mt-b
@mt-b.bsky.social
history and bureaucracy in the sinosphere
there was a time when doing whatever seemed hardest (e.g. learn Chinese, which is not even close to the hardest language to learn, let alone thing to do in college) was a big part of my self concept because I was afraid of being boring.
to see how that worked out, I now study the bureaucracy.
to see how that worked out, I now study the bureaucracy.
November 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
there was a time when doing whatever seemed hardest (e.g. learn Chinese, which is not even close to the hardest language to learn, let alone thing to do in college) was a big part of my self concept because I was afraid of being boring.
to see how that worked out, I now study the bureaucracy.
to see how that worked out, I now study the bureaucracy.
drove 25m to get Neil’s donuts in Middletown and they are good. but I also should not need to spend an hour in a car to get decent donuts when there are nominally 11 “donut” shops within 5m
Dunkin’s main crime is not actually its coffee but the fact that it has either eliminated or prevented the flourishing of any actually good donuts in my area
November 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
drove 25m to get Neil’s donuts in Middletown and they are good. but I also should not need to spend an hour in a car to get decent donuts when there are nominally 11 “donut” shops within 5m
Dunkin’s main crime is not actually its coffee but the fact that it has either eliminated or prevented the flourishing of any actually good donuts in my area
November 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Dunkin’s main crime is not actually its coffee but the fact that it has either eliminated or prevented the flourishing of any actually good donuts in my area
Reposted by mt-b
20/For those that appreciated this thread, here is a podcast conversation companion. It lays out the core ideas of a neo-royalist world order, how it makes sense of Trump Administration actions, and how one might prevent such an order from consolidating
www.podbean.com/ep/pb-npzcs-...
www.podbean.com/ep/pb-npzcs-...
The New Neo-Royalist World Order
Stacie Goddard and Abe Newman explain how cliques are ruling the world
The journal International Organization has just published a new online open access edition with short accessible essays written b...
www.podbean.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:03 PM
20/For those that appreciated this thread, here is a podcast conversation companion. It lays out the core ideas of a neo-royalist world order, how it makes sense of Trump Administration actions, and how one might prevent such an order from consolidating
www.podbean.com/ep/pb-npzcs-...
www.podbean.com/ep/pb-npzcs-...
Reposted by mt-b
Somebody who reads all my ramblings and tells me "girl don't nobody need to hear about this random aside" is a gift from the writing gods
November 17, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Somebody who reads all my ramblings and tells me "girl don't nobody need to hear about this random aside" is a gift from the writing gods
in some really dark hours of pandemic grad school, i digitized thousands of pages of archival materials in my basement for mostly no reason. i've now donated the originals to an academic library, but being able to just ... share the scans ... with curious grad students has been a huge joy.
November 15, 2025 at 8:46 PM
in some really dark hours of pandemic grad school, i digitized thousands of pages of archival materials in my basement for mostly no reason. i've now donated the originals to an academic library, but being able to just ... share the scans ... with curious grad students has been a huge joy.
Reposted by mt-b
The US government is considering punishing American scientists who worked with Chinese researchers *years ago, retroactively*.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The US government is considering punishing American scientists who worked with Chinese researchers *years ago, retroactively*.
Reposted by mt-b
They analyzed 2k NOT 47k conversations, no idea how they sampled the data or determined topics. This is at least the fifth article I’ve seen like this, where journalists try to do data analysis on chats, badly replicating what has already been published by researchers.
November 12, 2025 at 2:50 PM
They analyzed 2k NOT 47k conversations, no idea how they sampled the data or determined topics. This is at least the fifth article I’ve seen like this, where journalists try to do data analysis on chats, badly replicating what has already been published by researchers.
this is the future we were promised (derogatory)
Today in #404DeepDive: People are modding Meta Ray-Bans to spy on you. Already, there are videos with millions of views of men using the glasses to film massage workers, asking for happy endings. What's Meta's response? @evystadium.bsky.social has more.
More here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/p...
More here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/p...
November 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
this is the future we were promised (derogatory)
Reposted by mt-b
again, understanding the government as the information collector of last resort brings a lot of other political economy issues into sharp relief
People will focus on the main accountability effects of politicizing BLS. But cooking those numbers also has numerous knock-on policy effects. It’s not just the FOMC that uses BLS data. They guide revenue forecasts, UI payments, allocation formula for dozens of federal programs. (2/x)
August 1, 2025 at 6:38 PM
again, understanding the government as the information collector of last resort brings a lot of other political economy issues into sharp relief
Reposted by mt-b
I personally think this is a "harder problem" than we care to admit.
So, are you a (social) scientist struggling with this situation? A break between what you _want_ to study (a causal process) and what you feel you _can_ credibly study (a correlation)?
Here are some readings that might help. 👇
So, are you a (social) scientist struggling with this situation? A break between what you _want_ to study (a causal process) and what you feel you _can_ credibly study (a correlation)?
Here are some readings that might help. 👇
Doing non-causal inference (and being explicit about it), yet using a causal word as second word in the title.
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
If you pay Nature € 10.690, they will publish this in Nature Ageing.
I can tell you what I think of that for free.
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
November 11, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I personally think this is a "harder problem" than we care to admit.
So, are you a (social) scientist struggling with this situation? A break between what you _want_ to study (a causal process) and what you feel you _can_ credibly study (a correlation)?
Here are some readings that might help. 👇
So, are you a (social) scientist struggling with this situation? A break between what you _want_ to study (a causal process) and what you feel you _can_ credibly study (a correlation)?
Here are some readings that might help. 👇
Reposted by mt-b
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Great to see the first paper from this side project out in PS. I’m grateful to have had the chance to work with Franziska and Jos.
Great to see the first paper from this side project out in PS. I’m grateful to have had the chance to work with Franziska and Jos.
China Watchers | PS: Political Science & Politics | Cambridge Core
China Watchers
www.cambridge.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Great to see the first paper from this side project out in PS. I’m grateful to have had the chance to work with Franziska and Jos.
Great to see the first paper from this side project out in PS. I’m grateful to have had the chance to work with Franziska and Jos.
love to read in a historical document that something happened "由于种种原因"
is this the archival silence that I have been reading about?
is this the archival silence that I have been reading about?
November 6, 2025 at 9:10 PM
love to read in a historical document that something happened "由于种种原因"
is this the archival silence that I have been reading about?
is this the archival silence that I have been reading about?
Reposted by mt-b
Currently in FirstView: In “Measuring Media Criticism with ALC Word Embeddings,” @cbarrie.bsky.social, Neil Ketchley, @aasiegel.bsky.social, and Mossaab Bagdouri introduce a method for estimating media criticism using à la carte word embeddings which requires only minimal computational resources.
November 4, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Currently in FirstView: In “Measuring Media Criticism with ALC Word Embeddings,” @cbarrie.bsky.social, Neil Ketchley, @aasiegel.bsky.social, and Mossaab Bagdouri introduce a method for estimating media criticism using à la carte word embeddings which requires only minimal computational resources.
Reposted by mt-b
OCR is one of AI's oldest challenges (first systems: early 1900s!)
Modern vision-language models have transformed what's possible: handwriting, 100+ languages, math formulas, tables, signature extraction...
New @hf.co guide on OCR
huggingface.co/blog/ocr-ope...
Modern vision-language models have transformed what's possible: handwriting, 100+ languages, math formulas, tables, signature extraction...
New @hf.co guide on OCR
huggingface.co/blog/ocr-ope...
Supercharge your OCR Pipelines with Open Models
We’re on a journey to advance and democratize artificial intelligence through open source and open science.
huggingface.co
October 22, 2025 at 8:58 AM
OCR is one of AI's oldest challenges (first systems: early 1900s!)
Modern vision-language models have transformed what's possible: handwriting, 100+ languages, math formulas, tables, signature extraction...
New @hf.co guide on OCR
huggingface.co/blog/ocr-ope...
Modern vision-language models have transformed what's possible: handwriting, 100+ languages, math formulas, tables, signature extraction...
New @hf.co guide on OCR
huggingface.co/blog/ocr-ope...
Reposted by mt-b
"News Media Reporting Patterns and our Biased Understanding of Global Unrest" - a cool paper that gets at something I've wondered: how much does a selection effect drive what we see in conflict datasets coded from news stories? Quite a bit, it turns out! esoc.princeton.edu/WP32
#polisky #statssky
#polisky #statssky
October 15, 2025 at 1:53 AM
"News Media Reporting Patterns and our Biased Understanding of Global Unrest" - a cool paper that gets at something I've wondered: how much does a selection effect drive what we see in conflict datasets coded from news stories? Quite a bit, it turns out! esoc.princeton.edu/WP32
#polisky #statssky
#polisky #statssky
some real bangers among my student projects and essays so far this year. at least one proposal that I am _so_ excited for.
lots more grading to do, but yeah. it's good. these students can cook.
lots more grading to do, but yeah. it's good. these students can cook.
October 14, 2025 at 8:38 PM
some real bangers among my student projects and essays so far this year. at least one proposal that I am _so_ excited for.
lots more grading to do, but yeah. it's good. these students can cook.
lots more grading to do, but yeah. it's good. these students can cook.
Reposted by mt-b
"Offers a compelling analytical framework to understand the intricate relationship between the state, platforms, and citizens in shaping digital governance in China."
Governing Digital China by Daniela Stockmann & Ting Luo, Coming Soon
#ChinesePolitics 🗺️
https://cup.org/3IslBk0
Governing Digital China by Daniela Stockmann & Ting Luo, Coming Soon
#ChinesePolitics 🗺️
https://cup.org/3IslBk0
September 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
"Offers a compelling analytical framework to understand the intricate relationship between the state, platforms, and citizens in shaping digital governance in China."
Governing Digital China by Daniela Stockmann & Ting Luo, Coming Soon
#ChinesePolitics 🗺️
https://cup.org/3IslBk0
Governing Digital China by Daniela Stockmann & Ting Luo, Coming Soon
#ChinesePolitics 🗺️
https://cup.org/3IslBk0
Reposted by mt-b
I'm starting to explore {simDAG}, a nifty #rstats package that has a nice API for specifying DAGs and then simulating data from them: robindenz1.github.io/simDAG/
Simulate Data from a DAG and Associated Node Information
Simulate complex data from a given directed acyclic graph and information about each individual node. Root nodes are simply sampled from the specified distribution. Child Nodes are simulated according...
robindenz1.github.io
October 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
I'm starting to explore {simDAG}, a nifty #rstats package that has a nice API for specifying DAGs and then simulating data from them: robindenz1.github.io/simDAG/
Reposted by mt-b
Another week, another VLM-based OCR model!
Nanonets just released OCR2 - a 3B parameter vision-language model for document OCR 📄
You can run it with one command on @hf.co Jobs (no local GPU needed)
Nanonets just released OCR2 - a 3B parameter vision-language model for document OCR 📄
You can run it with one command on @hf.co Jobs (no local GPU needed)
October 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Another week, another VLM-based OCR model!
Nanonets just released OCR2 - a 3B parameter vision-language model for document OCR 📄
You can run it with one command on @hf.co Jobs (no local GPU needed)
Nanonets just released OCR2 - a 3B parameter vision-language model for document OCR 📄
You can run it with one command on @hf.co Jobs (no local GPU needed)
Reposted by mt-b
We @ChinaDataLab and @UCIGCC launch med the China Policy Document Navigator, a first-of-its-kind database giving researchers curated access to thousands of hard-to-find Chinese policy documents. Learn how to use it and register here: chinadatalab.ucsd.edu/viz-blog/chi...
China’s Science & Technology Ecosystem, Made Searchable - China Data Lab
Viz Blog
chinadatalab.ucsd.edu
October 13, 2025 at 5:52 PM
We @ChinaDataLab and @UCIGCC launch med the China Policy Document Navigator, a first-of-its-kind database giving researchers curated access to thousands of hard-to-find Chinese policy documents. Learn how to use it and register here: chinadatalab.ucsd.edu/viz-blog/chi...
Reposted by mt-b
1/2
Good Scott Kennedy and Scott Rozelle piece on how China's strength in technology and manufacturing and its weak domestic demand are two sides of the same coin. They note that "No reform is costless. If China sought to address the structural...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...
Good Scott Kennedy and Scott Rozelle piece on how China's strength in technology and manufacturing and its weak domestic demand are two sides of the same coin. They note that "No reform is costless. If China sought to address the structural...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...
China’s Tech Obsession Is Weighing Down Its Economy
A decade of cutting-edge investment hasn’t translated into growth.
foreignpolicy.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:28 AM
1/2
Good Scott Kennedy and Scott Rozelle piece on how China's strength in technology and manufacturing and its weak domestic demand are two sides of the same coin. They note that "No reform is costless. If China sought to address the structural...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...
Good Scott Kennedy and Scott Rozelle piece on how China's strength in technology and manufacturing and its weak domestic demand are two sides of the same coin. They note that "No reform is costless. If China sought to address the structural...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...
Reposted by mt-b
I published two pieces on women in China this week! First, a review essay @chinabooksreview.com on two Fang Fang novels, Soft Burial & The Running Flame (tr. Michael Berry). Gendered oppression has persisted during the socialist period and capitalist reforms, despite the CCP's promise of liberation.
No Country for a Woman | China Books Review
Women in China have suffered abuse, silencing and erasure — despite the Communist Party’s slogans about women’s liberation. Two novels by the Wuhan writer Fang Fang show how gendered oppression persis...
chinabooksreview.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I published two pieces on women in China this week! First, a review essay @chinabooksreview.com on two Fang Fang novels, Soft Burial & The Running Flame (tr. Michael Berry). Gendered oppression has persisted during the socialist period and capitalist reforms, despite the CCP's promise of liberation.