Helena Fang
@helenafang.bsky.social
PhD student at MIT philosophy; learning how to flip a fair coin. https://sites.google.com/view/helena-fang/
writing my paper for my history course at harvard in the most mit way possible:
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
writing my paper for my history course at harvard in the most mit way possible:
Reposted by Helena Fang
Everything I know about legal formalism I learned from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
October 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Everything I know about legal formalism I learned from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
or as Helena calls it "simple-modelogy"
I love struggling-to-construct-satisfying-models-and-then-having-economists-pull-me-sopping-wet-from-my-puddle-of-despair-with-a-model-constructed-in-the-70s, or as people in philosophy call it, formal epistemology
October 26, 2025 at 5:53 PM
or as Helena calls it "simple-modelogy"
As a formal epistemologist AND rhythm game nerd I just came to the realization that the two fields ARE THE SAME---both are about MAXIMIZING ACCURACY
October 25, 2025 at 10:59 PM
As a formal epistemologist AND rhythm game nerd I just came to the realization that the two fields ARE THE SAME---both are about MAXIMIZING ACCURACY
Okay this is for next week
October 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Okay this is for next week
me: so i decided to write my fifth term paper on a cursed topic; guess which one
my committee: de se belief
me: not THAT cursed
my committee: de se belief
me: not THAT cursed
October 7, 2025 at 2:04 PM
me: so i decided to write my fifth term paper on a cursed topic; guess which one
my committee: de se belief
me: not THAT cursed
my committee: de se belief
me: not THAT cursed
Having so much fun making my advising meeting handouts
October 6, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Having so much fun making my advising meeting handouts
Reposted by Helena Fang
Pleased to announce that my paper, “Common Ground, Conditionals, and Ceteris Paribus Pragmatics,” is forthcoming in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy! 🧵
Kenneth Black, Common Ground, Conditionals, and _Ceteris Paribus_ Pragmatics - PhilArchive
In conversation, we make use of shared information in order to communicate. But what shared information? In theorising about conversation, it’s popular to allot a privileged position to a single body ...
philarchive.org
July 17, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Pleased to announce that my paper, “Common Ground, Conditionals, and Ceteris Paribus Pragmatics,” is forthcoming in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy! 🧵
Reposted by Helena Fang
Happy to announce that my paper "How Language-Like is the Language of Thought?" is forthcoming at Ergo!
Thread with a TL;DR below!
philpapers.org/rec/MURHLI-3
Thread with a TL;DR below!
philpapers.org/rec/MURHLI-3
Juan Murillo Vargas, How Language-Like is the Language of Thought? - PhilPapers
The language of thought hypothesis (LoTH) claims that thoughts are underpinned by language-like vehicles. A central motivation is that there is a relevant similarity between language and thought expla...
philpapers.org
July 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Happy to announce that my paper "How Language-Like is the Language of Thought?" is forthcoming at Ergo!
Thread with a TL;DR below!
philpapers.org/rec/MURHLI-3
Thread with a TL;DR below!
philpapers.org/rec/MURHLI-3
Reposted by Helena Fang
New theory of deontic modality just dropped
July 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
New theory of deontic modality just dropped
Reposted by Helena Fang
Yale Philosophy offers a course on “Formal Philosophical Methods” — a broad introduction to probability, logic, formal semantics, etc.
Instructor Calum McNamara has now made all materials for the course (78 pages) freely available
static1.squarespace.com/static/6255f...
Instructor Calum McNamara has now made all materials for the course (78 pages) freely available
static1.squarespace.com/static/6255f...
June 30, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Yale Philosophy offers a course on “Formal Philosophical Methods” — a broad introduction to probability, logic, formal semantics, etc.
Instructor Calum McNamara has now made all materials for the course (78 pages) freely available
static1.squarespace.com/static/6255f...
Instructor Calum McNamara has now made all materials for the course (78 pages) freely available
static1.squarespace.com/static/6255f...
Reposted by Helena Fang
Last semester, I taught a graduate seminar on Bayesian epistemology. Here are my lecture notes:
jdmitrigallow.com/teaching/epist25/aitbe.pdf
jdmitrigallow.com/teaching/epist25/aitbe.pdf
jdmitrigallow.com
June 14, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Last semester, I taught a graduate seminar on Bayesian epistemology. Here are my lecture notes:
jdmitrigallow.com/teaching/epist25/aitbe.pdf
jdmitrigallow.com/teaching/epist25/aitbe.pdf
Four reasons why one should come to Iceland:
1. For my FEW
2. For @somayehtohidi.bsky.social 's amazing comments and epic table
3. For seeing a normal distribution in real life
4. For THE CLOCK (a marked one though)
1. For my FEW
2. For @somayehtohidi.bsky.social 's amazing comments and epic table
3. For seeing a normal distribution in real life
4. For THE CLOCK (a marked one though)
May 27, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Four reasons why one should come to Iceland:
1. For my FEW
2. For @somayehtohidi.bsky.social 's amazing comments and epic table
3. For seeing a normal distribution in real life
4. For THE CLOCK (a marked one though)
1. For my FEW
2. For @somayehtohidi.bsky.social 's amazing comments and epic table
3. For seeing a normal distribution in real life
4. For THE CLOCK (a marked one though)
increasingly convinced that philosophy is all about preorders
April 7, 2025 at 7:37 PM
increasingly convinced that philosophy is all about preorders
Did 3 presentations in 4 days consisting of (i) my first talk in a room full of strangers (ii) a prosem presentation where I made my handout in an hour and (iii) presenting for the epistemology reading group during prospective visits on a paper almost impossible to present. EXTREMELY proud of myself
April 2, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Did 3 presentations in 4 days consisting of (i) my first talk in a room full of strangers (ii) a prosem presentation where I made my handout in an hour and (iii) presenting for the epistemology reading group during prospective visits on a paper almost impossible to present. EXTREMELY proud of myself
Absolutely horrendous truth: I didn't know how to flip a coin. (Until was taught this morning.) I literally did not know. Even though all my papers are on coinflips rip
April 1, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Absolutely horrendous truth: I didn't know how to flip a coin. (Until was taught this morning.) I literally did not know. Even though all my papers are on coinflips rip
my second fav argument in philosophy: argument from elegance
March 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM
my second fav argument in philosophy: argument from elegance
@chenhao345.bsky.social : i think when ppl say 'might or might not p' they simply ARE conveying trivial information (hence triviality doesn't matter)
Me: oops guess i should stop writing like that in my paper
Me: oops guess i should stop writing like that in my paper
February 8, 2025 at 6:49 AM
@chenhao345.bsky.social : i think when ppl say 'might or might not p' they simply ARE conveying trivial information (hence triviality doesn't matter)
Me: oops guess i should stop writing like that in my paper
Me: oops guess i should stop writing like that in my paper
am at a point where I simply hate partition sensitivity: it makes everything too easy that it makes everything too hard
January 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
am at a point where I simply hate partition sensitivity: it makes everything too easy that it makes everything too hard
everything in Knowledge and its Limits
What is a question in philosophy where, the more you read and think, the deeper it seems?
January 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM
everything in Knowledge and its Limits
Reposted by Helena Fang
Same thing almost made Lewis give up Humeanism
John Carpenter says he stopped making movies because a 'Big Bug' told him to.
'Can't argue with a big bug'
(Source: tinyurl.com/tcjatsbd)
'Can't argue with a big bug'
(Source: tinyurl.com/tcjatsbd)
December 23, 2024 at 1:21 PM
Same thing almost made Lewis give up Humeanism
Reposted by Helena Fang
First two chapters of Inquiry *obviously*
December 21, 2024 at 11:42 PM
First two chapters of Inquiry *obviously*
Finally found my way here!
December 22, 2024 at 2:35 AM
Finally found my way here!