Thom Scott-Phillips
@thomscottphillips.bsky.social
Language, Psychology, Culture, Philosophy, Society, Evolution • When not doing science I dance the lindy hop
https://www.thomscottphillips.com/
https://www.thomscottphillips.com/
Pinned
Happy In Theory
This is the short story of my long, 20 year search for a stable academic home. There is a lot of success and a lot of pain here, and no happy ending.
thomscottphillips.substack.com
New Substack post
It's very personal: my story of a 20-year academic career, and the many challenges of theoretical and cross-disciplinary work
As I put it in the subtitle: There is a lot of success and a lot of pain here, and no happy ending
thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/happy-in-t...
It's very personal: my story of a 20-year academic career, and the many challenges of theoretical and cross-disciplinary work
As I put it in the subtitle: There is a lot of success and a lot of pain here, and no happy ending
thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/happy-in-t...
Wow, Zweig is really great writing!
I have The World Of Yesterday to read after this
I have The World Of Yesterday to read after this
December 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Wow, Zweig is really great writing!
I have The World Of Yesterday to read after this
I have The World Of Yesterday to read after this
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
I agree. The tech is only highlighting existing issues. Publishing, reviewing, citations as proxy indicators of quality: all of this is a mess and anybody paying attention knows it. LLMs are just exploiting what is already there
December 20, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I agree. The tech is only highlighting existing issues. Publishing, reviewing, citations as proxy indicators of quality: all of this is a mess and anybody paying attention knows it. LLMs are just exploiting what is already there
Excellent piece by @mmitchell.bsky.social. AI excels at predictive tasks but is poor with generative tasks
I like the predictive-generative distinction. Important but easy to lose sight of
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...
I like the predictive-generative distinction. Important but easy to lose sight of
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...
Generative AI hype distracts us from AI’s more important breakthroughs
It's a seductive distraction from the advances in AI that are most likely to improve or even save your life
www.technologyreview.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Excellent piece by @mmitchell.bsky.social. AI excels at predictive tasks but is poor with generative tasks
I like the predictive-generative distinction. Important but easy to lose sight of
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...
I like the predictive-generative distinction. Important but easy to lose sight of
www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/15/1...
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
The real breakthrough of the year -- something that matters far, far more than generative AI ever will.
Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx
December 19, 2025 at 4:14 PM
The real breakthrough of the year -- something that matters far, far more than generative AI ever will.
December 19, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
Thom Scott-Phillips presents a novel analysis of people's spontaneous intuitions about sentence acceptability "grounded in theoretical and empirical knowledge from cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and evolutionary approaches to the mind." cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition?
| Cadernos de Linguística
cadernos.abralin.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Thom Scott-Phillips presents a novel analysis of people's spontaneous intuitions about sentence acceptability "grounded in theoretical and empirical knowledge from cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and evolutionary approaches to the mind." cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
Why do humans have linguistic intuition? And why should you care?
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition?
| Cadernos de Linguística
cadernos.abralin.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Why do humans have linguistic intuition? And why should you care?
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
‘There is a distinction between AI safety, which is hypothetical, and AI harm, which is happening now. For one thing, much of the data on which AI models have been trained is stolen – including, as it happens, from me.’
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester · King of Cannibal Island: Will the AI bubble burst?
Nvidia shares are the purest bet you can make on the impact of AI. The leading firms are lending money to one another in...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 16, 2025 at 12:10 PM
‘There is a distinction between AI safety, which is hypothetical, and AI harm, which is happening now. For one thing, much of the data on which AI models have been trained is stolen – including, as it happens, from me.’
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
John Lanchester in the new issue, online early.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
What if the feeling that a sentence is “odd” doesn’t come from grammar at all?
An open review highlights how Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition? reframes acceptability as a matter of communicative relevance, not rule checking.
Read the article: doi.org/10.25189/267...
An open review highlights how Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition? reframes acceptability as a matter of communicative relevance, not rule checking.
Read the article: doi.org/10.25189/267...
December 15, 2025 at 8:23 PM
What if the feeling that a sentence is “odd” doesn’t come from grammar at all?
An open review highlights how Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition? reframes acceptability as a matter of communicative relevance, not rule checking.
Read the article: doi.org/10.25189/267...
An open review highlights how Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition? reframes acceptability as a matter of communicative relevance, not rule checking.
Read the article: doi.org/10.25189/267...
Why do humans have linguistic intuition? And why should you care?
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
Why Do Humans Have Linguistic Intuition?
| Cadernos de Linguística
cadernos.abralin.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Why do humans have linguistic intuition? And why should you care?
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
A short thread about my new paper in @cadlin.bsky.social
This work has the most original insight I've ever had, a genuinely new idea about the nature of language
cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/ca...
1/20
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
Like the Penrose triangle, some sentences seem possible at first glance but collapse when we try to interpret them. Thom Scott Phillips shows that linguistic intuition reacts to communicative failure, not to grammar. doi.org/10.25189/267... #langsky #linguistics
December 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Like the Penrose triangle, some sentences seem possible at first glance but collapse when we try to interpret them. Thom Scott Phillips shows that linguistic intuition reacts to communicative failure, not to grammar. doi.org/10.25189/267... #langsky #linguistics
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
Judgements of acceptability are often treated as evidence about grammar. This paper argues they are better understood as evidence about how humans interpret signals as communication, linking construction based models to relevance driven cognition. doi.org/10.25189/267... #langsky #linguistics
December 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Judgements of acceptability are often treated as evidence about grammar. This paper argues they are better understood as evidence about how humans interpret signals as communication, linking construction based models to relevance driven cognition. doi.org/10.25189/267... #langsky #linguistics
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
I don’t understand why the conversation about demography isn’t more connected to cost of living
Once upon a time a child was a net economic benefit. People had many births. Now children are a net economic cost
It’s not romantic to put it in these terms, but it is relevant and true
Once upon a time a child was a net economic benefit. People had many births. Now children are a net economic cost
It’s not romantic to put it in these terms, but it is relevant and true
December 13, 2025 at 9:24 AM
I don’t understand why the conversation about demography isn’t more connected to cost of living
Once upon a time a child was a net economic benefit. People had many births. Now children are a net economic cost
It’s not romantic to put it in these terms, but it is relevant and true
Once upon a time a child was a net economic benefit. People had many births. Now children are a net economic cost
It’s not romantic to put it in these terms, but it is relevant and true
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
No question, this is the most original paper I have ever written
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
Why does “The rat the cat the dog chased killed ate the malt” feel wrong even though it is grammatical? Thom Scott Phillips links gut judgements to communicative usefulness, not abstract rules
doi.org/10.25189/267...
#langsky #linguistics
doi.org/10.25189/267...
#langsky #linguistics
December 12, 2025 at 1:27 PM
No question, this is the most original paper I have ever written
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
No question, this is the most original paper I have ever written
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
Why does “The rat the cat the dog chased killed ate the malt” feel wrong even though it is grammatical? Thom Scott Phillips links gut judgements to communicative usefulness, not abstract rules
doi.org/10.25189/267...
#langsky #linguistics
doi.org/10.25189/267...
#langsky #linguistics
December 12, 2025 at 1:27 PM
No question, this is the most original paper I have ever written
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
It says that something that seems plain and obvious - humans have an intuitive sense of what is and is not grammatical - and describes how this apparent common sense is actually misleading
Thread coming soon!
Great episode.
Today on It Was What It Was, we talk to the great David Goldblatt about football and the state of the world.
podfollow.com/1745066482
podfollow.com/1745066482
It Was What It Was
Welcome to The Overlap's football history podcast, It Was What It Was.Each week Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper will be talking about the key episodes in football history that have shaped the footballi...
podfollow.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Great episode.
Well, that’s more left liberal votes down the drain. I’m defo not voting Labour next time unless this abhorrent strategy is abandoned
Probably Lib Dem instead, but we’ll see
Probably Lib Dem instead, but we’ll see
December 7, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Well, that’s more left liberal votes down the drain. I’m defo not voting Labour next time unless this abhorrent strategy is abandoned
Probably Lib Dem instead, but we’ll see
Probably Lib Dem instead, but we’ll see
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
There's a straight line from the EU's failure to invoke Art 7 over Orban's democratic backsliding in the early 2010s and the far-right crisis across Europe today.
Many have correctly attributed that failure to weakness. I'd argue it was also due to arrogance.
Many have correctly attributed that failure to weakness. I'd argue it was also due to arrogance.
December 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
There's a straight line from the EU's failure to invoke Art 7 over Orban's democratic backsliding in the early 2010s and the far-right crisis across Europe today.
Many have correctly attributed that failure to weakness. I'd argue it was also due to arrogance.
Many have correctly attributed that failure to weakness. I'd argue it was also due to arrogance.
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
As some here might have noticed, I 'm kinda into ;) the original Jazz Dances, their social and cultural history and impact.
For those more interested on the topic, here's a substack article on Lindy Hop and its history I gotta recommend! :)
For those more interested on the topic, here's a substack article on Lindy Hop and its history I gotta recommend! :)
New post:
How migration and technology enabled a special form of togetherness: A multimedia origins story for the lindy hop
thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/modernity-...
How migration and technology enabled a special form of togetherness: A multimedia origins story for the lindy hop
thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/modernity-...
Modernity In Rhythm
How migration and technology enabled a special form of togetherness: A multimedia origins story for the lindy hop.
thomscottphillips.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:10 AM
As some here might have noticed, I 'm kinda into ;) the original Jazz Dances, their social and cultural history and impact.
For those more interested on the topic, here's a substack article on Lindy Hop and its history I gotta recommend! :)
For those more interested on the topic, here's a substack article on Lindy Hop and its history I gotta recommend! :)
Superb. Egalitarianism is best understood in terms of process, not outcome
I think this conclusion has important consequences for political philosophy, open society, etc.
I think this conclusion has important consequences for political philosophy, open society, etc.
📣 New BBS preprint out now! 📣
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Superb. Egalitarianism is best understood in terms of process, not outcome
I think this conclusion has important consequences for political philosophy, open society, etc.
I think this conclusion has important consequences for political philosophy, open society, etc.
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
This was a lot of work but I'm proud of the paper. An adversarial collaboration on a theoretical / quasi-philosophical issue:
Scott-Phillips, T., Laland, K., Shuker, D., Dickins, T., & West, S. (2014). The niche construction perspective: A critical appraisal
static1.squarespace.com/static/64e38...
Scott-Phillips, T., Laland, K., Shuker, D., Dickins, T., & West, S. (2014). The niche construction perspective: A critical appraisal
static1.squarespace.com/static/64e38...
static1.squarespace.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This was a lot of work but I'm proud of the paper. An adversarial collaboration on a theoretical / quasi-philosophical issue:
Scott-Phillips, T., Laland, K., Shuker, D., Dickins, T., & West, S. (2014). The niche construction perspective: A critical appraisal
static1.squarespace.com/static/64e38...
Scott-Phillips, T., Laland, K., Shuker, D., Dickins, T., & West, S. (2014). The niche construction perspective: A critical appraisal
static1.squarespace.com/static/64e38...
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
Happy World Linguistics Day from Budapest, capital of a peculiar linguistic phenomenon--the Hungarian language!
November 26, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Happy World Linguistics Day from Budapest, capital of a peculiar linguistic phenomenon--the Hungarian language!
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
It puzzles me that reference letters are still being demanded for all kinds of applications within university systems. It is extremely inequitable to ask applicants to solicit them. Their production is costly and there are doubts about the quality of their contribution to decision-making processes.
The required number of letters should be zero
1. Institutions should not be imposing costs (faculty time) on other institutions. Keeping these costs down is good, as you say, but really they should be zero
1. Institutions should not be imposing costs (faculty time) on other institutions. Keeping these costs down is good, as you say, but really they should be zero
November 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
It puzzles me that reference letters are still being demanded for all kinds of applications within university systems. It is extremely inequitable to ask applicants to solicit them. Their production is costly and there are doubts about the quality of their contribution to decision-making processes.
Reposted by Thom Scott-Phillips
2. The norm of reference letters creates massive power asymmetry btw faculty and PhDs/postdocs. We want people to speak out about toxic PIs, but we tie their hands by supporting the norm of reference letters
Every other sector does without such letters. We should too
Every other sector does without such letters. We should too
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
2. The norm of reference letters creates massive power asymmetry btw faculty and PhDs/postdocs. We want people to speak out about toxic PIs, but we tie their hands by supporting the norm of reference letters
Every other sector does without such letters. We should too
Every other sector does without such letters. We should too