Nick Brown
@steamtraen.eu
English/Irish/EU in Spain. PhD in psychology & self-appointed data police cadet. Interested in the lower tail of many distributions. Not yet disabled.
ID confirmation: https://x.com/sTeamTraen/status/1858181372126408774
ID confirmation: https://x.com/sTeamTraen/status/1858181372126408774
Reposted by Nick Brown
Reverse Image Forensics Challenge: Try to find a unique area in Figure 9 of this recent Scientific Reports paper: 10.1038/s41598-025-17456-6 [Aug 2025] - Annotated by ImageTwin.ai
November 11, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reverse Image Forensics Challenge: Try to find a unique area in Figure 9 of this recent Scientific Reports paper: 10.1038/s41598-025-17456-6 [Aug 2025] - Annotated by ImageTwin.ai
Apparently, Times Higher Education has already made substantial efficency gains by having its opinion pieces written by an LLM. The next step is presumably to dispense with the services of Ian Richardson altogether.
November 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Apparently, Times Higher Education has already made substantial efficency gains by having its opinion pieces written by an LLM. The next step is presumably to dispense with the services of Ian Richardson altogether.
Pro tip: Water, a blanket, or a fire extinguisher are all better at putting out fires than using another human being.
November 10, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Pro tip: Water, a blanket, or a fire extinguisher are all better at putting out fires than using another human being.
Now show us the trousers
November 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Now show us the trousers
Breakfast of champions
November 10, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Breakfast of champions
It seems that the idea that batteries run on "acid" still has a strong hold in the popular imagination.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...
November 10, 2025 at 10:17 AM
It seems that the idea that batteries run on "acid" still has a strong hold in the popular imagination.
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...
www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-...
Note: Do not say this when arriving in the UK. Say you are merely "attending" the conference. Addressing a conference, even unpaid, is considered by UK immigration to be working, and you will be refused entry unless you have a visa.
In passport line in Prague remembering my best experience in US:
Agent: why are you here?
I’m a Professor, giving a talk.
What’s you subject?
Political Philosophy.
My favourite!!
Really??
No. I say that to all the Professors.
Agent: why are you here?
I’m a Professor, giving a talk.
What’s you subject?
Political Philosophy.
My favourite!!
Really??
No. I say that to all the Professors.
November 10, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Note: Do not say this when arriving in the UK. Say you are merely "attending" the conference. Addressing a conference, even unpaid, is considered by UK immigration to be working, and you will be refused entry unless you have a visa.
Unpopular opinion: While the BBC is a Good Thing™, the licence fee is a terrible way to fund it, in the age of streaming, and abolition of the TV licence is a progressive position. It cannot be beyond the wit of man to come up with other funding models for public service broadcasting.
November 9, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Unpopular opinion: While the BBC is a Good Thing™, the licence fee is a terrible way to fund it, in the age of streaming, and abolition of the TV licence is a progressive position. It cannot be beyond the wit of man to come up with other funding models for public service broadcasting.
Yes, because pirate ships were well known for their finely-crafted wooden interiors, air-conditioning, and boxes to keep other pirates away from your booty.
(I do quite like the idea of "flagrant Balinese soaps", though. I assume they get the bacteria off your hands whether you like it or not.)
(I do quite like the idea of "flagrant Balinese soaps", though. I assume they get the bacteria off your hands whether you like it or not.)
November 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Yes, because pirate ships were well known for their finely-crafted wooden interiors, air-conditioning, and boxes to keep other pirates away from your booty.
(I do quite like the idea of "flagrant Balinese soaps", though. I assume they get the bacteria off your hands whether you like it or not.)
(I do quite like the idea of "flagrant Balinese soaps", though. I assume they get the bacteria off your hands whether you like it or not.)
I asked three LLMs (Lumo, Claude, ChatGPT, the same pretty basic question about recent history and got three almost entirely different answers.
"Does/did Giorgia Meloni's party or campaign have a slogan comparable to "Make America Great Again"?"
"Does/did Giorgia Meloni's party or campaign have a slogan comparable to "Make America Great Again"?"
November 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I asked three LLMs (Lumo, Claude, ChatGPT, the same pretty basic question about recent history and got three almost entirely different answers.
"Does/did Giorgia Meloni's party or campaign have a slogan comparable to "Make America Great Again"?"
"Does/did Giorgia Meloni's party or campaign have a slogan comparable to "Make America Great Again"?"
As an exercise, one could consider exactly what citation counts are good for, given that quite possibly _nobody_ noticed that citations of their own articles were being under-reported (or massively over-reported) over 14 years and possibly millions of authors.
Oops. Ooooooooooooops.
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 1:03 AM
As an exercise, one could consider exactly what citation counts are good for, given that quite possibly _nobody_ noticed that citations of their own articles were being under-reported (or massively over-reported) over 14 years and possibly millions of authors.
Oops. Ooooooooooooops.
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Oops. Ooooooooooooops.
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
I do hope that nobody has been given or denied a job/promotion based on their SpringerNature citation counts in the past 15 years.
arxiv.org/pdf/2511.01675
h/t @nathlarigaldie.bsky.social
Definitely don't want to miss this one.
November 6, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Definitely don't want to miss this one.
This bar's "Please do not ask us to fillet your fish or chop your vegetables" sign has people asking a lot of questions that are already answered by the sign.
November 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
This bar's "Please do not ask us to fillet your fish or chop your vegetables" sign has people asking a lot of questions that are already answered by the sign.
Reposted by Nick Brown
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Ok, just wow. If the content of this article is right, this is depressing. We're slowly reaching the point where ~100% of what I was taught in Social Psych was either innocently wrong or plainly frauded
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
L.P. Hartley: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there"
Social psychologists:
Social psychologists:
a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and tie is looking at the camera .
ALT: a stuffed monkey wearing a green shirt and tie is looking at the camera .
media.tenor.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:56 PM
L.P. Hartley: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there"
Social psychologists:
Social psychologists:
If you are having trouble falling asleep, you can listen to me droning on about stuff in French for an hour (with more to come in later episodes). This might not help you get to sleep, of course. #NoWarranty
1) Avant la détection d'erreur : les origines de @steamtraen.eu
Dans ce premier épisode d'une série d'entretien, on revient sur le passé de Nick, avant qu'il ne s'engage dans la détection d'erreurs. Si vous aviez envie de le découvrir, l'épisode se trouve ici : creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...
Dans ce premier épisode d'une série d'entretien, on revient sur le passé de Nick, avant qu'il ne s'engage dans la détection d'erreurs. Si vous aviez envie de le découvrir, l'épisode se trouve ici : creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...
Répare Ta Science • A podcast on Spotify for Creators
Adrien Fillon et Nathanaël Larigaldie, deux chercheurs en psychologie, discutent les avancées de la méta-science et comment les méthodes scientifiques peuvent aider à réparer la science. Une fois par ...
creators.spotify.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:14 PM
If you are having trouble falling asleep, you can listen to me droning on about stuff in French for an hour (with more to come in later episodes). This might not help you get to sleep, of course. #NoWarranty
Politicians: Avoid being photographed in situations where the shadow makes you look like you have a huge booger coming out of your nose.
November 4, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Politicians: Avoid being photographed in situations where the shadow makes you look like you have a huge booger coming out of your nose.
Does the Tory Reform Group (wets, basically) still exist?
If so, I'm starting to think that they probably need a new name.
And they definitely need a new colour for their logo.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory_Re...
If so, I'm starting to think that they probably need a new name.
And they definitely need a new colour for their logo.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory_Re...
November 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Does the Tory Reform Group (wets, basically) still exist?
If so, I'm starting to think that they probably need a new name.
And they definitely need a new colour for their logo.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory_Re...
If so, I'm starting to think that they probably need a new name.
And they definitely need a new colour for their logo.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory_Re...
You receive this message. Is Sandy going to contact you (a) in any case, or (b) only if you express an interest?
"We're launching a study on grammar pedantry! Sandy will contact you separately with more info and to potentially set up interviews, if you are interested in participating."
"We're launching a study on grammar pedantry! Sandy will contact you separately with more info and to potentially set up interviews, if you are interested in participating."
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
You receive this message. Is Sandy going to contact you (a) in any case, or (b) only if you express an interest?
"We're launching a study on grammar pedantry! Sandy will contact you separately with more info and to potentially set up interviews, if you are interested in participating."
"We're launching a study on grammar pedantry! Sandy will contact you separately with more info and to potentially set up interviews, if you are interested in participating."
Getting a software upgrade this afternoon
November 3, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Getting a software upgrade this afternoon
What's the world's most common foodstuff (meat, vegetable, fruit, pulse, grain, whatever)? Let's say, eaten at least once a week by the largest number of people?
Genuine question — I funny have an answer.
(Salt doesn't count!)
Genuine question — I funny have an answer.
(Salt doesn't count!)
November 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM
What's the world's most common foodstuff (meat, vegetable, fruit, pulse, grain, whatever)? Let's say, eaten at least once a week by the largest number of people?
Genuine question — I funny have an answer.
(Salt doesn't count!)
Genuine question — I funny have an answer.
(Salt doesn't count!)
Who at HMRC decided to use inherently unreliable entry/exit data from the Home Office without checking it against *HMRC's own records* of who is paying National Insurance?
As someone in a linked article said, "This is clearly a fishing expedition based on a half-baked idea".
As someone in a linked article said, "This is clearly a fishing expedition based on a half-baked idea".
HMRC pauses child benefit crackdown after 23,500 families caught up in data error
Parents say they were treated as fraudsters because Home Office travel records failed to show their return to UK
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Who at HMRC decided to use inherently unreliable entry/exit data from the Home Office without checking it against *HMRC's own records* of who is paying National Insurance?
As someone in a linked article said, "This is clearly a fishing expedition based on a half-baked idea".
As someone in a linked article said, "This is clearly a fishing expedition based on a half-baked idea".
This Italian admiral look exactly like how I would hope all Italian admirals do.
November 3, 2025 at 12:32 AM
This Italian admiral look exactly like how I would hope all Italian admirals do.