Rob Chavez
@robchavez.bsky.social
Associate professor and neurobumpkin at University of Oregon. Attempting to study social cognitive neurons and oligodendrocytes with human neuroimaging. New Mexican expat, but I have friends everywhere. csnl.uoregon.edu
Oliver Sacks has always been one of my favorite writers, & I've tried to emulate him for a long time. However, anyone who has spent any real effort trying to translate their real-world experience into a compelling narrative knows how unstructured, anticlimactic, and uninteresting reality really is.
Incredible piece on Oliver Sacks. If you were ever awed at his supposedly true stories (I remember being stunned by the account of the autistic twins who rattled off large prime numbers), read this. He told wonderful stories, but they were in large part fiction.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost?
The scientist was famous for linking healing with storytelling. Sometimes that meant reshaping patients’ reality.
www.newyorker.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Oliver Sacks has always been one of my favorite writers, & I've tried to emulate him for a long time. However, anyone who has spent any real effort trying to translate their real-world experience into a compelling narrative knows how unstructured, anticlimactic, and uninteresting reality really is.
Reposted by Rob Chavez
"ai is inevitable" is a high accuracy indicator of "I am a sucker"
"the tech is inevitable" is not the winning argument you think it is in this debate*
*applies to many debates
*applies to many debates
December 10, 2025 at 6:39 AM
"ai is inevitable" is a high accuracy indicator of "I am a sucker"
Code red.... Does anyone know a not-by-hand hack to grade 493 scantrons without a scantron machine?
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December 10, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Code red.... Does anyone know a not-by-hand hack to grade 493 scantrons without a scantron machine?
⚰️
⚰️
But for real, I think my wife has legit won this game... ⚰️
December 4, 2025 at 12:06 AM
But for real, I think my wife has legit won this game... ⚰️
Reposted by Rob Chavez
ManuscriptCentral Wrapped!
In 2025, you submitted 5 papers
AND all got rejected 🎉
You spent 💯 minutes in total trying to submit your papers!
You reviewed for 10 journals that would never publish your papers ❤️
In 2025, you submitted 5 papers
AND all got rejected 🎉
You spent 💯 minutes in total trying to submit your papers!
You reviewed for 10 journals that would never publish your papers ❤️
They should do MyChart Wrapped
December 3, 2025 at 11:40 PM
ManuscriptCentral Wrapped!
In 2025, you submitted 5 papers
AND all got rejected 🎉
You spent 💯 minutes in total trying to submit your papers!
You reviewed for 10 journals that would never publish your papers ❤️
In 2025, you submitted 5 papers
AND all got rejected 🎉
You spent 💯 minutes in total trying to submit your papers!
You reviewed for 10 journals that would never publish your papers ❤️
Reposted by Rob Chavez
I think I now have a much better understanding of why these dorks are so impressed by ChatGPT.
November 13, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I think I now have a much better understanding of why these dorks are so impressed by ChatGPT.
My former honors student RA (who co-authored a paper with us as an undergrad!) is reporter for the ABC News Medical Unit and a prolific NYC health journalist.
It's very gratifying to be a way station on folk's journey through success.
Here's his latest:
abcnews.go.com/US/whooping-...
It's very gratifying to be a way station on folk's journey through success.
Here's his latest:
abcnews.go.com/US/whooping-...
Whooping cough cases skyrocket in Texas, quadrupling last year's numbers
Texas is currently seeing four times the number of whooping cough cases compared to the same time last year.
abcnews.go.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
My former honors student RA (who co-authored a paper with us as an undergrad!) is reporter for the ABC News Medical Unit and a prolific NYC health journalist.
It's very gratifying to be a way station on folk's journey through success.
Here's his latest:
abcnews.go.com/US/whooping-...
It's very gratifying to be a way station on folk's journey through success.
Here's his latest:
abcnews.go.com/US/whooping-...
I'm as happy as the next person that Bass Pro Shops is now a fashion statement, but I already miss all the Carhartt.
November 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I'm as happy as the next person that Bass Pro Shops is now a fashion statement, but I already miss all the Carhartt.
If you are on the editorial board of a journal and you haven't reviewed a paper for that journal in over 1000 days and you get sent a request to review and you decline that request and you don't even have the courtesy to recommend other reviews.... you shouldn't be on that editorial board.
November 11, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If you are on the editorial board of a journal and you haven't reviewed a paper for that journal in over 1000 days and you get sent a request to review and you decline that request and you don't even have the courtesy to recommend other reviews.... you shouldn't be on that editorial board.
... and a faculty meeting is less a Council of Elrond than it is an HOA.
A university committee is a gathering of important people who individually can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done.
November 5, 2025 at 12:14 AM
... and a faculty meeting is less a Council of Elrond than it is an HOA.
A university committee is a gathering of important people who individually can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done.
November 5, 2025 at 12:13 AM
A university committee is a gathering of important people who individually can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done.
Reposted by Rob Chavez
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-...
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Rob Chavez
Spotted on LinkedIn... a bad AI summary of our new paper on risks of AI in research.
Please make it stop.
Please make it stop.
October 23, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Spotted on LinkedIn... a bad AI summary of our new paper on risks of AI in research.
Please make it stop.
Please make it stop.
Reposted by Rob Chavez
📢 Thrilled to share our paper is out now in @natcomms.nature.com
Shared computations underlie how we acquire actions that are mutually beneficial, instrumentally harmful (benefits self at the expense of others), altruistic (benefit others at the expense of self), or mutually costly
🧵 rdcu.be/eL8mZ
Shared computations underlie how we acquire actions that are mutually beneficial, instrumentally harmful (benefits self at the expense of others), altruistic (benefit others at the expense of self), or mutually costly
🧵 rdcu.be/eL8mZ
Neurocomputational basis of learning when choices simultaneously affect both oneself and others
Nature Communications - When learning to make choices that simultaneously affect the self and others, asymmetric encoding of information guides future social behaviors across mutually beneficial,...
rdcu.be
October 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
📢 Thrilled to share our paper is out now in @natcomms.nature.com
Shared computations underlie how we acquire actions that are mutually beneficial, instrumentally harmful (benefits self at the expense of others), altruistic (benefit others at the expense of self), or mutually costly
🧵 rdcu.be/eL8mZ
Shared computations underlie how we acquire actions that are mutually beneficial, instrumentally harmful (benefits self at the expense of others), altruistic (benefit others at the expense of self), or mutually costly
🧵 rdcu.be/eL8mZ
Hell hath no fury like the inbox of the professor of a 500 student (mostly freshman) intro class when AWS causes Canvas to go down on the day an assignment is due and on the week of their first exam.
a man in a suit and tie is saying help help
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is saying help help
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Hell hath no fury like the inbox of the professor of a 500 student (mostly freshman) intro class when AWS causes Canvas to go down on the day an assignment is due and on the week of their first exam.
Reposted by Rob Chavez
New tenure track faculty position in glia and/or neurovascular coupling! Please come join us!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30864
#neurosky #neuroskyence #glia #neurojobs
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30864
#neurosky #neuroskyence #glia #neurojobs
University of Oregon, Department of Human Physiology
Job #AJO30864, Assistant/Associate Professor of Human Physiology with a Glia and Neurovascular focus, Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, US
academicjobsonline.org
October 15, 2025 at 5:40 PM
New tenure track faculty position in glia and/or neurovascular coupling! Please come join us!
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30864
#neurosky #neuroskyence #glia #neurojobs
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30864
#neurosky #neuroskyence #glia #neurojobs
Reposted by Rob Chavez
Out now in @nathumbehav.nature.com! We applied graph theoretic analyses to fMRI data of participants watching movies/listening to stories. Integration across large-scale functional networks mediates arousal-dependent enhancement of narrative memories. Open access link: rdcu.be/eKKAw
October 13, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Out now in @nathumbehav.nature.com! We applied graph theoretic analyses to fMRI data of participants watching movies/listening to stories. Integration across large-scale functional networks mediates arousal-dependent enhancement of narrative memories. Open access link: rdcu.be/eKKAw
Everyone keeps stealing my bit!
October 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Everyone keeps stealing my bit!
Every time I post on LinkedIn, know that a little part of my soul just died (...and the rest I already sold to Microsoft to boost productivity and identify actionable insights for stakeholders).
October 9, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Every time I post on LinkedIn, know that a little part of my soul just died (...and the rest I already sold to Microsoft to boost productivity and identify actionable insights for stakeholders).
Reposted by Rob Chavez
I'm recruiting PhD students to join my new lab in Fall 2026! The Shared Minds Lab at @usc.edu will combine deep learning and ecological human neuroscience to better understand how we communicate our thoughts from one brain to another.
October 1, 2025 at 10:39 PM
I'm recruiting PhD students to join my new lab in Fall 2026! The Shared Minds Lab at @usc.edu will combine deep learning and ecological human neuroscience to better understand how we communicate our thoughts from one brain to another.
Reposted by Rob Chavez
Last Friday, Curtis Phills and I ran our first conference! Introducing CODES. The Consortium of Oregon Diversity and Equity Scholars! We were excited to bring together folks across Oregon who do diversity science work. We need community more than ever. Hope we can continue this in future years...
September 30, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Last Friday, Curtis Phills and I ran our first conference! Introducing CODES. The Consortium of Oregon Diversity and Equity Scholars! We were excited to bring together folks across Oregon who do diversity science work. We need community more than ever. Hope we can continue this in future years...
Reposted by Rob Chavez
I’m admitting 1–2 Ph.D. students to join my lab in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU Boulder, starting Fall 2026. We study person perception, stereotyping and prejudice, and intervention science.
Application info: www.colorado.edu/psych-neuro/...
Lab info: www.svmlab.org
Application info: www.colorado.edu/psych-neuro/...
Lab info: www.svmlab.org
Colorado Social Vision & Mind Lab
The Social Vision & Mind Lab (Director: Youngki Hong, Ph.D.) at the University of Colorado Boulder explores how people perceive and make sense of the physica...
www.svmlab.org
September 10, 2025 at 6:35 AM
I’m admitting 1–2 Ph.D. students to join my lab in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU Boulder, starting Fall 2026. We study person perception, stereotyping and prejudice, and intervention science.
Application info: www.colorado.edu/psych-neuro/...
Lab info: www.svmlab.org
Application info: www.colorado.edu/psych-neuro/...
Lab info: www.svmlab.org
Reposted by Rob Chavez
University of Colorado Boulder Psychology & Neuroscience is searching for TWO tenure track assistant professors!!
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
#socialpsychology #cogpsyc #PsychSciSky #PsychJob
#psycjobs #psychology
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jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
#socialpsychology #cogpsyc #PsychSciSky #PsychJob
#psycjobs #psychology
1/n
Assistant Professor
jobs.colorado.edu
September 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
University of Colorado Boulder Psychology & Neuroscience is searching for TWO tenure track assistant professors!!
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
#socialpsychology #cogpsyc #PsychSciSky #PsychJob
#psycjobs #psychology
1/n
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
#socialpsychology #cogpsyc #PsychSciSky #PsychJob
#psycjobs #psychology
1/n
Me just realizing our Fall term starts in a week..
September 21, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Me just realizing our Fall term starts in a week..
Reposted by Rob Chavez
If you can't be bothered to read, why are trying to be a scientist. Baffling...
Reading papers is a basic skill (and dare I say duty?) of scientists, and I include medical doctors in that group. Keeping abreast of the literature is a foundational part of our professions. There aren’t good shortcuts. In any case, reading papers regularly is fun.
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/s...
arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/s...
Science journalists find ChatGPT is bad at summarizing scientific papers
LLM “tended to sacrifice accuracy for simplicity” when writing news briefs.
arstechnica.com
September 21, 2025 at 3:12 PM
If you can't be bothered to read, why are trying to be a scientist. Baffling...