Aaron Braver 🐧
@abraver.bsky.social
Linguist (phon*). R stuff. Science fiction nerd. @abraver at all the socials. aaronbraver.com
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
The U.S. has successfully convinced its people that “the humanities are frivolous and STEM is Important and Real” is basically a law of nature: this is absolute nonsense that we should stop putting up with.
January 28, 2026 at 1:35 AM
The U.S. has successfully convinced its people that “the humanities are frivolous and STEM is Important and Real” is basically a law of nature: this is absolute nonsense that we should stop putting up with.
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
I've been a faculty member in #Linguistics at a high-profile US university for for over a decade now. Most years I've been involved in graduate admissions. As of this year I'm the Graduate Chair for my department. I thought it might be helpful to share some advice for grad applicants...
January 28, 2026 at 9:06 PM
I've been a faculty member in #Linguistics at a high-profile US university for for over a decade now. Most years I've been involved in graduate admissions. As of this year I'm the Graduate Chair for my department. I thought it might be helpful to share some advice for grad applicants...
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
"P-Hacking with one prompt" by Shigeto Kawahara.
TL/DR: Ask LLMs to find a significant effect, and they will oblige.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
TL/DR: Ask LLMs to find a significant effect, and they will oblige.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) P-hacking with one prompt
PDF | This brief note reports a mini-experiment, which tested whether major AI systems (Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT) readily perform p-hacking when... | Find, read and cite all the research you need o...
www.researchgate.net
January 28, 2026 at 10:58 AM
"P-Hacking with one prompt" by Shigeto Kawahara.
TL/DR: Ask LLMs to find a significant effect, and they will oblige.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
TL/DR: Ask LLMs to find a significant effect, and they will oblige.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book, and all I can say is if you’re a sci-fi fan, put this on your calendar for May when it comes out!
What you’ll get: religion, politics, suspension pods, onions.
(Set in Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, but standalone - no prior reading needed)
What you’ll get: religion, politics, suspension pods, onions.
(Set in Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, but standalone - no prior reading needed)
Radiant Star
An electrifying new space opera of power, politics, and faith, set in the world of the Imperial Radch, Ann Leckie's ground-breaking, Hugo Award-winning scien...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:52 PM
I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book, and all I can say is if you’re a sci-fi fan, put this on your calendar for May when it comes out!
What you’ll get: religion, politics, suspension pods, onions.
(Set in Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, but standalone - no prior reading needed)
What you’ll get: religion, politics, suspension pods, onions.
(Set in Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, but standalone - no prior reading needed)
Poll for those who do experiments:
Does your IRB require in advance all audio clips you will play to participants (e.g. for a discrimination task)?
A) They're fine with a description
B) They want samples but not all stimuli
C) They want all audio stimuli
Does your IRB require in advance all audio clips you will play to participants (e.g. for a discrimination task)?
A) They're fine with a description
B) They want samples but not all stimuli
C) They want all audio stimuli
January 21, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Poll for those who do experiments:
Does your IRB require in advance all audio clips you will play to participants (e.g. for a discrimination task)?
A) They're fine with a description
B) They want samples but not all stimuli
C) They want all audio stimuli
Does your IRB require in advance all audio clips you will play to participants (e.g. for a discrimination task)?
A) They're fine with a description
B) They want samples but not all stimuli
C) They want all audio stimuli
Does anyone know anything about Praat and accessibility?
TTU is beginning to request accessibility documentation (i.e. VPAT) for all software in use.
My impression is that Praat doesn't play well with screen-readers, and I haven't been able to find a VPAT.
#praat #linguistics #accessibility #a11y
TTU is beginning to request accessibility documentation (i.e. VPAT) for all software in use.
My impression is that Praat doesn't play well with screen-readers, and I haven't been able to find a VPAT.
#praat #linguistics #accessibility #a11y
December 3, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Does anyone know anything about Praat and accessibility?
TTU is beginning to request accessibility documentation (i.e. VPAT) for all software in use.
My impression is that Praat doesn't play well with screen-readers, and I haven't been able to find a VPAT.
#praat #linguistics #accessibility #a11y
TTU is beginning to request accessibility documentation (i.e. VPAT) for all software in use.
My impression is that Praat doesn't play well with screen-readers, and I haven't been able to find a VPAT.
#praat #linguistics #accessibility #a11y
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
If you aren't happy single, you won't be happy taken. Happiness comes from Star Trek, not relationships.
October 15, 2025 at 10:58 PM
If you aren't happy single, you won't be happy taken. Happiness comes from Star Trek, not relationships.
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Ea-Nāşir's perfidy seems eternal!
October 12, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Ea-Nāşir's perfidy seems eternal!
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
I'm going to finish this manuscript by the end of the week, I told myself
August 7, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I'm going to finish this manuscript by the end of the week, I told myself
The narrator of my audiobook keeps pronouncing Xhosa as [hoʊsə], with initial [h]!
- Usual English pronunciationː [ˈkoʊ.sə]
- In Xhosaː isiXhosa [isì‖ʰɔ́sa]
I don't expect audiobook narrators to know orthographies of Bantu languages, but I do expect them to look up unfamiliar words. #linguistics
- Usual English pronunciationː [ˈkoʊ.sə]
- In Xhosaː isiXhosa [isì‖ʰɔ́sa]
I don't expect audiobook narrators to know orthographies of Bantu languages, but I do expect them to look up unfamiliar words. #linguistics
August 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
The narrator of my audiobook keeps pronouncing Xhosa as [hoʊsə], with initial [h]!
- Usual English pronunciationː [ˈkoʊ.sə]
- In Xhosaː isiXhosa [isì‖ʰɔ́sa]
I don't expect audiobook narrators to know orthographies of Bantu languages, but I do expect them to look up unfamiliar words. #linguistics
- Usual English pronunciationː [ˈkoʊ.sə]
- In Xhosaː isiXhosa [isì‖ʰɔ́sa]
I don't expect audiobook narrators to know orthographies of Bantu languages, but I do expect them to look up unfamiliar words. #linguistics
Having fun with some animal sounds for practice stimuli in our AXB task. 🔊sound on!
August 2, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Having fun with some animal sounds for practice stimuli in our AXB task. 🔊sound on!
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
We present a simplified, p5.js version of the vocal tract synthesizer from Neil Thapen's popular Pink Trombone, adapted for use in a creative coding assignment concerned with interaction design and absurd puppeteering.
Interactive: editor.p5js.org/golan/sketch...
Writeup: github.com/golanlevin/6...
Interactive: editor.p5js.org/golan/sketch...
Writeup: github.com/golanlevin/6...
July 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
We present a simplified, p5.js version of the vocal tract synthesizer from Neil Thapen's popular Pink Trombone, adapted for use in a creative coding assignment concerned with interaction design and absurd puppeteering.
Interactive: editor.p5js.org/golan/sketch...
Writeup: github.com/golanlevin/6...
Interactive: editor.p5js.org/golan/sketch...
Writeup: github.com/golanlevin/6...
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
when they close it all up, I do believe this will go down as the funniest video on the internet
July 24, 2025 at 7:51 PM
when they close it all up, I do believe this will go down as the funniest video on the internet
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
I think the only hope is that eventually they’ll run so many ‘inconclusive’ UBI trials that everyone will de facto be on UBI even though they won’t ever decide to implement it.
July 25, 2025 at 8:49 AM
I think the only hope is that eventually they’ll run so many ‘inconclusive’ UBI trials that everyone will de facto be on UBI even though they won’t ever decide to implement it.
This exists… At least I think it does?
Unalaska, Alaska - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
July 18, 2025 at 10:42 PM
This exists… At least I think it does?
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Space-station specific accents are going to be so cool.
July 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Space-station specific accents are going to be so cool.
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Doctors are AMAZED at these 10 ways to BOOST your immune system:
The Tetanus vaccine
The Measles vaccine
The Polio vaccine
The Mumps vaccine
The HPV vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine
The Rubella vaccine
The Diphtheria vaccine
The Covid-19 vaccine
- @hislopmd.bsky.social
The Tetanus vaccine
The Measles vaccine
The Polio vaccine
The Mumps vaccine
The HPV vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine
The Rubella vaccine
The Diphtheria vaccine
The Covid-19 vaccine
- @hislopmd.bsky.social
July 7, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Doctors are AMAZED at these 10 ways to BOOST your immune system:
The Tetanus vaccine
The Measles vaccine
The Polio vaccine
The Mumps vaccine
The HPV vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine
The Rubella vaccine
The Diphtheria vaccine
The Covid-19 vaccine
- @hislopmd.bsky.social
The Tetanus vaccine
The Measles vaccine
The Polio vaccine
The Mumps vaccine
The HPV vaccine
The Pneumonia vaccine
The Hepatitis B vaccine
The Rubella vaccine
The Diphtheria vaccine
The Covid-19 vaccine
- @hislopmd.bsky.social
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Descartes gave us all the tools we need to survive in an era of misinformation. Simply begin with the understanding that you are real but everything else is fairly likely to be the cruel games of a demon sent to torment you specifically.
June 30, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Descartes gave us all the tools we need to survive in an era of misinformation. Simply begin with the understanding that you are real but everything else is fairly likely to be the cruel games of a demon sent to torment you specifically.
@wmgbennett.bsky.social and I are teaching "Topics in the Phonology of African Languages" at the Seshegopuo Winter Linguistics School later this month!
Seshegopuo Linguistics School
sites.google.com
June 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
@wmgbennett.bsky.social and I are teaching "Topics in the Phonology of African Languages" at the Seshegopuo Winter Linguistics School later this month!
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Can you train a performant language model using only openly licensed text?
We are thrilled to announce the Common Pile v0.1, an 8TB dataset of openly licensed and public domain text. We train 7B models for 1T and 2T tokens and match the performance similar models like LLaMA 1 & 2
We are thrilled to announce the Common Pile v0.1, an 8TB dataset of openly licensed and public domain text. We train 7B models for 1T and 2T tokens and match the performance similar models like LLaMA 1 & 2
June 6, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Can you train a performant language model using only openly licensed text?
We are thrilled to announce the Common Pile v0.1, an 8TB dataset of openly licensed and public domain text. We train 7B models for 1T and 2T tokens and match the performance similar models like LLaMA 1 & 2
We are thrilled to announce the Common Pile v0.1, an 8TB dataset of openly licensed and public domain text. We train 7B models for 1T and 2T tokens and match the performance similar models like LLaMA 1 & 2
Reposted by Aaron Braver 🐧
Penny Eckert, on Bill's reaction to her not turning in problem sets during her 1st semester in grad school (bc she was worried they weren't good enough):
After a few weeks, he made me fork them over, saying "If you give me shit at least I'll know you're capable of shit"
After a few weeks, he made me fork them over, saying "If you give me shit at least I'll know you're capable of shit"
May 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Penny Eckert, on Bill's reaction to her not turning in problem sets during her 1st semester in grad school (bc she was worried they weren't good enough):
After a few weeks, he made me fork them over, saying "If you give me shit at least I'll know you're capable of shit"
After a few weeks, he made me fork them over, saying "If you give me shit at least I'll know you're capable of shit"