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Maxwell Palmer

Maxwell Palmer

@maxwellpalmer.com

440 followers 490 following 56 posts

Political scientist at Boston University. Institutions + local politics + voting rights.

www.maxwellpalmer.com / www.housingpolitics.com

Political science 47%

Business 15%

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Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Sep 21

Is there an incompleteness or impossibility theorem about this? It's impossible to prevent hallucinations, and any model that reviews models to detect hallucinations is also vulnerable to hallucinations?

Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · Sep 21

"In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits."

www.computerworld.com/article/4059...

OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws

In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...

www.computerworld.com

Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Stephen R. Carpenter, Brendan Nyhan , and 23 more Meredith Broussard, Stephen R. Carpenter, Brendan Nyhan, David Dunning, Martin Paul Eve, Maxwell Palmer, Giovanna Mascheroni, Devon Greyson, Smith, Alan Richardson, Jacob T. Levy, Margot C. Finn, John Hogan, Bessma Momani, Joanna Tai, David Murakami Wood, Urška Demšar, Greg Linden, Philip Bell, Albin Wagener, Alan Liu, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Maksym Polyakov, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Gareth Terry, Carly D. Ziter

Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · Sep 21

"In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits."

www.computerworld.com/article/4059...

OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws

In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...

www.computerworld.com

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Aug 14

See our website, www.definecombine.com, for more, including an article summary and an interactive simulation where you can try DCP yourself.

The Define-Combine Procedure

The Define-Combine Procedure (DCP) is a new method for drawing redistricting plans that reduces partisan gerrymandering without requiring a neutral third party (such as an independent commission, judg...

www.definecombine.com

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Aug 14

The Define-Combine Procedure allows both parties to act in their own partisan interests but produces a fair map by dividing map-drawing power between both parties.

Instead, we believe it is possible to make reforms that keep the current electoral system while also overcoming some of its flaws. We’ve developed a process-based solution that has a number of appealing properties. It’s inspired by the problem parents face when dividing a cake between two children. How can they make sure everyone gets an equal slice? One child cuts the cake in two, and the other child chooses between the two pieces.

Our approach, which we call the “Define-Combine Procedure,” splits the map drawing process into two simple stages. First, one party divides the state into twice the number of needed districts—for example, 20 sub-districts for a state that needs 10 congressional seats. Then, the second party pairs those sub-districts into the final 10 districts. The result is a fairer map than either party would have drawn on its own. Instead of mutually assured gerrymandering, this approach leads to mutually assured representation.

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Aug 14

The redistricting battles evoke the cold war: "unilaterally disarm," "nuclear option," "mutually assured gerrymandering." We call our solution "mutually assured representation." bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 14

Newsom: "We're doing this in reaction to a president that called the governor of the state of Texas and said 'find me 5 seats' ... we cannot unilaterally disarm ... other blue states need to stand up"

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Aug 14

This piece builds on our paper in Political Analysis, “A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define-Combine Procedure.” cup.org/471aVyW

A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define–Combine Procedure | Political Analysis | Cambridge Core

A Partisan Solution to Partisan Gerrymandering: The Define–Combine Procedure - Volume 32 Issue 3

Reposted by Noah L. Nathan

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Aug 14

How to fix America's gerrymandering problem? @benschneer.bsky.social and I wrote in Time today about a solution we developed (with @cantstopkevin.bsky.social). time.com/7309565/amer...

How to Fix America’s Gerrymandering Problem

As Trump pushes states to redraw districts in favor of Republicans, this solution could help stop gerrymandering.

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 14

Newsom: "We're doing this in reaction to a president that called the governor of the state of Texas and said 'find me 5 seats' ... we cannot unilaterally disarm ... other blue states need to stand up"

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Ben Schneer @benschneer.bsky.social · Aug 14

I've been thinking through the implications of extreme gerrymandering for several years now.

Today I wrote an article in Time that lays out the problem and describes one solution.

We think that we need a "partisan" solution to partisan gerrymandering.

time.com/7309565/amer...

How to Fix America’s Gerrymandering Problem

As Trump pushes states to redraw districts in favor of Republicans, this solution could help stop gerrymandering.

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer, Tyler Simko

Ben Schneer @benschneer.bsky.social · Aug 8

You may have noticed things are happening fast in the world of redistricting…

I along with @maxwellpalmer.com and @simko.bsky.social wrote an article last week (though published today) that analyzes the changes to the congressional district map in Texas, and particularly San Antonio.

Republicans are seeking to create a durable gerrymander in Texas

Short-term tactical gains in Texas could ultimately yield a race to the bottom.

www.expressnews.com

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Katherine Levine Einstein @katherineeinst.bsky.social · Nov 26

Not sure how anyone could see @maxwellpalmer.bsky.social @davidmglick.bsky.social and my research on public meetings in MA and think that more community input will produce better development outcomes. www.housingpolitics.com/research/nei...

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Ben Schneer @benschneer.bsky.social · Jun 17

Please check out the thread and paper @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social, @maxwellpalmer.com, and I wrote below. We started this project a LONG time ago, and could never have anticipated exactly how timely it would be when it finally was published.

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

LSE US Politics and Policy blog - USAPP @lseusablog.bsky.social · Jun 12

Legislators who descend from immigrants historically supported more permissive immigration policies find @jamesfeigenbaum.bsky.social and @maxwellpalmer.com of @bostonu.bsky.social and Benjamin Schneer of @harvardkennedy.bsky.social

blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

Legislators who descend from immigrants historically supported more permissive immigration policies | USAPP

Recent years have seen dramatic shifts in Americans’ attitudes towards immigration, with a majority now favoring decreasing immigration levels. But in what is often called a “nation of immigrants”, ho...

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · Jun 5

Blocking new development doesn’t “preserve” your town—it drains your wallet.

No new homes = no new taxpayers… but guess what does grow? School budgets, potholes, annual maintenance costs and legacy pension requirements.

Fewer people to split that bill = higher taxes for you.

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · May 7

Really?

NYT spelling bee, rejecting the word “monotonic.”

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

David Roberts @volts.wtf · May 6

A truly depressing account of the enormous time, effort, & resources that go into building *anything* in blue cities.

Can not be exaggerated how much this phenomenon is crippling blue politics in the US.

www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...

How many meetings does it take in Philadelphia to build 57 affordable homes? A lot.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority and developer Pennrose have been trying to get project approval since 2019. The cost has risen, and federal funding could be at risk.

www.inquirer.com

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

becca laurie @imbeccable.bsky.social · May 6

bill de blasio in park slope, ordering his breakfast sandwich as “mi sandwich especial” and quoting the onion headline omg

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Screenshot from The New Yorker: One morning a few weeks ago, I met de Blasio at his regular coffee shop in Park Slope. He had just come from the gym—the same one that he’d insisted on commuting to every morning from Gracie Mansion, no matter how much grief the press gave him for it—and was wearing sweats. He held forth among his fellow-patrons with a spirit of magnanimous, possibly unreciprocated camaraderie, greeting a startled man by the door with a familiar “How you doing, brother?” and ordering his breakfast (scrambled egg whites, cheddar, ham, and tomato on multigrain toast) as “mi sandwich especial.” These days, de Blasio most often makes the news for his love life or for such momentous moves as dyeing his salt-and-pepper crewcut. But he’s sensed a bit of de Blasio nostalgia creeping into town. “Since I left office, the No. 1 thing that people come up to me on the street and talk about is pre-K,” he told me, lacing his iced espresso with a heavy pour of simple syrup. “The No. 2 thing that people talk about is that Onion headline.” He quoted it for me, savoring every word: “Well, well, well, not so easy to find a mayor that doesn’t suck shit, huh?”

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Jonathan Berk 🏠 @berkie1.bsky.social · Apr 30

Boston's Zoning Board of Appeals, in a 5-2 vote, rejected plans for 70-units of new housing, just 0.3mi to the MBTA's Andrew Square station, to replace a 2-story industrial building.

US Congressman Stephen Lynch (D) sent an aide to read a letter opposing the development for lack of parking...

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Mar 20

This is great music for grading midterms.

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Christopher Gavin @chrisgavin.bsky.social · Mar 17

New: Johnston, R.I., has formally taken ownership of 31 acres of land through eminent domain as it moves forward with plans to build a new Town Hall and police and fire stations there, thwarting a proposal seeking to build affordable housing at the site.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/17/m...

Johnston, R.I., follows through on seizure of land by eminent domain, halting 250-unit affordable housing project - The Boston Globe

Town officials are facing a lawsuit alleging they abused the law to block the housing “simply because they don’t want that kind of thing in their town.”

www.bostonglobe.com

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Mar 13

Also, for traffic, I think in the Boston area traffic comes up in every conversation, regardless of topic.

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Mar 13

I think we see schools mentioned more around large developments, especially affordable housing developments. Since we included every multi family development in our sample, that might affect our results.

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Feb 25

Local politics is the best politics. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

The Missing $25 Gift Card That’s Rocking the Hamptons

Mystery has prompted a disciplinary trial with 1,400 pages of testimony and derailed a school principal’s career; 38 surveillance cameras

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Feb 7

This is not helping my productivity on a day when I need to finish a report with PDF graphs.

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Feb 7

I am confident that this will be the best thing I read today.

Reposted by Maxwell Palmer

Katherine Levine Einstein @katherineeinst.bsky.social · Jan 6

This story underscores just how much communities are willing to spend to avoid building more housing. @maxwellpalmer.com and I find that communities buy land, sometimes to block affordable housing, with no plan or capacity to maintain/redevelop the property.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/01/05/m...

After eight years, Northborough has no purpose for historic White Cliffs estate - The Boston Globe

Northborough has poured millions into the White Cliffs estate. It still is unused.

www.bostonglobe.com

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Dec 30

I just completed all 25 days of Advent of Code 2024! #AdventOfCode adventofcode.com

Advent of Code 2024

adventofcode.com

Maxwell Palmer @maxwellpalmer.com · Dec 17

You can’t have enough.