Tim Waring
@twaring.bsky.social
I study the evolution of human culture with a focus on environmental behaviors and institutions and an eye toward helping these become more sustainable on a single, limited planet. https://timwaring.info/
Pinned
Tim Waring
@twaring.bsky.social
· Sep 15
🚨 Excited to share a new paper 📃, years in the making, with Zach Wood.
We propose that human evolution is characterized as an Evolutionary Transition in Inheritance and Individuality (ETII).
Explainer and OA paper below:
We propose that human evolution is characterized as an Evolutionary Transition in Inheritance and Individuality (ETII).
Explainer and OA paper below:
Our collection on Decision-making in structured groups in npj Complexity is open and accepting manuscripts through May!
It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts.
Learn more:
www.nature.com/collections/...
It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts.
Learn more:
www.nature.com/collections/...
Decision-making in Structured Groups: from animal societies to human governance
This collection hopes stimulate new dialogues and translational efforts, to fully capture the rich diversity of ways collectives solve complex problems in ...
www.nature.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Our collection on Decision-making in structured groups in npj Complexity is open and accepting manuscripts through May!
It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts.
Learn more:
www.nature.com/collections/...
It's a broad call, covering anything from animal societies to human social systems of all sorts.
Learn more:
www.nature.com/collections/...
Excited for the new Transmissions episode on ASU's Sarah Mathew on how human warfare evolved, and her fieldwork in Kenya.
Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...
New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social
CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social
Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...
New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social
CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social
Transmissions Episode 2 with Dr Sarah Matthew
YouTube video by Cultural Evolution Society
youtu.be
January 13, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Excited for the new Transmissions episode on ASU's Sarah Mathew on how human warfare evolved, and her fieldwork in Kenya.
Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...
New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social
CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social
Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...
New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social
CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social
Reposted by Tim Waring
This month's paper roundup is live!
This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more.
Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... 🧪
This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more.
Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... 🧪
Paper Roundup December 2025: computing billiards, an impossible atmosphere, and Roman constructions
Papers on big questions at the frontiers of science, curated by hand each month
www.reviewertoo.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:16 PM
This month's paper roundup is live!
This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more.
Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... 🧪
This time around we've got 2D billiards that can compute, an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, a Roman construction site, and more.
Check it out here: www.reviewertoo.com/paper-roundu... 🧪
Reposted by Tim Waring
Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To “Get The F**k Out,” and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem
Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To ‘Get The F**k Out,’ and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem
Fighting back on every front
www.dworkinsubstack.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Rep. Suozzi Confronts Deplorable Jan 6 Rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Tells ICE To “Get The F**k Out,” and Rep. Kelly Leads Charge To Impeach Kristi Noem
Reposted by Tim Waring
Some 15 years ago my colleague Parry Clarke said to me, "Dude stop complaining and write your own stats book!" So I did. It definitely changed my life, and I'm glad it has had a positive impact on others.
One of my aims at the time was to make sure we can show this relationship in simulated data, inspired by
@rmcelreath.bsky.social's approach to statistics. Statistical Rethinking is a life-changing book, this paper wouldn't be the way it is now without it. Very grateful to McElreath!
@rmcelreath.bsky.social's approach to statistics. Statistical Rethinking is a life-changing book, this paper wouldn't be the way it is now without it. Very grateful to McElreath!
January 8, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Some 15 years ago my colleague Parry Clarke said to me, "Dude stop complaining and write your own stats book!" So I did. It definitely changed my life, and I'm glad it has had a positive impact on others.
Reposted by Tim Waring
Just in case you need a visual: xkcd.com/1379/
4.5 Degrees
xkcd.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:40 AM
Just in case you need a visual: xkcd.com/1379/
Reposted by Tim Waring
Wikipedia is truly one of the greatest things on the Internet. It is absolutely incredible, and must be preserved at all costs.
January 1, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Wikipedia is truly one of the greatest things on the Internet. It is absolutely incredible, and must be preserved at all costs.
Reposted by Tim Waring
Reposted by Tim Waring
Remember the 1920s when nobody was left-handed
December 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Remember the 1920s when nobody was left-handed
Reposted by Tim Waring
I am ecstatic about the implications that large models have on the viability of generative grammar and the linguistic turn, and yet I am able to maintain a critical perspective on the tech industry. It's not that hard.
December 22, 2025 at 6:23 AM
I am ecstatic about the implications that large models have on the viability of generative grammar and the linguistic turn, and yet I am able to maintain a critical perspective on the tech industry. It's not that hard.
Reposted by Tim Waring
Cultural Evolution (Methods) paper alert 🚨
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
A critical consequence of joining social groups is the possibility of social transmission of information related to novel behaviours or resources. Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) has emerg...
doi.org
December 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Cultural Evolution (Methods) paper alert 🚨
Reposted by Tim Waring
Thanks, @nautil.us for including my book Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer in your top 10 must reads to ring in the new year!
nautil.us/the-nautilus...
nautil.us/the-nautilus...
The Nautilus Winter Reading List 2025
The Nautilus Winter Reading List 2025: Ten books we loved to start your new year off right.
nautil.us
December 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Thanks, @nautil.us for including my book Seven Decades: How We Evolved to Live Longer in your top 10 must reads to ring in the new year!
nautil.us/the-nautilus...
nautil.us/the-nautilus...
Reposted by Tim Waring
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
STbayes: An R package for creating, fitting and understanding Bayesian models of social transmission
A critical consequence of joining social groups is the possibility of social transmission of information related to novel behaviours or resources. Network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA) has emerg...
doi.org
December 20, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🎉🍾 very excited to see this out before 2025 ends doi.org/10.1111/2041... with Will Hoppitt in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social. This paper is an overview of our new R package STbayes, a user-friendly toolkit for performing Bayesian NBDA analyses. @cbehav.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social
Reposted by Tim Waring
Happy 100th birthday to Dick Van Dyke!
December 13, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Happy 100th birthday to Dick Van Dyke!
Reposted by Tim Waring
And in the meantime, check out my last Q&A with @twaring.bsky.social on the tensions between genes and culture and individuals and groups in human evolution — and why he thinks we might be headed in the direction of more collective, cultural evolution.
The individual isn't what it used to be
Tim Waring thinks human evolution is shifting from genetic and individual to cultural and collective
www.reviewertoo.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:24 PM
And in the meantime, check out my last Q&A with @twaring.bsky.social on the tensions between genes and culture and individuals and groups in human evolution — and why he thinks we might be headed in the direction of more collective, cultural evolution.
Reposted by Tim Waring
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
Reposted by Tim Waring
#SomeGoodNews A former Dyson engineer is rolling out a revolution for household chores in deprived communities after inventing an off-grid, flat-packable washing machine.
The Divya washing machine operates a 30-min wash cycle where it completes a 5kg load needing only a few minutes of manual turning
The Divya washing machine operates a 30-min wash cycle where it completes a 5kg load needing only a few minutes of manual turning
Flat-pack washing machine spins a fairer future
A former Dyson engineer is rolling out a revolution for household chores in deprived communities after inventing an off-grid washing machine
www.positive.news
December 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
#SomeGoodNews A former Dyson engineer is rolling out a revolution for household chores in deprived communities after inventing an off-grid, flat-packable washing machine.
The Divya washing machine operates a 30-min wash cycle where it completes a 5kg load needing only a few minutes of manual turning
The Divya washing machine operates a 30-min wash cycle where it completes a 5kg load needing only a few minutes of manual turning
Reposted by Tim Waring
How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country?
A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.
A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.
Personal risk tolerance has sweeping implications for how societies evolve
How much risk is any individual willing to take on? That depends, in part, on their individual resources and environment, which shape the learning strategies that influence their personal proclivity t...
www.santafe.edu
December 9, 2025 at 9:38 PM
How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country?
A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.
A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.
Reposted by Tim Waring
For the record, I will be swearing in on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower after I’m elected.
Swear your oath ON the dome.
December 9, 2025 at 4:41 PM
For the record, I will be swearing in on Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower after I’m elected.
Reposted by Tim Waring
Reposted by Tim Waring
2018, Russia: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I'll just wait four years."
2022, Qatar: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I guess I'll wait another four years..."
2026: So I guess the joke is on me.
2022, Qatar: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I guess I'll wait another four years..."
2026: So I guess the joke is on me.
December 5, 2025 at 6:39 PM
2018, Russia: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I'll just wait four years."
2022, Qatar: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I guess I'll wait another four years..."
2026: So I guess the joke is on me.
2022, Qatar: "Fuck this, I'm not watching a World Cup in a fascist country. I guess I'll wait another four years..."
2026: So I guess the joke is on me.
Reposted by Tim Waring
I have decided that I can't pretend to be an ethnomathematics researcher and self-ascribed "string theorist" (anthropologist of string and knots?) without being able to tie a khipu.
So here goes. A project for the holidays. Will update my progress later.
So here goes. A project for the holidays. Will update my progress later.
December 5, 2025 at 9:51 AM
I have decided that I can't pretend to be an ethnomathematics researcher and self-ascribed "string theorist" (anthropologist of string and knots?) without being able to tie a khipu.
So here goes. A project for the holidays. Will update my progress later.
So here goes. A project for the holidays. Will update my progress later.
Reposted by Tim Waring
There is some low-ranked devil in Hell who needs a promotion for quietly installing screens to display video ads on every square inch of every American airport
December 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
There is some low-ranked devil in Hell who needs a promotion for quietly installing screens to display video ads on every square inch of every American airport
Reposted by Tim Waring
Yessssssssss. Happy promotion to full professor to meeeeeee
December 4, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Yessssssssss. Happy promotion to full professor to meeeeeee