Louise Pay, PhD
@louisepay.bsky.social
Scientific & Crisis Comms Consultant
Asked ChatGPT why publishers might not want to buy my non-academic book targeted at academics and it said it's because they “can't imagine academics as humans" and see them as "BRAINS ON STICKS".
On sticks?
What is this?!
We can’t even be in a vat anymore?
On sticks?
What is this?!
We can’t even be in a vat anymore?
November 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Asked ChatGPT why publishers might not want to buy my non-academic book targeted at academics and it said it's because they “can't imagine academics as humans" and see them as "BRAINS ON STICKS".
On sticks?
What is this?!
We can’t even be in a vat anymore?
On sticks?
What is this?!
We can’t even be in a vat anymore?
“The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.” (Sir John Harvey Jones)
November 17, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.” (Sir John Harvey Jones)
Epstein typed like he was writing on a Nokia 3330 without looking at the screen and if you think that wasn’t intentional…
November 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Epstein typed like he was writing on a Nokia 3330 without looking at the screen and if you think that wasn’t intentional…
Being an effective communicator in a crisis or conflict starts *outside* of your present situation. It’s our approach to conflict/disagreement in general that shapes our underlying attitudes when it unexpectedly appears in our lives.
November 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Being an effective communicator in a crisis or conflict starts *outside* of your present situation. It’s our approach to conflict/disagreement in general that shapes our underlying attitudes when it unexpectedly appears in our lives.
University faculty facing harassment, doxxing, retaliation… this is for you.
October 2, 2025 at 7:38 PM
University faculty facing harassment, doxxing, retaliation… this is for you.
So the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a regulatory inquiry into your work. Everything is falling apart…
How will you maintain their trust in you and your credibility?
open.substack.com/pub/louisepa...
How will you maintain their trust in you and your credibility?
open.substack.com/pub/louisepa...
Strategic Communication during an NIH Regulatory Inquiry
Hoping it will never happen to you won't help if it does...
open.substack.com
September 20, 2025 at 2:22 PM
So the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a regulatory inquiry into your work. Everything is falling apart…
How will you maintain their trust in you and your credibility?
open.substack.com/pub/louisepa...
How will you maintain their trust in you and your credibility?
open.substack.com/pub/louisepa...
Tired of tables moving all over the place in your Word document? Try this!
September 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Tired of tables moving all over the place in your Word document? Try this!
I recently edited a response to reviewers letter where the reviewers had pulled out a few of the author’s very nicely structured sentences and told them that they needed to change these to… not so nicely structured sentences.
September 5, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I recently edited a response to reviewers letter where the reviewers had pulled out a few of the author’s very nicely structured sentences and told them that they needed to change these to… not so nicely structured sentences.
How to delete all comments from a Microsoft Word document with one click:
August 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
How to delete all comments from a Microsoft Word document with one click:
Coauthor screwed up your formatting? Here’s a quick fix #microsoftword
August 25, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Coauthor screwed up your formatting? Here’s a quick fix #microsoftword
What if I told you you might never have typed a minus sign?
August 17, 2025 at 3:51 PM
What if I told you you might never have typed a minus sign?
Just saw an article titled “World-first pet germ study” and opened it fully expecting it to be a study on people who keep germs as pets...
August 5, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Just saw an article titled “World-first pet germ study” and opened it fully expecting it to be a study on people who keep germs as pets...
I’ve said this before and will keep saying it for as long as it is necessary:
July 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I’ve said this before and will keep saying it for as long as it is necessary:
The little things in life are what make it. My aunt keeps saying “motherfucker” at the end of sentences because of a new season of a TV show I’ve never seen and makes me laugh so much for no good reason.
July 14, 2025 at 11:40 PM
The little things in life are what make it. My aunt keeps saying “motherfucker” at the end of sentences because of a new season of a TV show I’ve never seen and makes me laugh so much for no good reason.
Knowledge without action is just potential. It does not create change.
Why soft skills, connection, and human insight still matter:
www.unfilteredacademia.com/p/nothing-fo...
Why soft skills, connection, and human insight still matter:
www.unfilteredacademia.com/p/nothing-fo...
Nothing Foreign Has Decided What We Are
Why Soft Skills, Connection, and Action Are the Keys to Meaningful Outcomes
www.unfilteredacademia.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Knowledge without action is just potential. It does not create change.
Why soft skills, connection, and human insight still matter:
www.unfilteredacademia.com/p/nothing-fo...
Why soft skills, connection, and human insight still matter:
www.unfilteredacademia.com/p/nothing-fo...
One of the editing companies I freelance for added a policy that editors cannot use *any* AI in the editing process.
I got an email about it this afternoon and am still thinking about it.
Why?
I got an email about it this afternoon and am still thinking about it.
Why?
June 13, 2025 at 12:59 AM
One of the editing companies I freelance for added a policy that editors cannot use *any* AI in the editing process.
I got an email about it this afternoon and am still thinking about it.
Why?
I got an email about it this afternoon and am still thinking about it.
Why?
The sunk cost fallacy gets us stuck doing things we don’t want to be doing any more just because we’ve spent so much time on them already.
Is this your sign to STOP?
#sunkcostfallacy #careerchange #science #success
Is this your sign to STOP?
#sunkcostfallacy #careerchange #science #success
June 11, 2025 at 10:46 PM
The sunk cost fallacy gets us stuck doing things we don’t want to be doing any more just because we’ve spent so much time on them already.
Is this your sign to STOP?
#sunkcostfallacy #careerchange #science #success
Is this your sign to STOP?
#sunkcostfallacy #careerchange #science #success
#Science #research #academia #academicediting #editor #editorial #services #scientific #medical #socialscience #academicwriting #mastersdegree #academiclife #phdlife #thesiswriting #phd #womeninstem #typos #mistake #solution #gradschool #problems #professional #expert #englishlanguage #editing
June 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
#Science #research #academia #academicediting #editor #editorial #services #scientific #medical #socialscience #academicwriting #mastersdegree #academiclife #phdlife #thesiswriting #phd #womeninstem #typos #mistake #solution #gradschool #problems #professional #expert #englishlanguage #editing
June 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
#Science #research #academia #academicediting #editor #editorial #services #scientific #medical #socialscience #academicwriting #mastersdegree #academiclife #phdlife #thesiswriting #phd #womeninstem #typos #mistake #solution #gradschool #problems #professional #expert #englishlanguage #editing
June 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Inspired by a random internet commenter hating on my friend’s perfect presentation slide… this week’s Substack post will be about presentation slides and why you DON’T want them to be the excessively designed, pretty, visual-heavy version you might find on Canva and Envato.
June 10, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Inspired by a random internet commenter hating on my friend’s perfect presentation slide… this week’s Substack post will be about presentation slides and why you DON’T want them to be the excessively designed, pretty, visual-heavy version you might find on Canva and Envato.
#Science #research #academia #academicediting #editor #editorial #services #scientific #medical #socialscience #academicwriting #mastersdegree #academiclife #phdlife #thesiswriting #phd #womeninstem #typos #mistake #solution #gradschool #problems #professional #expert #englishlanguage #editing
June 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM
#Science #research #academia #academicediting #editor #editorial #services #scientific #medical #socialscience #academicwriting #mastersdegree #academiclife #phdlife #thesiswriting #phd #womeninstem #typos #mistake #solution #gradschool #problems #professional #expert #englishlanguage #editing
June 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM