Berna Devezer
@devezer.bsky.social
Metascientist @ uidaho. I work at the intersection of behavioral sciences, statistics, and philosophy. Love thinking and talking about science. Post lots of cat and food pics. Allergic to unsolicited advice.
Pinned
Berna Devezer
@devezer.bsky.social
· Nov 5
I'd like to re-up this paper we published last year bec I believe it makes a fundamental contribution to theoretical metascience but it is woefully underappreciated. We address a key challenge in estimating the reproducibility of a result: The distance of a replication study from the original. 1/n
i'm a little over two decades behind but currently on an inaugural veronica mars binge. around season 3, they changed either the make up artist or the make-up products so now all the girls look like they have a 5 o'clock shadow all over their face. it's horrifying.
February 17, 2026 at 1:19 AM
i'm a little over two decades behind but currently on an inaugural veronica mars binge. around season 3, they changed either the make up artist or the make-up products so now all the girls look like they have a 5 o'clock shadow all over their face. it's horrifying.
terminally allergic it is 😅
There's a lot of wisdom in this thread, you don't necessarily notice it at first because Berna is terminally allergic to the sort of Big Talk and Big Idea Influencing that permeates most discourse
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
February 16, 2026 at 10:50 PM
terminally allergic it is 😅
Reposted by Berna Devezer
This entire thread is wonderful. I've learnt so much from @devezer.bsky.social 🙏
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
February 16, 2026 at 9:16 PM
This entire thread is wonderful. I've learnt so much from @devezer.bsky.social 🙏
Reposted by Berna Devezer
If you are teaching any kind of statistics, probability or modeling classes, you'll love this website. Contains dozens of interactive simulations of random processes, with sliders, different visualizat options, and full numeric log ouput: www.randomservices.org/random/apps/...
February 16, 2026 at 7:43 PM
If you are teaching any kind of statistics, probability or modeling classes, you'll love this website. Contains dozens of interactive simulations of random processes, with sliders, different visualizat options, and full numeric log ouput: www.randomservices.org/random/apps/...
p-curves, z-curves, and the like reifying an urn model of science
In the case of statistical meta-science, if your toy model predicts a certain curve under "ideal" research practices, and you find a different curve, it's possible that the curve derived from undergraduate probability has nothing to do with scientific practice.
February 16, 2026 at 7:25 PM
p-curves, z-curves, and the like reifying an urn model of science
Reposted by Berna Devezer
In the case of statistical meta-science, if your toy model predicts a certain curve under "ideal" research practices, and you find a different curve, it's possible that the curve derived from undergraduate probability has nothing to do with scientific practice.
February 16, 2026 at 6:21 PM
In the case of statistical meta-science, if your toy model predicts a certain curve under "ideal" research practices, and you find a different curve, it's possible that the curve derived from undergraduate probability has nothing to do with scientific practice.
'Statistical conclusion validity' (Cook & Campbell) is one of the most confusing, haphazard, hodgepodge categories that psych lit has been stuck with for decades. Lumps together distinct issues (conflating precision with accuracy) and loses so much information. Past time we dropped it altogether.
February 16, 2026 at 5:03 PM
'Statistical conclusion validity' (Cook & Campbell) is one of the most confusing, haphazard, hodgepodge categories that psych lit has been stuck with for decades. Lumps together distinct issues (conflating precision with accuracy) and loses so much information. Past time we dropped it altogether.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Check out our preprint: "What Pilot Studies Can (and Cannot) Do for Validity in Psychological Research"
Great job @yashvin.bsky.social and @mbneff.bsky.social for leading!
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Great job @yashvin.bsky.social and @mbneff.bsky.social for leading!
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
February 16, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Check out our preprint: "What Pilot Studies Can (and Cannot) Do for Validity in Psychological Research"
Great job @yashvin.bsky.social and @mbneff.bsky.social for leading!
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Great job @yashvin.bsky.social and @mbneff.bsky.social for leading!
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Honest question. Does anyone actually use the things you guys are building? Like I spent all day yesterday doing my kids’ laundry and recaulking/tiling their bathroom tub but by bedtime they had a place to take a bath and clean pajamas to wear to bed
February 15, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Honest question. Does anyone actually use the things you guys are building? Like I spent all day yesterday doing my kids’ laundry and recaulking/tiling their bathroom tub but by bedtime they had a place to take a bath and clean pajamas to wear to bed
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Peer review gets a lot of kudos, but often it's the feedback we get direct from people we know and trust before a paper is even submitted that feels like it has the most significant impact on our work. These people usually show up in the acknowledgements, where they get almost no recognition at all.
February 16, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Peer review gets a lot of kudos, but often it's the feedback we get direct from people we know and trust before a paper is even submitted that feels like it has the most significant impact on our work. These people usually show up in the acknowledgements, where they get almost no recognition at all.
don't forget any middle aged person's biggest fantasy: incredible speed of recovery from bodily injuries without any leftover dysfunction or pain
The John Wick series is so effective because it fully embodies the three major tenets of dumb guy fantasy: 1. being able to kick anyone’s ass, 2. living by a code of honor, and 3. paying for things with gold coins
February 15, 2026 at 7:26 PM
don't forget any middle aged person's biggest fantasy: incredible speed of recovery from bodily injuries without any leftover dysfunction or pain
Reposted by Berna Devezer
by purchasing this course, your university is corroborating the theory of the people offering it this sort of bullshit is good enough, which undermines your school's own raison d'etre.
February 15, 2026 at 5:13 PM
by purchasing this course, your university is corroborating the theory of the people offering it this sort of bullshit is good enough, which undermines your school's own raison d'etre.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:49 PM
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
so i'm not proud to admit but i signed up for an "AI in higher ed" course the uni has paid for bec there's a monetary incentive and this is a no-salary-raise year for us. i now realize that for someone who doesn't use AI, i know way too much about it & this feels excruciatingly boring. kill me now 😭
February 15, 2026 at 1:02 AM
so i'm not proud to admit but i signed up for an "AI in higher ed" course the uni has paid for bec there's a monetary incentive and this is a no-salary-raise year for us. i now realize that for someone who doesn't use AI, i know way too much about it & this feels excruciatingly boring. kill me now 😭
Reposted by Berna Devezer
The volume on the iconography of Göbekli Tepe‘s pillars is finally out. Although the site is not unique any more, it still represents the largest corpus of Early Neolithic (9th/10th millennium BC) imagery. This is largely due to the work of Klaus Schmidt, who passed away far too early in 2014.
January 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM
The volume on the iconography of Göbekli Tepe‘s pillars is finally out. Although the site is not unique any more, it still represents the largest corpus of Early Neolithic (9th/10th millennium BC) imagery. This is largely due to the work of Klaus Schmidt, who passed away far too early in 2014.
Seriously I do not set out to say something provocative. Imo it's the premature consensus that way too quickly emerges abt metascience disaster scenarios/evidence that's problematic. We need more original thinking, independent assessment, theoretical frameworks & diversity of thought in this space.
Whether you agree with all of the below or not, Berna is imo the person doing the most interesting thinking in the metascience space. It’s provocative (cuts against the accepted wisdom) but very important.
I do really strongly agree with her about the crisis/disaster narrative.
I do really strongly agree with her about the crisis/disaster narrative.
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
February 13, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Seriously I do not set out to say something provocative. Imo it's the premature consensus that way too quickly emerges abt metascience disaster scenarios/evidence that's problematic. We need more original thinking, independent assessment, theoretical frameworks & diversity of thought in this space.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
This is a great thread on the bias in metascience itself.
There is a big bias towards "its all terrible!!!!" and loads of very unrealistic assumptions.
As a community we are also dismal at seeing the very dubious politics behind a lot of metascience throughout its history.
There is a big bias towards "its all terrible!!!!" and loads of very unrealistic assumptions.
As a community we are also dismal at seeing the very dubious politics behind a lot of metascience throughout its history.
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
February 13, 2026 at 12:15 PM
This is a great thread on the bias in metascience itself.
There is a big bias towards "its all terrible!!!!" and loads of very unrealistic assumptions.
As a community we are also dismal at seeing the very dubious politics behind a lot of metascience throughout its history.
There is a big bias towards "its all terrible!!!!" and loads of very unrealistic assumptions.
As a community we are also dismal at seeing the very dubious politics behind a lot of metascience throughout its history.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
This would also explain why the "crisis of trust in science/expertise" narrative is so widespread and persistent in the face of repeated empirical refutation
February 13, 2026 at 1:48 AM
This would also explain why the "crisis of trust in science/expertise" narrative is so widespread and persistent in the face of repeated empirical refutation
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
February 13, 2026 at 12:41 AM
On the publication bias discourse, I regret that metascience has become a source of decontextualized, low-res, bean-counting-focused `science is in crisis' narratives. It is largely uncurious abt science, desperately lacking in theory & measurement. I'll quote a few takes I liked & add my thoughts🧵
Reposted by Berna Devezer
New preprint and simulator of associative learning attentional models. Have fun! 👁️
arxiv.org/abs/2602.07519
cal-r.org/index.php?id...
#simulation #associative_learning #attention
arxiv.org/abs/2602.07519
cal-r.org/index.php?id...
#simulation #associative_learning #attention
PALMS: Pavlovian Associative Learning Models Simulator
Simulations are an indispensable step in the cycle of theory development and refinement, helping researchers formulate precise definitions, generate models, and make accurate predictions. This paper i...
arxiv.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:49 PM
New preprint and simulator of associative learning attentional models. Have fun! 👁️
arxiv.org/abs/2602.07519
cal-r.org/index.php?id...
#simulation #associative_learning #attention
arxiv.org/abs/2602.07519
cal-r.org/index.php?id...
#simulation #associative_learning #attention
Reposted by Berna Devezer
My paper on experts and trespassers that is part of a special issue 'Gatekeeping in science' edited by Eric Winsberg @ewinsberg.bsky.social and Katherine Dormandy is now out! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Experts and trespassers: origins of experimental method, ‘craftization’ of science, and scientific expertise - Synthese
Synthese - Epistemic trespassers are often defined as individuals who have the expertise in one field but pass judgments, make assertions, and hold beliefs about the research and findings in...
link.springer.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:50 AM
My paper on experts and trespassers that is part of a special issue 'Gatekeeping in science' edited by Eric Winsberg @ewinsberg.bsky.social and Katherine Dormandy is now out! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Berna Devezer
To all the non-academics who don't understand the point of academic freedom and don't care to learn about it, let me give you a factor you might care about:
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
No Tenure for Oklahoma.
Instead, faculty will be on "renewable contracts “tied to teaching effectiveness, student completion, job placement, and economic alignment.”
#academicsky
Instead, faculty will be on "renewable contracts “tied to teaching effectiveness, student completion, job placement, and economic alignment.”
#academicsky
Tenure Will Be Eliminated at Most of Oklahoma’s Public Colleges, Governor Says
Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, directed the state’s two-dozen regional universities and community colleges to phase out the practice. Existing faculty members will be grandfathered in.
www.chronicle.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:16 AM
To all the non-academics who don't understand the point of academic freedom and don't care to learn about it, let me give you a factor you might care about:
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
for some reason, i am currently obsessed with this bluegrass cover of chop suey by dead south
The Dead South - Chop Suey [Official Music Video]
YouTube video by The Dead South
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 10:32 PM
for some reason, i am currently obsessed with this bluegrass cover of chop suey by dead south
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Today is being very much a day, so here is Elinor doing a blep.
February 5, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Today is being very much a day, so here is Elinor doing a blep.