Eli Sennesh
@elisennesh.bsky.social
Abolish the value function!
Pinned
Eli Sennesh
@elisennesh.bsky.social
· Aug 30
Eli Sennesh: Oscillations, but not Spike Rates, Encode Predictive Processing : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Talk by Eli Sennesh of Vanderbilt University. Given to the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at UC Berkeley.Abstract: The appearance at the...
archive.org
Had a great time visiting Berkeley's Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience!
archive.org/details/Redw...
archive.org/details/Redw...
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
New Journal Club: Neural manifolds are maturing from visualization trick to biological claim. But if population activity lives on low-dimensional manifolds, what constrains the geometry?
Manifolds, Dendrites, and the Geometry of Neural Computation
The population doctrine—the view that populations, not individual neurons, constitute the fundamental unit of computation—has been gaining ground for years.
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:23 AM
New Journal Club: Neural manifolds are maturing from visualization trick to biological claim. But if population activity lives on low-dimensional manifolds, what constrains the geometry?
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
So if you want to address political radicalization in Israel, you are, at some point, going to have to deal with the part that a lot of people want to kill or oppress them because they are Jews.
February 6, 2026 at 8:01 AM
So if you want to address political radicalization in Israel, you are, at some point, going to have to deal with the part that a lot of people want to kill or oppress them because they are Jews.
Just because anti-woke polls negative doesn't mean returning to 2015-2020 woke will poll positive. Just sidestep the whole fucking thing if you're not what the anti-wokes charge you with being.
February 6, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Just because anti-woke polls negative doesn't mean returning to 2015-2020 woke will poll positive. Just sidestep the whole fucking thing if you're not what the anti-wokes charge you with being.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Kiddies who made it out of the ICE dungeon report sighting a schoolmate. Before this, the school district had no information on their whereabouts. The family has now been connected with a lawyer.
Youngsters who escape a govt dungeon are the only way to track abducted children? This is fine!
Youngsters who escape a govt dungeon are the only way to track abducted children? This is fine!
The two children who returned to MN today say they saw one of their Valley View schoolmates at a detention center in TX. This is a child whose family was last in contact with the school on January 9. No one has known where they were until now.
February 5, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Kiddies who made it out of the ICE dungeon report sighting a schoolmate. Before this, the school district had no information on their whereabouts. The family has now been connected with a lawyer.
Youngsters who escape a govt dungeon are the only way to track abducted children? This is fine!
Youngsters who escape a govt dungeon are the only way to track abducted children? This is fine!
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Thread 6: The Ito Lemma
Fyi, a lot of what I'll go over today is covered in Chapter 4 of "Stochastic Methods" by Crispin Gardiner, but this is a pretty standard derivation too, and I explained it in a way I think makes more sense. For today I am going to derive Ito's Lemma for you. (1/n)
Fyi, a lot of what I'll go over today is covered in Chapter 4 of "Stochastic Methods" by Crispin Gardiner, but this is a pretty standard derivation too, and I explained it in a way I think makes more sense. For today I am going to derive Ito's Lemma for you. (1/n)
Thread 4: Discretization Conventions for SDEs
Last week we found Brownian motion is not continuously differentiable, and has nonzero quadratic variation.
In a SUPER similar proof scheme that I won't go through here (bc it's v similar), you can prove it has unbounded total variation as well. (1/n)
Last week we found Brownian motion is not continuously differentiable, and has nonzero quadratic variation.
In a SUPER similar proof scheme that I won't go through here (bc it's v similar), you can prove it has unbounded total variation as well. (1/n)
So we have the found a critical and concerning property for Brownian motion, now. The quadratic variation will ALWAYS be total time, which is nonzero, and so Brownian motion is NOT continuously differentiable!!! How do we deal with this in a stochastic differential equation? (17/n)
February 6, 2026 at 5:31 AM
Thread 6: The Ito Lemma
Fyi, a lot of what I'll go over today is covered in Chapter 4 of "Stochastic Methods" by Crispin Gardiner, but this is a pretty standard derivation too, and I explained it in a way I think makes more sense. For today I am going to derive Ito's Lemma for you. (1/n)
Fyi, a lot of what I'll go over today is covered in Chapter 4 of "Stochastic Methods" by Crispin Gardiner, but this is a pretty standard derivation too, and I explained it in a way I think makes more sense. For today I am going to derive Ito's Lemma for you. (1/n)
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Yes. And this sort of faux-somber, secretly-thrilled fatalism is simultaneously useless and reactionary.
Politics assumes people and places can change (hopefully for the better). The notion that certain cultures are inherently diseased and immune from improvement is straight bigotry.
Politics assumes people and places can change (hopefully for the better). The notion that certain cultures are inherently diseased and immune from improvement is straight bigotry.
February 6, 2026 at 5:26 AM
Yes. And this sort of faux-somber, secretly-thrilled fatalism is simultaneously useless and reactionary.
Politics assumes people and places can change (hopefully for the better). The notion that certain cultures are inherently diseased and immune from improvement is straight bigotry.
Politics assumes people and places can change (hopefully for the better). The notion that certain cultures are inherently diseased and immune from improvement is straight bigotry.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
Apes Share Human Ability to Imagine
YouTube video by Johns Hopkins University
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
Don't make me tap the sign:
February 5, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Don't make me tap the sign:
Which blue-collar workers enjoyed a 25% increase in real wages over the length of the neoliberal globalization epoch, so let's say, from Reagan to COVID?
Well Compensated Pundit In “If The Facts Don’t Support The Discourse, That’s The Fault of The Facts” Shocker
February 5, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Which blue-collar workers enjoyed a 25% increase in real wages over the length of the neoliberal globalization epoch, so let's say, from Reagan to COVID?
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
So, let me get this straight, and please correct me if I'm wrong?
1. The Dems and GOP made a deal to keep everything running except DHS, so there won't be a government shutdown.
2. If a deal isn't reached, the DHS will shut down.
3. But everything else keeps running.
What's a downside for the Dems?
1. The Dems and GOP made a deal to keep everything running except DHS, so there won't be a government shutdown.
2. If a deal isn't reached, the DHS will shut down.
3. But everything else keeps running.
What's a downside for the Dems?
February 5, 2026 at 8:53 PM
So, let me get this straight, and please correct me if I'm wrong?
1. The Dems and GOP made a deal to keep everything running except DHS, so there won't be a government shutdown.
2. If a deal isn't reached, the DHS will shut down.
3. But everything else keeps running.
What's a downside for the Dems?
1. The Dems and GOP made a deal to keep everything running except DHS, so there won't be a government shutdown.
2. If a deal isn't reached, the DHS will shut down.
3. But everything else keeps running.
What's a downside for the Dems?
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
As you might imagine a lot of times I am talking about NIH funding. No offense but the gaslighting from and about NIH extramural is a central issue that trainees refer to. And junior faculty mention it as well. NIH is not known for being frank.
January 18, 2026 at 3:58 PM
As you might imagine a lot of times I am talking about NIH funding. No offense but the gaslighting from and about NIH extramural is a central issue that trainees refer to. And junior faculty mention it as well. NIH is not known for being frank.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
One of the more common feedback observations I get from trainees subjected to my career presentations is thanks for being “frank” and “honest”. That was in the before times. Apparently everyone only presents trainees a rosy picture at odds with their experiences.
Another thing that I do to support my students is that I acknowledge what’s happening, and I don’t pretend that stuff like this is normal, and that everything’s fine.
I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.
I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.
The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone.
The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets.
We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.
The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets.
We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.
January 18, 2026 at 3:44 PM
One of the more common feedback observations I get from trainees subjected to my career presentations is thanks for being “frank” and “honest”. That was in the before times. Apparently everyone only presents trainees a rosy picture at odds with their experiences.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
It's also like, these people keep being made the face of the Democratic Party by the media and the GOP. And the median voters looks at that and says, "man the Democrats are too extreme."
I'm just not clear what Democrats are getting out of this arrangement. It's not vocal support. It's not votes.
I'm just not clear what Democrats are getting out of this arrangement. It's not vocal support. It's not votes.
"It's important to keep around bad faith bomb throwers who insist on mistrust and suspicion of the party at all times because at least they're pushing the party!"
Yeah but what if I'm concerned they're pushing in the wrong direction. "Pushing" isn't intrinsically virtuous.
Yeah but what if I'm concerned they're pushing in the wrong direction. "Pushing" isn't intrinsically virtuous.
I won't include this person's name because they *thought* they were trying to pay some kind of compliment but this is deeply dumb. "Both the people who can read who want to make an immediate difference AND the people who steadfastly refuse to act in good faith are important!" No, actually.
February 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
It's also like, these people keep being made the face of the Democratic Party by the media and the GOP. And the median voters looks at that and says, "man the Democrats are too extreme."
I'm just not clear what Democrats are getting out of this arrangement. It's not vocal support. It's not votes.
I'm just not clear what Democrats are getting out of this arrangement. It's not vocal support. It's not votes.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Famed startup incubator Y Combinator reverses course and adds Canada back to its list of accepted countries of incorporation after "feedback"
February 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Famed startup incubator Y Combinator reverses course and adds Canada back to its list of accepted countries of incorporation after "feedback"
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
lol, the idea that it costs more to buy groceries than to eat out is so fantastically untrue it is basically all by itself a marker of intellectual depravity.
February 2, 2026 at 9:53 PM
lol, the idea that it costs more to buy groceries than to eat out is so fantastically untrue it is basically all by itself a marker of intellectual depravity.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
anyway another example of why college application at the higher level should be 'you meet X standard and then we randomly draw from a pool.'
February 5, 2026 at 1:35 AM
anyway another example of why college application at the higher level should be 'you meet X standard and then we randomly draw from a pool.'
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
college application help is my go-to example for how American guanxi works - in its most powerful form, it can't be a simple market transaction, but still grows out of business and power relationships
well here's one news story about the thing I've been obsessively tweeting about for days (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
Epstein Helped Woody Allen’s Daughter Get Into College, Emails Show
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:33 AM
college application help is my go-to example for how American guanxi works - in its most powerful form, it can't be a simple market transaction, but still grows out of business and power relationships
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Ahh our fun local quirk of violent rage over the ability to expropriate public property for private car storage
Space-saving rage in #Dorchester: Man stabbed in the hand in dispute over shoveled out parking space
www.universalhub.com/crime/2026/s...
#Boston #crime #snow #parking
www.universalhub.com/crime/2026/s...
#Boston #crime #snow #parking
February 5, 2026 at 1:46 AM
Ahh our fun local quirk of violent rage over the ability to expropriate public property for private car storage
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Production is a collaborative activity on the individual scale. we work together to produce more things. But consumption is competitive—by removing yourself from the market, you decrease demand and directly help other consumers who don’t. you can’t have solidarity in a struggle of all against all
May 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Production is a collaborative activity on the individual scale. we work together to produce more things. But consumption is competitive—by removing yourself from the market, you decrease demand and directly help other consumers who don’t. you can’t have solidarity in a struggle of all against all
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
The cool (not cool at all, actually) trick here is that consumer-as-identity makes labor solidarity impossible, because hard work or labor that's valued, only YOUR (the consumer's) hard work.
The consumer is a struggling, noble worker. All those guys who make your stuff? Lazy, overpaid thieves.
The consumer is a struggling, noble worker. All those guys who make your stuff? Lazy, overpaid thieves.
May 23, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The cool (not cool at all, actually) trick here is that consumer-as-identity makes labor solidarity impossible, because hard work or labor that's valued, only YOUR (the consumer's) hard work.
The consumer is a struggling, noble worker. All those guys who make your stuff? Lazy, overpaid thieves.
The consumer is a struggling, noble worker. All those guys who make your stuff? Lazy, overpaid thieves.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Not using LLMs = touching grass.
February 5, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Not using LLMs = touching grass.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
People should be allowed to sue ICE agents for violating their rights & killing their loved ones.
That means closing the loophole that prevents federal officials from being sued & ending qualified immunity to hold federal agents accountable.
That means closing the loophole that prevents federal officials from being sued & ending qualified immunity to hold federal agents accountable.
February 5, 2026 at 1:44 AM
People should be allowed to sue ICE agents for violating their rights & killing their loved ones.
That means closing the loophole that prevents federal officials from being sued & ending qualified immunity to hold federal agents accountable.
That means closing the loophole that prevents federal officials from being sued & ending qualified immunity to hold federal agents accountable.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Class solidarity is strongest amongst the elites. Tucker supposedly hates Hunter & demonized him nightly on his show yet he felt confident in asking for this favor.
remember when Tucker Carlson asked Hunter Biden for help getting Tucker's kid into college?
February 5, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Class solidarity is strongest amongst the elites. Tucker supposedly hates Hunter & demonized him nightly on his show yet he felt confident in asking for this favor.
Reposted by Eli Sennesh
Jacob Frey: "The continued presence of 2,000 federal agents in a city that only has 600 police officers is still not deescalation"
February 4, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Jacob Frey: "The continued presence of 2,000 federal agents in a city that only has 600 police officers is still not deescalation"