Caroline Fiennes
@carolinefiennes.bsky.social
Director of Giving Evidence: helping donors make decisions based on sound evidence. (www.giving-evidence.com)
"Charmingly disruptive" - Nobel laureate Richard Thaler.
U.Cambridge visiting fellow. Former FT columnist.
Irrationally exuberant.
Church nerd.
"Charmingly disruptive" - Nobel laureate Richard Thaler.
U.Cambridge visiting fellow. Former FT columnist.
Irrationally exuberant.
Church nerd.
Was in HM Treasury today.
Every sighting like this is a joyous source of progress:
Every sighting like this is a joyous source of progress:
November 27, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Was in HM Treasury today.
Every sighting like this is a joyous source of progress:
Every sighting like this is a joyous source of progress:
Interesting. The very next post on my TL says 450,000...
November 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Interesting. The very next post on my TL says 450,000...
Sierra Leone has the Banana Islands, and DR Congo has a town called Banana*.
Just thought that you'd like to know that!
*which I discovered in convo with a friend who was then living in DRC & another who had just been to.... Split. Yes really 🤣
Just thought that you'd like to know that!
*which I discovered in convo with a friend who was then living in DRC & another who had just been to.... Split. Yes really 🤣
November 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Sierra Leone has the Banana Islands, and DR Congo has a town called Banana*.
Just thought that you'd like to know that!
*which I discovered in convo with a friend who was then living in DRC & another who had just been to.... Split. Yes really 🤣
Just thought that you'd like to know that!
*which I discovered in convo with a friend who was then living in DRC & another who had just been to.... Split. Yes really 🤣
How charities sometimes make it difficult to give them money: I am speaking about this next week at a free event in London, hosted by Zeffy: Weds evening.
Do come! - apparently >170 people are already signed up(!) - quite the pre-Christmas party!
luma.com/1xl0mjl0
Do come! - apparently >170 people are already signed up(!) - quite the pre-Christmas party!
luma.com/1xl0mjl0
November 25, 2025 at 9:50 AM
How charities sometimes make it difficult to give them money: I am speaking about this next week at a free event in London, hosted by Zeffy: Weds evening.
Do come! - apparently >170 people are already signed up(!) - quite the pre-Christmas party!
luma.com/1xl0mjl0
Do come! - apparently >170 people are already signed up(!) - quite the pre-Christmas party!
luma.com/1xl0mjl0
Unhelpfully generous interpretation here by The Economist of the Larry Summers affair (see what I did there...)
He was trying to seduce a woman whom he was meant to be mentoring. Classic abuse of power. Exactly what MeToo was about. In contravention of clear rules in most universities & schools.
He was trying to seduce a woman whom he was meant to be mentoring. Classic abuse of power. Exactly what MeToo was about. In contravention of clear rules in most universities & schools.
November 25, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Unhelpfully generous interpretation here by The Economist of the Larry Summers affair (see what I did there...)
He was trying to seduce a woman whom he was meant to be mentoring. Classic abuse of power. Exactly what MeToo was about. In contravention of clear rules in most universities & schools.
He was trying to seduce a woman whom he was meant to be mentoring. Classic abuse of power. Exactly what MeToo was about. In contravention of clear rules in most universities & schools.
Hooray for conferences which are veggie by default.
Nobody *needs* to eat meat, and some people don't so meat-catering just creates avoidable waste:
Nobody *needs* to eat meat, and some people don't so meat-catering just creates avoidable waste:
November 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Hooray for conferences which are veggie by default.
Nobody *needs* to eat meat, and some people don't so meat-catering just creates avoidable waste:
Nobody *needs* to eat meat, and some people don't so meat-catering just creates avoidable waste:
HT all the people who are doing rescue work in South Wales right now - incl. my brother
🤜🏼🤛🏼
That first car roof on the right is an Aston Martin Vantage. It was on dry tarmac about 3 hours earlier.
🤜🏼🤛🏼
That first car roof on the right is an Aston Martin Vantage. It was on dry tarmac about 3 hours earlier.
November 16, 2025 at 8:31 PM
HT all the people who are doing rescue work in South Wales right now - incl. my brother
🤜🏼🤛🏼
That first car roof on the right is an Aston Martin Vantage. It was on dry tarmac about 3 hours earlier.
🤜🏼🤛🏼
That first car roof on the right is an Aston Martin Vantage. It was on dry tarmac about 3 hours earlier.
Keep this graph for next time you have to teach somebody about data visualisation! 🫣
November 14, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Keep this graph for next time you have to teach somebody about data visualisation! 🫣
Also, this academic paper took *four years* from submission to publication. That is bonkers. Our scientific publishing system is pretty broken.
November 13, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Also, this academic paper took *four years* from submission to publication. That is bonkers. Our scientific publishing system is pretty broken.
Gotta love an academic paper whose opening sentence takes *five lines* to reach its main verb.
Hint for academics seeking more policy influence: write better than this! 🤦🏽♀️
Hint for academics seeking more policy influence: write better than this! 🤦🏽♀️
November 13, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Gotta love an academic paper whose opening sentence takes *five lines* to reach its main verb.
Hint for academics seeking more policy influence: write better than this! 🤦🏽♀️
Hint for academics seeking more policy influence: write better than this! 🤦🏽♀️
This statement about Palantir is the kind of thing that makes the charity sector seem like Lilliput!
Palantir closed *53* deals worth >$10m in a single quarter.
Palantir closed *53* deals worth >$10m in a single quarter.
November 13, 2025 at 8:04 AM
This statement about Palantir is the kind of thing that makes the charity sector seem like Lilliput!
Palantir closed *53* deals worth >$10m in a single quarter.
Palantir closed *53* deals worth >$10m in a single quarter.
In a client meeting this morning, someone started banging on about Wells Cathedral & how great it is - and it even wasn't me!!
I have long said that I have excellent clients! 🤩
Here's the scoop:
I have long said that I have excellent clients! 🤩
Here's the scoop:
November 12, 2025 at 3:13 PM
In a client meeting this morning, someone started banging on about Wells Cathedral & how great it is - and it even wasn't me!!
I have long said that I have excellent clients! 🤩
Here's the scoop:
I have long said that I have excellent clients! 🤩
Here's the scoop:
Look at Cambridge University's brilliantly intuitive formatting of email addresses! 🫣
November 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Look at Cambridge University's brilliantly intuitive formatting of email addresses! 🫣
Karsten: out of interest, does Germany have stupid surveys like this?
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Karsten: out of interest, does Germany have stupid surveys like this?
Oh: I can understand it (albeit reading slowly) but to me, it's like this portrait 👇🏼: it's recognisable & all the pieces are there but in an arrangement that wouldn't occur to me.
(A bit like R code, as I say!)
It's kind of genius, in it way 🫣
Native German speakers: is English like this to you?
(A bit like R code, as I say!)
It's kind of genius, in it way 🫣
Native German speakers: is English like this to you?
November 4, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Oh: I can understand it (albeit reading slowly) but to me, it's like this portrait 👇🏼: it's recognisable & all the pieces are there but in an arrangement that wouldn't occur to me.
(A bit like R code, as I say!)
It's kind of genius, in it way 🫣
Native German speakers: is English like this to you?
(A bit like R code, as I say!)
It's kind of genius, in it way 🫣
Native German speakers: is English like this to you?
Thanks!
Worse, sometimes the 'correct answer' is straight-out wrong. Look at 5.3 👇🏼.
This felt like a Q around "have you twigged that this is a scatterplot & some people are below the line - plus prediction misfires at 100%" - but no.
[Ignore 5.1. I got that wrong because I can't multiply by 10 🥴.]
Worse, sometimes the 'correct answer' is straight-out wrong. Look at 5.3 👇🏼.
This felt like a Q around "have you twigged that this is a scatterplot & some people are below the line - plus prediction misfires at 100%" - but no.
[Ignore 5.1. I got that wrong because I can't multiply by 10 🥴.]
November 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Thanks!
Worse, sometimes the 'correct answer' is straight-out wrong. Look at 5.3 👇🏼.
This felt like a Q around "have you twigged that this is a scatterplot & some people are below the line - plus prediction misfires at 100%" - but no.
[Ignore 5.1. I got that wrong because I can't multiply by 10 🥴.]
Worse, sometimes the 'correct answer' is straight-out wrong. Look at 5.3 👇🏼.
This felt like a Q around "have you twigged that this is a scatterplot & some people are below the line - plus prediction misfires at 100%" - but no.
[Ignore 5.1. I got that wrong because I can't multiply by 10 🥴.]
Ha ha: it turns out that we can take in a calculator (=good news because I recently dropped a point on a practice test by failing to accurately multiply something by 10 🤦🏽♀️ It's all very difficult...)
So look what I have excavated in our house 🤣
So look what I have excavated in our house 🤣
October 28, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Ha ha: it turns out that we can take in a calculator (=good news because I recently dropped a point on a practice test by failing to accurately multiply something by 10 🤦🏽♀️ It's all very difficult...)
So look what I have excavated in our house 🤣
So look what I have excavated in our house 🤣
@zabong69.bsky.social @criminologist.bsky.social
Hello. Is this a crap model? - b/c:
(a)categories aren't mutually exclusive (eg, you can be divorced & co-habiting). Well not being mutually exclusive isn't a crime but will be confusing. And
(b) being married & being divorced are colinear.
Thx.
Hello. Is this a crap model? - b/c:
(a)categories aren't mutually exclusive (eg, you can be divorced & co-habiting). Well not being mutually exclusive isn't a crime but will be confusing. And
(b) being married & being divorced are colinear.
Thx.
October 28, 2025 at 3:32 PM
@zabong69.bsky.social @criminologist.bsky.social
Hello. Is this a crap model? - b/c:
(a)categories aren't mutually exclusive (eg, you can be divorced & co-habiting). Well not being mutually exclusive isn't a crime but will be confusing. And
(b) being married & being divorced are colinear.
Thx.
Hello. Is this a crap model? - b/c:
(a)categories aren't mutually exclusive (eg, you can be divorced & co-habiting). Well not being mutually exclusive isn't a crime but will be confusing. And
(b) being married & being divorced are colinear.
Thx.
Educators! Holiday companies!
Be aware that Easter after next (2027) is madly early: so early that even University College London (a university) can't run a full term then. The effect will be stronger for many schools which have longer terms than UCL does.
Your Easter hols will be cold!*
Be ready.
Be aware that Easter after next (2027) is madly early: so early that even University College London (a university) can't run a full term then. The effect will be stronger for many schools which have longer terms than UCL does.
Your Easter hols will be cold!*
Be ready.
October 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Educators! Holiday companies!
Be aware that Easter after next (2027) is madly early: so early that even University College London (a university) can't run a full term then. The effect will be stronger for many schools which have longer terms than UCL does.
Your Easter hols will be cold!*
Be ready.
Be aware that Easter after next (2027) is madly early: so early that even University College London (a university) can't run a full term then. The effect will be stronger for many schools which have longer terms than UCL does.
Your Easter hols will be cold!*
Be ready.
Top analysis of Welsh politics here:
October 26, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Top analysis of Welsh politics here:
Excerpt of an obituary.
Top parenting here! 🫣
Top parenting here! 🫣
October 24, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Excerpt of an obituary.
Top parenting here! 🫣
Top parenting here! 🫣
Good lessons in data visualisation from...Private Eye! 👍🏽
October 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Good lessons in data visualisation from...Private Eye! 👍🏽
In the coverage of King Prince Charles in the Sistine Chapel today, sure look at the ceiling and the Doom wall painting (done 20yrs apart, btw), but also at the floor. Cosmati pavement": by the Cosmati family. It's recycling! - small pieces of marble, some from Roman bldgs, in geometric patterns...
October 23, 2025 at 8:48 AM
In the coverage of King Prince Charles in the Sistine Chapel today, sure look at the ceiling and the Doom wall painting (done 20yrs apart, btw), but also at the floor. Cosmati pavement": by the Cosmati family. It's recycling! - small pieces of marble, some from Roman bldgs, in geometric patterns...
You can't read this, but it says "this [huge] stainless steel sculpture commemorates Michael Faraday, English chemist & physicist known for his research into electricity & magnetism who lived locally" 👍🏽
At Elephant and Castle, in London.
At Elephant and Castle, in London.
October 22, 2025 at 1:45 PM
You can't read this, but it says "this [huge] stainless steel sculpture commemorates Michael Faraday, English chemist & physicist known for his research into electricity & magnetism who lived locally" 👍🏽
At Elephant and Castle, in London.
At Elephant and Castle, in London.