Cedar Riener
@criener.bsky.social
College professor, cognitive psychologist, textbook author. Also interested in science writing, social justice, politics and anti-racism. Proud member of AAUP & AFT Local 6741. Personal account. Views are my own and do not represent RMC, AAAS or SCHEV
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I once knew a Federal bank examiner, and one time someone asked him why we had to KEEP inspecting banks over and over. He basically said every new batch of business school grads invents bank fraud from first principles.
AirBnB CEO calling it “vibe revenue” just 👨🍳 😘
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
November 22, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I once knew a Federal bank examiner, and one time someone asked him why we had to KEEP inspecting banks over and over. He basically said every new batch of business school grads invents bank fraud from first principles.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 AM
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Reposted by Cedar Riener
And this is not an Ivy League thing, you could go to any random state university or even a community college and take a course with an expert!
November 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
And this is not an Ivy League thing, you could go to any random state university or even a community college and take a course with an expert!
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Thinking a lot lately about the simple fact that college allows people to spend about 15 weeks immersed in a disciplinary conversation with an expert in that field. And what a special thing that is.
November 21, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Thinking a lot lately about the simple fact that college allows people to spend about 15 weeks immersed in a disciplinary conversation with an expert in that field. And what a special thing that is.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Once you’re a grown ass adult, however radical your politics are, you had best have some strategy.
November 21, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Once you’re a grown ass adult, however radical your politics are, you had best have some strategy.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
What’s the most significant advice you received from a teacher?
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
November 21, 2025 at 12:54 AM
What’s the most significant advice you received from a teacher?
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
I had a Geology prof who always said “have strong opinions, loosely held”
Be passionate, assess alternatives with conviction, take sides. But don’t fall so in love with your opinions that you can’t change them with better data.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
> Put chatbot created from probability matrix based on the entire internet in childrens toy
> Slap on handful of safety rules that your engineers cooked up during an afternoon brainstorm session
> Toy bear starts talking to little Timmy about niche fetish porn after a 5 minute conversation
> Slap on handful of safety rules that your engineers cooked up during an afternoon brainstorm session
> Toy bear starts talking to little Timmy about niche fetish porn after a 5 minute conversation
Suspect Guilty GIF
ALT: Suspect Guilty GIF
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:24 AM
> Put chatbot created from probability matrix based on the entire internet in childrens toy
> Slap on handful of safety rules that your engineers cooked up during an afternoon brainstorm session
> Toy bear starts talking to little Timmy about niche fetish porn after a 5 minute conversation
> Slap on handful of safety rules that your engineers cooked up during an afternoon brainstorm session
> Toy bear starts talking to little Timmy about niche fetish porn after a 5 minute conversation
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Inspiring Q and A with Dick Aslin! Look for more such content over the next few months from @psychscience.bsky.social
www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
Collective Action Is Essential for Universities in Current Political Climate
In this Q&A, Richard Aslin shares his thoughts on the real meaning of “academic freedom” and why members of the higher education community have reason to be cautiously optimistic.
www.psychologicalscience.org
November 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Inspiring Q and A with Dick Aslin! Look for more such content over the next few months from @psychscience.bsky.social
www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Practice letting people know that you appreciate them. It costs nothing.
November 19, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Practice letting people know that you appreciate them. It costs nothing.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
While it’s true that crises can show you what someone is made of, I am willing to do the extra work to find out what someone is made of during periods of calm.
November 20, 2025 at 2:47 AM
While it’s true that crises can show you what someone is made of, I am willing to do the extra work to find out what someone is made of during periods of calm.
Not a huge fan of the "investigating ties" framing. His words and actions were awful abuses of power no matter who he was seeking advice from.
Lawrence Summers will reportedly immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the university investigates his ties to Jeffrey Epstein
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Not a huge fan of the "investigating ties" framing. His words and actions were awful abuses of power no matter who he was seeking advice from.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I remember when there was a discussion on Twitter about Shein's manufacturing practices and some apologists invented all sorts of fantastical machinery and technology to avoid facing the more horrifying truth. Reminds me of this comedian's joke.
IG bscomedian
IG bscomedian
November 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
I remember when there was a discussion on Twitter about Shein's manufacturing practices and some apologists invented all sorts of fantastical machinery and technology to avoid facing the more horrifying truth. Reminds me of this comedian's joke.
IG bscomedian
IG bscomedian
Reposted by Cedar Riener
It's actually amazing how well trust in science has held up (scientists are still more trusted than every profession in the US except the military!) given the huge amount of money and effort that's been spent trying to delegitimize it.
November 20, 2025 at 2:11 AM
It's actually amazing how well trust in science has held up (scientists are still more trusted than every profession in the US except the military!) given the huge amount of money and effort that's been spent trying to delegitimize it.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
“In a New York Times essay last April, Summers lamented that the University had “repeatedly failed to impose discipline and maintain order.” If Summers won’t step aside voluntarily, Harvard should take his advice — and begin by disciplining him.”
November 20, 2025 at 2:17 AM
“In a New York Times essay last April, Summers lamented that the University had “repeatedly failed to impose discipline and maintain order.” If Summers won’t step aside voluntarily, Harvard should take his advice — and begin by disciplining him.”
Reposted by Cedar Riener
"By any consistent standard, if Summers is unfit to work for each of these institutions [from which he resigned], he is equally unfit to teach at our school. Harvard should not be the only institution in America where Summers remains above reproach."
🔥🔥🔥
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
🔥🔥🔥
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
The Professor and the Pedophile | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
Summers should choose the most straightforward path and resign. Should he refuse to, though, the University must cut ties with its former president to the greatest extent possible.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:51 AM
"By any consistent standard, if Summers is unfit to work for each of these institutions [from which he resigned], he is equally unfit to teach at our school. Harvard should not be the only institution in America where Summers remains above reproach."
🔥🔥🔥
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
🔥🔥🔥
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Link to study:
Efficacy, Immunogenicity, and Safety of Modified mRNA Influenza Vaccine | NEJM
Influenza remains a major health burden despite the use of licensed vaccines. Nucleoside-modified
messenger RNA (modRNA) influenza vaccines have shown promising immunogenicity against
influenza and...
www.nejm.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Link to study:
Reposted by Cedar Riener
In a new phase 3 trial, people randomly assigned to receive a flu shot made with modified mRNA were 34.5% less likely to be diagnosed with an influenza-like illness than people given a standard flu shot made with inactivated virus.
We need to stop the anti-science attacks against mRNA vaccines!
We need to stop the anti-science attacks against mRNA vaccines!
November 20, 2025 at 1:03 AM
In a new phase 3 trial, people randomly assigned to receive a flu shot made with modified mRNA were 34.5% less likely to be diagnosed with an influenza-like illness than people given a standard flu shot made with inactivated virus.
We need to stop the anti-science attacks against mRNA vaccines!
We need to stop the anti-science attacks against mRNA vaccines!
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Trust in science will increase when we stop all the money being used to fund anti-science political attacks and spread disinformation.
November 19, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Trust in science will increase when we stop all the money being used to fund anti-science political attacks and spread disinformation.
Yeah, this puts into words a thought that nags at me in these discussions. Being trustworthy and doing good outreach are good things! But we should recognize other causes of distrust besides benign neglect. Too often the sci's self-flagellation doesn't appreciate active agents of distrust.
I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.
November 20, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Yeah, this puts into words a thought that nags at me in these discussions. Being trustworthy and doing good outreach are good things! But we should recognize other causes of distrust besides benign neglect. Too often the sci's self-flagellation doesn't appreciate active agents of distrust.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Ok BlueSky: what are your favorite history books in terms of sheer page-turning, narrative propulsion? Thinking along the line of Killers of the Flower Moon, etc. Nonfiction chronicles that read like novels or movies.
November 19, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Ok BlueSky: what are your favorite history books in terms of sheer page-turning, narrative propulsion? Thinking along the line of Killers of the Flower Moon, etc. Nonfiction chronicles that read like novels or movies.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025.
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025.
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
We replicated one of the oldest experiments in Psychology (Triplett, 1898) as a registered report. Children completed a task faster in pairs than when they were alone.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Ruby Bridges and John Roberts would have been in the same grade!! It's not that subtle why he's devoted his life to re-establishing segregation!
November 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Ruby Bridges and John Roberts would have been in the same grade!! It's not that subtle why he's devoted his life to re-establishing segregation!