Thora Bjornsdottir
@thorabjorns.bsky.social
psychology lecturer at Stirling Uni
person perception, social groups, inequality
dogs, sci fi, punk 🏳️🌈🇮🇸
https://rthorabjornsdottir.wordpress.com/
person perception, social groups, inequality
dogs, sci fi, punk 🏳️🌈🇮🇸
https://rthorabjornsdottir.wordpress.com/
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Hard to find a clearer distillation of the gen ai project.
White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
World’s richest person wanted to ‘purge’ propaganda from Wikipedia, so he created a compendium of racist disinformation
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Hard to find a clearer distillation of the gen ai project.
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Sheffield Hallam University complied with Beijing demand to halt research about human rights abuses in China, leading to a major project on supply chains and forced labour being dropped. It was reinstated after threat of legal action but chilling effect remains www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China
Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Sheffield Hallam University complied with Beijing demand to halt research about human rights abuses in China, leading to a major project on supply chains and forced labour being dropped. It was reinstated after threat of legal action but chilling effect remains www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
We have a new tutorial out in Social Cog methods issue, a resampling tool we made in R that basically tells you when some average is "stable" and can be used to guide data collection or test hypotheses related to variance. Quick explanation here
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guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...
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guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...
October 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
We have a new tutorial out in Social Cog methods issue, a resampling tool we made in R that basically tells you when some average is "stable" and can be used to guide data collection or test hypotheses related to variance. Quick explanation here
1/n
guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...
1/n
guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
If you'd asked me which celebrity would posthumously unveil a list of people she wanted fired into the sun, I would not have guessed Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
October 5, 2025 at 5:36 PM
If you'd asked me which celebrity would posthumously unveil a list of people she wanted fired into the sun, I would not have guessed Jane Goodall
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
"The Architecture of Status Perception: Cues, Categories, and Consequences"
Co-chairs: Finneaz Moner, @dongwonoh.bsky.social
Speakers: Finneaz Moner, Ben (Ming Huang) Teo, Abhinanda Dash (w/ Kerri L Johnson & @thorabjorns.bsky.social), Bastian Weitz (w/ @freemanjb.bsky.social)
Symposium Abstract:
Co-chairs: Finneaz Moner, @dongwonoh.bsky.social
Speakers: Finneaz Moner, Ben (Ming Huang) Teo, Abhinanda Dash (w/ Kerri L Johnson & @thorabjorns.bsky.social), Bastian Weitz (w/ @freemanjb.bsky.social)
Symposium Abstract:
September 30, 2025 at 3:27 AM
"The Architecture of Status Perception: Cues, Categories, and Consequences"
Co-chairs: Finneaz Moner, @dongwonoh.bsky.social
Speakers: Finneaz Moner, Ben (Ming Huang) Teo, Abhinanda Dash (w/ Kerri L Johnson & @thorabjorns.bsky.social), Bastian Weitz (w/ @freemanjb.bsky.social)
Symposium Abstract:
Co-chairs: Finneaz Moner, @dongwonoh.bsky.social
Speakers: Finneaz Moner, Ben (Ming Huang) Teo, Abhinanda Dash (w/ Kerri L Johnson & @thorabjorns.bsky.social), Bastian Weitz (w/ @freemanjb.bsky.social)
Symposium Abstract:
"those who relate to others as though they are not worthy of respect ought to be treated with the regard that orientation deserves"
"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually
www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...
How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review
Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.
www.bostonreview.net
September 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
"those who relate to others as though they are not worthy of respect ought to be treated with the regard that orientation deserves"
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
This is no small reason why pronatalism is so important to this administration.
If women are busy having and raising kids - and the US further weakens its childcare infrastructure and job protections - then women will be increasingly relegated to domestic support roles.
If women are busy having and raising kids - and the US further weakens its childcare infrastructure and job protections - then women will be increasingly relegated to domestic support roles.
“What fascisms old and new have in common is they tend to look to women to fill in the gaps that the state misses."
And, I'd add, they get women to fill these gaps by making patriarchy's coattails the only way means by which women can achieve security or esteem.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
And, I'd add, they get women to fill these gaps by making patriarchy's coattails the only way means by which women can achieve security or esteem.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
From Nazi Germany to Trump’s America: why strongmen rely on women at home
Fascist regimes pushed narratives of domestic bliss, yet relied on women’s unpaid labor. In the US today, ‘womanosphere’ influencers promote the same fantasies
www.theguardian.com
September 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
This is no small reason why pronatalism is so important to this administration.
If women are busy having and raising kids - and the US further weakens its childcare infrastructure and job protections - then women will be increasingly relegated to domestic support roles.
If women are busy having and raising kids - and the US further weakens its childcare infrastructure and job protections - then women will be increasingly relegated to domestic support roles.
"Our portals successfully transport you to another time, but only to a year sometime between when computers were made of tubes and the last time somebody typed out “www.”"
"We’ve built hundreds of variations of these things, and we promise none are cool. Rent-payment portals, student portals, health insurance portals—just name the portal, and it will suck."
We Are Thrilled to Announce We Have Invented Portals, but Are Saddened to Reveal They Suck
We, the computer scientists and engineers of this nation, are pleased to announce that we have invented actual, real-life portals. However, we are ...
buff.ly
September 16, 2025 at 8:51 AM
"Our portals successfully transport you to another time, but only to a year sometime between when computers were made of tubes and the last time somebody typed out “www.”"
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Are you doing research on impression formation, face perception, personality judgment, or related topics?
Then you might be interested in joining our collaborative study!
Follow the link for more information: tilburgss.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
#socialpsyc #PsychSciSky
Then you might be interested in joining our collaborative study!
Follow the link for more information: tilburgss.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
#socialpsyc #PsychSciSky
September 2, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Are you doing research on impression formation, face perception, personality judgment, or related topics?
Then you might be interested in joining our collaborative study!
Follow the link for more information: tilburgss.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
#socialpsyc #PsychSciSky
Then you might be interested in joining our collaborative study!
Follow the link for more information: tilburgss.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
#socialpsyc #PsychSciSky
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
"How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York’s Next Mayor?"
A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons.
Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.
A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons.
Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.
September 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
"How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York’s Next Mayor?"
A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons.
Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.
A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons.
Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.
"What if the real doomer scenario is that we pollute the internet and the planet, reorient our economy and leverage ourselves, outsource big chunks of our minds, realign our geopolitics and culture, and fight endlessly over a technology that never comes close to delivering on its grandest promises?"
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
www.theatlantic.com
August 19, 2025 at 8:57 AM
"What if the real doomer scenario is that we pollute the internet and the planet, reorient our economy and leverage ourselves, outsource big chunks of our minds, realign our geopolitics and culture, and fight endlessly over a technology that never comes close to delivering on its grandest promises?"
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
As always, Ted Chiang is great in this interview.
cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08...
cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08...
August 14, 2025 at 1:24 AM
As always, Ted Chiang is great in this interview.
cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08...
cdh.princeton.edu/blog/2025/08...
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
This, from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social, perfectly sums up the quandary that educators find ourselves in:
“AI hollows out the foundation of learning because it strips you, gets rid of the mistakes, it gets rid of the opportunities for serendipity.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
“AI hollows out the foundation of learning because it strips you, gets rid of the mistakes, it gets rid of the opportunities for serendipity.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
Opinion | A.I. Is Fueling a ‘Poverty of Imagination.’ Here’s How We Can Fix It.
www.nytimes.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:35 PM
This, from @tressiemcphd.bsky.social, perfectly sums up the quandary that educators find ourselves in:
“AI hollows out the foundation of learning because it strips you, gets rid of the mistakes, it gets rid of the opportunities for serendipity.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
“AI hollows out the foundation of learning because it strips you, gets rid of the mistakes, it gets rid of the opportunities for serendipity.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/o...
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
And just for clarification, "learn to write well" doesn't mean "learn to write with big words and complex grammar"
It means: learn to...
-articulate an argument and support it with sound evidence and logical reasoning
-organize your writing so the reader can easily understand complex ideas
It means: learn to...
-articulate an argument and support it with sound evidence and logical reasoning
-organize your writing so the reader can easily understand complex ideas
Imo three things you can do in undergrad that will probably meaningfully improve your career chances (that aren’t highly contextual where the wind may shift and what’s happening to CS majors rn might happen):
-become statistically numerate
-learn another language
-learn to write well
-become statistically numerate
-learn another language
-learn to write well
August 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
And just for clarification, "learn to write well" doesn't mean "learn to write with big words and complex grammar"
It means: learn to...
-articulate an argument and support it with sound evidence and logical reasoning
-organize your writing so the reader can easily understand complex ideas
It means: learn to...
-articulate an argument and support it with sound evidence and logical reasoning
-organize your writing so the reader can easily understand complex ideas
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Everyone in DC knows that if you want to hide something, announce it on a Friday in August. Better yet, make it nearly impossible to track down.
That's exactly what SCOTUS did last week. But the news is too staggering to hide for long: SCOTUS has decided it's time to destroy the Voting Rights Act.
That's exactly what SCOTUS did last week. But the news is too staggering to hide for long: SCOTUS has decided it's time to destroy the Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court prepares to end voting rights as we know it
And they don't want you to notice.
www.motherjones.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Everyone in DC knows that if you want to hide something, announce it on a Friday in August. Better yet, make it nearly impossible to track down.
That's exactly what SCOTUS did last week. But the news is too staggering to hide for long: SCOTUS has decided it's time to destroy the Voting Rights Act.
That's exactly what SCOTUS did last week. But the news is too staggering to hide for long: SCOTUS has decided it's time to destroy the Voting Rights Act.
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
"One of the reasons the epidemic of violence against women is so unacknowledged is because cases like these are talked about individually, and often treated as though they are shocking aberrations rather than part of a pervasive pattern that operates at all levels of society."
The problem is far bigger than Jeffrey Epstein | Rebecca Solnit
Treating the scandal as an aberration misunderstands the global epidemic of violence against women
www.theguardian.com
August 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
"One of the reasons the epidemic of violence against women is so unacknowledged is because cases like these are talked about individually, and often treated as though they are shocking aberrations rather than part of a pervasive pattern that operates at all levels of society."
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Israel has deliberately starved the people of Gaza.
It said it was starving Gaza over and over again.
It has done so systematically - with the full complicity of the West.
My column on a crime committed in plain sight 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It said it was starving Gaza over and over again.
It has done so systematically - with the full complicity of the West.
My column on a crime committed in plain sight 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Israel has deliberately starved the people of Gaza. It couldn’t have done it without the west's help | Owen Jones
The current hand-wringing by Keir Starmer and other western politicians is empty bluster. They knew what was happening all along, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones
www.theguardian.com
July 30, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Israel has deliberately starved the people of Gaza.
It said it was starving Gaza over and over again.
It has done so systematically - with the full complicity of the West.
My column on a crime committed in plain sight 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It said it was starving Gaza over and over again.
It has done so systematically - with the full complicity of the West.
My column on a crime committed in plain sight 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
She is far too un-self-promoting to do this herself, so I'm shouting out *THE* Elizabeth Page-Gould (@page-gould.bsky.social) for winning the SESP Career Trajectory Award!
Liz is the reason they had to invent the high-warmth/high competence quadrant. She is such a gem and so damn deserving of this.
Liz is the reason they had to invent the high-warmth/high competence quadrant. She is such a gem and so damn deserving of this.
Elizabeth Page-Gould recognized with Career Trajectory Award from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology
The Society for Experimental Social Psychology has recognized Elizabeth Page-Gould with a Career Trajectory Award in recognition of uniquely creative and influential scholarly productivity.
www.psych.utoronto.ca
July 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM
She is far too un-self-promoting to do this herself, so I'm shouting out *THE* Elizabeth Page-Gould (@page-gould.bsky.social) for winning the SESP Career Trajectory Award!
Liz is the reason they had to invent the high-warmth/high competence quadrant. She is such a gem and so damn deserving of this.
Liz is the reason they had to invent the high-warmth/high competence quadrant. She is such a gem and so damn deserving of this.
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
We are deeply concerned by the UK government’s use of terrorism legislation to repress Palestine Action, a non-violent group not unlike those Keir Starmer once defended as a human rights lawyer.
Write to your MP to take action ⬇️
https:/ palestinecampaign.eaction.online/opposeproscription
Write to your MP to take action ⬇️
https:/ palestinecampaign.eaction.online/opposeproscription
Write to your MP: Oppose plans to proscribe Palestine Action
palestinecampaign.eaction.online
June 24, 2025 at 12:55 PM
We are deeply concerned by the UK government’s use of terrorism legislation to repress Palestine Action, a non-violent group not unlike those Keir Starmer once defended as a human rights lawyer.
Write to your MP to take action ⬇️
https:/ palestinecampaign.eaction.online/opposeproscription
Write to your MP to take action ⬇️
https:/ palestinecampaign.eaction.online/opposeproscription
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Our members are fed up with the cuts!! #ucuedinburgh #ucu #universityofedinburgh #stopthecuts #saveHE
June 20, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Our members are fed up with the cuts!! #ucuedinburgh #ucu #universityofedinburgh #stopthecuts #saveHE
Reposted by Thora Bjornsdottir
Today Stirling launches a voluntary severance scheme (of which the branch was only notified hours before its announcement on Monday) designed to recoup an eye watering £8.1 million pounds next year. We know colleagues are scared; if you haven't already joined the union, this is a good time to do so
June 19, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Today Stirling launches a voluntary severance scheme (of which the branch was only notified hours before its announcement on Monday) designed to recoup an eye watering £8.1 million pounds next year. We know colleagues are scared; if you haven't already joined the union, this is a good time to do so