Rebecca Merkley
@rebeccamerkley.bsky.social
Developmental cognitive scientist @carleton-cogsci.bsky.social studying how young kids develop mathematical thinking
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
No one at the rap battle will wait for me to type my prompts
November 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
No one at the rap battle will wait for me to type my prompts
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
November 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
"Academic accommodations for anxiety convey two harmful messages. First, they imply that the feared situation is truly dangerous. Public speaking, testing, or lunch with classmates are too risky...Second, they suggest that the student can’t withstand the distress. Those messages increase anxiety."
Schools Are Accommodating Student Anxiety — and Making It Worse
Removing stressors robs students of growth opportunities, writes TC's Ben Lovett and his co-author Alex Jordan
www.tc.columbia.edu
November 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"Academic accommodations for anxiety convey two harmful messages. First, they imply that the feared situation is truly dangerous. Public speaking, testing, or lunch with classmates are too risky...Second, they suggest that the student can’t withstand the distress. Those messages increase anxiety."
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
This is a great addition to the limited literature on childcare/early childhood education and women's outcomes.
See our piece in Science for a brief overview of how limited that literature is www.cgdev.org/sites/defaul...
See our piece in Science for a brief overview of how limited that literature is www.cgdev.org/sites/defaul...
In today's JMP blog, @economiyaki.bsky.social shows how even 3 hours/day of kindergarten in Indonesia is enough to increase women's employment (by 13 p.p.) & does not crowd out care offered by relatives blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?
Scaling short days: Even limited childcare can transform family labor. Guest post by Dyah Pritadrajati
blogs.worldbank.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
This is a great addition to the limited literature on childcare/early childhood education and women's outcomes.
See our piece in Science for a brief overview of how limited that literature is www.cgdev.org/sites/defaul...
See our piece in Science for a brief overview of how limited that literature is www.cgdev.org/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
It’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice.
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
November 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice.
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Happy to share this new entry on numerical cognition for the OECS. Thanks to @hbaum.bsky.social and @mcxfrank.bsky.social for making this happen! Apologies if your work isn’t cited! Had to limit cites!!! oecs.mit.edu/pub/rek9756r...
Numerical Cognition
oecs.mit.edu
November 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Happy to share this new entry on numerical cognition for the OECS. Thanks to @hbaum.bsky.social and @mcxfrank.bsky.social for making this happen! Apologies if your work isn’t cited! Had to limit cites!!! oecs.mit.edu/pub/rek9756r...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
5 ways to think about OpenAI in education 🧵
November 20, 2025 at 8:08 PM
5 ways to think about OpenAI in education 🧵
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
what a great honour to receive the 25th Irish Tatler Women of the Year Award in the category of Innovation. the optimist in me thinks this marks a turn for recognition of the importance of critical work and accountability in AI
www.businesspost.ie/life-luxury/...
www.businesspost.ie/life-luxury/...
November 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
what a great honour to receive the 25th Irish Tatler Women of the Year Award in the category of Innovation. the optimist in me thinks this marks a turn for recognition of the importance of critical work and accountability in AI
www.businesspost.ie/life-luxury/...
www.businesspost.ie/life-luxury/...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Loved this paper by @kristinandrews.bsky.social and Noam Miller. A very convincing argument for the function of consciousness.
The social origins of consciousness | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
We present the social origins of consciousness hypothesis, according to which the
ability to coordinate with group members was the original adaptive function of consciousness.
We offer three arguments...
royalsocietypublishing.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Loved this paper by @kristinandrews.bsky.social and Noam Miller. A very convincing argument for the function of consciousness.
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
If women are underrepresented in STEM, it's at least partly because men like this offer mentoring, then embarrass themselves by assuming their mentees must be into them, then decide the best solution is to cut ties, which sends the signal to other faculty that the mentee must not be good enough.
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
In April 2009, the Washington Post asked 10 writers to make the case for something that deserves to be tossed out as part of "spring cleaning."
I chose Larry Summers.
Better late than never.
Unlocked version of my 16-year-old article below.
naomiklein.org/why-we-shoul...
I chose Larry Summers.
Better late than never.
Unlocked version of my 16-year-old article below.
naomiklein.org/why-we-shoul...
November 18, 2025 at 6:20 AM
In April 2009, the Washington Post asked 10 writers to make the case for something that deserves to be tossed out as part of "spring cleaning."
I chose Larry Summers.
Better late than never.
Unlocked version of my 16-year-old article below.
naomiklein.org/why-we-shoul...
I chose Larry Summers.
Better late than never.
Unlocked version of my 16-year-old article below.
naomiklein.org/why-we-shoul...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
"data centers already accounted for 22% of Ireland's total electricity consumption in 2024. In the Dublin/Meath area, where a third of Ireland's population lives, 48% of the electricity was used by data centers in 2023." @abeba.bsky.social & @krisshrishak.bsky.social
✍🏼 www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
✍🏼 www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
November 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
"data centers already accounted for 22% of Ireland's total electricity consumption in 2024. In the Dublin/Meath area, where a third of Ireland's population lives, 48% of the electricity was used by data centers in 2023." @abeba.bsky.social & @krisshrishak.bsky.social
✍🏼 www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
✍🏼 www.iccl.ie/press-releas...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Somewhere out there someone who’s the best at what they do is terrified that they have imposter syndrome while a bunch of barely literate pedophiles are very calmly running the world
November 13, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Somewhere out there someone who’s the best at what they do is terrified that they have imposter syndrome while a bunch of barely literate pedophiles are very calmly running the world
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Some thoughts about the power we have as academics and the impact of our choices around the framing of our work.
Just read a talk announcement about "AI" and K-12 education that looked like it maybe, maybe embedded a critical perspective but was still dressed up in the language of AI hype, presupposing both job market & education "reshaped by AI".
🧵>>
🧵>>
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Some thoughts about the power we have as academics and the impact of our choices around the framing of our work.
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Pop-up AI defacing your article critical of AI captures a lot of what it feels like to work in this space.
@lmesseri.bsky.social
@lmesseri.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Pop-up AI defacing your article critical of AI captures a lot of what it feels like to work in this space.
@lmesseri.bsky.social
@lmesseri.bsky.social
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
This got me thinking about how academic success has changed in just the 20++ years since I was an undergrad. When I was looking for a thesis supervisor, I worked up the courage to ask my 3rd year cognition prof, who agreed on the spot.
1/3
1/3
The association between academic pressure and adolescent mental health problems: A systematic review
By Thomas Steare, Carolina Gutiérrez Muñoz, Alice Sullivan, Gemma Lewis
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
By Thomas Steare, Carolina Gutiérrez Muñoz, Alice Sullivan, Gemma Lewis
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The association between academic pressure and adolescent mental health problems: A systematic review
Academic pressure is a potential contributor to adolescent mental health problems, but international evidence on this association has never been synth…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
This got me thinking about how academic success has changed in just the 20++ years since I was an undergrad. When I was looking for a thesis supervisor, I worked up the courage to ask my 3rd year cognition prof, who agreed on the spot.
1/3
1/3
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
It’s insulting to tell 🇨🇦 scientists we need international scientists to run to our rescue & ensure innovation.
🇨🇦 scientists have exceeded expectations with paltry funding. If the gov funded Tricouncil > & sustainably; imagine how innovative we’d already be!! /End
🇨🇦 scientists have exceeded expectations with paltry funding. If the gov funded Tricouncil > & sustainably; imagine how innovative we’d already be!! /End
November 5, 2025 at 3:58 AM
It’s insulting to tell 🇨🇦 scientists we need international scientists to run to our rescue & ensure innovation.
🇨🇦 scientists have exceeded expectations with paltry funding. If the gov funded Tricouncil > & sustainably; imagine how innovative we’d already be!! /End
🇨🇦 scientists have exceeded expectations with paltry funding. If the gov funded Tricouncil > & sustainably; imagine how innovative we’d already be!! /End
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Come work with us @msupsychology.bsky.social!
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Come work with us @msupsychology.bsky.social!
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
I promise, we don’t match *all* the time @tedmond.bsky.social
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
Earlier this year, @himself.bsky.social wrote an essay describing how technology warps our understanding of what "the public" believes, and thereby degrades *collective* human intelligence. I think this applies to AI in public education as well, in worrying ways.
open.substack.com/pub/buildcog...
open.substack.com/pub/buildcog...
Sexbots, students, and schools
AI is warping our understanding of what public education is for
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Earlier this year, @himself.bsky.social wrote an essay describing how technology warps our understanding of what "the public" believes, and thereby degrades *collective* human intelligence. I think this applies to AI in public education as well, in worrying ways.
open.substack.com/pub/buildcog...
open.substack.com/pub/buildcog...
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
October 4, 2025 at 5:33 AM
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
It is hard to overstate the stress produced by the incoherence of academic institutions pumping generative AI when they want to play business and then leaving instructors to deal with the results when they want to play school
Cheating with an LLM is the easiest thing in the world for a student to do, but it creates a massive, laborious headache for a prof, if you intend to take it seriously. There’s meetings, emails, discussions, moral dilemmas. It’s just incredibly burdensome, on top of everything else right now.
I had 9 meetings about students using Chat GPT/LLMs on their papers today.
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
If you want to know why professors burn out, ask anyone trying to teach critical thinking and writing skills to Freshmen....
October 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM
It is hard to overstate the stress produced by the incoherence of academic institutions pumping generative AI when they want to play business and then leaving instructors to deal with the results when they want to play school
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
I really do not get the general urge among online academics to dunk on X area for discovering what Y area has known for decades. There are many reasons why this is unscholarly. To name a few:
1. Most scientists don't perform interdisciplinary research because it's explicitly disincentivized.
1. Most scientists don't perform interdisciplinary research because it's explicitly disincentivized.
October 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I really do not get the general urge among online academics to dunk on X area for discovering what Y area has known for decades. There are many reasons why this is unscholarly. To name a few:
1. Most scientists don't perform interdisciplinary research because it's explicitly disincentivized.
1. Most scientists don't perform interdisciplinary research because it's explicitly disincentivized.
Reposted by Rebecca Merkley
😀 Thrilled to see this lovely paper out in @pnas.org! 👇
New in @pnas.org.
Preschool teachers were less likely to accept participation attempts by children from working-class backgrounds, regardless of their perceived language level.
With a great team: @andreicimpian.bsky.social @sebastiengoudeau.bsky.social & Louise Goupil.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Preschool teachers were less likely to accept participation attempts by children from working-class backgrounds, regardless of their perceived language level.
With a great team: @andreicimpian.bsky.social @sebastiengoudeau.bsky.social & Louise Goupil.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
September 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
😀 Thrilled to see this lovely paper out in @pnas.org! 👇