please spread the word and share with anyone interested in a faculty position at a research-intensive liberal arts college. Motivated students, competitive start ups, hard money, great location, wonderful colleagues!
www.haverford.edu/provost/news...

Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the process of Federal

Well, this is a huge Executive Order power grab...

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

1/3

A graph showing agreement with various statements about science as well as conspiracy theories

Snapshot of US beliefs about science and flat-earthy stuff. [1000+ people surveyed, +/- 3%] carsey.unh.edu/publication/...

YouTube video by McGuinness Flint - Topic Dream Darling Dream (Remastered)

If you’re in the mood for a lovely little song, give this a spin. I’ve had it on a loop for 20 min now. :)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHIr...

Sausages and cheese, German supermarket

the scenario we all feared

lol the guy this is about is also the author and writes “no conflicts of interest exist” in the preamble. Sure.

Ha! :)

Such a shame it's come (back) to this.

This is not only disgraceful, but also just fucking stupid. How can anyone with any journalistic training (or just a smidge of common sense) think this is okay?

Attention in our digital ecosystem: The five interactive components that drive media multitasking - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Advances in the portability of digital media devices and the sophistication of digital media platforms have dramatically changed how we engage with media content and the degree to which we media multi...

This new article on media multitasking (MM) by Drody, @effiejp.bsky.social, & Smilek is terrific. What makes it unique is that it holistically considers 5 key factors contributing to engaging in MM behaviors: cognitive architectural, dispositional, metacognitive, task valuation, & environmental. 1/2

I haven't, but I'm also concerned about glitches for individual students, especially in a larger class. I have colleagues who've used it with camera monitoring (which I don't have interest in) & have noted some glitches/panicked students on occasion.

Yes it is! Aaaaaaargh.

YouTube video by Answers Ai How to Install and use AnswersAi

FFS. Today I learned from a colleague that there's a Google Chrome extension (answersAI) that will automatically answer quiz/exam questions in Canvas via ChatGPT (or other LLM).

I'm not sure whether lockdown browser would prevent this but it might be worth a try.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmlT...

This @today.yougov.com poll is why I'm going to become the Joker.

The US murder rate in 2024 was likely down nearly 30 percent relative to 2020 and down nearly 50 percent relative to 1990.

A super ultra wicked mega haul!

Spotify boycott: Artists leave 'garbage hole' platform after CEO invests in AI weapons Daniel Ek's investments in AI dronemaker Helsing have unnerved artists. One called Spotify a "violent armageddon portal."

I want more musicians who don't have to have some other day job to survive, and fewer billionaire tech CEOs who somehow have enough spare time to also chair military AI companies, teach chatbots to be more racist, or help dismantle formerly democratic governments.

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

REM, Replacements, Pixies

"But what universities are learning, that authoritarian scholars already know and have been saying, is that complying with illegitimate attacks does not make them stop—it makes them continue"

Super useful timeline of the attacks on GMU

YouTube video by Southern Rocker Joe Jackson Happy Loving Couples HQ with Lyrics in Description

www.youtube.com/watch?v=59I9...

Have a great time in Ireland!

It's great--can't touch Blood On The Tracks for me, but it's in my top few for sure.

It was in my list as well! I didn't used to love the vocals but I've really come around on them and, in fact, might now prefer his style here to that elsewhere.

Thank you, Richard. I'm glad that all's well. My picks:
1. Beatles, White Album (5pts)
2. Simon&Garfunkel, Sounds of Silence
3. Kinks: Arthur
4. Flying Burritos: Gilded Palace
5. Dylan: Nashville Skyline

This one was apparently co-developed by a now-sentient AI model...

New: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is shutting down

cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

It's always felt a weird getting occasionally sent a new unified theory of consciousness from a random person I'd never met or heard of. (I know that famous folks get these all the time.)

But, it's quite another thing altogether when a 2-pager gets slipped under your office door at work. V creepy!

New preprint commentary from me, @malte.the100.ci, and @ianhussey.mmmdata.io.

Cognitive dissonance in large language models is neither cognitive nor dissonant.

THREAD BELOW 🧵

osf.io/preprints/ps...

I went rootsy with my Bandcamp purchases today:

Brown Horse: "All The Right Weaknesses"
Colin Miller: "Haw Creek"
Silver Synthetic: "Rosalie"
Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band: "New Threats From The Soul"