Stephen Chrisomalis
@schrisomalis.bsky.social
Linguistic anthropologist, Wayne State University. Numbers, cognition, writing and literacy, mathematics. Left, 🇨🇦, he/him. https://glossographia.com/ https://phrontistery.info
Pinned
Reckonings
Insights from the history of numerical notation suggest that how humans write numbers is an active choice involving cognitive and social factors.Over the pas...
mitpress.mit.edu
Hey folks, good to see new people here! I mostly post academic stuff. I do research on numbers as cultural and cognitive things. mitpress.mit.edu/978026204463...
But for those of you less book-inclined, let me point you to some podcasts I've featured on, by some amazing Bluesky folks: 1/
But for those of you less book-inclined, let me point you to some podcasts I've featured on, by some amazing Bluesky folks: 1/
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
Despite frequent remonstrations from digital archivists, Persephone never accepted that she could not photocopy a whole book in one go.
December 21, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Despite frequent remonstrations from digital archivists, Persephone never accepted that she could not photocopy a whole book in one go.
A propos of nothing other than my rich Canadian raising, 'outie' and 'Audi' are certainly not homophones for me.
December 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM
A propos of nothing other than my rich Canadian raising, 'outie' and 'Audi' are certainly not homophones for me.
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
After 18 months in development, the Dana watch is now available for preorder on Kickstarter, featuring 12 different numerical notations, featuring my numeral designs and historical background. A great gift for those interested in numbers or writing systems!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
Dana Timepieces: A Watch Featuring A Journey Through Time
A timepiece that reveals the global majesty of numbers and highlights the deeply historical and cultural ways we think about time.
www.kickstarter.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:29 PM
After 18 months in development, the Dana watch is now available for preorder on Kickstarter, featuring 12 different numerical notations, featuring my numeral designs and historical background. A great gift for those interested in numbers or writing systems!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
This is great, "Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death," a story where Isaac Chotiner interviews the guy who administers the lottery from "The Lottery"
archiveofourown.org/works/733964...
archiveofourown.org/works/733964...
Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death - Anonymous - The Lottery - Shirley Jackson [Archive of Our Own]
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
archiveofourown.org
December 28, 2025 at 7:16 PM
This is great, "Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death," a story where Isaac Chotiner interviews the guy who administers the lottery from "The Lottery"
archiveofourown.org/works/733964...
archiveofourown.org/works/733964...
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
I'm really proud of my involvement in this project, shaping the concept of the Dana watch, selecting 12 numeral signs from across the world, and historical consultation. A great gift for lovers of writing systems, mathematics, archaeology, and language!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
Dana Timepieces: A Watch Featuring A Journey Through Time
A timepiece that reveals the global majesty of numbers and highlights the deeply historical and cultural ways we think about time.
www.kickstarter.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:12 PM
I'm really proud of my involvement in this project, shaping the concept of the Dana watch, selecting 12 numeral signs from across the world, and historical consultation. A great gift for lovers of writing systems, mathematics, archaeology, and language!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
I'm really proud of my involvement in this project, shaping the concept of the Dana watch, selecting 12 numeral signs from across the world, and historical consultation. A great gift for lovers of writing systems, mathematics, archaeology, and language!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
Dana Timepieces: A Watch Featuring A Journey Through Time
A timepiece that reveals the global majesty of numbers and highlights the deeply historical and cultural ways we think about time.
www.kickstarter.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:12 PM
I'm really proud of my involvement in this project, shaping the concept of the Dana watch, selecting 12 numeral signs from across the world, and historical consultation. A great gift for lovers of writing systems, mathematics, archaeology, and language!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
After 18 months in development, the Dana watch is now available for preorder on Kickstarter, featuring 12 different numerical notations, featuring my numeral designs and historical background. A great gift for those interested in numbers or writing systems!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
Dana Timepieces: A Watch Featuring A Journey Through Time
A timepiece that reveals the global majesty of numbers and highlights the deeply historical and cultural ways we think about time.
www.kickstarter.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:29 PM
After 18 months in development, the Dana watch is now available for preorder on Kickstarter, featuring 12 different numerical notations, featuring my numeral designs and historical background. A great gift for those interested in numbers or writing systems!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/dan...
A special fuck you to Echovita, which is an AI monstrosity that scrapes actual obituaries (like my dad's) from funeral homes and "writes" new ones using such abhorrent phrases as "amidst the gentle rustle of leaves and the whispered song of the stars". Seriously, fuck you.
December 26, 2025 at 8:59 PM
A special fuck you to Echovita, which is an AI monstrosity that scrapes actual obituaries (like my dad's) from funeral homes and "writes" new ones using such abhorrent phrases as "amidst the gentle rustle of leaves and the whispered song of the stars". Seriously, fuck you.
One of my undergrads put a hilarious 'Essay Enjoyability Table' at the end of his exam, ranking each of the six questions on difficulty and enjoyability. He was worried I'd be biased so insisted I shouldn't read it till after grading. (He did extremely well so I guess it wasn't a 'GPA Annihilator').
December 19, 2025 at 4:36 AM
One of my undergrads put a hilarious 'Essay Enjoyability Table' at the end of his exam, ranking each of the six questions on difficulty and enjoyability. He was worried I'd be biased so insisted I shouldn't read it till after grading. (He did extremely well so I guess it wasn't a 'GPA Annihilator').
Now is the inevitable time of year to ask the question: do I want to see this (these) students in this class again next fall?
December 19, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Now is the inevitable time of year to ask the question: do I want to see this (these) students in this class again next fall?
Thanks to all who shared their condolences about my dad. It's been a weird week for sure. To top it off, I got two really great pieces of work-related news this morning, and I've decided that I'm going to be happy, because why the hell not?
December 18, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Thanks to all who shared their condolences about my dad. It's been a weird week for sure. To top it off, I got two really great pieces of work-related news this morning, and I've decided that I'm going to be happy, because why the hell not?
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
My dad, Peter Chrisomalis, died last night, at the age of 83. I've put together some thoughts, because although most of you didn't know him, I learned so much from him, so the least I can do is pass some of that along.
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
Peter Chrisomalis (1942-2025): A life in three Rs
As you may know, my dad, Peter Chrisomalis, was an educator throughout his career, working as a classroom teacher and later as a school principal until his retirement. And, as surely everyone…
glossographia.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
My dad, Peter Chrisomalis, died last night, at the age of 83. I've put together some thoughts, because although most of you didn't know him, I learned so much from him, so the least I can do is pass some of that along.
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
My dad, Peter Chrisomalis, died last night, at the age of 83. I've put together some thoughts, because although most of you didn't know him, I learned so much from him, so the least I can do is pass some of that along.
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
Peter Chrisomalis (1942-2025): A life in three Rs
As you may know, my dad, Peter Chrisomalis, was an educator throughout his career, working as a classroom teacher and later as a school principal until his retirement. And, as surely everyone…
glossographia.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
My dad, Peter Chrisomalis, died last night, at the age of 83. I've put together some thoughts, because although most of you didn't know him, I learned so much from him, so the least I can do is pass some of that along.
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
glossographia.com/2025/12/17/p...
Three hours till my undergrads' exams are due. At the moment, 21/38 submitted. What's the over/under on how many of these things will be in before midnight, you think?
December 17, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Three hours till my undergrads' exams are due. At the moment, 21/38 submitted. What's the over/under on how many of these things will be in before midnight, you think?
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
A common problem w/ studies testing non-WEIRD groups is they compare multiple groups using the same WEIRD measure. How can we compare groups w/ apples-apples measures w/o distorting cross-cultural differences? We explore this in this new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Development of Morality and Conventionality Across Cultures: Implementing a Two‐Stage Model for Cross‐Cultural Research
Establishing a shared sense of right and wrong is an essential milestone for human cooperation, raising the question of whether a universal set of moral intuitions exists. However, tests of universa.....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:11 AM
A common problem w/ studies testing non-WEIRD groups is they compare multiple groups using the same WEIRD measure. How can we compare groups w/ apples-apples measures w/o distorting cross-cultural differences? We explore this in this new paper! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
What's the number of followed accounts here that makes you say "nahh, gotta be a bot"? 5000? 10000? I follow over 2000 accounts but lots of them are very quiet. Maybe if you follow a ton of accounts, you use lists judiciously to manage your reading? But like, 50K? 100K? Why even bother?
December 16, 2025 at 4:28 PM
What's the number of followed accounts here that makes you say "nahh, gotta be a bot"? 5000? 10000? I follow over 2000 accounts but lots of them are very quiet. Maybe if you follow a ton of accounts, you use lists judiciously to manage your reading? But like, 50K? 100K? Why even bother?
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
Two-story outhouse
Gays, IL
Gays, IL
December 16, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Two-story outhouse
Gays, IL
Gays, IL
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
And the results are in! After carefully reviewing the results of a national poll the Board of Directors of the Society for Canadian English (SCE) has determined that this year’s Canadian Word of the Year (CWOTY), the first of its kind, will be “maplewashing.”
December 13, 2025 at 12:50 AM
And the results are in! After carefully reviewing the results of a national poll the Board of Directors of the Society for Canadian English (SCE) has determined that this year’s Canadian Word of the Year (CWOTY), the first of its kind, will be “maplewashing.”
Very amused that @askamanager.org revisited an old letter that, if it wasn't submitted by one of my strangest former students, was someone just like them, down to specific details.
December 13, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Very amused that @askamanager.org revisited an old letter that, if it wasn't submitted by one of my strangest former students, was someone just like them, down to specific details.
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
the small language model arrived
December 11, 2025 at 8:48 PM
the small language model arrived
I'm conceding to the world, and putting in an optional module on linguistic anthropology and artificial intelligence for my grad class next semester. The new JLA issue tipped me over the edge. Here's what I've tentatively got for readings. Other suggestions?
December 10, 2025 at 1:27 AM
I'm conceding to the world, and putting in an optional module on linguistic anthropology and artificial intelligence for my grad class next semester. The new JLA issue tipped me over the edge. Here's what I've tentatively got for readings. Other suggestions?
Reposted by Stephen Chrisomalis
Some folks here may know that I was director of research for Math Corps for several years and authored several papers. A tremendous program well deserving of this recognition!
The Wayne State University Math Corps program will receive the 2026 Award for Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference Award. The Math Corps program is a combined mathematics enrichment and mentoring program, initially for Detroit public schools, now expanded to several cities. Link in comments.
December 8, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Some folks here may know that I was director of research for Math Corps for several years and authored several papers. A tremendous program well deserving of this recognition!
Some folks here may know that I was director of research for Math Corps for several years and authored several papers. A tremendous program well deserving of this recognition!
The Wayne State University Math Corps program will receive the 2026 Award for Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference Award. The Math Corps program is a combined mathematics enrichment and mentoring program, initially for Detroit public schools, now expanded to several cities. Link in comments.
December 8, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Some folks here may know that I was director of research for Math Corps for several years and authored several papers. A tremendous program well deserving of this recognition!