Liam Wignall
@liamwignall.bsky.social
In no particular order: Academic, Psychologist, Kink/BDSM/Sex Researcher, Gay, ADHD, Weightlifter, Reader.
Co-Editor: Psychology & Sexuality
www.thekinkscale.com
Co-Editor: Psychology & Sexuality
www.thekinkscale.com
Reposted by Liam Wignall
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
I'm using January to finally sort out things. Ive got over 1000 files in my downloads and my folders have too many things in different places. This is the year of keeping on top of things (and not saving files as FINAL MANUSCRIPT VERSION 3.5...)
January 5, 2026 at 10:07 AM
I'm using January to finally sort out things. Ive got over 1000 files in my downloads and my folders have too many things in different places. This is the year of keeping on top of things (and not saving files as FINAL MANUSCRIPT VERSION 3.5...)
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Are the arts and humanities still needed as universities retrench staff and cut costs? Patty Raun explains why curtailing or eliminating these disciplines is an egregious mistake: https://ow.ly/BGJ350XR8Oz #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky
How universities can cultivate arts and humanities in practical, affordable ways
Are the arts and humanities still needed as universities retrench staff and cut costs? Patty Raun explains why curtailing or eliminating these disciplines is an egregious mistake
ow.ly
January 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Are the arts and humanities still needed as universities retrench staff and cut costs? Patty Raun explains why curtailing or eliminating these disciplines is an egregious mistake: https://ow.ly/BGJ350XR8Oz #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Did you know that from tomorrow, Qualtrics is offering synthetic panels (AI-generated participants)?
Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"
Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"
December 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Did you know that from tomorrow, Qualtrics is offering synthetic panels (AI-generated participants)?
Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"
Follow me down a rabbit hole I'm calling "doing science is tough and I'm so busy, can't we just make up participants?"
Reposted by Liam Wignall
AI research itself is facing a slop problem with some authors claiming to produce over 100 papers a year
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Artificial intelligence research has a slop problem, academics say: ‘It’s a mess’
AI research in question as author claims to have written over 100 papers on AI that one expert calls a ‘disaster’
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:04 PM
AI research itself is facing a slop problem with some authors claiming to produce over 100 papers a year
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Pantone colour of the year being white is just tone deaf.
December 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Pantone colour of the year being white is just tone deaf.
I did an interview with Mashable about #Pillion, discussing how kink is often represented in popular media. It's a great short contextual insight that you can watch here: mashable.com/video/romcom...
Are mainstream films finally getting BDSM right?
Pillion and Babygirl are some of the most recent examples of kink representation in mainstream cinema. But how did BDSM become romcom material?
mashable.com
November 29, 2025 at 11:37 AM
I did an interview with Mashable about #Pillion, discussing how kink is often represented in popular media. It's a great short contextual insight that you can watch here: mashable.com/video/romcom...
Reposted by Liam Wignall
It's time to remove laptops from classrooms.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
November 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It's time to remove laptops from classrooms.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.
The pen is mightier than the keyboard.
Reposted by Liam Wignall
This is one of the worst, most horrifying exposures we have ever seen. It is hard to overstate how bad the things that people are using tools like for are, and it's insane to pretend like these tools are anything other than nonconsensual porn machines
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
Massive Leak Shows Erotic Chatbot Users Turned Women’s Yearbook Pictures Into AI Porn
Chatbot roleplay and image generator platform SecretDesires.ai left cloud storage containers of nearly two million of images and videos exposed, including photos and full names of women from social me...
www.404media.co
November 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
This is one of the worst, most horrifying exposures we have ever seen. It is hard to overstate how bad the things that people are using tools like for are, and it's insane to pretend like these tools are anything other than nonconsensual porn machines
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
Reposted by Liam Wignall
While “No Nut November” is a relatively recent phenomenon, it has deep roots and reflects humans’ longstanding and very complicated relationship with self-pleasure. Dr. Eric Sprankle https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast/episode-450-the-weird-history-of-masturbation/
Episode 450: The Weird History Of Masturbation - Sex and Psychology
In today's show, we're talking about the history of masturbation and why our relationship with self-pleasure is so complicated.
www.sexandpsychology.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:30 PM
While “No Nut November” is a relatively recent phenomenon, it has deep roots and reflects humans’ longstanding and very complicated relationship with self-pleasure. Dr. Eric Sprankle https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast/episode-450-the-weird-history-of-masturbation/
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Far too little attention's given to this in research methods training. And since online surveys are now the default method - wrongly assumed to be quick, easy and cheap - we're in a big mess of our own making.
Even if 'real people' respond, surveys are often so badly designed data is meaningless.
Even if 'real people' respond, surveys are often so badly designed data is meaningless.
We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people.”
A Researcher Made an AI That Completely Breaks the Online Surveys Scientists Rely On
We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people.”
www.404media.co
November 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Far too little attention's given to this in research methods training. And since online surveys are now the default method - wrongly assumed to be quick, easy and cheap - we're in a big mess of our own making.
Even if 'real people' respond, surveys are often so badly designed data is meaningless.
Even if 'real people' respond, surveys are often so badly designed data is meaningless.
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Just made this. I’m a widely respected intellectual, you know
November 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Just made this. I’m a widely respected intellectual, you know
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Although only 2-3% of people say they're currently in an open relationship, about 1 in 5 say they've had an open relationship before. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2019/4/17/one-in-five-people-report-having-been-in-a-sexually-open-relationship/
One in Five People Report Having Been in a Sexually Open Relationship - Sex and Psychology
How many people have ever been involved in a consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationship before? The results of two recent studies involving nationally representative samples (one from the United States and one from Canada) reached nearly identical conclusions: approximately 20% (or 1 in 5) respondents said they had.The U.S. study is from 2016 and it was previously covered on the blog here; however, the Canadian study just came out, so here are a few of the highlights from it.
www.sexandpsychology.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Although only 2-3% of people say they're currently in an open relationship, about 1 in 5 say they've had an open relationship before. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2019/4/17/one-in-five-people-report-having-been-in-a-sexually-open-relationship/
Reposted by Liam Wignall
a mental health crisis among British students whilst universities are pushing faculty to accept or even encourage students using generative AI is a catastrophe waiting to happen
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 9:19 PM
a mental health crisis among British students whilst universities are pushing faculty to accept or even encourage students using generative AI is a catastrophe waiting to happen
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Can everyone please just stop using AI until it's actually good
November 5, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Can everyone please just stop using AI until it's actually good
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Evidence that academics have been complaining about service roles for about 3000 years...
November 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Evidence that academics have been complaining about service roles for about 3000 years...
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Mariah Carey - It's Time!!!! (2025)
YouTube video by Mariah Carey
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Reposted by Liam Wignall
How a free weekly breakfast initiative at one university’s School of Chemistry has strengthened student belonging, improved attendance and proved surprisingly easy to sustain on a small budget: https://ow.ly/YHbJ50XjT8f #Academia #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky
October 31, 2025 at 10:05 AM
How a free weekly breakfast initiative at one university’s School of Chemistry has strengthened student belonging, improved attendance and proved surprisingly easy to sustain on a small budget: https://ow.ly/YHbJ50XjT8f #Academia #HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky
This feels very relatable...
Logged in to ScholarOne for the journal I co-edit and jfc we had as many submissions in 2 weeks as we used to receive in 6 months 😱 Just so you understand why journal desk rejects these days give no feedback - we just can't at this wild volume. Is it the same for other journals and editors?
October 31, 2025 at 8:34 AM
This feels very relatable...
Hard hitting but unsurprising to see my childhood home in the top 1% of most deprived
October 31, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Hard hitting but unsurprising to see my childhood home in the top 1% of most deprived
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The value of public R&D
www.gov.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Government has published one of those quiet but important documents that might get overlooked as it is not 'newsy'. The headline finding is that £1 of public R&D investment generates £8 in net economic benefits for the UK over the long term
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by Liam Wignall
Judge rules George R.R. Martin and other authors can sue OpenAI for copyright infringement
• Said ChatGPT generated 'Game of Thrones' content similar enough to infringe copyright
• OpenAI’s motion to dismiss was denied
• Said ChatGPT generated 'Game of Thrones' content similar enough to infringe copyright
• OpenAI’s motion to dismiss was denied
October 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Judge rules George R.R. Martin and other authors can sue OpenAI for copyright infringement
• Said ChatGPT generated 'Game of Thrones' content similar enough to infringe copyright
• OpenAI’s motion to dismiss was denied
• Said ChatGPT generated 'Game of Thrones' content similar enough to infringe copyright
• OpenAI’s motion to dismiss was denied
Reposted by Liam Wignall
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
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The official home of the Python Programming Language
www.python.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
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This genuinely made me want a bowl of scouse, as it's been well over 10 years since I've last had one 🥲
The legend that is the Japanese Ambassador to the UK enjoying a bowl of Scouse in Liverpool
October 25, 2025 at 11:22 AM
This genuinely made me want a bowl of scouse, as it's been well over 10 years since I've last had one 🥲
Reposted by Liam Wignall
I want you to imagine what you would have said in 2005 if someone told you a company would do this and not only get away with it, but evade wide public outrage
"OpenAI twice loosened ChatGPT’s rules for discussing suicide in the year before 16-year-old Adam Raine took his own life using a method the chatbot advised him on, according to an amended lawsuit filed by his parents on Wednesday."
OpenAI Loosened Suicide-Talk Rules Before Teen’s Death, Lawsuit Alleges
An amended complaint from the parents of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide, alleges the changes were part of a push to increase engagement.
www.wsj.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
I want you to imagine what you would have said in 2005 if someone told you a company would do this and not only get away with it, but evade wide public outrage