Benjamin Cohen
@benjaminhcohen.bsky.social
Bank for International Settlements. Likes/retweets do not necessarily constitute my endorsement, and do not represent the official views of the BIS.
Or was he?
Laws of thought: George Boole, influential mathematician, born #OTD 1815; Boolean logic laid foundation for computers & Information Age.
University College Cork
University College Cork
November 2, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Or was he?
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
@petercontibrown.bsky.social on the problems of Lisa Cook having to defend herself in the "Fed Independence" lawsuit
Why is Lisa Cook defending Fed independence by herself?
Some thoughts on the Fed's curious decision to leave Cook to twist in the wind
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:29 PM
@petercontibrown.bsky.social on the problems of Lisa Cook having to defend herself in the "Fed Independence" lawsuit
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Been trying to explain why economy increasingly feels like it's running wholly on rich people passing each other same bag of money - innovation is stalled, unemployment is rising, but stock tickers are still somehow going up. This example captures the current state of our economy perfectly.
September 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Been trying to explain why economy increasingly feels like it's running wholly on rich people passing each other same bag of money - innovation is stalled, unemployment is rising, but stock tickers are still somehow going up. This example captures the current state of our economy perfectly.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Feel like the regulatory response of making public markets less transparent in response to the rise of private markets might be doing things backwards, tbh
September 16, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Feel like the regulatory response of making public markets less transparent in response to the rise of private markets might be doing things backwards, tbh
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Over 125 economists signed the open letter calling on the President, Congress, and the American public to uphold the principles of Federal Reserve independence and not remove Lisa Cook without due process.
There's still time to sign! And please share.
#EconSky
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
There's still time to sign! And please share.
#EconSky
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Open letter
Click here to add your signature. An Open Letter from Economists in Support of Governor Lisa Cook and Federal Reserve Independence To the President, Members of Congress, and the American public: We wr...
docs.google.com
August 27, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Over 125 economists signed the open letter calling on the President, Congress, and the American public to uphold the principles of Federal Reserve independence and not remove Lisa Cook without due process.
There's still time to sign! And please share.
#EconSky
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
There's still time to sign! And please share.
#EconSky
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing
As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements
This is a big deal
As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements
This is a big deal
August 2, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing
As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements
This is a big deal
As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements
This is a big deal
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
July 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
You ever hear a song that's so different but so fully developed that it sounds like it's from a genre you never heard? There's this version of an old song, done by Nora Brown that makes me feel this way. Like she's from a forgotten branch of the past: youtu.be/Ox4YJsGm8mY?...
"East Virginia" / "John Brown's Dream" | Nora Brown
YouTube video by TED
youtu.be
July 17, 2025 at 2:37 PM
You ever hear a song that's so different but so fully developed that it sounds like it's from a genre you never heard? There's this version of an old song, done by Nora Brown that makes me feel this way. Like she's from a forgotten branch of the past: youtu.be/Ox4YJsGm8mY?...
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
It's all just linear models. Statistics is, like, three linear algebra operations in a probability-shaped trenchcoat.
It's all just linear models. Statistics is, like, three linear algebra operations in a probability-shaped trenchcoat.
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
There are thousands of freshwater fish species in North America alone. My historical dataset from Missouri alone had 200 species. And they're all more interesting than bass
There are thousands of freshwater fish species in North America alone. My historical dataset from Missouri alone had 200 species. And they're all more interesting than bass
What is common knowledge in your field, but. shocks outsiders?
Most algae isn't bad or harmful. #NotAllAlgae
Most algae isn't bad or harmful. #NotAllAlgae
June 17, 2025 at 3:20 AM
What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?
It's all just linear models. Statistics is, like, three linear algebra operations in a probability-shaped trenchcoat.
It's all just linear models. Statistics is, like, three linear algebra operations in a probability-shaped trenchcoat.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
A wonderfully brutal biographical description in a book I’m reading:
“Not very well educated and thus overawed by the few books he had read”
“Not very well educated and thus overawed by the few books he had read”
May 27, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A wonderfully brutal biographical description in a book I’m reading:
“Not very well educated and thus overawed by the few books he had read”
“Not very well educated and thus overawed by the few books he had read”
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Carney won because he was the candidate most ordinary, least square.
"I'm going to govern in econometrics" is a winning campaign slogan for the ages.
April 29, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Carney won because he was the candidate most ordinary, least square.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.
April 15, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
If it weren't for the tariffs, this would be one of the biggest stories right now.
April 10, 2025 at 8:46 PM
If it weren't for the tariffs, this would be one of the biggest stories right now.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
April 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The problem with most machine-based random number generators is that they’re not TRULY random, so if you need genuine randomness it is sometimes necessary to link your code to an external random process like a physical noise source or the current rate of US tariffs on a given country.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
This also drives me crazy about the US higher ed sector. Foreign students bring $40b a year into the us from their home countries — compare that to $25b in grain exports or $20b in iron and steel.
British Steel employs 3.6k people. Coventry Uni group, which auditors say may not survive, employs 7.7k. But there is an emergency debate in parliament for British Steel and nothing for the whole HE sector imploding
Why is the government and the news so indifferent to the meltdown happening in UK #HigherEd right now?
Our universities are the envy of the world. Yet we are at risk of losing a generation of academics and damaging the sector beyond repair.
Our universities are the envy of the world. Yet we are at risk of losing a generation of academics and damaging the sector beyond repair.
April 12, 2025 at 1:14 PM
This also drives me crazy about the US higher ed sector. Foreign students bring $40b a year into the us from their home countries — compare that to $25b in grain exports or $20b in iron and steel.
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Steve Jackson Games posted this to their blog and the post is getting so many hits their site is effectively crashed but the point is worth repeating
April 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Steve Jackson Games posted this to their blog and the post is getting so many hits their site is effectively crashed but the point is worth repeating
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
Some European central banking and supervisory officials are questioning whether they can still rely on the US Federal Reserve to provide dollar funding in times of market stress, casting some doubt over what has been a bedrock of financial stability reut.rs/4bUsaGl
Exclusive: Some European officials weigh if they can rely on Fed for dollars under Trump
Some European central banking and supervisory officials are questioning whether they can still rely on the U.S. Federal Reserve to provide dollar funding in times of market stress, six people familiar with the matter said, casting some doubt over what has been a bedrock of financial stability.
reut.rs
March 24, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Some European central banking and supervisory officials are questioning whether they can still rely on the US Federal Reserve to provide dollar funding in times of market stress, casting some doubt over what has been a bedrock of financial stability reut.rs/4bUsaGl
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
I’ve posted a number of threads over the past couple of weeks explaining the framework I’ve developed around disordered discourse and its outcomes.
But I also want to explain why that framework is useful, beyond just mapping the problem or explaining how we got here.
But I also want to explain why that framework is useful, beyond just mapping the problem or explaining how we got here.
March 14, 2025 at 8:53 AM
I’ve posted a number of threads over the past couple of weeks explaining the framework I’ve developed around disordered discourse and its outcomes.
But I also want to explain why that framework is useful, beyond just mapping the problem or explaining how we got here.
But I also want to explain why that framework is useful, beyond just mapping the problem or explaining how we got here.
Where's Maester Qyburn?
#BREAKING: Yellow and Green fire was seen exploding out of a manhole at Texas Tech University moments ago.
Evacuations are underway for the whole campus.
x.com/Collins_Wx/s...
Evacuations are underway for the whole campus.
x.com/Collins_Wx/s...
March 13, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Where's Maester Qyburn?
Reposted by Benjamin Cohen
A study of eight AI search engines found they provided incorrect citations of news articles in 60%+ of queries; Grok 3 answered 94% of the queries incorrectly (Columbia Journalism Review)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
March 11, 2025 at 2:20 AM
A study of eight AI search engines found they provided incorrect citations of news articles in 60%+ of queries; Grok 3 answered 94% of the queries incorrectly (Columbia Journalism Review)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink