Travis Korte
@traviskorte.bsky.social
Methods, metaphors, measurement, "impact," etc. Send me a weird diagram.
This is giving me strong “elegant analogy for some broader societal phenomenon” vibes, but I can’t figure out what to compare to it.
February 3, 2026 at 9:03 PM
This is giving me strong “elegant analogy for some broader societal phenomenon” vibes, but I can’t figure out what to compare to it.
Ok this post has kind of taken a life of its own so I feel I need to go on the record and say: all observation is theory-laden, all measurement is approximation, and humans don't have access to an objective reality.
I have a theory that the general epistemic crisis has led to a lot of very online people getting used to communicating primarily through oughtposting and kind of forgetting how to deal with isposting
people gotta chill out about making normative vs. descriptive claims. it’s tedious to have to specify “of course, I do NOT support fire” if you’re talking about a house burning down.
January 17, 2026 at 8:46 PM
Ok this post has kind of taken a life of its own so I feel I need to go on the record and say: all observation is theory-laden, all measurement is approximation, and humans don't have access to an objective reality.
Reposted by Travis Korte
re: oughtposting vs isposting
you'll notice that I generally always try to write tweets that are framed as "I did this thing" or "I like this thing" and basically never "you should do this thing" or "everyone should / shouldn't like this thing"
my goal, as much as I can, is to be a 100% isposter
you'll notice that I generally always try to write tweets that are framed as "I did this thing" or "I like this thing" and basically never "you should do this thing" or "everyone should / shouldn't like this thing"
my goal, as much as I can, is to be a 100% isposter
January 16, 2026 at 5:30 PM
re: oughtposting vs isposting
you'll notice that I generally always try to write tweets that are framed as "I did this thing" or "I like this thing" and basically never "you should do this thing" or "everyone should / shouldn't like this thing"
my goal, as much as I can, is to be a 100% isposter
you'll notice that I generally always try to write tweets that are framed as "I did this thing" or "I like this thing" and basically never "you should do this thing" or "everyone should / shouldn't like this thing"
my goal, as much as I can, is to be a 100% isposter
Reposted by Travis Korte
“Oughtposting vs isposting” is immediately load bearing for me
I have a theory that the general epistemic crisis has led to a lot of very online people getting used to communicating primarily through oughtposting and kind of forgetting how to deal with isposting
people gotta chill out about making normative vs. descriptive claims. it’s tedious to have to specify “of course, I do NOT support fire” if you’re talking about a house burning down.
January 16, 2026 at 3:44 PM
“Oughtposting vs isposting” is immediately load bearing for me
Reposted by Travis Korte
not to say we shouldn’t be doing this. but I think the people who get mad about isposting hear an insufficient (to them) commitment to a better future, when that’s very much not what it always means.
January 16, 2026 at 6:56 AM
not to say we shouldn’t be doing this. but I think the people who get mad about isposting hear an insufficient (to them) commitment to a better future, when that’s very much not what it always means.
Reposted by Travis Korte
I also think a rise in oughtposting is correlated with a feeling of helplessness: narrative is a powerful tool for imagining ways that things could be different, and I expect that people who are doing this are despairing of more practical paths to effect change.
January 16, 2026 at 6:54 AM
I also think a rise in oughtposting is correlated with a feeling of helplessness: narrative is a powerful tool for imagining ways that things could be different, and I expect that people who are doing this are despairing of more practical paths to effect change.
I have a theory that the general epistemic crisis has led to a lot of very online people getting used to communicating primarily through oughtposting and kind of forgetting how to deal with isposting
people gotta chill out about making normative vs. descriptive claims. it’s tedious to have to specify “of course, I do NOT support fire” if you’re talking about a house burning down.
January 16, 2026 at 3:30 AM
I have a theory that the general epistemic crisis has led to a lot of very online people getting used to communicating primarily through oughtposting and kind of forgetting how to deal with isposting
Found theory of change
January 14, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Found theory of change
This does a good job articulating something I’ve been struggling to. Feels like so much contemporary media is now in the Zapruder Extended Universe.
made the mistake of looking at the hellbook website and despite all the "advances" we've made in technology, everything is apparently like a million different zapruder films. what an awful and embarrassing time to be alive
January 9, 2026 at 4:21 AM
This does a good job articulating something I’ve been struggling to. Feels like so much contemporary media is now in the Zapruder Extended Universe.
Adversarial examples
90% of shitposting is just tricking other people into false positives for pattern recognition
January 6, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Adversarial examples
Reposted by Travis Korte
New Year: New Job?
I'm hiring two Transit Data Scientists to work on SB125 and other transit programs with me at CalSTA
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
I'm hiring two Transit Data Scientists to work on SB125 and other transit programs with me at CalSTA
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
SB125 Transit Data Scientist
Looking to make a difference? Join our strong and mighty workforce. We offer benefits and growth opportunities and impact the lives of millions of Californians.
calcareers.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 9:44 PM
New Year: New Job?
I'm hiring two Transit Data Scientists to work on SB125 and other transit programs with me at CalSTA
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
I'm hiring two Transit Data Scientists to work on SB125 and other transit programs with me at CalSTA
calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...
Reposted by Travis Korte
everyone thinks they’re a bayesian until they have to update their priors
December 30, 2025 at 10:29 PM
everyone thinks they’re a bayesian until they have to update their priors
Ubiquitous feature of the discourse I never noticed until recently:
A: *posts “is” statement*
B: *misreads as “ought” statement, gets mad*
A: *posts “ought” statement to reassure B that they’re on the same team*
B: why are you lying?
A: *posts “is” statement*
B: *misreads as “ought” statement, gets mad*
A: *posts “ought” statement to reassure B that they’re on the same team*
B: why are you lying?
December 27, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Ubiquitous feature of the discourse I never noticed until recently:
A: *posts “is” statement*
B: *misreads as “ought” statement, gets mad*
A: *posts “ought” statement to reassure B that they’re on the same team*
B: why are you lying?
A: *posts “is” statement*
B: *misreads as “ought” statement, gets mad*
A: *posts “ought” statement to reassure B that they’re on the same team*
B: why are you lying?
Maybe the internet would be better with tone indicators — like “/s” to indicate sarcasm — but for the is/ought distinction
not beating the "everything is ought" allegations
December 27, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Maybe the internet would be better with tone indicators — like “/s” to indicate sarcasm — but for the is/ought distinction
Reposted by Travis Korte
we're too quick to mistake `what i know how to easily model' for `what is' and even `what should be'.
November 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
we're too quick to mistake `what i know how to easily model' for `what is' and even `what should be'.
Reposted by Travis Korte
Reposted by Travis Korte
with alt text if you need it
November 4, 2025 at 2:20 AM
with alt text if you need it
Somebody posted this prompt, which attempts to make ChatGPT responses less friendly and more critical.
Feels like a rich document for a science-and-technology-studies analysis.
Feels like a rich document for a science-and-technology-studies analysis.
November 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Somebody posted this prompt, which attempts to make ChatGPT responses less friendly and more critical.
Feels like a rich document for a science-and-technology-studies analysis.
Feels like a rich document for a science-and-technology-studies analysis.
Reposted by Travis Korte
A lemma to the psychologists fallacy: any pair of variables have a single "true" relationship and that moderators mask this underlying Platonic association
November 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
A lemma to the psychologists fallacy: any pair of variables have a single "true" relationship and that moderators mask this underlying Platonic association
Reposted by Travis Korte
A community cannot be held accountable; therefore a community must never make a management decision.
November 1, 2025 at 3:12 AM
A community cannot be held accountable; therefore a community must never make a management decision.
Coase, R. H. (1960). The Problem of Social Cost. The Journal of Law and Economics, 3, 1–44.
October 29, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Coase, R. H. (1960). The Problem of Social Cost. The Journal of Law and Economics, 3, 1–44.
I just passed a billboard advertising Orlando with the slogan “unbelievably real”
October 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I just passed a billboard advertising Orlando with the slogan “unbelievably real”
Reposted by Travis Korte
Causality is a model
October 18, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Causality is a model
I’ve been enjoying this meme a lot because “perceived vibes across different subfields within a domain” is always interesting but can be hard knowledge to come by from outside the domain.
patents, copyright, trade marks
Gay Studies, Queer History, Queer Theory (They/She)
October 8, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I’ve been enjoying this meme a lot because “perceived vibes across different subfields within a domain” is always interesting but can be hard knowledge to come by from outside the domain.
This taxonomy of externalities is nice
September 26, 2025 at 7:17 PM
This taxonomy of externalities is nice