Tim Verstynen
@tdverstynen.bsky.social
Professor
Department Gadfly
Data Alchemist
Synthetic Psychologist
Zombie Apologist
“The enemy” - JD Vance
Opinions are my own. Not gonna let my employer take credit for them.
Department Gadfly
Data Alchemist
Synthetic Psychologist
Zombie Apologist
“The enemy” - JD Vance
Opinions are my own. Not gonna let my employer take credit for them.
Pinned
Tim Verstynen
@tdverstynen.bsky.social
· Jan 28
I grew up a white kid in a bilingual, majority Hispanic state, in a pueblo region continuously occupied by indigenous peoples for over a thousand years, and in a city whose name is derived from an old Arabic phrase.
This is what America looks like.
This is what America looks like.
Reverse p-hacking
November 18, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reverse p-hacking
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Per CNN, Elizabeth Warren is calling on Harvard to cut ties with Larry Summers after Jeffrey Epstein's emails released last week by House Dems featured Summers making sexist comments + asking for Epstein’s romantic advice.
November 18, 2025 at 12:43 AM
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Imagine being so threatened by a woman’s PhD that you behave like this.
Honestly these men should be ashamed! Clearly proves that her degree is not the only thing that will be unattainable to them.
Honestly these men should be ashamed! Clearly proves that her degree is not the only thing that will be unattainable to them.
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 17, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Imagine being so threatened by a woman’s PhD that you behave like this.
Honestly these men should be ashamed! Clearly proves that her degree is not the only thing that will be unattainable to them.
Honestly these men should be ashamed! Clearly proves that her degree is not the only thing that will be unattainable to them.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
But to clarify: the blast radius will not be wide enough to materially hurt *any of the billionaire assholes who got us into the mess*. They will come out of it fine, rich & happy, on to their next fuckup.
WSJ: “.. If the AI market blows up, the blast radius would be wide, hitting not only Wall Street firms, but also pensions, mutual and exchange-traded funds and individual investors, because of how debt is often sliced and resold across the financial landscape.”
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/finance/inve...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/finance/inve...
November 17, 2025 at 9:37 PM
But to clarify: the blast radius will not be wide enough to materially hurt *any of the billionaire assholes who got us into the mess*. They will come out of it fine, rich & happy, on to their next fuckup.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Imagine escaping the literal Nazis, making it to America, living three quarters of a century there making your life, and then this:
79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5.
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
He’s been taken by ICE in Florida.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...
Sanford grandfather, born in refugee camp, nabbed by ICE after 70 years in U.S.
Paul Bojerski never gained official residency, but he checked in regularly with ICE for years. Then in July, at age 79, he was detained and sent to Alligator Alcatraz.
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Imagine escaping the literal Nazis, making it to America, living three quarters of a century there making your life, and then this:
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans.
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Important new analysis identifying the scope of clinical trials disrupted because of NIH shenanigans.
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
> 74 thousand trial participants affected
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
1/4
Know the code👇
“Short bursts indicate an ICE sighting. Long whistles indicate agents making arrests. If you hear the whistle and you’re undocumented, said [Whitney Hu, a community activist and organizer with South Brooklyn Mutual Aid], ‘you hide. And if you’re somebody who’s not, you go to the street.’”
As ICE Street Raids Ramp Up, New Yorkers Stock Up On Whistles
Taking a cue from Chicago, community groups have distributed thousands of whistles in recent weeks — a grassroots system people in other cities have adopted to help neighbors sound the alarm.
www.thecity.nyc
November 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Know the code👇
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Universities across the country have their business models being completely destroyed by this administration on multiple fronts.
1) Loss of foreign students.
2) Killing of NIH/NSF funding for research grants.
3) Revocation of tax exempt status.
They are trying to eliminate universities.
1) Loss of foreign students.
2) Killing of NIH/NSF funding for research grants.
3) Revocation of tax exempt status.
They are trying to eliminate universities.
New foreign student enrollment in the US fell 17% this fall www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Universities across the country have their business models being completely destroyed by this administration on multiple fronts.
1) Loss of foreign students.
2) Killing of NIH/NSF funding for research grants.
3) Revocation of tax exempt status.
They are trying to eliminate universities.
1) Loss of foreign students.
2) Killing of NIH/NSF funding for research grants.
3) Revocation of tax exempt status.
They are trying to eliminate universities.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Trump's campaign to kill an industry where America runs a massive trade surplus is succeeding
New foreign student enrollment in the US fell 17% this fall www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Trump's campaign to kill an industry where America runs a massive trade surplus is succeeding
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
It is actually an incredibly frustrating time to be a theoretical neuroscientist right now imo, for this reason
Same for neuroscience. The lack of ability to measure many neurons’ activity, perturb them, and measure intracellular processes and connections is what limits understanding the brain.
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
November 17, 2025 at 1:23 AM
It is actually an incredibly frustrating time to be a theoretical neuroscientist right now imo, for this reason
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
If you try to construct the model to be brain-like you inevitably face ~100 choices that are severely under-constrained by data, and you just have to muddle through.
November 17, 2025 at 1:26 AM
If you try to construct the model to be brain-like you inevitably face ~100 choices that are severely under-constrained by data, and you just have to muddle through.
Pinker is a tired old has been who hasn’t contributed a significant new idea in my entire academic lifetime. He used “cancel culture“ as a marketing gimmick to sell books when people were getting tired of his schtick.
We need to hear less of him, not more.
www.foxnews.com/video/638490...
We need to hear less of him, not more.
www.foxnews.com/video/638490...
Harvard professor tells '60 Minutes' there's a 'grain of truth' to Trump's argument that the university is a 'liberal mess' | Fox News Video
Harvard professor Steven Pinker told "60 Minutes" on Sunday that there was a "grain of truth" to President Trump's claim that Harvard is a "liberal mess."
www.foxnews.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Pinker is a tired old has been who hasn’t contributed a significant new idea in my entire academic lifetime. He used “cancel culture“ as a marketing gimmick to sell books when people were getting tired of his schtick.
We need to hear less of him, not more.
www.foxnews.com/video/638490...
We need to hear less of him, not more.
www.foxnews.com/video/638490...
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
The reason why most women my age couldn't care less if Bill Clinton goes down with the ship is that we were teens & young women when the Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky scandals happened. It's rotten to the core. All the way down. Your "lost" era is not ours.
November 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The reason why most women my age couldn't care less if Bill Clinton goes down with the ship is that we were teens & young women when the Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky scandals happened. It's rotten to the core. All the way down. Your "lost" era is not ours.
It is so surreal to hear so many people repeat/report on Trump’s claims about JP Morgan Chase without pointing out that it is a company, not a person.
I mean I know that SCOTUS claimed that corporations are “people”, but this is a little ridiculous.
I mean I know that SCOTUS claimed that corporations are “people”, but this is a little ridiculous.
November 16, 2025 at 6:35 PM
It is so surreal to hear so many people repeat/report on Trump’s claims about JP Morgan Chase without pointing out that it is a company, not a person.
I mean I know that SCOTUS claimed that corporations are “people”, but this is a little ridiculous.
I mean I know that SCOTUS claimed that corporations are “people”, but this is a little ridiculous.
November 15, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
What usually gets lost in the focus on what an evil racist James Watson was is just how colossal of a dumbass he was and just how far he set the field back.
But @sramach.bsky.social and @cbo.bsky.social kept their eye on the ball.
But @sramach.bsky.social and @cbo.bsky.social kept their eye on the ball.
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:19 AM
What usually gets lost in the focus on what an evil racist James Watson was is just how colossal of a dumbass he was and just how far he set the field back.
But @sramach.bsky.social and @cbo.bsky.social kept their eye on the ball.
But @sramach.bsky.social and @cbo.bsky.social kept their eye on the ball.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Interested in spatiotemporal decoding of choice and feedback in the human brain?
My lab’s postdoc Rohit Yadav will present these beautiful MEG results from our novelty bandit at #SFN2025 Sunday 11/16, PSTR094.23 / LL8 (top row: explore vs exploit; bottom: reward vs nonreward)
My lab’s postdoc Rohit Yadav will present these beautiful MEG results from our novelty bandit at #SFN2025 Sunday 11/16, PSTR094.23 / LL8 (top row: explore vs exploit; bottom: reward vs nonreward)
November 15, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Interested in spatiotemporal decoding of choice and feedback in the human brain?
My lab’s postdoc Rohit Yadav will present these beautiful MEG results from our novelty bandit at #SFN2025 Sunday 11/16, PSTR094.23 / LL8 (top row: explore vs exploit; bottom: reward vs nonreward)
My lab’s postdoc Rohit Yadav will present these beautiful MEG results from our novelty bandit at #SFN2025 Sunday 11/16, PSTR094.23 / LL8 (top row: explore vs exploit; bottom: reward vs nonreward)
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
Academics who have advised a graduate student from China over the past years would be banned from federal funding. This would give the federal government one more lever to attack scientists. And how long before they expand the list of "hostile foreign" countries?
November 14, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Academics who have advised a graduate student from China over the past years would be banned from federal funding. This would give the federal government one more lever to attack scientists. And how long before they expand the list of "hostile foreign" countries?
Tax billionaires into extinction & ban predatory private equity.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Tax billionaires into extinction & ban predatory private equity.
It seems to be a universal law that the longer your layover, the shorter the distance to your connecting gate.
November 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
It seems to be a universal law that the longer your layover, the shorter the distance to your connecting gate.
Reposted by Tim Verstynen
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
In a video, Norton confirms the news and says: "I strongly suspect it is because I have been speaking up in my personal capacity about the harms I have been witnessing inside the NIH.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
Putting me on admin leave was designed to scare and silence me. I will not stop speaking out," she says.
I guess I am hitting a nerve, because they just put me on admin leave.
TikTok video by Jenna
www.tiktok.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social has more integrity and spine than the entire HHS "leadership"
I find it so strange that a lot of American men try to put on a slight Southern/Texas accent when trying to appear masculine (particularly around other men), no matter where they’re from originally.
November 14, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I find it so strange that a lot of American men try to put on a slight Southern/Texas accent when trying to appear masculine (particularly around other men), no matter where they’re from originally.