Helena Miton
@helenamiton.bsky.social
Cultural evolution - Cognitive Science - Cognitive Anthropology. Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford GSB. Formerly postdoc fellow at the Santa Fe Institute.
🚨 New paper alert! (slightly belated)
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Complex technology requires cultural innovations for distributing cognition
Over the last decade, new research has shown how human collectives can develop technologies that no single individual could discover on their own. How…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
🚨 New paper alert! (slightly belated)
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We (with @joshcjackson.bsky.social) suggest that complex technologies, as they need several (often many) people to use them, require innovations that distribute cognition to help regulate cognitive load and coordinate.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Helena Miton
@helenamiton.bsky.social and I have a new paper out:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Past theories focus on how we evolve complex technologies (jet engines), but neglect cultural innovations that help us operate these technologies (pilot checklist)
Paper has tons of examples and new theory!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Past theories focus on how we evolve complex technologies (jet engines), but neglect cultural innovations that help us operate these technologies (pilot checklist)
Paper has tons of examples and new theory!
September 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
@helenamiton.bsky.social and I have a new paper out:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Past theories focus on how we evolve complex technologies (jet engines), but neglect cultural innovations that help us operate these technologies (pilot checklist)
Paper has tons of examples and new theory!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Past theories focus on how we evolve complex technologies (jet engines), but neglect cultural innovations that help us operate these technologies (pilot checklist)
Paper has tons of examples and new theory!
Reposted by Helena Miton
Check out this excellent new article by Ekstrom et al., "The Phoneme as a Cognitive Tool", in the special issue of Topics in Cognitive Science, "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories", which I'm co-editing with @helenamiton.bsky.social.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Phoneme as a Cognitive Tool
Phonemes—the basic sound units of language—function as cognitive tools that shape and extend human thinking. This article explores how phonemes are biologically grounded yet culturally variable, play...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 5, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Check out this excellent new article by Ekstrom et al., "The Phoneme as a Cognitive Tool", in the special issue of Topics in Cognitive Science, "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories", which I'm co-editing with @helenamiton.bsky.social.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Helena Miton
Check out Penelope Scott's great new article, "Medical Recipes in Early Medieval English" part of the special issue I'm co-editing with @helenamiton.bsky.social in Topics in Cognitive Science, "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories".
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Medical Recipes in Early Medieval English: A Cultural Linguistic Perspective on the Cognition of Health and Illness
An exploration of an Early Medieval English medical text, Bald's Leechbook, from a Cultural Linguistic perspective. An overview of cultural schemas for medical ailments and recipes, including those w...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Check out Penelope Scott's great new article, "Medical Recipes in Early Medieval English" part of the special issue I'm co-editing with @helenamiton.bsky.social in Topics in Cognitive Science, "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories".
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Helena Miton
In 'Cosmovision as cognitive technology', @helendecruz.net and Johan de Smedt analyze the Cruz-Badianus (Nahua / Aztec) herbarium as a tool to scaffold knowledge of a distinctive cosmology of the body. 3/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Cosmovision as Cognitive Technology: The Case of Mesoamerican Medicinal Knowledge
We examine the use of cognitive technologies in botanical knowledge for medicinal purposes in the Nahua (Aztec) Cruz-Badianus codex. The Mesoamerican cosmovision, especially the association of human ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
In 'Cosmovision as cognitive technology', @helendecruz.net and Johan de Smedt analyze the Cruz-Badianus (Nahua / Aztec) herbarium as a tool to scaffold knowledge of a distinctive cosmology of the body. 3/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Helena Miton
In 'Time Tools', @kensycoop.bsky.social investigates the concepts, practices, and artifacts we use to concretize, coordinate, and measure time. 2/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Time Tools
Humans understand time in a way no other animal does. This is not because of our evolved biology, however—it is because we have developed a diverse and powerful toolkit of ideas, practices, and artif...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
In 'Time Tools', @kensycoop.bsky.social investigates the concepts, practices, and artifacts we use to concretize, coordinate, and measure time. 2/3
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Helena Miton
Two new articles came out this week in the special issue of Topics in Cognitive Science "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories", edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me: 1/3
May 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Two new articles came out this week in the special issue of Topics in Cognitive Science "Cognitive Technologies and their Histories", edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me: 1/3
Reposted by Helena Miton
🚨Job alert! Two-year postdoc to join the Rep2SI project at @lsemethodology.bsky.social! We're looking for a modeller to join our team of ethnographers & experimentalists studying the role of reputation and reputational concern in perpetuating social inequality.
Apply by 4 May: tinyurl.com/yjccd3vv
Apply by 4 May: tinyurl.com/yjccd3vv
April 1, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🚨Job alert! Two-year postdoc to join the Rep2SI project at @lsemethodology.bsky.social! We're looking for a modeller to join our team of ethnographers & experimentalists studying the role of reputation and reputational concern in perpetuating social inequality.
Apply by 4 May: tinyurl.com/yjccd3vv
Apply by 4 May: tinyurl.com/yjccd3vv
Reposted by Helena Miton
The CultureLab at PSL, Paris, is recruiting a research engineer in #dh, computational social sciences and cultural evolution.
We're looking for skills in data science, machine learning and programming.
4 years position.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/323661
We're looking for skills in data science, machine learning and programming.
4 years position.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/323661
Ingénieur de recherches en sciences humaines et sociales computationnelles
Project context and objectives:
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
March 13, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The CultureLab at PSL, Paris, is recruiting a research engineer in #dh, computational social sciences and cultural evolution.
We're looking for skills in data science, machine learning and programming.
4 years position.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/323661
We're looking for skills in data science, machine learning and programming.
4 years position.
euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/323661
Reposted by Helena Miton
I'm hiring a new lab manager!
Deadline to apply is April 1st. More details here: www.chicagobooth.edu/-/media/facu...
I formed some of my deepest and most impactful partnerships as a lab manager, and it's a position that I highly value.
If you are a PI, please circulate to possible applicants!
Deadline to apply is April 1st. More details here: www.chicagobooth.edu/-/media/facu...
I formed some of my deepest and most impactful partnerships as a lab manager, and it's a position that I highly value.
If you are a PI, please circulate to possible applicants!
March 5, 2025 at 1:47 AM
I'm hiring a new lab manager!
Deadline to apply is April 1st. More details here: www.chicagobooth.edu/-/media/facu...
I formed some of my deepest and most impactful partnerships as a lab manager, and it's a position that I highly value.
If you are a PI, please circulate to possible applicants!
Deadline to apply is April 1st. More details here: www.chicagobooth.edu/-/media/facu...
I formed some of my deepest and most impactful partnerships as a lab manager, and it's a position that I highly value.
If you are a PI, please circulate to possible applicants!
Reposted by Helena Miton
"Information Architectures: A Framework for Understanding Socio-Technical Systems" is in press at npj Complexity. Normally I might wait until publication to share, but given the relevance to our rapidly-changing world, it seemed worth sharing now. osf.io/preprints/so...
February 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
"Information Architectures: A Framework for Understanding Socio-Technical Systems" is in press at npj Complexity. Normally I might wait until publication to share, but given the relevance to our rapidly-changing world, it seemed worth sharing now. osf.io/preprints/so...
🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 If you use a writing system and/or a language with sounds (which, come on, if you're reading this, you do!), and are curious to learn more about how these systems encode information (you should be), please enjoy our latest paper - fresh off the press!
🚨 New paper! 🚨 by Yoolim Kim, @helenamiton.bsky.social, Marc Allassonnière Tang, & myself, in Journal of Memory and Language. We tried to do for letter shapes what phonologists did for speech sounds. doi.org/10.1016/j.jm... A 🧵 (1/14)
February 19, 2025 at 9:58 PM
🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 If you use a writing system and/or a language with sounds (which, come on, if you're reading this, you do!), and are curious to learn more about how these systems encode information (you should be), please enjoy our latest paper - fresh off the press!
Alberto said it all - it's a pretty fantastic opportunity for a Junior researcher in Computational Social Sciences, go apply! Deadline is March 20th, 2025.
PSL CultureLab "Chaire d’excellence" - five years Junior research fellow in Computational Social Sciences in Paris. Fantastic position, research still ongoing, the new deadline is March 20, 2025. More info at: cognition.ens.fr/en/job/junio...
Offers: Junior Excellence Chairs in Computational Social Sciences (five years) at PSL university (Paris) | DEC Département d'études cognitives
PhD student : Position
cognition.ens.fr
February 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Alberto said it all - it's a pretty fantastic opportunity for a Junior researcher in Computational Social Sciences, go apply! Deadline is March 20th, 2025.
Reposted by Helena Miton
💥Postdoc Opening! 💥We (@lucasmolleman.bsky.social & Piet van den Berg) seek a postdoc to study social learning and cultural evolution. We are looking for someone with math/computational modeling skills & interest in human behavior. Get in touch if you have any questions! shorturl.at/W6Qsb
Postdoktor i beräkningspsykologi/kognitionsvetenskap med fokus på social inlärning och kulturell evolution
Vill du bidra till medicinsk forskning av toppkvalitet? Gruppen Mechanisms of Social Behavior vid Karolinska Institutet i Stockholm söker en högt kvalificerad postdoktoral forskare för att ingå i
ki.varbi.com
January 30, 2025 at 7:39 AM
💥Postdoc Opening! 💥We (@lucasmolleman.bsky.social & Piet van den Berg) seek a postdoc to study social learning and cultural evolution. We are looking for someone with math/computational modeling skills & interest in human behavior. Get in touch if you have any questions! shorturl.at/W6Qsb
Reposted by Helena Miton
For our junior colleagues in the US looking for opportunities, Europe is a great place to do science 🧪 We have a #postdoc call open right now! #complexity
csh.ac.at/education/po...
csh.ac.at/education/po...
PostDoc Program * Complexity Science Hub
Education
csh.ac.at
February 3, 2025 at 9:18 PM
For our junior colleagues in the US looking for opportunities, Europe is a great place to do science 🧪 We have a #postdoc call open right now! #complexity
csh.ac.at/education/po...
csh.ac.at/education/po...
Reposted by Helena Miton
🏰 PhD position on computational modelling | collective dynamics | cultural evolution 🏰
Get in touch with any questions you might have and join me in beautiful Marburg!
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/c... (Deutsch)
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/3... (English)
Get in touch with any questions you might have and join me in beautiful Marburg!
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/c... (Deutsch)
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/3... (English)
February 3, 2025 at 8:52 AM
🏰 PhD position on computational modelling | collective dynamics | cultural evolution 🏰
Get in touch with any questions you might have and join me in beautiful Marburg!
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/c... (Deutsch)
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/3... (English)
Get in touch with any questions you might have and join me in beautiful Marburg!
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/c... (Deutsch)
stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/3... (English)
So it's hard to believe, but it has been 10 years (!) since my first scientific publication - on the cultural success of bloodletting with @hugoreasoning.bsky.social and Nicolas Claidière. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Universal cognitive mechanisms explain the cultural success of bloodletting
Bloodletting—the practice of letting blood out to cure a patient—was for centuries one of the main therapies in the west. We lay out three potential e…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 23, 2025 at 1:14 AM
So it's hard to believe, but it has been 10 years (!) since my first scientific publication - on the cultural success of bloodletting with @hugoreasoning.bsky.social and Nicolas Claidière. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Helena Miton
We're hiring! Are you a cultural evolutionary modeller who wants to understand how and why children's peer cultures evolve? Here's a postdoc position for you! @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social @durhampsych.bsky.social @ehbea.bsky.social @eslr.bsky.social
Apply here: durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Apply here: durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
durham.taleo.net
January 14, 2025 at 12:38 PM
We're hiring! Are you a cultural evolutionary modeller who wants to understand how and why children's peer cultures evolve? Here's a postdoc position for you! @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social @durhampsych.bsky.social @ehbea.bsky.social @eslr.bsky.social
Apply here: durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Apply here: durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Reposted by Helena Miton
Major JOB ALERT! I and close colleagues have 4 (!) positions open. So if you're looking for a postdoc or PhD, do read on:
January 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Major JOB ALERT! I and close colleagues have 4 (!) positions open. So if you're looking for a postdoc or PhD, do read on:
Reposted by Helena Miton
New article in our special issue 'Cognitive Technologies and their Histories': Ottaviano et al., "Metaphors and the invention of writing"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Metaphors and the Invention of Writing
Metaphor, including its sub-categories pars pro toto and metonymy, plays a crucial role in the formation of the earliest invented scripts in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China, yet it has been understudied...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 27, 2024 at 4:07 PM
New article in our special issue 'Cognitive Technologies and their Histories': Ottaviano et al., "Metaphors and the invention of writing"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@schrisomalis.bsky.social already said it better than I will, but @antiquethought.bsky.social's article on memory palaces is exemplary in how to explore what "dead minds" did.
And if it's your jam, stay tuned! We have more cool stuff coming up in this special issue :)
And if it's your jam, stay tuned! We have more cool stuff coming up in this special issue :)
October 24, 2024 at 6:08 AM
@schrisomalis.bsky.social already said it better than I will, but @antiquethought.bsky.social's article on memory palaces is exemplary in how to explore what "dead minds" did.
And if it's your jam, stay tuned! We have more cool stuff coming up in this special issue :)
And if it's your jam, stay tuned! We have more cool stuff coming up in this special issue :)
Reposted by Helena Miton
In this fantastic new article, @antiquethought.bsky.social talks about ancient Roman 'memory palace' practices in light of modern cognitive science research on memory.
(This is the first article in a special issue on historical cognitive technologies, edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me.)
(This is the first article in a special issue on historical cognitive technologies, edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me.)
What Kind of Cognitive Technology Is the “Memory House”?
Ancient Roman “technical memory” is not (as much of the modern specialist literature would have it) a generative technology of association, but a specialized tool for precise serial recall. While the....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 23, 2024 at 1:46 AM
In this fantastic new article, @antiquethought.bsky.social talks about ancient Roman 'memory palace' practices in light of modern cognitive science research on memory.
(This is the first article in a special issue on historical cognitive technologies, edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me.)
(This is the first article in a special issue on historical cognitive technologies, edited by @helenamiton.bsky.social and me.)
For folks who have had to navigate early career stages with an unstable personal/romantic life/heartbreak(s), especially if they are far geographically from most of their support system, do you have any advice on how to do it? Does it ever get easier?
September 17, 2024 at 8:05 PM
For folks who have had to navigate early career stages with an unstable personal/romantic life/heartbreak(s), especially if they are far geographically from most of their support system, do you have any advice on how to do it? Does it ever get easier?
Reposted by Helena Miton
So cool to meet all these fantastic scholars in person for the first time after interacting (collaborating, reviewing, debating, etc) only virtually for many years
@masonyoungblood.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social @helenamiton.bsky.social
@masonyoungblood.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social @helenamiton.bsky.social
September 8, 2024 at 11:08 PM
So cool to meet all these fantastic scholars in person for the first time after interacting (collaborating, reviewing, debating, etc) only virtually for many years
@masonyoungblood.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social @helenamiton.bsky.social
@masonyoungblood.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social @helenamiton.bsky.social
Reposted by Helena Miton
Information Architectures: A Framework for Understanding Socio-Technical Systems
New paper that came out of a workshop I co-organized at @sfiscience.bsky.social in May 2023 with a large interdisciplinary group.
osf.io/preprints/so...
New paper that came out of a workshop I co-organized at @sfiscience.bsky.social in May 2023 with a large interdisciplinary group.
osf.io/preprints/so...
September 5, 2024 at 5:41 PM
Information Architectures: A Framework for Understanding Socio-Technical Systems
New paper that came out of a workshop I co-organized at @sfiscience.bsky.social in May 2023 with a large interdisciplinary group.
osf.io/preprints/so...
New paper that came out of a workshop I co-organized at @sfiscience.bsky.social in May 2023 with a large interdisciplinary group.
osf.io/preprints/so...